Join Pete and Judy on their first Seabourn Cruise to Antarctica

[Fletcher]

Quite a dramatic development and shows how weather dependent it is down there.  However, I am a little mystified.  There is a quick way from Punta Arenas to the Falklands, sailing directly east through a narrow channel into the South Atlantic, well north of Ushuaia.  However, the current position of the Quest on Cruise Mapper shows it to be in the Beagle Channel sailing towards Ushuaia, well off the route to the Falklands. Looking forward to further updates . . . 

 

Amazing shots of Torres del Paine, florisdekort.  You were exceptionally lucky there.

[The-Inside-Cabin]

On ‎12‎/‎6‎/‎2018 at 4:58 AM, Fletcher said:

Quite a dramatic development and shows how weather dependent it is down there.  However, I am a little mystified.  There is a quick way from Punta Arenas to the Falklands, sailing directly east through a narrow channel into the South Atlantic, well north of Ushuaia.  However, the current position of the Quest on Cruise Mapper shows it to be in the Beagle Channel sailing towards Ushuaia, well off the route to the Falklands. Looking forward to further updates . . . 

 

Amazing shots of Torres del Paine, florisdekort.  You were exceptionally lucky there.

We didn't take the short cut because we still went  to Ushuaua.   We are currently anchored off of New Island - taking people ashore in the zodiac boats until 8 PM tonight.

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Nov 24 – Arica, Chile

 

Our first port in Chile is Arica, which is one of the northern most cities in Chile, located only 11 miles south of Peru. Arica is the capital of the Arica Province and the Parinacota region. We moored at 9AM in a container port, which prohibits foot traffic and requires the use of the Seabourn shuttle.

 

The shuttle ride to the port gate is only a few minutes and was running almost continuously.

Overlooking the harbor is a large Chilean Flag which is part of the Monumento del Soldado Desconocido (Monument of the Unknown Soldier) and near the Museo Historico y de Armas. UBER is available in Arica and the fare to this monument would be about $5.00.

We spent the morning on the ship, enjoying room service breakfast and then Lunch in the Colonnade.

About 2:30 PM we headed down to Deck 4 and departed the ship. A shuttle bus was waiting and it left a few minutes after we boarded. After a short ride we arrived at the port gate.

 

Today was the OSU – Michigan Football Game, and I was able to find an internet radio station and streamed the broadcast live. Brad and I each had an Air Pod ear piece in one ear as we wandered the streets – keeping up with the game.

The Plaza Cristóbal Colon was our first stop and they were setting up for a concert or something later in
the day.

 

Nearby the Plaza was the Cathedral San Marcos. We spent a few minutes inside before heading off toward the center of town. Arica is more of a regular city than a tourist town and the Seabourn Quest’s 400 passengers didn’t overwhelm the city as would happen with a larger ship or smaller town.

 

The weather was beautiful, and we enjoyed the nice day strolling down the pedestrian mall and observing the routine in this lovely city. It was also nice listening to the OSU/Michigan game as OSU was having a good day against its arch rival and would go on to win.

 

We headed back to the ship around 4:30 and ordered a snack from room service while we listened to the end of the football game.

Special Dinner in The Colonnade

The menus for each dining venue are provided the evening before. We have been choosing our location based on the menu choices. However, The Restaurant and The Grill will often have special items that are not advertised on the advance menu.

Normally only The Grill requires reservations, but this evening the Colonnade menu stated that reservations were required for this evening’s menu. The menu was fixed (Advertised as being inspired by Thomas Keller) with the following items offered.

 

• Waldorf Salad
• Grilled Ribeye from the Double R Ranch – labeled on the menu as “Grilled RR Ribeye”
• Cypress Grove Farms Humboldt Fog Goat Cheese
• Chocolate Silk Pie

When we arrived at the Colonnade for our 8PM reservation I was surprised that the place was almost empty, maybe 15 to 20 people total, and we were all seated in one corner of the restaurant. A few more groups arrived while we were there, but all the diners were seated in the same part of the restaurant. It’s not clear why they require reservation unless they have a limited food preparation capacity or staff and they want to spread out the service and restrict the total number of people served.

The dinner is served family style, with each course brought to the table in a large dish and they served from there to everyone’s plates.

 

Everything was delicious, but the service was slower than we would have preferred. The main course was served 1 hour after we arrived. We wanted to go the show at 9:45PM, so we asked for the final cheese course to be served simultaneously with dessert and we were able to leave the Colonnade a few minutes before the show started.

 

On the Six

 

The Seabourn cast singers and dancers were featured in the Grand Salon in a show called “On the Six”

“I’m Yours”
“How Deep is Your Love”
“This is How a Heart Breaks”
“Dance With Me Tonight”
“I Won’t Give Up”
“Here, There and Everywhere”

 

We enjoyed the show very much and they do a wonderful job producing outstanding entertainment on a smaller stage then you find on larger ships. This is one of the inevitable tradeoffs of being on a smaller ship.

