parischris

Have a look at her on Instagram #lechamplain - plenty of photos there. Or Twitter @ https://twitter.com/search?q=%23lechamplain&src=typd.

It's optional, but I have always left a tip for my cabin steward and an additional crew tip via credit card. It's not much in the scheme of things.

If you mean the Mercure that is near Central Station - it's fine. Relatively new, located in a newly trendy area of Sydney. Easy walk to Central Station to catch trains, and I've walked to Darling Harbour from the hotel.

Celebrity Solstice tenders here all information welcome walks shops tours ?? thank you Aussie

Heaps to do in Akaroa. It is a small walkable town, with good maps available from the tourist office, and good shopping. If you feel like a steep walk up a hill, head to The Giant's House - a local artist creates sculptures covered with mosaics. You can get a feel for it and Akaroa from my travel blog here.

Ponant's website is showing one paid shore excursion - under 'Pre/Post and Overlands' section for this itinerary.

They have a lot of charters - APT, Abercrombie & Kent to name just two that charter entire ships.

There is a European two prong outlet and a US/Canada 3 prong outlet on the 'desk' area in the cabin, and a US 2 prong/European 2 prong outlet in the bathroom. I always carry a power strip as there are never enough powerpoints for all of my electronics.

There is also usually an ipod charger, but unless they've been recently updated, they are the old 30 pin port, so carry a 30 pin to lightening adapter if you need to.

It's not unusual at all. The 'better' expedition companies offer 'family departures', where children are encouraged and assigned special staff to get them interested and occupied with what they are seeing.

Here is a link to Lindblad's family oriented expeditions: http://au.expeditions.com/destinations/antarctica/families/

Checking the websites of other lines will also find family oriented departure dates.

Having sailed on the sister ship Mare Australis back in 2010, this is a great acquisition for the Lindblad fleet! Comfortable and agile, she will be a fitting replacement for the Endeavour.

If it is Ship to Shore, they usually rent out Bogs. I have Arctic Sport Boots, but rented from Ship to Shore to avoid carrying them on a long trip. The Bogs were equivalent. I have wide calves and they were fine for me.

Don't worry too much about the parka sizing...there is always a parka swap meet on the ship just after embarkation. I've swapped out parkas on Lindblad before with no issue.

I agree with the other advice re waterproof pants. Ski pants really aren't suitable as they are water resistant rather than waterproof. I travelled for years with a pair of men's pull on waterproof pants from Columbia. I'd still be wearing them if Brit Post hadn't lost them in the mail.

Running shoes or hiking shoes are fine around the boat. Some people wear UGG boots.

Makes complete sense to me Shawnino....the Cape to Cape expedition I did with Lindblad had a lot of sea days and only 90 passengers as a result. The difference was that the ship was going on to do a very expensive West Africa itinerary.

If they don't get a certain number of passengers, it makes better financial sense to off load the crew that would look after the passengers (hotel staff, restaurant etc) and only keep the crew that support the core team, then run hard to the northern hemisphere. It's how a lot of ships move from hemisphere to hemisphere.

No need to be full....if every ship had to be full to turn a profit, there would be a lot of cancellations and companies out of business. I think of it like an airline business model - so long as business class is full, the flight has broken even, and every economy fare is profit. Same deal for the ships - so long as the expensive cabins are taken, the 'cheap' seats are profit.

So as long a couple is prepared to pay $40k for a cabin for 16 days in the Arctic (the cash cow destination) on NGE, it's all good :)

Hi Shawnino,

There are a lot of Lindblad self-admitted junkies out there, just as there are people who wouldn't consider traveling on anything other than a Silversea ship. Or wouldn't consider a ship where the native language is German or French and English is a second language. This tends to make up a core set of passengers on any expedition.

Those of us concerned with budgets and itineraries, tend to look at other ships and assess the value. For example, for my next expedition to the NZ and Australian sub-antarctic islands, the difference in price for me as a single traveller between Ponant and Silversea is $10k. Naturally I'm going with Ponant ! New ship, was impressed with the comfort and handling of Le Boreal in the Arctic, good crew etc. Le Soleal is a triplet sister to Le Boreal, so it's a no brainer for me.

