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

[scubacruiserx2]

 

A couple more shots of the Albatross Memorial at Cape Horn

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/cape-horn-monument

[scubacruiserx2]

 Type B Orcas

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 31, 2023 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

 The Star is leaving Paradise Bay after visiting for almost 2 hours .

 

https://www.cruisemapper.com/?imo=9195157

 

 

[TQuila]

On 12/30/2023 at 12:15 PM, scubacruiserx2 said:

 

 

What kind of camera/zoom did you use for these photos? Trying to figure out if my Nikon with 300mm zoom is sufficient...

[scubacruiserx2]

3 hours ago, TQuila said:

What kind of camera/zoom did you use for these photos? Trying to figure out if my Nikon with 300mm zoom is sufficient...

 

  I used a Canon Rebel 3 , the smallest SLR that Canon makes with a 70 - 300 mm for sports and close up . It's the one I used for the photo so yours should be fine . For indoor , low light and wide angle a Full frame  Canon 6 D with a 17 - 40 mm .

[scubacruiserx2]

The Star appears to be moving slowly the Lemaire Channel and is near Dallman Bay .

 

 

Hopefully they will pass close to Deception Island

 

 

 

 With the fog and no sails coming out of the Caldera , we thought that it was a Ghost ship like the  Mary Celeste .

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Celeste

 

 

 

But seeing smoke behind the ship we saw that they were using their motor . We had hoped to go into the Volcano to see the old whaling station , but with the weather and the narrow entrance , all that we saw was a lot of penguins on the black sand beach .

 

 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deception_Island

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Whale meet again

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Fluke shot

 

[scubacruiserx2]

New Years Eve 2018/2019 leaving Antarctica in our wake  at Midnight .

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

  We were both sick yesterday and today so no  time to write . We hope to show Antarctica tomorrow morning and we have to pack for leaving to Miami on Thursday for a very early flight to BA Friday . We may have time to show the Falkland Islands as the Star is due there on Wednesday .

[ColdCruise]

On 12/31/2023 at 5:57 AM, scubacruiserx2 said:

 

Thank you for sharing the beautiful photos . Unfortunately , We cannot open the video . I did look at a video of a Gentoo with it's chick . Which ship were you on ?

Happy New Year @scubacruiserx2 ! 🎇 & 🍾 
 

Sorry about the video, I was able to play it from this thread on my iPad. It was very short and just shows the chick moving around a bit and some penguins clicking sounds.

 

I was on the World Explorer with Quark Expeditions this past Feb/Mar. most of the chicks were very large and molting to get their swimming feathers in. The penguin biologist said most of the small chicks like this would probably not survive as they were born too late.

 

sorry to hear you both are unwell @scubacruiserx2, I hope you both get better quickly as you have quite some traveling to catch your cruise! 

[milolii]

1 hour ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

  We were both sick yesterday and today so no  time to write . We hope to show Antarctica tomorrow morning and we have to pack for leaving to Miami on Thursday for a very early flight to BA Friday . We may have time to show the Falkland Islands as the Star is due there on Wednesday .

I’m following your posts as we booked this trip for 2025.  Sending you wishes for feeling better before you travel.

[scubacruiserx2]

27 minutes ago, milolii said:

I’m following your posts as we booked this trip for 2025.  Sending you wishes for feeling better before you travel.

 

Thank you , we did see a Doctor today and she gave me some meds . We had to kill an hour before CVS could open their Pharmacy . So breakfast for some tummy stretching exercises to get it in shape for the cruise .

🙂😊

 

[scubacruiserx2]

1 hour ago, ColdCruise said:

Happy New Year @scubacruiserx2 ! 🎇 & 🍾 
 

Sorry about the video, I was able to play it from this thread on my iPad. It was very short and just shows the chick moving around a bit and some penguins clicking sounds.

 

I was on the World Explorer with Quark Expeditions this past Feb/Mar. most of the chicks were very large and molting to get their swimming feathers in. The penguin biologist said most of the small chicks like this would probably not survive as they were born too late.

 

sorry to hear you both are unwell @scubacruiserx2, I hope you both get better quickly as you have quite some traveling to catch your cruise! 

 

 And a Happy New Year to you and yours . I tried to open it on my desk top ( HP Envy ) instead of my wife's ipad . I did open later it by going to your profile on CC ( sorry I peeked ) where I could open it . We looked at an Expedition on the Silver Cloud which past us in Antarctica .

 

 The price was about the same as our Neptune Suite on the Zaandam . But we had left over money to add the Patagonia visit before the cruise . This time we hope to make it there for about a week after we disembark the Star . We have time for a quick tour and Lunch before our afternoon boarding to El Calafate that afternoon . Thanks for sharing your beautiful photos and memories .

[ColdCruise]

It’s all about prioritizing out time and money. I figured it was a one-time opportunity… now I have the bug….

