Antarctica Complete
Starts and Ends in
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Departing
01 Jan 0001
Duration
0 days
Activity Level
Daily shore excursions, guided hikes & outings
Moderate
Season
2025, 2026, 2027, 2028
Polar Expeditions
Gentoo Penguin
Salisbury Plain, South Georgia | Credit: Tyson Mayr
King Penguins
Fortuna Bay, South Georgia | Credit: Tyson Mayr
Passenger
Grytviken, South Georgia | Credit: Tyson Mayr
Passengers at Godthul
Godthul, South Georgia | Credit: Tyson Mayr
Sea Kayaking
Port Lockroy, Antarctica | Credit: Tyson Mayr
Four Adelie Penguins
Antarctica | Credit: Scott Portelli
Stanley
Falkland Islands | Credit: Adrian Wlodarczyk
Antarctica
Antarctica Complete
Highlights
Daisy Gilardini
Photographer
Daisy Gilardini is a conservation photographer who specializes in the polar regions, with a particular emphasis on Antarctic wildlife and North American bears. She is originally from Switzerland, and is now based in Vancouver, Canada. She fell in love with Antarctica during her first trip there in 1997. She has since devoted most of her time to photographing the polar regions.
In 25 years of polar exploration, she has joined more than 90 expeditions to Antarctica and the Arctic. Among her accomplishments, she has skied the final degree to the North Pole. She is a member of the International League of Conservation Photographers (ILCP) and the SeaLegacy Collective, a fellow of the New York-based Explorers Club, and member of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. She represents a number of prominent, industry-leading brands in the photography field. She is an ambassador for Nikon, Gitzo, Lowepro, Eizo, SanDisk and WesternDigital. Daisy’s images have been published internationally in leading magazines such as National Geographic, BBC Wildlife, Canadian Geographic, Nature’s Best and Outdoor Photography. Her images have also been used by high-profile NGOs such as Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund, among others.
Since 2018, she has been a photographer in residence with Canadian Geographic and she has been nominated Greenpeace Antarctic Ambassador. Her work has been recognized by some of the world’s most prestigious photography awards, including BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year, Travel Photography of the Year and the Nature’s Best Windland Smith Rice International Awards. Her childhood passion for the natural world has evolved into a lifelong commitment to spreading the message of conservation and the need to preserve what’s left of the world’s remaining wild places.
Daisy Gilardini will be a Special Guest on our Antarctica Complete voyage, departing 20 December 2025.
David McEown
Artist in Residence
Canadian artist David McEown has dedicated the past three decades to harnessing the captivating medium of watercolor in his exploration and expression of the Earth’s pristine wilderness. His paintings, spanning from the icy landscapes of Antarctica to the remote reaches of the North Pole, grace collections worldwide. A graduate of the Ontario College of Art and Design, David is an elected member of the Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolor, where he was twice honored with the prestigious A.J. Casson Medal in 2005 and 2018.
Additionally, David is a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society and an active member of the esteemed Explorers Club. His expertise as a sought-after teacher is exemplified by his extensive experience conducting workshops and multimedia presentations for numerous art societies, museums, and expedition voyages. Through these endeavors, he passionately shares his deep reverence for nature and his commitment to the creative artistry of painting.
Explore David’s work and learn more about his artistic journey.
David McEown will be a Special Guest on our Antarctica Complete voyage, departing 20 December 2025.
Melissa Rider
Oceanites Researcher
Melissa is a 31-year veteran of the Antarctic, having begun her polar career in 1994 in one of the most glamorous positions available - Waste Management Technician at the United States Antarctic Program’s (USAP) McMurdo Station. Melissa ultimately capped her USAP career as Manager of Science Support Planning overseeing over 200 Antarctic field science projects from the South Pole to the Antarctic Peninsula.
Melissa has been affiliated with Oceanites since 2004, when she managed the National Science Foundation-supported field camp operations and penguin monitoring Oceanites conducted for 5 years at Petermann Island. Melissa has continued her association with the Antarctic Site Inventory, Oceanites, and Oceanites’ collaborator the Lynch Lab at Stony Brook University, joining multiple subsequent expeditions and serving as the medical officer as well as biologist on the Dalio Expedition in 2015, which documented “supercolonies” of Adelie penguins and numerous previously unknown new colonies of penguins in the northeast reaches of the Weddell Sea.
Melissa’s Antarctic work has taken her to all three USAP Stations - McMurdo, South Pole, and Palmer Stations, and she has sailed in support of science on USAP research vessels, the RVIB Laurence M. Gould and the RV Nathaniel B. Palmer. Her work for USAP earned her the Polar Medal in 2008. Melissa resides in Truckee, California, where she practices as a Physician Assistant with the Tahoe Forest Hospital District. Her pastimes include hiking and climbing in wilderness areas around the world when not thawing out on warm beaches.
Melissa Rider will be a special guest on our Spirit of Antarctica voyage departing 10 December 2025 & Antarctica Complete voyage departing 20 December 2025.
Steve Forrest
Oceanites Researcher
Steve Forrest is a research biologist, conservationist, and attorney from Truckee, CA by way of Montana.
This will be Steve’s 31st field season in Antarctica, working as Associate Director and Senior Advisor to the Antarctic Site Inventory. The ASI has become the largest repository of penguin population data and trends for the Antarctic Peninsula for the past three decades, the majority of which has come from data collected by ship-based ASI researchers and collaborators. Steve has coauthored numerous peer-reviewed articles on penguin species abundance and population trends along the Antarctic Peninsula. In 2015, Steve coordinated a joint expedition of the Lynch Lab and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution that led to the first documentation of a “supercolony” of hundreds of thousands of Adelie penguins in the Weddell Sea, now designated as one of the “hotspots” for marine bird conservation in the Antarctic Peninsula. He is former advisor to the Expert Panel of the Association of Responsible Krill Fishers and participates as a member of the Oceanites delegation to the Commission on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), an Antarctic treaty organization.
When not in Antarctica Steve works in research and science-based advocacy for some of North America’s most endangered grassland species. Steve holds a B.S. from Oregon State University, an M.S. in Forest Science from the Yale University School of Forestry, and a J.D. from the University of Washington School of Law.
Steve Forrest will be a special guest on our Spirit of Antarctica voyage departing 10 December 2025 & Antarctica Complete voyage departing 20 December 2025.
Meet our Expert Special Guests
With education and enrichment at the heart of how we explore, our Special Guests Program features experts in fields such as exploration, conservation, science, photography, art, and culture. These special guests join select voyages to share their unique perspectives and experiences. Guest appearances vary by departure — explore the bios below to discover who is joining this expedition.
Included Activities
Bird Watching
Lectures on wildlife, our environment, history and destinations
Marine Mammal Spotting
Photography
Polar Plunge
Scenic Cruising
Trips Ashore
Walking
Wildlife Watching
Zodiac Cruising
Our Ships
The Douglas Mawson
Capacity
154 Passengers Maximum (130 on Expedition)
Year built
2025
Cabins
86
Length
104.4 m
Decks
8
Speed
10-12 Knots
The Greg Mortimer
Capacity
148 Passengers Maximum (130 on Expedition)
Year built
2019
Cabins
76
Length
104m
Decks
8
Speed
10-12 Knots
The Sylvia Earle
Capacity
130 Passengers Maximum
Year built
2022
Cabins
71
Length
104 m
Decks
8
Speed
10-12 knots
