Day 14 – January 8, 2026
At Sea – Cruising Elephant Island
(Day 12 on the ship)
We arrived at Elephant Island a little later than planned this morning after having to reroute around ice. After a quick cup of coffee and a light bite, we bundled up and headed up on deck—it was definitely cooler today. We met up with Catherine and Scott and spent most of the morning and early afternoon taking photos, once again surrounded by humpback whales, especially as we approached Point Wild and Cape Valentine.
Point Wild is the site where Sir Ernest Shackleton landed and left his men during the legendary Endurance expedition—an absolutely fascinating and humbling story. Standing offshore and seeing this place in person really puts that history into perspective.
We took a short break between stops to warm up at the Pool Grill and grab lunch, then headed back out on deck to photograph what would likely be our last tabular iceberg as we turned north toward Stanley in the Falkland Islands. To keep warm—and to burn off a few of the extra calories from all the incredible food and, yes, a few extra drinks 😂—we walked several miles around the track.
John needed some time to get work done, so we headed back to the room for the remainder of the afternoon.
We regrouped for pre-dinner drinks at 6:30 pm, then headed to Pacific Rim for dinner at 7:30. I ordered the vegetable pot stickers (very good!), followed by miso soup as my main and a side of Regent fried rice with aromatic duck, vegetables, eggs, and soy—all delicious. John started with the assorted sushi platter (spicy tuna maki, smoked salmon, lobster California roll, and octopus gunkan) and followed that with Thai red chicken curry and jasmine rice.
Dessert was just as good. I chose matcha white chocolate ice cream, while John went with the Don Papa rum cake—a white chocolate and coconut mousse cake.
After dinner, we headed toward the Observation Lounge but stopped by the theater to catch the last 30 minutes of the evening show, which turned out to be really good. We then made our way upstairs for a nightcap and somehow got roped into a music trivia game. It ended up being us versus another team, and we tied for points! We had a blast and did way better than expected. We even earned Regent Reward Points, which can be redeemed at the end of the voyage—so we’ll see what that gets us, considering we haven’t joined many other activities.
John and Catherine are scheduled for a ship tour tomorrow, so we called it a night. Tomorrow, we’ll be crossing the Drake Passage again—and we’ve been told it should be more Drake Lake than Drake Shake. Fingers crossed! It’ll be another day at sea.
About Elephant Island
Elephant Island is a rugged, ice-covered island in the outer reaches of the South Shetland Islands, located about 245 km (152 miles) northeast of the Antarctic Peninsula. Its coastline is dominated by steep cliffs and glaciers that plunge directly into the Southern Ocean, leaving only a few narrow, rocky beaches suitable for landing.
The island is best known for its role in Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Trans-Antarctic Expedition. In 1916, after the Endurance was crushed by ice, Shackleton and his crew sought refuge here. While most of the men remained camped at Point Wild for months, Shackleton sailed to South Georgia to seek rescue—one of the greatest survival stories in exploration history.
Today, Elephant Island has no permanent human settlement, but its harsh environment supports colonies of chinstrap penguins and southern elephant seals, the latter of which gave the island its name. With frequent fog, heavy snowfall, and powerful winds, it remains a stark, dramatic, and unforgettable place.
