The only thing stopping me is the fact I’m not a millionaire.

"There's a lot of gear that you need!"  
......  or if you're Canadian, ya just pack yer normal outdoor winter clothing already in your hall closet.  The kind of attire worn while shoveling the laneway :)

These aren’t ‘worst things’. They are just logistics for what would be the adventure of a lifetime, predictable or not. On my list now.

All your negatives are what you expect when doing a wildernesses expedition.
I agree to go on the smallest ship you can afford.
My 11 day cruise cost just under AU$8000 3 months before departure on sale.
I went on Ocean Endeavour which took 199 passengers, 100 ashore and 99 in zodiac cruising at each stop then swap after about 45 - 60 minute. Shore excursions were 2 times a day.
My Antarctic cruise was fantastic, Quark provided the jacket (to keep)and boots (on loan), the other clothing needed cost about AU$200 on end of season sale.
There was little to spend money on whilst onboard other than at the bar, souvenir shop, satellite phone calls laundry or juice bar. The food was all as much as you could eat and all meals included drinks including wine and beer. 24 hour coffee and tea.
My recommendations for Antarctic cruise are:
* don’t do a luxury Antarctic cruise, pick a small ship (200 passengers or less) expedition
* if you are flexible, book once discounts start
* if you want to experience untouched wilderness, book the first cruise of the season, this is what I did. It felt like no one had ever been to our shore excursion locations before us. Only disappointment was we were too early too see whales, although we did see Killer Whales.
* plan for rough seas, don’t be put off as this  is part of the expedition experience

I can’t wait to find another great deal to Antarctica, I feel a strong need to be there again.

It is one of my top 7 continents to travel.

I think given the cost I’ll visit the penguins at the Lincoln park zoo.

Is it wrong that it's not the scenery or nature of an Antarctic cruise that appeals to me: it's the idea of sailing in luxury and comfort to somewhere rugged and dangerous.

I loved my trip to Antarctica, We got lucky and had calm seas all the way down and only one bad day coming back but it was bad. It cost me $10,300 including my airfare back and forth to Omaha and 3 days sightseeing in Buenos Aires that I added in simply because I had to go there anyway. I went on Quark Expeditions aboard The Ocean Endeavour last December.

On the brightside... no locals hawking cheap trinkets for the tourists... unless the penguins?

The rest of my family love cruises and have been trying to get me to go for years, but the idea of that sort of travel makes me want to stick hot pokers in my eyes. I try to avoid organised tours where possible. This was my experience.

I was doing a once in a lifetime around the world trip in 2018 and wanted to get to all the continents, and realised I'd have to take one if I wanted to go to Antarctica. While it is expensive, it doesn't have to be as much as you have said. I have stayed in hostels and camped all my life. I understand many people aren't into that style of travel though. I generally only use a room for sleeping and am out wandering as much as I can.

So I went on a 9 day cruise which cost me AU$5500 in a triple share room with 2 strangers. I was fairly confident I wouldn't be stuck with yobbos at that price, and actually ended up being the youngest guy in the room. I was 46 at the time. The boots were provided in a really good quality travel bag which we got to keep ( the bag not the boots ), I hired pants and jacket from a company in Ushuaia, and they were waiting in my room when I checked in. The rest of the time I wore shorts and a jumper inside on the ship, and only put a jacket on if going on deck. I had thermal gear I had worn to sleep hiking in Peru, but never even got it out of my bag during the cruise.

I was very lucky and had an amazing trip, even with two days in bed on the way down. Some of the crew said the Drake was up there with the worst they had seen it. As the small crew all have different backgrounds ( both their nationalities and specialties ), and there were talks available in the observation lounge on history, glaciers, wildlife etc on the days of sea travel. They were all extremely friendly, and sat at different tables every meal so you got to talk to them all
I went on the Ocean Nova, which only holds 68 passengers, so everyone got to go ashore for the two landings we did each day. I thick the landings were around 2 hours each. It has an ice strengthened hull, and on the last day we rammed into a shelf of fast ice for our landing. And the whole time we only saw two other ships and they were miles away.

