LadyVol1 Posted December 29, 2017 #101 Share Posted December 29, 2017 Half Moon Island, Antartica 11:15AM, 12/29/17 - 33 degrees and snowing - The second group has just been called for The Club -- right on time with the 15-minute warning announcement!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galeforce9 Posted December 29, 2017 Author #102 Share Posted December 29, 2017 Sounds lovely! In answer to the weather question, I think the weather is so changeable that December, January and February can all have similar weather. What I found is that even in “bad” weather, ie precipitation and fog, it is magical, rain falls as snow and fog eventually clears and provides stunning scenery. I guess the underlying temperature average is warmer in jan/Feb than dec. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galeforce9 Posted December 29, 2017 Author #103 Share Posted December 29, 2017 This is the Antarctica book I also found useful (sold onboard too). Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chairsin Posted December 29, 2017 #104 Share Posted December 29, 2017 I would say when to go has less to do with weather - which as others have aptly noted Is erratic- and more to do with penguins. Earlier you will see many sitting on eggs, then Dec/Jan sitting on little fur balls peaking out and wandering around and later babies at that are walking around starting to molt at that awkward stage. I have also been told that the later in the season you go the stronger the scent of penguin poo at landing sites as it has had more time to build up but I don’t know that for a fact. Definitely odoriferous when we were there on last year’s holiday cruise. Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyVol1 Posted December 29, 2017 #105 Share Posted December 29, 2017 Today was amazing. It was 32 degrees and snowing and awesome! Unfortunately only four of the five groups got to do landings. The fifth group (4 PM, we were at 1 PM) was cancelled due to the deteriorating weather. We just got all the passengers, crew and Zodiacs on board and the snow is blowing horizontally with poor visibility so the Captain definitely made the right decision. My husband and I had a blast. We dressed properly and weren’t cold and didn’t get wet, even when exiting the Zodiac on the beach in a foot of water. Waterproof clothing and boots do work. But bring colored hankies (bandannas) in case you drop it. (I didn’t drop my white hankie but easily could have!) We walked (actually waddled due to the snow, mud, ice, rocks, guano, etc.) around and saw a Chinstrap penguin rookery, Gentoo penguins (orange beaks), two Elephant seals being slugs and being indistinguishable from the huge rocks and a Weddell seal being a slug in the pristine snow. We also saw a Blue whale jaw bone and an old wooden ship washed ashore, probably an old whaler. IT WAS AN AWESOME EXPERIENCE AND IT WAS EVEN BETTER THAT IT WAS “BAD” WEATHER TO MAKE IT MORE ANTARCTICA-LIKE!! It was truly an unforgettable experience walking around and trying not to get too close to the penguins that were hard to see among the snow and rocks. Hopefully we’ll get to do our other seven landings, weather depending. Gentoo penguins: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyVol1 Posted December 29, 2017 #106 Share Posted December 29, 2017 Chinstrap penguins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notjaded Posted December 29, 2017 #107 Share Posted December 29, 2017 Believe you mean outfit and they are the full size 7X35 binoculars. Thank you. Good to know. Previous Seabourn cruises have had the compact ones, so they must reconfigure for the Antarctic journey. One less thing needed to pack! T-10 days until we leave on our trip! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bitob Posted December 29, 2017 #108 Share Posted December 29, 2017 These posts are really helpful Any other items that we must pack or shouldn’t bother to pack? Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunprince Posted December 29, 2017 #109 Share Posted December 29, 2017 Those penguins look fat...there must be no shortage of food, and appetite! Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kwaj girl Posted December 29, 2017 #110 Share Posted December 29, 2017 Reading all of this and especially seeing the photos really has me ready to book for January 2019. Have previously sailed Seabourn 2x - we are Regent 'regulars' but they do not have Antarctica landing/voyages. We will appreciate any and all info with regards to this most excellent itinerary & voyage! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronpes Posted December 29, 2017 #111 Share Posted December 29, 2017 Awesome thread and really enjoying it. Fantastic pictures and a wealth of information. My thanks to everyone for doing this. Ron. