Who can resist the luxury of a destination where the local residents all wear tuxedos naturally, night and day?    Antarctica is home to millions of endearing penguins, and no permanent human colonies.  For visitors, the “White Continent” offers bucket list richness — chicks hatching while the parent penguin sits on the rock nest,  and huge scale floating galleries of sculptural glaciers and icebergs with striking streaks of blues and greens.  Nature’s reality show of orca whales, leopard sharks, seals, and penguins plays out in a vastness that stirs the soul.

If you have dreamed of going to the South Pole, now is a good time to book your passage to make 2012 or 2013 your best yet. The holiday zone in the northern hemisphere — a good time for travel gifts to yourself or others — is summer in Antarctica, when the ships can get passengers close to the penguin rookeries and research stations worth visiting.

Specials are now being offered by the cruise line that shines historically in polar trips – the Norwegian Hurtigruten.   It’s also the only line I can personally vouch for, having experienced great times above the Arctic Circle and into the Antarctic Peninsula.

Savings of up to $3,000 a couple are being offered on the Classic Expedition Voyages embarking November 29, 2012; December 08, 2012; January 02 & 11, 2013; and February 13, 2013, if travelers are willing to wait for cabin assignments at the pier.

Whatever your motivation —  you are looking for even more to be thankful for; you want to realize your New Year’s resolutions; you’re worried about the melting polar ice caps; or you want to make sure you visit all seven continents —Hurtigruten’s current bargains beckon for great journeys.

The MS FRAM (Norwegian for “forward”) is a modern boat with English speaking crew, outdoor Jacuzzis, a sauna, observation decks, and a team of scientists and expedition leaders to answer questions. Smaller flat-bottomed boats are used for twice-daily shore expeditions to remarkable places, weather permitting, and to get closer to floating icebergs to see playful penguins sliding down the slopes.

Fun Facts:

*There are no penguins at the North Pole! In fact, penguins north of the equator are rare. There are also no polar bears at the South Pole.

*Tired of rain and falling snow for the winter? Antarctica is actually a desert! It receives less than two inches of precipitation in a year, about the same as the Sahara Desert. It’s the driest continent on the planet.

*It’s the coldest continent, too, year-round, but when my husband and I went, summer on the Antarctic Peninsula was much warmer than most the northwest of the United States. We enjoyed sunshine and weather in the 40s. In one colony of penguins, the babies were actually overheated.
*Male penguins may lift up their heads and let out loud calls, a behavior called “ecstasy.”

*All 24 time zones converge at the South Pole, making Antarctica timeless or providing time for everything, depending on your perspective.

Please let us know if the Bottom of the World is at the top of your list!

-Lisa TE Sonne for LuxuryTravelMavens.com

Photographs by Lisa TE Sonne