A 9-Year-Old’s View of the End of the Earth: One Family’s Antarctic Adventure
When Rebecca and Jeremy Rowley booked a cruise to Antarctica, they expected ice, penguins, and a once-in-a-lifetime view. What they didn’t expect was how the trip would change their daughter, Violet, then nine years old. The idea started with Jeremy’s 50th birthday. He had visited six continents; Antarctica was the last. Rebecca admits she was skeptical at first, but Jeremy convinced her to go while they still had the energy. Both parents work full-time, and they couldn’t leave Violet behind, so she came along. It turned out to be the best decision they could have made.
The journey itself was an adventure. They flew out of Salt Lake City two days early to avoid potential delays, spent a day in Atlanta, then flew to Santiago, Chile. They added three extra days there to adjust to the time zone and explore the city, plus coastal towns Valparaiso and Vina del Mar. From Santiago, they took a chartered flight to Ushuaia, Argentina, toured Tierra del Fuego National Park, and cruised the Beagle Channel before boarding the Lindblad-National Geographic Resolution. By then, they had already been traveling for nearly a week.
Rebecca says the first time she stepped ashore, she was stunned. Utah has snow, she says, but Antarctica is different. The icebergs, the penguins porpoising through the water, the whale spouts—it all built into something overwhelming. On their first hike, three penguins waddled past, unbothered, and belly-slid into the freezing water. From a peak, Rebecca looked down at the ship surrounded by icy peaks and felt like a true visitor in a place that made her feel both small and exhilarated.
Violet threw herself into the experience. She scrambled up a steep hill to touch a glacier and asked if she could lick it. She mimicked penguin sounds, waddled like the birds, and jumped up when she saw one shoot rocket poop. She touched an iceberg, learned to scrub her boots to protect the ecosystem, and paddled a kayak. One afternoon, Violet shared a kayak with her mother near a large iceberg. The water began to move, the ice rocked, and suddenly a group of penguins surfaced beside them, chittering. “We followed them for a while,” Rebecca says. “It was unforgettable.”
The ship’s crew also made the trip special. The leader of the kids’ program, Shannon, introduced herself before boarding and led activities on sea days: painting with meltwater, drawing wildlife, learning about Antarctic climate. The team’s naturalist stopped a Zodiac ride to pull in ice so the kids could taste it and cool their cocoa. A visiting scientist showed Violet water samples under a microscope. Captain Martin Graser welcomed young visitors to the bridge. “She cried when we had to say goodbye to Shannon and Stefano,” Rebecca says. Violet now wants to be a scientist and own her own Zodiac boat.
The trip home was the hardest part—nearly 40 hours, including an eight-hour wait in the Santiago airport. Rebecca wishes they had built in an extra day there. She advises families to choose a tour operator that prioritizes shore expeditions, ask about kids’ programming before booking, and hope there’s at least one other child on board. Pack movies, books, art sets, and small toys for travel days. And above all, she says, just do it. “One of my major concerns was that it would be wasted on Violet. Luckily, my fears were unfounded. She was engaged, excited, and learning the entire trip.”
**The Bottom Line** Group size: Two adults, one child Days on the road: 17 Cost of cruise: $51,285 International flights: $4,428