Author Topic: Antarctica TR: the trip after Dan  (Read 9013 times)

Offline schlomo

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Antarctica TR: the trip after Dan
« on: January 01, 2019, 12:23:02 PM »
I took the same ship, the RCGS Resolute, that Dan took, on its very next voyage after TeamDan.  Dan suggested I post a TR report here but I'm not very good at this sort of thing, so I'll just highlight my trip with respect to Dan's (or what I know of it based on what I've read so far).

First off, I have to say that I eagerly kept abreast of Dan's posting about his trip, to see if it would have any impact on our voyage.  I was nervous when I read about some fuel issues and also something that a passenger on that trip posted on tripadvisor, complaining about the diversion that resulted in less time in Antarctica proper.  But, in the end, everything on our voyage turned out great.   

Quick aside: we befriended some ship staff, who only had very warm things to say about TeamDan.   Understandably, they said it was a little bit of a learning curve for some minor things at first, but they really liked the group a lot.  It was nice to hear that!

Unlike Dan's cruise, our trip was not blessed with the diversion to the Falklands for fuel.  I say that because I would have gladly accepted that because of the wealth of wildlife they must have seen there.   (I did not see any mention of this yet in Dan's reviews, but I base this on what the OneOcean guides tell me of what is possible to see there.  I hope TeamDan had a fulfilling time.)

Days 1&2:  Violent Drake shake, with lots of rolling and waves as high as the fourth deck---the dining deck, which made for interesting scenery while eating!   Although this took its toll on some passengers, we all have some vivid memories.   Such as the sounds of glasses crashing.  Or chairs sliding across the bar.  One passenger even had to get some stitches for a minor cut.

Day 3:  ice blocking the channel, so we were diverted.  No excursions.   There was a very exciting scene though, with a pod of orcas chasing some penguins in the water--photographers went nuts but, really, you cannot capture such a thing in a photo or a video.   Pure drama!

Day 4:  A glorious scene morning!   A morning landing to see gentoo penguins in a bay colored with black, white, grey and...."iceberg blue".  (If you've seen the blue, you know what I mean.)    The afternoon was spent among whales and penguins.

Day 5: Hiking and polar plunge.   Overnight camping.

Day 6: Chilean station with nesting gentoo penguins.    Afternoon kayaking with icebergs and breaching whales.

Day 7: Cruising through an active volcano crater.  Afternoon visit to island with nesting gentoo and chinstrap penguins, complete with chicks.   Awesome.

Day 8 and 9:  Drake lake.  (Day 9 with a little bit of a waste because the calm seas meant that the crossing was very fast. )   

Other stuff:  We had the standard food catering.  All of the food and drink was more like standard "big cruise ship" food, rather than "expedition" food.  IOW, there was good selection and plenty of it.

Good scotch whisky tasting night, with knowledgeable staff.

Excellent guide-to-customer ratio, with more than a dozen guides and another handful of researchers who were doing their own thing (but eager to answer questions).

Had two minor issues, which were dealt with promptly and satisfactorily.    As a result, I am extremely satisfied with the entire trip.
« Last Edit: January 01, 2019, 02:37:49 PM by schlomo »

Offline Dan

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Re: Antarctica TR: the trip after Dan
« Reply #1 on: January 01, 2019, 12:26:50 PM »
Nice summary!
Have a link to where you went and cruise video of your trip?
Pics?
Save your time, I don't answer PM. Post it in the forum and a dedicated DDF'er will get back to you as soon as possible.

Offline schlomo

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Re: Antarctica TR: the trip after Dan
« Reply #2 on: January 01, 2019, 12:33:00 PM »
We just got back, Dan, so no pics or videos yet.   

There was a video on one of the decks which played scenes from the previous (i.e., your) voyage.  Enjoyed seeing some of the celebrities!  ;-)

ETA: Map here https://www.dropbox.com/sh/y7t5ioz7tfqhf4v/AAAwTOGTwjjjE7F_LsiQgwbQa/Christmas%20Chart.pdf?dl=0
« Last Edit: January 01, 2019, 12:38:34 PM by schlomo »

Offline chff

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Re: Antarctica TR: the trip after Dan
« Reply #3 on: January 01, 2019, 12:35:53 PM »
Most of the blue shirts left together with us

Offline a good yeshiva bachur

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Re: Antarctica TR: the trip after Dan
« Reply #4 on: January 01, 2019, 12:40:13 PM »
We just got back, Dan, so no pics or videos yet.   

There was a video on one of the decks which played scenes from the previous (i.e., your) voyage.  Enjoyed seeing some of the celebrities!  ;-)

ETA: Map here https://www.dropbox.com/sh/y7t5ioz7tfqhf4v/AAAwTOGTwjjjE7F_LsiQgwbQa/Christmas%20Chart.pdf?dl=0
why didnt you go with Dan?

Offline ual902

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Re: Antarctica TR: the trip after Dan
« Reply #5 on: January 01, 2019, 12:44:32 PM »
Thanks for sharing.

Offline schlomo

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Re: Antarctica TR: the trip after Dan
« Reply #6 on: January 01, 2019, 12:45:14 PM »
why didnt you go with Dan?

Scheduling constraints.    :-(

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Re: Antarctica TR: the trip after Dan
« Reply #7 on: January 01, 2019, 02:17:42 PM »
Wow, sounds epic!

Yes, we did see lots of wildlife in the Falklands, and very different ones than in Antarctica. Magellanic penguins, rock shags, nesting black-capped night herons, two kinds of shag, three different geese, various oystercatchers, plovers, ground-tyrants, pitpits, thrushes, wrens, finches, siskins, meadowlarks, and - most excotic of all - a house sparrow ;D.

