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LIVE Coral Princess Jan 5 - 21 Antarctica


jrblach
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we will attempt to post updates on our cruise since many of you are joining Jan 21 etc.  VERY BAD START. ship could not get fuel so we did not sail. can you really believe that??? visit at Punta Arenas Chile cancelled. Captain advised that high seas may be a problem. we are in the Port San Antonio terminal using free wifi.  Supermarket 1 mile walk away. ship allowing wine to come on board - no checking. must be on board by 2PM. we are scheduled to sail today. we are on B2B cruises - Jan 5 and Jan 21. did this since weather, wind, ice conditions frequently cause problems and we wanted 2 chances to visit the ports and see antarctica.  also, there is a posting with info from the prior cruise. they missed port & places. joan & rich

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Thanks so much for starting this thread! We will be joining you in Buenos Aires and will follow your updates closely. So sorry your are already seeing your itinerary changed and are missing one of the limited number of port calls.  
 

Aren’t you guys the smart ones for biking a B2B on this type of unique voyages! Hopefully This will be the last problem this sailing will have. 
 

thanks again,

Chris

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1 hour ago, jrblach said:

we will attempt to post updates on our cruise since many of you are joining Jan 21 etc.  VERY BAD START. ship could not get fuel so we did not sail. can you really believe that??? visit at Punta Arenas Chile cancelled. Captain advised that high seas may be a problem. we are in the Port San Antonio terminal using free wifi.  Supermarket 1 mile walk away. ship allowing wine to come on board - no checking. must be on board by 2PM. we are scheduled to sail today. we are on B2B cruises - Jan 5 and Jan 21. did this since weather, wind, ice conditions frequently cause problems and we wanted 2 chances to visit the ports and see antarctica.  also, there is a posting with info from the prior cruise. they missed port & places. joan & rich

 

So sorry you could not sail.  We will be joining you in Buenos Aires.  Is it safe to walk to the supermarket?

 

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Thank you for taking the time to do updates. I'm doing this cruise next year so I'm interested in all the information o can get.

 

So sorry to hear your stop in Puntas Arenas was cancelled.  How great that you will get another chance on the next leg of you B2B.   Here's wishing you nice weather for the rest of your ports & Antarctica viewing.

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Thanks to all on this cruise for posting; we will be on the 1/21 from Buenos Aires.  So sorry about the itinerary changes losing Punta Arenas and two days of Antartica.

 

I hope Princess will provide trust adequate compensation for the fact that this is a hugely different cruise than you paid for.

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Thank you for posting this.  We will be in San Antonio Mar 15 on Celebrity Eclipse.  Do you know why the fueling was a problem?  Was there a strike?  The Eclipse that was there with you sailed only 2 hours late.

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12 minutes ago, vakamalua said:

Thanks to all on this cruise for posting; we will be on the 1/21 from Buenos Aires.  So sorry about the itinerary changes losing Punta Arenas and two days of Antartica.

 

I hope Princess will provide trust adequate compensation for the fact that this is a hugely different cruise than you paid for.

So far, only $75 onboard credit for Punta Arenas. Nothing discussed for the new changes.

Edited by xDisconnections
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Missing one port is not so bad as we have missed ports many times for bad weather and fueling. Remember, man plans God laughs.

Lost two ports in 2018 to both weather and fueling. Fuel barge was caught in the same weather and could not meet us in time and we had to wait two days to be fueled.

We had the opposite experience in 2016 where the oceans were dead flat (less the 6 inches of chop) and cruisers were complaining they wanted to see the 30 foot waves. Go figure.

Also, I have heard almost 50% of the ships can't even get into the Falklands due to bad weather.

 

Enjoy what's left. 

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Thank you for posting, we are coming on in BA. Can I ask what happened with those who had booked princess excursions in Punta Arenas and paid for them prior to cruise by credit card - was the refund made directly back to credit card or as OBC (we used a different credit card than we would use onboard)

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THEY TOOK AWAY 2 DAYS OF ANTARCTICA. Now we have only 2 days in Antarctica instead of 4. Antarctica is the reason we came on this cruise since we have been to all the ports before.

We were delayed 1 day due to no fuel. We sailed afternoon of Jan 6 – day 2. Now, a storm with potential high waves is causing a detour. We will hug the coast of Chile and stop in Puerto Montt. Then we will go to Ushuaia by the inside passage.  Our stop will be on Sunday so most things will be closed. Ship has chosen ports where they get the shore excursion profits instead of providing the 4 days in Antarctica. Not so bad but Captain said we were only losing 1 day and would see everything. Sounds like fake news.

