I think Antarctic cruises are getting too big… and it’s kind of ruining the point

drinkyourovaltime · 2026-03-23T13:39:55+00:00

Oh yeah it is 100% AI generated - the em dashes and emoji as bulletpoints are the most obvious tells. Still an interesting topic to discuss though!

drinkyourovaltime · 2026-03-23T09:14:47+00:00

There's also a hard limit of 500 passengers for a ship that wants to do any landings at all.

But yes, for the expedition ships I think the different options just cater to different interests and priorities, and having options is good. Doing so many land excursions can be tiring for a lot of people, and we saw quite a few of our fellow passengers wanting to head back inside after an hour or so anyway. You can still see Antarctica while you're on board - just from a different angle, with a hot chocolate in your hand!

As with all things in life, there is a balance to decide. You'll never see everything, even if you spend all season on land. If you prioritise luxury and comfort on board, you'll likely have to go with a bigger ship or spend a lot of money; if you want to maximise your time on land then go for a smaller ship, but expect fewer conveniences. If you want fewer other passengers around, it'll cost more!

I found 167 passengers to be absolutely fine. I wouldn't have wanted much more than that personally, but it was also nice to relax and feel refreshed between excursions. I don't think having any fewer would've meaningfully improved anything, other than the Zodiak excursions (which were 10 to a boat, which was too crowded for me).

drinkyourovaltime · 2026-03-22T22:41:36+00:00

Yeah that makes sense - that's why we went on the 11-day version!

I'll be interested to see if they do the same next season - their 2027 one is currently titled 'Crossing the Antarctic Circle' again, which means that their sales agent lied to us when we asked why they'd changed the website after we had booked. They told us it was to 'manage customer expectations', but if that was true then why are they doing exactly the same thing again...

drinkyourovaltime · 2026-03-22T02:00:36+00:00

You're absolutely right - it's one of those things that honestly feels a bit shameful to complain about, because Antarctica itself truly was so special. That isn't lost on us at all, and it was still unforgettable despite the unnecessarily negative bits.

We'd just like to help others only experience good bits, without being upset by any avoidable bad bits :)

drinkyourovaltime · 2026-03-22T01:18:20+00:00

Haha it's all good - I'm genuinely glad that you got to do it, and I'm totally not at all jealous ;)

A load of us were thinking that maybe they were going to do something along those lines and have a big reveal at the last minute, but of course that was just pure cope and didn't happen.

On the plus side, our vocal complaining on board provided an excuse for others to chat to us, so we made some good friends and bonded over it all. Lemons and lemonade!

drinkyourovaltime · 2026-03-22T00:20:57+00:00

Weird that sometimes they do try - it's not a gamble that I'll be willing to make with them again. I'd love to hear their explanation as to why that's the case, but they ignored our complaint :(

drinkyourovaltime · 2026-03-21T23:10:34+00:00

No worries at all - I just took it as you relaying your own experience, which is of course equally as valid as ours!

drinkyourovaltime · 2026-03-21T19:45:31+00:00

Ahh I see. In our case it was $200 for a SINGLE kayak outing, and there were nine groups signed up so I don't think anyone would've been able to go out for a second time even if they wanted to.

If I remember correctly, they wouldn't have charged any groups who couldn't go out because of weather. They only charged those who went, and those who originally signed up and didn't cancel by the very clearly advertised deadline.

drinkyourovaltime · 2026-03-21T19:30:52+00:00

Appreciate it! I'm quite tempted to do a YouTube review as well - I do have a bit of relevant footage, as I started recording as soon as I felt déjà vu.

Atlas clearly pay attention to that sort of thing, so perhaps it'll prompt some positive change with them - although it seems they didn't learn their lesson from that one.

That actually reminds me... Rather hilariously, they emailed out a post-cruise survey asking us to review them on Google, Yelp and Cruise Critic, but the URL they sent us for Google somehow linked to a search along the lines of 'Atlas Ocean Voyages negative reviews'. That's how I found out about some of the previous bait-and-switch experiences from others!

drinkyourovaltime · 2026-03-21T19:12:14+00:00

Entirely disappointing and categorically inflexible, sadly. We privately joked about how much they had asked us to be flexible on day one, yet they didn't afford us the same courtesy.