 

Back in the room, we ordered hot mint tea from room service, which was promptly delivered. We would prefer be able to make hot water in the room or to be able to stop by an open serving line to get hot water, but since that is not available on the Quest – room service for hot water will continue.

 

 

Edited December 7, 2018 by The-Inside-Cabin

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Day 7, Iquique, Chile - Nov 25

Another beautiful day. Our weather on this cruise has been wonderful with every port being blessed with blue skies and mild temperatures. Seabourn Quest provides umbrellas in our suite as well as by the gangway, but we haven’t had to even consider using them.

 

We moored at 8:30 AM with an all board time of 4:30 PM.

 

Our plan for the day was to explore the city on our own for a few hours this afternoon.

 

Once again, we are moored in a container port which prohibits walking out of the port. A short shuttle bus is required, and it runs almost continuously. Below is a map that shows the location of the port gate and the shuttle bus stops.

 

Iquique Civic-Military parade

 

The town square is near the shuttle bus stop and that was our first stop. As we walked closer to the square, we heard some lively marching band music and spotted many groups posing for pictures. Along the main street there was a reviewing stand filled with local dignitaries. It turned out that we had stumbled onto the Iquique Civic-Military parade celebrating the 139th anniversary of the city’s founding.

 

The parade had the feel of a small 4th of July parade in the USA with dozens of groups, from soccer teams to gymnastic clubs dressed in their team uniforms and marching down the avenue. The parade lasted about 30 more minutes after we arrived, but we suspect that it was going on at least an hour before we arrived.

After the parade wrapped up, we walked down to the waterfront where we took a few pictures and watched about a dozen children taking a surfing lesson.

 

Today was Sunday, so most of the stores and shops were closed. We headed back to the shuttle bus stop and arrived back on the ship in time for the 4:30 PM all aboard.

 

Back on the ship we headed up to the Seabourn Square for some snacks. The Seabourn Square always has some delightful pastries, sandwiches and espresso drinks available, along with ice cream. They can make Irish Coffee and other alcoholic coffee drinks with a variety of liqueurs available.

 

The Patio

The Patio on Deck 8 was our choice for dinner this evening, featuring it’s Earth and Ocean menu. We chose the 72 Hour Bone in Beef Short Ribs and Cavatelli Strozzapreti Pasta along with the house wine. The food was outstanding, and the service was excellent. This was our second visit to The Patio for dinner and we arrived early enough so we could get a table in the forward section, rather than near the railings. We found the conditions in this part of The Patio more comfortable as it was better protected from the wind.

 

Davie Howes

Davie Howes was the featured entertainer in the Grand Salon this evening. He played a variety of hits including: Glenn Miller’s “Pennsylvania 6-5000”, “Rhapsody in Blue”, “When the Saints Go Marching In” (including a rendition using a shower hose and a folding chair - blowing thru their tubes to create the sound) and “Gabriel's Oboe” using his muted Trumpet.

Edited December 10, 2018 by The-Inside-Cabin

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Day 22 - Antarctica Day 1- Dec 10^th

I will be posting out of sequence – jumping ahead to share some of the current Antarctica pictures.   I will backfill with more detail later.

We passed our first iceberg at 5:15 AM.  This one was pretty big but didn’t have a name.

Second Iceberg appeared at 7:30 AM – was 15 NM long and is named A57A

We saw this smaller iceberg around 5:15 AM

  Larger iceberg - A57A - over 15 NM long appeared about 7:15 AM

A close up of A57A

 

It was about 32 degrees with 30 knots of wind - wind chill about 14 degrees 

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Day 22 - Hope Bay - Dec 10th

Today was our first day in Antarctica. It got off to an early start by cruising by a relatively small iceberg at 5 AM. They announced this opportunity the evening before at the daily Antarctica recap & briefing meeting with the expedition team. After viewing the icebergs, we would anchor in Hope Bay and tour the shoreline in the Zodiac Boats.

NOTE: While in Antarctica the Expedition Team holds a daily recap and briefing which reviews the day’s events and discusses the next day’s activities. There are no guest entertainers scheduled while we are in Antarctica.

A much larger iceberg, named A57A would be in view around 7 AM.

 

Icebergs!

I was up at 4:45 and headed to the Observation Bar on Deck 10 to look at the first iceberg. I didn’t wear a heavy jacket or bring gloves since I assumed that I would be able to dart outside for a few minutes to take a picture before getting too cold. The temperature was about 32 degrees F with 30 knots of wind across the deck making the wind chill 14 degrees. I quickly discovered that It was impossible for me to spend even a few minutes outside without gloves, hat and a heavy coat so I returned to our suite to grab my gloves and put on the inner jacket and outer jacket that were provided by Seabourn.

 

The iceberg was still a few miles away when I returned, and it took another 20 minutes before we closed to within a ½ mile. I expected the iceberg to have a jagged, irregular top, but it turned out to be pancake flat. There were about 10 people joining me on Deck 10 at this early hour. The staff set up some coffee, juice and pastries about 5 AM.

