January 7th NCL Star cruise to Antarctica , Argentina and Chile with a 10 day stay photo travelogue

MicCanberra · February 11

1 hour ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

Excellent , when and how long in Ushuaia ? Any plans ? The only photos we got from Cape Horn was in 2013 . We made a sprint and missed it on our Zaandam trip to Antarctica , the last trip .

We are in Ushuaia tomorrow 7am till 3.30pm, then scenic cruising up the Beagle channel to Chile.

ziggyuk · February 11

3 hours ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

Have you made any plans for shore excursions on the Canal cruise ? It may seem like an off the wall question but I just read something about Queen Elizabeth II today . We don't hear much about the Royals here so we wondered how the new King has been received .

Not yet but you now me from the Antarctica roll call, it won't be long 😁

The king has been received very well, better than expected to be honest, a lot of people wanted him to step aside in favour of William but he has fitted in perfectly.
I guess you have not heard the news he has cancer? He went if for an enlarged prostate and while they were working on that they found cancer, they have not revealed what the cancer is but have said it's not prostate cancer.
The King will be taking a back seat roll while he goes through his treatment, the other royals will cover his duties, he is 75 and works very hard. They say they have caught it early so fingers crossed.

scubacruiserx2 · February 11

4 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

We are in Ushuaia tomorrow 7am till 3.30pm, then scenic cruising up the Beagle channel to Chile.

If you are looking for something to do in Ushuaia there is a small Kiosk near the end of the pier that runs a 4 hour harbour tour at 10 AM at a good price . If not the lunch place where we ate was good but we would have gotten the Large Crab instead of the medium as the tummy stretching exercising aboard the Star were working their magic .

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scubacruiserx2 · February 11

2 hours ago, ziggyuk said:

Not yet but you now me from the Antarctica roll call, it won't be long 😁

The king has been received very well, better than expected to be honest, a lot of people wanted him to step aside in favour of William but he has fitted in perfectly.
I guess you have not heard the news he has cancer? He went if for an enlarged prostate and while they were working on that they found cancer, they have not revealed what the cancer is but have said it's not prostate cancer.
The King will be taking a back seat roll while he goes through his treatment, the other royals will cover his duties, he is 75 and works very hard. They say they have caught it early so fingers crossed.

We will try to help if you with ports would like , especially with food . We do think that is a nice way to get to know a place . And we did hear that news and the story about Princess Kate . We both had 2 abdominal surgeries and it can be quite trying . She can't afford the weight loss . I'm 6 ' 2" and dropped to 65.5 Kg. And poor Pat couldn't drink anything for more than a week with hers .

As for the King he's only 2 years older than I so it always prudent to watch and learn . We will keep him, the Medical staff and family in our hopes and prayers .

It sounds like the transition that Argentina is going thru something similar although they threw a strike on the week after we disembarked from our cruise . It did throw us off a bit but we were out of BA when it happened and a number of people in our hotel in El Calafate had to spend an extra night as the airlines had some strikes throughout the country .The Labour Unions mostly .

scubacruiserx2 · February 11

The Falkland Islands was the second high point in terms of scenery so we had planned dinner at Le Bistro to celebrate before we turned and burned our way back to BA .

We were seated in the center section on a busy night . So when we saw a corner near the window open up we requested it . Fortunately our wish was granted .

We had saved our sail away from BA bottle so it was our drink for the evening

Dinner was served

We noticed a pin on one of the employees that they showed us

The best part of the meal behind the excellent service and food

Pat had the rat and I had a roll but we shared of course !

scubacruiserx2 · February 11

Almost time for the Super Bowl here so guess who we will be pulling for ?

And to cap it off Larry Csonka , the MVP of Super Bowl VIII from 50 years ago will present the Lombardi Trophy to the winner of Super Bowl LVIII . That year not only did Csonka and the Miami Dolphins win the Super bowl but they are the only untied , undefeated team in American Football history . I was in boot camp in the U S Navy and as RCPO I made a bet with the previous RCPO of the special companies that we were in . He was from Washington D C , the Dolphin's opponent for the game and we had bet $ 50 on the game . They graduated that weekend and so I thought that I'd never see him or the money again . But true to his word he paid the money with a handshake . The Dolphins one the next Super Bowl also and tonight the K C Chiefs will try to duplicate the feat of 2 in a row .

scubacruiserx2 · February 12

The morning after the Falkland Islands was relatively calm so I decided to take my camera for an early walk of the ship . I usually do this on the first day to familiarize myself with ship and learn to best routes as to where we want to go . Since we were in Montevideo on day 2 I decided to wait when we had a couple of days at sea . So we begin our tour on Deck 9 where our cabin was . First up was a map and the decision to drop down to deck 6 forward with the Stardust Theater .

