Antarctica is the final continent on my list so I did some research on how best to travel there. Overall the reviews suggest a small-ship cruise, such as the one pictured from the Russian ex-research vessel, Akademik Sergey Vavilov cruise ship. (Named for Soviet physicist Sergey Vavilov.) The cruise season runs from December through February, which is the Antarctic summer, and the major highlight is penguin sightings. The Intrav's Clipper Adventurer’s itinerary also sounds interesting: this small-cruise ship follows in the “footsteps” (wake?) of Ernest Shackleton, whose unbelievable 1914-1917 800-mile crossing from Antarctica for the island of South Georgia is considered the greatest boat journey in history and puts the words “intrepid” in a whole new light.