It was the beginning of November and the first trip of the year. Unfortunately the small ship does get tossed around in the waves more, but I see that as part of the adventure. We left port in the evening and it was smooth when I fell asleep. The beds are across the ship, and I woke to find myself sliding first into the wall at the head of the bed, then my feet into the wardrobe. I hadn't taken sea sickness tablets as I had never been seasick before, and after breakfast was the most sick I have ever felt. Once I worked out I could keep things down if I was lying down, I had some tablets and didn't feel sick although I was unable to eat. I took tablets all the way back and was fine.

Everywhere we landed the snow was untouched by humans. Another advantage to going early is the smell of the penguin colonies gets much worse as the season warms up and more poop builds up. They certainly produce a lot, and don't mind where they shoot it.
The first time on land was snowing and blowing a gale, but it improved after that, and on the day we did the Polar Plunge ( jumping into the near freezing water ) it was 17 degrees and sunny, and didn't even need a jacket for our BBQ dinner on deck that night.
We saw whales, seals ( and some pups ) and 3 different sorts of penguins. Went in the inflatable boats up to a glacier face. You could also pay extra for kayaking or snow shoeing but I was more than happy to sit down and watch penguins.

Unfortunately we did have to head back a day early as there were storms coming that would have made the return trip worse than the way down. But to offset this we had an incredible sunset and had 2 whales swimming around the ship. It was a bummer to leave a day early but I felt the things we had seen and done already were worth more than $5500.

Sth America is incredible, and I would highly recommend travelling through Patagonia on the way there or back if you can. I had 4 months in Peru, Argentina, Chile and Uruguay ( and Antarctica ) to end my trip and they are the places I long to head back to. Buenos Aires is a beautiful city and well worth a stop over for as long as you can. I was coming from Santigo, and found it much cheaper to fly to Punta Arenas and get the bus to Ushuaia than fly direct.

I have been to 37 countries and this was by far the best thing I have ever done. I hope to take my children there one day when they grow up ( you have to be 18 to go ).

I went on a large ship that only did sail by. However, the ship got very close to glaciers and there were spectacular views of penguins and seals. The cruise also stopped on The Falkland Islands where there was a shore excursion that allowed you to walk amongst penguins. The whole cruise was fantastic in every way.

Just to be that close to a penguin 🐧 had to be amazing

I went on an Sub-Antarctic research cruise as part of my degree programme. Got to go on a helicopter, helped sorting benthic samples and walked on Marion Island.

10,000$! ok...I"ll start saving...

I thought you were going to say “the cold” as one of the worst things about the trip...

The worst part is all the world government military that is guarding the ice wall that will shoot you if you try to climb over  it and see the dome that surrounds flat earth!  LMFAO

It's very expensive, but Lindblad and NatGeo have teamed up to offer trips on every continent including Antarctica. My mother and I have traveled three times with them (the Arctic Circle, the Amazon through Peru, and French Polynesia) and every time was exemplary. The service, staff, and crew are awesome. The ships are beautiful and the food is delicious (I'm vegan and I was never disappointed). I've been wanting to go to Antarctica since my mother went in 1994. And am planning to go, still, in the next couple of years.

Most of Gary's points are spot on.  If you are contemplating going, the 100-on-shore limit really dictates a small ship.  Ours in fact had a capacity just on that, so every passenger could go ashore at each location, so we could get two distinct landing locations each day.  Bigger ships need to land pax in shifts, so that doesn't happen. BIG difference.


Also check what gear the cruise operator provides.  All our gear was provided by the operator (hire cost no doubt built into the fare), BUT it meant we didn't have to hire (or purchase separately) and cart it down there with our other bags.  Another big difference.  They provided the boots, pants and jacket and they were good quality.  Underneath we wore a T-shirt and lightweight track pants, never got cold.


As a penguin-tragic for decades, this was definitely my biggest WOW experience.  Just sitting on a rock as Adelies waddle past a metre away and look at you quizzically is the most awesome experience.  Photo ops everywhere.  Highly recommended, start saving now.


And don't eat the pink snow!!!

Very straightforward don't go if you don't like it

And here's a sixth: you have a far greater chance of becoming lost at sea aboard an Antarctic cruise than any other. It's not something that should stop you from going, but just realize that the conditions, remoteness, and the almost complete lack of any other shipping nearby means that if things take a turn for the Titanic, it might end just as badly. Fortunately, operators have been doing this for years without serious incident, other than that captain who got his ship stuck in ice for 7 days back in 2014.