Reminiscent of World Traveller Jan 26th 2023 cruise

[rloke]

It all started with the charter flight with Aerolinas Argentina. Was scheduled for 10:40am but was delayed for close to a couple hours...finally boarded and settled in by 12:40ish. Was so excited that I couldn't manage a steady shot from the front of the plane...

Plane was actually nice, new and clean.

A simple lunch with ham and cheese croissant was provided. As is typical with Argentina bakery, I guess, the croissant was slightly sweetened.

 

[rloke]

Landed at Ushuaia around 4:00pm. A number of buses were waiting in the parking lot to transfer everyone to the pier. Once on the bus, we were handed health forms to fill.

We were sitting in the Atlas lounge by 4:50pm with champagne in one hand and canapés on the other waiting to be checked in, as well as get our temperature taken, Covid vaccination verified and health form collected by the Russian doctor.

[rloke]

In our stateroom by around 5:20pm or so. Nothing fancy, pretty standard room which was quite cozy. The shower was nice with the rain shower head and the body jets. L'Occitane toiletries in big bottles with pump. Definitely more environmental friendly than those little plastic bottles that we were used to.

[rloke]

This was an 11-day cross the Antarctica circle cruise.

The following map sort of shows the path we took, the blue line, from the start at the top right (Yankee Harbor in South Shetlands) to the bottom left (Andresen Island). So we sailed to around 66°5'. Not as far South as what our sister ship, the World Navigator achieved this season, which I believe was to Jenny Island at 67°4'.

 

The sail down was just a little bit rough...around 3 meter swells. Mini Drake shake.

The sail back up was a different story. We got the shake. While probably not the worse this season, it was shaking...close to 6 meter swells. Many broken plates in the restaurant, the sliding door to our balcony on the 5th deck got a free wash...

[northwoods2]

I would love to hear more about your trip.  We are doing a 11 night in December

[rloke]

11 minutes ago, northwoods2 said:

I would love to hear more about your trip.  We are doing a 11 night in December

 

You will love it...

[rloke]

Breakfast is pretty much the standard affair...there is a buffet with the regular breakfast items as well as a menu with daily egg and pancake specials...

 

They do the classic Benedict pretty nicely...

 

Pancakes are OK too...

 

Omelette was good as well...although this was a challenge for our waitstaff as we ordered this omelette with "everything" on the menu...he was like "everything"? Yes...please......

Not sure if we got everything but it was pretty loaded.

[rloke]

Selection of breads and pastry...

 

Neat machine to make your own nut butter for your bread...

[rloke]

Classic scrambled eggs, sausages, hash...

 

Also classic selections of cold cuts, fish...

[rloke]

And some good selection of cheeses...

 

And BTW, you can also get freshly squeezed orange juice.

Edited March 20, 2023 by rloke

[rloke]

Lunch is buffet only. And the food was really outstanding.

There is a carving station with various offerings. Pork, beef, chicken, etc...

The roasted pork belly, for example, was excellent. Such crispy skin and so flavourful.

 

So was the grilled tomahawk...very nice...

 

And excellent salmon en croute...

[rloke]

There is also a chef's station that served a la minute dishes...

For example, a seafood paella...

 

Marinated octopus...

 

Jumbo shrimp risotto...

 

 

[rloke]

Another location to get a quick bite for breakfast and lunch is Paula's Pantry.

Various juices, fruit salads, muesli, etc...

 

And at the upper left corner, there is a daily special shot that was really worth having one or two or maybe three servings. For example, the "wellness shot" above is a fantastic concoction of green apples, ginger, and something else that I don't clearly recall...

 

And fantastic espresso drinks...

 

Some 0 calorie goodies...

 

Some quick lunch selections..

 

And fresh made-to-order pizza was pretty good too...pineapple and ham pizza...

 

 

 

 

[GICNJC]

Thanks, it is great to see all the pictures and explanations.  Looking forward to our trip in Jan 2024.

[rloke]

With the exception of the first and last evening, dinner was the typical table-clothed full course meal. There were no dinner buffets (unless of course it was either the first and last dinners).

 

There was a theme every night, where cuisine from different countries or regions were served. The exception would be the two gala nights which would usually be the second and the penultimate evenings respectively.

 

[rloke]

The two gala menu...

[rloke]

On top of that, on two evenings, there is also a special menu from their "specialty Portuguese restaurant Alma" that one could peruse and order from...

 

[rloke]

Dishes were very nicely presented and most were good eats with some minor exceptions...

 

The foie gras pate was beautiful to behold but a bit light on the foie...more like a light foie gras mousse. It was not bad per se but we, personally, would have preferred a much more assertive presence of the liver...

 

The lobster thermidor, on the other hand, was what was expected.

[rloke]

Another example of plating creativity that rival land-based restaurants, the duck confit appetizer. This was interesting to look at and tasted like duck confit...

 

Tuna sashimi appetizer was also nicely presented and tasted fantastic...

 

The pickled cod fish pembre...

 

[rloke]

The stuffed dover sole...

 

Precision poached lobster tail...this was a miss, IMHO. Not sure if it is the precision poaching gone awry, or just not the best quality lobster...the texture was a bit mushy, like a weird warm water lobster. Still questioning the technique used though...what and why would one need precision poaching, whatever that is...

[rloke]

The biggest miss, though, is the following dish.

 

We were so looking forward to this Chile theme night and have our favorite Chilean sea bass...little did we know, this wasn't the Patagonian toothfish that we love. It was just a thin fillet of some fish. I guess they did not specifically mention that it was the toothfish...and a bass from the sea near Chile would indeed be a "Chilean sea bass". We were sorely disappointed to put it mildly...

[rloke]

Cocktails from the bars were very good. There were the classic drinks, a twist of the classics as well as some imaginative drinks to savour. Also non-alcoholic creations...

Edited March 20, 2023 by rloke
Grammar

[JER/MPR]

Thank you for all the information and pictures😀

[rloke]

The mud room is located on the 3rd deck with stalls to store the expedition parka and the waterproof boots. Each stall is labeled with the stateroom number.

 

Getting on the zodiac...remember the three step process...first step on the edge of the zodiac, next step on the wooden box inside the zodiac, and then final step on the floor of the zodiac.

 

Getting back on the ship from the zodiac is the reverse procedure...

 

 

 

[rloke]

For this sailing, we were divided into 5 groups (A to E). Roughly 30 or so per group. As only a maximum of 100 is allowed to be ashore at a time, the first 3 groups would attempt to get ashore first. The remaining 2 groups would wait roughly an hour or so before getting a chance to get ashore.

 

At the landing site, the assistant expedition leader, Maximilian, would let you know roughly what to expect to see at the location; as well as how much time you would have ashore, which is usually 45-50 minutes. It would be great if everyone adhered to this as that would make the operation go much smoother and not constantly running late...

 

The process to get off the zodiac to land is as follows...scoot up to the front edge of the zodiac and sit a bit askew facing the rear of the zodiac. If on the port side, pivot and swing your legs clockwise, up and over the edge of the zodiac and then just push off from there. There will likely be a short wade in shallow water to get ashore. If on the starboard side, the pivot would be counter-clockwise.