As the iceberg slipped down our starboard side, I went back to the Seabourn Square and took a few more photographs as the iceberg faded from view.

 

A57A

I returned to the Observation Bar at 7 AM to view the much larger (15 Nautical Miles long) iceberg named A57A. There was a much bigger crowd this time, but most people didn’t venture to far from the doors because of the bitter cold and biting wind. This iceberg almost covered the horizon and if you weren’t told what it was you may have mistaken it for the coastline. As we closed on the iceberg, it was hard to capture the entire iceberg in a single photograph. Using my camera’s panoramic mode was the best way to capture the iceberg in a single shot.

 

While most everyone was all bundled up when they headed outside on Deck 10, there was one guest who wandered out to have a look while wearing his bathrobe. He only lasted a few minutes before hurrying back inside.

 

After viewing the iceberg from Deck 10 we headed down to Deck 6 forward where they had hot drinks and liqueurs available, along with some pastries. The wind wasn’t quite so intense on Deck 6 and viewing the iceberg from here was a little more pleasant.

 

Another guest took advantage of the hot tub and enjoyed the view while sipping on a drink and soaking in the steaming water.
The Captain stopped the Quest along the iceberg and spun the ship on her axis so everyone would have a nice view from every vantage point. Then we continued toward Hope Bay.

 

Enjoying the Hot Tub!

As we approached Hope Bay, we spotted a collection of Orange Buildings which were part of Esperanza Station, a permanent base build by Argentina in 1951.  It is one of the only Antarctica bases that includes families with children in the settlement.

 

Hope Bay

We arrived in Hope Bay around 11:30 AM. After anchoring, the expedition team launched the Zodiacs in the water and we commenced our tours according to our color group. The first group went off a little late, but they managed to get back on schedule by the time they called our group – Purple – at 3 PM.

The Seabourn Quest in Hope Bay

 

Zodiac Tour

I started getting suited up about 15 minutes prior to our scheduled time so when they called our color I could proceed directly to the boot locker room behind The Club and change into our waterproof boots. Once we were wearing our boots we headed down to Deck 3 to board the Zodiacs. The weather was great, calm seas and no wind, so it was easy to get into the Zodiacs. We didn’t get wet at all on this outing. Getting wet is not something that will happen on every trip (unless you must make a wet landing like we did in New Island when in the Falklands).

Seabourn staff check the security of your life preserver before you head to the Zodiacs

 

Our Zodiac driver commented that we had nearly perfect conditions for our tour with calm winds and smooth seas. Hope Bay has over 125,000 pairs of Adelie Penguins. They were lining the shoreline and easily seen up and down the slopes. We spotted a few of them “sledding” on their bellies down the ice toward the water and we weren’t sure if they were doing this to save time or simply to have a good time.

Adelie Penguin in Hope Bay

As we motored down the coast, most of the time going dead slow, we spotted groups of penguins swimming alongside our Zodiac. They popped out of the water every few seconds and looked like small dolphins.

 

Adelie Penguin popping out of the water while swimming in Hope Bay

 

After 90 minutes we headed back to the ship and climbed back onboard. We used the elevators to get back to Deck 5. One of the elevators had the interior walls covered/protected and the buttons blocked off – except for Decks 3 and 5. Plastic duck foot prints were stuck to the floor to mark the path we followed back to the boot lockers.

 

Dinner tonight was in The Colonnade – the theme was Latin Night served buffet style with open seating.

 

They showed “March of the Penguins” in the Grand Salon tonight in lieu of a guest entertainer.

 

We will be in Dorian Bay, near Damoy Point tomorrow for our first landing on the continent!

 

More pictures on the blog

[SKP946]

Pete, try deck 11, much better protected from the wind, (only problem is the mast and aerials for taking panos)

[galeforce9]

Damoy Point this time last year.  A great walk, historic huts and gentoo penguins. 

[Fletcher]

This morning I counted nineteen passenger-carrying vessels in the vicinity of the Antarctic Peninsula and the Drake.   This might possibly be the busiest cruise destination in the world right now.  

 

On our Quest trip last year we spotted about a dozen other ships but once we left Antarctica for South Georgia we were seemingly all alone.  

[The-Inside-Cabin]

14 hours ago, SKP946 said:

Pete, try deck 11, much better protected from the wind, (only problem is the mast and aerials for taking panos)

Thanks for the tip.  I checked it out this morning.   Very nice.  But the weather today is so nice we don't need any shelter. 

[The-Inside-Cabin]

11 hours ago, galeforce9 said:

Damoy Point this time last year.  A great walk, historic huts and gentoo penguins. 

Here are some pictures from today:  Beautiful weather

 

Below is a shot of the huts - zoomed and long range.   More photos coming after our landing - scheduled for 5 PM our time (2 hours ahead of Eastern Standard) 

 

[travelberlin]

Amazing cruise! Thanks Pete and Judy for your posts and nice pictures.

