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2552phxcrzr

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Everything posted by 2552phxcrzr

  1. True … if you do the cruise-fly. We’ve been to the Antarctic twice on expedition vessels and would take the cruise across the Drake both ways rather than risk losing time waiting for the vessel to come and get us because the flight(s) got canceled.
  2. Friends of ours booked a fly-cruise on the Aurora and are down in the Antarctic now. Their flight out had to be canceled and the ship had to come to Punta Arenas to pick them up. So not only did they end up not avoiding the Drake, they lost a couple of days waiting for the ship to come and get them. Those flights are very weather-dependent.
  3. Have not seen any other company doing that particular itinerary. We booked with Oceanwide to do it. Like you, have been on Ortelius before … 30 days from Argentina to New Zealand by way of the Peninsula and Ross Sea. Looking forward to exploring a different area this time and happy to be returning to South Georgia.
  4. We were on Oceania Insignia for 200+ days last year for the world cruise + a Caribbean cruise at the front end. The world cruise alone was 198 days. We were at sea for about 80 of those days … and the balance was ports of call. We hit 40-45 countries … several countries had more than 1 stop — for example Brazil and Japan each had about 10 stops, Mexico and Chile had 6-7 stops — and 20 or so were overnight stays. If you go to the website of the companies offering world cruises, you can do the math on countries and compare them.
  5. Saw no damage in Cairns as I wandered around. I didn’t leave the city, so no first hand knowledge of the environs. That said, due to damage to the range, the Kuranda Rail is not operating until February I believe. O operated the Kuranda tours by bus. The reef boats were all taken into open waters to ride out the storm, so they seemed to be OK. Certainly, the Reef Fleet Terminal was filled with boats when we were there, and I know the O tour out to the Marine World Pontoon operated as expected.
  6. No art classes on Regatta … at least not on this cruise. Can’t speak to the other itineraries. Other than that, the cruise is progressing nicely. Cooktown, which was to have been after Cairns has been canceled and replaced with a day at sea. No surprise … the entire Far North Queensland suffered considerably from Cyclone Jasper earlier this month and the Government has declared it a natural disaster area; clean-up is in progress at present. So, three sea days (on day 2 now) to reach Darwin on the 31st. Our temps in the ports have been generally very hot … with high humidity. Condensation on the ceiling in the Terrace Café during the day has been an ongoing problem … they have rugs all around the buffet area to keep people from slipping. I imagine this is not a problem in more moderate climates. (We had similar problems on Insignia during the world cruise, so this is not a Regatta-specific problem.) Have noticed that some parts of the ship are warmer than others, though I have not been anywhere where it felt uncomfortable. Have overheard people complaining to the front desk staff about A/C in the cabins being insufficient/not working. We are in a deck 4 cabin and have no complaints. We do keep the drapes closed when the sun is on the port side of the ship. Someone mentioned in another thread that there was a refrigerated container on deck 11. We saw it being taken off in Sydney. So whatever the reason was for having it onboard, it no longer applies.
  7. Will drop you a note … we will be going to Canberra for a few days after we return to Sydney on the Indian Pacific in March.
  8. Book marked to follow along. Have a terrific time.
  9. Life is good on Regatta. We left out of Sydney on the 21st … had a slightly rocky (10 ft swells) day at sea on the way to Brisbane … hot and humid day in Brisbane (12 mile shuttle ride from the Cruise Terminal into the city, so no cruise up the river this time) … a lovely day in Mooloolaba (ended with a big rainstorm … rough seas made for interesting tendering, which I later heard had been canceled and some were unable to get off the ship) … the Holiday spirit is well and alive on the ship … at sea today heading to Townsville with Santa on board handing gifts out to the few kids on the ship.
  10. I will be reading along, but won’t be able to comment since I have problems doing that in Blogger on my iPad for whatever reason that I have not been able to resolve. As we are also traveling at the moment, it’s the only device I have with me. Just wanted to say thanks and let you know that there will be at least one person reading along. Having published blogs for our world cruises I know how much work goes into it, and I wanted to acknowledge your efforts.
  11. Determine what is important to you to see when you go in order to pick the right time of the year. For example, if you want to see fluffy chicks, you can’t go too late in the season. On the other hand, whales seem to be more populous later in the season. These are just some examples. When we did our first expedition in 2017, I remember finding a calendar for wildlife in the Antarctic somewhere on the web that helped us determine that early January should be our target. (I’m traveling for the next while, otherwise I’d find the calendar on my laptop and attach it.)
