Holiday Antarctica Cruise

[offtoalaska]

We are booked on the Dec. 19 Antarctica voyage on the Quest.  My DH and I normally spend Christmas by ourselves and visit family in early December to avoid crowd and potential weather issues.  We are looking forward to sharing a once in a lifetime experience with like minded adventure seekers.  I'm wondering what the passenger demographic has been during prior holiday cruises on the Quest.  We are in our early 70s and extremely active and energetic.  Will that be the case with most passengers?  Will most guests be eager to socialize with others?  I'm aware that each cruise is unique and the passenger  mix is hard to predict.  Thank you for your replies.

[sfvoyage]

We did this holiday cruise a few years ago, and it was our best cruise by far.  The demographics skewed old, but I recall that it was a multi-generational crowd, with at least one little girl who was very well behaved and well looked after by the crew.  While most revenue guests will be older, you'll see a lot of "younger" guests - expedition team leaders, guest artists, "friends and family", corporates, entertainers, etc.

 

There were a few guests in wheelchairs, and we were impressed how Seabourn made their experience just as special - they were helped onto zodiacs and given private tours even though they were unable to make any landings.

 

I recall distinctly an older gentleman who would appear with new bruises and cuts on his face and body almost everyday - apparently he insisted on doing all the activities and hikes and would fall regularly.  We also had a medivac situation - an older lady over-exerted herself on a hike, and we lost one day on the Antarctica peninsula in order for the ship to rush to King George Island to rendez-vous with the medivac aircraft from Ushuaia to airlift her out.

 

It was very festive and social on board, and this will be a wonderful adventure and unforgettable experience... enjoy!

 

 

[tv24]

We were on the Quest this past November/December for Antarctica.  Not the holiday cruise.  A younger crowd boarded in Santiago for the Antarctica segment.  Most people were fit and able to enjoy the off board experience, although Seabourn did a terrific job accommodating those with mobility issues.  We always felt very safe and well-taken care of.  Passengers were very enthusiastic and really into the whole thing.

[Fletcher]

14 hours ago, offtoalaska said:

We are booked on the Dec. 19 Antarctica voyage on the Quest.  My DH and I normally spend Christmas by ourselves and visit family in early December to avoid crowd and potential weather issues.  We are looking forward to sharing a once in a lifetime experience with like minded adventure seekers.  I'm wondering what the passenger demographic has been during prior holiday cruises on the Quest.  We are in our early 70s and extremely active and energetic.  Will that be the case with most passengers?  Will most guests be eager to socialize with others?  I'm aware that each cruise is unique and the passenger  mix is hard to predict.  Thank you for your replies.

 

You'll fit in just fine.  We did the Holiday cruise 2017-2018.  I remember two couples with babies, four teenagers and maybe a few other really young people.  I'd also say the average age would be people in their 60s.  Christmas itself was fairly low-key but more festive on New Year's Eve.  The expedition team were truly impressive in assisting people with mobility issues.  

[hellobayo]

We are in our 30s and have booked on the Ultimate Patagonia and Antarctica cruise just before yours (reverse itinerary, starting 28 Nov from Santiago and gets into Buenos Aires 19 Dec). We are active and adventurous, sociable with most people. 

 

I worried about the mix of other guests from a different perspective. We saved up for this trip and certainly not super wealthy, so I worried whether we'd encounter plenty of snooty fellow guests. Plus we are that bit younger and not sure whether we'd encounter generation gap in conversations. But I joined the Seabourn Sailors Facebook group and realised it doesn't matter what age people are, everyone seemed friendly. It also seems that those who travel on the Antarctica itinerary are adventurous souls, so at least we'll have that in common!

[offtoalaska]

Thank you all for your comments.  I'll have to check out the Seabourn Sailors Facebook group.  There is very little activity on the Quest roll call for this cruise on cruisecritic; maybe there will be more future fellow passengers on FB.

[2SailingNomads]

On 6/14/2019 at 7:00 AM, hellobayo said:

We are in our 30s and have booked on the Ultimate Patagonia and Antarctica cruise just before yours (reverse itinerary, starting 28 Nov from Santiago and gets into Buenos Aires 19 Dec). We are active and adventurous, sociable with most people. 

 

I worried about the mix of other guests from a different perspective. We saved up for this trip and certainly not super wealthy, so I worried whether we'd encounter plenty of snooty fellow guests. Plus we are that bit younger and not sure whether we'd encounter generation gap in conversations. But I joined the Seabourn Sailors Facebook group and realised it doesn't matter what age people are, everyone seemed friendly. It also seems that those who travel on the Antarctica itinerary are adventurous souls, so at least we'll have that in common!

No need to worry, you'll find most of the Seabourn pax are friendly, we have over the years made friends with folks both older and younger than we are.  As anywhere in life there will be some people who might have an inflated opinion of themselves but they are few and far between.   It is easy to start a conversation at one of the bars, and since you'll be doing lots of things with your fellow pax,, for example waiting on line to board the zodiacs and being in the zodiacs, you'll have plenty of opportunity to have conversations.  And of the 17 Seabourn cruises we have done, Antarctica was the best.  

[mgatc]

We are on this trip as well, cannot wait! We do hate missing the holidays at home, but will certainly enjoy the trip. We are 60 and 59, so sounds like there are a wide range of ages. Love meeting people of all ages and backgrounds. As someone said earlier, we are more down to earth and easy going. Can’t wait for the adventure to begin.

[offtoalaska]

1 hour ago, mgatc said:

We are on this trip as well, cannot wait! We do hate missing the holidays at home, but will certainly enjoy the trip. We are 60 and 59, so sounds like there are a wide range of ages. Love meeting people of all ages and backgrounds. As someone said earlier, we are more down to earth and easy going. Can’t wait for the adventure to begin.

Hi MGATC, 

It will be an adventure.  We arrive in Buenos Aires on Dec. 17 and look forward to seeing all there is to see.  We've purchased tickets to the Dec. 18 performance of Swan Lake at the Opera House; that will probably be the highlight for me (and maybe for my husband.)  I've posted on the Quest Dec. 19 roll call which is pretty quiet at this point.  I'm guessing it will become more active as we approach December.

 

Kathy

Salem, South Carolina

[Iamin]

On 6/14/2019 at 9:00 AM, hellobayo said:

We are in our 30s and have booked on the Ultimate Patagonia and Antarctica cruise just before yours (reverse itinerary, starting 28 Nov from Santiago and gets into Buenos Aires 19 Dec). We are active and adventurous, sociable with most people. 

 

I worried about the mix of other guests from a different perspective. We saved up for this trip and certainly not super wealthy, so I worried whether we'd encounter plenty of snooty fellow guests. Plus we are that bit younger and not sure whether we'd encounter generation gap in conversations. But I joined the Seabourn Sailors Facebook group and realised it doesn't matter what age people are, everyone seemed friendly. It also seems that those who travel on the Antarctica itinerary are adventurous souls, so at least we'll have that in common!

 

[Iamin]

We are going on this trip too!  It is for my 60th birthday so I will have stepped on all 7 continents!   This will be our third Seabourn cruise and we have loved every one!  We find the mix of ages, backgrounds and interests to be vast and have made wonderful friends each time.

Edited July 9, 2019 by Iamin