TravelBluebird

Great room service breakfast —All American egg breakfast and egg frittata (no e tea charges). we are now at Main Stage for Coffee With Ed with 2/3 of our Antarctica team—Ed is not well today. 3 more presentations we want to see later today!

Had a lovely evening after our day in the Falklands! nice MDR dinner, then we went to see the comedian Buddy Fitzpatrick’s 3rd show—3rd and unscheduled because the dance troupe was supposed to be performing but had to cancel due to illness. Then hung out in casino before the Orange Party. We had on orange shirts and I may have purchased a $12.95 glittery orange headband to help get into the spirit. I was one of like 4 people who showed up from the Permission to Dance class to do the line dances—was ton of fun and felt great to move! Sad that more people from class or at the Rolling Stone Lounge didn’t join in. Awards were then given out for most orangy outfits, and we stayed for some of the music but the music in there is just too loud for us so we retreated back to the stateroom. Here are a few penguin photos from today! More tomorrow after I’ve had a bit of a rest; I’ve been up till 6am!

I truly do not have enough superlatives in my vocabulary to describe what it is like to be at this King Penguin colony. Besides the king penguins there is a Gentoo penguin colony and a couple of magellenic penguins. Are also Falkland Island geese, wild turkeys, and sheep.. by the way, we thought Estancia excursions was fantastic and we highly recommend them for the Volunteer Point tour! We were provided with a sack, lunch and some water for our return trip. Also we had enough time to get a tour of Port Stanley before we returned to the dock. Additionally, Russ and I visited the southern the southern Anglican cathedral in the world, the visitor center and the shop with locally made souvenirs. Photos to follow when I have my iPad and can see them better. Orange Party tonight!

What a grand day in the Falkland Islands! @NorbertsNiece I can see why it is your favorite port! I was on line for a tender ticket by 6:45 AM. There were already people waiting, but we received our ticket for tender number one at first rest was not with me because the staff originally said that no tenders would be leaving until eight, but I overheard a conversation and had Russ come down and we actually got in a tender by about 730 because the captain had arrived in Port Stanley, early and most of the tours were scheduled to depart a little later. we met a wonderful couple on the tender that was also going on our Estancia excursion to volunteer point and so we shared our range rover with them we were in our range, rover and ready to go at 8 AM! Part of the ride over is a paved road and then gravel road to true off-road driving. Definitely bumpy, but not as bad as we were led to believe from things we had read. We were the second range rover to arrive at the penguin colony, which was wonderful. by the way for anyone, wondering you get a bathroom break halfway on the drive which is two hours and there are chemical toilets at volunteer point.

@NorbertsNieceI am in line at Rolling Stone Lounge for tender ticket! In spite of getting on line 6:45 probably 2nd tender

We are going to Volunteer Point, and I will let you know!

Yes! I have my rain coat with hood ,and layers since I understand the wind can make it chilly, even with a 62F high predicted. Plus my water resistant hiking boots.

We’ve been rocking and rolling! Not a problem for us (except for walking in a straight line) but it’s a nice roll to one side….and then a nice roll to the other. My husband has his cross hanging in the room, and it looks suspended to one side for a while….and then to the other. Although the wind does have the ship pretty much more in a lean toward the starboard side…when I walk to the outside door in my room, its a bit uphill, and then when I walk to the balcony door, its a bit down hill. We are watching the NFL playoffs in our room right now; very glad that Holland America has them available. Tonight was dressy night. Had the classic formal night dinner of filet mignon and lobster tail and Banana Tartin Superb as always. Mostly regrouping camera equipment tonight and getting ready for tomorrow; taped another video. Early 6:15 wake up call!

