- We're in Antarctica in search of emperor penguins on one of the "World's Greatest Cruises".

(lively music) I'm Lynn Elmhirst, a travel journalist with a deep passion for sailing the high seas.

Navigating timeless routes on a world that's 70% water, cruising may be the most authentic way to travel.

Not to mention its spectacular scenery, fascinating ships, maritime traditions, and local people and cultures.

Join me on the "World's Greatest Cruises".

"World's Greatest Cruises" is made possible in part by the JERNE community of travel advisors: local business owners with experience cruising and planning cruises.

More information at JERNE.COM/CRUISE Today on "World's Greatest Cruises", we're on a nautical safari to the white continent.

A voyage to the Antarctic not only crosses off a bucket list seventh continent for many of us on board, including me, it also sails us through spell binding scenery and into the home territory of a surprisingly rich community of wildlife despite some of the most extreme conditions on the planet.

Our voyage takes place in springtime in the Southern Hemisphere.

Meaning, we arrive in time to see new life, including massive elephant seals and their young oblivious to our presence on their beach.

And penguins, penguins everywhere.

Most humans have never seen a penguin in the wild, but still say they're their favorite bird.

And on this voyage we encounter and even learn to distinguish between several different species of these comical tuxedoed birds.

We're also on a quest for emperor penguins, one of the world's largest and most remote and elusive birds living their entire lives exclusively on sheets of Antarctic ice.

We're sailing aboard the Scenic Eclipse, one of the few cruise ships in the world that can take us to the very doorstep of emperor penguins.

It's one of two twin sister polar class cruise ships with high-tech stabilizers and other equipment that helps the Scenic Eclipse achieve smooth sailing for the 200 guests on board.

The wild icy landscapes beyond its rails contrast with the lifestyle inside with bars, lounges, and restaurants reflecting global cosmopolitan style and tastes ranging from sushi, Asian fusion, re-imagined street food and private venues to classic French and international dining.

Experiences you'd find in major cities, but here, relaxed expedition dress codes apply.

Among 176 crew are close to two dozen members of what the cruise line calls a discovery team of experts who inspire, guide, educate, and help us explore the Antarctic on, beneath, and high above the ice.

The two helicopters aboard the Scenic Eclipse are part of the plan crafted by the discovery team to attempt something this cruise line has never done before: taking guests from the ship by helicopter to, if we're lucky, an entire colony of emperor penguins.

We're in search of emperor penguins, something very special on this cruise.

And I know you and your team have been putting a lot into finding a way to help us actually see a lot of emperor penguins for the very first time.

Something that's new for you too, in a way of doing it.

- Yeah, you know, there's a spot on the Weddell Sea, it's the northernmost breeding colony of emperor penguins.

And so you think that would be the easiest, most accessible thing to get to, but the Weddell Sea is notorious for being chockfull of ice, stirring up its own weather.

Very volatile not only the weather, but that mass of ice is just moving around all the time and so you don't know from one day to the next how much ice you're gonna encounter when you try to go down there.

Penguins are breeding on the ice.

So if there's too much ice, you can't get there.

- Right.

- If there's not enough ice, then the penguins are gone.

- They're not there.

Yes.

(laughs) - They're not there.

So you really are looking for that kind of Goldilocks' just right.

So you kinda have a lot of factors that have to line up.

- So we're going to take a helicopter to find them.

Is that the idea?

We won't be able to see them easily from the ship- - Exactly.

You know, where they are breeding on that sea ice, the ship can't just come and we Zodiac ashore like we are here.

They're gonna be miles into the sea ice, farther than where we're gonna be able to walk, or obviously we can't take boats through that sea ice across that, what we call fast ice.

It's fastened to the shore, 'cause that ice is stretching out from shore for many miles.

We'd like it to be five to 10 miles, and we probably have a range of about 20 or 25 miles that we could do it possibly.

So right now, we're seeing a spot we think we'll be able to be about eight or 10 miles away.

And we'll find out what happens when we get there on the day.

And you know, it's hard to say, but it's looking good so far.

- And we're actually going to be able to, not just see one or two, but a whole colony of emperor penguins.

