In Antarctica, the word "extremes" takes on new meaning. It holds the world's largest reservoir of fresh water. Yet it is a vast desert as dry as the Sahara. It is a frozen wilderness locked in a Pleistocene time warp. Yet in summer during the miracle of rebirth, Antarctica's open skies are alive with swooping seabirds, its pure snow and water filled with the largest concentration of pelagic life on our planet. Rookeries of penguins that number in the tens and even hundreds of thousands. Seals and whales in glorious abundance.

Equally glorious is the stark, raw beauty of Antarctica. Giant, blue-tinted icebergs sparkle like diamonds in a midnight blue sea. Towering snowcapped mountains reach toward the eternal midnight sun. Vast snowfields, blinding white, stretch to eternity. All this we invite you to witness aboard Explorer II, the world's top-rated expedition ship.