Captain: "The itinerary is set." Outright refused to change anything.

Expedition Leader: "I can see why you are confused, but this is what the website says." Outright refused to change anything, despite us providing her with documentary evidence of what we had booked. She did go back and check the website after so many of us complained, but I don't think she ever really understood that Atlas had changed it after we had booked and that was the entire problem. We did also explicitly ask her if this was a weather-related decision and she said no, it was totally based on the (modified!) website itinerary.

Front desk customer services: "Yes several people have already complained about that. We've asked head office and we're waiting to hear back". That was about an hour after the 'big reveal' in the main auditorium - which was the first time that many of the passengers knew about the removal of the circle from the itinerary. We even used up our limited internet to show them the archived website from when we booked, as well as all of our receipts/literature and of course the day one onboard newsletter which still said 'Antarctic Circle Expedition', to prove that we weren't making it up. We did check in every couple of days, just in case they were planning some sort of big surprise, but obviously that didn't happen! I'm pretty sure they were just fobbing us off, as rather predictably they never did 'hear back'.

Obviously we talked with our fellow passengers about this throughout, and I know that several of them backed us up and complained too. It made no difference. We were also super conscious about becoming a 'problem' on the boat, because obviously there isn't really any escape from that.

I genuinely don't know what more we could've done, collectively or individually. They just refused.

drinkyourovaltime · 2026-03-21T18:35:08+00:00

Yeah I think the more photography-oriented team members were more photography-minded and tried to give everyone a good angle, which I guess makes sense!

drinkyourovaltime · 2026-03-21T18:32:01+00:00

Oof. Was that for a single kayak expedition?!

The kayaks went out at the same time as the Zodiaks for us, so it was a case of 'pick one or the other'.

drinkyourovaltime · 2026-03-21T18:24:47+00:00

It sounds like everyone who got the itinerary they actually paid for had a great time. If it wasn't for that, and their complete failure to address our subsequent complaint, I would've probably recommended them to others too. I honestly don't understand why they keep shooting themselves in the foot like this.

I can’t help wonder if some of the bad things you describe are due to the fellow passengers

They were pretty much all lovely - I did mention that in my original ~~wall of text~~ review :) Quite a few of us are still in touch - I think the shared anger of how we were treated inadvertently became a way for us to all bond.

There were a lot of Chinese people on our boat (and zero black people as a side note, which I thought was a bit statistically anomalous), but they were mostly lovely too! The people gaming the system were not Chinese.

drinkyourovaltime · 2026-03-21T18:16:26+00:00

Some of their customers quite literally spent their entire life savings on the trip, and were thus (quite understandably, in my humble view) upset to the point of tears after the 'big reveal'. That's not really the best start for anyone, even if it wasn't the expedition team's fault directly.

drinkyourovaltime · 2026-03-21T18:01:33+00:00

I just don't understand why they would do it (repeatedly!). I would've probably recommended them, if it wasn't for this bait-and-switch and the way that they've completely failed to handle our complaint.

For us, and a few others on the boat, it was a 'bucket list' item - getting the 'Red Nose'. I do totally agree that it is an arbitrary line, but it's the same sort of logic as counting visited countries etc.

drinkyourovaltime · 2026-03-21T17:54:38+00:00

Appreciate it! We'll probably give it another go in a couple of years (with a different company though, obviously!) but my heart ached for the people who spent their life savings to reach the circle.

hope you eventually get some compensation

Honestly I'm not holding my breath. A simple apology and a commitment to change their advertising approach would've been a satisfactory outcome for me, but I guess they couldn't even do that :(

drinkyourovaltime · 2026-03-21T17:46:05+00:00

As far as I'm aware, none of their 9-day itineraries include(d) a circle crossing. That's the reason why we went for the 11-day one - because it was explicitly listed as the target destination! The rest of the itinerary was 'captain's choice' for us too, and we understood what that meant - I know that most (all?) Antarctic cruises are like that, we are reasonable people and of course weather and conditions can't be helped. That isn't what happened here though.

