South America & Antarctica Cruise

14 nights roundtrip from/to Buenos Aires, Argentina

February 16 – March 2, 2014
Celebrity's Infinity

Experience the unmatched beauty of South America on a Pied Piper gay group cruise around South America. On this 14-night cruise you'll set sail roundtrip from the contemporary urban capital of Argentina, Buenos Aires. On your journey around Cape Horn through the Strait of Magellan, you'll head to the unparalled beauty and magnificence of Antarctica. After that, it's visits to the Falkland Islands and interesting ports in Argentina and Uruguay. It's the perfect time to get away for the South American summer.

Celebrity's Infinity

Celebrity Infinity will sail with a new sense of style and excitement. A popular member of Celebrity's fleet, after a spectacular refurbishment in December 2011 emerge with AquaClass accommodations including the Mediterranean-themed Blu specialty restaurant. She got the hip Celebrity iLounge where you can participate in the iLearn enrichment series or pick up the latest high-tech wonder from the first Apple Reseller at Sea. And get ready to have a unique, memorable dinner at the innovative QsineSM restaurant, where you order from an iPad. Finish with a chilled Peartini at the ice-topped Martini Bar. Plus more staterooms, more verandas, an expanded art collection, and completely new décor throughout. There's going to be a new way to get away and make the most of your precious vacation days.

A sumptuous, world-class meal. A theatrical extravaganza reminiscent of the best on Broadway. Cocktails in a piano bar at midnight, breakfast overlooking the sea at sunrise. Each and every one is a reality on Infinity. A member of Celebrity's Millennium class of ships, Infinity is steeped with prestige and elegance. Dressed in polished marble, warm woods and etched glass, Infinity consistently makes a long-lasting, luxurious impression.

Antarctic Cruise

Celebrity Cruises is proud to offer Antarctic cruises, this unique opportunity enables you to explore this pristine wilderness area in style. Prepare for dramatic vistas and sensory indulgence as our Antarctic cruise takes you to the untouched expanse of one of the world's most remote destinations. View impressive hanging glaciers and rare wildlife from the deck of your luxury cruise liner on the cruise holiday of a lifetime.

Antarctic Cruises – Highlights
Celebrity Cruises takes you to some of the most isolated regions and finest destinations in South America on our Antarctic cruise.

•Elephant Island, Antarctica
Cruise by and marvel at the ice covered wonder that is Elephant Island. It is from here that Ernest Shackleton journeyed in an open topped dinghy to fetch help after his exploration party was marooned for four icy months in 1916. The island is home to penguins, elephant seals and an assortment of rare wildlife.

•Paradise Bay, Antarctica
You are certain to leave with amazing memories, and pictures, as we cruise past Paradise Bay. View massive humpback whales, waddling penguins, leopard seals and more in their natural element.

•Ushuaia, Argentina
Ushuaia, known as the 'southernmost city in the world', offers holiday makers a wide variety of adventures. Explore the unique scenery of Tierra del Fuego Island as you kayak its lakes and rivers, or trek through the Tierra Mayor Valley Natural Reserve on foot. Lunch on the Garibaldi Pass or board a catamaran at Lapataia Bay to cruise past the areas famous penguin colonies.

Why choose Celebrity Cruises for your Antarctic Cruise Holiday?
The youngest fleet sailing the high seas today, Celebrity cruise ships are considered the standard by which other fleets are judged. We are consistently ranked among the best in the world, proudly combining modern-day technology with timeless elegance. We invite you to experience our gourmet cuisine, exclusive entertainment, spacious lodgings and the signature service Celebrity is known for. Our Antarctic cruise is the best way to explore this beautiful environment and with Celebrity Cruises you can experience it in complete luxury.

Head south for the winter

Toss out the parkas and wool socks and head to warm, uninhibited South America. It's cities full of excitement with décor as colorful as the locals and music that will have you dancing in the streets. Then, there is the wild and untamed side of a different sort. Rain forests, wildlife and staggering mountain peaks that reach high into the sky.

You'll get the most out of visiting this exotic and diverse destination, stretching from the world's highest waterfall to the land's end in Tierra del Fuego. Bask in the living mosaic of inviting people, natural wonder and unforgettable moments.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

If only one word could be used to describe this vibrant and richly cosmopolitan city, it would be "mosaic." Stroll along these broad thoroughfares, like the Plaza de Mayo, where famed first lady Evita Perón led fervent crowds to petition for her husband's release from prison, or visit Pirámide de Mayo, the oldest of the city's many national monuments.

Buenos Aires is like a love that one can never forget… From the tango music echoing down the cobblestone streets of San Telmo to the delicious smells and tastes of Argentine beef asados and Malbec wines, there is something undeniably seductive about Buenos Aires. Located on the Río de la Plata on the South American east coast of Argentina, Buenos Aires is the country's largest metropolitan area with over thirteen million porteños (people of the port). The port's history is marked by an influx of millions of immigrants during the 19th and 20th centuries, making Buenos Aires a city of mixed, colorful cultures. The fused cultural traditions and European colonial architecture have led many to refer to Buenos Aires as the Paris of South America.

