Snow Hill to the Peninsula: Shackleton's Emperors

Cruise overview

We created our 18-day “Snow Hill to the Peninsula: Shackleton’s Emperors” itinerary for those who dream of witnessing the legendary Emperor penguin colony at Snow Hill Island—and are also drawn to the austere beauty of the remote Weddell Sea, as well as the rarely visited east coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. The crown jewel of this unique expedition, of course, is the rare opportunity to visit the storied colony of approximately 4,000 pairs of breeding Emperor penguins and their adorable chicks at Snow Hill. These ice-dwelling penguins—which captivated early explorers like Sir Ernest Shackleton—thrive in temperatures as low as-50C. They’re the largest and most beautiful of all penguin species. On this expedition, you will spend five days exploring this iceberg-choked paradise by ship, helicopter and Zodiac before exploring along the east coast of the Peninsula. This is the only itinerary in the polar industry that enables guests to spend this amount of time totally immersed in the spell-binding wonders of the eastern coast—vast stretches of which resemble the planet Mars. A special feature of this voyage: we’ll be joined by Paul Goldstein, winner of the Black & White category in the 2024 Nature Photographer of the Year Awards, who has shared his passion for polar photography on 30 expeditions to the Antarctic and Arctic. Goldstein, who first explored the Weddell Sea in 2005, considers his two previous Emperor expeditions to be among the top highlights of his 40 years of travel (see his biography, page 7). Guests will have hands-on opportunities to hone their wildlife photography skills throughout the voyage. You will sail on the technologically-advanced Ultramarine—the same ship that brought our guests to Snow Hill on two separate voyages in 2023. Ultramarine’s two helicopters will enable you to explore in ways no one else can. And, with a maximum of 150 guests, you can expect an intimate on-ship experience. Prepare to be captivated—just as Shackleton and his companions Worsley, Crean and Wild were a century ago—by the sight of Emperors as they scale the cobalt-blue icebergs before plunging into the depths of the Weddell Sea in their relentless hunt for food.