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyVol1 Posted January 1, 2018 #112 Share Posted January 1, 2018 (edited) Antarctica tips: For each landing day on my bottom half I wore two pairs of ski socks, 2 pairs of women’s exercise tights, 1 pair of 30-year old ski pants filled with fiberfill and 1 pair of REI waterproof pants. On my top half, I wore a long-sleeve 100% cotton t-shirt (nothing fancy, it was a free t-shirt from volunteering at a marathon), a ¼ zip 100% polyester (silky) long sleeve athletic top with a high collar and a merino wool thin pullover sweater. Then I put on a Cuddle Duds very thin/tight fleece zip jacket followed by the Seabourn puff and Seabourn orange parka shell. I had all three final layers zipped up high each time. I had a pair of 100% polyester glove liners from REI that allowed me to use my iPhone and a pair of waterproof ski gloves (from Costco). Rather than wearing the fleece lined merino wool Seabourn-provided beanie, I wore a Costco fleece balaclava to keep my neck and chin warm. I definitely recommend a neck/chin gaiter or balaclava! Some people wear a baseball cap under the Seabourn beanie for sun protection and/or rain protection. That’s not a bad idea but I didn’t bring a baseball cap. And, carry a colored hankie (bandanna) for your runny nose in case you drop it on the ground. I also wore over-glasses sunglasses when I wore my glasses or regular sunglasses when I wore my contacts. When you are wearing all of your warm layers and the life jacket and are on land, don’t expect to be able to easily get to your pockets. I kept my iPhone in my waterproof pants front pocket and my hankie in the right parka pocket. I kept my sunglasses, without a case, in the left parka pocket. My parka pockets were almost hidden by the life vest and since I was always zipped up I couldn’t get to the puff’s pockets. I didn’t bother carrying the backpack but if you think you will, realize that you’re not going to have a good spot to put your backpack down to be able to dig around in it. Travel lightly on the landings. The cruise director will tell you at the mandatory briefing that there will be a 15-minute warning prior to your color’s group departure time so that you can get your final layers on. Well, that’s not exactly true. If your color group is scheduled for 9:00 AM, you will be called at approximately 8:45 AM. If you wait until 8:45 AM to put on all of your layers, you will be on one of the last tenders and will get less time on land. If you are ready at 8:45 AM then you can go to The Club as soon as you hear the 8:45 AM announcement and you’ll be on one of the first zodiacs. At the Chilean Gonzalez Videla Base (on Waterboat Point in Paradise Bay) there are souvenirs for sale. The only items that have the base logo on them are baseball caps, sun hats, neck gaiters, patches, $10 key rings and a wine bottle “cozy”. There are also some books in Spanish. The $20 t-shirts are normal “Antarctica” t-shirts that you can buy in Ushuaia. Only USD cash and Chilean pesos are accepted. Post cards are for sale for $5 each and then mailing them is $5 each or bring your own postcards and just pay the $5 each to mail them. On two different nights, our stewardess left us two different Seabourn Antarctica postcards or you can buy them for 15 Argentina pesos ($0.81) each at Ushuaia. I wore my backpack on the landing at the Gonzalez Videla Base in case I bought anything so that my hands would be free but I didn’t buy anything. I happily carried the plastic bag of purchases for another passenger that hadn’t thought to wear his backpack. If you want you will be able to get your passport stamped for free at The Club later in the day of this landing. My husband and I went kayaking yesterday for our first time ever. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it for beginners. (I am going to recommend that Seabourn offer a group for beginners on the second day in Antarctica.) It felt like we were doing a marathon sprint. The expedition leader got us all together in the water and gave us excellent instructions but then zoomed off to look at something. People that had kayaked before didn’t have a problem but we had a hard time keeping up. The expedition person at the end of the group was very understanding and was saying not too worry about it, but it seemed like we would miss something so we kept paddling as fast as we could. We didn’t really have a chance to just sit in the kayak and enjoy the scenery. We were always paddling. We had three more kayak trips booked but canceled the next two and kept the one at South Georgia Island since that’s supposed to be even better than Antarctica. We figure if nothing else, we’ll just sit still and not worry about keeping up with the leader. An experienced kayaker yesterday got back in the zodiac after kayaking and told us that for our first kayak experience, we couldn’t have asked for anything better so for experienced kayakers it was a major hit. For brand new ones, not so much. And, trust the expedition leader when you are told to just use the neoprene gloves attached to the paddle but you might think about wearing your own waterproof gloves on the zodiac to/from the kayaks and then just stuff your waterproof gloves under your kayak life vest. You don’t need to take your key card on the kayak tour, either. If you are going to kayak, be sure to go to one of the kayak Q&A sessions that will