World navigator (12/19) ending trip in Antarctica 2.5 days earlier

[EricaD]

Hi, we were on the Atlas world navigator departing on 12/19. It was supposed to be an antarctica Christmas trip. On the 23rd, 2 days after we arrived in Antarctica, our captain shockingly announced that our cruise ship was heading back, 3 days ahead of the schedule that was on the sales sheet and marketing materials. We had to celebrate our Christmas drifting along the coast of Ushuaia.

 

We were supposed to leave Antarctica on the 26th. At the beginning we thought it was due to the bad weather that every cruise ship has to go back, until quickly we found out that people on other cruise lines were still posting pictures of penguins, icebergs and white Christmas. From cruise mapper, we found out that most of the ships supposed to come back around the same time as ours, were still in Antarctica. Ponant, silversea, sea bourn, National Geographic and scenic cruise didn’t have to end their trip and come back early. They didn’t cruise back until 26th, our original schedule.
 

We got locked on the ship from 23rd all the way to 28th drifting around Ushuaia, and finally disembarked on 28th. On the same pier and same gate in the airport, we ran into the guests from Ponant, who told us that their cruise navigated per schedule. They were so excited to tell us the countless zodiac and landing experiences they had in Antarctica.
 

We were so shocked to hear this. The only thing we felt is the deep regret choosing Atlas for Antarctica.

 

[Michael_A]

What was the reason stated? Weather? Mechanical?

[Michael_A]

In reviewing the tracks of Atlas' vessels during roughly the same period you state, it appears there was some odd station keeping in the Beagle Channel for what appears to be at least a day, maybe two, that involved all their vessels. The historic tracks are still visible on Cruise Mapper as I post this, though they will likely be overwritten shortly. Initially I thought it was a glitch in the tracking websites, but now I am wondering what was up if indeed seemingly all 3 ships were somehow impacted.

 

World Navigator Tracks

 

 

World Voyager zig zagging around in the channel....

 

But the World Traveller did a BUNCH of laps to nowhere... (ignore the image of the Scenic Eclipse.. it's current position happens to overlay the World Traveller's tracks).

 

 

 

 

Edited December 29, 2023 by Michael_A
Typo

[EricaD]

Here are the images showing where the other ships from other cruise line were navigating from 23rd to 26th while we arrived in Ushuaia 2.5 days ahead of schedule and just circling around.

Edited December 29, 2023 by EricaD
Add one more image.

[EricaD]

This is the cruise navigation history of our world navigator. Instead of calling it an antarctica cruise, I think we can call it an Ushuaia cruise where we spent most of time.

 

Extremely short 2 days in Antarctica exploring very limited area in Antarctica. It was supposed to be in Antarctica from 21st to 26th.

[YoHoHo]

5 hours ago, Michael_A said:

What was the reason stated? Weather? Mechanical?

Yes, I wonder what the CD said was the reason. Especially seeing Michael_A's track of all the Atlas ships there doing similar maneuvering for a day or so. What would have affected them all? Very curious.

 

Sorry about your sailing @EricaD. I'd expect much disappointment with looking forward to such a great adventure. I am sure there was much discussion on board as to why, and conspiracy theories but I am wondering what Atlas had to say

 

 

[Michael_A]

Looking at the tracks for other ships it seems that no other line was impacted or did similar station keeping maneuvers between the 26th and 28th of December. While the weather recorded for the Drake wasn't great at that time, no other ships appear to have deviated. Whatever it was, it really looks like ONLY Atlas' ships were impacted. It's very concerning when an entire lines fleet can't hold their respective itineraries, all at the same time. I really feel for the passengers and can only imagine the disappointment and frustration they are going through (as 2 of the vessels are still outbound after about a 2.5 day delay). A statement from AOV would be appropriate...

[ridethetide]

37 minutes ago, Michael_A said:

Looking at the tracks for other ships it seems that no other line was impacted or did similar station keeping maneuvers between the 26th and 28th of December. While the weather recorded for the Drake wasn't great at that time, no other ships appear to have deviated. Whatever it was, it really looks like ONLY Atlas' ships were impacted. It's very concerning when an entire lines fleet can't hold their respective itineraries, all at the same time. I really feel for the passengers and can only imagine the disappointment and frustration they are going through (as 2 of the vessels are still outbound after about a 2.5 day delay). A statement from AOV would be appropriate...

