Live-ish -- Dec 20 Thru Jan 5 South America/Antarctica on Coral Princess

[ridgerunner51]

1 minute ago, gottagocit said:

I enjoy reading many of the patters but if you don’t continue adding them I will certainly understand. 
 

I don’t recall seeing the production shows listed in them. Perhaps I missed them or my memory is worsening. Lol. Were there the typical 3-4 on the voyage?

thanks

 gottagocit, what did you read them them with?  

 

[gottagocit]

3 minutes ago, ridgerunner51 said:

 gottagocit, what did you read them them with?  

 

I do not understand the question. 

[ridgerunner51]

1 minute ago, gottagocit said:

I do not understand the question. 

 I'm sorry.  What did you open them with?  I have tried "Windows Photo Viewer"  "Microsoft Office 2010 Office Picture Manager" and others, but the text is blurry.

 

[gottagocit]

6 minutes ago, ridgerunner51 said:

 I'm sorry.  What did you open them with?  I have tried "Windows Photo Viewer"  "Microsoft Office 2010 Office Picture Manager" and others, but the text is blurry.

 

Oh I get it now. Sorry. 
With my iPad they are also very blurry until I simply click on each photo (actually tapping on the photo with a finger). It opens the image and it is much clearer and I can also zoom in using my two thumbs like a photo taken with the camera on the device. 

 

hope that helps. 

[holidayhelen]

Thank you for this wonderful thread.  We are on 21st January sailing and we will look forward to it even more now.  

 

Is there anything you took that you really did not need?  To save us weight in packing?  Any 'must brings'?  Any 'must sees' you can recommend.  

 

For ports Montevideo, Ushuia and PA we are just planning a walk round - do we actually need to plan anything in these ports?

 

Thank you for all your help.

 

Helen

[erber]

The production shows were listed. They had On the Bayou and Motor City. They did a special Christmas show as well. 

[erber]

Helen,

I did not need to bring  long underwear. I brought borh a hat and ear warmers. I could have just brought ear warmers. I wish I had bright one more sweater for inside the ship, but I got by with one. I could have skipped bringing boots but I was worried I'd ruin myy sketchers for penguin tour. It ended up being dry and not muddy so we are donating my only worn one time duck boots to a crew  member.  Now I have room for all the souvenirs etc I bought!

 

My windbreaker and packable down jacket were both essential. I did wear my sweatshirt once only, in the Falkland Islands, but I could have done without it. 

 

We turned in laundry every 3 to 4 days so we were able to be efficient packers. 

 

We did not dock in Montevideo but if we had been able to dock, we would have walked around the city. As for Ushuaia and Punta Arenas we walked around the two cities. If we had not done a penguin tour in the Falklands we would have booked one in Punta Arenas. 

 

It has been a marvelous cruise. I think it is the best cruise we have ever done. Just amazing. 

 

 

[paphoslady]

Really enjoyed your review. We will be cruising a similar itinerary in about 6 weeks and your posts have helped me to further plan what we are going to do. Can't decide what to do in Punta Arenas and Ushuaia at the moment.

[erber]

One more thing on clothing... I brought summer t shirts and a pair of light weight capris.  I have not worn one summer item. It will be in the 40s F.  today and tomorrow! So I could have left summer items of clothing at home. 

Edited January 2, 2020 by erber

[gottagocit]

43 minutes ago, erber said:

One more thing on clothing... I brought summer t shirts and a pair of light weight capris.  I have not worn one summer item. It will be in the 40s F.  today and tomorrow! So I could have left summer items of clothing at home. 

That is interesting. Would not have guessed that. 
Seems to have had below average temps in the northern most parts of your itinerary. 

[cecimar]

Yes, the weather has been milder than usual.

[pompeii]

1 hour ago, erber said:

One more thing on clothing... I brought summer t shirts and a pair of light weight capris.  I have not worn one summer item. It will be in the 40s F.  today and tomorrow! So I could have left summer items of clothing at home. 

If you're spending any time in Santiago, you'll have a chance to use your summer clothes there.  Temps have been in the 90's and are dropping a little into the mid-80's over the next week or so.

[gottagocit]

Did you by chance try making a phone call back home during your time in Antartica when internet speed and access was limited? Just curious if WiFi calling or Skype etc would work in the event someone had to use it while down that far. 

Were you able to get tv reception throughout most of that time? 
 

I’m sure calling wouldn’t be a problem with the faster internet now on the coral when she is sailing further north. 
 

[erber]

Did not make any phone calls in Antarctica or anywhere else , so I can't speak to your question about call quality. 

