World’s most dangerous sea daring cruise ship tourists pay £5k to cross twice

The world’s most dangerous sea is so perilous that it has claimed hundreds of lives over the years – yet daring cruise ship tourists pay £5,000 to make the journey twice.

Dubbed the “most powerful convergence of seas”, the Drake Passage, which joins the Atlantic, Pacific and Southern oceans, is just about the only way to travel to Antarctica.

Brave adventurers pay thousands of pounds – and often more – to visit the beautiful continent, where glaciers, icebergs, penguins, giant whales and stunning landscapes await.

The choppy waters of the Drake Passage, named after English explorer Sir Francis Drake who sailed close to the location in 1578, are believed to have caused more than 800 deadly shipwrecks in history.

Fast forward to the present day, though, and tourists now visit the world’s coldest continent in their thousands – despite the dangers.

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Documenting her experience making the crossing, TikTok travel blogger Natasha Alden said: “To get to Antarctica, you have to cross the Drake Passage.

“You can either get the Drake Lake or the Drake Shake and unfortunately, I woke up and we were getting the Drake Shake.”

Sharing a video of huge waves crashing against her cabin’s window, she added: “So I muster up the strength to get out of bed and ask the gods what I did to disappoint them. Because little did I know that I would get the Drake Shake on the way back from Antarctica as well, and it would take twice as long.”

She explained that they crossed the stretch of sea for a day and a half before reaching any land.

She added that breakfast was a “pretty interesting” experience because everyone was “holding on for dear life”.

While some of her fellow holidaymakers attended lectures and perused the gift shop, Natasha was forced to run back to her room quickly at one point so she could take more sea-sickness tablets.

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@theworldpursuit Replying to @Negar Nikaeein Day 2 of the Antarctica adventures #DrakePassage #Antarctica ♬ love nwantinti (ah ah ah) – CKay

A spokesperson for tour company G Adventures, one of the operators which runs an 11-day round trip tour from Ushuaia in southern Argentina, to Antarctica, costing around £5,000 said: “The Antarctic Peninsula is anything but a world of white desolation.

“Join us on a true adventure to a world of immense scale and visual splendour. Passing huge icebergs in the flat calm of a polar morning will reshape the way you look at your world.

“Encounter huge whales, enormous rookeries of penguins, and stunning landscapes few have ever witnessed. This expedition will introduce you to the magic of the South Shetland Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula.”

The Drake Passage – which can either be completely calm or extremely rocky depending on the weather – can be so dangerous that a number of deaths have occurred over the years, including in recent times.

Four American citizens died and more were injured during Antarctic cruises late last year, leading the US Coast Guard to investigate four incidents that occurred in a span of less than three weeks.

In one particularly horrific incident, a “rogue wave” – twice the size of waves surrounding it – battered into a cruise ship, killing one woman and injuring four more, CNN reports.

Local media reported that the woman “received blows from a glass surface that collapsed in the middle of the storm” which the Viking Cruises ship found itself caught up in.

Netherlands-based U.S. Coast Guard Activities Europe, the National Transportation Safety Board and other global investigators sent teams to Ushuaia, Argentina,

The U.S. military service said it would “commence thorough safety investigations with the goal of improving marine safety and preventing similar tragic incidents.”

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