We are staying at Awasi in Patagonia as a pre cruise trip. (3 nights)

They offer very personalised trips and I was wondering if anyone has stayed there and can give some recommendations in which tours to take as the list is long.

I've stayed at Awasi Atacama three times, and have yet to make it to Awasi Patagonia, so please write a trip report when you return!

I've stayed at Explora Patagonia - the answer to your question is dependent on what you're interested in. For example, at Explora, I went looking for condors to photograph, which you may not be interested in. I also did a lot of hiking - some easy, some hard (eg to the British camp).

You'll be spoilt for choice, and not tied to a group, so it will be easy to work out what to do once you decide what it is you're interested in - wildlife? hiking? botany? photography? glaciers?

Cheers

I am booked on HAL's Zaandam from Buenos Aires to Valparaiso via the Falklands and Antarctica. It is my first time in South America I am on prescribed codeine based pain relief for arthritis and wondered if I was allowed to bring them into the countries? I could keep them with a repeat prescription of course.

I wouldn't worry - I've taken prescription meds into Chile, Argentina, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia and never had a problem. Most countries are more concerned with food being brought into the country than small amounts of prescribed or pharmacy drugs.

I looked for the "search" function to try to find info on this ship, but I didn't see any search function. If there is one, I hope you'll forgive this post and point me to where "search" is on the board.

 

Question: Has anyone cruised on this ship? It sounds and looks quite wonderful. Would love to get feedback.

 

Thanks.

Le Soleal is the identical sister ship to Le Boreal and L'Austral. The only difference is the colour scheme. She will be joined by a fourth identical sister, Le Lyrial, later this year.

I've been on Le Boreal to the Arctic - a very modern ship with well-appointed cabins and the latest technology on the bridge. She is very fast and moves very smoothly and silently through the water. Le Soleal was in port in Reykjavik on the return from the Arctic.

I talk about her a little in my travel blog (in the signature below).

Cruisecritic must be blocking this for some reason: victory-************/sail_antarctica.html

 

If that still doesn't work, pm me!

victory hyphen cruises dot com/sail underscore antarctica dot html

Cruisecritic must be blocking this for some reason: victory-************/sail_antarctica.html

If that still doesn't work, pm me!

Thanks :)

 

PC I can't seem to click that link.

Try this....http://www.victory-************/sail_antarctica.html

Didn't know where else to post this.

Not trying to start an argument with Antarctica lovers--Antarctica's great.

But I'm looking for an expedition cruise that spends extra time (like a week-plus) at South Georgia. It's the only place in all the world I'm desperate to return to.

 

Anybody know one? My Internet search has come up empty.

 

Lindblad does five days there; so far that is the most I've found. But whether one picks the itinerary that includes Antarctica, or the one that just goes out to South Georgia, it's five days.

 

Any/all help deeply appreciated.

 

As an aside, if you are going to Antarctica and time and funds permit, please consider adding South Georgia to your itinerary. If funds don't permit, sell a kidney. The lack of icebergs, in my opinion, is more than made up for with wildlife, history, and the end of the Shackleton story.

There's a long list of yachts visiting South Georgia here. The other alternative is Cheeseman's who have a long journey doing some scientific work with albatrosses. Otherwise the longest visits seem to be 5 days around SG.

Looking forward to our forthcoming cruise on Le Boreal next week, but trying to find out the dress code:

The following is what is on their website

 

"Dress Code

During the day, leisure wear is recommended. For the excursions, bring practical clothes and comfortable shoes. Evening attire is at your discretion - to each their own elegant style!"

 

Does anyone on this site have any further info about this.

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

I found the dress code on Le Boreal to be casual and relaxed, except for the Captain's dinner and farewell dinners. Most people wore something better than smart casual, others like me made do with black trousers and a clean top!

If you eat in the restaurant a lot, the dress standard seems to be a bit higher than in the rest of the ship - similar to what you'd wear out to a nice restaurant. Do you need a tux or evening dress? No.

