Antarctic Cruise | Antarctica Peninsula - M/V Plancius

Written by Randy Green

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M/V Plancius

The Plancius is a newly-refurbished expedition-class vessel holding 112 passengers and offering comfortable but not posh accommodations, and excellent food. Her guides and expedition staff are among the best and most experienced in the business. The Plancius is a veteran of both our Antarctic and Spitsbergen programs. She is a great choice if you are looking for an excellent expedition experience at a reasonable cost.

The Plancius offers itineraries that visit the Falkland and South Georgia Islands as well as the Antarctic Peninsula. For an in-depth experience of one of our Antarctic voyages, visit our blog page and read Randy & Susie Green's account of our Falklands, South Georgia and Antarctica cruise.

Join us this season and follow the path of history’s polar explorers!

Looking for longer Antarctica cruises? Check out our Falklands, South Georgia & Antarctic Peninsula itineraries.

Sample itinerary for 11 day tour. Some departures (PLA22 and PLA30) include a Base Camp stay. Some departures (PLA23, PLA24, PLA25) include the South Shetland Islands. For travelers interested in a voyage that focuses on whale watching and photography, consider PLA32.

Programs may vary depending on local ice and weather conditions, the availability of landing sites and opportunities to see wildlife. The final itinerary will be determined by the Expedition Leader on board. Flexibility is paramount! Some departures include a basecamp stay, which is described below this itinerary. If you are interested in reading more about the various shore destinations and the wildlife you are likely to see, please read our Antarctica Guide.

Day 1: Embark in Ushuaia
Day 2 & 3: At sea, Drake Passage
Day 4: Deception Island, Baily Head
Day 5: Orkney Islands; Cuverville Island; Paradise Bay
Day 6: Lemaire Channel; Petermann Island; Pleneau Island
Day 7: Neumayer Channel; Gerlach Strait; Charlotte Bay
Day 8: Half Moon Island; Argentine Station; Hannah Point
Days 9 & 10: At sea, Drake Passage
Day 11: Arrive in the morning in Ushuaia, disembark for flight home.

Basecamp Itinerary (PLA22 and PLA30)

Days 4 - 8: We will sail directly to "High Antarctica", passing the Melchior islands and the Schollaert Channel between Brabant and Anvers Island. We visit Cuverville Island and Danco Island. At Almirante Brown we will have the opportunity to set foot on the Antarctic Continent itself. At Paradise Bay, will have the opportunity for zodiac cruising, shore landings and kayak outings between the icebergs in the inner parts of the fjords, and it is here we will position our ship for the multi activity base camp. The protected waters around Paradise Bay will become our playground for all activities. We will scout the region on foot, per zodiac and during kayak trips. Walkers will find opportunities to use snowshoes on hikes near the shore lines and the mountaineers will be challenged by climbing hills and view points further inland, weather permitting. We plan to stay at basecamp for two nights.

As we leave, we sail through the spectacular Lemaire Channel to Pleneau Island for a zodiac cruise. At Port Charcot and the mountains towering from Booth Island we will find another great place for outdoor activities. At Hovgaard Island we settle for a camp night ashore. Next day we will visit Petermann Island. Further south we may visit the historic station Wordie Hut near Argentine Island. Sailing north through the Lemaire Channel we arrive at the British research station and post office Port Lockroy , Goudier Island in the morning of the next day. We sail through Neumayer Channel via the Melchior Islands with its stunning landscape of icebergs.

South Shetland Islands itinerary (PLA23, PLA24, PLA25)

On Day 4, we sail into “High Antarctica”, passing the Melchior islands and the Schollaert Channel between Brabant and Anvers Island. In Neko Harbour we may be able to set foot on the Antarctic Continent in a stunning landscape of huge calving glaciers. In Paradise Bay, we again have the opportunity to set foot on the Continent. This is an excellent place to spot Humpback and Minke whales.
We sail through the spectacular Lemaire Channel to Pleneau and Petermann Island where we can find Adelie Penguins and Blue-eyed Shags.

