Hello from the Star Princess

[Crown Prince]

I'm so sorry you were cold. I got a chill just reading your adventure today. Did you wear silk or thermal underwear?

Tops as well as bottoms?

What kind of hats and gloves? Do you have glove liners?

Thermal sox?

Face cover?

 

I am trying to get my wardrobe together for next year on the Star so I keep buying more warm clothes, I respect your advice. Thank you.

 

I hope you are staying warm now.

[CTGirl]

Hi Linda, Thanks so much for posting your experiences. My husband and I are on the March 30th cruise so we are very interested in your posts. A few questions if you don't mind. Are you on the port or starboard side? I ask because you mentioned the scenery from your side. We are on starboard. Also, I'm curious what penguin colony you visited in the Falklands. We are going to Bluff Point and I wondered if that's where you went. Wherever you went it sounds wonderful.

Thanks Shelly

[realtorcruiser]

Tuesday January 29 by Gooch:

 

Looks like it is going to start getting cold. This morning we stuck our heads out and while it wasn't frigid, it was downright chilly. I'll still probably bundle up and sit on the balcony.

 

Yesterday we saw something jumping out of the water while we were looking out. I thought it was sea lions. Don thought they were penguins. We'll try again today.

 

Thanks Linda keep those posts coming we will be on the Star the 19th. What side of the ship are you on?

[bcnvcanada]

We have been enjoying your reports on your cruise. Sorry that you missed going ashore in Ushuaia. Thanks again.

[gooch47]

We are on the port side. It was perfect for Cape Horn. The captain went around the island counter-clockwise so our side was facing land. It was on the wrong side for the glaciers. So neither side would be 100% better.

 

Day at sea today. This morning, up to around 2:00 p.m., was very rough. Thirty-five knot winds with 12+ foot waves. We were in the Pacific Ocean, not back in the protected islands of Chile.

 

Our lunch "with the Captain" was nice. We ate with the Purser in charge of Food and Drink. He was a delightful dining companion. The food was good. Not spectacular like it was on the Sun Princess in Australia. I had a veal chop that was so tender you could cut it with a fork.

Lazy afternoon. I tend to nap away the afternoons on sea days. Something about the sea air, I think.

 

We didn't have fancy clothing for the cold. I had on fleece pants, heavy socks and running shoes. A sweatshirt with a hood and a "subzero" coat that was basically a lined raincoat with a hood and a collar that came up around my throat in front. I didn't think to bring gloves. We could have used them while watching the glaciers.

 

I don't remember exactly the name of the tour we took at the Falklands. It was the one where you board a small boat right from the side of the ship, then take a VERY rough overland 4-wheel drive ride. I'll look up the name and let you know. FYI, the ride irritated my husband's sciatica, but strangely enough, the bus ride to the second penguin colony apparently massaged out the problem!

[gooch47]

What a difference a day makes. It was SO hot today. At least the sun was. I laid (or layed ... never get that right) out on our balcony and all I could take was about 25 minutes.

 

I forgot to mention something we saw yesterday that I'd never seen before. A couple came to the Most Travelled Passengers luncheon carrying a tiny dog in a carrying case. I assume it was some sort of service animal. Perhaps one that predicts seizures? We saw a lady with a dachshunt (spelling???) one time that was wearing a little cape that said service dog. This one looked like a Maltese or another of those type dogs. It was funny because we saw one at the airport back home, too. This one was in a pink, plush padded carrier that looked like a baby stroller. The dog was wearing a sweater, too. The first words out of the lady's mouth when she walked up to the counter was, "Service Dog."

Another new one for us. The same couple with the dog tool around the ship on those ... darn ... what do you call them ... upright two-wheel scooters. Senior moment, for sure. Oh yeah, Segways (again the spelling).

[Colo Cruiser]

Weather is crazy. :)

It is amazing to me what people try to bring onboard. (Segways?)Imagine them riding those in rough seas?? I know the service animal bit gets stretched alot. Cruise lines really can't say no if these people have documentation.

It will start looking like Noah's Ark eventually. :rolleyes:

[Brand New Cruiser]

We are booked on the Star Princess Feb 19th and are very excited about our trip. I have really enjoyed reading all the comments about the trip from everyone. I'm concerned about what clothing to bring and would appreciate any help about this for this time of the year. How cold is cold? Do we assume winter or spring/fall conditions? We have booked several excursions in advance of sailing but are wait-listed on several also as they seem to fill up rather quickly. Any other suggestions, comments, advice is certainly appreciated. Many thanks in advance.

 

Brand New Cruiser

[Brand New Cruiser]

:) Could someone please tell me how many formal nights there are on the 16 day trip to Antarctica? We're planning to travel relatively light and thought we could do some "mixing and matching" for the evenings and formal nights. Still interested in weather conditions throughout the voyage. We depart Feb 19 so are in the process of preparing for our packing, etc. Very much looking forward to the trip.

