Scenic Eclipse

The helicopter and submarine are real. In Antarctica, expect them to be grounded as often as not

The helicopter and the submarine are real, purpose-built and genuinely rare. In Antarctica, they are also grounded a great deal of the time, and that is not bad luck.

Antarctic Treaty and IAATO rules restrict where helicopters may fly, and Scenic makes a go or no-go call the night before on the forecast. The submarine is more weather-dependent still: it does not operate in rough seas or heavy ice. In November 2022 Scenic's own submersible was caught in pack ice during a katabatic wind event, damaged, and three cruises' worth of dives were cancelled while it was repaired.

The arithmetic matters as much as the weather. Each helicopter flight carries five or six guests and the submarine six to eight, against roughly 200 people aboard. Even on a flawless week, most guests will not get a turn on any given excursion. Disappointment about this is a recurring theme in real reviews, almost always because nobody said so beforehand.

None of which applies in Norway or the tropics, where the same equipment flies far more freely. So book this ship for the ship: 228 guests, all-suite, all-butler, up to ten places to eat, and a standard that holds whatever the weather does. In Antarctica, treat anything that flies or dives as a bonus you would be delighted to get, not the reason you booked.