Thinking of going to South America and Antarctica on Princess ?

[scubacruiserx2]

 

Very shallow here

 

 

And up ahead  "Danger Will Robinson " !

 

 

 

There was a ship up ahead on the rocks. It is the Santa Leonor, the former USS Riverside , a reminder to be careful here . 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Riverside_(APA-102)

 

 

Edited November 3, 2019 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

 

 

 

It was guarded on the South by a lighthouse

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Next stop : Punta Arenas

On our first visit here we tried to see the Penguins at Magdalena Island . Our tour was cancelled after boarding the boat and was switched to Otway  which no longer operates tours . On our last visit we went to Torres del Paine . This time we booked Magdalena Island again with Solo Expediciones . Princess also offers a flight and landing on Antarctica from here .

 

https://www.soloexpediciones.com/penguins-magdalena-marta-island

 

Good morning Punta Arenas 

 

 

The tugging has begun

 

 

We prefer smaller group tours and we hoped that SE would provide it for us . We booked a midday tour hoping that it would be less crowded . When you exit the ship you have to walk through the blue container for a fruit/bag inspection .

 

 

We used to just walk down the pier to the Downtown area but we were now at a different pier about 3 miles from the SE office . The end of the pier begins the shipping area and you can meet cabs there .

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

When we got to the small SE office it was crowded and chaotic . We had reservations but they demanded payment in person - no prepay . This make long lines for payment .We were told to wait but a number of people outside headed for a bus . By the time we got there it was full . We were told to walk around the corner to a smaller bus which filled quickly leaving us the last two seats in the rear . We waited another 30 minutes for two young ladies who decided to go get some chips and drinks . The driver pulled down a couple of folding seats next to him for the young ladies and we were off . We headed back past the cruise port until we reached the smaller boats . We had to stand in another line to get life vests and they had ran out of Large and Extra Large . We had to wear them over our winter jackets with the 2 straps between our legs . The effect was like wearing a straight jacket that choked you and gave you a wedgie . We got the last 2 seats which was a half on and a half in the aisle . We began our bouncing ride toward the island . It became a little less crowded when some people stood up and went outside for some cooler and fresh air .

 

 

We moved forward where some chair hogs left their bags marking their turf . We slid their bags over and sat down . The ride was uneventful until about 5 minutes before our arrival . This ladies friend spilled her lunch at our feet .

 

 

Perhaps the smell attracted the penguins because they sure got close to them . Anyhow , we had arrived !

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Coming ashore 

 

 

The island is covered with penguins and people

 

 

 

But mostly penguins

 

[scubacruiserx2]

 

And their chicks

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

 

 

These are Magellanic Penguins and they live under bushes or in a burrow .

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magellanic_penguin

 

Some people also call them J****** penguins after the braying sound they make 

 

 

 

Some penguins curiously twist their necks.

 

 

You can see it in this video clip  and hear some of the braying in the background .

 

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

 

 

In about an hour's time we were , in diving parlance , "herded back to the cattle boats"  for our next adventure - the trip to Marta Island .

 

 

The sea was a bit bumpy thus keeping us from getting too close to the island . Most of the people climbed on the top of the bouncing boat and sat down before falling down . My knees were feeling their age .

 

 

 

The telephoto pulled a decent close up of the big guys , but we hoped for a better viewing in Ushuaia on the next day .

 

 

Edited November 4, 2019 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

When we woke up the next morning it was foggy with poor light for photography so we will use photos from our 2013 trip on the Zaandam .

 

 

We will be cruising along the Beagle Canal past 5 glaciers in Glacier Alley . They are annotated in red .

 

 

 

The first glacier is the Romanche with it's spectacular waterfall .

 

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Alemania glacier

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Glacier Italia

 

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Holland Glacier

 

 

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

After Glacier Alley came the Beagle channel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 5, 2019 by scubacruiserx2

[gottagocit]

Great info and photos! Thanks for posting them.  

In San Antonio were private transfers allowed to meet passengers at the actual ship or was it necessary to take a shuttle first to a different area?

 

Thanks,

Chris

[scubacruiserx2]

1 hour ago, gottagocit said:

Great info and photos! Thanks for posting them.  

In San Antonio were private transfers allowed to meet passengers at the actual ship or was it necessary to take a shuttle first to a different area?

 

Thanks,

Chris

 

Thanks Chris . We were dropped off at an area where we dropped our large bags and boarded a bus to the ship . We did disembark in BA so we're not sure about disembarking in San Antonio . Best guess is gather your bags in the big hall a take the bus to where you would meet your taxi or private transfer .

[scubacruiserx2]

We loved watching the wake in the calm water on a sunny , cold day

 

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Coming into Ushuaia on Christmas Day it was quite breezy but a few boats were out

 

 

Pilot boat 

 

 

We got this close to town and the Captain made the decision to skip this port

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Since we didn't land in Ushuaia and we don't have new photos from there we will use the 2013 photos for Ushuaia .

 

2018 airport

 

 

2013  airport

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

They were able to get very close to the islands

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alice Island sea lions video :

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Bird's Island

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Les Eclaireurs lighthouse is considered to be a symbol of Ushuaia .

 

 

 

 

 

[NMTraveller]

On 10/8/2019 at 6:25 AM, steelers36 said:

It's nice to share, but this is a Princess board and the trip was on HAL???

HAL has the three week cruises down there.  I would have done HAL if I had the time.  I am on the Coral Princess next year for two weeks.

Edited November 7, 2019 by NMTraveller

[scubacruiserx2]

48 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

HAL has the three week cruises down there.  I would have done HAL if I had the time.  I am on the Coral Princess next year for two weeks.

 

It looks like you will be hitting all of the highlights that we remember from our cruise .

[cflutist]

Although we have sailed on 32 Princess cruises we chose to sail round trip from Ushaiua to Antarctica for 15 nights on a luxury expedition ship Silversea Cloud (200 pax) where we made multiple zodiac landings each day and also hiked on the Antarctica Continent itself.

Edited November 7, 2019 by cflutist

[cflutist]

Although we have sailed on 32 Princess cruises we chose to sail round trip from Ushaiua to Antarctica on a luxury expedition ship Silversea Cloud (200 pax) where we made multiple zodiac landings each day and also hiked on the Antarctica Continent itself.