Live From the Sapphire, 30-Day Antarctica/SA B2B, Jan 20 - Feb 19

[Ken the cruiser]

Day 7 - Jan 26 - Crossing Drake Passage heading for Iceberg A23a

 

 

 
And the internet is still hanging, slow but steady. 😁

 

[Ken the cruiser]

4 hours ago, MustangGT said:

@Ken the cruiser - what a fabulous trip report!!  This is on our bucket list!

We will be onboard the Sapphire Princess in April/May for a 32-day cruise and cannot wait!!

If it’s not too much trouble, can you check to see if Coke Zero is available?

Thanks so much!

I just checked the App and it doesn’t appear they offer Coke Zero on this cruise. Maybe they will by the time you board in April.
 

[EDVM96]

4 hours ago, MustangGT said:

 can you check to see if Coke Zero is available?

Coke Zero has never been available on Princess ships.

[EDVM96]

46 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Apparently the Captain has decided to bypass Cape Horn and head straight for Iceberg A23a.  

As far as I remember, Cape Horn was skipped by all Princess Antarctica cruises last season. And all cruises this season too, so far.

It's been a long time since I saw a Princess ship round Cape Horn on the tracking apps.

Last time pre-covid. But they do advertise it.

If I had the choice, I would also take Iceberg A23a instead of course.

Edited January 26 by EDVM96

[stonepebble]

Sorry, probably a dumb question but what maps are you using for the seas & wave heights.

We're heading to the area soon!

Thanks so much!

Chris

[KLM3164]

WOW, WOW, WOW……what a beautiful day in Ushuaia!!!

[MustangGT]

2 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

I just checked the App and it doesn’t appear they offer Coke Zero on this cruise. Maybe they will by the time you board in April.
 

Thanks!  It’s the beverage of choice for my diabetic hubby.

[Ken the cruiser]

10 hours ago, stonepebble said:

Sorry, probably a dumb question but what maps are you using for the seas & wave heights.

We're heading to the area soon!

Thanks so much!

Chris

I use windy.com to find the various forecasts for places we will be cruising to, such as wind, rain, waves, temperatures, etc. Just put the location in the upper left hand corner (e.g, Drake Passage, Punta Arenas, etc.), then tap submit. By default, the “wind” forecast will appear, but there are other options you can select on the right hand side. You can expand or shrink the screen to focus on the coverage area you are interested in.
 

It’s pretty easy, but I get the best results on my iPad or desktop computer rather than my iPhone SE which has a much smaller screen. 

[Ken the cruiser]

10 hours ago, EDVM96 said:

As far as I remember, Cape Horn was skipped by all Princess Antarctica cruises last season. And all cruises this season too, so far.

It's been a long time since I saw a Princess ship round Cape Horn on the tracking apps.

Last time pre-covid. But they do advertise it.

If I had the choice, I would also take Iceberg A23a instead of course.

That makes sense, especially if the trade-off is seeing Iceberg A23a. 👍

 

It also gives folks another reason for booking the “companion” SA itinerary that goes to some of the other bypassed ports also rich in wildlife along with going by Cape Horn. 

[stonepebble]

Just explored the site!

Thank you Ken!

We live in St Augustine FL...It will be fun and helpful to use it....especially during hurricane season!

Chris

[Ken the cruiser]

5 minutes ago, stonepebble said:

Just explored the site!

Thank you Ken!

We live in St Augustine FL...It will be fun and helpful to use it....especially during hurricane season!

Chris

Cool! Here are a couple of screen shots using my iPhone SE, as we sit in the theater waiting to listen to the 2nd of 5 lectures today, regarding our current location. 
 

 

 

[stonepebble]

First location I put in was the Drake Passage...looks like it's approaching 20ft there!

I've been following you on Cruise Mapper.

There are so many ships down there.

Do you see other ships when not in port?

Chris

[pompeii]

11 hours ago, EDVM96 said:

As far as I remember, Cape Horn was skipped by all Princess Antarctica cruises last season. And all cruises this season too, so far.

It's been a long time since I saw a Princess ship round Cape Horn on the tracking apps.

Last time pre-covid. But they do advertise it.

If I had the choice, I would also take Iceberg A23a instead of course.

We had scenic cruising of Cape Horn on the January 4 cruise.  We couldn’t get super close (can’t remember how many miles) because we didn’t have a Chilean pilot on board yet but we didn’t skip it. We also sailed to A23a on our cruise so it wasn’t a trade off. 

[Ken the cruiser]

Here’s what the Drake Passage looks like at noon today. We have definitely been quite fortunate so far! 😁

 

 

[cruiseny4life]

3 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Here’s what the Drake Passage looks like at noon today. We have definitely been quite fortunate so far! 😁

 

 

Wow! When I get to that type of cruise, and I darn well better get an Antarctica cruise before I'm below dirt, I'm hoping for the Drake Shake! I'd be really disappointed with those gentle waves...but glad you're enjoying the conditions! After all, it's your cruise, so yipeee! 

[stonepebble]

Absolutely beautiful!

Definitely the Drake Lake! 

Hoping you have nothing but Fair Winds & Following Seas!

