LIVE from the Grand Princess - 49 days from FLL thru South America to SFO

[dmwnc1959]

Took this screen shot at 3:45am EST (or 5:45am local Ushuaia) and thought it odd that you didn't dock first. Now I know why.

 

[WarEagle76]

I wonder if Sammi meant she say a live albatross or the albatross monument? This is from my diary when we rounded the Horn last year.. <The cape lies within Chilean territorial waters, and the Chilean Navy maintains a station on Hoorn Island, consisting of a residence, utility building, chapel, and lighthouse. A short distance from the main station is a memorial, including a large sculpture featuring the silhouette of an albatross, in honour of the sailors who died while attempting to "round the Horn". However, the Chilean Navy station, including the lighthouse and the memorial, are not located on Cape Horn itself (which is very difficult to access either by land or sea), but on another land point about one mile east-northeast. On the real Cape Horn there is a 13 foot fibre glass light tower with a range of about 13 miles.

 

 

 

Sandy in Spain

 

[IECalCruiser]

Not much happening on board during the day unless you count the afternoon movie Pitch Perfect. The scenic cruising through Glacier Alley should begin at 8:00 PM for approx. two hours. Sunset is supposed to be at 10 PM, so we expect to see many glaciers “up close and personal.” Sammi had announced yesterday that starboard was the best side and hooray!, we are starboard. Hope she’s right.

Pia, You will have a great view from your cabin/balcony. This is a blog post from our 2010 SA cruise (the photos were all taken from our Caribe deck balcony):

 

2010-02-25 - We had to Punt on Punta Arenas

When we woke up this morning we were only 20 miles from Ushuaia. The Star had basically been treading water for the past eight hours. The stop at Punta Arenas was cancelled. That didn’t affect us much because we were only planning to spend a few hours walking around the city.

 

We started sailing past the glaciers in the Beagle Channel at about 9:00 AM.The glaciers were all on the starboard side of the ship so we watched them pass by in the comfort of our warm stateroom. The first glacier to pass by was the Holanda. We had an overcast sky and that gave a bluish tint to the ice that would not be present in bright sunshine.

 

The next glacier to pass by was the Italia. This is the only water glacier in the Beagle Channel. The others have receded from the sea. Once the starboard side of the ship was even with the glacier Captain Perrin turned the Star 180 degrees in place so that both sides of the ship could have a good view of the glacier.

 

Italia Glacier

Francia Glacier

Almenia Glacier

 

The next two glaciers were the Francia and the Almenia. They have both receded significantly but still provided spectacular view. The most amazing glacier was the last one, Romanche. Water is melting at such a great rate that there is a massive waterfall going to the sea. I don’t know if photos will do it justice but I also have video. You can see the strong rush of water and hear the water flowing. What a sight! Yes, we were close enough to the glacier to hear the flowing water. Usually the Star is going full speed to reach Punta Arenas but Captain Perrin had the time to give us slow passes to get the full effect.

Romanche Glacier

Romanche Glacier Waterfall

[san diego sue]

We did Glacier Alley in the morning on the Star , before Ushuaia.

Breathtaking was the word. Since we did this trip reverse, the better side was Port side. We were starboard. However, the best views was walking on Promenade deck. We got the best photos we ever took, on that

day. We found this more breathtaking than our Alaska cruises. Cold is the word, so cold but the air is very fresh. Loved it.

Pia, don't strain that foot, you still have a month to go. It is so nice getting a different point of view on the ports than we experienced.

We loved every minute of our trip and am loving yours as well.

your pal

Gloria:D

[waltd]

Pia really enjoying your posts. Is it my imagination or are you addng more information about each port? I do like a bit of a history lession. Thanks and careful on the leg.

 

Joe

[MGnut]

Took this screen shot at 3:45am EST (or 5:45am local Ushuaia) and thought it odd that you didn't dock first. Now I know why.

 

 

dmwnc, do you mind telling me what app you use to view the ships positions?

 

Thanks.

 

Howard

[trbarton]

 

Can you post the details of the photo you posted?

 

Thanks!