Well I’m at the 2025 to 203) Future Cruises presentation—clearly loving HAL! We are definitely Italy getting the Drake Shake on the way back! Although the captain says it’s a relatively mild one. 12 foot swells for the afternoon

I’ve had enough days definitely to have an impression! And I’ve been forming my thoughts on this so here we go—a little long, but you did ask! 😂 So far…I LOVE HAL! For a cruise where the itinerary is most important (as opposed to what I can “Fun in the Sun” ie Caribbean or Mexican Riviera) I would definitely choose HAL again! I have found the staff to be wonderful, the food beyond excellent, the Antarctica Experience well handled and amazing. I’m less happy with the casino and the entertainment—especially, the entertainment is not to my liking with the lack of production shows and the live music is not to my taste. But neither of those things would keep me from taking HAL on a port intensive itinerary. The crowd on HAL is definitely older, but they are a well traveled, mostly fit and interesting bunch of fellow travelers (especially on this trip), so not a problem with us overall. DH and I are price sensitive also, and if we keep getting great offers on HAL we’ll most definitely be back, sooner rather than later! In addition, we are thinking about booking HAL maybe in 2025 for a Iceland//Greenland//Scandinavia type of cruise (and since we’re booking in advance, paying a bit more for that one). Surprisingly, HAL is definite competition for Viking Ocean for us, and HAL definitely wins on price there. We do love Regent Seven Seas, but that is getting into a whole other price category that, as DH is retired, may be too pricey for us now. For Fun in the Sun? It’s still Carnival for me. Great value for the money and I have a BLAST and can get nice and warm in the winter, or bring the whole family along for a great vacation.

Heading to bed. DH is not much for the night life, so he’s been happily in the room watching movies. Me, casino for a while, but HAL does not have the types of machines with the elaborate bonuses that I like playing, plus I have found the machines to be particularly stingy. Casino is the opposite of packed—they might want to re-evaluate a bit. Used my free drink ticket for a full sized Chocolate Martini, and now I’m ensconced with my Kindle—finishing Endurance. Ship continues to gently roll…I will sleep well tonight.

Thank you! I was standing next to someone with a 600mm lens and I had a TERRIBLE case of lens envy (mine is 300mm) Finally got that YouTube short up—it’s video of the penguins floating on the Iceburg—yep under a minute and took a whole hour to upload!

Step One Dance Company understandably cancelled due to the sea swells. Replaced with the illusionist. I feel the same way about magicians as i do about clowns—no thank you! We are gently rocking—walking in a straight line is quite difficult. I am sitting in the elevator bank on my floor because the internet is better, trying to upload a YouTube Short which is less than one minute long. It is taking about 1 hour 😱 Dinner was delightful…had the aforementioned Beef Wellington and a delicious salmon cake. Russ decided on the halibut fish and chips. We shared a vanilla ice cream sundae. We roamed about the ship for awhile…went to the shops, picked up some more photos in the photo gallery for our folder (we’ve already paid for a package, now just have to select the photos), and went up to the Antarctica Exploration Center to look at the wind and wave reports and the Q and As that people have been asking (and having answered) all week. After my video uploads, I think I’ll hit the casino for awhile then read. Reading is a luxury to me; I never have enough time to read books! I’ve included the wind and waves overview for tomorrow:

We are going to try an early dinner today; Beef Wellington is on the menu, one of our favorite dishes! I missed the ABCs of Antarctica at 2pm—would have loved to have seen it, but I was out on the bow. After dinner, going to see The Step One Dance Company: In Tandem. We really enjoyed the first dance show. Then..maybe casino? I’m footloose and fancy free tomorrow with our sea day; don’t have to wake up early again till the Falklands! Normally I’d probably be trying to upload a video, but the internet has been to spotty for that..I’m trying to just download a bit of music for a short video of the Penguins floating by Deception Island, and even that is stalling out. Ah well; guess I’ll just have to enjoy the cruise instead! In any event, for those of you looking forward to video, I have religiously taped my vlogs every 2-3 days on board, (plus a ton of video) and will upload them, hopefully some when we are closer to South America with better internet, and if not, when I return home.

Here’s some from the Nikon; had to compress them quite a bit to upload to Cruise Critic so I’ve lost lots of detail and resolution. First image you can see the memorial—its a triangle with a bust of Captain Louis Pardo. And some seals!