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26 minutes ago, jrblach said:

THEY TOOK AWAY 2 DAYS OF ANTARCTICA. Now we have only 2 days in Antarctica instead of 4. Antarctica is the reason we came on this cruise since we have been to all the ports before.

We were delayed 1 day due to no fuel. We sailed afternoon of Jan 6 – day 2. Now, a storm with potential high waves is causing a detour. We will hug the coast of Chile and stop in Puerto Montt. Then we will go to Ushuaia by the inside passage.  Our stop will be on Sunday so most things will be closed. Ship has chosen ports where they get the shore excursion profits instead of providing the 4 days in Antarctica. Not so bad but Captain said we were only losing 1 day and would see everything. Sounds like fake news.

If I remember correctly, he said he would see everything and then a minute later, said just the highlights or something along those lines. He also said we would only be losing one day but it’s actually two days.

 

We still haven’t been advised of the estimated times for Cape Horn or the estimated arrival/departure times for Antarctica. It could very well be less time than anticipated from its current presentation.

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25 minutes ago, jrblach said:

THEY TOOK AWAY 2 DAYS OF ANTARCTICA. Now we have only 2 days in Antarctica instead of 4. Antarctica is the reason we came on this cruise since we have been to all the ports before.

We were delayed 1 day due to no fuel. We sailed afternoon of Jan 6 – day 2. Now, a storm with potential high waves is causing a detour. We will hug the coast of Chile and stop in Puerto Montt. Then we will go to Ushuaia by the inside passage.  Our stop will be on Sunday so most things will be closed. Ship has chosen ports where they get the shore excursion profits instead of providing the 4 days in Antarctica. Not so bad but Captain said we were only losing 1 day and would see everything. Sounds like fake news.

 

Try to have a more positive attitude.  When cruising... stuff happens.  You have to be flexible. You booked the b2b for a very good reason.  I hope your next cruise gets you to your missing ports.

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I feel bad for all of you facing so many disappointments on this cruise. First the unrest in Santiago that changed many plans and now missing ports and time in Antarctica. 

 

We did Holland America's version of this itinerary last season and although I'm sure it was more expensive (with 22 days), we had double the number of ports from what the Princess itinerary shows. Our only missed port was Puerto Montt (which now is a substitute port for this cruise.) That was the only port we missed. We were forced to skip it due to swells that made tendering too dangerous but the captain went directly to the next port of Castro. The ship spent the night at Castro which gave us the late afternoon/evening and all the next day to explore the city. Hopefully the conditions will be good enough to allow the Coral to stop.

 

This truly is an amazing itinerary but if you are considering doing this in the future, it might be wise to look at other options with more ports. Here is what the HAL itinerary looked like this past February. I believe their cruises might have one less port for next year.

 

image.png.69e71d57bc11fa8899ab0b875054a933.png

 

 

Edited by AryMay
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7 hours ago, jrblach said:

we will attempt to post updates on our cruise since many of you are joining Jan 21 etc.  VERY BAD START. ship could not get fuel so we did not sail. can you really believe that??? visit at Punta Arenas Chile cancelled. Captain advised that high seas may be a problem. we are in the Port San Antonio terminal using free wifi.  Supermarket 1 mile walk away. ship allowing wine to come on board - no checking. must be on board by 2PM. we are scheduled to sail today. we are on B2B cruises - Jan 5 and Jan 21. did this since weather, wind, ice conditions frequently cause problems and we wanted 2 chances to visit the ports and see antarctica.  also, there is a posting with info from the prior cruise. they missed port & places. joan & rich

On the previous cruise, we missed Montevideo so had an extra sea day. We made all other ports. We had our Monday  port at Punta Arenas on 1 January and found all stores closed and town was almost deserted. Hope your Antarctica days are with good weather. We didn’t get all the way to Esperanza Station due to ice flow (think that is the correct name) but Captain McBain took in to see some spectacular glaciers instead. 

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So disappointed for you that you will only get 2 days in Antarctica. Maybe a slight silver lining to this cloud will be the more scenic route nearer the coast if the weather isn't too bad. Maybe you will get to see some Chilean glaciers. Keeping my fingers crossed for all of you.