A statement of explanation ASAP, since we are boarding the World Traveller in less than a week.

[Host Jazzbeau]

This couldn't have been for publicity filming, could it?  All three ships rendezvousing with drones filming the meeting?  Sounds stupid – Antarctica would have made a much better backdrop!  And also very anti-customer.  Waiting to hear the rest of the story...

[Michael_A]

30 minutes ago, ridethetide said:

A statement of explanation ASAP, since we are boarding the World Traveller in less than a week.

Yes, we are quite literally "all in the same boat"! What is encouraging is that the current sailings appear to be progressing, albeit late, indicating that whatever "stop" order or issue is not currently in play or has been resolved. I hope...

[EricaD]

we have emailed Atlas, no response heard at all after 4 days!

[Michael_A]

Erica, I really, really feel for you! AOV is lousy at communicating even under "normal" circumstances. It would truly add insult to injury for them to NOT venture some kind of communication to the passengers that were impacted. Perhaps a registered letter, preferably from a legal representative, may garner a response? I'd hate for things to spiral down that rabbit hole but at the very, very least an explanation should be forthcoming since it appears that not only your sailing was impacted, but the concurrent sailings on their other 2 vessels as well.

[shuyak]

@EricaD, really sorry about what you experienced : Upsetting and big disappointment!

[Michael_A]

Several passengers have stated they were told it was due to "weather" 🙄. Perhaps it was one of those new kind of storms similar to what hit South West Airlines last year. Where it hit only them...

[Herman The Cat]

It's shocking that they gave no explanation whatsoever? Usually in a situation like this you receive a letter from the Captain in your cabin with some sort of explanation.

 

Did they offer any compensation or future cruise credit?

 

It's also quite odd that it affected only Atlas ships. Hard to believe it was weather because these ships are expedition ships...and it didn't affect any other ships.

 

Pure speculation but...could it be some sort of a financial issue? I thought Atlas had pretty deep pockets but it is not owned by a mega cruise line. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

23 minutes ago, Herman The Cat said:

Pure speculation but...could it be some sort of a financial issue? I thought Atlas had pretty deep pockets but it is not owned by a mega cruise line.

I thought of this – but aren't you more likely to have a ship arrested in Argentine waters than in Antarctica?  As I recall, Crystal started racing away from the US when the posse was on their tail...

[Spudd]

I wondered about the financial issue too, but then they set off on their next cruise like nothing was wrong, so I felt like I was overreacting. Maybe their head office is just over-cautious regarding weather compared to the other cruise lines? It's all very odd and disconcerting. 

 

Hopefully Erica will hear something from them soon!

[shawncar]

We were on the 7 Day December 19th "Fly and Drake" Sailing on World Voyager. Our outbound flight was delayed by a day due to bad weather on King George Island. We did get a good 2.5 days in the peninsula with 4 landings including a continental landing and one Zodiac cruise.

 

But we sped back half a day early due to anticipated bad weather. We docked in Ushuaia late night on the 25th and disembarked on the 26th morning to head to Buenos Aires.

 

@Spudd may be right in that the folks at Atlas are being very cautious after World Voyager ran into some rough weather on their November 28th sailing resulting in their December 7th sailing being cancelled.

 

 

 

[Herman The Cat]

1 hour ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

I thought of this – but aren't you more likely to have a ship arrested in Argentine waters than in Antarctica?  As I recall, Crystal started racing away from the US when the posse was on their tail...

Yes, it was eerily reminiscent of Crystal in January 2022. The other thing I wonder is perhaps there was a permit problem since it affected all three ships....

 

Or as Shawncar said, they were being extra cautious given what happened in late November.

 

They should offer some sort of compensation.

Edited December 31, 2023 by Herman The Cat

[JAR]

We were on the World Traveller that rushed back to Ushaia due to weather. It was a fantastic cruise with great service & wonderful explorations. Upon our return to Ushaia locals in airport said we were lucky to get out of Drake Passage before the storm hit. We were fortunate to complete our entire cruise and experienced no signs of financial difficulty with Atlas.

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

7 minutes ago, JAR said:

We were on the World Traveller that rushed back to Ushaia due to weather. It was a fantastic cruise with great service & wonderful explorations. Upon our return to Ushaia locals in airport said we were lucky to get out of Drake Passage before the storm hit. We were fortunate to complete our entire cruise and experienced no signs of financial difficulty with Atlas.