Ivi

[alithecat]

Spectacular scenery! The waters in Antarctica look calm. How was the Drake Passage?

 

[The-Inside-Cabin]

6 hours ago, alithecat said:

Spectacular scenery! The waters in Antarctica look calm. How was the Drake Passage?

 

We changed our schedule to avoid 13 meter swells - went to Falklands first.  When we finally crossed we experienced a 3-4 meter following sea, so the ride wasn't too bad.

[arzz]

Thank you so much for this this fantastic blog.  Very good information that really makes me anxious as we leave on the Quest from Santiago next month.  

 

Do they sell local currency (Chile and Argentina) on board?

 

thanks in advance. 

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Thanks for reading - They don't exchange money onboard.

[arzz]

Thank you so much for taking time from your vacation to answer my question. Continue to enjoy!

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Day 23, Dec 11, Dorian Bay – Antarctica Day 2

I woke to brilliant sunshine streaming into our suite and at first, I thought I had overslept. It was 4:30 AM. I got up to draw the drapes to return our suite to a dim twilight and returned to bed for a few hours. In addition to being on the frozen continent, we are in the land of the midnight sun.

More detail of general area we are cruising

Neumeyer Channel

At 8:30 AM I headed up to the Deck 6 forward to observe our initial transit into the Neumeyer Channel enroute to our anchorage in Dorian Bay. Cold air greeted me as I stepped outside, but light wind and bright sunshine combined to make the morning quite pleasant. One of the expedition members commented that today was a perfect 10 on the weather scale and we were quite fortunate to have these conditions for our first landing on the continent. She went on to say that you will get such great weather only 10% of the time while in Antarctica.

Enjoying breakfast on the open deck behind the Colonnade

 

The Seabourn staff set up a table serving hot drinks along with a variety of alcoholic beverages. The head chef was manning a waffle station that made long, thin, cylindrical waffles, that resembled a churro. They are served on a stick complete with the topping of our choice: cherry, whipped cream or chocolate.

 

Spanish Coffee

Earlier in the cruise during a similar early morning setup while visiting El Bruno Glacier, I overheard a woman order a Spanish Coffee. The staff proceeded to whip one up without asking a question. Having never heard of a Spanish Coffee, I looked up the ingredients and it was a little involved. Nevertheless, in the spirit of Seabourn where no request is ever too much, I ordered a Spanish Coffee expecting a similar response. Apparently, the person who knew how to make Spanish coffee was not here today and the staff present had no idea how to make one, and unfortunately neither did I. We had internet and I looked up the recipe online. The only ingredient missing was Triple Sec – the other ingredients, Rum, Kahilua, Sugar and water were available. I said never mind and went on about my business.

A few minutes later I stopped back and asked for an Irish Coffee, but the staff informed me that they were still working on rounding up a Spanish Coffee and in a few minutes, they produced a Spanish Coffee. I wasn’t sure what a Spanish Coffee was supposed to taste like, so I can’t really comment on whether this was a good Spanish Coffee. It tasted OK, but I probably won’t order another. The lesson here is to be careful of what you request, the staff will always strive to satisfy.

 

Dorian Bay

The scenery in Neumeyer Channel is classic Antarctica. Solid white mountains grace both sides of the channel, with only a few flecks a grey rocks poking thru here and there. The combination of the ship’s slow speed and calm wind made it possible to hear penguins and other wildlife as we glided thru the calm sea. This day will probably be documented on future Seabourn brochures as the views were breathtaking with perfect weather.

Panoramic of Dorian Bay

The Seabourn Quest coasted to a stop and started hovering in place, using her engine and thrusters (no anchor), around 11:30 AM. Shortly afterwards, the expedition teams put the Zodiacs in the water to scout out the precise location of the landing site. Jan announced that they would start loading the Zodiacs in about 30 minutes, around 12:30 PM. The landing site would be a flat boulder, so we would have a dry landing, but would have to navigate over possibly slippery rocks on the way to the snow and ice which would take us to the Penguin Rookery.

We spent the afternoon relaxing and enjoying the beautiful scenery and wonderful weather. Early in the morning, the sea was calm where the mountains images reflected on the water. Later in the afternoon, the wind picked up and small ripples in the water obscured the reflections. The lack of any wind and bright sunshine made walking on the open decks with only a light jacket comfortable.

 

Going Ashore

We are in the purple group and our scheduled departure time was 5:00 PM. They got a late start and fell further behind as the day progressed. Our estimated departure time soon slipped to 5:45 PM which would put us back on board around 8 PM. Keep this in mind if you book reservations at The Grill on Antarctica Days – there is a possibility you will be returning later than you expected. We didn’t have reservations and don’t know how The Grill handles last minute changes.

 

A few eager beavers always linger around The Club on Deck 5 so they can get on the first Zodiacs once their group is called. We planned on getting ready to walk out the door 15 minutes before our scheduled time and then waited in our suites. Once they announced our color group and we walked almost the length of the ship to the entry to change into our boots, we were probably in the middle of our group going ashore.