be offered for two hours at a time at various times during the first couple sea days. You just show up anytime during that 2-hour period and you’ll learn how to get in and out of a kayak and what to wear, etc. There will probably be a briefing/recap every night at 6:30 PM in The Grand Salon. It is not televised live and is not taped. It is a 10-15 minute briefing of what happened today and the plan for tomorrow followed by two or three short very informative lectures by various expedition team members. Make sure to attend these 6:30 PM briefings/recaps since they are very interesting. There will be live lectures happening throughout the day but if you have a landing or kayak tour scheduled you’ll miss them. Don’t worry, they are all taped and you can watch them in your cabin whenever. One night we went to The Patio after the 6:30 PM briefing and ordered pizzas to go and while they were baking we got salads and took them to our cabin. We went back for the pizzas and then ate in our cabin while watching the lectures we missed and managed to see 8 humpback whales, too. It was VERY relaxing! We are on Day Four out of Day Six of the Antarctic Experience and so far, so good!! Day One was Half Moon Island, Day Two was Trinity Island (a first-ever landing there for Seabourn), Day Three was a zodiac ride around Arthur Harbor which included seeing Palmer Station from the zodiac and Day Four was landing at the Chilean Gonzalez Videla Base on Waterboat Point in Paradise Bay which was the first landing ON the massive geographical land mass of Antarctica (vs. the Antarctica islands of the first two landings). Edited January 1, 2018 by LadyVol1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbwinn Posted January 1, 2018 #113 Share Posted January 1, 2018 Love your report, thank you for all the information! Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKP946 Posted January 2, 2018 #114 Share Posted January 2, 2018 Antarctica tips: For each landing day on my bottom half I wore two pairs of ski socks, 2 pairs of women’s exercise tights, 1 pair of 30-year old ski pants filled with fiberfill and 1 pair of REI waterproof pants. On my top half, I wore a long-sleeve 100% cotton t-shirt (nothing fancy, it was a free t-shirt from volunteering at a marathon), a ¼ zip 100% polyester (silky) long sleeve athletic top with a high collar and a merino wool thin pullover sweater. Then I put on a Cuddle Duds very thin/tight fleece zip jacket followed by the Seabourn puff and Seabourn orange parka shell. I had all three final layers zipped up high each time. . LadyVolt1 Thank you for your most comprehensive and informative reports. However, in your "landing day" clothing list one item leapt out at me, that was the "long-sleeve 100% cotton t-shirt" As an experienced back country hiker, skier and snow camper, i know that cotton should not be worn in cold conditions. In fact, you would probably have felt much more comfortable and warmer without the t-shirt.:) Below is an extract on why cotton should not be worn:- "Cotton Kills Hikers If you haven't heard the outdoor adage "cotton kills," pay attention and you may just save your life. Sure, cotton is fine to wear while shopping for groceries and looking "outdoorsy," but wear it in the great outdoors and it may kill you. Every outdoor organization from the Boy Scouts to The Mountaineers warns vehemently against wearing cotton while hiking and backpacking. Despite multiple warnings from these experts, people perish each year from inadequate preparedness whilst in pursuit of outdoor adventure. A guide friend of mine is so anti-cotton that he inspects each garment of everyone he is taking into the backcountry. He's been known to say, "take in an ounce of cotton, and pack out a cold body." Cotton by Other Names Denim Duck Flannel 50/50 blends Wetness Equals Death The major problem with cotton is that its hydrophilic nature causes it to dry very slowly and absorbs moisture like a greedy sponge. Conversely, materials like synthetics and merino wick moisture away from the skin and to the outside of the garment, where it evaporates. So what does it matter if your cotton shirt is soaked? According to the Appalachian Mountain Club, some forms of cotton absorb up to 27 times their weight. As a backpacker, you need to think carefully about anything that gains weight while outdoors. Like I said, cotton is a sponge. Wet clothing conducts heat away from your body 25 times faster than dry clothing, so wet clothing (that favorite t-shirt of yours) is a recipe for contracting hypothermia." Full article here:- https://skyaboveus.com/climbing-hiking/Why-Cotton-Will-Kill-You Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notjaded Posted January 2, 2018 #115 Share Posted January 2, 2018 SKP946: Many thanks for your kind reminder! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyVol1 Posted January 2, 2018 #116 Share Posted January 2, 2018 SKP946 - Yes, you’re right. I even have a correct base layer but the first day we went out I was already wearing the two items on top around the ship. I decided to just put on my merino sweater and Cuddle Duds tight/light fleece and since that whole outfit was so successful, I’ve just stuck with it! We’re out on land for at most 1 1/2 hours and it’s been a predictable ~32 degrees (sometimes with wind) and I have not come close to sweating OR to being cold so I’m keeping up with a good thing!!! I DO have a “correct” base layer, too, with me but so far have chosen not to wear it. Thanks for the excellent reminder though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunprince Posted January 2, 2018 #117 Share Posted January 2, 2018 If the temps are 32 deg and assuming you are referring to Fahrenheit, then why the need for all the layers? That’s not cold at all. Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galeforce9 Posted January 2, 2018 Author #118 Share Posted January 2, 2018 It feels cold unless you are appropriately dressed. Factor in the wind and the hours and hours you spend out in it. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chairsin Posted January 2, 2018 #119 Share Posted January 2, 2018 And it is cold for those of us who live in warm climates (like here in southern Arizona where yesterday’s high was 77) with thin blood. Also while not frigid as Gayleforce noted with the wind it can feel cooler. But because I was warmly dressed when I was on the ship I could very comfortably stand on the deck outside of the ObS Bar for hours at a time quite comfortably scanning for animals and soaking in the scenery. It also meant we could have enjoyable lunches out at the Patio Bar (often a lifesaver given some zodiac times were smack in the middle of Colonnade lunch hours). BTW, I am so glad you have kept up this Antarctica thread. It is so much more interesting and useful than a thread that is more of a creative writing exercise. I know future Antarctica cruises are very grateful to you for all of the balanced, specific information presented without dram or hyperbole. And for those of us that have been we love hearing about your take on this magnificent journey - some similar experiences and some different. Can’t wait until you reach South Georgia. Penguin fatigue? Can’t imagine you or most other cruisers even coming close to that point. I do agree about the cotton. As an avid hiker Years ago I learned whether hiking in the snow or desert heat the layer next to me skin needs to be a wicking layer. Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galeforce9 Posted January 2, 2018 Author #120 Share Posted January 2, 2018 [ BTW, I am so glad you have kept up this Antarctica thread. It is so much more interesting and useful than a thread that is more of a creative writing exercise. I know future Antarctica cruises are very grateful to you for all of the balanced, specific information presented without dram or hyperbole. And for those of us that have been we love hearing about your take on this magnificent journey - some similar experiences and some different. Can’t wait until you reach South Georgia. Penguin fatigue? Can’t imagine you or most other cruisers even coming close to that point. Couldn’t agree more! Sent from my iPad using Forums Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayfairers Posted January 2, 2018 #121 Share Posted January 2, 2018 Planning to circumnavigate South America in 2019 as our first introduction to the continent. That cruise will stop in the Falklands, South Georgia and many places around the tip plus cruise through parts of Antarctica but no stops. No doubt we will spend more time later exploring South America and taking an expedition cruise to Antarctica. I didn’t even know Seabourn had an Antarctica cruise so I have a lot to learn before we decide who to sail with This thread has some great information. Thanks to all who are contributing! Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bitob Posted January 2, 2018 #122 Share Posted January 2, 2018 I’m in the process of packing. Are evenings more casual than usual because of the destination ? Trying not to overpack Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rallydave Posted January 2, 2018 #123 Share Posted January 2, 2018 Found that to be true on the first cruise this season. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galeforce9 Posted January 2, 2018 Author #124 Share Posted January 2, 2018 Agreed. Make sure you have some warmer but smart evening options. I had some long sleeved dresses I could put a thin thermal layer under and a dress I could wear a smart long sleeve under as a layer Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chairsin Posted January 2, 2018 #125 Share Posted January 2, 2018 Perhaps our cruise was dressier in the evening because it was the holiday cruise? Nonetheless, I would caution people that even with a more relaxed cruise environment the dress code will still be applied. We saw a couple who showed up in their expedition gear turned away from the Restaurant at night. While the cruise is in many ways a hybrid it is not anything goes expedition style casual at night. Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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