All 21 Antarctica Daily Heralds and Dining Guides + Provided Items Here (Feb. 2018)

[captjohn]

Reading this post has been very informative and I thank all for that !

My wife and I just booked the Venture for Dec. 15, 2021.We are excited about this cruise but now even more now that we have read this. This will be our second Seabourn cruise. Our first was just a 7 day Med. cruise (Encore )  just to experience Seabourn since we were in Europe already . We liked it a lot. .Having sailed Regent for over 30 cruises this will be quite a change !! Any suggestions would be appreciated. 

 

Thanks, John & Christina

[FiannaAradia]

Thank you all SO much for this post. Invaluable info. We just booked the November 2021 Miami-BA trip. Normally, I'd want more planning time for this kind of thing, but the prices right now are too good to pass up. I'm glad to have words of wisdom from the experienced. ❤️

[fak]

Here's my experience re: kayaking in Antarctica with Seabourn - many people booked every day that was available months in advance and then cancelled what they didn't want. I heard people brag about it. What this meant to those trying to book on board that there were no days left and you had to go on a wait list.

We did just that and were  first offered 8:00 AM New Years Day.

Luckily we got a better time on a later day.

People we met were shut out entirely.

IMO Seabourn should not allow this or at least have some control to allow everyone who wans to kayak to get a chance.

[margbem]

15 hours ago, fak said:

Here's my experience re: kayaking in Antarctica with Seabourn - many people booked every day that was available months in advance and then cancelled what they didn't want. I heard people brag about it. What this meant to those trying to book on board that there were no days left and you had to go on a wait list.

We did just that and were  first offered 8:00 AM New Years Day.

Luckily we got a better time on a later day.

People we met were shut out entirely.

IMO Seabourn should not allow this or at least have some control to allow everyone who wans to kayak to get a chance.

fak - as a very unconfident person around the water with a husband who loves it (!) would you recommend that we do some kayaking? I watched a TV programme the other night about a  Hurtigruten cruise to Antarctica and you looked to be fairly well cocooned in the kayaks. My fear would be that if it tipped up I couldn't get out. It also looked a bit rough!

 

Thanks for any advice.

 

PS. I promise not to block book any kayaking! 

[zelker]

40 minutes ago, margbem said:

fak - as a very unconfident person around the water with a husband who loves it (!) would you recommend that we do some kayaking? I watched a TV programme the other night about a  Hurtigruten cruise to Antarctica and you looked to be fairly well cocooned in the kayaks. My fear would be that if it tipped up I couldn't get out. It also looked a bit rough!

 

Thanks for any advice.

 

PS. I promise not to block book any kayaking! 

I have ocean kayaked before but never wearing one of the required dry suits.  I'm a bit claustrophobic and wasn't sure how I would feel not only being skirted in to the kayak but also being in the suit.  So I talked to one of the guys about it and they let me come down and try on a suit one afternoon to see how I felt.  That alone was a no-go for me (very constricting, especially around my neck).  As much as I would have loved to do it, I was happy going out on the zodiacs every day.  

 

We did the 24 day version over Christmas/New Years in 2015/16 and we observed the same thing - people booking up multiple days (and in some cases, all days) and then cancelling.  We commented to Seabourn while onboard and again after the cruise that people shouldn't be allowed to book more than twice per cruise and then if other slots were available, they could opt to go again, making it fair for everyone (much like they restrict TKG reservations ahead of time).  Of course we never heard back from Seabourn about the suggestion.  

[margbem]

1 minute ago, zelker said:

I have ocean kayaked before but never wearing one of the required dry suits.  I'm a bit claustrophobic and wasn't sure how I would feel not only being skirted in to the kayak but also being in the suit.  So I talked to one of the guys about it and they let me come down and try on a suit one afternoon to see how I felt.  That alone was a no-go for me (very constricting, especially around my neck).  As much as I would have loved to do it, I was happy going out on the zodiacs every day.  

 

We did the 24 day version over Christmas/New Years in 2015/16 and we observed the same thing - people booking up multiple days (and in some cases, all days) and then cancelling.  We commented to Seabourn while onboard and again after the cruise that people shouldn't be allowed to book more than twice per cruise and then if other slots were available, they could opt to go again, making it fair for everyone (much like they restrict TKG reservations ahead of time).  Of course we never heard back from Seabourn about the suggestion.  

Thanks, zelker. I think I might have to find him a kayaking buddy whilst I watch!

[zelker]

1 hour ago, margbem said:

Thanks, zelker. I think I might have to find him a kayaking buddy whilst I watch!

I'm sure they'll be able to pair him up with another single.  Enjoy the cruise ... it's an epic adventure and we loved it so much we're booked to go again on Quest in February 2022 (includes South Georgia Island which in our opinion is a must do) ... OR we might postpone to January 2023 and do it as part of Seabourn's newly announced South America/Antarctica Grand Voyage, also on Quest.  Venture's prices are a little too spendy for us.

[jjs217]

We are booked for the 24 day Holiday Cruise Dec 22.  After reading this thread I cannot wait, but I guess I will have to anyway.  Oh well.  Question - even though it is a tiny item, is the beanie a surprise gift?  In my paperwork it says Seabourn provides the jacket and a backpack, but it doesn't say anything about the beanie.  In order to save room in the luggage (where ever I can), I won't bring one if everybody else has had the experience of one being given to them.  Thanks.

[zelker]

The beanies were on our bed along with jackets and backpacks.  We brought our own fleece hats and ear warmers anyway and used them, all depending on weather and temperature. That was in 2015/16.

[sfvoyage]

In our case, over Dec/Jan, we were mostly too warm, especially while hiking around on the Peninsula and South Georgia and had to shed a layer or two of clothes.  It only got cold for us at times on zodiacs due to the wind.  I guess we were lucky in that regard.

 

But of course, none of any of our data points matters for you.  Weather is highly variable, so you just need to be prepared for all eventualities.

[zelker]

1 hour ago, sfvoyage said:

In our case, over Dec/Jan, we were mostly too warm, especially while hiking around on the Peninsula and South Georgia and had to shed a layer or two of clothes.  It only got cold for us at times on zodiacs due to the wind.  I guess we were lucky in that regard.

 

But of course, none of any of our data points matters for you.  Weather is highly variable, so you just need to be prepared for all eventualities.

 

The key is to bring layers and like you said, be prepared for anything weather-wise.  Better to be too warm and remove layers than not have them to begin with.  

[hoya68]

As they say in Scandinavia, there is no bad weather, only bad clothing. Looking forward to the December Christmas cruise.

[jjs217]

21 hours ago, zelker said:

The beanies were on our bed along with jackets and backpacks.  We brought our own fleece hats and ear warmers anyway and used them, all depending on weather and temperature. That was in 2015/16.

Okay - thank you for the info.  It would probably be a good idea to have more than 1 hat/beanie anyway in case one gets damp.  I'll probably end up having to throw another suitcase on the pile anyway.

[dgannett]

FLgemini - Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us in such great detail!  This answers many questions and makes planning for this trip much more exciting.  My wife and I are booked on the Venture for February of '23 (delayed one year which is fine with me; I'm not sure how quickly Argentina will be able to vaccinate it's population).  I had just one question about the kayak option:

 

I remember from summer camp many years ago that kayaks are not the most stable of watercraft.  Is there any real risk of tipping over (assuming that you are being safe and not leaning to one side for a selfie or something..)?  Being submerged upside down in freezing water would put a damper on such a wonderful adventure..

 

Thank you again!  

 

--Dave