tgh

Have a wonderful trip Mysty and take car not to trip over the carapace of T1 as he lumbers between the bar and the pool  

The Paine massif is certainly special ,as is Atacama, enjoy jp.

I camped at Explora both locations. 

Atacama was an exceptional stay , Patagonia just so so and a victim of it's success , one assumes 

Some of my maternal family spread out from Poland through Ukraine

A great uncle was farming there 100 years or so ago , sadly no surviving lines have been found.

Compliments of the Season to all Coolers both current and retired…  

Keep up the good work mysty, I am still reading…….👀

I think I killed the thread..       sorry………..

tgh exits stage left     v  e  r  y    q  u  i   e  t   l y…..    

(sotto voice ) merry Christmas everybody….

 Commiserations to JP , and a big thank you to UkcJ for the valuable security advice.

Dining with a stranger in the middle of the earth, I was chilled by the depth of electronic espionage and the challenges of corporate or personal survival in this lawless environment.

I hope everyone reading takes a moment to consider their own vulnerability(s)
So far I have been just plain lucky, although swmbo requires constant vigilance for believable wedges.

The subtle, smooth and  very believable incursions challenge all but the most street aware

The attacks across our life are endless.

Mobile phones ,Landline phones , Internet..

Dealing with all this is a huge encumbrance.

I have a library of passwords protected by just one master ( and the mac keychain) … and it's not good enough….

I routinely hang up the landline at any hint of fraud and have offended some folks in the process.

Now I mostly just ignore it, and only respond to mobile calls that are in my contacts.

Does/has the Queen biopic stirred any memories Jeff?

Terry we are about to leave beautiful sunny  brisvegas (18 >29)for a few days in Bryce Utah (0> -6)

Love this.. a group of Silversea tragics charter the ship to save (well delay) it from an ignominious fate.

If JP and the ron's are going…where do I sign…..

A Mea Culpa email from SS is on it's way, good luck to those who have already participated ( we didn't…)

Things can't be all bad in ss ex land , lot's of bookings here …..we are on the cloud voyage 1914 ex Reykjavik mid June '19

We also have one forward booking that we expect will be our last on SS.

I opine that SS is reflecting the "new way" of expedition cruising, more cruising and less expedition.

As the number of expedition ships grows , the hot spot slots will become tighter and the cruise lines will have to meet tighter local guidelines.

Russian corruption is not new, and blaming this fact of life simply reflects a wishin' and hopin' mindset.

Add to this an increasingly risk averse sailing schedule and there will likely be more sail by's and near misses than in the past.

If they show you a polar bear, it may suffice as meeting their expedition adverts.. the fact that it was two miles away is less relevant.

More ships, more people, less adventure… not for this black duck.. the good days are probably gone.

Just a reminder that this Internet host exists to sell cruises, there is no margin for them to assist negative reviews however worthy.

Equally the "model" of saturating the lists with cheer leaders ameliorates doubt and talks up the imagery that sells cruises.

Brand damage takes a while to filter through , by which time many execs have their bonuses and a new job lined up.

In this corporate rise and fall scenario customers are have little influence.

Seems to me that someone has to be responsible for the deterioration of the SS Expedition experience.

If not the Director , who ? Where does the buck stop ?

Promotion to VP sounds like a questionable decision based on the current performance of the expedition division.

Lots of excuses , but that doesn't help the disaffected passengers

Perhaps this takeover has been known in high places for a long time and a who cares attitude pervaded the management structure

Perhaps the director of expeditions , who has cosily worked from home for many years, has not moved / is not moving over to the new structure.

Thanks very much for a most interesting tr

Does all this timber come from old growth or re-growth forests ?

Based on this conversation , the UK must consume many thousands of trees per year , just to keep warm

We shall see…

Indeed we shall , the outcome will be interesting.

I opine that this scenario is just another tick in the "have a good ta" box.

Some Cruise companies clearly had a plan.. others perhaps did not

The International Code for Ships Operating in Polar Waters (Polar Code) – adopted by the International Maritime Organisation – contains regulations concerning the ships’ construction, equipment and training and their crews that intend to operate in the polar regions. Issued by the classification society DNV GL, the Polar Ship Certificate confirming compliance with the Polar Code will be mandatory for all ships from January 2018. The Polar Code is intended to increase the safety of ships and pay greater attention to environmental protection.

“The Polar Code will improve the safety of navigation in polar waters significantly. We have taken a pioneering step in certifying the BREMEN and paved the way for the other ships in the fleet of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises to comply with the Polar Code. I am happy to have contributed”, says Captain Thilo Natke, who oversaw the certification process for Hapag-Lloyd Cruises. Natke prepared a Polar Water Operational Manual that will, in particular, familiarise younger officers with the ship-specific particularities of navigating in ice.

Certain technical modifications have to be carried out on board the ships in order for them to meet the requirements of the Polar Code. For instance, fire lines located on deck were fitted with additional insulation and an additional ice spotlight was installed when the BREMEN was in dock in October 2016. A wide range of extra equipment has also been sourced in order to ensure the survival of passengers and crew members in potential emergencies in the polar regions. During 2017, as part of their routine dry-dock periods in the shipyard, the other ships in the Hapag-Lloyd Cruises’ fleet will also be brought in line with the criteria of the certificate in order that they meet the requirements of the Polar Code at the latest by the Arctic season in 2018 and are able to operate in the regions successfully.

