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Antarctica Trip Report- Quark Sea Spirit Expedition Cruise Feb 7-17, 2014


Oren
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To say this was a “vacation” would not give justice to the experience. It was more of an epic adventure. Nothing can match being away from civilization and dependent solely on the people and vessel around you. Beyond everything already written about this experience, the following “best tips” for this adventure would have come in handy:

 

Do NOT interline transfer your luggage within Argentina through code-share partners or Aerolinas Argentinas. Several people who did had lost or delayed baggage. Best advice is to always collect your bags and check them in again on each Argentina flight segment allowing at least one layover day before in Buenos Aires and two layover days before in Ushuaia to not only reduce baggage issues but also to deal with the unreliable domestic air service in Argentina. Flight delays were the norm, but I was very lucky not to experience any of them.

 

Our pre-cruise stay at the Holiday Inn Ezeiza Airport was perfect for next morning departure from that same airport. Be careful which Buenos Aires airport you leave from to go to and return from Ushuaia. A few passengers unknowingly did not plan the connecting flights properly since Aerolinas Argentina changes planes, times, and even departure inter-city airport (AEP and EZE) departures frequently. None of our Aerolinas flights, times, or plane types which we booked 6 months in advance were the same by the day of our actual departure.

 

There is enough to do to in Ushuaia to not be stressed with arriving without your bags. You can do day tours, hiking, coffee shops, a good variety of restaurants, walk around town, and even three non-smoking casinos. Most businesses in Ushuaia take US Dollars at a favorable exchange rate 20-30% better than the official rate. No problem with counterfeit currency for us or anyone we were with.

 

Be in good physical shape for this kind of experience. Not trying to be insulting with this suggestion, but to truly absorb this adventure you need to be in great shape to do all the hiking, walking, exploring, zodiac transferring, and especially Drake Passage “balancing.” Almost everyone on this trip was a seasoned traveler.

 

No “Drake Lake “for us. On a scale of 1-10, it was a 6 on the way out and a 5 on the way back. SUPER HINT: There is a website called “passageweather.com” that will give you the expected swells and winds on the Drake up to 48 hours in advance so you know how to properly prepare for the experience. We used the transderm ear patch for each crossing and had the expected side effects of dry mouth (chewing gum really helped) and slightly blurred vision which all went away 24 hour after removing the patch.

 

This is NOT the trip you will ever “sleep-in.” Each shore day involved an early wake-up call, two landings, and photo opportunities. The recap DVD which is complimentary to each cabin at the end of the cruise is a composition of photos that all passengers can download onto a dedicated computer on the ship which is then edited and given to you upon disembarkation.

 

I have to admit risking the upper deck (6th floor) of our ship to have a bigger room with a bigger balcony since the Drake effect on our upper deck was significantly worse than the lower decks. The tradeoff for having that view and the larger stateroom was part of what some refer to as the Drake “tax.”

 

Our ship’s crew and expedition team was outstanding. The expedition leader “Shane” was a natural at this and had the years of experience one would want with this kind of travel. Most of the ship’s crew knew our faces and names within a day or two. I just wished that gratuities were included as it was just a large wooden box at the end of the cruise for everyone to drop the combined ship’s crew and expedition staff into and it felt awkward and impersonal given the cost of this adventure.

 

Everyone was off the ship by 8:30am on disembarkation day and, at the airport, we were able to change our 1pm one-stop flight from Ushuaia to Buenos Aires to the non-stop 9:45am flight which was great. Stayed overnight at Hilton Buenos Aires (excellent hotel in great Puerto Madera location) before the late night American Airlines Flight back to Los Angeles. It was the best experience of my life!

Edited by Oren
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How many layers did you wear during the cold outings. The reviews I'm seeing say 3 layers. Do we really need that many? How did guests dress at night? We don't have to dress up, I'm assuming?

Thanks

 

 

To say this was a “vacation” would not give justice to the experience. It was more of an epic adventure. Nothing can match being away from civilization and dependent solely on the people and vessel around you. Beyond everything already written about this experience, the following “best tips” for this adventure would have come in handy:

 

Do NOT interline transfer your luggage within Argentina through code-share partners or Aerolinas Argentinas. Several people who did had lost or delayed baggage. Best advice is to always collect your bags and check them in again on each Argentina flight segment allowing at least one layover day before in Buenos Aires and two layover days before in Ushuaia to not only reduce baggage issues but also to deal with the unreliable domestic air service in Argentina. Flight delays were the norm, but I was very lucky not to experience any of them.