[WendyG]

We did Glacier Alley in the morning on the Star , before Ushuaia.

Breathtaking was the word. Since we did this trip reverse, the better side was Port side. We were starboard. However, the best views was walking on Promenade deck. We got the best photos we ever took, on that

day. We found this more breathtaking than our Alaska cruises. Cold is the word, so cold but the air is very fresh. Loved it.

Pia, don't strain that foot, you still have a month to go. It is so nice getting a different point of view on the ports than we experienced.

We loved every minute of our trip and am loving yours as well.

your pal

Gloria:D

 

Pictures! I wanna see pictures! :)

[san diego sue]

Wendy,

They are on my husband's computer and he is working on it now. When he goes to work this afternoon, will send you some.

Never thought that SA was even on our bucket list,how wrong I was.

Gloria

[WarEagle76]

Can you post the details of the photo you posted?

 

Thanks!

 

It was taken January 1, 2012, on Star Princess cruising from Rio to Valparaiso and this picture is going around Cape Horn and is the Chilean Navy station and albatross monument t60 described. It was a cloudy, rainy day and we were rocking some but not too badly. We were on the top deck and kept going out to take pictures, then ducking for cover from the rain. The picture was taken with a Nikon D80.

 

If you are interested here are all of the pictures from the cruise:

 

http://smengelt.shutterfly.com/1665

[Northwest Couple]

Do you recall my mentioning yesterday I had heard nothing pro or con about the Elton John tribute guy? Now I know why. This was a travesty; the very worst performer I have ever seen. In no way does he measure up to Elton John one iota. The only thing he has in common is the fact that he’s a Brit. Absolutely awful. I wonder who hired him. And why. The audience at times gave him perfunctory applause, and only a tiny bit of that. The comic? Not so comical. Maybe he only had one good show in him and it certainly wasn’t last night. Tina saw his first show and she said he had some funny stuff. He must have run out of it. We should have gone to Motor City. :)

　

Good Morning from Ushuaia; fin del Mundo - The end of the World. Sorry for the rant. Had to get rid of it first. The outside temp this morning is not as cold as yesterday, but don’t get me wrong. It’s still cold for us. Expected high will be about 52. We will be here until 4:00 so will wait a while before getting off. Then again, maybe a long while. The captain was not able to dock the ship and we will now have to tender. Pilot would not give permission due to tides. Elite will not get priority either and we have to get tender tix same as everyone else. Maybe the sun will come out and it will warm up a bit. Meanwhile, looking outside my window now are snowcapped mountains; what I expected to see yesterday. This is our 4th visit to this port and we’ve more or less done whatever sightseeing we were interesting in doing. We’ve been to Tierra del Fuego National Park, have seen Ensenada Bay (which overlooks the Beagle Channel), and also Lapetia Bay which is the last stop on the Pan American Hwy.

　

Not much happening on board during the day unless you count the afternoon movie Pitch Perfect. The scenic cruising through Glacier Alley should begin at 8:00 PM for approx. two hours. Sunset is supposed to be at 10 PM, so we expect to see many glaciers “up close and personal.” Sammi had announced yesterday that starboard was the best side and hooray!, we are starboard. Hope she’s right.

　

Entertainment tonight are two repeat acts; female singer Elvy Rose and pianist Chris Contillo. We will opt for glaciers. Again, MUTS will be silent.

　

BTW, I am falling apart; piece by piece. Can a chest cold give you a sprained foot? Just kidding. About three days ago I started having pain on the dorsum of my left foot. I didn’t knowingly twist anything, so just ignored it, as I usually do other things. This is probably coming from my spinal stenosis (yes, I have that which usually doesn’t bother me) and Mike used part of his “hospital” and strapped my foot and ankle last night. Also got strict instruction not to use treadmill. Yes Boss! Too early to ascertain whether I can walk far since I only made it to HC. Food first. I do need to walk into town to replenish a few things and hopefully this will not be a hindrance. Tune into the next installment.

Re Celsius: We were taught to double it and add 26 or 27. Cold is still cold.

No hurry here, so might as well go to breakfast.