Some illumination

This was published in the Australian last October :

• LOUISE GOLDSBURY
  
• The Australian
  
• 12:00AM October 21, 2017
  
• 
  
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A new polar code is set to promote safety and protect the environment from the increasing number of ships in the Arctic and Antarctic. But will these regulations lead to significant changes or end up reducing cruising opportunities in these regions?

The technical document by the International Maritime Organization covers ship designs, equipment, operations, search and rescue, marine pollution prevention and crew training for passenger vessels sailing anywhere in the Antarctic continent, through the Northwest Passage, in Greenland and Norway’s Svalbard.

The first phase was introduced in January and applies to all ships built this year, while the second phase, from next January, affects existing ships. As cruise ships are certified every five years, this means existing vessels certified in 2017 have until 2021 to comply with the new code.

But even with this distant deadline, many ships will not obtain the certification, according to specialist cruise agency Landmark Travel’s director Gerd Wilmer.

“My estimation is that available ships [in 2021] will be less than half of [the total] today,” Wilmer says.

“There will be a huge gap because not every cruise line will go for it. It’s horribly expensive to build a ship to polar class.”

Hapag-Lloyd Cruises’ MS Bremen was one of the first passenger ships to undergo the process to receive the new Polar Ship Certificate. The two-month refit included technical modifications, extra equipment and the preparation of a manual to guide younger officers navigating in ice. Other small ships in the Hapag-Lloyd fleet will also be upgraded this year in time for the 2018 Arctic season.

“Compasses don’t work in these places, normal GPS doesn’t work,” Wilmer says.

“You need a lot of rescue equipment, manuals and training because a disaster in a polar region would make [the sinking of] the Titanic look like a picnic.”

In Antarctica, bigger ships carrying more than 500 passengers, from lines such as Celebrity, Princess and Holland America, will still not be permitted to make landings, but are expected to continue offering “sail by” itineraries.

A spokesperson for International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators says these “cruise only” ships are already restricted to sailing in ice-free polar waters, so although the new code formalises these requirements, it does not necessarily mean changes to operating procedures.

The IAATO says, “Like all vessels operating in polar waters, [these ships] will have to go through an assessment process for certification that ensures they continue operating within safe, appropriate limits.”

Australian-owned Aurora Expeditions is building an expedition vessel that will meet the latest polar code specifications. Now operating Antarctic and Arctic adventures on the 35-year-old Polar Pioneer, the company is making a big leap to a purpose-built, high-performance, ice class 1A ship in time for the 2019-20 Antarctic season. Debuting a revolutionary design, the as-yet-unnamed 155-passenger vessel will have a bow that can pierce waves with greater stability, essentially smoothing out the rough ride of notoriously wild waters such as the Drake Passage. Viewing platforms will also unfold from the sides of the bow so passengers can get a closer look at, say, penguins without leaving the ship.

Scenic’s new Scenic Eclipse, Crystal Cruises’ Endeavor, One Ocean Expeditions’ RCGS Resolute, Silversea’s and Ponant’s expedition vessels are also expected to meet with the new polar code.

There’s still more that can be done, such as banning heavy fuel oil in the Arctic, but every step helps protect these incredible cruise destinations.

There may be an issue with the rating in terms of maintenance or age.

A cash strapped Silversea may have minimised the maintenance work and taken more risk, RCI may want less risk.. who knows

The following is a quick primer in ice ratings :

http://www.engr.mun.ca/~cdaley/8074/Ice%20Class%20Rules_CD.pdf

I guess me may never, but it would be interesting to, know precisely why.

It is a very strange decision to dump sold out cruises.

"Sounds like" preparation for integration perhaps ? ( maybe they are fitting a water slide)

One assumes that SS cruisers will soon eat the same base solids as the rest of the fleet, perhaps with some extra sauces….

What well known fallacious complaints are you referring too?

Examples?

Pass….. :-)

( even blind freddie would likely understand my allusion.. expansion would achieve nothing.. )

SS will not under any circumstances confirm or otherwise whether a future cruise has been partially chartered.

We changed a future cruise booking at the peak of the recent Group cruise brouhaha.

Swmbo asked the ta if the proposed cruise had any group bookings.

The ta copied the ss reply by email , which was an assurance that there were no group bookings.

Two more observations : In forming a carefully structured letter of complaint after a recent cruise that did not meet expectations, I emphasised that we had been cruising almost exclusively with SS and would like to continue to do so in the future.

Perhaps that statement along with the services of a very professional TA , made the difference.

I did not receive what I asked in terms of compensation, but on calm consideration I formed a view that the SS offer was probably all I would get and that the option of dumping the cruise line and pursuing a legal option was fraught with tension , anxiety , and risk .

Our dealings over many years with SS in Au have always been cordial ,professional and co-operative.

It passes my mind that the apparent intransigence of SS in the UK may have a connection with a well known ( mayhaps fallacious) penchant for complaint in the British psyche….

Do you have a TA ?

SS can ignore the bleating plebs but they always talk with TA's

IMO, the more "luxury" cruises the ta sells the better ss will listen .

Conrad certainly knows his pitch , but RCL will want throughput , aka "slam bam thank you ma'am" hope you enjoyed the show.. next…

Silversea has mined a rich vein in providing a quality soft adventure experience ; sadly the product appears to have been emasculated by cost cutting. I have one current booking , but would hesitate with any future bookings until the present flurry of new ships sorts itself out into stable and reliable product delivery.