In the bistro, anything respectably clean will do!

I usually carry my own boots or rent them from Ship to Shore (they don't service your ship unfortunately), but you could try the Antarctic Equipment Office in Ushuaia, who rent out all sorts of equipment, including boots.

OK Dad, we have been back for a while - adding Iguazu to the end made it a 7 week trip. Two days following our return, we repacked and headed to Las Vegas to visit our son and family. We're still breathing hard!

 

Our last communication centered on Lindblad's treatment of an itinerary which mirrors ofthose that "cruise" cruises follow and how it differs - let me outline some differences.

 

We had 114 passengers on board - mostly those with gray hair, but not all. We knew quite a few - most from the West Africa cruise which ran in 2012 and earlier this year. As expected, we had a full complement of naturalists, historians, archeologists, biologists etc.

 

Trinidad was first stop - we had never been there and always thought of it as a typical Carribbean resort - not so - fascinating colonial history, flooded with oil now, most wealth in the hands of Syrian immigrants. Musical history? Steel pan invented here. Went to Asa Wright Nature center for treks through rain forest and Caroni swamp on boats to witness spectacular return of Scarlet Ibis at dusk to nests.

 

Not too many cruise ships stop in Venezuela these days. We went up the Orinoco and never set foot on land. The ship was inspected stem to stern - a group of divers examined the hull for drugs we might be carrying.

 

Next stop was Guyana - OK, I remember Jim Jones and Kool aid but not much more. Up the Essequibo river for birding and other nature sightings - hopped small planes to see the remote Kaieteur Falls. The head of tourism came aboard to greet us and address the group.

 

Then on to Suriname (this is your Dutch Guiana) was brand new to us as well. All the while, we are observing and learning about the cultural and racial mix throughout all of the areas visited.

 

Devil's Island was next (Papillion was shown on board the night before arrival)

Welcome back hrprof...it looks like you may be one of an elite few now...Lindblad don't appear to be offering the South America or West Africa itineraries in 2014. With less than 120 pax, it seems to have fallen into the same experimental expedition basket as the Cape to Cape - with less than 100 pax, it hasn't been offered since.

Orion is doing an interesting trans Pacific expedition starting in Australia and ending up on Easter Island - also eye wateringly expensive!

Cheers

Hi. My husband and I are sailing on Stella Australis from Punta Arenas to Ushuaia on December 14th. Anyone else on that sailing?

 

To those who have already sailed, how important is it to have "waterproof" vs. "water resistant"? Where and how do you get wet? Can you get by with waterproof boots but water resistant pants and jackets?

 

If you had a waterproof boot that you really loved, pls advise as we are having trouble deciding on brand.

 

Any other recommendations for the journey? Anything you were really glad you brought or anything you wish you had?

 

We are also going to Torres del Paine, Bariloche and Lake crossing, El Calafate, and Buenos Aires (not in that order). Love any tips for those too!

 

Thanks much!

The Cruceros Australis cruises all use zodiacs to make their landings, which usually involve either jumping into shallow water or clambering over rocks. The weather in Tierra del Fuego is also notoriously changeable - I remember standing at the top of the hike at Wulaia and watching the thunder storm roll in.

So you will need waterproof boots. I wear and recommend Muck's Arctic Sport Boots :-).

The thing with zodiacs is that even if it's not raining, you can still end up with a wet bum from sitting on the sides of the zodiac. You might have sensational weather and get away with water resistant pants, but personally I always travel with packable waterproof pants (until the Royal Mail recently lost a box with my well-travelled Colombia pants), and a packable rain jacket. They take up the space of a tshirt in the luggage. My boots I've mailed/couriered home from all over the world to save luggage space when I no longer need them.

Depending on the rain in Torres del Paine, you may also need waterproofs there as well.

There is plenty of shelter in the boat(s) on the Lake Crossing so you're not that likely to get wet doing that.

Bariloche is a cute town, with plenty of chocolate/cafes and good hiking to walk it all off.