Expedition Cruises

It was a wonderful trip everyone should do it at least once in their lifetime. I went to Falkland Island, South Georgia Islands and Antarctica twice, both trips were excellent but I will recommend the January cruise if you like to see more penguins especially if you want to see those baby chicks still in the nest with mummy. Cabin was simple and clean, dining room staffs were excellent, always welcome you, greet you with your name and smile, help you anyway they can, I don't know how they can remember ...read more everyone's name. They remembered my Asian name, my drink and my cabin number. I'm not interested in food, everyone said meals were excellent and plentiful, many thanks to Hannah who makes booking online so easy. I gave 2 stars for entertainment that was because I never went to the bar at night.

A journey to the most remote and coldest continent on our planet was always going to be heavily dependent on weather, and boy did we luck out, with the two journeys to and back through the notoriously rough Drake Passage as calm as it could get. So lucky were we that we got to Antarctica a whole half-day early, and also arrived back into Ushuaia the same, 12 hours early. Throughout the nine days of sailing, we had mostly fine weather, which is a rarity down in that part of the world, with a few days ...read more of bright sunshine, and only one day of a very mild drizzle. The sparkling weather really made for the most wonderful of journeys, and we managed to do 9 Zodiac trips in total (7 landings, 2 explorations), so we got the most out of the whole time in Antarctica. The expedition team onboard the Expedition were fantastic, in particular the team leader Jonathan, whose British charm and refined character was very well received by every passenger. They made us feel special, and every excursion we attempted was well handled, varied, and exciting. We got to see humpback whales up close, as well as seals and numerous gentoo penguins, chinstrap penguins, and the occasional adelie penguins in their natural elements, which made the trip all the more special. And the highlight? The crossings through the legendary Lemaire Channel, where our return trip had one of the best (and longest) sunsets of our lives. We can't finish without also praising the variety and amount of food served on the ship, which was excellent, with every type of cuisine imaginable for breakfast, lunch, and dinner; it really felt like we were constantly eating but that's what a holiday is for, right? Overall, our trip to Antarctica was one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences that will be impossible to better, and will long linger in our memories for as long as we live.

What an amazing adventure from starting in the Amazon to finishing in the Galápagos Islands it all went as smooth as. Our tour manager knew her stuff and ensured a seamless trip with all the flights and hotels. The local guides were very good, friendly and knowledgeable with lots to see and do every day. I highly recommend Global Journeys and will use them again and will do another Cosmos adventure.

The Cosmos Ultimate South America Tour was a wonderful way to see the highlights of South America. But be warned that to do this you will have to fly a lot, especially if you include the Galapagos and Amazon. The Tour guide helped make the flights easier though perhaps up to a quarter of your time may be used in the flights. Accommodation and food was very good, as were included excursions. There could have been more information however on the optional excursions, which were a bit pricey for ...read more what you got. For instance the Sugar Loaf Tour in Rio at about US$70 per person was done by us for US$17 (half price lift ticket for 65 plus) and US$34 by walking 30 minutes from our hotel at Copacabana to the cable car station, and we went early in the morning and massively beat the tourist congestion. One limitation on the Cosmos support was that after we left our main guide in Lima, the replacement guides in Quito and Guayaquil were quite poor. The Galapagos Cruise was extremely good including service and facilities as well as sights. Globus support in planning the trip was great, but Qantas made a lot of changes to our flights which caused some problems.