It's still very cost prohibitive. And it's a closed loop, limited guided tour. You pay $40,000 a person. Fly to one place in Antarctica in a windowless plane, stay in a hut, then leave.
According to
Antarctic Division of the Australian Government's Department of the Environment: "Most visitors reach Antarctica by ship. These voyages last from 10 days to several weeks, and ships range from the basic to the luxurious. Most (except the largest cruise ships, of 500 or more passengers) offer the chance to go ashore." So mostly NOT by plane, windowless or otherwise.
I'll agree with you on the cost though. Once you add in travel to and from the embarkation point, one could easily spend $40k or more.
Also the main company out of the very very few that do it is a relative of the chief scientist of the NOAA. That is a link to a plausible vested interest.
Well, "very few" is somewhat misleading. The International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators
lists 45 companies offering various levels of service to the continent. Which is NOT an exhaustive list, since the company you are referring to (which is
Polar Cruises for those who are just joining us) doesn't even appear on the list because they don't actually
provide the travel service, they are more of a travel
arranger.
And as a tourist, you're obviously not going there for a scientific expedition of any sort. You're just trying to find a way to blow some of the money you obviously have too much of.
True, and on point. As a tourist, you are not vested in the Conspiracy. You might see something that you can't reconcile with the RE dogma you've been taught, and even photograph it. Not knowing the Conspiracy's official explanation, you might blow the whole thing wide open. This feels to me like an argument against the existence of a Conspiracy, since it would be against their interests to allow anybody not 'in the know' to go to a place where the Conspiracy risks being uncovered. Therefore, the Conspiracy should have banned tourism when the Antarctic Treaty was signed. Tourism is not banned. Therefore either there is no Conspiracy, or the Conspiracy is too weak to influence The Treaty. If they are too weak to influence The Treaty, how could they at the same time be strong enough to hide the true shape of the Earth from everyone on Earth for hundreds of years?