1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

My visit to Antarctica was everything that I had envisaged. The opportunity of seeing the scenery, wildlife and entire environment at first hand was just incredible. The absolute high point was when we were standing on a very small beach on the continent itself, surrounded by penguins and blocks of ice when a Leopard Seal suddenly came out of the water literally a few feet in front of me chasing a penguin. The penguin was lucky and escaped as I think the Leopard Seal was slightly taken back to see a number of very large 'red penguins' all staring at him. It was a truly unforgettable holiday.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

Check exactly what equipment is available from the ship, ie Wellington boots, coats etc, as this saves having to pack into one's own luggage. Take plenty of memory cards etc for cameras. Don’t get luggage checked through from the UK to Ushuaia direct, ensure that you have adequate time to collect it in Buenos Aires and then re-check it through for the rest of the journey. (I along with a number of other people lost all my luggage on the journey out there)

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?

The tour operator upheld the standards of the IAATO agreement throughout the entire trip, so our impact on the continent was absolutely minimal, we only left behind footprints in the snow and ice.

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?

10 out of 10

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

Whales !! We had a wonderful morning in close proximity to humpback whales - up to 4 at any time - plus the occasional leopard seal as well. The next day they came to visit the boat "up close & personal" !! We also had close interaction with penguins, elephant seals, dolphins plus the odd albatross as well.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

Try to avoid any contact with Aerolineas Argentinas ! Fly to Buenos Aires with a European airline as AA's service is awful - poor food, poor provision of inflight drinks, but - mostly - because they misplaced about 40 sets of luggage on the Gatwick-Madrid leg and, of the 5 customers going on the Antarctic cruise, 4 didn't get their cases until 2hrs before sailing [ie 36hrs later] & 1 didn't get it until she arrived back in Buenos Aires on the way back home. She had to re-equip at her own cost and Aerolineas merely shrugged their shoulders and offered 100 pesos compensation ! Allow plenty of time to get from your hotel to the International airport in Buenos Aires. Traffic is appalling and it may take you up to 2hrs to get there. Assume that you will have a bad crossing of Drake Passage and bring plenty of Stugeron travel sickness tablets [preferred by the tour operator's doctors]. We had a force 10 storm for almost 3 days - not good !

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?

As we were based in Ushuaia, I guess that local businesses would benefit from the visitors for the cruises. The tour operator was very concerned about the impact of their activities on the Antarctic environment, though having a barbecue with plastic plates on the stern was perhaps not wise given the wind.

4. Any other comments?

***** Simply brilliant !!! Woes with travel delays / Aerolineas Argentinas merely blips in the whole experience. WOW !!!!!!!!!

Read the operator's response here:

Thanks for your feedback Paul and delighted to hear that, like most visitors to Antarctica, you were bowled over by the experience. Very sorry to hear of the problems encountered with Aerolineas Argentinas. The lady who did not get her baggage until returning to Buenos Aires is a member of our sales team so I have heard all about the problems on this flight! In light of negative feedback on Aerolineas Argentinas, we now offer alternative international flight packages with British Airways in conjunction with our Antarctic voyages.

Your feedback on the plastic plates is very useful - this has been passed onto our operations team who will look into sourcing bio-degradable plates in case any should inadvertently be blown overboard. Thanks again for taking the time to give your feedback.