Silversea Explorer Damaged

[fudge]

Hi Guys,

Yes it was the 380, checked the safey card.

 

Our first evening on the explorer: The crew and experts introduced themselves 122, crew, including 12 experts, 118 passengers on this voyage. After a pleasant meal we retired early, the “storm” was just starting! Dress code was very casual indeed, some guys were in jeans, no tie or jacket ladies were also in casual attire.

At about 23.000hrs fierce winds began to rock the ship, it got worse through the night with up to 25-30 feet swell, it was as bad as predicted, not much sleep at all with the bed and other items in the room rolling around including us!! We have confined ourselves to the room for the day, it is rather difficult moving around the ship.

We are in suite 304 so maybe we feel it more, but at the time of writing this some 17hrs later it’s still the same. A word of caution here, if you are not a good sailor this cruise may not be for you, not for the faint hearted so far, not many people around for the three expert lectures today.

At 1500hrs today they announced that if anyone wants to borrow rubber boots they are welcome, so they must have a good stock, they called guests by deck number, all were complete in 45 mins.

Just managed room service, let’s hope it stays down!

Now 18.00hrs and we are staying in the room, good documentaries to watch on TV and movies.

As you know speaking about food and drink is very subjective. We are quite easy to please, so unless the food is dire I won’t discuss on this forum. Six of us eat last evening one guy liked a fuller red wine, the sommelier was more than happy to change it.

Any questions feel free to ask, I will do my best to answer them.

[jpalbny]

Thanks for sharing your trip with us Fudge. Are you sure your plane was really an A380? I find that shocking for LAN as the 380 is GI-normous! Especially, on that particular route too.

 

Got to be a misprint. The A380 is more than ginormous; it's a double decker that holds 500+ passengers. No way that's economically feasible for LAN to fly it between AEP and USH; furthermore, LAN's website only mentions A340, 320, 319, 318 in their fleet. We flew down in a A320 or similar. OTOH, since we weren't there with Fudge yesterday (unfortunately), you never know... Maybe the Explorer needed a few tons of spare parts, and they filled up the whole lower deck of the A380 with supplies!:D

 

Fudge - did the plane have 2 full floors of seating and a 3-4-3 configuration with two aisles in economy? If not, it's not an A380, and something must have been misprinted. BTW, we've flown the A380 from CDG to JFK a few times in the upper deck, and it's great... If you were on one, lucky you!

 

Now back to our original topic! Hope the waves calm down and you enjoy a Drake Lake for day 2 of your crossing. Thanks for sharing! Have a great trip!

[CASHIPman]

Hi Guys,

Yes it was the 380, checked the safey card.

 

LAN doesn't fly the A380. Their largest aircraft is the A340.

[RachelG]

Suspect it was an A320 as we have flown on a lot of these with LAN in South America.

 

George is jealous of your rough seas. He wants to be on board now when I told him about it. How is your cabin? I am thinking this was part of the ship that got water damage.

[fudge]

Sorry guys of course it was the A320, my thick fingers!! My head is still all over the place, will be more careful in future. Further report to follow later.

 

At least it prompted a response.:):D

[jpalbny]

Sorry guys of course it was the A320, my thick fingers!! My head is still all over the place, will be more careful in future. Further report to follow later.

 

At least it prompted a response.:):D

 

It's a tough crowd here... ;)

 

No worries - we are all reading your posts with great interest, and we are envious that we're not there with you. Would you consider starting a new thread called Silver Explorer 1/31/13 live report? Then more people would know to look there.

[fudge]

Thanks for you reply, I would consider a new thread but have already posted 3 or 4 on this thread, lets see how this goes? You are right, you are a tough forum to please. :D:eek:

[Mike2131]

We had a tough passage southbound in the Drake in 2011 (flooded cabins but no injuries) so I know how it can be.

[fudge]

In answer to a question on the forum:

One of the senior crew members was asked about the damage to the ship? When the wave hit the ship enough water came on the bridge up to their knees! Of course the ship was temporarily disabled but at no time were the passengers or crew in any danger. The water seeped right through the ship causing damage, I guess we were lucky we sailed! There is a full account already posted on the thread.

So, after 32 hours we finally emerge from our suite like to Polar bears coming out of hibernation! We must have looked like two ghosts walking for breakfast. We have only sailed three times before in calmer waters so you seasoned sailors out there must take all this in your stride? As for me I am certainly not looking forward to the return journey across the Drake Passage. For your information the sailing time is approx 62hrs from leaving BA to docking in the Antarctic.

We have 24hrs before we set anchor and just spotted our first Iceberg (cool)

I have spoken with other guests who are accommodated on decks 4 and 5, they too are experiencing sickness, they can feel the “roll” of the ship and they are also uncomfortable, I have no doubt they are better off than deck three however.

At 10.00hrs we attended the mandatory Zodiac briefing which lasted 1 hour; it included how to behave while on land.

The weather has tempered somewhat, slightly better swell but still some roll. Just had a first sighting of fin whales, fantastic! The captain slowed down and changed course so we can all get a better view and a photo opportunity.