 

Thanks.  It's good to have third-party confirmation that there was a passenger-centric explanation.

[JAR]

I failed to add in my comments that my husband was closely tracking Drake weather throughout our Voyage on 3 different models. All 3 were predicting high wave heights and very high winds on 12/25 & 26. We went well below the Antarctic Circle which was a pleasant surprise. Additionally, we such made good time heading down that we got a surprise stop in the South Shetland ( Penguin Island). I suspect that the additional fuel burned to make such good time would not have occurred if Atlasc was in financial difficulties. The holiday celebration & special holiday meals had in be costly for the line. They really made everyone "s ( guests& crew) holiday festive.

 

[CruisinMaterial]

Being on the World Traveller on their Christmas cruise, I can confirm that we did do laps in the Beagle Channel as the captain sped up the ship to get us across the Drake Passage in time. There was a bad storm impacting the Drake Passage with very high winds. On Christmas Eve around 1AM during the Christmas Party the ship really started to get the Drake shake effects. Thankfully the Captain got us into the Beagle Channel by mid-morning so things calmed down quite a bit. When we debarked on 12/26, I can confirm the conditions in Ushuaia were not great with very heavy winds. It rocked our plane while we were sitting on the tarmac like I've never felt before. While we had our entire journey in Antarctica as scheduled, we did beeline it across the Drake to safer, sheltered waters. That storm kept the World Traveller in port and their other ship as well after we debarked. It was definitely weather related.

[JanR]

We had the great fortune to be on the World Navigator on the 11-day cruise on 6 February.  Even before we got off the bus to board the ship, we were told there was a change to our plans which would be explained at the briefing that evening. 
 

True to their word, in the auditorium that evening, the leadership showed us weather maps forecasting wind and wave conditions that showed a storm system going through the Drake passage.It was explained by the captain that instead of leaving that evening for Antarctica we would depart the following evening to stage  in the Beagle strait/channel while the storm passed and make our transit the following morning.  
 

Each day of our cruise, a weather forecast was presented during each days recap complete with maps. 
 

Before our last day, the weather forecast showed another storm going into the Drake and the discussion that the Captain had was whether we were going to leave early. Instead, the captain decided to stay for the two landings and then race east across the Drake to get in front of the storm and then tack back to port—which is what we did.  We do know that we saw all three Atlas ships in port the morning we arrived as at least one of them had to cut the journey by a day.  
 

Certainly, we were disappointed that we lost a day in Antarctica that first day—although it was nice to explore Ushuaia. But we did not have the unfortunate lack of communication that the OP experienced. Rather, we were fully made aware of the situation and the rationale that was used for each decision.  Although, there were probably opinions that I didn’t  hear—truly everyone we talked to expressed disappointment but understanding with the decisions taken. 
 

Ours is absolutely a science experiment where n=1, but we are fortunate that we did not have the same experience as the OP.   Instead, we had a truly magical experience on Atlas in Antarctica. 
 

Your mileage may vary. . .

[Michael_A]

I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to visit with the captain on our cruise on several occasions. I have to admit I have tremendous respect for their judgement. They want to provide their passengers with the best experience they can, but also have to consider safety, the weather, and the ship. Sometimes thing are beyond their control and they have to make a judgement call. I would NEVER second guess the captains call; and this underscores the nature of these Antarctic cruises. It ain't the Love Boat! And you are not on a "milk run" of set destinations. Mother nature will always have the upper hand. I think we get spoiled with the repeatability of modern transportation and there is perhaps a precedence to expect things to go like clockwork in the modern age. But going to Antarctica is like going back in time, and dealing with the variables of weather and the limitations of forecasting in such a remote environment. The "local" flow of information, what you get on the ship from the Bridge crew or Expedition Leaders, far surpasses the Facebook or "blog" channels that may come into play after the fact. While the delay caused some concern when viewing the ships tracking and us, as spectators not on board, were left to speculate it was obvious now (and having experienced it first hand) that the Captain and crew were doing their best under prevailing conditions. It's easy to look at Cruise Mapper and see the sea state marked as "rough" and thing it's not that bad. Different matter entirely if you are stuck in it! I think it's easy ( and I include myself in this!) to "armchair quarterback" these things when we are not on it. It IS very encouraging to get some first hand reports back that shed light on exactly what happened. Thank you for sharing!