We began crossing the Drake Passage on the way to Antarctica the night before, when we left the port of Ushuaia. For the next two days, we would be sailing across this notoriously treacherous part of the Southern Ocean.
Crossing the Drake Passage on the Way to Antarctica
The first thing we did upon awakening that first morning at sea was to view the monitor to see what was on the schedule for the day. Each schedule was typically divided into half, with the schedule for the first half of the day displayed in the morning; and the schedule for the second half of the day appearing during lunch time. Guests were separated into four groups: Blue, Red, Green, and Yellow. We were assigned to the Blue group.
A quote appeared at the top of the screen every day. On this day, the quote from Saint Augustine was “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” I had no idea that the oldest city in the United States had such wisdom.
I took this video from the balcony of the stateroom shortly after awakening for the first full day at sea.
The voyage was going smoothly: so far, so good. I had not taken any medication for seasickness or motion sickness, as I do not believe in taking medication unnecessarily. Will my luck pay off?
Buffet Breakfast.
We decided to head down to Swan Restaurant for breakfast shortly after taking a video of the Drake Passage that morning. Because every morning was set up as a buffet with the same vast selection of food, this article will be the only article which discusses the breakfast in detail. Breakfast is my least favorite meal; but I thoroughly enjoyed breakfast every day aboard the Swan Hellenic SH Minerva.
Included with breakfast were hot items — such as strips of bacon, sausages, scrambled eggs, and stewed tomatoes…
…as well as eggs that were hard boiled, mixed vegetables, potatoes, pancakes, and thick slices of French toast…
…as well as a chef who was on hand to custom create omelets and other hot breakfast items fresh for guests.
Fresh fruit and vegetables, smoked fish, salads, assorted cheeses, and a wide variety of condiments were also available at the breakfast buffet…
…as well as assorted fresh breads, rolls, croissants, bagels, muffins, and pastries.
We cannot forget about the oatmeal, assorted flavors of yogurt, granola, and other toppings. The selection was simply vast and amazing.
The orange juice was constantly freshly squeezed behind the counter and poured into individual glasses — not a pitcher or any other kind of bulk container. The orange juice was delicious and very pulpy — but if I had to complain about something, the orange juice always had too many pits. The grapefruit juice was good as well; but it was definitely from a container and not freshly squeezed.
Preparation for the Antarctica Expedition.
Even more impressive was that when a beverage was ordered, the servers knew exactly where to deliver it — no matter where guests sat is what was always random seating in the restaurant.
After breakfast, we tried on our parkas. Anyone who had a parka that did not fit well was welcome to trade it in for a better size. My parka fit me just fine, so I did not exchange it.
Before formally exchanging parkas, guests were required to attend a briefing in the Observation Lounge for environmental protocols while in Antarctica as mandated by the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators. Our room keys — which doubled as identification tags and were attached to lanyards — were scanned at the entrance of the Observation Lounge as proof that we attended the briefing, as any guest who failed to attend this meeting would not be permitted to set foot on Antarctica. You can be sure that all guests aboard the vessel attended this briefing!
After the mandatory meeting had concluded, the time had come to try on our equipment at the BaseCamp on Deck 3.
The first thing we did was to try on muck boots to wear during the expedition in order to ensure that the fit was proper, as they were needed to protect our feet against the elements — including icy ocean water and cold air.
Another area of the BaseCamp had what appeared to be an ordinary counter with a small flat screen monitor attached to the wall and two machines which dispensed filtered water. This counter was actually used after each outing to Antarctica for a member of the staff to serve either hot chocolate or a flavor of tea.
A mandatory “bio security” session ensured that any items that were brought to land did not contain anything that could cause potential harm to the delicate ecosystem. Generally, disposable plastic products, paper products, and lint residue are three examples of items that are not permitted in Antarctica. For example, my camera bag was inspected, emptied, and vacuumed before I placed my equipment back in it.
A buffet lunch was available in the Club Lounge.
Welcome Reception by the Captain.
Afterwards, we attended a welcome reception by the captain of the ship.
F
Svein-Rune Strømnes was introduced as the captain of the Swan Hellenic SH Minerva. Part of his short biography is that he is originally from Tromsø in Norway, which was one of the destinations to which we considered traveling in search of Aurora Borealis, which are more commonly known as the Northern Lights. We successfully viewed the Northern Lights in both Finland and Sweden.
He then introduced his staff of officers of the vessel for a champagne toast to our expedition to Antarctica.
Mariam Pousa — who was the expedition leader for our trip called Antarctica Wonders — closed out the welcome reception.
Dinner.
We then headed to dinner after the welcome reception. The tables were set in a formal manner.
An assortment of fresh bread awaited guests at every table. I enjoyed the bread, as each variety was very good and flavorful.
We were then handed menus, as a formal dinner service was offered instead of a buffet on the previous night. I had a difficult time choosing among the options I wanted — but then again, ordering two salads, no soup, two entrées, and three desserts was okay to do, as the servers strived to please guests as much as possible.
I decided to start the meal with Wasabi Prawns, which were prawns that were accompanied by wasabi mayonnaise and guacamole. Red caviar and a scallion topped each prawn, with sauce dotted on the board if even more flavor was needed. This appetizer was delicious.
Although two types of salads were offered that evening, I decided to go with the Caesar Salad with garlic croutons, anchovies, and grated parmesan. Anchovies are what sealed the deal for me.
I ordered the Sole Grenobloise with seasoned butter, parsley, and steamed potatoes. Capers and thin slivers of pickled cucumber elevated the flavor profile of the fish to the point where I thoroughly enjoyed the entire dish; and the bread crumbs added an element of crunch…
…but the fish needed to be deboned — which actually was not a problem at all. I simply opened the fish in half and neatly pulled the spine out. Other guests at the table who ordered this dish unfortunately did not accomplish the deboning so easily.