[RachelG]

Glad the weather is better and that you are feeling better. As I said before, George is really envious as he loves rough seas. I truly have never seen the man seasick, even on a tiny fishing boat in Alaska. I rarely get seasick, but that did me in.

 

Amazed that they got everything onboard repaired so that you could sail, ESP since they were in Ushuaia where I can't imagine they would have everything needed for the repair right at hand.

[NCCruzQueen]

fudge, thanks for your daily reports. I really enjoy reading them, remembering my cruise last January. Isn't it great when animals are sighted and the captain and crew get just as excited as the passengers? They really do like to please and have you enjoy all the area has to offer.

[Ballyboffin]

I am really enjoying your posts fudge, mind you almost feeling seasick myself by what you describe! I'm sure it will all be worth it when you get to see the animals. Love to you both and keep safe X

[fudge]

Morning report.

 

It s 0500hrs on Sunday 3rd February, we finally arrive in the Antarctic!! We are in the South Shetland Islands. This morning the team plan to stay in a well known area for whales, the sea is flat and calm, perfect conditions apparently.

The last job of last evening was to take any gear/clothing which had been previously used to be checked and cleaned using a hoover, if you have any new clothing you don’t need to have it checked, each suite is allocated two spaces in the mud room to leave your boots on your return. The guests are already allocated a number for their Zodiac, there are 4 Zodiacs. No more than 100 people are allowed on shore at any one time.

The temperature is zero, snow flurries; it doesn’t take long to spot hump back whales, killer whales and minke whales. The scenery is just stunning, icebergs sailing by, snow capped mountains.

One of the highlights was two hump back whales who came within 15feet of the ship, side by side, what a stunning sight to see! Already this trip has exceeded our expectations. Forget the long journey, the rocky passage through the Drake Passage, so far so good! Just off for a leisurely breakfast before the action continues.

It’s now 10am we are travelling down Neumaya channel and the Peltia channel, very few ships travel down here because it is so narrow, only half a mile wide or less in parts. Again beautiful scenery as we go through small ice fields, snow covered glaciers either side, our first sight of penguins, lion seals, and plenty of wild birds.

The final viewing today was to travel through the lemair straits. This afternoon we have a Zodiac cruise at 14.00hrs, looking forward to that. :)

[Sea Lord]

"The wind! who ever conquered it? In every fight it has the last and bitterest blow. Run tilting at it, and you but run through it. Ha! a coward wind that strikes stark naked men, but will not stand to receive a single blow."

 

-- Herman Melville

[fudge]

After a very pleasant lunch, here we are all the thermal gear on, waterproofs Etc for our Zodiac expedition. We boarded the Zodiac at 14.30hrs; the trip was to last 90 minutes. There are 30 guests per team (4 teams per ship) We were Zodiac 1, we then split into 4 groups of 8 per Zodiac, the four groups then went out together. Our first encounter were hump back whales, there were 4 within metres of the Zodiac. We then visited a small island where there were colonies of Adeli penguins; we stayed in the Zodiac and viewed from a distance we also saw fur and lion seals.

Overall a great experience, the warm weather gear we brought passed its test. Before we knew it we were back aboard the Explorer for a nice hot cup of tea.

At 18.15 we will attend a de brief and recap.

[rojaan19]

So glad you are having such a good time Fudge.

 

Can you tell me who is the Captain ? and is it still an open bridge - passengers can visit any time ??

[Mike2131]

After a very pleasant lunch, here we are all the thermal gear on, waterproofs Etc for our Zodiac expedition. We boarded the Zodiac at 14.30hrs; the trip was to last 90 minutes. There are 30 guests per team (4 teams per ship) We were Zodiac 1, we then split into 4 groups of 8 per Zodiac, the four groups then went out together. Our first encounter were hump back whales, there were 4 within metres of the Zodiac. We then visited a small island where there were colonies of Adeli penguins; we stayed in the Zodiac and viewed from a distance we also saw fur and lion seals.

Overall a great experience, the warm weather gear we brought passed its test. Before we knew it we were back aboard the Explorer for a nice hot cup of tea.

At 18.15 we will attend a de brief and recap.

As you noted, your first glimpse of the scenery and wildlife and any challenges getting through the Drake are soon forgotten. It is a magnificent cruise and you are off to a terrific start.

 

Enjoy!

[fudge]

Day 7

A very special day awaits us today.

I hope I am not spoiling this for future passengers? This forum has given me so much useful information it’s about time I repaid the advice.

As part of this expedition we are here to celebrate my partner’s birthday, I cannot say which birthday for fear of serious injury or worse!!! We also celebrate our 24th wedding anniversary today so all in all something to look forward to.

We set sail at 18.00hrs last evening for our current location Detaille Island, South of the Arctic Circle, we anchored at about 04.30hrs. The weather is still zero degrees, cloudy with some snow.

Our first actual landing on Terra firmer in the Antarctic!!!

