Manfred B
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Posts posted by Manfred B
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Our Holland America cruise similarly offered this optional flight onto Antarctica from Punta Arenas at a very steep price and the weather caveat. The option even provided an alternative to a National Park in South America. As I understand it, both options ended up being canceled due to weather on our particular cruise and we were told that the chances of it proceeding on any given cruise are considerably less than 50/50, so you were probably wise to choose a week in Patagonia instead.
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The Antarctic International Treaty makes it very difficult for big cruise ships to sail south of the 60th parallel, essentially the Antarctic circle, while abiding by all the specific laws that pertain to this region by the treaty. However, smaller exploratory ships will still be going there with tourists. But those will be considerably more expensive.
On the plus side, those smaller ships typically also include shore excursions onto Antarctica with small guided groups transported on Zodiacs; the bigger cruise ships don't allow you to set foot on the continent. The smaller ships can also get a little bit closer to the shoreline and navigate tighter passages.
But, for the time being, you still get your money's worth on the big ships: sailing amid all the magnificent scenery: snow-packed mountains, glaciers, icebergs, both tabular and irregular. And then there are the more than plentiful whales and seals and penguins, oh my! Even though we didn't set foot on Antarctica, I can still boast about having made it to this remotest and most exotic of all the continents, even if it was just a tiny piece of it!
If you can afford the cost and time of a trip that goes all the way from the US east coast to the US west coast (or vice versa), and includes Antarctica (I don't know of any; as far as I know, these all strictly traverse the Strait of Magellan without crossing the "dreaded" Drake Passage), then go for it by all means. As for us, we chose, as Scubacruiserx2 did, on the basis of maximum time in Antarctica, and it was magnificent!
In addition, we are rather partial to Holland America. IMHO, they've got the best food and entertainment for the money.
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2 hours ago, newkq said:
Now that we are almost 3 months past this memorable Antarctica cruise...are there anyone traveling on any other interesting cruise itineraries soon? Want to plan the next one...still thinking about which one.
We'll be travelling on the Norwegian Bliss for 21 days in November, Los Angeles to NYC via the Panama Canal! https://www.ncl.com/cruises/21-day-panama-canal-from-los-angeles-BLISS21LAXCSLMZTPVRPRQPCLCTGSMRORJWILPHINYC?numberOfGuests=4294953449&sortBy=Price&state=null&sailmonths=4294942328&embarkationport=4294953406&destinations=4294961383&itineraryCode=BLISS21LAXCSLMZTPVRPRQPCLCTGSMRORJWILPHINYC
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7 hours ago, scubacruiserx2 said:
Thank you Manfred , we linked here :
We also linked The Lion King in Antarctica
Haha to The Lion King playing on an ice stage in Antarctica..... on April 1st!
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For your consideration on the heels of this incredible journey:
https://nature.disney.com/penguins
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4 minutes ago, TayanaLorna said:
Thank you scubacruiser and Manfred B for your penguin seeing assessments. I have already booked Patrick Watts for Volunteer Point and our Cruise lines included excursion is to Punta Trombo.
Have either of you been to Puerto Madryn before and gone on an excursion to the Valdez Penninsula for wildlife?
I have not. This was my first visit to Puerto Madryn (indeed to all the sites we visited on this cruise aside from Buenos Aires, where work assignments had me stationed for some time back in the mid 1990s).
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Please allow me to supplement the escort service out of Puerto Madryn from our perspective off the Lower Promenade, Deck 3.
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Completely agree with scubacruiser's assessment: Falklands, then Punta Tombo. We didn't do the Penguin outing at Punta Arenas, choosing instead to do the ship replica museum there. Also, we did Bluff Cove on the Falklands instead of Volunteer Point (less costly, shorter bumpy ride, and less time consuming), but still a terrific opportunity to see those beautiful King Penguins (albeit in smaller quantity), along with Gentoos. We only saw Magellanic Penguins and Guanaco at Punta Tombo near Puerto Madryn. I believe Punta Arenas has the Magellanic Penguins as well. Would've liked to have seen Rockhoppers on the Falklands, but that was a separate tour; can only do so much in one day!
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3 minutes ago, caneable said:
Great stuff, Manfred, really enjoyed them especially the videos. Incidentally, just out of interest, did you ever see the 3 Kings find whatever it was they were looking for in the first video?
They were just coming back from the sea (probably after feeding) and looking to rejoin the rest of their colony, which they had just about done at the end of that video, perhaps to share food with their chics (though I didn't follow long enough to notice).
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4 minutes ago, scubacruiserx2 said:
Great Manfred B. Thank you for sharing. Looks like a great option to see the King and Gentoo penguins. Love penguins.
Looking forward to seeing the rest of your Punta Tombo pics. We were there with you, altho we didn't have any real close encounters with the guanaco (only saw them in the distance, but I was able to pull a few of them in quite nicely with my 42x zoom).
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30 minutes ago, scubacruiserx2 said:
No problem, thank you for your input. Could you share any photos from Bluff Cove?
Honestly, our experience at Bluff Cove was not dissimilar to yours at Volunteer Point (albeit with a much shorter bouncy ride). However, there was a much smaller contingent of Kings (maybe 25 or so) among the many Gentoos. Clearly, the thrust of my photos and videos was primarily on the much more colorful King Penguins. Here are a few of my better attempts.
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24 minutes ago, scubacruiserx2 said:
Thank you for the information and photo .
It's been our pleasure to see all your photos and relive our own cruise experience through YOUR eyes. I took over 3500 photos and videos but, I daresay, only a very few can match the quality of yours.
Also, I'm a novice poster on here, so pardon me for submitting the photo in response to YOUR response; I had intended it to be in response to caneable's inquiry. But I see it got to the rightful destination just the same.
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52 minutes ago, scubacruiserx2 said:
With a guide we really didn't for one , but I googled it and it shows one on the main street between the tender landing and Christ Church .
There's a Visitor Information Centre right by the tender port. We were on the cruise with you, but went to Bluff Coves on the Falklands instead.
The South American and Antarctic experience on the Zaandam
in South America
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We were on the same cruise with scubacruiserx2 from Santiago to BA on the HAL Zaandam, mid-December 2018 to January 9, 2019.