binky&jane

Hopefully the charter airlines and arrival airports remain the same. We flew on Fly Bondi to Ushuaia and Areolineas back, both at EZE. I did hear and read about airport / airline changes for the charters. The airports in Buenos Aires are NOT close… That said, EZE is rather small and quite efficient in our experience. Good luck!

ALSO… @northwoods2 If you’re physically able to do so safely (which I assume since you’re interested in the overnight camping excursion), you MUST do the polar plunge. It was AMAZING! I would have DEEP regrets had I not…

Corey & Karen

Internet is not great! You can add in 1GB increments for $. Only plan to use internet for messaging or an Emergency! While you’ll want to share the beauty, waiting until you’re home or in Argentina worked for us.

Corey & Karen

Hopefully the charter airlines and arrival airports remain the same. We flew on Fly Bondi to Ushuaia and Areolineas back, both at EZE. I did hear and read about airport / airline changes for the charters. The airports in Buenos Aires are NOT close… That said, EZE is rather small and quite efficient in our experience. Good luck!

ALSO… @northwoods2 If you’re physically able to do so safely (which I assume since you’re interested in the overnight camping excursion), you MUST do the polar plunge. It was AMAZING! I would have DEEP regrets had I not…

Corey & Karen

On 3/19/2023 at 7:14 PM, northwoods2 said:

I would love to hear more about your trip.  We are doing a 11 night in December

We were on the World Traveller, February 15, 2023 - 12 night expedition. It was INCREDIBLE! Best advice, take a good camera or video camera, but put it down frequently to just enjoy the moment!

If you have any specific questions, let us now.

Corey & Karen

On 3/5/2023 at 10:11 AM, VACruiser123 said:

Well we are home. The trip was excellent! I will say that Atlas delivered as advertised pretty much across the board. We had a rough passage across the Drake and an even worse return (worst of the season by far according to crew)...even had a gust of 92 knots! and some swells above 20ft. That said the ship handled it well...it was not seriously uncomfortable believe it or not...a little hard to get a deep sleep but otherwise well worth the discomfort to see the great white continent.

The ship is easily the most beautiful and well appointed we have ever been on...well surpassing the Seabourn Odyssey which had been our previous bar to beat. The expedition team is excellent and we did make two continental landings in addition to South Shetland and peninsula island landings.

The food itself is really good with a few hiccups...the proteins,  especially the beef is generally way under seasoned...trying to salt it after being cooked  is the WRONG answer...it results in a higher sodium load without creating the flavor that properly seasoned meat will develop while cooking. Having said that, Atlas is NOT cutting corners on the food budget and we had loads of fresh fruit AND actual fresh squeezed OJ the entire trip and if you are a coffee nut, there are at least three proper commercial espresso machines on the ship...so points there for sure in the food budget category. The dinner menus were not all to my liking but it is purely due to taste ( I can't stand lamb or fish...and when oh when will this dark chocolate craze finally die). The breakfast and lunch buffets actually flow better and are generally more pleasant than the dinner sittings are at this point. IMO, the biggest current improvement is for Atlas to figure out the dinner service flow...it is not quite there yet. BUT the staff were wonderful and friendly so I would say it adds up as a minor quibble as it is offset by their good attitudes.

The housekeeping was excellent with two services a day and the rooms were outstanding. We came with two 28" suitcases and carryons and were easily able to put all our stuff away in the closet. I have no idea what people would possibly be bringing on a ship where they do not have enough space. There is MORE space in this closet than main line balcony staterooms.

 

The entertainment consists of lectures/presentations by the expedition team, a pianist, and a couple of singing renditions by the cruise director. The crew talent show and auction/raffle was a fun event as well. You don't show up on a 400' ship and expect to have a lot of entertainment...if you do...well

 

I would say that the antarctic is a MUST do if you have the financial means and your health. Atlas at the current pricing to me is as much a no brainer as it gets. It is an excellent experience...is it a "luxury" line like Seabourn, Silversea, or the like? Well, maybe not today, not overall, but they are really close...and they may well get there since they have the ships...they are over the top beauties and where they fall short is imminently fixable with more time to figure out what works best on these ships. If Atlas makes it, and I think they will, they will be commanding much higher fares in the future...and getting them.

Excellent observations! We agree 100%

Thanks for you review. We were on the sailing immediately after yours, I’m pretty sure. We heard stories from the crew about your Drake Shake experience!

Corey & Karen

On 3/5/2023 at 12:39 PM, Michael_A said:

Hi VACruiser123!