Another perfect afternoon in Antarctica, at Elephant Island. The weather broke just as we got to the side of the island with Port Wild (does the captain have weather magic? As soon as we left, grey and dreary with heavy mist. The weather for photography was the best of the entire trip for Antarctica—actually got some blue ocean and a bit of blue sky! I saw the monument to Captain Lous Pardo at Port Wild (triangle on the “beacH’ area of Port Wild, right near the seals and penguins), and again Penguins all over the rocks! Also fur seals. Part of a glacier calved, but I was on the wrong side of the bow and only heard the tremendous noise it made. I went up to the front on 6 for last views as we say goodbye to Antarctica and head for the Falkland Islands and South America. Just a perfect 4 days; exceeded all my expectations! Here are some images from Elephant Island; just my iphone snapshots. I also have Nikon photos and lots of video to sort through.

Russ decided to NOT do the polar plunge. I think that was wise given he just got over the cold. Lots of people did it though! They said the pool water was warm; getting OUT of the pool was freezing! Grabbed some french fries on Lido then headed outdoors as we passed by Elephant Island—was a smidge of blue sky for about 5 minutes. Then we had whales and penguins all over the place! Lots of spouts; fin whales, humpbacks, and even one sperm whale. I didn’t get great photos as many were a bit far off and they were not diving (so no whale tails) but what a moment! Did get lots of images of the penguins swimming; will see later what turned out. We are on our way to Wild point now where the memorial to the Chilean naval officer that rescued the Shackleton expedition on Elephant Island is—we are back to fog and heavy overcast and only about 6 brave souls left on the bow…we are in the room and will wait a bit longer before venturing out. We are predicted to have Beaufort 7 winds today and 8 tomorrow, with 12 foot swells on the way to the Falkland Islands—captain said to hold on!

was going to say that Russ’ cold is over and done with. YAY! We are in our room watching the latest lecture (see below). And looking for fin whales. It’s lightly snowing. Had a $5 martini sample sizer before dinner; the great bartender made me my fav chocolate one even though it was not on the mini martini menu. Dinner photos below; I had the beetroot cured salmon and the Penne with Italian sausage, with the Brazo de Mercedes for dessert (very sweet!). Russ had the beef tataki and the Boneless Beef Short Rib Stroganoff. The Lemon Torte which our dining companion had looked excellent. Food continues to be outstanding this cruise.

Slept I till 8! Elephant Island will be in sight in distance around 11. Scenic cruising at 1. Fin whales have been spotted in the area. Russ is doing the polar plunge at 11! His cold Dinner last night was in MDR—we shared a table with a lovely couple from Canada. We ate early so we’d be ready for our late arrival at Deception Island. We did our laundry back this morning—super stuffed, $35. Coffee and a bite at Ludo—always so crowded. We go eat by Lido pool Quick blow up detailing penguins from yesterday

I honestly didn’t think ANYTHING could be better than the penguins on the iceburg//ice floe, and the gentoo penguin rookery at Cuverville Island, but I was wrong. Deception Island was INCREDIBLE. We got there at 7:30pm after dinner. It was heavily snowing with very limited visibility. I was worried we wouldn’t be able to see anything. Somehow, within a half hour, the snow stopped and the visibility cleared. The island is the caldera of an active volcano. It is also home to 100,000 breeding pairs of chinstrap penguins. The island was beautiful and so interesting with its volcanic features, and penguins everywhere—on the rocks and in the water. And, another ice floe with penguins! Bigger floe, more penguins, right near the island! The captain did an incredible job of getting us close to the island safely. Here are some of the images; I also got some incredible video.

The lack of humidity has REALLY helped with lens fogging. There has been some, but nowhere near the amount I had in, say, Costa Rica. The air is extremely dry here.

Yes, one of my favorite scenic spots of the cruise. OK I’m heading down for a nap so I’m well rested when we get to Deception Island later!

We have received one little map. There are additional maps one can look at in the expedition center room up in the Crow’s Nest. Here is the map we received; if you are really into maps you might want to bring a more detailed one:

We are far from land now on our way to Deception Island. Captain originally estimated 4pm but fue to speed needed to travel with ice..we’ll be there 7 or 7:30. ITS snowing. A couple interesting icebergs and 2 presentations from our Antarctic Exoedition team. I also taped more vlogs.

We grabbed our first MDR breakfast close to closing time—9:39z. Russ—who is MUCH BETTER!—had the Pan Asian breakfast and I had corned beef hash with poached eggs. Plus fresh squeezed OJ (for Vit C) $4 and espressos