 

Two or three people, often the ship singers, greeted us at the door to The Club to make sure that our life preserver was properly secured. Behind the club, in the boot changing area, crewmembers were standing by to help us get into our boots. Our street shoes were stored in the same locker where our boots are kept.

 

Leaving the boot changing area, we followed the orange duck foot prints to the Port side of Deck 5 and lined up adjacent to the door that leads down a staircase to Deck 3. No one in our group used the elevator, but the elevator down to Deck 3 was available if requested. We waited on Deck 3 until our Zodiac was ready to load, before proceeding out to the loading platform, stepping into the cleaning solution, and then proceed to the Zodiac. To enter the Zodiac, we stepped up on a stool, then onto the edge of the Zodiac and down to another stool in the boat and finally on the Zodiac deck itself. Once inside the boat we did a sidestep and then sat down on the edge and slid over to the next person who was already on board. There are plenty of crewmembers helping and the whole process is very organized and we always felt very secure.

 

The boat loads quickly and when everyone was aboard, we headed towards the shore. Our driver gave a brief safety talk along with the expected procedures to follow when landing ashore. There are ropes ringing the edge of the Zodiac that we could hold on to if desired. This is not a requirement and we could easily have both hands free to take pictures.

There wasn’t any water splashing into the Zodiac unless we happened to hit a wave at a weird angle and that only happened once, briefly spraying the passengers with a very light mist. Our cameras didn’t need any protection, but I have been using a waterproof camera bag just because I brought one for the trip. On most trips we would be perfectly dry the entire time – but – it only takes one wave to change this theory – so it was best to be ready for a little water spray.

The Ship was hovering about 1 mile from shore and the ride took 5-10 minutes.

 

 

Landing

Getting off the Zodiacs at Damoy Point was a little more treacherous. The Zodiac was held up on the rocks by the Expedition staff. We scooched forward to the bow, then stepped on the forward edge of the boat using the stool. Here we had to take a giant step to a flat, wet, rock that turned out not to be slippery but it was a little unnerving. The boots provided have a great sole and good grip and we didn’t see anyone slip, but we took it slow and allowed the crewmembers to help.

 

A hardpacked snowy path lead up a short rise to a level spot where we could remove our life-preserver if we wanted to avoid the bulk and extra weight (4.2 lbs) and put it in a large blue barrel. On our way back, we would grab one from the barrel – it’s not important to get the same one we left in the barrel.

Other travelers have commented on the odor associated with penguin waste, and while you will certainly notice the smell, it wasn’t overpowering to me and no worse than what you might smell if visiting a farm. I became used to it in a few minutes and never really noticed it for the rest of our visit.

 

Since we were in the final group to go ashore, the path up the hill was well compacted and relatively easy to walk. I didn’t use poles or feel I needed them, but many people did have them and used them. It is like walking up the bunny slope and a ski resort. If you would feel comfortable making that walk without poles, then you will do fine here without them.

 

The temperature when we arrived was around 40 degrees with little wind. It dropped to 32 degrees with a light breeze by the time we left 90 minutes later. Winter days in the northern USA are far worse than you are likely to experience in Antarctica at this time of year. If you dress for 32 degrees with a 15 knot wind, you will be fine. The parka provided by Seabourn along with the puffer jacket was fine – even on deck with a 30 knot wind at 32 degrees. I wore a set of light (silk) thermal underwear, but it was probably not necessary. I wore a single pair of heavy socks and that was plenty for me. For gloves we wore a pair of Vallerret Ipsoot Photography Gloves – these have a nice feature where the tip of the forefinger and thumb fold back, giving us great dexterity to operate our camera or phone, while keeping 90% of our hand covered. There is a small zipper pouch on the back of the glove where I stored a spare camera battery – which was easier to get to then putting a battery in my large parka pockets.

The trail we followed was about one person wide. Leaving the trail we risked having our foot slip thru the top layer of crusted snow and we would find our leg buried up to our crotch. It was easy to extract ourself, but we needed to be prepared for this to happen, since we weren’t using snow shoes.

 

Along either side of the trail were several rock outcroppings where penguins gathered to build their nests using rocks and pebbles. They would scurry back and forth across the trail and to and from the water. Each outcropping had about 50 penguins and they were very active.

Gentoo penguin carrying a pebble to build a nest

  

The trail continued its slight rise for about 300 yards where it leveled off near a small outcropping. An expedition member was stationed there to answer questions and allow guests to view some penguins thru a spotting scope.

 

Damoy Hut

 

On the other side of the rise, the trail started a gentle downhill slope towards two huts, one blue and the other orange.  Called the Damoy Huts, they were built by the British in 1975 and regularly used until 1993 to facilitate logistics for expeditions.    They are now small museums, but still available for use as an emergency shelter should someone find themselves stranded. The huts had several bunk beds, a small propane stove and some canned food – which looked very old, but the expedition member stationed in the hut assured us it would still be edible.

