Tour Director: Anne Thompson

There is nowhere on Earth more awe-inspiring than the White Continent of Antarctica. Surrounded by the otherworldly backdrops blanketed in virgin snow, we'll discover the Anarctic Peninsula and the Anarctic Sound, where endless untouched white mountains roll to the horizon and massive glaciers churn icebergs into the sea. As the austral summer burgeons, the small-ship Antarctica expedition will take us into an ethereal world of never-ending blue glaciers, extreme temperatures, and towering mountains, creating an awe-inspiring majesty unlike anything we have encountered before. With a plenitude of wildlife flying, swimming, and waddling the shores and the continent's surprisingly rich and varied history, this ultimate adventure will keep on giving long after we’ve returned home. If it is change that you are after, if it is peace and tranquility you search, if it is undiscovered grandeur that you seek, then it can only be found in Antarctica. The continent of Antarctica is a fabled, ice-crowned wonder with  exotic wildlife and uncanny landscapes  set in an extreme and pristine isolation few have experienced. No place on Earth can compare! Join us on this life-changing experience, as we set sail and set foot on the world's final frontier. We can guarantee nothing will ever be the same again.

With the Antarctica Silver Wind luxury cruise, we are starting a new chapter for Sights and Soul Travels: luxury cruises for destinations that lend themselves to touring from the sea. We can't help but be excited about this offering! It will allow a select and very fortunate group of women to embark on a door-to-door luxury cruise that will immerse us in the majestic beauty of the final frontier, the White Continent of Antarctica.

Your luxury experience will begin as soon as you leave your home. Silversea's executive private transfer service will pick you up from your doorstep and transfer you to your nearest airport. Your international flight to Santiago, Chile is included in the tour's price (major airports only, otherwise an air credit and economy class only, otherwise an air credit). On arrival in Santiago, you will be met by a uniformed chauffeur for your private transfer to the city's top hotel. Here, you will meet your Tour Director and the rest of the  Sights and Soul tour group for a festive welcome gathering. The next day, we will return to the airport for a chartered group flight to Puerto Williams, at the southern tip of South America to board the Silver Wind luxury expedition cruise ship and s ettle into our suites.

The high quality service onboard Silver Wind imparts a n all-encompassing sense of well-being from the moment we board and set sail. This is relaxation at its most distilled: we will be welcomed into the supreme luxury by a team of butlers, trained to very high standards,  who will guide each of us through every aspect of our cruise. They are there to ensure that all our need are taken care of before we even need to ask. A polite, professional, and friendly butler makes the difference between a great cruise and an amazing one. From unpacking your suitcase at the beginning of your voyage to shining your shoes and  making your restaurant reservations, your butler will be happy to serve you. He or she will make sure that your room is always in pristine condition, provide white tablecloth in-suite service, and guarantee that your customized, in-suite bar is always full. From drawing a scented bath to ensuring that your every desire is fulfilled, the Silversea butler service can't be beat. But perhaps the greatest gift of the butler service is knowing that they are always there when you need them and mysteriously disappear when you don’t.

Throughout the cruise, we will enjoy the 24-hour gourmet dining  options inclusive of all alcoholic beverages, classy entertainment, and lectures on geography, biology, geology and zoology of this exotic environment, and several shore excursions every day. It simply doesn’t get any better than this. All you have to do is relax and enjoy the mesmerizing beauty of Antarctica.  Indulge in a glass or a bottle of champagne, wine, beer, or spirits on the house. Your butler will also ensure that you have enough water, juices, and soft drinks in the public bars as well as in your suite. Silversea promises to keep your mini-bar full of your favorite drinks and alcoholic beverages. Your butler will replenish them daily, but if you want a little extra, just ask! No wish is too big or too small. You’ll wonder how you ever managed before! 

We'll enjoy our meals as a group in one of the four fine dining restaurants onboard or you can choose to have any meal in  the comfort of your own suite. The Silver Wind's restaurant menus are curated to be a deep-dive culinary immersion beyond anything you have ever experienced aboard a cruise ship. Each gourmet dining option offers unforgettable food and atmosphere, creating long-lasting gastromonic memories.

Setting sail on Silversea promises peace of mind from start to finish. That means no worrying about tipping the butlers or staff. The Silver Wind's expedition ship's crew-to-guest ratio of nearly 1:1 ensures flawless service without ever needing to think about who should get a tip, how much, or when. It’s all included! Yes, really. Silversea believes that not having to deal with tipping helps make your luxury cruise even more stress-free.

Because the Silver Wind is a small, expedition-style ship, able to venture into inlets and channels where bigger ships cannot, we will have the fullest experience of visiting Antarctica. Every stop during our cruise will include at least one shore excursion, usually a  motorized zodiac boat tour, a short hike, or a kayak expedition. The team of destination architects has carefully designed each onshore adventure that will allow us to get the most out of our once-in-a-lifetime visit to Antarctica. Onboard, the knowledgeable expedition crew and specialist lecturers will offer informative presentations on the sites we are visiting to allow us a deeper appreciation for the continent and a clearer understanding of how we can protect this environment by treating our planet with consciousness and compassion. We will hear from an Antarctic historian, a biologist or zoologist, a glaciologist or geologist, and an ornithologist who will broaden our understanding of  the complex and wholly unique ecosystem that we get to explore.

With up to 28 expedition staff per cruise and daily small group outings showcasing everything from the native wildlife to the Antarctic blue icebergs, this cruise offers a 360˚ immersion into one of the most unreachable and mesmerizing places on the planet. Added to that are superlative service, extreme comfort, gourmet dining, and of course the wonderful company of other like-minded, intelligent, and funny women traveling companions. We guarantee that this is the one adventure that you will never forget.

History of Antarctica | Antarctic Penguins | Glaciers and Ice in Antarctica
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