Antarctic Express: Fly the Drake

All meals while on the ship are included.

Typical meals

The ship’s galley offers good-quality service and cuisine throughout, with excellent chefs preparing international menus, including vegetarian dishes. If there is one constant on board, it is that you’ll enjoy delicious meals. While meal times may change due to landings and wildlife sightings, you’ll always be served three well-prepared meals per day. Vegetarians and vegans can be well catered for on this adventure – please inform us before departure of any special dietary requests so our local team can be well prepared.

Breakfast: Buffet style – unlimited tea and coffee, a selection of fruit juices, hot options including bacon and eggs or omelettes, a selection of bread and toast and jam/honey/marmalade, fruit and cereal.

Lunch: Three-course set meal or the occasional buffet or barbecue.

Dinner: Three courses with a starter of soup, salad or anti-pasto, a choice of three mains with at least one vegetarian and one seafood option and a dessert of sweet pudding or ice cream or fruit, tea and coffee.

Drinks: Complimentary coffee, tea, cocoa and water stations are available around the clock, while soft drinks and juices are available during meals and when the bar is open—all included in the cost of your package. Enjoy complimentary select beer, wines and select cocktails during bar service hours and dinner as part of the “Raise a Glass and Stay Connected Free” program. Premium wines and champagne are available at extra cost and can be billed to your shipboard account. The well-stocked bars on the ship are open late morning, afternoon and evening, though hours may occasionally change to accommodate the expedition schedule.

Explore the Antarctic gateway of King George Island, walking the vicinity of the Chilean Research Base Presidente Eduardo Frei Montalva and the Russian Bellingshausen Station. Take in the stark beauty of gravel beaches, lurking skuas, and wind-carved snow as you step onto Antarctic soil for the first time.

Learn how this island supports science and logistics for the region while sensing the isolation that defines polar life. Conclude with a Zodiac embarkation to your expedition ship, surrounded by brash ice and steel-blue seas.

Join a Zodiac cruise to thread quietly among cathedral-blue icebergs and mirror-calm bays where seals haul out on floes. Keep cameras ready for the breathy exhale of humpback and minke whales and the arrowing flight of Antarctic terns.

Your guides interpret the icy architecture and wildlife behavior, often nosing into the iceberg-studded maze near Pleneau Island, known as the “iceberg graveyard.” The low vantage brings you eye-level with sculpted ice and the mesmerizing play of light on frozen surfaces.

Walk ashore at bustling rookeries to observe Gentoo, Adélie and Chinstrap penguins at close range. Trace their penguin highways in the snow, watch adults commute from sea to nest, and witness courtship calls carried on the cold, clear air.

Guides explain nesting cycles, krill-driven ecosystems, and the aerial patrols of skuas and giant petrels. Sites vary by conditions—think Cuverville Island or Half Moon Island—but the experience of nesting colonies against a backdrop of glaciers and peaks is consistently absorbing.

Sail the Gerlache Strait beneath ramparts of ice-clad mountains and misty mountain passes, scanning for spouts in whale-rich feeding grounds. From the rail, photograph brash ice, bergy bits, and the improbable geometry of tabular icebergs.

Hear how Belgian explorer Adrien de Gerlache charted these waters in the 1897–99 expedition, opening a corridor to the Peninsula’s sheltered channels. The ship’s open decks and bridge provide superb vantage points for changing light and wildlife.

Learn from expert-led lectures on geology, ice dynamics, and polar wildlife delivered by your Expedition Team. Sessions demystify glaciology and seabird ecology, enhancing what you see on deck and ashore.

Contribute to citizen science observations when offered—logging seabird counts or cloud data—and gain perspective on conservation frameworks that protect Antarctica. These enriching modules turn sightings into understanding and deepen your connection to the region’s fragile systems.

Visit Port Lockroy on Goudier Island to step inside the preserved Base A museum, a time capsule from Britain’s wartime Operation Tabarin. Meet staff from the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust and browse the small shop and famed ‘Penguin Post Office’.

Along the way, learn about Antarctic Treaty-era heritage, scientific archives, and the careful balance between tourism and wildlife protection. Landings are weather and permit dependent; when feasible, this stop adds a human chapter to the polar story.

Take the Polar Plunge in the icy Southern Ocean under the watch of the Expedition Team, with safety lines, medics, and photographers at the ready. The jolt of cold is brief, the exhilaration unmistakable.

Warm up immediately with a post-dip sauna and hot drinks back on board, trading stories and laughter on deck. Participation is entirely voluntary, but the bragging rights feel especially toasty.

Scramble to panoramic lookouts above snow slopes and rocky headlands, guided by staff who set a safe route. From these vantage points, frame serrated peaks, braided sea ice, and the distant thunder of calving glaciers.

Short, steady ascents—often at places such as Neko Harbour or Damoy Point when conditions allow—reward with sweeping views for photographers and contemplative moments alike. Expect crunching snow underfoot, crisp air, and the quiet drama of the polar wilderness.

Join the sea kayaking program for a low-impact glide through quiet coves and berg gardens. Paddle silent bays alongside porpoising penguins, feeling the scale of curtain walls of ice and the distant plume of humpback blows.

Led by specialist guides with drysuits and expedition-specific equipment provided, this small-group activity is weather and ice dependent. Spaces are limited and carry an additional cost; pre-booking is strongly recommended, with final confirmation on tour.

Opt for a shorter guided paddling excursion using stable, sit-on-top kayaks—ideal for first-timers seeking a taste of polar waters. Skim ice-studded bays at an easy pace while your guide interprets pack ice, penguin behavior, and shoreline geology.

All gear is supplied and instruction is included. This experience is weather and capacity dependent, available at additional cost, and can be requested and confirmed with your Expedition Team on tour.

Try stand-up paddleboarding for a serene, close-to-the-water perspective in glass-calm coves. Move quietly past bergy bits as penguins porpoise nearby and the only sound is your paddle’s drip in the still air.

Guides provide instruction, drysuits, and support Zodiacs. Availability is limited to select voyages and conditions; it carries an additional cost and can be requested on tour, with final confirmation by the Expedition Team.

Meet fellow travelers and meet your Expedition Team at a hosted welcome dinner in Patagonia’s southern gateway. Share first impressions, review the voyage map to the South Shetland Islands and Antarctic Peninsula, and get practical guidance on gear and conditions for the days ahead.

Continue with an expedition briefing covering safety, wildlife etiquette, and the principles of responsible exploration under the Antarctic Treaty System. This hosted evening builds camaraderie and sets clear expectations so you can focus on the awe of the White Continent.