 

Our entire cycle time from leaving the ship to our return is budgeted for 90 minutes. Fifteen minutes for travel each direction with one hour ashore. We felt that one hour was enough for us, but if you wanted to have more time ashore, you might find the one of the expedition cruise lines more to your liking. I don’t think anyone is really tracking who is ashore and if you were on one of the first groups, I suspect you could probably linger longer than one hour and no one would notice. Since we were on the last group, the expedition team members, wearing bright yellow parkas, swept the trail to make sure everyone was moving back to the Zodiacs on time.

 

Near the landing, there was a small pile of long cylindrical bags which I learned contained emergency shelters in the event people get stranded ashore due to rough seas or high winds and must hunker down for a while until the weather improves. The staff member I spoke to said he never had to use them when he was in Antarctica, but recalls them being used once on another cruise line for a few hours.

 

Back to the Ship

Boarding the Zodiacs going back remained a little treacherous, but well managed by the staff and is as safe as possible considering we were walking over wet boulders in Antarctica. We didn’t see anyone slip or hear of anyone suffering any injury.

It was about 8PM when we returned to the ship. The sky was now overcast, with the wind was picking up and the temperature dropping. After we got back on the ship, we were directed to step into a small tub filled with a soapy solution to avoid contamination of the ship with anything we might have stepped in while ashore.

 

The weather for the entire day ashore was fabulous for all groups and we enjoyed nearly perfect conditions.

The daily recap and briefing was cancelled due to our late return and Iggy (Expedition Team Leader) would brief everyone early tomorrow with our expected plan for the day.

 

By the time we changed and cleaned up it was 8:35 PM and we headed down to The Restaurant where we enjoyed another wonderful meal.

 

Back in our suites, we learned from The Herald, that our group – Purple – would be the second group ashore tomorrow at Waterboat Point with a planned 9:30 AM departure time.

 

Internet service and TV service were spotty throughout the day as our line of sight to the satellites would be hidden by the nearby peaks as the ship turned and moved.

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Internet has been very sporadic the last few days - posting updates when able.   

[Williwannago]

That is a good day lived, Cannot get enough of that scenery. Guess we are going to have to book our adventure.

 

Thanks!

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Day 24, Waterboat Point, Antarctica Day 3 - 12 Dec

During the evening we headed back thru Neumeyer Channel and then east, south-east toward Waterboat Point. Chile maintains a base here during the summer season named Gonzalez Videla. The plan for the day is to visit this base starting at 8 AM with the first group and ending up with the last group at 2 PM.

Google map with GPS track showing our path around the Chilean Base. The base is small and you could walk from one end to the other in 5 minutes

 

Jan and Iggy briefed the passengers over the main public address system before the first group was scheduled to leave. We learned that the landing would be much easier as the base had a small gangway, but that the path to the main buildings would be uphill and over ice and snow. Jan recommended people use trekking poles, but this is from an abundance of caution as I would find the terrain quite manageable without any poles. Jan also commented that the Chilean base personnel operated a small souvenir shop selling hats, T-shirts, keychains and more. They also sold a post card and stamp for $5 USD and post it from Antarctica. They accept USD, Euros or Chilean Pesos.

 

While the first group was scheduled to leave at 8 AM, they announced that they were ready for the first group at 7:45 AM – fifteen minutes early. We were in the second group scheduled for 9:30 AM.

 

Today was cooler, about 34 degrees, light winds (3 knots) and overcast skies. The expedition team told us that today’s weather was more typical of what we should expect with the great weather we experienced yesterday the pleasant exception. On the other hand, there are some days which are worse, so you learn to take it as it comes.

 

Purple Group - Come on Down!

We were already dressed and ready to go when our purple group was called fifteen minutes early. We were out in the hallway as soon as Jan announced they were ready for our group.

 

It took 15 minutes to walk to the boot station, change into our boots, walk down to Deck 3 and then board the Zodiac. Boarding the Zodiac was much faster today as everyone is more familiar and comfortable with the procedure.

As we sped off toward the shoreline, we spotted a humpback whale that was cruising along the surface.

 

Gonzalez Videla

 

We arrived at the base in a few minutes and discovered that there was a nice gangway – with an actual red carpet – that would stretch out to the Zodiacs making the disembarkation a breeze. Once ashore there was a frozen path, with a combination of ice and frozen mud leading the way to the small compound. The distance from the Zodiac to the main buildings was about 100 yards. Along either side of the path were rocky outcroppings, covered with nesting penguins. We observed the penguins up close walking across our path, gathering pebbles for their nests, raising their heads to call out and displaying every other penguin behavior you might ever see.

 

Seabourn Quest from Waterboat Point showing Kayakers and Penguins

Kayak excursions operated near the Chilean Base

 

Once again, we were given an hour to roam around. This place is pretty small. It would probably take about 15 minutes to cover every open path. At the top of the rise, there is a larger building with an observation tower – open to guests – that is also the living quarters for the personnel stationed here who all appeared to be members of the Chilean Navy. The observation tower is on the second floor of the main building, accessible via a very steep staircase, actually more of a ladder than stairs.