I immediately recognized the Art Deco theme from my childhood when I grew up surfing in South Beach , Miami . They used to have a fishing pier then and a dog track at 1st Street which we natives considered to be the true South Beach .

We didn't find any shows to our taste there so we didn't go even though suite guests had a special section . We did consider the Band on the Run show as we thought that it would be a Palm Mc Cartney and Wings tribute band since it was named after one of his Albums . We did see him and Wings in Concert in Miami once , but this show featured other music of the era , not a tribute band .

scubacruiserx2 · February 12

The next up was the Casino which reeked of stale smoke . We're not players .

Gatsby's is at the confluence of 3 dining selections

Upstairs is Ginza

A walk through is Le Bistro

And to the left is La Cucina . We didn't eat here but did have it delivered to our room our evening

The Kitchen reminded me of a morgue which I've seen too many of , all stainless Steel

scubacruiserx2 · February 12

Another painting of Gatsby's . The next photo was some art on the left , left center was Gatsby's while the middle distant was the Casino and the far right was a desk where we saw Monica at work several times .

The main dining room where we never ate at .

Edited February 12 by scubacruiserx2

scubacruiserx2 · February 12

The NCL Sun is docked at the pier while the HAL Oosterdam is having some problems disembarking by tender . We have been there 4 times with the HAL Zaandam missing Ushuaia on Christmas Day on 2018 . Thus we only made it 3 times , less than an mile away from the dock .

MicCanberra · February 12

20 hours ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

If you are looking for something to do in Ushuaia there is a small Kiosk near the end of the pier that runs a 4 hour harbour tour at 10 AM at a good price . If not the lunch place where we ate was good but we would have gotten the Large Crab instead of the medium as the tummy stretching exercising aboard the Star were working their magic .

Went ashore and got a taxi for 4 hours. We went to Terre del Fuego NP and had a wonderful time.

scubacruiserx2 · February 12

3 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

Went ashore and got a taxi for 4 hours. We went to Terre del Fuego NP and had a wonderful time.

Looks like an excellent choice Mic . So glad that you made it ashore !

scubacruiserx2 · February 12

It was nice to be outside on deck 7 . the promenade deck .

The Large Spinnaker Lounge

5 O ' Clock Bar somewhere

Photo Gallery , cameras , Binoculars both ways

Grand Atrium

Photo walk

Ginza Atrium

Ginza Entrance

scubacruiserx2 · February 12

Continuing with deck 7 is the Trade winds duty free shops

And the posters leading to the Stardust Theater ( balcony ) and the special reserved seating .

They were stuck on the left wall with the seats all in a row . Not the best view . We would prefer the center balcony for photos and videos which they don't allow . I've never been on a ship which does not allow photos or videos , part of the reason that we didn't go .

When we go to land based concerts , and most cruise ships , we usually sit in the front row balcony or a box seat like we did with Al Stewart in the Royal Albert Hall or Kravis Hall in West Palm Beach to see the Moody Blues or a name band .

The first song that we danced to after being married in March of 1978 .

scubacruiserx2 · February 12

Well I copied this link from another NCL thread Feb 4th NCL Star cruise to Antarctica , Argentina round trip via Chile and the Falklands with a 14 day stay photo travelogue .

If it's accurate it is truly pathetic want the NCL corporation is doing to the passengers .

MicCanberra · February 13

The NCL Sun is coming with us into Chile, as for the Star, such a shame they are only visiting Elephant Island for the next couple of cruises.

scubacruiserx2 · February 13

11 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

The NCL Sun is coming with us into Chile, as for the Star, such a shame they are only visiting Elephant Island for the next couple of cruises.

