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Just back from Hanseatic Antartica cruise


Jacqueline
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There is not much out there in English on the expedition cruises of Hapag-Lloyd , so I wanted to start a thread with my observations. Just arrived home from Rio, after nearly three weeks at sea.

Very impressed with the captain, his determination to provide the best experiences by adding landings whenever possible or coming up with exciting alternatives.

For example, the Drakes Passage crossing was scheduled from Friday night, through the weekend, with out first scheduled landing on Monday. The seas were rough, and in order to end the suffering of the passengers (and crew no doubt) he went full speed and got to Antartica Sunday afternoon. He found a place we could make a landing (Half Moon bay or island), and we all had our first expedition ! So a big bonus to start with.

 

He was not afraid to go right through the ice, and my decision to sail on the Hanseatic due to its highest ice rating for any passenger ship, was validated by our experience. This ship, and its next generation, the Nature and Inspiration will be equally rated.

 

The experience of the captain and crew in these waters provides a depth of accumulated knowledge which I felt provided the best possible experience. Two out of the four ships in the fleet do the a Arctic and Antarctic, so this is not a small niche in an large program of itineraries. We met up with the Bremen off the coast of Georgia to exchange some goods and really to say goodbye, as this was the last voyage of the Hanseatic to Antartica (she is leaving the fleet in October).

 

More to follow....

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Thank you for your initial report, and I look forward to reading more.

 

A couple of questions if I may:

 

On your Hanseatic cruise what would your guess be as to the age demographic?

 

 

Would a passenger need to be very fit to participate in such an expedition cruise?

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Many people were in their sixties and seventies. On our flight to Ushuaia I was supposed to see some fellow passengers with canes! A minimal level of fitness is needed, one needs to be able to go up and down stairs on most expedition boats. Getting on and off the zodiacs is easy enough. And one can forgo any of the longer walks and stay along the beach area.

Here is my inspiration. One of our fellow English speaking passengers was BLIND. As in ninety eight percent blind. She could only see light and dark.

A total inspiration. She participated in nearly all the activities. Got on and off the zodiacs without a problem. Not not all the drivers knew that she wasn’t sighted for the first few days.

A few folks we helped out were coming up on eighty.

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Jaqueline,

 

Thank you for the information.

 

I was concerned that being in my seventies I would be too old for an expedition cruise.

 

 

If the Hanseatic is leaving the fleet in October then there will be no English speaking Hapag-Lloyd expedition ship until the Hanseatic inspiration's maiden voyage in October 2019.

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Yes, English Voyager, this is true. It is a problem for them and their staffing as well. Not ideal, but the Hanseatic has been leased and HL had no choice in the matter. The new ship looks so wonderful that I would be very happy to sail on it. So many great new features.

Having fallen and broken my hip, in Bhutan, I was very concerned about once again being in a remote location. It’s always a good idea to be fit and to work on BALANCE with age. Balance is also helpful in rough seas, transferring to zodiacs and walking up to the rookeries, if you choose. I also highly recommend the use of a WALKING STICK. (Using caps for people not reading my reply to you.)

Not only is it good for balance but it is a nice tool for distracting the seals which can get too close at times. We were taught to left them sniff it and then they go off.they have poor eyesight but a keen sense of smell. They can get stressed as a result.a

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Nuts and Bolts

We got fitted for our parkas and insulated, waterproof boots when we were at sea. No one that I knew of had a problem with the cold or water. Some people brought lambswool inserts for the boots. We had a thin wool sock and then a cushiony heavy wool sock over it. Worked perfectly. The boots were grippy enough for our hikes. I am very surprised that some cruise lines do not provide these free of charge or have clients rent them, so this seems to vary from line to line.

Rainpants are a must. I wore mine over lightweight waterproof snow pants. Once or twice I just had a base layer underneath when I knew we would be doing a lot of walking.

Often I did not even use gloves.

A hat is a must. The biggest exposure is on the zodiacs with an occasional sea spray. I found that a light wool one piece balaclava was very functional as it covers the neck and head and can be pulled up over the face. Then I would put it in my pocket once on shore. Other times a regular wool cap sufficed. We carried a little backpack between us for taking things on and off or used our parka pockets.