 

Across from the living quarters was a small museum, a small single room dwelling with historical pictures on the walls and a guest book by the door that we were enthusiastically encouraged to sign upon entry. Most of the room was filled by several tables displaying a variety of souvenirs, from T-Shirts to Key Chains and everything in between.

 

Throughout the base were a number of Chilean Sailors, eager to help and quite friendly, but with varying degrees of English proficiency.

Outside the museum there was a pole with small directional signs labeled with city names and their approximate distance and direction from the base. Below the sign, already a popular spot for photographs, were 2 sea lions, sleeping and completely oblivious to all the adjacent hub-bub.

 

Our hour was up and we headed back to the Zodiacs for the short ride back to the ship. Along the way we spotted the humpback whale showing its fluke before diving below. The expedition team has asked all the guests to try to capture whale fluke photos as they use them to track whale movements since whale flukes are like fingerprints that can identify individual whales.

 

Back on the Ship

Back on the ship, they hosed off our boots with high pressure water to clean them before we stepped into the cleaning solution tub. After entering the ship, we are directed to the aft elevators to take us to Deck 5. The inside of the elevator is covered to protect the walls from the returning guests who may be a little dirty and wet. The elevator floor selection buttons are covered with a piece of sheet metal that only allows the buttons for Deck 3 or 5 to be selected.

 

Helpful crewmembers are in the boot changing room to assist with removing our boots and stowing them back in our locker.

 

The Chilean Base personnel loaned the ship two stamps that were available at Guest Aervices on Deck 7 to stamp in our passport if we chose. Guest Services retrieved our passport from a drawer and asked us to choose a page and then they stamped our passport with the two stamps, together taking up about ½ a page.

 

Chilean Navy Visits the Colonnade

As we were eating lunch in The Colonnade, we spotted about 6 sailors from the Chilean Base enter The Colonnade and head down the buffet line. I am sure they enjoy cruise ship visits just as much as we enjoyed visiting their base.

 

6:30 Briefing

 

The expedition team held the 6:30 PM daily recap and briefing in the Grand Salon. They showed some slides of where we landed and where we would be heading tomorrow: Neko Harbor.

 

Luciano discussed a book by Thomas Wyatt Bagshawe called “Two Men in the Antarctic” which is a memoir of two men’s experience at Waterboat Point back from 1920 to 1922.

 

They mentioned that they spotted a leucistic penguin in the afternoon, but we missed it since we visited in the morning.

 

The Restaurant

We enjoyed dinner this evening with Bart and Sharon from New Zealand and had a wonderful evening. Bart was an accomplished Cricket player and he attempted to increase our understanding of one of New Zealand’s most popular sports. Unfortunately, he didn’t make much headway, but we had a wonderful time discussing the game.

 

Halfway thru dinner, Iggy announced that they spotted a few Orcas on the port side of the ship. People raced to the windows to try and catch a glimpse but were generally unsuccessful. A few people may have spotted a fin or two, but it was generally unsatisfying.

 

We took a pass on the evening entertainment: Liars Club. This is where a few of the guest entertainers spend a few minutes giving elaborate and hopefully humorous definitions of obscure words and then the audience tries to guess which entertainer is telling the truth.

 

Early to bed tonight, the purple group will be the first off the ship in the morning.

 

More pictures on the blog

[vino100]

Thank you so much for your fantastic “ live” review. I have read all your reviews starting with the HAL world cruise. Amazing pictures. 

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Day 25, Neko Harbor, Antarctica, Day 4 - Dec 13

The Expedition Team had the Zodiacs in the water soon after our 6:30 AM arrival in Neko Harbor. The weather was OK, not as nice as it was the first day, but it was certainly pleasant enough to go on an open deck with only a jacket.

We are in the Purple Group, which would go first at 8 AM. Based on our experience from yesterday, they may start calling groups early, so we tried to be ready at 7:30 AM and would be ready to walk out the door at 7:45 AM if necessary.

Penguins on a bergy bit near the ship

 

Landings Cancelled

At 7:50 AM Jan announced that due to the amount brash ice and bergy bits in the harbor, there would not be any landings today. The expedition team said later that while they may have been able to get people ashore, there was a risk of changing conditions that might make returning to the Quest impossible. This was too risky, so they cancelled the landings and would offer 1-hour Zodiac tours of Neko Harbor per the current color group schedule.

 

Zodiac Tours

Immediately after making this announcement they called our group, Purple, and we headed down to The Club for our life preserver inspection and to change into our boots. As it turned out, we were faster than most today and would be in the first Zodiac. We later learned that about 1/3 of the passengers had decided to forgo the Zodiac tours which made the process go faster.

• NOTE: The prospect of sitting in a Zodiac for a 1-hour tour over a freezing harbor didn’t sound too appealing at first, but we had a great time on the tour and the parka and puffer jackets kept us quite comfortable. We could shift our position on the Zodiac easily and the drivers allowed us to stand under certain conditions or we could turn around and kneel in the Zodiac to get a better perspective. Throughout the day Jan was enthusiastically reporting on the rave reviews to encourage people to not pass up on this wonderful opportunity.