The Green Apple Sorbet was quite refreshing. I ordered it for dessert because it sounded good; but I understand that green apples help relieve seasickness or motion sickness. I wanted to enjoy a full meal, which I did; but I did not want to eat too much in case the Drake Passage decided to play with my tempting fate of not taking anything to prevent seasickness or motion sickness, as that would not have been a good feeling.
Another guest who was sitting at the table ordered the Dolce de Leche for dessert.
After dinner, we retired to the stateroom, enjoyed the view of the calm Drake Passage from the balcony — the sun rose at 2:47 in the morning and set at 9:06 in the evening; so that amounted to slightly greater than five hours of night at most — and then went to sleep in the comfortable warm bed as we enjoyed the crackling fireplace in the stateroom.
I enjoyed when the boat did rock noticeably while navigating the Drake Passage, as that helped me to sleep overnight even better.
Good night.
Day Two At Sea.
The first thing we did upon awakening the next day was to view the monitor to see what was on the schedule for the day. We did not attend yoga with the spa team.
Members of the crew were decorating a Christmas tree near the elevators and the restaurant on Deck 4 after we had breakfast that morning. They were able to easily do so because…
…the Drake Passage continued its calm demeanor. The rocking of the ship may have been more pronounced at times than at other times since we departed from Ushuaia; but the seas were never all that rough. The captain of the ship kept informing us of a major storm to the west that set us somewhat off course in continuing to avoid it — but thankfully, we never did see or feel the effects of that storm.
We then attended a mandatory zodiac safety briefing in the Observation Lounge after breakfast, which guests were required to attend. Once again, our room keys — which doubled as identification tags and were attached to lanyards — were scanned at the entrance of the Observation Lounge as proof that we attended the briefing, as any guest who failed to attend this meeting would not be permitted to go ashore in Antarctica. Once again, you can be sure that all guests aboard the vessel attended this briefing!
A crew drill was then performed, with odd sounds and instructions for members of the crew to follow emanating from speakers all over the vessel.
Anyone who wanted to pay extra for the option to explore the waters of Antarctica via kayak were required to attend a safety briefing. I was not interested.
We once again enjoyed a buffet lunch with our friends in the Club Lounge.
Anyone who wanted to pay extra for the option to explore Antarctica on land with snowshoes were required to attend a safety briefing. After trying on a pair of snowshoes, I decided that was not interested.
Guests had the option to go outside on the open decks of Deck 7 to watch for birds and other wildlife that might be found around the vessel.
Two optional sessions were presented in the Observation Lounge after lunch: one called Cetaceans of the Southern Ocean; and the other called Meet the Penguins!
After a Solo Travelers Cocktail session, Mariam Pousa then gave “information about our upcoming plans and” for guests to “learn more about Antarctica with recaps from the expedition team.” This session was helpful. After all — what did we know about Antarctica if most of us had never even been there yet?
Dinner. Again.
Dinner service was once again formal that evening; so menus were given to us from which to select our choices for food. Fresh assorted bread was again awaiting guests at each table. By this time, I had more confidence in eating full meals because the Drake Passage never became to rough for me — although some guests did suffer from some side effects from the medications that they took to prevent seasickness or motion sickness.
The Katafi Prawns with guacamole, lemongrass chili sauce, and micro greens were my starter for dinner that evening. They were delicious, with a sweet tang. Note that the beverage in the glass in the background of the photograph was Coca-Cola, which was sweetened with sugar and not with high-fructose corn syrup.
I decided to take a leek in public; so urine luck. I had the Potato & Leek soup with toasted almonds. The soup was fine. It was not my type of soup — but I gave it a try, as what did I have to lose? I finished the soup except for the slivered almonds, which I left over because I do not like nuts. Strangely, I do like Good Humor toasted almond ice cream…?!?
The Carved Angus Striploin was bathed in a merlot reduction and accompanied by potato gratin and grilled asparagus. I did not dine on this dish.
Herb marinated tomatoes, broccoli, and fondant new potatoes were the side dishes of the Orange Roughy in a lemon beurre blanc sauce, which is what I ordered for the main course that evening.
For dessert, I had the Kalafate ice cream, which came with a small warm chocolate cake and a fresh sprig of mint. This was a great way to top off a tasty meal.
Final Boarding Call
Speaking for myself, not once was I bored aboard the vessel despite being at sea for two days. I wanted to try out a number of things aboard the vessel during that time; but the new friends with whom we were enjoying our time — I am looking at you, Jilda, Kathy, Debbie, Jim, Robin, Bobby, and Barbara, who is originally from Newfoundland but based in Alberta in the order that we met — left me with no time to do so…
…and I gladly would have rather had it that way than any other way. This growing group of miscreants…
…er — I mean characters…
…no — wait…fine people. Very fine people. Whew…
…would eventually become known as the infamous Penguin Posse. Amazingly, we all seemed to not be able to spend enough time with each other — we talked, we laughed, we shared stories, we expressed our increasing enthusiasm of going on expedition in Antarctica to each other — and I preferred it that way, which is incredibly uncharacteristic of me.
We met even more people later on who joined the Penguin Posse as the trip progressed — such as Tony and Terry, Carl and CeCe, and Justin and Rob to name a few people.
As has been becoming usual, we all enjoyed dinner that evening — both the food and being with each other — and the service was once again excellent…
…but during dinner, a major surprise was announced aboard the vessel that caught all of us way off guard…
All photographs ©2025 by Brian Cohen.