- Exactly, normally you cruise around the Weddle Sea, you look for one or two that's hanging out resting on a pan of ice.

- And everyone's on the edge of the ship and cheering loudly- - Ah!

One emperor penguin is a win, you know?

60 trips on Antarctica, that's happened for me about six or seven times.

- The other crew is saying, "I've never seen an emperor penguin.

I've been doing this for three years."

So that would be, as you say, just one would be enormous win.

- Yeah.

- And we're going, our objective is actually hundreds, potentially.

- Yeah, I mean this colony has thousands of emperor penguins breeding.

- So we're really hoping that the stars will align for us.

(lively music) (cruise ship horn honks) Hours, like most cruises to Antarctica, embarks from the southernmost city in the world.

The cruise lines arranged for all of the guests of the Scenic Eclipse to take a chartered flight to Ushuaia where the Scenic Eclipse is waiting for us and we embark on our voyage to the only continent in the world without permanent human residence.

Before we can reach Antarctica from Ushuaia, cruise guests have to go through a rite of passage known as the Drake Passage.

It's one of the most notoriously difficult crossings in the world.

And they say this is actually a pretty nice day out here.

The swells are not too bad, the wind isn't too bad we're told.

People talk about the Drake Passage with fear.

(Lynn laughs) - [Captain Radomir] Have a look at.

Have a look at.

- Why is everyone so afraid of it?

It doesn't look very something to fear today.

- You have a lots of bad weather, lots of low pressures, and lots of cyclones coming through this Drake Passage onto the Indian Ocean.

And so that's why it's notorious about having a bad weather.

But as you can see today, it doesn't have to be always like that.

We were built with intention of sailing in these regions.

So we have equipment on board like the stabilizers who are calming the ship down and preventing of bad things happening on this notorious Drake Passage.

- Right.

- It's a very large mass of open water.

- Yeah.

- Nothing to stop this waves accumulating and building up and building up.

So when we have this, we call it Drake Lake.

The other one is Drake Shake, so.

(Lynn laughs) - [Lynn] I haven't seen any guests not in the restaurants, which is usually the first indication, right?

When the restaurants get quiet and the lounge and the bars get quiet.

- [Captain Radomir] When you see that we are removing whiskies from the whiskey bar, this is a sign that the Drake is gonna be a bit rougher.

- [Lynn] That's the first sign.

- But again, ship has extra large stabilizers which helps crossing that Drake Passage with ease.

I could say with ease.

- Since we're lucky enough to get the Drake Lake and not the Drake Shake for the two-day crossing to Antarctica, life aboard the Scenic Eclipse is in full swing.

But it's not all drinks and dining.

The ship's discovery team of experts lead an enrichment program in the theater that primes us for our experiences ahead.

For example, our quest for emperor penguins is being helped by satellite searches.

It makes us hope the odds of our success are a little higher.

(lively music) (cruise ship horn honks) There are 18 different types of penguins, and our first landing served up two, nesting in what seemed like impossible conditions, up a steep hill that was covered with rocks and exposed bitter winds.

Of course, they seem to be equipped to manage the snowy hill better than us.

Maricel, it's worth the walk up this hill I think to get here.

- Absolutely.

We get here and we have a great view of the whole colony of Adelie penguins here, which is great.

- So I hear there are two kinds of penguins here that we're looking at, which is amazing.

- Yeah.

- Some people never see one kind of penguin in their whole life.

And on our first shore landing, we've got two kinds of penguins and they're nesting.

- [Maricel] They are nesting and they are incubating the ice right now.

- [Lynn] Oh!

Can you tell us the differences between the two types of penguins that we see here?

'Cause a lot of people, one penguin and looks a lot like another kind of penguin.

- Yes, they are quite different.

The Adelie penguins are the ones that we have now in the background.

Black and white, black beak and with the white ring around the eye.

And the gentoo penguins are the ones, I like them more because the red beak makes a difference.

- [Lynn] Yes.

- They are black and white and with that spot of contrast.

- Is it normal to see so many penguins nesting together like this?

- Yes, totally.

They are colonial birds, so they gather, they congregate to breed always.

- Has there been anything you've seen this morning that surprised you?

That you thought, "Oh, this is interesting and this is unique."

