The trip was worthwhile overall, but a few things were disappointing. 1. Although the RS group was only 30 people, there were 180+ passengers on the ship. This meant that, in order for everyone to experience two excursions per day, a few of them were too short - 30 minutes . Others who have gone on trips to Antarctica have told me their boats carried fewer passengers and thus excursions were longer. 2. The constant need to translate announcements into Chinese became annoying. What was even more annoying with the frequent announcements in Chineses over the public address system. They often came when we were trying to nap in our cabin, and there was no way to turn off the PA system. 3. It was extremely disappointing that there was a charge for all beverages other than water, coffee or tea: even for soft drinks. And a corkage fee if a passenger provided his own wine. And charges for anything (e.g., beverages and laundry) was exorbitant. In general, prices for everything were what you would expect to pay on a large cruise ship. On other RS trips wine at lunch and dinner was included at no charge, and there never a charge for soft drinks. And on other RS trips self-service laundry facilities were available on the boat at a minimal charge. This should have been disclosed in the advance literature. Bottom line: I would NOT recommend this trip to others.