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1 hour ago, AryMay said:

I feel bad for all of you facing so many disappointments on this cruise. First the unrest in Santiago that changed many plans and now missing ports and time in Antarctica. 

 

We did Holland America's version of this itinerary last season and although I'm sure it was more expensive (with 22 days), we had double the number of ports from what the Princess itinerary shows. Our only missed port was Puerto Montt (which now is a substitute port for this cruise.) That was the only port we missed. We were forced to skip it due to swells that made tendering too dangerous but the captain went directly to the next port of Castro. The ship spent the night at Castro which gave us the late afternoon/evening and all the next day to explore the city. Hopefully the conditions will be good enough to allow the Coral to stop.

 

This truly is an amazing itinerary but if you are considering doing this in the future, it might be wise to look at other options with more ports. Here is what the HAL itinerary looked like this past February. I believe their cruises might have one less port for next year.

 

image.png.69e71d57bc11fa8899ab0b875054a933.png

 

 

 

We have 32 Princess cruises but this is the 15-night roundtrip cruise from Ushaiua to Antarctica that we took on Silversea an all inclusive luxury expedition cruise.

Something to consider for those who want to go in the future. All cabins have butler service and there were more crew onboard than passengers. 

 

We missed two stops in the Falklands because the Captain wanted to get across the Drake Passage before the weather got worse. We missed going ashore on Elephant Island (where the Shackleton statue is) because elephant seals were blocking our path and had to settle for photos from our zodiacs. We missed two other stops due to 50 knot winds but got to Deception Island a day early so we overnighted in the caldera and made two landings instead. 

 

 

20200106_151330.jpg

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While it’s a disappointing start for sure, I’m betting you’ll still get to see some spectacular scenery and wildlife in the two days you will have in Antarctica. I was on the Dec 18 - Jan 5 sailing and while we didn’t get to some “key” areas due to ice issues we still saw amazing wildlife, icebergs and glaciers.  
 

You’ll likely hear the captain say that weather changes quickly “in this part of the world,” which I believe as the Holland America Zaandam which was 4 hours behind us one day got blocked by ice that wasn’t there when we sailed through. As a result of changing ice conditions they couldn’t get through the Gerlach Strait and the reroute delay forced them to head across the Drake a day earlier than planned due to high seas in the forecast. 

 

We had some pretty rough seas (the worst I’ve ever experienced) so Captain McBain and the other marine experts on board may be trying to save a beating on the ship and the passengers.

 

I’ve never had an opinion about a captain before this cruise and came away really impressed with Captain McBain. I truly believe he will do his best to give you a great experience but he’s always going to prioritize safety (as he should). 
 

Good luck! We’re rooting for you 🙂

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17 hours ago, jrblach said:

THEY TOOK AWAY 2 DAYS OF ANTARCTICA. Now we have only 2 days in Antarctica instead of 4. Antarctica is the reason we came on this cruise since we have been to all the ports before.

We were delayed 1 day due to no fuel. We sailed afternoon of Jan 6 – day 2. Now, a storm with potential high waves is causing a detour. We will hug the coast of Chile and stop in Puerto Montt. Then we will go to Ushuaia by the inside passage.  Our stop will be on Sunday so most things will be closed. Ship has chosen ports where they get the shore excursion profits instead of providing the 4 days in Antarctica. Not so bad but Captain said we were only losing 1 day and would see everything. Sounds like fake news.

Thankfully you are doing the BB, I will be more than disappointed if our cruise misses Antarctica. See you on the 21st  

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1 hour ago, Sumitro Ong said:

I am wondering why didn't Princess skip Montevideo to give more time for Antarctica. Would it be perhaps the weather and sea condition only allows for that 2 days? 

 

I like your thinking, but Montevideo means a day where Coral is not burning fuel cruising, plus Princess earns the coins from excursions.  Cha Ching!!

 

I also suspect, believe it or not, that there are probably some passengers who would rather have the day in Montevideo instead of the extra day in Antarctica.

 

I know, I know, I may have a touch of cynicism. 😀

 

Bruce

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2 hours ago, OzCanuck said:

I know NCL does re-supplying in Montevideo.  Possibly Princess does the same?

You are correct about supplies.  We missed Montevideo on the 20 Dec cruise and not sure what all  supplies/food ran out but heard people talking about missing certain foods.  Do know that  they stopped serving the ice cream cones out on Lido deck before we did the Drake Passage going to Antarctica.

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