- Yeah, yes, to me it's interesting to see how they are incubating still even under the snow.

The parents, some of them are almost completely covered in the snow and still there, incubating the ice.

That is a lot of effort.

- How long?

- We have like 40 days of incubation, then 60 days of taking care of the chicks.

Brooding them and feeding them very often.

After that, they can leave the chick alone and go both of the parents to the sea to gather more food and bring more foods to the chick that needs more and more.

- [Lynn] Are we very lucky to find this and to be able to land ashore in this penguin colony?

Or is this something that is quite usual for cruise guests in Antarctica?

- No, we are lucky because we got to land in this place, which is very hard to land.

You have seen that now already.

But the good thing with penguins is that the location of the colonies is predictable.

So we know that they go to the same spot year after year.

So that's why we know where we aim to go, then we have to see if we can make it at the very moment.

- So you planned for this?

- Yes.

- But we're hoping still for emperor penguins?

- Still looking forward to it.

(Lynn chuckles) - Our nautical safari in Antarctica is not just about penguins.

One shore expedition landed us on a beach where despite the Antarctic's extreme conditions, the largest marine mammal that's not a whale thrives.

The aptly named southern elephant seal can be six times heavier than a polar bear, with bulls getting up to 8,000 pounds and nearly 20 feet long.

It's hard to describe how extraordinary it is to be so close to such enormous animals in the wild.

And while we were careful not to disturb them, these massive creatures didn't seem to care about visitors to their beach, going about their lives and showing us a huge range of behaviors.

Landings like this drive home how many types of iconic wildlife are thriving so close to the Antarctic Circle.

(cruise ship horn honks) (lively music) Ice is everywhere in Antarctica, even at the whiskey bar in the Scenic lounge.

How are you, Milos?

- I'm excellent.

How are you doing?

- I'm fine, thank you.

Could I get a shot of whiskey, please?

- Of course.

- Thank you.

(relaxing jazz music) Actually, I meant to say, could I get that on the rocks, please?

Do you have some ice?

- I'll be right back.

- [Lynn] Thank you.

(relaxing jazz music) (theatrical music) - There's something right in our twelve o'clock.

(theatrical music) (relaxing jazz music) (theatrical music) - There's one in the front over there.

(theatrical music) (theatrical music continues) - Can I actually get a bit less ice, please?

That's a little much.

(whimsical music) So that was just a little skit we did for fun with Milos.

And for the record, I am not that high maintenance.

But the skit was sparked by the great lengths Milos goes to source the sea ice he does serve.

We went out on the hunt in a Zodiac with him and a discovery team ice expert.

So what fascinates you about ice so much?

- Well, it's difficult to put it in words, you know.

It's like, if you think about it like snowflake after snowflake forming this.

It has to be like so many of them, and everyone feels like glaciers are just like dead.

You know, it just like cold bodies of ice.

But it's like, it's moving.

- It's almost like it's a living creature.

- Yeah, yeah.

For me, like being around the glacier and on the glaciers, it makes me always feel so humble, you know?

And putting things in the right perspective.

It doesn't matter whatever problems you have.

You just, look at that, you know?

(both laugh) There is so much more to learn about ice constantly.

Like, so all these air bubbles, they were trapped there when the glacier was forming.

So they carried the information of what the atmosphere was like at the moment when the snow fell.

So it provides a super valuable information for the scientists to figure out what the temperature was doing, what the climate was like.

And we can track back in Antarctica, we have ice as old as 2.7 million years old.

- There's a lot of information stored in there.

(light music) - Oh yeah, look at this.

- This is that!

- This is so clear.

- [Lynn] Oh, look at it.

So clear and dark.

Again, like a sculpture.

- Look at this color, it's, yes- - Drop the bottle right there.

- [Lynn] Drop the bottle or pour something down it.

- Yes, and go straight to the glass.

- I was gonna say mouth, but okay.

- Yeah!

(everyone laughs) - Mouth as well, yeah.

(everyone laughing) - And all of this, it's like the action of the air bubbles which are trapped inside.

And the action combination with the water melt to causing this little dimple.

- [Lynn] Yes, the design.