As we head north we reach the South Shetland Islands. We will sail to Deception Island, where our ship braves the spectacular Neptune’s Bellow to harbor safely in the subducted crater of Deception Island. From here we sail to Half Moon Island, where we will find a variety of Chinstrap and Gentoo penguins.

On Day 8, 9, or 10, depending on the length of the itinerary, we are at sea again, heading north to cross the Drake Passage.

Looking for longer Antarctica cruises? Check out our Falklands, South Georgia & Antarctic Peninsula itineraries!

Shore Destinations

The Antarctic Peninsula

The peninsula encompasses a large number of islands, straits and inlets and we’ll explore many of them, weather conditions permitting. Below are just some of the possible targets and their features.

Paulet Island: Preserved by the cold climate, remains of several early 20th Century expeditions dot the island, such as the Nordenskiöld Expedition, and we’ll find a colony of hundreds of thousands of Adelie penguins here also.

Trinity Island: View thousands of gentoo penguins and Weddell and fur seals hauled out on the beach.

King George Island: Home to several research stations, and if time and the stations’ schedule permits, we will visit some for a look at the scientists’ activities.

Deception Island: Carefully navigating our ship through the impossibly narrow channel of Neptune's Bellows, we’ll anchor in a ancient caldera where volcanic activity warms the water enough for a swim! Explore old whaling installations and abandoned boats, along with cliffs with petrel nests.

Cuverville Island: a small precipitous island, nestled between the mountains of the Antarctic Peninsula. It contains a large colony of gentoo penguins and breeding pairs of brown skuas.

Charlotte Bay: A chance to set foot on the Antarctic Peninsula itself as well as observe crabeater seals.

Hannah Point: One of the best wildlife spots in the area. Great for giant petrels, cape pigeons, blue-eyed shags, gentoo, chinstrap and possibly macaroni penguins, plus elephant seals.

Paradise Bay: Home to colonies of thousands of chinstrap and gentoo penguins.

Gerlach Straits, Lemaire, Neumeyer, Errata Channels: Some of the most spectacular scenery on your voyage can be viewed here. Precipitous mountains and massive tidewater glaciers line the shore and enormous icebergs dot the channels.

At Sea: While sailing between our land destinations, your time will be spent attending fascinating lectures by our top expedition staff and speakers. On deck, you’ll want to be ever-vigilant for a wide variety of whale species: orca, humpback, minke and possibly a blue whale. Seabirds follow our ship and will keep your binoculars busy: MacCormick skua, snow, giant, white-chinned and storm petrels and the elusive juvenile emperor penguins.

Looking for longer Antarctica cruises? Check out our Falklands, South Georgia & Antarctic Peninsula itineraries!

Departure Information for 2012-2013:

Tour Code	Date	N/D	Quad porthole	Triple porthole	Twin porthole	Twin window	Twin deluxe	Superior
PLA22 CKMPS	Nov 22- Dec 3	11/12	$7,390	$8,090	$8,790	$9,190	$9.790	$10,850
*PLA23 CKPS	Dec 3-13	10/11	$6,690	$7,390	$8,050	$8,390	$8,890	$9,890
*PLA24 CKS	Dec 13-22	9/10	$6,090	$6,650	$7,190	$7,550	$8,050	$8,890
*PLA25 CKS	Dec 22-02 Jan	11/12	$8,050	$8,850	$9,590	$9,990	$10,550	$11,750
PLA28 CK	Feb 7-17, 2013	10/11	$7,650	$8,350	$9,050	$9,490	$9,990	$11,150
PLA29 CK	Feb 17-26, 2013	9/10	$6,890	$7,550	$8,190	$8,490	$9,050	$10,190
PLA30 CDH KMP	Feb 26- Mar 9 2013 Base Camp	11/12	$7,390	$8,090	$8,750	$9,190	$9,790	$10,850
PLA31 CDKP	Mar 9-20, 2013 Polar Circle	11/12	$7,390	$8,090	$8,750	$9,190	$9,790	$10,850
PLA32 DKP	Mar 20-29 2013 Whales	9/10	$5,690	$6,190	$6,690	$6,990	$7,490	$8,190

Single supplement: 1.7 times share price in any style cabin.