It appears that the Sun spent the night in Ushuaia while you are in Punta Arenas . It was a tender port for us the first time in 4 trips and we never made it . We hope that you can make the Downtown pier as it is a walk off but we were told that we were too large . The weather is cool with some rain and it's always windy there .

https://www.accuweather.com/en/cl/punta-arenas/53738/weather-forecast/53738

scubacruiserx2 · February 13

On 2/11/2024 at 11:39 AM, stonepebble said:

All of these cruises having such great weather is really making me worry!! It can't last forever! Haha.

Yes, we are aware of the change in itinerary. NCL sent out an email with the changes.

My uneducated guess that it was a result of the passengers on the Jan 21st sailing being very upset about missing the Falklands for no apparent reason. Two other ships were in port that day so you would assume that it wasn't too terrible to tender. They changed our port date for Stanley and substantially increased our time in port there. I am wondering if that was a result of so many passengers being upset about the return tender difficulties.

In addition to changing our port date in the Falklands they removed Paradise Island all together and now we will sail Elephant Island & Admiralty Bay on the same day. I'm not exactly sure why they did this as it resulted in us having an extra sea day after the Falklands...it could be the timing since we'll be spending more time in at Stanley.

Of course we are disappointed. I plan to call NCL and lodge my complaint but we tend to not get too worked up about things we can't control. We also believe that we will still have an incredible journey.

I do understand everyone being upset though and if we don't get into the Falklands which as you know is quite possible, I'm afraid of the backlash NCL will receive.

Also, sometimes I think the cruise lines aren't up front with their passengers which causes more anger. I have seen this on multiple cruise lines. I don't think the passengers on any of these NCL impacted sailings have been given an honest explanation.

Chris

I'm sorry Chris but somehow I totally missed this post ! I guess it was Super Bowl Fever . 🌊 Isn't it convenient to have someone or something to blame ?

In light of the new information that has surfaced , the situation has changed . We hope that the reports are wrong and that NCL gives you and the people , what they have planned for and paid for .

scubacruiserx2 · February 13

We will continue with our cruise by photo tour with the aft section of deck 12 . Hopefully the future Antarctica will get better than this .

The Oasis Pool Deck and the Market Cafe'

Edited February 13 by scubacruiserx2

MicCanberra · February 13

1 hour ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

It appears that the Sun spent the night in Ushuaia while you are in Punta Arenas . It was a tender port for us the first time in 4 trips and we never made it . We hope that you can make the Downtown pier as it is a walk off but we were told that we were too large . The weather is cool with some rain and it's always windy there .

https://www.accuweather.com/en/cl/punta-arenas/53738/weather-forecast/53738

We are tendering, just received clearance. We will wait for open tendering. 14 degrees and windy, no rain forecast but who knows.

scubacruiserx2 · February 13

2 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

We are tendering, just received clearance. We will wait for open tendering. 14 degrees and windy, no rain forecast but who knows.

We hope that you have a great day . Any plans ? The Sun seems to be running a day late but the same ports except Castro we think , and back in BA a day later than you .

scubacruiserx2 · February 13

The last NCL Star drydock

scubacruiserx2 · February 13

The last view of deck 12 was Spice H2O

NCL infinity pool

True infinity pool

Just in time for Valentine's Day

Chair Hogs of the world unite . Those are our pillows holding our place !

scubacruiserx2 · February 13

Our fear of Triskaidekaphobia was ignited we we first noticed that we usually ate breakfast and lunch at the intersection of Moderno and Cagney's .

Fear of choking here was allayed as this was one of Monica's usual places where we would see her . When we met her at the ship 's receiving line of officers and I shook her hand I told her that " I've been Touched by an Angel " . She didn't get it as a TV reference and I felt like a Dumbo with my wife trailing , while I stood alone with my punchline failing . Maybe 13 really is unlucky .

A quick walk thru of the grill at Cagney's and where we were first seated in the corner for lunch back on the 1st day .

For breakfast we usually ordered from the menu while grazing at the small buffet .

Early risers we almost always ate by the windows , one battery before the buffet and the other on the other side of the buffet .

We almost always heard a cat's meow in the aft section . I usually take the gunslinger's place but once when I faced the other way and noticed that the door leading to the kitchen was the culprit when it closed a certain way near the last window .

Something that I had not noticed during my pool walk was the Smuggler windows over the Topsiders pool grill . This is where we usually ate breakfast .