We were divided into color groups and the order of being called ashore rotated every day. Every group got to go on every landing. Once our group was called we headed to the special boot rooms, one on each side of the ship. One served odd cabins and the other evens, assuring that there were never too many people in either changing room at once. Our boots and life preservers were stored in our designated cubby which had our room number on it. We would switch out our shoes for boots and put on our life preservers, queue up for the zodiac and scan out. Next, we walked out a side gate and down a flight of stairs. One by one, two men from the ship would hand us over to one or two men on the zodiac. Once we had eight people, the zodiac would set off, regardless of our color groups. Some people are faster or slower or have further to walk from their cabins.

Once we pulled up to shore, the zodiac was pulled as far ashore as possible. Our expedition leader had the name of the landing and amount of time we had ashore written on a blackboard. One by one, we dismembarked. The move was to pivot ones legs aft and enter the shallow water while held on the forearm by the helpers. The water ran a bit more than ankle deep. In any event it neve reached close to the top of my boot. I believe that this would not be considered a proper landing site.

From here the plan would vary by location, Usually one could opt to go further and up a hill or longer along a beach. We stopped also at a scientific station in ten South Orkney Islands and at the shop and museum at Point Lockroy.

We did not walk in a line with a guide. Rather the path was laid out with flags. Our naturalists were at points along the way with radios. One could stop and talk with them or not. The pace set was our own, which I much preferred over our Galapagos expedition. Whether it was taking as much time as one wished taking photos or watching wildlife was our choice.

I do not recall us ever being recalled by group to the zodiacs and usually our group of English speakers would end up scattered. The zodiacs would take us back in smaller groups as they ran continously. I never felt cut short. It seemed people rather naturally took things at their own pace as we all have different attention levels and fitness levels. There was always something to see close to the zodiacs. In fact the wildlife was so dense in the landing areas, the penguins would need to be shooed away.

They are very curious and if I sat quietly on the ground, they would approach me and till their heads quizzically. Eventually, once done inspecting me they would head off.

Returning to the ship, after climbing up the stairs, there was a tray of disinfectant we would step into prior to setting foot on the ship. The hallways to the boot room were covered. We would then use the automatic boot brush cleaner or sit on the bench which had four stations with water and automatic brushes. Maybe there would be one person in front of me. Everyone was diligent about cleanliness,

Next, we would take off boots and live vests, put them back into the cubby, bring back the parkas to the cabin.

Prior to our landings in South Georgia, all of our gear was inspected in advance for cleanliness.

Edited by Jacqueline
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I travelled to Antarctica two years ago w Lindblad/ National Geographic. We too had a wide mix of ages and Nationalities. Truly an amazing trip. Only negative is that I am dying to go back!

 

 

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In terms of the food, it is hard to know what they could have done better. Breakfast was everything you could imagine on a buffet from fish, meats, breads, homemade yogurts and lassi... and then all the many made to order items on the menu. Anything hot is made to order, not sitting out,

There were twenty different dinner menus, one for each night,Everything from beef to reindeer, many of the choices were exotic for Americans. And some of the translations from German were very awkward (deer instead of venison). But given that there six courses ( a choice of three starters, a soup, an entree a sorbet, a main course with two options,a special cheese of the night, a choice of two deserts but the cheese cart. Then they came around with boxes of chocolates of many varieties and served us our choices with white gloves, if that is still not enough, ginger and after dinner mints are offered as one departs the dining room. Then thee are the chocolates in the bedroom. The servers were cheerful and professional. Once my other half made his drink preferences known, they kept his martini glasses stocked in the freezer and knew exactly how he liked his drink, no matter where he ordered it on the ship,

There were special touches and themes, as well both for lunch and dinner. They presented us with all the menus at the end of the trip. I will try and figure out how to get some of them up for reference,

I do believe that everyone at some point was invited to a special dinner in the second dining room with the ships officers. Every course, the officers would rotate tables so that we had an opportunity to meet and talk to people from three different departments. It was very interesting from getting the printed invitation, having a very special menu and then the next day getting a photo of our table along with the copy of the menu.

