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About the ship
 Construction
- The hull was built in 1989 in Kiev, Urkraine by the Russian Navy as a
Nordic spy ship (which explains the ice-strengthened ship bottom). After the
project was cancelled, the hull was moved to Genoa, Italy, where the vessel was
completed in 1996 for use as a passenger ship.
Name
- It was originally called the Minerva, then underwent some name changes,
which included "Explorer II". The ship reverted to "Minerva" so that
the public
would not confuse it with the smaller Antarctica cruise ship "Explorer I" that
sank in 2007. It did not have the Minerva's ice-strengthened hull.
Statistics
 Length:
133 meters (436 feet)
Cruising
speed: 28 kph or 17 mph
Motion
stabilizers: Yes
Registry:
Bahamas
Passengers
(max): 420
Passengers
(in Antarctica): 199
Passenger-to-crew
ratio: 1.5 to 1
Other insights
Passenger
nationalities - They come from all quarters of the world, but most
are Americans, followed by the British, Canadians and Germans.
Ages
- They range from 3 to 90. Most passengers are in the broad 30-something to
recent-retiree bracket.
Traveling
by yourself?
- You won't be alone. On my cruise, over a dozen were traveling solo,
either because they were unmarried or their spouses could not make the trip.
Children
- There is no dedicated program or facility for kids. But a child with a
keen interest in wildlife might find this cruise awesome despite its length and
scarcity of playmates.
Daily
satellite newssheet
- It's slipped under your cabin door each morning.
Communications
- You can send and receive emails through the ship's radio operator for a
reasonable fee. However, phone and fax calls are high - the ship-to-shore phone
company charges as much as $15 per minute ($900 per hour) when you are in
Antarctica.
Medical
center
- A doctor and nurse operate it. The facility has basic emergency medical
equipment and a stock of standard proprietary medicine.
Laundry
& dry cleaning
- The ship's laundry, dry cleaning, and tailoring department does quality,
moderately priced work. And there is a small self-service launderette with two washing machines and driers.
Elevators
- One is near the front of the ship, the other, in the rear. They are in
good condition, but some passengers
(including me) ignored them, preferring the stairs to work off the dining room calories.
Photo
tip
- Lower your camera's exposure setting on bright, sunny days in
Antarctica. Otherwise, the vast, overwhelmingly white vista of icebergs,
glaciers and mountains would cause those objects to lose textural contrast.
Chained
furniture
- At first, it seems comical to see chairs, tables and even the piano
chained to the floor. But once the sea acts up, you understand the reason.
Click these buttons
for more tips & insights
Pages specific to the
Minerva cruise ship
Antarctica cruises
in general
 
Clickable Antarctica
wonder map
My "What it's Like"
cruise ship sections
 to
view
My general
cruise ship section
Click the button below for Regent's website for Minerva itineraries with maps, a list of
cruise-specialist travel agents near you, plus other useful trip-planning
information.
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