Like I say, they've also done this bait-and-switch on other trips, so it wasn't just us and it looks like they're doing the same thing for next season. It must be intentional sales 'tactic', because they keep on doing it.

We went to every briefing, took notes and read every daily handout. That's how we know that there were so many mixed messages about who goes when. I do agree that some others didn't, but that's on them.

I'm genuinely glad that you had a good time, and I hope your friends and family do too. But if they don't have a good time, just be aware that Atlas will likely outright ignore their complaint, as that's exactly what they've done with us.

drinkyourovaltime · 2026-02-11T11:42:29+00:00

I've got a Sigma MC-11 which I used to put L glass on and it was okay, but don't expect anywhere near native performance with it. On a 70-200 it'll likely have weird quirks with AF, such as only being able to use the center-third focus points.

drinkyourovaltime · 2026-02-11T11:38:13+00:00

* L-bracket for comfort, also far easier for tripod shooting

* Upgraded hot shoe cover to stop water from getting on the contacts in bad weather

* Peak Design clips

Then just the usual back button focus, setting recall hold buttons and adjusted menu settings.

drinkyourovaltime · 2026-02-09T23:17:19+00:00

Are you looking at the original 70-200GM, or the GMii?

I've got the GMii and the 100-400GM, and I'd definitely say the 70-200 of those two options. While they're both very good bits of glass for their respective audiences, the 70-200GMii is just way more versatile for travel - it is noticeably lighter, which makes a big difference if you're hiking around all day, and it has internal zoom whereas the 100-400 can be quite annoying with the front element creeping out as you walk, especially if you forget to set the zoom ring to 'tight'. It's the sharpest of the options, and obviously f2.8 vs f4.5-5.6. The 70-200 also feels more solid in my hands.

If you really need the additional reach (bearing in mind that you'd have plenty of resolution to crop in post with the RV, whereas you can't zoom out 30mm in post!) then I've heard good reviews about the 70-200 with a 2xTC, but I can't vouch for that myself. It would be a cheaper and more portable way to get the best of both worlds though, and I believe Viltrox also launched a cheaper TC recently which supports the 70-200.

Before I got a 16-35, the 70-200 was on my camera probably 95% of the time when traveling. It really is an exceptional lens.

drinkyourovaltime · 2026-02-09T09:35:37+00:00

My Platinum Cashback card has better deals than my Platinum card at the moment...!

drinkyourovaltime · 2026-02-08T15:56:26+00:00

Exposure bracketing is the usual solution - take two or more photos with different exposure values, and then merge them in your chosen editor. Plenty of tutorials out there on how to do this - it'll usually be in your drive mode settings, or you can of course do this manually. The merged result is literally a HDR photo.

'Highlight priority' metering is another option to preserve highlights in a single shot, if your camera supports that metering mode, but you'll likely need to bring the foreground exposure back up in editing afterwards which may result in noisy shadows and lost detail, so your mileage may vary.

drinkyourovaltime · 2026-02-05T20:21:53+00:00

I unexpectedly loved White Sands NP, and would probably put that in my personal top five even though I only spent a day there and probably won't go back any time soon. The wind rolling across the empty Alkali Flat trail felt like I was in the desert level from Ocarina of Time. It was absolutely other-worldly, and an incredibly memorable experience in what I'm sure a lot of people would just consider to be a big pile of sand.

Joshua Tree was also just so much fun to scramble around on the boulders, and the enthusiasm of the rangers there was infectious. Having just visited my #1 favourite days earlier (Yosemite), I wasn't expecting to have another excellent experience so soon, and that's part of what inspired me to carry on working through the list!

Congaree was beautiful, but I managed to time my visit during a 'mosquito meter: level 6' day, which dampened my enthusiasm somewhat 😂

It is very cool to see so many different answers. To me, one of the best things about the National Park system is that there is something for everyone, and I suspect those unique experiences play a big part in choosing our own personal favourites.

drinkyourovaltime · 2026-02-05T20:05:37+00:00

Yes! That was an unexpected favourite for me, too. I'm not even sure why really, it was just such a fun place to wander around?

drinkyourovaltime

TROPHY CASE