In 1578, Sir Francis Drake crossed the passage that now bears his name on his 120-ton galleon, the Golden Hind. The ship that transported us across this notoriously tempestuous stretch of ocean, then on to Antarctica — Ponant’s Le Lyrial — was broadly similar.
Well, apart from the spa, the pool deck, the hammam, the outdoor cocktail bar, the air-conditioned cabins (with a better internet connection than most parts of London), the fine-dining restaurant and the team of white-jacketed waiters so eager to please, they practically wanted to cut my filet mignon and spread my foie gras for me.
If any further sign were needed that one of the most inaccessible spots in the world is inching towards the mainstream, it’s the sight of vessels such as Le Lyrial slicing their way through the brash ice that fringes the White Continent.
Yet for all the trimmings and pampering, any cruise to Antarctica is only ever going to be about the destination. And for me, a first-timer, it enthralled and surprised at every turn. From November to March, the brief window when this extreme region becomes more accommodating, it can be gloriously sunny. Hiking up ridges on our regular sorties ashore in Le Lyrial’s Zodiac inflatable boats, I often found myself peeling off layers, right down to a T-shirt.
I also hadn’t appreciated that Antarctica is by no means a uniform white. Its glaciers and wind-sculpted icebergs glow a cool blue beneath the gloopy water, and walls of ice blush pink as they catch the rays of endlessly protracted sunsets. (It’s 24-hour daylight a little further south in the height of the austral summer.)
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It is impossible to grasp the thrilling scale of this frozen kingdom until you’re immersed in it. It was incredible to walk among wildlife undaunted by humans. While we were asked to keep our distance from the animals, clearly nobody had told them. Penguins would waddle up to us, stare quizzically and peck our boots.
Walking along a pristine beach, I came face to face with a fur seal, sunbathing on a rock. It blinked lazily, unconcerned. I could hear it breathe. At calm Wilhelmina Bay — dubbed “Whale-mina” because of its concentration of humpbacks — we saw one of these enormous creatures breach several times, its 40-ton bulk bursting from the opaque depths, then crashing back down onto the surface.
A team of naturalists supplied a stream of titbits — Antarctica’s largest iceberg, sighted in 1956, was the size of Belgium — and daily lectures provided bittersweet insights about how species live on a knife-edge. The sight of an adult gentoo penguin with a mouthful of krill running like the clappers from its chasing twin chicks may have been hilarious, but it was a literal example of Darwin’s theory that only the fittest feed, and so survive.
Life on board Le Lyrial was a tad less brutal. When not resting up on the private balconies of our cabins, we’d mix in the communal areas. As this is a French ship, the food is a cut above: the filet mignon was a highlight, but so were scallops, spicy fish curries, amazing crêpes...
My fellow adventurers ranged from the wealthy to those who had saved up for years for the privilege. About half were French-speaking, which limited conversation for me. As we strolled on deck, a businessman opened up to me, telling me through tears how the magnificence of the trip had made him question his busy lifestyle.
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The best was still to come. On our final day, a pod of 30 orcas turned up to wave us off, grandstanding males and females shepherding babies. They circled the vessel, so close that we could see their markings, and stayed with us for more than half an hour — so long that even the keenest photographers on deck were starting to flag.
It may have no passport-holders, but by the time we made it back across the Drake Passage to Argentina, Antarctica had 244 new ambassadors.
Susan d’Arcy was a guest of Ponant (en.ponant.com) and Mundy Cruising (mundycruising.co.uk), which has an 11-night Antarctica cruise on Le Lyrial from £8,654pp, including meals and drinks on board, flights, transfers, excursions and a night in Buenos Aires
