Crossing the Drake Passage to Antarctica: Lake or Shake?

Let Erin and Phil book this same experience for you, personally! We started ABC Trips to offer our bespoke itineraries to those seeking authentic culture, epic landscapes, and uncompromising luxury. 👉🏼 https://abctrips.com If you've ever low-key thought about doing a cruise Antarctica... this is basically your sign. Because we organized a group trip there and a couple dozen adventurous souls signed up to join us. Our wishlist for the trip included 5 main things: 1. Spend a few days in Buenos Aires, Argentina, which will be our 25th country in 5 years. 2. Survive crossing the notorious Drake Passage — the world’s most feared body of water. 3. Take the polar plunge south of the Antarctic Circle 4. Spot whales, penguins, seals, and hopefully some orcas 5. Find a piece of floating glacier ice and use it to craft a 1,000-year-old cocktail back on the ship The first step of the journey is packing enough wardrobe for flight days, walking around the city, taking advantage of the onboard fitness options, hiking through penguin colonies in the snow, and attending champagne and caviar socials on the ship. But also leaving enough space in the suitcase for group gifts. When you travel through us, you get exclusive ABC trips merch, all of which has been designed or customized by Phil. Club7 water bottles that normally cost $70 and Club7 travel blankets that normally sell for $100. Guests of our hosted trips also get one of our limited edition, metal luggage tag holiday ornaments. This one was for our Galapagos island hopping adventure… this one for our East Asia luxury cruise… and this one is for the Antarctica expedition. After a couple flights from Denver, we reach our first stop: Buenos Aires. And honestly? If you're sleeping on BA as a destination, you're being a little nuts. The food scene alone — we're talking next-level steakhouses, street empanadas, this incredible Italian salumeria in a neighborhood that felt like a movie set. We gave ourselves a couple of days to explore before the real adventure started, and it was chefs kiss. Then the group hops a private charter flight down to Ushuaia — the southernmost city on earth. That's not a drill. The southernmost. And that's where we first board the Seabourn Venture. More on her features, design, and experience in my next video. Now. The Drake Passage. I have to talk about the Drake. Here's the thing — the Drake has two modes. There's the Drake Shake, which is exactly what it sounds like: gnarly seas, stuff sliding off tables, your stomach doing its own little expedition. Most people manage it fine with seasickness patches, meds, or these wristband devices — and the ship's medical team is super on it. But we got the Drake Lake. Glassy. Calm. Almost eerie. And I'm not gonna pretend I wasn't smug about it — because I absolutely was working out in the panoramic gym while icebergs floated past the window. While on a treadmill. Plus, the saunas have views that would made a landscape painter quit in frustration. Either version of the Drake, you're going to be fine. But we also have options that let you fly across and skip the anxiety. But this is just episode one. We haven't even gotten to the penguins, the polar plunge, or the thousand-year-old cocktails yet. If Antarctica has been living rent-free in your head, come talk to us at abctrips.com. We’ll walk you through everything, and yes, there will be merch. Be sure to follow my channel so that you don’t miss the remaining 4 episodes. In video #2, we’re showing you all around the ship — our home away from home for the next 2 weeks. Browse our unheard of last-minute deals on vacations, resorts, and adventure cruises around the world: https://abctrips.com/