- [Zaneta] It's like a golf ball.

- [Lynn] Yes!

- Fantastic.

- Oh, that's beautiful one.

Yeah.

- Oh, yeah.

- That's what we want.

- Feel so happy now.

(everyone laughs) - But Zaneta had more ice tricks up her sleeve.

An ice board that has scientific purpose, but can also be used for some open air bartending using a big block of ice we just fished out of the sea.

We did it.

You did it!

- You did it, fantastic.

- So you created an ice tap there?

- Yeah, so we can just like pull it right here and it's gonna cool it down.

There you go.

- [Lynn] Milos just happened to bring a bottle of champagne with him.

- Yuhoo!

- Yay!

- Voila.

- Voila.

Okay, one for you.

To the ice.

- To the ice.

- Cheers!

- Ice is nice.

(everyone giggling) - Mm, there's shards of ice in it.

(Zaneta and Milos laughs) I love it.

I thought I might not ever be able to drink champagne any other way again.

Oh wait, there was champagne in the rose quartz champagne bar in the Scenic Eclipse French restaurant, and more champagne with a view from my suite.

As much as sharing expedition stories with fellow guests is a big part of shipboard life, so is being able to retreat and enjoy a quiet evening in with travel companions.

The ever-changing views from my suite remind me that the opportunity to discover something new could appear around the next bend at any time.

And expedition cruising is about seizing those moments.

So you always need to be poised for action to get out on your suite terrace or on the deck of the ship when there's an announcement from the bridge that there's something to spot where the ship's making a spontaneous stop.

Patience is a virtue, too.

As we explore shorelines by Zodiac, it takes a sharp eye and the ability to wait, and wait, and wait for that moment.

(breathtaking music) - [Lynn] Oh, here we go.

(penguins squawking) - Our nautical safari has taken us through a lot of ice and water.

And for those of us brave or foolish enough, Scenic's discovery team gives us a chance to feel what it's like to be right in that icy water, too.

Thumbs up.

- [OFF CAMERA] All right.

- You want a big countdown?

- Sure.

- [Staff] Are we ready?

- [LYNN] Two, three.

- [Staff] Go!

(water splashing) (Staff cheering) - Good thing is you surface pretty quickly.

Antarctic bottom water is not only the coldest, it's also the saltiest water in the world.

My other tip for a polar plunge is to get all that salt water out of your hair, and then spend some time in the sauna to warm up and convince your tensed up muscles to finally relax again.

(cruise ship horn honks) (lively music) Good planning meets good luck.

The discovery team on the Scenic Eclipse was ready the moment the stars aligned on our quest to see emperor penguins, with both helicopters primed to fly five guests at a time across dramatic Antarctic landscapes and land on ice just over a kilometer from a colony of the rarest and the largest penguins, and one of the largest birds in the world that have adapted to live on ice and survive the white continent's extreme conditions.

Getting here is incredible, and the experience just keeps getting even more unbelievable.

We've just landed, and there are emperor penguins even in the landing zone.

It's like they've come to greet us.

And he's coming over.

(penguins squawking) They keep coming close to us even though we keep backing away like we're supposed to.

They're very curious.

And now they're getting close, I realize they're almost as tall as I am.

(giggles) We know the drill about keeping our distance from the penguins, but no one briefed the penguins.

It's surreal, and we haven't even reached the colony yet.

Our hike over the ice and snow is rewarded by this view.

Hundreds of pairs of breeding emperor penguins and even fluffy, gray emperor penguin babies.

For a moment, it took my breath away.

And here we are, and a little baby right there.

Their little parenting and baby family itself.

This is the kind of moment that dreams are made of.

Not just for cruise travelers, even for the experts.

So you are an ornithologist, - Yeah.

- and you're from Argentina?

- Yeah.

- [Lynn] Have you ever had an experience like this before?

- Never ever.

Never close to emperor penguins.

I'm used to Antarctica, but not to this.

- Everyone, all of the guides, the pilot, everyone is saying it's such an overwhelming thing.

It's such an extraordinary experience.

Nobody's ever done anything like this.

- [Maricel] Yes, none of us.

- [Lynn] Wow!

- [Maricel] Everything new for everyone.

