rloke

A few more photos can be found at https://extremelyshortandsimple.blogspot.com

Arrived at Yankee Harbor, Greenwich Island on January 28th around 3:15pm. Temperature was around 1°-2°C (34°-36°F) and it was raining lightly. We were in group D. The fourth group of the day and therefore there will be a bit of a wait before we get to go ashore. Cruise director Michael finally came on the PA to announce that they were ready for group D at around 6pm. While we were lining up to get on the zodiac, the expedition team announced that we could no longer get ashore because the landing site had been blocked by an accumulation of brash ice. We were going to get a zodiac cruise instead. Got a few photos of some icebergs, penguins, petrels and fur seals. Some Gentoo penguins by the beach. Quite a number of chicks monitored by a couple of adults only... Antarctic fur seals Some petrels

Absolutely. The expedition team works really hard to ensure we experience as much of the wonders of Antarctica as possible.

The expedition team...

For this sailing, we were divided into 5 groups (A to E). Roughly 30 or so per group. As only a maximum of 100 is allowed to be ashore at a time, the first 3 groups would attempt to get ashore first. The remaining 2 groups would wait roughly an hour or so before getting a chance to get ashore. At the landing site, the assistant expedition leader, Maximilian, would let you know roughly what to expect to see at the location; as well as how much time you would have ashore, which is usually 45-50 minutes. It would be great if everyone adhered to this as that would make the operation go much smoother and not constantly running late... The process to get off the zodiac to land is as follows...scoot up to the front edge of the zodiac and sit a bit askew facing the rear of the zodiac. If on the port side, pivot and swing your legs clockwise, up and over the edge of the zodiac and then just push off from there. There will likely be a short wade in shallow water to get ashore. If on the starboard side, the pivot would be counter-clockwise.

The mud room is located on the 3rd deck with stalls to store the expedition parka and the waterproof boots. Each stall is labeled with the stateroom number. GX010076.mp4 Getting on the zodiac...remember the three step process...first step on the edge of the zodiac, next step on the wooden box inside the zodiac, and then final step on the floor of the zodiac. GX010061.mp4 Getting back on the ship from the zodiac is the reverse procedure... GX010075.mp4

Cocktails from the bars were very good. There were the classic drinks, a twist of the classics as well as some imaginative drinks to savour. Also non-alcoholic creations...

The biggest miss, though, is the following dish. We were so looking forward to this Chile theme night and have our favorite Chilean sea bass...little did we know, this wasn't the Patagonian toothfish that we love. It was just a thin fillet of some fish. I guess they did not specifically mention that it was the toothfish...and a bass from the sea near Chile would indeed be a "Chilean sea bass". We were sorely disappointed to put it mildly...

The stuffed dover sole... Precision poached lobster tail...this was a miss, IMHO. Not sure if it is the precision poaching gone awry, or just not the best quality lobster...the texture was a bit mushy, like a weird warm water lobster. Still questioning the technique used though...what and why would one need precision poaching, whatever that is...

Another example of plating creativity that rival land-based restaurants, the duck confit appetizer. This was interesting to look at and tasted like duck confit... Tuna sashimi appetizer was also nicely presented and tasted fantastic... The pickled cod fish pembre...

Dishes were very nicely presented and most were good eats with some minor exceptions... The foie gras pate was beautiful to behold but a bit light on the foie...more like a light foie gras mousse. It was not bad per se but we, personally, would have preferred a much more assertive presence of the liver... The lobster thermidor, on the other hand, was what was expected.

On top of that, on two evenings, there is also a special menu from their "specialty Portuguese restaurant Alma" that one could peruse and order from...

The two gala menu...

With the exception of the first and last evening, dinner was the typical table-clothed full course meal. There were no dinner buffets (unless of course it was either the first and last dinners). There was a theme every night, where cuisine from different countries or regions were served. The exception would be the two gala nights which would usually be the second and the penultimate evenings respectively.

Another location to get a quick bite for breakfast and lunch is Paula's Pantry. Various juices, fruit salads, muesli, etc... And at the upper left corner, there is a daily special shot that was really worth having one or two or maybe three servings. For example, the "wellness shot" above is a fantastic concoction of green apples, ginger, and something else that I don't clearly recall... And fantastic espresso drinks... Some 0 calorie goodies... Some quick lunch selections.. And fresh made-to-order pizza was pretty good too...pineapple and ham pizza...

There is also a chef's station that served a la minute dishes... For example, a seafood paella... Marinated octopus... Jumbo shrimp risotto...

Lunch is buffet only. And the food was really outstanding. There is a carving station with various offerings. Pork, beef, chicken, etc... The roasted pork belly, for example, was excellent. Such crispy skin and so flavourful. So was the grilled tomahawk...very nice... And excellent salmon en croute...

And some good selection of cheeses... And BTW, you can also get freshly squeezed orange juice.

Classic scrambled eggs, sausages, hash... Also classic selections of cold cuts, fish...

Selection of breads and pastry... Neat machine to make your own nut butter for your bread...

Breakfast is pretty much the standard affair...there is a buffet with the regular breakfast items as well as a menu with daily egg and pancake specials... They do the classic Benedict pretty nicely... Pancakes are OK too... Omelette was good as well...although this was a challenge for our waitstaff as we ordered this omelette with "everything" on the menu...he was like "everything"? Yes...please...... Not sure if we got everything but it was pretty loaded.

You will love it...

This was an 11-day cross the Antarctica circle cruise. The following map sort of shows the path we took, the blue line, from the start at the top right (Yankee Harbor in South Shetlands) to the bottom left (Andresen Island). So we sailed to around 66°5'. Not as far South as what our sister ship, the World Navigator achieved this season, which I believe was to Jenny Island at 67°4'. The sail down was just a little bit rough...around 3 meter swells. Mini Drake shake. The sail back up was a different story. We got the shake. While probably not the worse this season, it was shaking...close to 6 meter swells. Many broken plates in the restaurant, the sliding door to our balcony on the 5th deck got a free wash...

In our stateroom by around 5:20pm or so. Nothing fancy, pretty standard room which was quite cozy. The shower was nice with the rain shower head and the body jets. L'Occitane toiletries in big bottles with pump. Definitely more environmental friendly than those little plastic bottles that we were used to.

Landed at Ushuaia around 4:00pm. A number of buses were waiting in the parking lot to transfer everyone to the pier. Once on the bus, we were handed health forms to fill. We were sitting in the Atlas lounge by 4:50pm with champagne in one hand and canapés on the other waiting to be checked in, as well as get our temperature taken, Covid vaccination verified and health form collected by the Russian doctor.