 

Our pre-cruise stay at the Holiday Inn Ezeiza Airport was perfect for next morning departure from that same airport. Be careful which Buenos Aires airport you leave from to go to and return from Ushuaia. A few passengers unknowingly did not plan the connecting flights properly since Aerolinas Argentina changes planes, times, and even departure inter-city airport (AEP and EZE) departures frequently. None of our Aerolinas flights, times, or plane types which we booked 6 months in advance were the same by the day of our actual departure.

 

There is enough to do to in Ushuaia to not be stressed with arriving without your bags. You can do day tours, hiking, coffee shops, a good variety of restaurants, walk around town, and even three non-smoking casinos. Most businesses in Ushuaia take US Dollars at a favorable exchange rate 20-30% better than the official rate. No problem with counterfeit currency for us or anyone we were with.

 

Be in good physical shape for this kind of experience. Not trying to be insulting with this suggestion, but to truly absorb this adventure you need to be in great shape to do all the hiking, walking, exploring, zodiac transferring, and especially Drake Passage “balancing.” Almost everyone on this trip was a seasoned traveler.

 

No “Drake Lake “for us. On a scale of 1-10, it was a 6 on the way out and a 5 on the way back. SUPER HINT: There is a website called “passageweather.com” that will give you the expected swells and winds on the Drake up to 48 hours in advance so you know how to properly prepare for the experience. We used the transderm ear patch for each crossing and had the expected side effects of dry mouth (chewing gum really helped) and slightly blurred vision which all went away 24 hour after removing the patch.

 

This is NOT the trip you will ever “sleep-in.” Each shore day involved an early wake-up call, two landings, and photo opportunities. The recap DVD which is complimentary to each cabin at the end of the cruise is a composition of photos that all passengers can download onto a dedicated computer on the ship which is then edited and given to you upon disembarkation.

 

I have to admit risking the upper deck (6th floor) of our ship to have a bigger room with a bigger balcony since the Drake effect on our upper deck was significantly worse than the lower decks. The tradeoff for having that view and the larger stateroom was part of what some refer to as the Drake “tax.”

 

Our ship’s crew and expedition team was outstanding. The expedition leader “Shane” was a natural at this and had the years of experience one would want with this kind of travel. Most of the ship’s crew knew our faces and names within a day or two. I just wished that gratuities were included as it was just a large wooden box at the end of the cruise for everyone to drop the combined ship’s crew and expedition staff into and it felt awkward and impersonal given the cost of this adventure.

 

Everyone was off the ship by 8:30am on disembarkation day and, at the airport, we were able to change our 1pm one-stop flight from Ushuaia to Buenos Aires to the non-stop 9:45am flight which was great. Stayed overnight at Hilton Buenos Aires (excellent hotel in great Puerto Madera location) before the late night American Airlines Flight back to Los Angeles. It was the best experience of my life!

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Our experiences have been a little different...

 

There is enough to do to in Ushuaia to not be stressed with arriving without your bags. You can do day tours, hiking, coffee shops, a good variety of restaurants, walk around town, and even three non-smoking casinos.

 

Arriving at least a day early for a cruise where there are no ports where you can 'catch up' after a delayed flight is always a good idea, but we have always been disappointed with Ushuaia. The National Park is unspectacular compared with many others we've visited, Ushuaia itself can be walked round in probably an hour or so and the shops are less than interesting with many selling the usual Chinese-made 'souvenirs'. Even one casino would be a casino too many when we're on a landscape and wildlife trip like Antarctica!

 

Be in good physical shape for this kind of experience. Not trying to be insulting with this suggestion, but to truly absorb this adventure you need to be in great shape to do all the hiking, walking, exploring, zodiac transferring, and especially Drake Passage “balancing.” Almost everyone on this trip was a seasoned traveler.

 

We have travelled with Hurtigruten and have never found it necessary to be 'in good physical shape'. A good proportion of the travellers have been of retirement, or near retirement, age. Normal levels of fitness were fine and allowed access to all of the activities. We have seen people with sticks and, on one trip, we even had a lady in a wheelchair who made it ashore several times.

 

I would hate the idea of the need for a level of fitness above the norm putting off potential Antarctic travellers.

 

I have to admit risking the upper deck (6th floor) of our ship to have a bigger room with a bigger balcony since the Drake effect on our upper deck was significantly worse than the lower decks. The tradeoff for having that view and the larger stateroom was part of what some refer to as the Drake “tax.”

 

'Pay to sway' is something we would never do. It's just not worth it and there are few advantages when most of our time is spent either on deck or ashore. Cabins, in our view, are for sleeping and bathing...

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How many layers did you wear during the cold outings. The reviews I'm seeing say 3 layers. Do we really need that many?