Chris

 

[Ken the cruiser]

Just heard from the Captain if all goes well, we should arrive at Iceberg A23a around 10 am tomorrow. 
 

The Captain also mentioned it would have been a 6 hour detour, to include picking up and returning the Chilean pilot, to see Cape Horn. Maybe on the way back, time permitting, the Captain will do the same route the Jan 4th sailing did without the need for a local pilot. I guess only time will tell. 

[Ken the cruiser]

35 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

Wow! When I get to that type of cruise, and I darn well better get an Antarctica cruise before I'm below dirt, I'm hoping for the Drake Shake! I'd be really disappointed with those gentle waves...but glad you're enjoying the conditions! After all, it's your cruise, so yipeee! 

We experienced the Drake Shake on our HAL visit back in 2018, and we also have to cruise back through it in 5 days. So, for now we will just enjoy this smooth crossing with sunny skies and minimal wind. 😁

[LaRu60]

Cape Horn was a big deal for me. Eliminating it to save six-hours benefited some passengers but not all as many expected it as part of our itinerary. It wasn’t a matter of safety or necessity. It seems that it was a matter of efficiency. Not everyone onboard is doing a B2B hoping the Captain will sail by Cape Horn next time. While at the Customer Service Desk late this morning for an unrelated matter, there were several people in the Elite’s line who were there to voice their frustrations about this sudden and unexpected omission. This Captain has made several decisions that have been less than admirable.

[pschimke]

Can you share what formal looks like on the cruise.  Its been a long time since I've been on a cruise with formal nights.  Interested in ladies and gentlemans attire.  Thanks

[Ken the cruiser]

26 minutes ago, LaRu60 said:

Cape Horn was a big deal for me. Eliminating it to save six-hours benefited some passengers but not all as many expected it as part of our itinerary. It wasn’t a matter of safety or necessity. It seems that it was a matter of efficiency. Not everyone onboard is doing a B2B hoping the Captain will sail by Cape Horn next time. While at the Customer Service Desk late this morning for an unrelated matter, there were several people in the Elite’s line who were there to voice their frustrations about this sudden and unexpected omission. This Captain has made several decisions that have been less than admirable.

I have to admit I was surprised when the only way we found out about the Cape Horn schedule change was when I called the Customer Service Desk. I would have at least thought the CD would have said something at the end of each evening show, especially if folks were going to be making a special effort to get up at 7 am to see it. 🤔

[rosevew]

33 minutes ago, pschimke said:

Can you share what formal looks like on the cruise.  Its been a long time since I've been on a cruise with formal nights.  Interested in ladies and gentlemans attire.  Thanks

Formal was very poorly supported. In fact, dress code overall was very poor. People were wearing ripped jeans, blue jeans, hoodies, coats, plimsolls, baseball caps etc in the MDR's. Some dressed for formal night (hubby had his dinner suit and I wore a sparkly dress) some others dressed up but the majority made no effort at all, citing the need to bring winter clothes. Not sure why it was so difficult as we flew from UK and only used half our luggage allowance. I did comment that there were the scruffiest dressed passengers I've ever seen on a cruise in the MDR.

 

Re Cape Horn, it seems that there never has been an intention to cruise close to Cape Horn, as none of the trips seem to have done so. On ours it was claimed that we couldn't go close due to no Chilean pilot - presumably they knew in advance that one would be needed.

[Ken the cruiser]

45 minutes ago, pschimke said:

Can you share what formal looks like on the cruise.  It’s been a long time since I've been on a cruise with formal nights.  Interested in ladies and gentlemans attire.  Thanks

I basically wear dockers and a polo shirt during normal dinner hours and a long sleeve shirt with a tie while my DW wears sometime nice, but not dressy, every night. As far as others go, we really don’t pay any attention. But I did see older gentlemen in suits and ladies in nice dresses. As far as some of the more “relaxed” attire @rosevew mentioned, we didn’t see any of that. But then we eat in the Reserve DR, if that makes a difference. 

[effinaround]

I ate in one of the main dining rooms (can't recall which one, Savoy perhaps) and I noticed many people dressed up.  In the piazza I took a photo for a lovely British couple in gown and tuxedo.  I must confess I didn't see a single hoodie but perhaps it was timing.  

 

What I have noticed are many service and food safety failures right from the very first day.  Service has been the worst in the main dining rooms during breakfast (do they put the newest and weakest staff there in the mornings?) and on point generally for lunch and dinner.  Food safety problems have been endemic during all three services.  Lots of apologies but nothing else.

[EDVM96]

2 hours ago, rosevew said:

Re Cape Horn, it seems that there never has been an intention to cruise close to Cape Horn, as none of the trips seem to have done so. On ours it was claimed that we couldn't go close due to no Chilean pilot - presumably they knew in advance that one would be needed.

It's not that easy. Weather in the Drake Passage is always the thing. Whenever a large Princess ship like the Sapphire can slip thru in decent weather, they will go! Willing to leave out Cape Horn for this. This also happened last season. On all cruises. And there was no iceberg A32a in reach then.

Edited January 27 by EDVM96