 

Pia, are you continuing on the Hawaii when the Grand gets to SF? Linda

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Hi Pia,

The bridge cam is showing you at anchor at Ushuaia and a Celebrity ship at the dock.

The Ushuaia cam is not live , so I am not sure if these are the latest shots.

 

 

 

[Pia1913]

So how come Celebrity Infinity could dock and we could not?n Tendering was a fiasco to say the least. You had to pick up tix in Vista and wait there until your number was called and then go to midship tenders on deck 5. They didn’t use deck 4. We decided to wait until no more tix were needed, but by 10:15 when no announcement was made, we decided to venture down and see what was happening. Got down to deck 4 and nobody was looking at tender ticket numbers. Everyone but us had them. It took almost 45 minutes to finally dock with hundreds more still on board waiting for their numbers to be called. We were supposed to be out of here by 4:00. It is almost 5:30 and we are still waiting for more passengers to get back. This will probably affect our glacier viewing since daylight will not wait for us.

　

All we wanted in port was a pharmacy and to buy water. Knew exactly where farmacia was located and bought 2 liter water just before getting back on tender. Weather was cold, but clear and no wind.

　

It’s now wine time and since we had very little lunch, will go to dinner early.

Linda: no, we are going home. Tina and Ken are staying on for Hawaii.

David: what you see is correct.

　

See you tomorrow.

[Pepes Pal]

Pia, be very careful with your foot issue. My daughter who runs & also plays soccer, had the same pain. Turned out it was a stress fracture. Mike is boss & he knows best!! ;)

 

Judy

[trbarton]

I'm on the May 10th Alaska cruise and am organizing a group to join me for a Meet & Greet when the Grand arrives next month in San Francisco. I also signed up for the March 31 Bon Voyage Program which is 4 hours on the ship with lunch and a tour. The cost can be applied to a future cruise on Princess. Looking forward to seeing the ship.

 

Tom:D

[Pia1913]

Good Morning and welcome to Punta Arenas, Chile. If in fact we arrive. We will again be getting to the area a few hours late, but this time we had advance notice. This is another tender port and probably one of the windiest areas we have ever encountered. This is the main thing I recall about being here; cold and WIND! And penguins, of course.

　

Punta Arenas is considered the largest southernmost city on the South American mainland. From 1850 to 1914 it was the principal coaling and supply station for ships rounding the Horn, as well as a major world supplier of wool. Then came the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914 and OOPS………… ships no longer needed to round the Cape Horn And then Australia and New Zealand began to compete with its major product - wool. So now, Punta Arenas suddenly went from prosperity to poverty, until the 1940’s when oil was discovered. Punta Arenas has improved its roads and has recovered its previous status as a popular tourist destination. If you don’t get blown away, one of the best attractions is Otway Sound, home to the Magellenic penguins. However, you need to be hale and hearty because there’s a one mile walk to see them after reaching the reserve.

　

We finally got out of Ushuaia last night 2 ½ hours late, so when we reached the Glacier Alley approach it was already 9:20 PM and pretty much dark. Narration by Sammi and Julio were describing the areas, but we really couldn’t see their description. We were told we could see deep valleys and crevasses, but alas, not to my naked eye. I suppose had we had binoculars, it might have made a difference. We were told exactly where to look; still nothing. Then suddenly we were told to look for the Italia glacier and it was so large we actually could see it distinctly. And yes, there was calving. This could have been a great show had we had daylight. But at least we were on the correct side of the ship. :)

　

The Patter didn’t arrive last night until after 11; guess it took a long time to revise it for late arrival. Since there’s really nothing happening for those staying aboard, I suppose it was just tour times affected. In any event, our new anchor time is 9:30 (instead of 7) and departure will be 8:30 (instead of 7). Only thing on board is the afternoon movie Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl.

　

Tonight’s offerings include a female vocalist (Elvira Barjau) in the theater (she’s one of the regular singers in the production shows), and a mentalist (Brent Webb) in Vista. It’s country/western night, so Explorer’s will have an assortment of appropriate activities as such.