The ship's naturalist (Dick - was he on your voyage as well?) and I went off by ourselves into the highlands to look for more birds and were rewarded with a ruddy goose and a pair of rufous-chested dotterels, both quite rare sightings.

Check out my site for epic kosher adventures: Kosher Horizons

Offline whYME

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Re: Antarctica TR: the trip after Dan
« Reply #8 on: January 01, 2019, 02:30:37 PM »
Yes, we did see lots of wildlife in the Falklands, and very different ones than in Antarctica. Magellanic penguins, rock shags, nesting black-capped night herons, two kinds of shag, three different geese, various oystercatchers, plovers, ground-tyrants, pitpits, thrushes, wrens, finches, siskins, meadowlarks, and - most excotic of all - a house sparrow ;D .

The ship's naturalist (Dick - was he on your voyage as well?) and I went off by ourselves into the highlands to look for more birds and were rewarded with a ruddy goose and a pair of rufous-chested dotterels, both quite rare sightings.


Posts like this make me feel less bad about missing out on this trip

Offline schlomo

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Re: Antarctica TR: the trip after Dan
« Reply #9 on: January 01, 2019, 02:41:13 PM »
Posts like this make me feel less bad about missing out on this trip

It turns out that twitchers (birdwatchers) are like us miles and points hounds: somewhat fanatical!     

(@SomethingFishy: Dick was not on board.)

Offline chff

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Re: Antarctica TR: the trip after Dan
« Reply #10 on: January 01, 2019, 02:44:51 PM »



The ship's naturalist (Dick - was he on your voyage as well?)

Jason was on our flight to AEP, Dick & Denise (IINM) I met at Border control in EZE (they flew to EZE)

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Re: Antarctica TR: the trip after Dan
« Reply #11 on: January 01, 2019, 03:00:35 PM »
Check out my site for epic kosher adventures: Kosher Horizons

Offline whYME

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Re: Antarctica TR: the trip after Dan
« Reply #13 on: January 02, 2019, 09:06:14 PM »
Thanks for the link to your trip map (I was on Dan's cruise, so it's interesting to compare). Could you please post a link to your trip's Dropbox? I'm curious to see the slideshow, staff, etc., but wasn't able to get from the trip map back to the general dropbox with everything else in it.

Offline schlomo

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Re: Antarctica TR: the trip after Dan
« Reply #14 on: January 03, 2019, 08:32:27 AM »
I won’t post a link to the Dropbox, as there are personal guest details there.  And honestly the slide show is not great.  Still, it might be fun to compare with Your trip.  (Where are details from your trip, btw? Is there a TR for that somewhere...besides the initial posts from Dan?)
« Last Edit: January 03, 2019, 08:39:59 AM by schlomo »

Offline @Yehuda

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Re: Antarctica TR: the trip after Dan
« Reply #15 on: January 03, 2019, 09:00:41 AM »
Cool! Did you make a siyum there? Because then you'd be the 2nd person to make one in Antarctica.

Offline chff

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Re: Antarctica TR: the trip after Dan
« Reply #16 on: January 03, 2019, 05:24:34 PM »
I won’t post a link to the Dropbox, as there are personal guest details there.  And honestly the slide show is not great.  Still, it might be fun to compare with Your trip.  (Where are details from your trip, btw? Is there a TR for that somewhere...besides the initial posts from Dan?)

Can you share to the video?

Offline schlomo

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Re: Antarctica TR: the trip after Dan
« Reply #17 on: January 03, 2019, 07:17:52 PM »
What I would like to know is where is the TR from Dan and/or any of the other dozens of readers?   

Sure, I could post more about my tour ad nauseam but what I think everyone really wants to see is the TeamDan tour.   It seems very curious to me that, after 15 days or so since that tour has ended, no one has written it up.   

Or maybe I missed your TRs but it seems very curious indeed to not read about someone---anyones!--experience.....  (I love the Instagram pics, btw, so I suppose that that will have to keep me satisfied for now!)  :-)



ETA: Some clarifications, cause my writing is not very good sometimes
« Last Edit: January 03, 2019, 07:22:51 PM by schlomo »

Offline chff

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Re: Antarctica TR: the trip after Dan
« Reply #18 on: January 03, 2019, 08:35:30 PM »
What I would like to know is where is the TR from Dan and/or any of the other dozens of readers?   

Sure, I could post more about my tour ad nauseam but what I think everyone really wants to see is the TeamDan tour.   It seems very curious to me that, after 15 days or so since that tour has ended, no one has written it up.   

Or maybe I missed your TRs but it seems very curious indeed to not read about someone---anyones!--experience.....  (I love the Instagram pics, btw, so I suppose that that will have to keep me satisfied for now!)  :-)



ETA: Some clarifications, cause my writing is not very good sometimes

There wasn't a dozen of DDF'ers on the trip - only a handful. @Dan already wrote a few blog posts (linked in the wiki here). DDF'ers won't accept any TR other from the famed @Something Fishy with his unique and beloved style of writing, but that takes time

Offline schlomo

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Re: Antarctica TR: the trip after Dan
« Reply #19 on: January 04, 2019, 10:01:00 AM »
There wasn't a dozen of DDF'ers on the trip - only a handful. @Dan already wrote a few blog posts (linked in the wiki here). DDF'ers won't accept any TR other from the famed @Something Fishy with his unique and beloved style of writing, but that takes time

I apologize for asking for additional write-ups in what surely must have been the biggest event in DD’s year. 

If I only had your insight, I would have known that all us DDFers must wait for the SomethingFishy report—even another chapter from Dan himself would fall short!

ETA:  ;-)