Each month offers its own highlights, November brings the start of summer, the pack ice begins to break up and penguins begin courting. December and January the chicks begin to hatch and temperatures are at their warmest with up to 20 hours of sunlight a day. February and March are late summer, the chicks are beginning to fledge and whale-watching is at it's best.

Antarctica is only accessible during it's summer months of November through to March as the winter months receive near round the clock darkness and extreme cold temperatures as low as -50C. However, summer temperatures are not as cold as you might assume, the ocean has a tempering influence and temperatures can reach as high as 9C. The Antarctic Peninsula, where the majority of cruises explore, receives a warmer, wetter climate than coastal areas with temperatures commonly above freezing. Most precipitation that falls in coastal Antarctica is snow whereas rain is as common as snowfall on the Peninsula. However the Peninsula receives some of the strongest winds and fiercest storms.