Polar opposites” is more than a catchy phrase. 

The Arctic region (in the north) is a vast ocean capped with just a few meters of ice and hardly any land mass within the Arctic Circle (66.33 degrees latitude). Antarctica (in the south) is a solid land mass that nearly fills the Antarctic Circle, but it is surrounded by vast oceans with no land anywhere.

While there are flying seabirds, roaming polar bears, reindeer, musk ox and arctic foxes sparsely populating the vast ice fields in Greenland and the Canadian arctic; the predominant bird in Antarctica is the flightless penguin in colonies of millions living on icy terra firma because they have no land predators.

You can actually cruise right up to the North Pole (see below), but on an Antarctic cruise you can barely pass the Antarctic Circle.

Ultimately, these differences will challenge you to visit one polar expedition or the other. Those who become obsessed with both are said to have a “bi-polar disorder.”

Yes, that is just a joke; Enter Chuck Cross,  one of the owners of Polar Cruises, winners of the Conde Nast Traveler Awards for “Top Travel Specialist - Polar Cruises” every year from 2003-2010. Chuck has led 60 different polar expeditions.  As the “go-to guy” for polar adventures, we interviewed him.

How do Polar cruises differ from average cruises?

Chuck:  The biggest difference is our smaller vessels, from 1500 to 4000-gross tons. Generally we limit our cruises to 99 passengers - the maximum number we can land legally in any Antarctic region.

I see cruises to Antarctica offered on major cruise lines like Holland America [2] and Oceania Cruises. Are those worthwhile?

Chuck:  We refer to those as sightseeing cruises.  The Antarctic Treaty Org. has many rules to preserve the region, with one prohibiting large ships from making landfall.  Only small ship expeditions like ours can land you close to the natural wildlife. For example; another rule dictates how far humans must remain from various species. For penguins it is 20 feet, but penguins don’t read the rules. With no land predators and they’ll greet you like just another penguin, a tall one in a red parka.

What vessels do you recommend for an Antarctica cruise?

Chuck:  The sights are the same, but the vessels are entirely different, so we try to match the traveler to the ship. The Polar Star [4] has bunk bed rooms sharing a common bathroom – like a college dorm and obviously for adventure travelers. Cruises start at $5260 per person.

At the luxury end are the National Geographic Explorer [5] and the Silversea Prince Albert II  which both start at over $10,000 for an 11 to 13-day cruise. The latter has gourmet cuisine and marble Jacuzzi tubs. The owner’s suite is as much as $77,395.

What sights will be seen?

Chuck: Antarctica cruises all start in Ushuaia, Argentina, the southernmost airport in the world. It takes two days to sail Drake’s Passage each way, which can be bumpy at times, but not always. Once in Antarctica we see incredible mountains, glaciers, ice packs, icebergs and of course the wildlife.

I had an excellent seven-day whale watching cruise with American Safari Cruises in Alaska a few years ago. Do you recommend Antarctica for whale watching?

Chuck:  While we see whales on every cruise the sightings vary so we don’t focus on that. Our goal is making landings to see penguins, seals and even killer whales in action if we’re lucky.

What about the Arctic Circle in the North. How is it different and what cruises do you recommend?

Chuck:  We offer every kind of polar voyage that exists, but I recommend Svalbard, the frozen Arctic Archipelago 500 miles above Norway at almost 80 degrees north. It is much deeper into the Polar Circle than you will ever get in Antarctica.  Very cold at times and stark with grandeur, the dozens of islands have Polar bears, Arctic foxes, walruses and reindeer. We also go to Iceland, Greenland and Canada’s Northwest Passage.

What is the biggest attraction?

Polar bears. We usually sew from a few to dozens of them on each trip. One my last trip they were so close we had to back up to get a picture, but we were safely on our boat.

What about Alaska?

Chuck:  We don’t go there. Juneau is 1,000 miles below the Arctic Circle which starts at the Bering Strait. There isn’t much to see farther north in Prudhoe Bay and the Russian side is largely uncharted and blocked by ice.

What is your most memorable Polar expedition cruise?

Chuck:  I just took a Russian nuclear-powered ice breaker literally all the way to the North Pole. We are going again July 9, 2011. It starts at $22,690 for a 15-day sailing.

Any last advice?

Chuck:  There is so much to know; the environment, history, geology. Every expedition has highly degreed naturalists, historians and capable guides. The conditions are a challenge and you must be prepared. I speak to everyone I book personally to make sure they bring the proper clothes. 

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I started writing about stock market investing for Motley Fool in 1995, but previously I worked aboard cruise ships. I co-founded CruiseMates.com, the first cruise travel guide on the Internet in New York City in 1999. CruiseMates, one the Web’s top cruise travel guides was acquired by Internet Brands (NASD: INET) in 2006. Once CEO, I am now the editor of CruiseMates – Paul Motter.