　

This entry is completely off time wise. I tried to post it earlier and internet was out. It is now 10:00 AM, we are still not anchored and there is still no signal. We are not getting off anyway, since Mike hurt his knee yesterday and can barely ambulate. I think he got jealous and needed his own malady. NOT! See you when I can.

I see a signal. Wish me luck.

[IECalCruiser]

Pia, Do they still offer the incredibly expensive day flight to the Chilean station in Antarctica from Punta Arenas? If so, I wonder if the late arrival will affect that flight?

[san diego sue]

Otway sound trip. The one mile walk to see penguins, not so bad. It is basically flat, you are on a wood walkway. Penguins walk by you, so Penguins are seen the whole walk. The big gathering is at end of walkway, near the ocean. It was really cold there and very windy.

This is the last stop for the Grand for the passengers to see Penguins so I hope they make it.

Pia, you are not having good luck this trip, between you and Mike.

So sorry.

Gloria:D

 

[bronxgirl25]

Pia....sorry to hear that Mike is now having sympathy issues ;) I hope you both start to feel better very soon. :D

[CruzinNoony]

Hi Pia, I'm sorry to hear that you and Mike aren't having very good luck healthwise. Bummer! Hope your problems are short lived. :eek:

[Julia’s Journey’s]

Pia, sorry to hear mike has joined in with the pain issues that I'm sure are not fun to have onboard but at least you have been to these ports before and didn't have excursions planned so can both relax and order room service if needed:)

 

Enjoying all the info about the places and pity you couldn't depart in time to see the glaciers in daylight :eek:

[DonahCBrown]

Pia, you and Mike take it easy and feel better soon! Too bad you had to do the glaciers in the dark.:(

[In Retirement]

Dear Pia,

Your insightful posts provide a very useful picture of an experienced passenger on such a long cruise (with substantial weather and seas conditions challenges). We are a couple who have loved a balcony cabin and the ship as efficient transport between ports, with the port experience being the primary goal, not the ship experience. We were with Tom on the 14-day FLL holiday cruise. We thought that the quality of ship entertainment related to the Maasdam (still going strong through 2013/2014) reflected the small number of passengers on the Maasdam -- I guess not so as you experience sounds so similar (one of our "comedy" experiences resulted in hostile attacks from the audience!). Perhaps the reality is that the quality of shipboard entertainment has just declined as these companies don't want to spend the money necessary to attract better acts?

 

Don't know if we could handle such a long cruise (over 14 days) -- we often plan 3 or 4-week holidays, but develop a blend of land and sea experiences (short hotel stays, train transits, short coach tours, or 5-7 day apartment stays in interesting cities).

 

The posting on this Forum about your captain threatening folks at a M & G about visible private tour activities is really confusing, especially as you have mentioned more than once that Princess has provided few shore options and for the most part they have been filled. Very strange, as one of the core uses of a Roll Call is to organize such activities. Our last three European cruises included 90/100% private tours (two cruises were Ruby Princess and Caribbean Princess) and we found the Princess was quite aware of this activity and in general were either helpful/supportive or at least neutral. Anything more to be said? This is in light of the most recent Carnival Triumph disaster in which it does not seem possible that cruise line administration would turn to being hostile (local Houston media report price reductions as a result)? Our most recent Caribbean experience documented that private tours with companies not under contract with a cruise line on our port day was usually half the price and that companies under such contract actually had to reduce their regular fees to be selected by a cruise line (quite unbelievable). Several of us enjoy researching ports and making plans to visit museums etc. not offered by cruise lines. If I had more evidence of such an unpleasant reaction, I would be pleased to raise this issue with Princess.

Pia, your effort is a great gift.

Thanks,

DJ:)

[caribill]

Perhaps the reality is that the quality of shipboard entertainment has just declined as these companies don't want to spend the money necessary to attract better acts?

 

 

The guest acts on most cruise ships (Princess and others) usually fall into two categories.

o Those on the way down from a career that never made the heights

o Those possibly on the way up

 

As one comedian on Princess said "I am the best comedian in my price range."

[Kiwi Kruzer]

 

Nothing to see from the bridge cam at the moment except ...sea.

May swing round later.