After we boarded the Zodiac and shoved off, our driver reviewed the safety procedures and explained that we would be circling the giant iceberg that was nearby. The iceberg was easily 200 feet out of the water and over 400 yards across – maybe bigger.

 

Humpback Whales

In a few minutes we spotted a pair of humpback whales blowing near the surface and we headed off in that direction. For the next 15 minutes the whales swam near the iceberg, occasionally blowing and diving giving us a great view of their flukes. At one point they probably closed within 50 feet of our Zodiac before disappearing under the water.

By this time, there were several other Zodiacs nearby, and we moved on to the other side of the iceberg, so the other guests could get a little closer in their Zodiacs.

 

Throughout our tour we remained dry and comfortable and our expedition leader gave us an interesting commentary about the wildlife we observed and fascinating insight about the icebergs. As we were wrapping up our tour, our guide was able to take everyone’s picture with the iceberg in the background.

 

Back on the Ship

Back on the ship we changed out of our boots and headed back to our cabins to change before going to The Seabourn Square for an Irish Coffee and pastries.

 

Caviar on Ice

The highlight of the afternoon at 5:30 PM was one of Seabourn’s Signature events – “Caviar on Ice” – which was the same arrangement as the Caviar Sail-Away when we left Punta Arenas on December 5th. They set up a caviar station on the forward edge of the pool and placed a table with champagne on one side. On the other side of the Caviar Station they offered vodka shots featuring a variety of 6 different types of vodka. I can’t comment much on the caviar or the vodka since I am not much of an aficionado on either, but based on the reactions of many people who were in line to get multiple servings it must have been pretty good. Staff was also circulating around the pool serving caviar in small, hollowed out potato halves.

I wore only the inner puffer jacket but I should have worn the outer shell as well, since it was quite cold around the pool despite being sheltered from the direct wind.

 

Other stations around the pool were serving cheese, crackers and meat, carved salmon on bread and steak tartare.

 

Daily Recap

 

The daily recap and briefing for the next day started in the Grand Salon with Iggy giving an overview of the day and showed a few slides with pictures or our expected landing area in Yankee Harbor. After Iggy’s presentation, several other expedition members gave brief presentations on a variety of topics of interest for about 10 minutes each. These included a discussion of cold water endurance swimmer Lynne Cox who swam for 1 mile in Neko Harbor back in 2002 – without a wet or dry suit – and wrote about her adventures in a nice book: Swimming to Antarctica.

 

They also showed a video of an iceberg breaking up and rolling over. While I couldn’t find the exact video they showed on youtube, you can find similar videos if you search on “Iceberg Death Roll”.

 

They wrapped up a little after 7 PM which causes a big rush at The Restaurant and The Colonnade resulting in maybe a 10 minute wait.

 

Dinner with the Bridge Instructors

 

We had received an invitation to dine with the bridge instructors, Harry Nuckols and Mary Poplawski at 7:30PM so we went to The Club for a cocktail before heading down to The Restaurant.

I have heard that if you are particularly interested in a hosted table to let Guest Services know and you may receive more frequent invitations. Every night, you will spot officers and guest entertainers hosting tables throughout The Restaurant. Be aware that they assign seats at the table with nametags and you will not be sitting next to your partner, which always helps with the conversation.

 

We were joined by another couple for a table of 8 which is a nice size for dinner.

Dinner was wonderful, the conversation was lively and we all had a good time. Unfortunately, after the waiter extolled the featured Thomas Keller desert “The Creamsicle” (vanilla ice cream and orange sorbet in a dark chocolate shell on top of a pistachio olive oil cake) which resulted in everyone at our table placing an order.  Unfortunately he had to return in a few minutes and inform us that the desert was “sold out”. We will have to try it another day – if offered.

 

The Grand Salon

The entertainment in the Grand Salon was a variety show that lasted a full hour rather than the usual 45 minutes. The Seabourn Singers; Tom, Stephen, Jade and Aoife opened the show with an Abba hit “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!”followed by the dancers, Uliana and Oleg, who performed a Tango and a Paso Doble. Next up was the assistant cruise director, Jessica Poole who sang “Can’t Help Lovin That Man” and “Shiver me Timbers”. The wonderful magician “Hector is Magic” from Spain was next with more amazing card tricks and finally the Seabourn singers closed the show with and outstanding performance of “I’m so excited.”

[The-Inside-Cabin]

On ‎12‎/‎15‎/‎2018 at 12:19 AM, vino100 said:

Thank you so much for your fantastic “ live” review. I have read all your reviews starting with the HAL world cruise. Amazing pictures. 

Thanks - glad you are enjoying the posts

[Stickman1990]

Wonder what's happening on this cruise - hopefully everything is ok

Anyone got any friends on board - have they heard from them?