- [Lynn] Just to be here at an actual emperor penguin colony, who can say that?

Almost nobody.

- [Maricel] Almost nobody.

We are, this is a privilege for a few people.

- Well, now that we're here at the colony, it's almost too much.

It's almost unreal that the individual ones that we saw along the way almost seem more real than this incredible colony behind us.

It's too much.

It's just too much.

- It's a huge amount.

And it's so beautiful.

And then when you focus in just one individual, it's even better.

- [Lynn] I know!

And the baby, right?

- [Maricel] And the baby.

- [Lynn] The baby there.

There are babies here.

You say they're about four months old.

- [Maricel] Yeah.

- [Lynn] And they still have their baby feathers.

- [Maricel] Yeah.

- And they just look, like you want to pick them up and cuddle them and hold them.

Of course, nobody's going to do that.

(both laugh) - But that's the wish.

- That is exactly.

And you too, even though you're a scientist, - Yes, I don't care.

- you just wanna pick up that baby and cuddle it.

- [Maricel] I love those babies, too.

And I want to hug them.

- Yes!

So many people, if you ask them what is their favorite bird, they'll tell you penguins and they've never even seen a penguin up close.

What do you think it is about penguins that everyone loves so much?

- I don't know.

They are cute and they are funny and they can be caring, too.

I don't know, they have a mix of personalities that I think that they make them very different.

And also in between the birth, they are the most different ones.

They are apart.

It's like, it's a group that is completely different to all the others.

- [Lynn] In fact, quite majestic.

And especially the emperor penguins, this size.

- [Maricel] Yes, for sure.

You see them and they look not very graceful on land.

- That's been the most amazing thing.

When we see photos of penguins, they're standing very proudly.

- Yeah.

- But what we're seeing is all sorts of- - But didn't see the behavior.

- [Lynn] That's right!

We see the kind of flopping on their stomachs, and what do you call it when they're pushing with their back legs - [Maricel] Yes.

- and scooting across the snow.

- Yes.

They drag with the flippers, but they purpose to on the water, on the surface of the water.

And then here on land, they are not just standing like majestic.

They are curious and they approach you, and somehow they engage and they choose to approach you.

- So how many are there in this spot, do we think?

Or on the island in general?

- Oh, in this spot it's gonna be a couple of hundreds.

But in the whole Snow Hill Island is around 5,000 adults.

- [Lynn] Adults, and when you look out here, does this look like a healthy, happy colony to you?

- Of course, yes.

When you see all those babies healthy, fat, and moving around.

- [Lynn] Yes, that is the thing.

They're all quite chubby.

They all look very, very healthy.

Some good eating around here.

- [Maricel] Yeah, sure.

- Are you going to remember this day forever?

- Of course, my first time here and impossible to forget it.

- One of the most extraordinary wildlife experiences in the entire world.

We just did it today.

Our cruise has bookended by the two-day sailing across the Drake Passage to Argentina, giving us plenty of time to reflect on our life-changing voyage of Antarctic discovery, celebrating once in a lifetime experiences and so many firsts, even for the crew.

- Reaching the Snow Hill, emperor penguin colony, this will be a highlight for me.

Just from experience side, because I never did that.

- There's a lot of aspects that you can't control in Antarctica, like a weather and ice situation.

So do everything what we actually planned before, it's really a exercise and really a luck that we managed to do everything what we planned for.

- [Captain Radomir] And the good karma and energy from the guests.

- Until next time on "World's Greatest Cruises", wishing you fair winds and following seas.

(lively music) More information about "World's Greatest Cruises" and the ship and ports of call featured in today's program on our website at www.worldsgreatestcruises.com.

"World's Greatest Cruises" is made possible in part by the JERNE community of travel advisors: local business owners with experience cruising and planning cruises.

More information at JERNE.COM/CRUISE Next time on "World's Greatest Cruises", we're on at Yachtsman cruise of the Caribbean with marina days and a private beach barbecue party.

Our small ship voyage takes us to off the beaten path islands inaccessible to bigger ships where we explore a World Heritage natural wonder, become rum masters on the island with the oldest distillery, and discover the only carnival that coincides with Christmas.