Comparisons with Europe are not enough to describe Buenos Aires. The past participates in a suggestive dance with the present throughout the 48 barrios of the city. Just as La Boca, the colorful buildings are memories of an era as the capital's first port, Puerto Madero's promenades display the modern face of the Port of Buenos Aires. Palermo Viejo exudes decades- old charm while the chic boutiques and restaurants of Palermo Soho and Hollywood manifest the talents of fashion-conscious designers. Past icons of Buenos Aires, like Diego Armando Maradona, Evita Peron, Ernesto "Che" Guevara, and Jorge Luis Borges, live on today as new generations both glorify and vilify these sons and daughters of the city. A tango of generations, tradition and passion makes Buenos Aires an alluring place that you feel, not just visit. With one taste, the smell, the sights and sounds of Buenos Aires, it is all too easy to begin a lifelong love affair with this city.

Ushuaia, Argentina

No city on the planet has a more southerly latitude. As a result, the sun shines for 18 hours during each summer day, providing ample opportunity to view the mix of glaciers, forests and sea, all framed by Mount Martial to the west and Mounts Olivia and Cinco Hermanos to the east.

Waite Hockin Stirling was a British missionary in the mid 1800s. Under the auspices of the Anglican Church's Patagonia Missionary Society of England, Reverend Stirling established a mission outpost among the indigenous Yaganes people. On the bank of the Beagle Channel, on the southern extreme of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, Reverend Stirling came ashore. The Yaganes called the area Ushuaia.

The first permanent missionary assigned to Ushuaia was Thomas Bridges. His young son Lucas would grow up among the Indians and learn their language and customs. It was an adventure he would never forget. With great respect and admiration for the primitive Yaganes, Lucas would later write (a year before his passing at the age of 75) the definitive book on the indigenous people of Tierra del Fuego and the clash of cultures that all started in Ushuaia in the mid 1800s. The book, published in 1948, is titled "Uttermost Part of the Earth". In Ushuaia the Bridges family is remembered with high esteem to this day.

As mentioned earlier, Ushuaia, a town of approximately 60,000, looks out over the Beagle Channel. The 150 mile long body of water is named after the British ship HMS Beagle that sailed through here twice (the second time with Charles Darwin aboard) during missions of discovery in the 1800s. It was not the British Navy, however, but rather the penal system of a recently independent Argentina that led to the growth and development of Ushuaia. In an effort to stake their claim to this region of Tierra del Fuego the government of Argentina authorized the construction of a large military-run prison along with the supporting infrastructure. All work done by the prisoners themselves, of course.

From its humble beginnings Ushuaia is now the largest community in, and the gateway to, Argentina's amazing Isla Grande de Tierra Del Fuego.

Cape Horn, Chile

Tierra del Fuego, Land of Fire, is the most isolated place in the Americas, and Cape Horn is its southernmost point. Here you will find Horn Island, the southernmost point of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago, and the Americas for that matter. These craggy cliffs and windswept shores are stark, rugged beauty personified, creating a dramatic setting for the collision between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Wildlife is abundant, and our onboard naturalist will be on hand to point out the highlights of this diverse ecosystem.

Schollart Channel, Antarctica

You are certain to leave with amazing memories, and pictures, as you cruise through Schollart Channel located near Antarctica. Take in the mesmerizing sights of massive ice flows, humpback whales, waddling penguins, leopard seals and more in their natural, and somewhat extreme, element.

Paradise Bay, Antarctica

Paradise Bay is a harbour in West Antarctica. It is one of only two ports used for cruise ships to stop on the continent. On a fine midsummer day at the edge of Antarctica, a glaciated mountain casts its reflection in the calm but icy waters of Paradise Bay. This lovely harbor is on the western coast of the Antarctic Peninsula, which reaches north toward South America. The inlet hosts two Antarctic research stations: Argentina's Almirante Brown Antarctic Base and Chile's Gonzalez Videla Antarctic Base. Both are now occupied only during the Antarctic summer. Some of the frozen continent's earliest scientific research took place in Paradise Bay in the early 1920s.

Gerlache Strait

Gerlache Strait or De Gerlache Strait or Detroit de la Belgica is a channel / strait separating the Palmer Archipelago from the Antarctic Peninsula. The Belgian Antarctic Expedition, under Lt. Adrien de Gerlache, explored the strait in January and February 1898, naming it for the expedition ship Belgica. The name was later changed to honor the commander himself.

