Antarctica wasn’t a destination that I would have picked to go on a holiday, but Robyn had it on her bucket list and asked me if I would like to go. I actually went with the attitude that if you see some snow, ice and a few icebergs, then you have seen it all. Boy, was I wrong!
Our first and last two days we stayed in Buenos Aries and luckily we were provided with our personal tour guides who were very informative about the culture and history of the city.
I was totally mesmerized by Antarctica. I couldn’t believe how many different shapes, sizes and colours there are in the icebergs. We saw plenty of wildlife, seals, whales and umpteen penguins. Penguins are just too cute for words and luckily we spotted a few that had babies. Before we went on our trip, we were warned about the stench of penguin poo, and as I learnt from the research crew it is known as guano. It was a bit smelly, but definitely not as bad as I was expecting.
We learnt a lot from Chimu’s very enthusiastic research crew about what is being done to keep Antarctica in a pristine state. We were told to stay 5 metres away from the penguins and to stay still while they travel along the penguin highways. In some cases this rule became difficult as some of them would come straight toward us, that is until they realised we weren’t a rock, then they veered off in another direction.
The ship, Ocean Endeavour was not like the gigantic cruise ships that take thousands of passengers; it was a small ship and catered for about 200 passengers. Because of its size, they were able to venture further into the Antarctic Circle and all passengers had the opportunity to go ashore on the Zodiac boats.
We were lucky on our trip that it snowed on two days. Even though the temperature was apparently about zero, you didn’t really notice that it was that cold. The operation of the daily outings by Chimu, actually the whole trip was very well organised.
I am so glad that I took this trip, it was definitely something different.
Denise & Robyn
New South Wales
We had a wonderful time, with great accommodation in LA and the land tour and transfers worked very well. The ports were all excellent and although we did not do tours we were happy walking around the local areas and sampling their food and shopping. The ship, Island Princess, was great. Having done most of our cruising on Oceania, we were very pleased with both the size of the ship, its amenities and food choices. Staff were amazing and all entertainment were excellent. Thank you for your assistance in planning this package, and we will certainly keep in touch.”
Judy & Malcolm
New South Wales
We highly recommend Malcolm for his exceptional travel advice and organisation skills for our trip to Vietnam. Everything ran smoothly, thanks to his meticulous planning and attention to detail.
Malcolm ensured we had all the relevant information needed for a seamless and enjoyable experience. His expertise and thoughtful guidance made our trip truly memorable.
Thank you, Malcolm, for your outstanding support!”
Vanessa & Jonathan
New South Wales
Long time Cruise Express clients Loraine and John enjoyed a fabulous cruise with Viking in Egypt and have shared some fantastic photos with us.
“Egypt & Jordan – our advice – you have to love ruins & really want see them – the sand & heat that accompany them can be challenging. In saying that, we had one of the best time of our lives and Viking were a big part of that!
It was our first Viking Cruise and we are now converts….. they go that extra mile & take care of EVERYTHING (especially the luggage)…. “Stress Free Travelling”. And, of course, Cruise Express take the stress out of the rest – from booking to the welcome home!”
Loraine & John
Sydney, New South Wales
We used Cruise Express to plan and book our recent trip to Europe.
With the help of Malcolm, we were able to cruise the Mediterranean for 2 weeks on the new and stunning, Sun Princess, followed by another 2 amazing weeks traveling through Italy and Germany reaching a crescendo at The German Moto GP. Using his wealth of knowledge and experience Malcolm had us staying in some of the nicest hotels, travelling between cities faultlessly on trains and booked on tours of places that you can’t just turn up to, like The Colleseum.
Nothing was too much trouble. We can’t thank Malcolm and the Team at Cruise Express enough for helping us achieve what has so far become our trip of a lifetime. We are already looking to plan our next trip and a call to Malcolm will be our first stop. I wouldn’t go anywhere else.
David & Kylie
NSW Central Coast
