Antarctica/ South America winter 2021

[rosewood jo]

Yes, I too was showing that no cloud on silver sea website as of today.  

[cruiseej]

10 minutes ago, kimanjo said:

Update for anyone interested.  Silver Explorer has departed Las Palmas, and it says her next stop Montevideo.  ETA 10/24.  

Cloud hasn't arrived Las Palmas yet.

 

And where, oh where, is the Wind? 😉 The tracking sites I've checked have no reports for the past two weeks (since September 18). I assumed she was still at the shipyard in Gdansk, but I thought I read someone post today (can't remember if it was here or on FB) that she was out of dry dock. (It could technically be out of dry dock but still at the shipyard, as all the finishing work can take pace after the ship is floated out.) Why would the transponder have been on during the entire dry dock but turned off for 2+ weeks now? 

[fudgbug]

1 hour ago, cruiseej said:

Yes, the Cloud trips disappeared from the website this morning, at the same time SS sent emails to passengers and travel agents about the tweaks to Cloud itineraries and Chile entry requirements. I think they have been typically trying to notify booked passengers before advertising the revised itineraries on the website; I'd expect to see the updated Cloud trips re-appear on the site within a day or two.

 

Because we have seen the email sent to Cloud passengers -- as was posted above earlier today -- we now know for certain that the removal of the Cloud trips from the website does not indicate the Cloud trips are being canceled, or swapped with the Wind, or anything like that. They just took them down in order to re-post them with the updates that have now been communicated to booked guests on the Cloud trips.

 

What this means for those of us booked on the Wind is... nothing. Perhaps they'll update the Wind trips next. Perhaps they'll cancel the Wind trips next. Perhaps some Wind trips will be canceled and others will go ahead. We just don't know, and SS isn't saying.

Communication from SS about the Wind to say the least isn't what I'd expect from SS.  At this point in time, SS should know if the Wind is going to sail.

[cruiseej]

6 minutes ago, fudgbug said:

Communication from SS about the Wind to say the least isn't what I'd expect from SS.  At this point in time, SS should know if the Wind is going to sail.

 

It's possible they know the Wind is going to sail, but don't know when she is going to sail. That is, if the work is running behind schedule, they might need to cancel the first cruise or even two and be able to sail he rest of the schedule, and they want to figure out a starting date before telling everyone the status.

 

Or... it's possible the Wind might sail if they can have workers aboard during the 3-4 weeks she'll be in transit, but they're trying to figure out if they can get properly vaccinated workers, or get them into/out of Chile, in order to finish the work over the next month. (I've read that they did this after the Cloud was renovated to try to finish the work.)

 

So many factor and variables, most of which we hear nothing about...

[cflutist]

Still hopeful that our December 22nd Wind to South Georgia will sail, but it doesn't look promising. 

[cflutist]

It's official Antarctica season canceled for the Wind

[rosewood jo]

Did this letter come by email? Or regular mail? 

[cflutist]

40 minutes ago, rosewood jo said:

Did this letter come by email? Or regular mail? 

It was an email that my TA received.

[Catlover54]

What "options to consider" do they offer -- change to the Cloud or Explorer?

[cflutist]

5 minutes ago, Catlover54 said:

What "options to consider" do they offer -- change to the Cloud or Explorer?

[Stumblefoot]

For those reading cflutist’s emails from the travel agent, please be advised the 15% off offer is only for those passengers who used money to book the canceled voyage, not a FCC.  For those that used a FCC, the original money is returned to another FCC or back to the original FCC if there was still value remaining on the original FCC.

[Stumblefoot]

2 hours ago, rosewood jo said:

Did this letter come by email? Or regular mail? 

A very similar letter is distributed by email to the passenger the next business day after the travel agent is informed.

[rosewood jo]

planning to rebook antarctica with silversea?  next year on the cloud?   

[cruiseej]

44 minutes ago, rosewood jo said:

planning to rebook antarctica with silversea?  next year on the cloud?   

 

Still trying to process the options and digest the disappointment; I really thought we had a good chance to sail this year. Sigh.

 

Part of me wants to switch the the Seabourn Venture, even though it's a fair amount more expensive; I think the friends were were going with might not want to spend that much more for an already-expensive trip. We just came back from a short Seabourn cruise and had such a wonderful time I'm feeling warm and fuzzy about Seabourn. 😉 And it's a brand new ship designed for expedition travel versus the 27 year-old renovated Cloud. So I'm guessing the Venture experience would be wonderful. But I'm not sure whether we'd pull the trigger on the higher cost.

 

If not, we'll probably try to book the Cloud holiday cruise next year. 

[les37b]

Cloud on her way to Montevideo just left....

 

 

[Stumblefoot]

18 minutes ago, cruiseej said:

Part of me wants to switch the the Seabourn Venture, even though it's a fair amount more expensive.

 

If not, we'll probably try to book the Cloud holiday cruise next year. 

New ships are so much fun and especially on the Expedition front based on reviews here of the new Silver Origin.  We can certainly attest to that new ship adoration when we were on the Muse.

