Sailing in comfort aboard the comfortable and well-appointed Ioffe, we begin this 11-night expedition at the tip of South America. We chart a course through the Drake Passage and make our first landfall in the South Shetland Islands on our way to the Weddelll Sea – the ice-choked sea made famous by the saga of Sir Ernest Shackleton and his men from the Endurance expedition.

This area is also the realm of the Emperor penguin and, over the Christmas holidays, we will spend a few days among the islands of the Weddell Sea?s western shore in search of the Emperor, the largest of the 17 penguin species and the most vividly colored.

Images of massive tabular icebergs and ice-choked waters come to mind when contemplating the Weddell Sea - all sights that we hope to see and experience over the course of our expedition cruise.

We will push for Paulet Island, home to one of the Peninsula?s largest penguin rookeries, before heading south to Snow Hill Island, the base for the Heroic Age Nordenskjold expedition and Seymour Island, where scientists are still finding fossils of giant penguins.

Hardy adventurers, or those with a yen for history, have the chance to camp out on the ice overnight and feel the thrill and audacity of those early explorers who attempted to conquer the white continent.

Our departure from the Weddell Sea will take us north to the Falkland Islands where we hope to see King penguins before disembarking in Port Stanley.

Today is the first day of our adventure. As we board the Ioffe in Ushuaia, the world?s southernmost city at the tip of Argentina, and start to become familiar with "our home" for the next 12 days we cannot help but wonder about the exciting journey ahead of us. In the early evening, we set sail and begin our voyage leaving behind Ushuaia and charting a course through the Beagle Channel.

Crossing the Drake Passage, there is so much excitement in the air as we make our way ever closer to the white continent. Guests eagerly soak up the friendly atmosphere onboard as our numerous Polar experts prepare us for our adventures with presentations on everything Antarctic from wildlife and exploration history to glaciers, and ice. Eventually, we will cross the Antarctic Convergence where we will notice a distinct drop in temperature as we enter the waters of the Antarctic Ocean. Along the way, we will witness many spectacular sights from icebergs to an array of seabirds and maybe even whale and dolphin sightings.

We make our first landfall in the South Shetland Islands, a chain of islands known for their more maritime climate and abundance of wildlife. We will cruise these volcanic islands in search of chinstrap penguin rookeries, perhaps the wafting „steam? of a southern elephant seal wallow or the signs of exploration left on the beaches in the form of tri-pots and abandoned whaling stations.

Weather permitting we hope to visit Deception Island with a goal of visiting the chinstrap penguin rookery at Baily Head. If weather precludes this we will attempt a landing inside this active volcanic caldera. With rugged scenery, great sites of geologic interest and an overwhelming display of whaling and scientific exploration history, Deception Island is a perfect museum of natural and exploration history. For those wanting to stretch their legs, a spectacular hike to the crater rim offers a challenge.

At about 25 nautical miles long and about 10 nautical miles wide, the Antarctic Sound separates Joinville Island from the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. As we sail into the sound, we will look to our starboard and the vastness of the Antarctic icecap, imagining the sweeping katabatic (gravity-driven) winds that this region is famous for.

As we sail through the sound and into the Weddell Sea, the only difference discernable will be an increase in the number of large tabular icebergs and the presence of sea ice. Our goal will be to explore the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula and its offshore islands. In particular this region is home to Adelie penguin rookeries of astonishing size. We will maximize our time onshore as well as in our inflatable landing craft, absorbing as much of the wilderness and beauty as possible. Planned excursions may include Paulet Island, Brown Bluff and even the southerly Snow Hill Island, where we will observe Weddell and elephant seals and other seabirds as well as a shocking abundance of penguins.

One of our excursions will be planned with the aim of landing on the physical continent of Antarctica itself and not just on an offshore island. There are a few landing spots that will fall into this category and, as we visit them, some of us may pause to consider the bravery and/or foolhardiness of those who traveled a hundred years before us. To gain a better appreciation of those explorers, some of us may choose to camp ashore overnight. Whatever your vantage point, whether onboard or from shore, expect to feel transformed as you experience twilight from the very bottom of the planet.

As we sail south among the islands of the Weddell Sea?s western shore, we are in the realm of the Emperor penguin, the largest of the penguins, and everyone will be on deck keeping a lookout for our "Christmas bird".

Late on Christmas Eve we virtually backtrack along the same route the "Endurance" drifted heading northwards towards Point Wild on Elephant Island.

As we approach Elephant Island by ship, we will marvel at the incredible hardiness of the men of the Endurance expedition who sailed small boats to Elephant Island from the ice edge. Their landfall at a tiny outcropping on the North shore of Elephant Island must have been a marvelous feeling for them. The landing site is called Point Wild, named after Frank Wild who was Shackleton?s second in command and the boss of the camp on Elephant Island. We will attempt a landing at this notoriously challenging landing site before continuing North to the Falklands.

Whilst sailing across to the Falkland Islands our onboard polar experts will recap on our Weddell Sea adventures and prepare us for the days ahead.

We will explore the islands of West Point and Saunders, both in the West Falklands Archipelago. West Point is known for its bustling rookeries of rockhopper penguins whilst Saunders Island has four species of breeding penguin including gentoo, Magellanic, rockhopper and our goal for the Falkland Island visit, the king penguin.

In the early morning, we will arrive into Port Stanley, the capital of the Falkland Islands. It is time to say farewell to your crew and fellow travelers. Guests will be transferred to the airport in Port Stanley for the scheduled flight to Santiago, Chile.

PLEASE NOTE: The Flight from Port Stanley to Santiago is NOT included in the trip price.