 

safe travels to the Star!

[MicCanberra]

hope you and Pat are feeling better soon.

[PBM13]

Get well soon hope it is nothing serious 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Interesting icebergs large and small - we loved them all .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two in the snow

 

 

 

 

And one to go 

 

 

 

 

 

A iceberg cruise ship for pengins with a smaller hot tub and a larger swimming pool

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

59 minutes ago, PBM13 said:

Get well soon hope it is nothing serious 

 

 

 Thank you , nothing serious just troublesome .  When we were children our families idea of a holiday was a long drive to see grand mom . One grew up in the cold of Michigan and one in the heat of Florida . But before the 2 day drive we would both always tune up the old automobile and perform a safety check before traveling . It's the same now only our older bodies need the tune up now and we travel with a small pharmacy instead of children !  

Edited January 2 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

1 hour ago, MicCanberra said:

hope you and Pat are feeling better soon.

  Thanks Mic and Rosie and a belated Happy New Year !  We are on the mend , nothing as serious as your leg . Are you ambulatory or will you need a scooter ? And just remember if you do so on HAL to drive on the right . Right is right and left is wrong ! 😉

[scubacruiserx2]

A lonely guy

 

 

 

We loved these striations

 

 

 

Expedition on the rocks

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had a perfect view of the base at Paradise Bay until the Silver Cloud blocked our view - again 

 

 

Awesome !

 

 

 

We named this formation the Flying Fickle Finger of Fate fron the old Laugh - In Show

 

 

[MicCanberra]

10 hours ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

  Thanks Mic and Rosie and a belated Happy New Year !  We are on the mend , nothing as serious as your leg . Are you ambulatory or will you need a scooter ? And just remember if you do so on HAL to drive on the right . Right is right and left is wrong ! 😉

I am hobbling along fairly normally now, with no aides but smaller steps (no strides or speed), at least until March when I have the reconstruction surgery. Then I will be in a cast and then boot for a minimum 10 weeks, with crutches or such. After that who knows.

Happy new year to you and Pat as well.

[scubacruiserx2]

2 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

I am hobbling along fairly normally now, with no aides but smaller steps (no strides or speed), at least until March when I have the reconstruction surgery. Then I will be in a cast and then boot for a minimum 10 weeks, with crutches or such. After that who knows.

Happy new year to you and Pat as well.

 

  It sounds like you are doing well and prepared for the trip . Hobbling is the new walking for us so slow and steady wins the race . Pat was taught to use the hand holds and not to rest on the under arm portion of the crutches when she was in the knee immobilizer . The knee had to be rigid while the 3 pieces of her knee cap that were wired and screwed fused . The brace was rigid to start and loosened up a little at a time . She used a more high teck walker / roller after dropping the crutches . Some doctors recommend knee replacement but she's been coping with gel and cortizone injections . So we start packing tomorrow to take the Brightline train from Palm Beach to Miami to spend the night Thursday before our early morning flight to BA on Friday where it is Summer . 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The last place that we visited in Antarctica

 

[scubacruiserx2]

 Hooray ! The Star has landed in the Falkland Islands for a 10 hour visit .

Stanley is a tender port but they have 10 whole hours to visit the Penguins . It is the best place to see them close up , 3 kinds at Volunteer Point - a 2 hour bumpy ride each way . Very windy and cold .

 We are kind of miffed that NCL has unilaterally deceided last week to subtract an hour from our visit there arriving early at 0600 and now leaving at 1500 instead of what they originally said . As I said , it's a tender port that is cold and windy . If they wanted to take an hour , why not come in 1 hour later when it's warmer and your sleep cycle isn't as disturbed ?

 They also took an hour at Puerto Madryn - the best place to see wildlife close up and the 2nd best place to see penguins . It's warm to hot there and a 3 hour ride each way , plus a 1 hour walk on uneven ground to see the penguins , plus a long walk on the pier if you have a private tour .

 They are arriving latter there when it's more hot . So we will only have 1 hour to visit the penguins instead of 2 ! Their stated reason for taking the 1 hour away at the 2 best places ? To save fuel . 

  They knew how far we had to travel in advance and how much gas it takes . So why the change just a week before ? If they needed more money for gas why not ask us to chip in some extra money for fuel so we could stay longer at the better ports ? We think that given that choice most people would prefer to pay the fuel surcharge . Or cut back time ( 2 hours) in Punta Arenas that has a lot less to do or see ? If you want to build customer  loyalty, you need to also be loyal to your customers.

 

Edited January 3 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

The last place that we visited was the Henryk Arctowski Research Station .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henryk_Arctowski_Polish_Antarctic_Station

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was our last view of Antarctica as we turned and burned toward the Falkland Islands . We had spent 4 1/2 days in Antarctica on HAL which was 1/2 day more than they had promised . The photos show why we are going back , we just wish that we had more than 2 days to visit there .