 

As you contemplate your choice, I just wanted to share with you a little bit of our opinion about the repurposed and transformed Cloud.  We have sailed on her when she was in the Classic fleet, as well as the Expedition fleet, and I must say, she is so romantic and such a gem.  From the intimacy of the dining venues to the warmth of the public spaces, the Cloud is super engaging.  And, on our South Georgia and Antarctic voyage, we booked a suite on deck 4 without a verandah.  We loved how easy it was when a call came over the suite speaker about a wildlife sighting to just pop up one deck in just a few short steps and be immersed outdoors.

 

Have fun planning your trip!  Whichever you choose will be wonderful.

[Stumblefoot]

16 minutes ago, les37b said:

Cloud on her way to Montevideo just left....

Do you think they sail her with a skeleton crew and pick up the balance in Uruguay?  Montevideo certainly isn’t the international gateway like Buenos Aires is that sits just across the Rio de la Plata.  But, based on my travels there pre-pandemic, I assume SS can still assemble a crew from around the world in Montevideo as long as the world’s long haul air carriers continue to fly there.

[kimanjo]

1 hour ago, Stumblefoot said:

Do you think they sail her with a skeleton crew and pick up the balance in Uruguay?  Montevideo certainly isn’t the international gateway like Buenos Aires is that sits just across the Rio de la Plata.  But, based on my travels there pre-pandemic, I assume SS can still assemble a crew from around the world in Montevideo as long as the world’s long haul air carriers continue to fly there.

My guess is Montevideo instead of BA because Uruguay is 75+ vaxxed, Argentina, not nearly as vaxxed.   And Uruguay will gladly supply the ship with what it can, ($$$) before she sails to Punta Arenas.  Then in PA, it can pick up more supplies there. 

 

I'm also going to guess she assembled the crew in France, which is "open".  Uruguay is supposed to open November 1. So getting the crew to France would've been much easier.

 

All guesses...

 

[cruiseej]

@Stumblefoot Thanks for the comments about the Cloud. We did a Greenland cruise on her a few years ago and had a great trip. (Well, the greatness was more about the destination than the ship -- but I don't remember any real negatives about the ship.) We'd be fine sailing on the Cloud again for that reason; I'm just envious that the Wind gets the makeover we were all waiting for, but then doesn't do the same itinerary next year. And the Seabourn ship looks incredible... but so is the price! 😉

 

1 hour ago, Stumblefoot said:

Do you think they sail her with a skeleton crew and pick up the balance in Uruguay?  

 

I don't know, but I'd guess that most of the crew has recently boarded and will be doing clean ing and training over the next month. An entire new crew coming onboard just a few days before guests isn't likely to be firing on all cylinders.

 

We were just on a Seabourn cruise in the Caribbean, and the entire crew was brought on board nearly two months before they started cruising with passengers. According to crew members, that included time to get everyone fully vaccinated and through isolation, a whole lot of cleaning of every inch of a ship which hadn't been used for 14 months, and lots of training. 

[Catlover54]

4 hours ago, Stumblefoot said:

Do you think they sail her with a skeleton crew and pick up the balance in Uruguay?  Montevideo certainly isn’t the international gateway like Buenos Aires is that sits just across the Rio de la Plata.  But, based on my travels there pre-pandemic, I assume SS can still assemble a crew from around the world in Montevideo as long as the world’s long haul air carriers continue to fly there.

As one limo driver in Buenos Aires wistfully said to us a few years ago, "Uruguay is a normal country.  Things work and get done there."

[kimanjo]

Kayaking and Drysuit.

 

Not sure where to post this.  For those of you who have done the kayaking in the polar regions.  What do you wear under your dry suit????  Do you put the suit on in the "staging" area"?  

[WesW]

Loved kayaking in the Svalbard region off the Cloud.  The Expedition Kayaking team was terrific.  I wore long (tops and bottoms) underwear, glove liners, a neck gator and wool socks.  If I recall you put your dry suit on in the Mud room, then after Kayaking you placed them in wet barrels to clean--the Kayak team then hangs them up.

[Cardinal Gal]

Just received an email from my TA. Chile has changed their Covid policy effective Nov 1. Chile is requiring a PCR test at the airport given by Chilean authorities. Once your negative status is confirmed you will NOT have to quarantine in the hotel. 

This is great news allowing us to tour Santiago. But, in today’s changing world, this new policy could be revised. 
 

Silversea will be sending passengers all necessary information 30 days in advance of embarkation. 
 

We are on the Cloud Dec 11!

[taxatty]

5 hours ago, Cardinal Gal said:

Just received an email from my TA. Chile has changed their Covid policy effective Nov 1. Chile is requiring a PCR test at the airport given by Chilean authorities. Once your negative status is confirmed you will NOT have to quarantine in the hotel. 

This is great news allowing us to tour Santiago. But, in today’s changing world, this new policy could be revised. 
 

Silversea will be sending passengers all necessary information 30 days in advance of embarkation. 
 

We are on the Cloud Dec 11!

That email also said you now can arrive in Chile any day prior to your cruise, provided all testing requirements are fulfilled.

[Cardinal Gal]

We were originally booked to go in 2 days early. Last month Silversea changed our flights so we would only have one day due to the quarantine. We are hoping we can go back to our original plan. If nothing else, we can spend some time by the pool.