* Antarctica Peninsula with South Shetland Islands

Legend: PLA = Plancius; N/D: Nights/Days; Private bathrooms. C: Camping; D: Diving available for certified divers USD $490/diver (min. 8, max. 24); K: Kayaking option USD $400/person; M: Mountaineering on Basecamp ; P: Photo Workshop, $420; S: Snowshoeing, free; T: Trekking; B: Bilingual voyage English is first language and German is second language; Hiking 2-3 hours free.

**Polar Circle & Antarctic Peninsula Itinerary. Conditions permiting, this voyage will venture further south to cross the Antarctic Circle.

Prices for Plancius include: Cruise, all meals on voyage, all excursions and activities, lectures by naturalists, transfers between Ushuaia Airport and ship. Single Supplement is 1.7 times the share rate (please consult with our office for details). Not included: air from your home to Ushuaia, Argentina, hotel accommodations, alcoholic beverages, laundry and items of a personal nature. Because of the high cost of fuel, a reasonable fuel surcharge may be billed on final invoice, depending on fuel price fluctuations).

Single supplement is 1.7 times share price.

Registration
To confirm your space on these tours, please contact our office. 1.800.808.4492 or 206.463.1943

Deposit: 25% of trip cost by credit card or check. final payment is by check only.

Cancellation Policy
In the event you must cancel your reservation, refunds will be made according to the following schedule: Deposit is nonrefundable. 90 to 61 days prior to departure, 50% of total is nonrefundable; less than 60 days prior to departure, 100% nonrefundable.

Fuel surcharge: If world fuel prices reach or exceed US Dollar 90 per Barrel Brent 90 days prior to departure then the boat operator reserves the right to levy a fuel surcharge of $25 USD per night per passenger to be paid prior to travel.

Insurance
Because many advance logistical arrangements have been made prior to the running of this trip, we must adhere to the above policy. In light of this, we strongly recommend trip cancellation insurance. An application form will be sent to you upon request, or you may purchase it on your own. Because of the remote location, emergency medical evacuation insurance is required. Please check your personal insurance coverage and make sure it is applicable in foreign countries. Emergency medical evacuation insurance is a component of the insurance program IWA offers.

The Plancius

M/V Plancius started her life in 1976 as an oceanographic research vessel for the Royal Dutch Navy and was named “Hr. Ms. Tydeman”. In June 2004, the vessel was taken out of active service as a research vessel and was purchased for refitting as a polar expedition vessel in December 2006.

Rebuilt in 2009 as a 112-passenger vessel, it complies with the latest SOLAS-regulations (Safety Of Life At Sea), is classed by Lloyd’s Register in London and flies the Dutch flag.

The Plancius is comfortable and attractively decorated, but is not a luxury vessel. Our voyages in the Arctic and Antarctic regions are and will still be primarily defined by a top-quality exploratory educational travel programme, spending as much time ashore as possible. This vessel fully meets our demands to achieve this and provide comfortable accomodations during our days at sea.

M/v “Plancius” was named after the Dutch astronomer, cartographer, geologist and vicar Petrus Plancius (1552 – 1622). Plancius theorised the existence of an accessible northern passage to Asia and his theory encouraged several northern discovery voyages at the end of the 16th century. A Dutch expedition - under the command of Willem Barentsz - discovered Spitsbergen, but got stuck in the pack-ice of Novaya Semlya (now Russian territory). Those discoveries gave rise of the 17th century whaling industry in Spitsbergen.

M/V Plancius can accommodate 112 passengers in 54 passenger cabins with private toilet and shower in 4 triple private cabins, 40 twin private cabins (ca. 15 square meters) and 10 twin superior cabins (ca. 21 square meters).

The vessel is manned by 30 international crew members (inc. 10 stewardesses/cabin cleaners), 6 hotel staff (4 chefs, 1 purser and 1 steward-barman), 6 expedition staff (1 expedition leader and 5 guides-lecturers) and 1 doctor.