In 1956 a British expedition team landed here to carry out research, they built a large hut for accommodation. In 1959 the weather was so bad that the supply ship could not reach the team. Without supplies it was impossible to stay, the team had a small window of opportunity to leave immediately with what they could carry; as such they left the base as it stands today complete with personal belongings, artefacts, everything. They walked/skied over 25 miles to reach the rescue ship.

We reached the base on the Zodiac where we met a UK Antarctic Heritage trust team of three who are currently spending 4/6 weeks maintaining the base, called Base W. Our passports have all been stamped with the Antarctica stamp how cool is that!! You can also send postcards from there. (You supply your own post cards, you buy the stamps there)

What an experience visiting a place that was abandoned in 1959. All the food is still there, clothing equipment, newspapers, books; it’s like stepping back in time.

After 90 minutes we are now back on the Explorer about to enjoy lunch. What a lovely surprise in our room, the crew had decorated the room with balloons and decorations, a really nice touch, and of course a bottle of nice cool champagne.

Someone on the forum has asked for the Captains name, he is Captain Alexander Golubev, a very experienced captain in this neck of the woods with over 80 voyages in this region. Unfortunately there are no visits at all to the bridge because of the incident with the Costa Concordia, shame really!

[UpNorthLady]

Fudge, it sounds like a wonderful trip. We are scheduled for the February 20, 2014, trip. Our cabin is 319. Can you find out what the penguin sightings...is that a good term?......will be that late in the season?

I am hoping that cabin 319 close to midship will be less rocky than bow or stern. Or maybe I should hope for a calm crossing.

[HDS]

UpNorthLady, you have very well positioned cabin. We were in 321 next door for the final Antarctic cruise of 2012 (February 21). Close to the centre of the ship and much less movement than on higher decks or in the prow.

We saw many, many penguins. In places we were mobbed by them. One flopped down and took a nap on my husband's boot. Whales breached in full view, leopard and crabeater seals basking on the ice floes winked as we zodiaced past. One leopard seal decided he was over the tourists and chased our zodiac, giving it a good nip. No danger, small puncture repaired overnight.

I am sarry you won't have the priviledge of visiting the bridge and seeing the captain and his assistants at work. If ever I sail into rough seas this is the ship and the captain I want to travel with.

[UpNorthLady]

Thank you, HDS. We specifically chose 319 because if its location, low and in the center. Having seen videos of Drake Passage, I wanted the calmest place on the ship. I will miss being allowed on the bridge but I guess it is just something we will have to accept. I am so glad there will be lots of penguins.

[Mike2131]

If the Concordia had been fortunate enough to have a Master like Captain Golubev, I very much doubt there would have been the terrible tragedy we all lament.

[fudge]

Day 8

We sailed overnight from Detaille Island to our current position Petermann Island. Here we hope to see Adelie and Gentoo penguins, Blue eyed-shags, and South Polar skewers.

After a short trip in the Zodiac we landed on the island we were met by as many penguins as the eye could see. You could however “smell” the Guano (penguin poop) well before we landed! We spent 90 minutes wandering the island at our leisure, once again fascinating history from the experts.

I have to say at this stage the crew and experts really make this expedition what it is, very friendly smiling faces whatever the conditions. Back on board before lunch, more eating and drinking.

This afternoon we sail to Port Lockroy & Dorian Bay. Port Lockroy is a natural harbour located on the Western side of Wiencke Island in the Palmer Archipelago, discovered in 1903 it was mainly used as a whaling station. In 1944 the British established a base on Goudier Island (we Brits get everywhere!). It is an early example of a scientific research station.

Another very interesting day, again lots to see, lots of nesting chicks, the highlight was a lion seal when it came so close to the Zodiac you could almost touch it! Called at Port Lockroy which is half museum and half souvenir shop, t shirts, polo shirts, key rings, anything with penguins on and the name of the base station. They take dollars, Euros, sterling or credit cards, your last chance to post cards to your loved ones. They may take between 2-10 weeks to arrive however.

[fudge]

UpNorthlady,

 

You suite is nicely positioned only three doors down from reception in the middle of the ship. I spoke to the experts on your behalf today. Although the penguins only come on shore to breed they assure me that when you arrive they will still be here in numbers.:)

 

They start to leave the shore early March. Let me tell you now, you will have a great time, I endorse other posters on here who have been and enjoyed the experience very much.

Now we are just off for yet more champagne, its a hard life you know!!!! :p:cool::D

[UpNorthLady]

UpNorthlady,

 

You suite is nicely positioned only three doors down from reception in the middle of the ship. I spoke to the experts on your behalf today. Although the penguins only come on shore to breed they assure me that when you arrive they will still be here in numbers.:)

 

They start to leave the shore early March. Let me tell you now, you will have a great time, I endorse other posters on here who have been and enjoyed the experience very much.

Now we are just off for yet more champagne, its a hard life you know!!!! :p:cool::D

Thank you so much for asking. I am a penguin person (despite the fact that they smell like rotten fish) and I would have been so disappointed to find them gone! Your descriptions of the trip are marvelous. I can hardly wait to see it for myself.