Elephant Island, Antarctica

Elephant Island is an ice-covered, mountainous island off the coast of Antarctica in the outer reaches of the South Shetland Islands in the Southern Ocean. Its name was given by early explorers sighting elephant seals on its shores. This tiny island in the Weddell Sea plays a role in one of seafaring history's most legendary exploits. When the brave crew of the Endurance, led by intrepid explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton, was trapped in the ice during a 1914 polar expedition, they took refuge on this island until help arrived.

Port Stanley, Falkland Islands

Commune with the roughly 2,000 intrepid souls who call this remote former whaling outpost home. As you hike through the rocky, windswept landscape you may observe a few of the island's flightless residents-including Magellan penguins burrowing underground, and rockhoppers carefully observing you from outcroppings.

Great Britain's incomparable 18th century writer, Dr. Samuel Johnson, was convinced that though the English were the "undisputed lords of tempest-beaten barrenness" the Falkland Islands were not worth one drop of English blood. Referring in sympathy to the bleak isolation of the British military garrison stationed in the Falklands, Johnson writes; "They must be in a state that contemplates with envy the exiles of Siberia." And isolated they were. Mother England lays nearly 8,000 miles over the northeast horizon and the closest point of the Tierra del Fuego mainland is 350 miles to the southwest across some of the most treacherous and unforgiving waters on earth.

The Falkland Islands are a self-governing Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom and the islanders are British citizens. Stanley was named in honor of the thrice elected Prime Minister of 19th century England, Lord Edward Stanley. Over the years Stanley has been an important whaling center and coaling station for the Royal Navy. The island has been and continues to be a supplier of fine wool and sheep. There are approximately 240 sheep on the islands … that's 240 sheep for every man, woman and child … adding up to well over ½ million. Today Stanley has expanded its economic base with commercial fishing and, of course, tourism.

The Falklands have, on occasion, been described as little more than desolate and windblown rocks cast into the middle of nowhere.

Puerto Madryn, Argentina

This deep water port was founded in 1865 by Welsh immigrants. Extending out into the Atlantic from Puerto Madryn is the Península Valdés, a wildlife sanctuary where vast numbers of sea elephants, whales and penguins far outnumber the few human visitors who make it out this far.

Puerto Madryn is located on the Atlantic coast of Argentina's famous region of Patagonia. The city looks out over the protected Nuevo Gulf with the Valdes Peninsula to the north and Punta Ninfas to the south.

Puerto Madryn was founded in the mid 1800s and named in honor of Sir Thomas Duncombe Love Jones-Parry, the Baron of Madryn, northwest Wales in the United Kingdom. One might think that is quite a stretch, from western Wales to coastal Patagonia, but we will make the interesting connection a little later.

Puerto Madryn is a relatively new city. After all, it was only ten thousand years ago that the first humans made it to this harsh and forbidding part of the South American continent. Very few of them stayed around. Compared with the dinosaurs that roamed this area of Patagonia as far back as 250 million years ago, there has not even been a tick on the geologic time clock since the establishing of Puerto Madryn.

But there has been enough time for Puerto Madryn to develop and grow. Currently the city has a population close to 60,000. The city has a large aluminum industry that is served by its deep water port. It is the port that has enabled cruise lines to help make Puerto Madryn into a center for tourism as visitors come from around the world to marvel at the natural wonders of Argentina's Patagonian coast.

Montevideo, Uruguay

Uruguay is cattle country, and although Montevideo is a thoroughly modern city with a rich artistic tradition, the reach of the rural estancias is all around you. If ever there were a time you were inclined to indulge, delicious steaks are the specialty of the house in virtually every restaurant.

San Felipe y Santiago de Montevideo overlooks the north shore of the Rio de la Plata where the waters of the mighty river meet the Atlantic Ocean. At first the site was simply a small Spanish military fort built in 1714 as a way of countering Portugal's expansion of Brazil. However, settlers were not very interested in the area. The Spanish governor in Buenos Aires, Don Mauricio Zabala, offered cattle and land to the first groups that would come and lay the foundations of a town. Among the earliest to arrive were families from Spain's Canary Islands. They sailed into the small bay and came ashore in 1726.

Over the next decades Montevideo slowly grew into an essential port for trade between the "Old and New World". In the late 1700s Montevideo had developed into one of the most important and profitable ports in all of South America. By 1828 Montevideo was the capital of Uruguay. But difficulties in dealing with Argentina and Brazil persisted. At one point (1843-1852) military forces from Buenos Aries laid siege to the city for nine years.

Today, with a population a little over 1.5 million, Montevideo, especially the "Old City" has a classic and inviting European charm and elegance. There are broad boulevards, peaceful parks and refreshing fountains, stately plazas and imposing monuments dedicated to respected national heroes. The city has colorful, bustling markets and beautifully designed old world buildings. The busy harbor attests to the fact that Montevideo remains Uruguay's primary port. However, it is the well deserved reputation of the warmth of her people that makes Montevideo one of the nicest cities in all of South America.