Antarctica TR: the trip after Dan

[chff]

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:  ;-)

You definitely don't have to apologize

ETA - even though I was on the trip I still want to read a TR and to be able to share with others and I hope at-least @Dan does another blogpost and looking forward seeing @Something Fishy's TR (and even more waiting for his pictures  )

[username]

What I would like to know is where is the TR from Dan and/or any of the other dozens of readers? 

I dont think that Dan ever made it. Last I heard, his boat was stuck without any fuel.

 

And no offence to SF, but I also like Dan's TR's.

[chff]

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!

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bru_B6hlt9Z/

[schlomo]

As ual902 asked in a PM, and also on another thread, what are the tips about booking a cruise to Antarctica?   I am happy to answer any questions you might have.

1)  Should I use an agent?   Agents know many cruises but, of course, they are sales people, so you must find one you trust.  I found some real duds, but one I liked,--which I didnt use because they could not get me a slot on the ship I wanted (and which I got myself via persistence with OneOcean directly)--is an agency in Bend, Oregon (of all places).   polarcruises.com   Lynn, from PC, was on our cruise too so she should know what she is talking about from firsthand info.

2)  Price to pay.   Expect 10K and up.   But depends on ship, itinerary and time of year.   You will need to read up and determine what you want to see and what is important to you.   Pay attention, ual902!:  if you just want "bragging rights", you can find a cheapish tour, like the big ship Hurtigurten, which will tick your box for you.   If you want something special---more whales, 3 types of penguins, penguin chicks, etc, etc---you will need to read books and do research.   Lonely Planet can help.

3)  Tradeoffs: the biggest tradeoff is size of ship.   Under 99 passengers can basically go anywhere, but the passage can be rough.   Over 200 is a problem, because they have to take shifts for landings.  (Over 500 cannot land at all)    OneOcean RCGS Resolute was fine for me because it was basically a cruise ship and had special gear to make for a smooth journey (which was important to my sensitive stomach)

4) Saving money.  I think this should be lower priority but, because we are DD readers, we cannot help but try to find a better price.  :-)  So, three ideas for you: (1)go early or late in the season.  It will be colder but so what, you get maybe more animals.    (2) Go to Ushuaia and wait a few days and bargain for an empty cabin...going rate was $5600 for Quark Expedition boat with similar features to ours and which went out just before Dan's  (3) organize a group of 12 friends and you can be their free leader.  (Not sure if 12 is correct number...maybe SF can verify)   (Bonus 4th):  It's not clear to me that going directly to the provider will save you money.  They have their own sales reps too and. apparently, agreements to not undercut the independent agents (see #1).   Also, once you ask anyone about a particular cruise and give your name for a tentative hold, all the other agents may be able to see that you are working with someone already...makes shopping around a bit tricky....

If you have questions, I can try to answer here.   

ETA: Bonus 4th money saving tip

[MosheD]

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.

Are you a kosher traveler?
If so would like to know how that worked out without the plethora of prep that Dan and SF put into their trip

[schlomo]

Are you a kosher traveler?
If so would like to know how that worked out without the plethora of prep that Dan and SF put into their trip

Excellent point!   No, I'm not (and was assuming ual902 is not either) but should have said that up front!

[ual902]

Thanks, really appreciate your input I like option "(1)go early or late in the season.  It will be colder but so what, you get maybe more animals."
 

 I can stomach it cold wise and dealing with Drake passage type of stuff, just to be clear are you saying smaller cruises are better because they can access more stuff?.

[Traveler718]

Not OP, but I was on Dan's cruise, and yes, smaller is better because you'll get a lot more time on shore getting to experience what you came so far to see.

[chff]

just to be clear are you saying smaller cruises are better because they can access more stuff?.