 

Thanks for taking the time to post up your experiences. I find them quite informative. Booked on an Antarctica cruise Jan 4, 2024. Can you share the pre-departure experience? I'm booked for a pre-departure night at their hotel in BA, I am ASSUMING that the cruise passengers assemble at the hotel to be bused to the charter flight? How were those details shared? Atlas is a bit light on communication, but whatever they are doing seems to be working.

 

Mostly curious and trying to plan for contingencies, such as if they assemble at the airport rather than hotel, and getting there, etc. Also, when did Atlas' actually start coming through with details? Seems like they really don't until a few weeks before departure, but again I am curious. Would be nice if they did a page on their site with an overview of this stuff.

 

Like your avatar. Was a spook on Barbel class boats in (seemingly) another lifetime...

 

Cheers,

MJA

ALL of our communications and information came from our travel agent. Please reach out to your TA. We meet fellow travelers prior to the cruise with limited comms from their TA until they reached out. We did not stay in their pre-hotel, so I can’t comment on that. We made it to the airport on our own, and since the flight is a charter, we met the fellow travelers at the airport gate. Airport is small but I’d get there 2 hours beforehand. Additionally, as a charter, our seats were not assigned until we checked in at the airport. 

Hope this helps, If you have any specific questions, please ask. 

Corey & Karen

On 2/20/2023 at 12:58 PM, AweighToSea said:

$13,500 CLP peso for a wee (pun intended) break; CAD$23 for two down the drain. I wonder if a US$10 would have interested the attendant to put the $1000 CLP in the hat on your behalf.

 

Thanks for confirming the broad acceptance of credit cards as I have been coming across conflicting info on that. How did you deal with small purchases such as a bottle of water, paying a taxi or avoiding the problem of your now famous Chilean pee break in Buenos Aries?

We actually exchanged US dollars for Argentine Pesos on Florida street. They’re NUMEROUS people announcing “cambio cambio cambio”… They are not aggressive and will tel you the rates up front. We ALWAYS went together but never felt unsafe. We did hear pickpocket stories, so we were concerned. If you are aware of your surroundings and behave just as you would in ANY large city, you’ll be fine. For $100 US increments, we received and exchange rate of $376 Argentinian pesos to $1 US. We chose this route as we were unsure of which credit cards used the official (red) rate ~$245 to $1 U.S. versus the “blue” rate we received at the cambio. 

We bought a few higher end leather items and having pesos proved beneficial. Other than that, we used the pesos primarily to pay for taxis…

We also just returned. No need to bring a blazer or dinner jacket. Jeans or dress pants with golf shirt, dress shirt, sweater… I agree, I did NOT see t shirts or sweatshirts at dinner. T-shirts and sweatshirts are fine during the day in every area.

On 2/26/2023 at 11:55 AM, bigsky said:

We're also trying to figure out this day. I try and avoid going thru the cruise lines as much as possible. Much more money and too many people. We're looking at another company. Are we allowed to say who? We're actually using them for 3 tours. Small group for much less money. If someone knows if we can mention them, I'd like to suggest them.

Good luck!  We've been on so many cruises, but the Meditteranean cruise is new to us. So many places to see. Plus you really have to travel quite a ways to see the sites.

This is one stop that I want to get out and see the beautiful countryside and charming villages.

I think that you can mention the name… 

Great question! We’re on the February 15th sailing and we’re wondering the same thing; does Atlas provide ski poles / walking poles? Are they helpful / necessary? We can purchase but are mindful of luggage weight limitations. 

Thank you so much for taking the time to give such a thorough review!! Absolutely the BEST yet!!! Thank you!! Thank you!! Thank You!!

So sorry to hear that you may not get to visit Egypt. But, for those who do get to stop there, don't forget about touring Alexandria. It's a beautiful and very interesting city. :)

Having used Ramses before, and continuing to read all of the good reviews about Ramses, I am confident that they will provide a good tour. We were in Egypt last year and toured with Ramses, so for our upcoming tours with them in Feb, I want to do some customizing of our tour. I am becoming increasingly frustrated because in their email responses they seem to ignore specific requests. For example, in Alexandria, we want to tour the new library and go to the Catacombs. When I put this in my request, they respond with two separate tours; the first includes the library but not Catacombs and the second includes catacombs but not library. Last year my emails were with Mr. George. This time I have received all email correspondence with Mohy. Has anyone dealt with Mohy before? Has anyone else experienced these frustrations with trying to customize tours?

