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Everything posted by Ken the cruiser
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After dinner tonight, we headed back to the cabin until it was time to go watch the evening show, which was an encore performance by singer Alex Yost. Afterwards we headed to watch the Mind Duel Officers vs Guests Game Show. BTW this is what the scenery looked like from our balcony when we first arrived at 4:30 pm. Itβs now 9:30 pm and weβre just leaving. The weather can definitely change here in a hurry as itβs now snowing! π
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We then headed down the Neumayer Channel for Port Lockroy where the only Antarctica Post Office is. For more information about it, click on this link. https://www.antarcticaguide.com/blog/port-lockroy-antarcticas-post-office-and-museum Here is some of the scenery we passed along the way. I thought this iceberg looked like it had the head of a lion with a body full of feathers! π This was the view from our balcony while anchored for 4 hours at Port Lockroy. π From here we head to Deception Island with a scheduled arrival around Noon tomorrow, if I heard the announcement correctly.
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This afternoon we cruised the Gerlache Strait headed towards Port Lockroy. Here are some of the sites we saw, with no shortage of icebergs. However, not a lot of visible wildlife on this leg. But the scenery was awesome! π Then it was time to turn west out of the Gerlache Strait. Unofficially, we made it to latitude 64 degrees 58.8 minutes South, or more specifically we were within 109 km of making it to the Antarctic Circle. π
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Our continued morning trek through Wilhelmina Bay was awesome, and we saw more Humpback whales! π Two Humpback whales, a mother and her calf. Another Humpback whale just roaming around looking for something tasty to eat. Even saw its fluke! π As you can see, we saw quite a few Humpback whales this morning! π Another mother with her calf. And now we are off to cruise to Port Lockroy, which is a bay forming a natural harbor on the north-western shore of Wiencke Island in the Palmer Archipelago to the west of the Antarctic Peninsula.
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Woke up this morning at about 5 am just to see what there was to see, as we werenβt scheduled to arrive at Charlotte Bay until around 6:30 am. This is Brabant Island in the background. Woke up again at 7 am to our alarm, and the ships had already gone into Charlotte Bay and just turned around. Perfect timing! π Whale! π At first we thought this was a log. But there are no trees in Antarctica. It was another whale just hanging out! π These next few pictures were taken while we were eating breakfast in Sabatinis. These were taken as we were exiting Charlotte Bay on our way to Wilhelmina Bay next door.
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My DW and I were looking at the route the Sapphire has taken so far on our journey since we left San Antonio and were amazed at how many ships, large and small, are cruising around the Antarctica Peninsula on any given day this time of year! https://www.cruisemapper.com/?imo=9228186 Which begs the question, is each of these expedition shipβs βzodiac port stopsβ listed in their published itineraries somehow registered with some central source to minimize overlaps? If so, who, since Antarctica is not a sovereign country? Maybe the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO)? The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) was founded in 1991 by seven companies. The primary goal of the association is to "advocate and promote the practice of safe and environmentally responsible private-sector travel to the Antarctic". Since the group's inception membership has grown to over 100 members. In addition there are tour groups working outside the association which may not follow its safety and environmental guidelinβ¦ I scanned their website, but did not see any specific reference to this question. https://iaato.org/about-iaato/our-mission/ Or is it just first come, first serve, and if one expedition shipβs βscheduledβ landing stop is occupied, do they just go find another spot for their passengers to go ashore at? π€ We have no idea. We just found it fascinating as there are A LOT of ships cruising around the Peninsula every day! We just thought it was interesting how so many expedition ships can operate effectively in this one unique area. π
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This evening after another tasty Formal Night dinner and relaxing in the cabin, we headed to see the production show Do You Wanna Dance! This is the first time weβve seen this show and thought it was quite enjoyable! π However, we decided to pass on the 8:30 pm game show in the Explorers Lounge this evening, Top, Medium or Bottom, to get ready for another early start tomorrow.
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This afternoon we continued our trek after leaving Admiralty Bay all the way to Livingston Island, at the maximum speed limit allowed of 10 knots. Needless to say it was an all day affair! π It started off kind of overcast once we got into the channel. Along the way we saw some interesting icebergs off the port side. The scenery started picking up when we got to Greenwich Island with this unique rock formation with a glacier a little ways behind it. Then when we got to Livingston Island, the weather started to clear a little and the sun eventually started to peak out. π If you look close, you will see some penguins on the righthand side of this iceberg. Then while we were eating dinner, these were some of the views from our table; hence the blue tint as I took the photos through the window. Then it was time to start heading towards Charlotte Bay where we will begin Day 3βs adventure! π
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We wanted to go when Princess was going there, but waited too long. Now the only reasonably priced cruise line that goes there is NCL, which works for us, especially when 6 of our evening meals (2 with FAS, 2 with FAS+, and 2 with our Platinum loyalty level) per leg are in one of their specialty restaurants. π
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We had an aft-facing Club Balcony cabin on the NCL Jade when we did our 38-day Athens to Cape Town by way of Dubai cruise and had an awesome time (see Live From thread below) and really enjoyed the aft views. We also have an aft-facing Balcony cabin booked on the NCL Star in 2025 for our Longyearbyen B2B cruise. Both of these smaller NCL ships (around 2200 passengers) are more geared for longer cruises. So no waterslides or anything like that. Just boring βold peopleβ stuff to do. π
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Thanks. Thatβs why I use Windy, which usually works pretty well regardless of where we are. Which weather app do you use that provides readings as far south as the Antarctica Peninsula? I just figured since the temp was on the Princess App, it would be correct. But then when the Captain at Noon today said it was 35F, I knew that App was off a little. But at least itβs getting closer. It now says itβs 30.2F! Maybe that temperature reading is with the wind chill factor! π€
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Thanks! Youβre going to have a great time!! And I guess that means I can put my flannel shirts away once we get to BA! π Right now itβs around 33F down here cruising along the South Shetland Islands. I erroneously mentioned earlier that it was 26.6F because I made the mistake of getting it from the Princess App. When I checked Windy, it pretty much said it stays around 33-36F this time of year down here.
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We had so much fun taking pictures in 26.6F temps, here are some more of Admiralty Bay on our way out! π One perk with being in an aft-facing cabin, is that you get some really closeup pictures when the ship has to turn around in a really tight space near a glacier! π This is the new Brazil Research Station, as the old one burned down a few years ago. Polandβs Arctowski Research Station on the left and a small US station on the right. Our final view of Admiralty Bay before heading south along the South Shetland Islands, where it is currently foggy and snowing lightly. π
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As we got closer to Admiralty Bay, I woke up around 5 am and watched the sunrise over the Southern Ocean, and then went back to bed! π We entered Admiralty Bay a little before 7 am. Here are some of the views we have seen so far. Brazilian Research Center
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We arrived at Elephant Island around 7 pm and spent about 90 minutes there slowly cruising through the area. Just prior to arriving, the Captain changed course due to the extreme winds coming from the West and went on the southern side of the island where the winds and wave action would be calmer. The first island we passed by on the starboard side was a little island called Cornwallis Island. As we passed by it, the sun came out and really made the island light up! Off in the distance on the port side was Clarence Island, which was a little harder to see because of the fog. Then came the views of some of the various icebergs, cliffs and glaciers we saw as we cruised along the βtrunkβ of Elephant Island. You can see Cornwallis Island off in the distance. This iceberg was so unique I had to post pictures of it from different angles! π And then we were off for our overnight rendezvous with some more awesome sights scheduled for our day 2 of cruising around the Antarctic Peninsula. π
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