Why Cruise Antarctica and Why Atlas Ocean Voyages?
I have just completed my 2nd cruise to the Great White on a 9-night journey aboard Atlas Ocean Voyages 10,000 ton, 423 foot long, 6 deck, 184 passenger polar class yacht, World Traveller.
This lovely “yacht” was introduced in November of 2022 sailing on a myriad of voyages to Antarctica.
I want to first pint out this is very different from a large ship ocean cruise that might offer a few “cruise by” of Antarctic glaciers for 2 or 3 days and then head back to a full South America itinerary. The big ships are not ice proof, nor do they have polar hulls so there are no landings but photo stops to take pictures of floating icebergs and some protected bays for the larger ships safety.
An Expedition ship, however, has a polar class ice proof hull, can sail deep into Antarctic waters and even cross well below the Antarctic Circle (66 degree), and allows its passengers ashore up to 100 maximum at a time but with Expedition team experts ensuring safety and protection of the environment. The Expedition style cruise focuses on guest comforts of course, safety, but a myriad of programming all built around Antarctica. These much smaller “yacht” ships mostly carry up to 200 passengers and 200 crew depending on the brand and create an incredible personal experience in the Great White!
My journey was a 9-night program sailing roundtrip from Ushuaia, at the bottom of Argentina and included a roundtrip charter flight on Aerolinas Argentinas from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia to meet the cruise. The itinerary included 2-days each way cruising Drakes Passage from Ushuaia to get to the Antarctic Peninsula. A day was spent at the Shetland Islands and then 4 additional days visiting the Peninsula including 2 landings or zodiac cruises each day weather permitting. This cruise was fortunate to allow such at every stop.
The ships itinerary and stops are determined by the Captain, based on ever changing and often hostile weather conditions. You can have clear sunshine and 30 minutes later a full-blown snowstorm. Speaking of weather, the temperature on the late February/March cruise ranged a constant 32 degrees for the high each day and a low of 30 degrees at night. The weather consisted of wind, sleet, snow, more snow, and sunshine. It was a mixed bag and made the experience quite brilliant.
For the traveler, shore visits are about an hour’s length each time and one suits up for the outing. Recommended attire include wool long underwear top and bottom, perhaps an outer layer of clothing for those worried about getting too cool. A pair of thermal socks, a must is waterproof outer pants and gloves, a gaiter (face covering), goggles, and a cap to cover your ears.
The cruise line provides a heavy duty (take home) parka that has many layers and pockets and is waterproof. They also provide Muck Boots for your zodiac cruises and Antarctic landings.
The tours are designated in groups A-F and evenly rotated so everyone gets a fair chance to go ashore in a timely and efficient matter. When your Alpha is called, you head to the main lounge and await direction to go to the mud room where you finish suiting up with your park, boots, and life vest.
The excursions are conducted by a hefty team of Expedition leaders who are well experienced in all aspects of Antarctic travel, conditions, and each has areas of expertise on the fauna, flora, and ornithology. They also orchestrate the tours to see the wildlife with thousands of penguins with multiple species where you walk among these amazing natives in a safe and very controlled manner. One is not allowed to sit down once ashore or touch anything on ground. The Expedition Team are everywhere to ensure protocol is taken and are great guides filled with loads of facts and information making the shoreside experience brilliant.
For the zodiac tours, one cruises among massive icebergs (Some bigger than the expedition ship), to see a variety of whales, birds, and sea lions, seals. The wildlife NEVER disappointed on this trip with incredible zodiac tours that were safe and exciting.
The average passenger age on my sailing was incredibly diverse with a handful of children 10-12 years old, many younger active guests 20-40’s, but half the guests were 50+.
This is a cruise where you can choose to be as active or passive as you wish. The scenery never disappoints and each day provides a new landscape of incredible snowcapped mountains, glaciers, icebergs, and of course, amazing wildlife.
The Expedition Team also hold compulsory meetings to cover safety, answer questions and offer a nightly re-cap of the days excursions which was informative and enhanced the experience.
They also provide wonderful lectures on the sea days talking about the Continent, its geopolitical stance, and the wildlife based on each team members level of knowledge and expertise.
Antarctica does not disappoint and while it’s not a cruise for everyone, it is one of the most amazing places to visit and will amaze you with her unspoiled majesty. This shouldn’t be just a trip for Continent collectors but a trip for those deeply interested in the planet, wildlife, and want to experience untouched nature at its finest and perhaps harshest.
About Atlas Voyages World Traveller
Atlas Ocean Voyages is part of a multi-billion dollar privately held Portuguese company called Mystic Cruises that owns some 20 plus vessels on Europe’s rivers and oceans and charters these vessels to well-known competitors. Atlas is the brainchild of the owner XXXX and will have 4-5 of these lovely yacht-like vessels in the fleet in coming 2 years.
As I have already provided the ships stats at the outset of this article, the World Traveller is only 4 months in the water and still teething some new ship technical issues like some cracked wall panels and elevator out of service. All of these are shipbuilder warranty issues and easily fixable. The ship has primarily decks 4-7 for guests to navigate and is very easy to get around.
Theis ship is a polar class registered vessel and has the ability to safely navigate ice but is not an ice-breaker. She has a traditional shaft propulsion system, three Rolls Royce diesel engines, and is built with multiple safety redundancy systems and has the highest safety and navigation equipment available today. Traveller also has two large stabilizer fins to help keep her stable in the ever changing Drakes Passage crossing.