We were in Alexandria on Easter Sunday 2010. Our tour included the Catacombs and the library. Unfortunately, the library was closed because of the holiday, no fault of Ramses. BUT, we did get to take a lot of pictures outside of the library. I do have 1 tip for the Catacombs...get there EARLY!!!! Get with your guide and others in the group. Plan to leave as soon as you wake up. It is sooooo worth it. Our guide gave us this tip and we were so glad he did. We were the 1st to arrive and the only ones there until the end. It can get really crowded inside. They are so worth seeing. One of the highlights in Alexandria!!!! Have a wonderful trip!!!

I know that Ramses is now offering an option where you can choose your guide and itenerary. We had a wonderful experience in Cairo and Alexandria with Osama and we HIGHLY recommend him.

We are looking now to our 2012 Holy Land cruise. We want to go further into Egypt and see Luxor. Does anyone who has been to this part of the world have a guide and itenerary to recommend to us??? Since we got our best advice on our last trip from CC we are asking again. Thanks!!

also-- it takes at LEAST 3, to 3 1/2 hours just to get to the pyramids and from the bazaar even longer to return. So, figure a lot of time in the car. The roads:

imagine a major highway with three marked lanes that become 4, and even 5 at times with cars suddenly carreening across all of them. And no lights or stop signs! And across all of this, people walking in front of these moving cars and between them at every and any point!

 

Yes, this is a type of insanity that cannot be explained. Only witnessed. [/color]

 

Also--I have been thinking about this-- the company is only as good as the guide and driver. This is pot luck unless you have the name of recommended people here. We had Ayman Khalifa dn our driver extraordinaire was Mohammed Bkhit. Bright, interesting, excellent English, very responsive to our needs and very honest- coming back to port after we were dropped off because I left my camera case in the backseat of the car! The officers at the front desk of the ship did not expect him to come back after I called them. You don't get better than that. The Ayman took great photos of us and paced the day perfectly.

 

I have to attest to this also. I planned 6 tours with Ramses. Every single person loved their guide. Each tour did something a little different and that change was not made until the groups were on the buses. I had no knowledge of the tweeking until the day after the tour. That is how flexible the guides are.

You can try to run around to see a lot of things and wind up not really seeing and enjoying anything, or you can carefully choose a few and really enjopy them.

That is how I see it anyway. Whatever you do, have wonderful time. You will love it.

Again, if anyone has any questions please feel free to email me.

Which of the Giza pyramids are open at the moment?

Do you mean to go inside? I'm not sure which one it was. There was only one that people were going in. It was the first one as we walked in. We chose not to go in because you have to crouch down. The opening is just like 4ft tall. My husband is 6'5" and I have a bad back so it wasnt an option for us. Some of the people who went inside said it was wonderful and others said it wasn't worth it because its nothing but an empty room. I guess that is just personal preference. I hope I answered your question. :)

I have just completed the booking process with Ramses and was extemely pleased with the ease and promptness of working with them. I have a question to those who have used them in the past.......how much is considered appropriate for tipping?

Thanks,

Annemarie

We just returned from a 17 day cruise in April. We used Ramses while we were in Egypt. They were awesome. I arranged 6 groups that returned to the ship and toured Alex on the 2nd day. We had several others that arranged overnights with them. Everyone was equally elated with their tours of Egypt. I hate that the above CC member had a difficult time getting his tours set up. Sounds like some miscommunication. We are returning to Egypt and definitely using them again. As far as tipping goes, we are a family of 4. We tipped $40 per day. :)

There is so much info on this thread. I LOVE it!! Our recent trip to the Med would have not been the same without taking the advice of everyone on CC. My family of 4 returned from 17 nights in the Med in April. We have 2 kids ages 7 and 14. Our guides in all of the ports did a fabulous job engaging them. But I have to say that the 7yo still talks about returning to Egypt. This was by far her favorite stop. We used Ramses. Most of my communication was with Mohammed Yousef. There was a time or two when I needed to email him twice. But I had a LOT of questions. I put together 6 groups of 10 from our CC roll call. So I am sure you can imagine how many emails I sent to him. We had others who decided to set up their own tours through Ramses also. They either chose to do an overnight or something completely different. The tours I arranged came back to the ship after the first night and we toured Alexandria the next day. We did not have security on our bus. But, at a few of our stops a guard stood by the door of the bus while we shopped. The driver stayed with the bus when there was not a guard. We were never worried about our safety. Athens made me more nervous than Egypt. I am hoping to return to Egypt in 2012 on a Holy Land cruise. I just need to get my husband on board. He is about 80% of the way there. (He is wanting to do a Baltic curise.) We will obviously use Ramses. They have so many tours to choose from. If there is something you want to add or delete form your tour, just let them know. They are super to work with. Upon our return we will definitely be spending the night. I want to go further into Egypt to learn more about their wonderful history. :)

Cheers!!