Majestic Princess voyages chart new scenic routes and five immersive itineraries discovering the distinct cultures of South America Princess Cruises has unveiled its new 2026-27 South America and Antarctica season, now open for sale, offering guests epic landscapes and extraordinary adventures—from the birthplace of the tango to the home of playful penguins. New for the 2026-27 season, the 3,560-guest Majestic Princess makes her debut. Princess Cruises is a member and operator in IAATO (International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators), committing to safe, environmentally responsible private-sector travel to the Antarctic. Also, for the first time, Princess introduces scenic cruising through the Beagle Channel Fjords and Glacier Alley, showcasing the spectacular hanging and ...
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travelogues, travel articles and news from continent of Antarctica
World’s biggest iceberg heading toward penguin-packed island off Antarctica
Wall of ice the size of Rhode Island could slam into South Georgia Island The world’s biggest iceberg — a wall of ice the size of Rhode Island — is lumbering toward a remote island off Antarctica that’s home to millions of penguins and seals. The trillion-ton slab of ice — called a megaberg — could slam into South Georgia Island and get stuck or be guided around it by currents. If it gets stuck it could make it hard for penguin parents to feed their babies and some young could even starve. Overall, however, researchers aren’t too worried about major harm from the iceberg, named A23a. What’s happening is more spectacular than dangerous, scientists said. It’s also a natural process happening more frequently because of human-caused climate change, said British Antarctic Surve...
Read MoreNational Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions completes inaugural round-trip flights to Antarctica
With nearly 60 years' experience exploring the white continent, Lindblad expeditions proves there's always more to be discovered with historic departure For the first time in its history, National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions has completed its debut round-trip flights between Puerto Natales, Chile, and King George Island in Antarctica. The recognized global leader and pioneer of modern expedition cruising Lindblad Expeditions is also the first and only expedition cruise operator to offer flights in and out of Puerto Natales, the gateway to Patagonia's iconic Torres del Paine National Park. The inaugural flights marked the beginning of the first-ever Antarctica Direct: Fly the Drake Passage expedition and the completion of the first-ever Antarctica Direct: Sail and Fly the D...
Read MoreNearly 1,500 academics, researchers and scientists specializing in Antarctica gathered in southern Chile for the 11th Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research conference this week to share the most cutting-edge research from the vast white continent. Nearly every aspect of science, from geology to biology and glaciology to arts, was covered but a major undercurrent ran through the conference. Antarctica is changing, faster than expected. Extreme weather events in the ice-covered continent were no longer hypothetical presentations, but first-hand accounts from researchers about heavy rainfall, intense heat waves and sudden Foehn (strong dry winds) events at research stations that led to mass melting, giant glacier break-offs and dangerous weather conditions with global implications...
Read MoreNew chinstrap penguin colony recorded following survey at Astrolabe Island by Viking and Oceanites Viking has announced that its expedition team supported the discovery of a new colony of chinstrap penguins not previously known to science on Diaz Rock, near Astrolabe Island, in Antarctica. The finding took place in January 2024 when Viking's expedition vessel, the Viking Octantis, visited Astrolabe Island, a three-mile-long island, located in the Bransfield Strait of the Trinity Peninsula in Antarctica. Astrolabe Island is home to a colony of chinstrap penguins that had not been surveyed since 1987. Astrolabe Island in Antarctica with Diaz Rock in the distance. Photo credit Hayley Charleton-Howard. During the visit, Viking's scientific partner, Oceanites, the leading field re...
Read MorePreviously unknown colonies of emperor penguins have been spotted in new satellite imagery. Emperor penguins, considered “near threatened” with extinction, are the world’s largest penguins. They raise their chicks in Antarctic winter on patches of frozen sea ice. But if the ice breaks up before the chicks have fledged, most will die. At least some emperor penguins are moving their colonies as melting ice from climate change threatens breeding grounds, according to research released on Wednesday. One penguin colony near Halley Bay appears to have moved around 30 kilometers (19 miles) to the east, said Peter Fretwell, a researcher at the British Antarctic Survey. He said unstable conditions beginning in 2016 had made the old location perilous. “Emperor penguins have taken it...
Read MoreQuark Expeditions takes explorers to Snow Hill island colony of Emperor penguins Quark Expeditions, the global leader in polar adventures, extended its longstanding record of achievement in Antarctica by successfully landing 208 explorers on two voyages for an experience that few on the planet will ever have: walking on sea ice to visit the remote Snow Hill Island colony of Emperor penguins. Quark Expeditions' technologically-advanced expedition ship, Ultramarine, and its team delivered these successful Snow Hill voyages in November and December, while also hosting a special onboard ceremony at the edge of Antarctica's Weddell Sea: the official announcement of Dr Sian Proctor as Ultramarine's godmother. Photo Credit: Michelle Sole Joined by the company's legendary Expedition L...
Read MoreWorld’s largest iceberg breaks free, heads toward Southern Ocean
The world's largest iceberg is on the move for the first time in more than three decades, scientists said on Friday. At almost 4,000 square km (1,500 square miles), the Antarctic iceberg called A23a is roughly three times the size of New York City. Since calving off West Antarctica's Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf in 1986, the iceberg — which once hosted a Soviet research station — has largely been stranded after its base became stuck on the floor of the Weddell Sea. Not anymore. Recent satellite images reveal that the berg, weighing nearly a trillion metric tonnes, is now drifting quickly past the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, aided by strong winds and currents. A satellite imagery of the world's largest iceberg, named A23a, seen in Antarctica, November 15, 2023. Courtes...
Read MoreStudy says, nothing can be done even with carbon emissions cuts No matter how much the world cuts back on carbon emissions, a key and sizable chunk of Antarctica is essentially doomed to an “unavoidable” melt, a new study found. Though the full melt will take hundreds of years, slowly adding nearly 6 feet (1.8 meters) to sea levels, it will be enough to reshape where and how people live in the future, the study’s lead author said. Researchers used computer simulations to calculate future melting of protective ice shelves jutting over Antarctica’s Amundsen Sea in western Antarctica. The study in Monday’s journal Nature Climate Change found even if future warming was limited to just a few tenths of a degree more – an international goal that many scientists say is unlikely to be met...
Read MoreThe loss of ice in one region of Antarctica last year likely resulted in none of the emperor penguin chicks surviving in four colonies, researchers reported Thursday. Emperor penguins hatch their eggs and raise their chicks on the ice that forms around the continent each Antarctic winter and melts in the summer months. Researchers used satellite imagery to look at breeding colonies in a region near Antarctica’s Bellingshausen Sea. The images showed no ice was left there in December during the Southern Hemisphere’s summer, as had occurred in 2021. FILE PHOTO: Penguins walk on the shore of Bahia Almirantazgo in Antarctica on Jan.27, 2015. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Researchers said it is likely that no chicks survived in four of the five breeding colonies they examined. Pengui...
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