 

Tv reception was only interrupted briefly at times during our time in Antarctic waters.

 

As for needing summer clothing, we are flying straight back to the U.S. so we won't be spending time in Santiago. Interestingly,  San Antonio is  actually about 20 degrees cooler than the temperature in Santiago in looking at the weather forecast for Sunday. So I'm not breaking out the T shirt to wear when we disembark. 

 

Seas are rocky today and the weather is not nice. It's definitely an indoor type of day. Went to a lecture on dolphins so far today. My husband is now at the screening of the Antarctica  Experience DVD made by the cruiseship videographers. We are deciding  if we should purchase it. This is different from the Reflections DVD as it is only Antarctica footage. I was in the theater but wasn't feeling great so I came up to the room to lie down. Feeling better now. 

 

 

 

[ridgerunner51]

Could you please advise what their laundry service costs?

 

[azbirdmom]

7 hours ago, holidayhelen said:

For ports Montevideo, Ushuia and PA we are just planning a walk round - do we actually need to plan anything in these ports?

 

 

We are on the cruise before your's but we have been to the ports you mentioned on a prior cruise.

 

In Montevideo, we walked around.  There was a free shuttle to the leather shop in the middle of town and we walked back from there.  We did find a walking tour map while walking and it turns out that they were handing those out just outside the port gates.  I've attached a PDF of the map that I scanned and have shared with many.  We plan to do the entire walking tour this time.  Weather should be warm.

 

In Ushuaia, the national park is beautiful but there are also boat tours that others have enjoyed.  Most of the sites in town are up a hill.  If you aren't up for walking up a hill, there are some shops at sea level and when we were there a craft market was set up to the left as you walk out of the port area.  You should get a port guide from Princess that includes a map.  We are doing an independent tour to the national park this trip with 48 others from our roll call.

 

Finally in Punta Arenas, it's easy to walk around the town.  When we visited we took the boat to Magdalena Island.  It was about a two hour ride each way but they now have an option of a faster boat.  For a bit over an hour we walked around the windy, cold, barren island where there were over 100,000 nesting Magellanic penguins and thousands of sea birds.  It was definitely worth it to go there but we aren't doing it again (hubby said it's a lot of time on a boat for the short time there).  That tour dropped us off at the square where there were a lot of local artisans selling their wares and from there we walked back to the tender point.  We're going to walk around on our own this time.

montevideo walking map.pdf

[Latham4]

Thank you for all the information!  We are sailing on January 21.  Did you purchase foreign currency before leaving the US?  Do you find American dollars and credit cards acceptable most places?

[erber]

This is what it costs to send out your laundry and have the ship do it for you.

 

Also, there are self service  washers and dryers on many floors as well. I have not checked the cost to use the self service laundry. It may be $3.00 per load for washer and also for dryer if I am remembering correctly from past ships. I know they also have a machine for you to purchase detergent as well. 

[erber]

Latham4,

 

We did not purchase foreign currency. We have been able to use U.S. dollars everywhere we went, even with small vendors at little tables  in the main square in Punta Arenas. 

Edited January 2, 2020 by erber

[Latham4]

Thank you for the information on the currency,  one less thing about which to worry.

[Mamai5]

Thanks so much for everything that you shared with us. Happy New Year, and enjoy the rest of your time at sea. 🎊🎉

[erber]

😁🎉🎉🐧🐧This really has been a special trip. I know you will all feel the same. Enjoy your voyages!

[ridgerunner51]

Thank you for the laundry information.

 

[erber]

Tomorrow is our last formal night. I will try to remember to take a photo of the dinner menu. There is also a Captain's Farewell Cocktail Party in the atrium  tomorrow at 6:45 with complimentary cocktails and appetizers. More lectures during the day, some of which sound interesting. Encore is the featured show tomorrow night.

 

We got our passports back this evening and our disembarkation information. We are doing a Princess transfer and are set to meet at 8:30 a.m. in one of the dining rooms on Sunday.

 

If you have any more questions, please let me know.

[gottagocit]

Has seating in the theater been an issue during the lectures during your voyage? What about the production shows? Full house or many open seats?

I recall you writing about having a balcony on this voyage but did you spend much time viewing the scenery from the promenade deck? Were there many others doing so there when in Antartica? 

 

Did you experience snow accumulation on the ships outside surfaces when way down under? 

 

How would you grade the cruise director and his staff during your trip?

Thanks again for all the helpful information you’ve provided to those of us gearing up for the same voyage. Safe travels during your remaining days at sea and the trip home. 
 

Chris

 

Edited January 2, 2020 by gottagocit