The ships exterior is low in profile and very sleek looking more like a billionaires yacht than a cruise ship. Her interiors were designed by award winning Portuguese design group Oitoemponto and have created the feel of a retro 1950’s Italian luxury liner. The ship is adorned with rich dark faux wood paneling resembling a luxury liner of the past, has rich wool carpets custom designed throughout, and couture furnishings. Her artworks are black and white photos of old sailing vessels and ocean liner of the past. The overall feel is quite elegant and attention to detail throughout is quite stunning. My only downside complaint here is the fake plants strategically positioned look as such and need to be replaced with real plants or better options.
Deck 4 has a few Oceanview single or double occupancy cabins at 183 square feet and these have a fixed window. This is also where the large mudroom is located and where guest suit up to go ashore. Each cabin and suite have a dedicated locker area to store gear, parkas, and boots. When your alpha numeric is called, the groups head down to the mudroom to dress up for the zodiac departures ashore or for your expedition zodiac cruise.
Deck 5 is the main public room area with a 150 seat tiered theater called Vasco de Gama Auditorium for lectures, film, and presentations (the name is appropriate to Portuguese heritage as are all the public room names), The elegant Atlas (main) lounge with a well-appointed library located on a forward wall, the front office, Paula’s Pantry ( my favorite spot that is Starbucks like with pastries, juices, tea, coffee, sandwiches, and salads freshly provided throughout the day), a fitness studio, gifts shop, L’Occitane Spa where facials and massages are provided for a cost, and a free to use spa relaxation room with a massive co-ed dry sauna. At the aft end of the vessel is the 150seat Lisboa dining room where breakfast and lunch are buffet and dinners are menu provided served by an affable team of international wait staff. The menus and buffet change every day, so boredom doesn’t take place as on this vessel, there is no separate lido or alternative dining venue. Food quality is very fresh and tasty, but I would not consider this vessel luxury class but high premium class for this primary reason alone. The other luxury vessels in Antarctica do offer alternative dining and separate dining venues vs. one on this ship.
Having said this, the Atlas brand does offer two large outdoor dining venues when in warm water (Med /European sailings) which would enhance the dining options from the cold water- one main venue option only.
While drinks and Wi-Fi are also included, there is a caveat. If you want premium beverages or Wi-Fi beyond 1 gigabyte, you pay according to consumption. Staff gratuities are included, however, I opted to tip as I went along due to very kind and personal service provided.
Deck 5 and 6 are incredibly handsome cabins and suites that range 270-465 feet in size. The main selection of cabins are the B1/B2 balcony cabins which are 270 square feet including the outer sitting balcony. These all have a queen-sized bed with elegant linens, sitting area with two small chairs, table, vanity, nice closet, and beautifully appointed bathroom with glass tiled multi head option shower. All bathroom amenities are L’Occitaine. A Krups coffee make, tea kettle, stocked mini bar with juices and beer, and binoculars are also provided. There are two plush bathrobes provided and room service is available…
My favorite class of cabin are the Horizon Suites H1/H2 also 270 square feet. These do not have a sit out balcony but provide a much larger sitting area with a full sized couch and includes a push button sliding down glass window where the cabin has an on demand French balcony. This set up is more ideal for Polar cruising especially and already the standard on most river cruise ships in Europe.
The suites provide separate sitting and living areas, larger bathrooms, and a full tub in the top Navigator Suite. These include butler service, more room service options, 2 bags of free laundry, two premium bottles of alcohol, and some other higher end amenities.
Deck 7 is the pool deck where the ship offers a heated (27 Celsius) swimming pool, bar, outdoor grill area, heated jacuzzi (32 degrees Celsius), there are padded deck chairs, a walking track above, and at the front of the ship is the gorgeous Dome Observation Lounge with 360 degree panorama views, a bar, ap lace for evening entertainment, high tea, and relaxation area to take it all in! This was my favorite lounge onboard by far!
The zodiacs and kayaks are located on Deck 8 at the aft end of the ship tucked away from passengers.
The service onboard is provided by a truly international crew. The captain was Ukrainian, Hotel Manager from Portugal, and the crew from all over Europe and Asia. All were friendly, smiling, and always willing to visit with guests and make one feel they were on a yacht vs. a small cruise ship. This is why I call the World Traveller a yacht due to her intimate size but moreover, her exceptional crew.
The Cruise Director, American, Michael Shapiro, has a long career in the cruise business and not only manages the daily execution of all the outings but was a terrific Broadway style singer who provided three separate shows singing a variety of musical tastes from pop to classics. He is a superstar and his tireless energy and dedication to the guests onboard is applauded…
In summary as you peruse my varied photos of World Traveller and Antarctica is that Atlas Ocean Voyages provides a very good value for the money and has a unique niche in the high premium small ship cruise and Expedition marketplace.
I will be sailing once again on World Traveller hosting clients for 11 nights January 4, 2024. Please check out my hosted departure here:
Please see my complete photo tour of World Traveller and my Antarctica Cruise HERE https://cruisecenter.smugmug.com/Atlas-Ocean-Voyages-World-Traveller/
Tom Baker Cruises Blog 
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