[BurBunny]

:) Could someone please tell me how many formal nights there are on the 16 day trip to Antarctica? We're planning to travel relatively light and thought we could do some "mixing and matching" for the evenings and formal nights. Still interested in weather conditions throughout the voyage. We depart Feb 19 so are in the process of preparing for our packing, etc. Very much looking forward to the trip.

 

There are 3 formal nights for this itinerary.

 

Weather is changeable. Best recommendation is to think layers. A windproof layer, an insulating layer (like a fleece - though there's a terrific "Antarctic" fleece jacket with embroidered penguins on the back sold onboard - great purchase), and don't forget head, hand and foot protection. You'll be standing outside for a long time, so you'll want a good hat or hood, good mittens/gloves (mittens are better, and you can use chemical hand warmers if you tend to get cold) and comfortable shoes.

[gooch47]

It really has felt colder than I thought it would be. The cold we expected, what we didn't expect were the gloomy, damp, sunless days. It is summer here you know. ;-)

 

A wonderful day today though. Perfect weather. Sunny, around 75 degrees with only a slight wind.

 

We are at Puerto Montt, Chile. We took a long bus ride to Emerald Lake (also called All Saints Lake) where we took a short boat ride. The highlight of the trip was two beautiful, snow-capped volcanoes. One was perfectly shaped, similar to Mt. Fujiyama in Japan. Is that right? The name doesn't look right. We also visited what they called a waterfall, but it was more like a very large rapids. It, too, was well worth the stop.

 

We had lunch at a restaurant fairly close to the falls. The food was quite good, but quite plain, also. Grilled salmon, mixed vegetables and mashed potatoes. The highlight of that place was a flock of tame Alpacas, some with babies. You could go right up to them. They also had Emus from Australia. Apparently the native Rheas are too mean. They would just as soon kick you as look at you.

 

A short visit to a shopping area and then a short tour of the port rounded out the day.

 

BUT ... if anyone ever signs up for this tour, definitely sit on the bus on the same side as the driver. The busses weren't air conditioned and I sat in the very hot sun both going and coming back.

 

We were a little late pushing off tonight. The wind has picked up and they had to position the ship carefully before bringing up the tenders.

[cookiersmom]

Well, sorry we haven't been able to post but I don't have free minutes, so this will be just a quickie. We have been having a great time. We also missed the Magdelena Island tour in Punta Arenas, but the Magellenics at Otway were still very cute. In Falklands, we had prebooked with Patrick Watts (see Falklands thread on the South America Board) and went to Volunteer point which was absolutely fantastic. We saw King, Gentoo and Magellenic penguins, very close up! Lots of King babies and eggs visable.

Today we did the Canopy tour/zip line adventure in Puerto Montt. Unbelievable!!! We zipped not only thru tree tops but over two huge canyons (gorges!) It was breathtaking, but NOT for anyone with a fear of heights!! The weather here was beautiful, no clouds, about 77 degrees F. Well, I am keeping a diary and will post more details after retuning home.

[mrspunker]

Thanks for the thread. Wife and I are going on 2/19/08. Sounds like you are doing fine

[mrspunker]

Thanks for the thread. Wife and I are going on 2/19/08. Sounds like you are doing fine

[mrspunker]

Did you take a heavy coat with you??

[caribill]

We also missed the Magdelena Island tour in Punta Arenas.

 

What happened to that tour?

[JoePDX]

We also missed the Magdelena Island tour in Punta Arenas, but the Magellenics at Otway were still very cute. In Falklands, we had prebooked with Patrick Watts (see Falklands thread on the South America Board) and went to Volunteer point which was absolutely fantastic. We saw King, Gentoo and Magellenic penguins, very close up! Lots of King babies and eggs visable.

Today we did the Canopy tour/zip line adventure in Puerto Montt. Unbelievable!!! We zipped not only thru tree tops but over two huge canyons (gorges!) It was breathtaking, but NOT for anyone with a fear of heights!!

 

Thanks for the mentions of Volunteer Point and the Canopy/Zip tour. I am taking both on the March 6 voyage, especially excited about the Zip tour. :eek:

 

Any updates on Magdalena Island tour and whether it might be operating on the March 6 trip? I'm also signed up for it. Called Princess today and they had no information to share. :confused:

 

Joe

[BurBunny]

What happened to that tour?

 

The previous cruise, the 1/10 Antarctic sailing, we were told the ferry had to go in for an unscheduled dry dock. Evidently on this sailing, it had not yet successfully passed inspection.

[caribill]

The previous cruise, the 1/10 Antarctic sailing, we were told the ferry had to go in for an unscheduled dry dock. Evidently on this sailing, it had not yet successfully passed inspection.