Lunches could be in the dining room or bistro. There were heat lamps out on the aft and people sat there also, with blankets. Examples of the special lunch themes were Bavaria with the waiters in costume and free flowing beers and wine. King crab and seafood tower another. Whole pig one day, whole lamb another. All in addition to a several entree choices, hot and cold salads, cheeses. We had a Shackleton theme night dinner with the wait staff dresses and a tableau of sir earnest, with a fun menu. They did caviar with vodka shots as a starter another night. A Danish style pool party as a sail away from South Georgia with special decor and more drinks a dancing by the pool. Lots of free flowing beer and bubbly. Oh and at Shackeltons grave, in south George they served rum shots so we could toast the boss. Then as we were all ashore, they did afternoon tea in town with the cookies and mulled wine. Another fun surprise after dinner one night, there was a cocktail nightcap party set up after leaving the restaurant with yet more special drinks. The fun part was the display table and the ice used to make the drinks which was from the iceberg that we landed on a few days before. Drinks are not included in the cruise fare but there was an event every other day with alcohol or shots or a special drink, as well as champagne at breakfast. Even the ice cream had topping of Cointreau or Baileys. And the fruit as a dinner starter was optionally bathed in a coordinating beverage, like whiskey, grand mariner, etc.

There was boulioun at eleven each sea day. Tea in the afternoon with an occasional theme, like grandmothers cakes, a waffle and topping station, an ice cream sundae bar. Always a tray of snacks in the observatory. Late night snacks after dinner were also passed on trays in the observatory.

If I felt like eating light, I could just have soup and salad for lunch,

We did have room service twice, once we had dinner and it was served by the course.

Yes, i loved the food and service, my only complaint was that it was so German oriented at lunchtime . Some lighter choices would have been nice, I stuck to soup and salad a few days.

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Day One...

I would not usually post this aspect of the trip, but it was so well organized that it is worth a mention.

We stayed at the beautiful Four Season in Buenos Aires prior to our cruise.

Our charter flight to Ushaiai departed very early. So, we had our breakfast at three am! The designated room was set with linens. There was a full buffet available. I was very impressed as when we had our early morning flight last year from Quito to the Galapagos with Silversea, they could not manage coffee in the lobby.

We set out for the airport and once there, just needed to pass through security to the gate. We boarded less than an hour later.

On the flight, there was a full breakfast with drinks! Upon arrival, we were taken in buses to town for a bit and then onto the National Park, we we toured the highlights. Lunch was catered at a nice restaurant with good views of the harbor.

Boarding was late afternoon for us, about 4:30, or 16:30. I set my watch to a 24 hour clock for the rest of the trip.

We were greeted by all staff and the Captain as we boarded.

I was happy to see that our cabin was spacious (235 sq ft or so) with more than enough storage. Our large suitcases fit easily under the bed. There was a nice l-shaped sofa and seating area.

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Sample of Daily Program, slightly abridged

 

7:00 Fit for the day (exercise)

7:30 arrival at ROBERT Island

8:00 call for zodiac group Yellow, followed by Blue

9:00 call for Green, followed by Red and White

10:45 Gym for the Back

11:00 Set Sail for our next destination, Whalers Bay at Deception Island

11:45 Precap for Tomorrow

Followed by Which direction is Climate change taking us? Dr. Friszi explains the ice cores as a key to understanding the past

14:00 entry into the caldera Come up and deck and see the exciting entry

14:30 ship anchors. Besides walk up the hill to the craters edge, you will also have the possibility to take a swim in Antartic waters! Please read information provided on next page.

15:00 disembarkation of zodiac groups Yellow/Blue/Green and White

18:00 Stretch and relax class

18:30 last zodiac leaves

19:00 set sail for Antartic peninsula

19:15 Welcome Cocktail the captain invites all passengers... (this was postponed due to weather and other conflicts. Some passengers did not have their bags, so we departed Ushuaia late)

21:30 After dinner music...

21:30 in another venue, dance to the music of...

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