Journey to the End of the World: My Antarctic Expedition with HX

By Eliana, Assistant Marketing Manager

There are some holidays where the journey is simply a means of getting to the destination. Antarctica isn’t one of them. Getting to the end of the world takes time, but when the reward is stepping onto the seventh continent, I can safely say it’s worth every hour spent travelling.

My Antarctic cruise with HX Expeditions began with an overnight flight from Heathrow to Buenos Aires. After dropping our bags at the hotel, we headed straight out on an included city tour, taking in La Recoleta Cemetery, where Eva Perón is buried, and the colourful streets of La Boca.

An early flight to Ushuaia followed, along with another included tour, this time exploring the surrounding national park. Then came the moment we’d all been waiting for: boarding MS Roald Amundsen and setting sail through the Beagle Channel towards Antarctica.

What Is It Really Like Crossing the Drake Passage?

I know the Drake Passage can make people nervous, and I’d love to offer some definitive reassurance about the infamous ‘Drake Shake’. In reality, every crossing is different.

We were incredibly lucky on the way out and experienced the much calmer ‘Drake Lake’ for our two-day crossing. Coming back, Captain Lippestad described conditions as ‘not quite a Lake but definitely not a Shake’, which suited me perfectly.

When you think about the explorers who made this journey before us, it puts the crossing into perspective. Even if you do encounter the Drake Shake, you’re experiencing it aboard a comfortable HX ship with a warm bed and a bar, rather than a tiny sailing vessel!

Life Onboard MS Roald Amundsen

MS Roald Amundsen carries up to 490 guests, and that relatively small size is important in Antarctica. Ships carrying more than 500 passengers aren’t permitted to make landings under IAATO rules, so travelling with HX means you can actually step ashore rather than experiencing the continent solely from the ship.

There aren’t as many restaurants, bars and entertainment venues as you’d find on a larger cruise ship, but I genuinely didn’t miss them. Aune serves buffet breakfasts and lunches, with buffet or à la carte dinners, while Fredheim offers casual à la carte dining and daily specials. Lindstrøm provides a more refined option and is included for suite guests, with a supplement for other guests.

The Explorer Bar became the natural meeting place each evening, helped by some truly exceptional service.

HX’s all-inclusive offering goes much further than drinks, Wi-Fi and gratuities. Zodiac rides and landings are included, along with lectures, access to the Science Centre, professional photographs from the onboard photographer, and even an expedition coat and water bottle to take home.

I certainly made the most of the Wi-Fi. Facetiming my family from my balcony to show them whales at the end of the Earth has to be one of the strangest calls I’ve ever made.

There’s More to an Expedition Than Going Ashore

The Expedition Team became a huge part of the experience. Lectures covered everything from Antarctic wildlife and topography to personal stories of exploring these waters by sailing boat. They went into enough detail for me to come away feeling I’d genuinely learnt something, without ever becoming overwhelmingly technical.

In the Science Centre, we used microscopes to examine some of the tiny creatures living in Antarctic waters, while photography sessions helped guests get to grips with their camera settings before heading ashore.

There’s plenty of downtime too. The glass-walled sauna overlooking ice-covered mountains is pretty hard to beat, although sitting in the Explorer Lounge with a coffee and a cookie came close. Sometimes I’d simply sit by a window or on my balcony for an hour, staring outside and trying to comprehend where in the world I actually was.

Penguins, Whales and Moments I’ll Never Forget

The wildlife is, of course, one of the biggest reasons for travelling all this way. Our first penguin sighting happened at breakfast, when everyone suddenly rushed towards the windows as a group appeared alongside the ship. I remember wondering whether these might be the only ones we’d see. I needn’t have worried. Across five days in Antarctica, I saw thousands.

We travelled towards the end of the Antarctic summer, so many of the chicks were shedding their fluffy baby feathers. I could have watched them for hours. They’re incredibly graceful underwater, yet on land they’re wonderfully clumsy, hobbling across rocky beaches and tumbling over themselves as they race downhill.

Then there were the whales. We were extremely fortunate to encounter a pod of humpbacks feeding on krill for hours. From our Zodiac, it was almost impossible to know where to look. Six whales might appear in the distance while penguins swam past on one side, then suddenly two dorsal fins would surface right in front of us.

Even some of the most stoic people onboard shed a tear. It’s one of the most incredible things I’ve ever experienced and, frustratingly, one of the hardest to put into words.

Those shared moments created a wonderful camaraderie onboard. At the start of the expedition, people tended to sit alone or as couples in the Explorer Bar. By the end, those tables had merged into larger groups as everyone swapped photographs and stories from the day.

Yes, I Did the Polar Plunge

The Polar Plunge is exactly what it sounds like: voluntarily jumping into Antarctic water. According to my certificate, the water was 1°C. I can confirm it felt every bit of it.

Antarctica itself wasn’t quite as brutally cold as I’d imagined. The lowest temperature we experienced was around -4°C, so some of the thermals I’d packed while imagining icicles forming on my eyelashes weren’t entirely necessary. Of course, conditions vary enormously, particularly further inland and during winter, but it wasn’t the extreme cold I’d pictured before travelling.

Is an HX Antarctic Expedition Worth It?

Watching the final icebergs disappear over the horizon brought a kind of holiday blues I’d never experienced before. Antarctica is somewhere you spend so long anticipating that leaving feels surprisingly emotional.

As clichéd as it sounds, it really is unlike anywhere else on Earth. At times, standing among thousands of penguins or watching humpback whales surface beside a Zodiac, it felt closer to visiting another planet than another continent.

The journey is long and the Drake Passage is unpredictable, but I’d do it all again. If Antarctica is sitting on your bucket list, an expedition with HX doesn’t simply take you there. It gives you the opportunity to step onto the continent, learn about it and experience it in a way I’ll never forget.

Discover Antarctica with Bolsover Cruise Club

Ready to start your own journey to the end of the world? Our Cruise Experts can help you find the right HX expedition and advise on Cruise & Stay options if you’d like to extend your time in Argentina before or after your Antarctic adventure.