 

We found a maximum of four worked for us. Three was probably the 'usual' and, on deck, at times, only two. The strength of the wind was often the deciding factor.

 

If you find you have put on too many you can always remove one. If you have put on too few, and you're ashore...

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Arriving at least a day early for a cruise where there are no ports where you can 'catch up' after a delayed flight is always a good idea, but we have always been disappointed with Ushuaia. The National Park is unspectacular compared with many others we've visited, Ushuaia itself can be walked round in probably an hour or so and the shops are less than interesting with many selling the usual Chinese-made 'souvenirs'. Even one casino would be a casino too many when we're on a landscape and wildlife trip like Antarctica!

 

I would have to disagree as I find Ushuaia quite heavenly (and have never needed to step inside the casinos). I had 10 days there on my 3rd polar trip (4 on my 1st) and still found something different to do each day. Scenic chopper flights, 2 seater plane flights, day trip up into the andes and hidden lakes region, Harberton Estancia to see the penguins and whale bone laboratory, multiple museums, cruises on vessels of all different sizes, the Falklands memorial, plenty of other memorials, the cementary.

 

 

We have travelled with Hurtigruten and have never found it necessary to be 'in good physical shape'. A good proportion of the travellers have been of retirement, or near retirement, age. Normal levels of fitness were fine and allowed access to all of the activities. We have seen people with sticks and, on one trip, we even had a lady in a wheelchair who made it ashore several times.

 

I would hate the idea of the need for a level of fitness above the norm putting off potential Antarctic travellers.

 

Agree 100%. I am far far far from fit and was not prevented from partaking in any of the experiences on any of my trips - even hiking many km in a blizzard in thigh deep ice to get to an emperor colony. Yes it was hard work for me - but it was equally hard for the physically toned ! Tho it was a bit galling when the 96 year old man overtook everyone !!!!

 

 

'Pay to sway' is something we would never do. It's just not worth it and there are few advantages when most of our time is spent either on deck or ashore. Cabins, in our view, are for sleeping and bathing...

 

I prefer a nice swaying cabin myself - means you are generally well away from all the wretched sea sick folks ! And for me its a lovely way to fall asleep.

 

Layers:

On my lower half I had polypro long johns and the waterproof pants.

On my upper half I had a base layer polypro top, a fleece vest and the parka. Removed the vest if I got warm.

Even in minus 37 celcius I never had as many as 4 layers - pheweee I would die of heat exhaustion!!

 

And no you dont "dress for dinner" - otherwise when you get what we did between soup and main course "there are 500 fin whales outside" you would be wasting valuable time running off to get changed !

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Thanks for the review. Agree with the hints ... we were amongst the unlucky when we went in 2007 and one of our bags went astray. Still, with three pre-cruise days in Ushuaia the stress was negligible and we had time to enjoy sightseeing in and around the city instead of worrying whether the bag would show up. In fact, we so enjoyed Ushuaia and environs that for our upcoming Ross Sea Expedition, we set aside four days in Ushuaia to see and do some of the things we didn't get to do last time.

 

Another hint for future travelers ... cross-pack with your partner if possible so that if a bag goes missing, you still have some cold weather gear to tide you over. I also made an inventory of what was in each bag, so I knew exactly what was in our delayed bag in case it didn't show up and I needed to purchase replacement items.

 

As for layers: for me ... three layers were the norm; for hubby usually two layers were sufficient. If going on a hike on land, probably one less layer on sunny days. It really depends on your personal "thermostat" ... we had one person that was in shorts a great deal of the time, whether on land or at sea.

Edited by h2so4
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Another hint for future travelers ... cross-pack with your partner if possible so that if a bag goes missing, you still have some cold weather gear to tide you over. I also made an inventory of what was in each bag, so I knew exactly what was in our delayed bag in case it didn't show up and I needed to purchase replacement items.

 

That's good advice for all trips, and something we have always done. However, Iberia almost managed to negate it a few years ago when they lost both suitcases in Madrid. One caught up with us two days late in Santiago on the day we left for our cruise, and the other caught up with us in Punta Arenas, a full seven days late. The cross packing just about kept us going for the seven days. After that experience we now put a brief copy of our itinerary inside each piece of luggage and in pockets on the outside to give those finding the luggage a better chance of getting it to us quickly.

 

On an Antarctic trip, of course, there's very little opportunity for luggage to 'catch up'. It's Ushuaia or no luggage!

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... we now put a brief copy of our itinerary inside each piece of luggage and in pockets on the outside to give those finding the luggage a better chance of getting it to us quickly.

 

That's an excellent tip. We have a complicated trip coming up at the end of the year; I'll have to remember to do this.

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