According to IAATO rules you can not land more then 100 people at a time, and ships more then 500 can't go at all

https://iaato.org/visitor-guidelines

[Traveler718]

According to IAATO rules you can not land more then 100 people at a time, and ships more then 500 can't go at all

Minor correction: ships with more than 500 are allowed to go to Antarctica and see it from the water, but they may not disembark and actually set foot on land, which is by far the best part of being there.

[grodnoking]

Thanks, really appreciate your input I like option "(1)go early or late in the season.  It will be colder but so what, you get maybe more animals."
 

 I can stomach it cold wise and dealing with Drake passage type of stuff, just to be clear are you saying smaller cruises are better because they can access more stuff?.

Minor correction: ships with more than 500 are allowed to go to Antarctica and see it from the water, but they may not disembark and actually set foot on land, which is by far the best part of being there.

Therefore, if the ship has 500 people in a stopping for one day, let's say there were 10 hours to get off the ship, everyone will only get 2 hours on land, but if you have a hundred fifty people then everyone will get couple more hours than that.

[Dan]

No, 500+ ships can't stop at all.

[Traveler718]

If the ship has 500+ passengers, no passengers is allowed to set foot anywhere on Antarctica at any time, according to the international treaty. These cruises are often marketed as the "Antarctic experience," which is a euphemism that means that you'll get to see Antarctica and experience it from the deck of the ship, but that's it.

Our first day in Antarctica we had such an experience, because high winds and wave levels prevented us from safely getting off the ship, so we just watched the penguins from the deck, and those with really powerful telephoto lenses tried to get a few pictures. While I suppose that's better than nothing, having experienced the real thing on land, I would be extremely disappointed if my Antarctic experience was limited to what I could see from the boat.

[chevron]

So who is hanging out in ushuaia for the $5600 empty cabin rate lol

[schlomo]

So who is hanging out in ushuaia for the $5600 empty cabin rate lol

IMO. the kind of person who does this is the person with no set agenda to his travels.   We met a "backpacker type" who was picking his next place to visit based on a loose plan--not your typical traveler.   He told us that he wanted to go to Ushuaia even if there was no cruise he could catch.   

But he was either smart or lucky because he had more than one ship to choose from that was leaving soon and he could bargain with them (via the agent on Ushuaia main street).   They even gave him a room to himself.   Some of this is pure luck, of course.   I hear that the odds improve outside of Dec and Jan.

[schlomo]

If the ship has 500+ passengers, no passengers is allowed to set foot anywhere on Antarctica at any time, according to the international treaty. These cruises are often marketed as the "Antarctic experience," which is a euphemism that means that you'll get to see Antarctica and experience it from the deck of the ship, but that's it.

Our first day in Antarctica we had such an experience, because high winds and wave levels prevented us from safely getting off the ship, so we just watched the penguins from the deck, and those with really powerful telephoto lenses tried to get a few pictures. While I suppose that's better than nothing, having experienced the real thing on land, I would be extremely disappointed if my Antarctic experience was limited to what I could see from the boat.

I agree completely: you need to walk around among the penguins and not just see them from a kayak or a zodiac.   They have crazy antics: they will steal rocks from each others nests to build their own.  Hard to describe but it's hilarious.

A related topic is how many such days or excursions you need.  I mean, after you've walked passed your third penguin rookery, is the fourth going to still be interesting?   What I noticed happening later in the cruise is that people  were excited about every *different* thing, such that, by the end, they went crazy for the lone Adelie penguin (a type we had not seen before) even though there were thousands of gentoos around.   


All in all, for me, I was completely satiated: I saw everything I hoped to see and, if we went out 3 more times, I'm not sure my overall enjoyment level would have risen in proportion. (I write this specifically to you, Traveler718, because I remember you asked me something related in a PM and I forgot to answer.)   

The single thing I wished to see was a breeching whale.  I did, from a distance.  But the kayakers were *extremely* close and they glowed when they later described it to us non-kayakers.

[Toasted]

Be nice to the penguins and they'll come visit you chol hamoied.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/trending/dindim-o-lindo-pinguim-1.3487668