 

We were able to take that tour last year. The bus does not go onto the ferry. The passengers leave the bus and go up into the enclosed part of the ferry where there are seats, a souvenir shop, etc.

 

After we returned from the penguins, while we were on the bus we could see trucks and cars getting onto the ferry for its trip to ???.

[gooch47]

This was a different ferry then. We got a letter the night before explaining that the busses would be driven onto the ferry and that there was only a small lounge. We would have to sit on the busses for the two-hour ride to and from the penguin colony.

 

The ferry that didn't pass the inspection was not the regular ferry. We were told this was a substitute while the "real" one was in drydock.

 

Yes, we took winter coats, but we also left from the Columbus, Ohio, area where it was really cold anyway. We needed our coats to get to the airport.

 

Last day and night on board. Today started out very chilly, but once the sun came out it was literally too hot to sit in the sun.

 

We'll play some at the casino then go to bed early. We have to meet in the Princess Lounge at 7:00 a.m. for our tour, and the buffet is always a zoo that last morning.

 

A warning to people who use the safes. We found a gold watch in ours this afternoon as we were packing. It was under the lip just inside the door. We gave it to our cabin steward.

 

Review and videos will follow when I get home.

[JoePDX]

Hi Linda,

 

Thank you for the great accounts of your travels. We board Star Princess on March 6. Do you know have they started the Chef's Table yet on the Star?

 

Joe

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for the updates. :)

[BurBunny]

We board Star Princess on March 6. Do you know have they started the Chef's Table yet on the Star?

 

As of the 1/10 sailing, it was definitely not yet on the Star. We had the Princess Executive Chef onboard, so I was a bit surprised they didn't roll it out with him there, but not yet. Have a feeling they won't start it until after the SA season.

[gooch47]

We made it home around 11:00 this morning, but I'm so tired I can't see straight. These over-night flights are the pits. Getting old, I guess. I watched two episodes of the Biggest Loser on our DVR, now I'll probably take a bath and at least nap. My poor hubby had to go into work. He works for a Catholic High School as a computer consultant and needed to get some things checked out before a large fund raiser they are having tomorrow.

 

We got up around 5:30 yesterday morning and left the ship for our tour of Valparaiso and Santiago, Chile, around 7:30. It was an all day thing with more walking than I expected. But we enjoyed it thoroughly. If you take this tour, sit on the driver's side of the bus. Most of the interesting sights were on that side. Thanks to the tour guide suggesting we not go to the hotel afterward, we arrived at the airport at about 5:45 p.m. for our 10:40 p.m. flight. We heard later from people who had gone to the hotel that it was a zoo. By bypassing the hotel we weren't at the mercy of whoever to decide when we needed to go for our flight. We were one of the first groups at the airport (obviously) so we did have to wait for a while for check-in for the flight to begin, but I bet it was much less than the long lines we heard about later.

One thing I have NEVER seen before on any cruise: we put our luggage out the night before debarkation as usual, and the next time we saw it was ... get this ... on individual carts at the airport all ready to take to the check-in counter. They had actually separated it as best they could by the names on the tags. Of course, they did have all day to do this.

 

It does take a while to get through all the intricacies of leaving a foreign country, but we still had about 3 hours to kill before the flight left. My husband slept pretty well on the plane. I knocked him out with two Tylenol PM's. I took two, also, but they mostly just put me in a daze. I suppose I slept more than I thought, but I also didn't sleep well at all the night before. Pre-travel jitters, I suppose.

 

Getting back into the US was a nightmare in Atlanta. The line for immigration and customs was at least an hour long. Getting our luggage wasn't a problem. It had been there waiting for at least a half hour! But then we also had to re-check it and then go back through security. That took another hour. But fortunately we had a long layover.

 

Remember travellers: If you buy something liquid after you go through security at one airport and then have to go through security again after going through customs, that liquid has to be put in your checked luggage. One poor man ignored the instructions being said over and over while we were in line for that final security check and tried to get booze through in his carry-on. His reason? The security officer kept referring to Duty Free Liquor and he didn't think his booze was a problem since someone else had bought it for him as a gift. Made me wonder how he got it through the first security check. Do some countries not enforce that? They did in Chile.

 

While we were in the immigration and customs area, 530 soldiers from Iraq arrived on a military flight and were heading back to their families. As they walked through the area, almost everyone joined in a long round of applause and cheering for them. Made me cry. Two of them were on our plane back to Columbus, a married couple of all things. Waiting at the gate were their parents and their 2-year old daughter. I REALLY cried, then. The parents must have gotten some kind of special permission because, as you know, only passengers are supposed to be in the boarding areas. It was very moving.

 

I'll try to catch up on everything tomorrow.

[mrspunker]

Thanks for this thread. My wife and I are going this weekend to BA for a pre and boarding on the 19th. This preregistration thing the day before. what is that all about? or do I just transfer from my hotel to the dock on the 19th?? freddie