  12. Check out Quark and Oceanwide. We did first with Quark … including South Georgia and Falklands. Second trip was Ushuaia to New Zealand … by way of the Ross Sea … an amazing 30-day experience with helicopters (on Ortelius). We are booked with Oceanwide again for 2025 … this time to the Wendell Sea. We were delighted with our experiences each time. Most recently we dipped into the Antarctic Peninsula on an Oceania world cruise … not the same as an expedition, and in our case, I nice to have on the itinerary because of our previous expedition experiences. We did not find that being return visitors to Antarctica dimmed our pleasure at all. Admittedly, we were more relaxed on the peninsula part of the second cruise since we’d been there before. But that didn’t stop us from enjoying every outing be it on a zodiac or on a landing.
  13. I find toe warmers to help greatly on a zodiac ride as your feet are on a cold surface for the duration. They are thin and placed between two layers of socks or on the sole of the sock if you wear a single layer. Very thin. I use them more than I do the hand warmers.
  14. As of December 1 (today) transfers must be done within 14 days. I have seen an email from O about the change. (Not mine to share, so I won’t do that.). Anyone who tends to book direct with O and transfer bookings, should contact O to confirm this so that they are not surprised later. Whether the new rule is the same regardless of country of residency is something else one should check on.
  15. Me too. Looking for blog links to be posted here.
  16. We have been to the Antarctic several times ... two expeditions on small vessels and one cruise on Oceania Insignia. What we have found that really helps is layers ... we have merino wool long johns and fleece leggings and tops. Over these, we wear waterproof pants that help us stay dry, but also have the benefit of protecting us from the wind. Similarly, our top outer layer is both windproof and waterproof and has a hood to pull up if necessary. We double up on socks, and take stick on toe warmers to put between the socks ... one set lasts about 8 hours. Gloves and a wool beanie. I can't stress strongly enough windproof (and waterproof ... we had both snow and rain on Insignia). Just for fun, I have attached photos of us taken by a fellow passenger on Insignia this year in the Antarctic. The three of us were the only ones on the outer decks ... it was wet and windy ... everyone else was indoors. Crazy, were we? Perhaps. But the best place to be when in Antarctica is on the outer decks (or your veranda although that limits you to your side of the ship). You never know what might pop up right next to the ship at any given time (like whales bubble net feeding in our case). Also, bear in mind that the interior of the ship will tend to be cool too because doors keep opening and closing. I'm not sure what your itinerary is, but if you are going around the tip of South America, the temps will start cooling once you reach the Chilean Fjords and remain cool for a couple of days after you make it around the tip, or if you continue onto the Falklands. Have a wonderful time.
  17. Could you send me the info for Mario ... my email is eerkun (it's a yahoo address). We've spent quite a bit of time in Ushuaia pre-expeditions and agree that there is plenty to see and do in the area when you have the time to do so.
  18. A wide angle for scenery, which is spectacular, and the 600mm for wildlife since you will be viewing them from a distance. That said, be prepared with a wide angle (I used my iPhone) for whales as they can sometimes get too close for a long lens ... as happened several times with bubble-feeding humpbacks right next to our ship in February.
  19. @zoncom Free luggage — assuming you are asking about the 50 pound x 2 bags per person — is picked up from your home and delivered to your cabin on the ship. Once these bags leave your house you do not see them again until you embark the ship. Similarly, on the way back, the delivery is from ship to home. This is for all world cruisers on for the 180 or longer voyage. The luggage does not travel with you. You call to schedule pick-up with the luggage comapany … ours was picked up approximately 2 weeks prior to embarkation and held for delivery on embarkation day. You should receive info (through your travel agent if you used one) with phone number to call to schedule the pick up. If you’re asking about the airport/hotel transfer for you and any bags you travel with to the embarkation port, I have a partial answer as we did not take the included air and traveled to the port city well in advance of embarkation and did not have transfer from the airport. I would imagine that if you are using the included air, the transfer would be for bags and passengers. On both ATWs, there were transfer services for bags and passengers from the included hotel to the ship on embarkation day.
  20. Thank you for your review. We will be cruising The Kimberley next April on Coral Discoverer. Looking forward to it.
  21. We plan to fly to Tasmania immediately after disembarking Regatta in Sydney following the circumnavigation, so it seems like a logical move for us to disembark in Hobart instead, even though we will be burning two days on the ship. (I know we won't get a reduction in the fare for doing so ... no problem.) I'm going to call Oceania on Monday to ask about this possibility. In the meantime, I am curious if anyone who has done an O cruise to Australia was allowed to disembark prior to the final port. We have a 6-month tourist visa instead of an ETA, so we are good in that respect.
  22. I have never seen a mirror with magnification in any of the R ships in Veranda or Oceanview or Concierge cabins. Cannot speak to the higher level cabins.
  23. On Insignia, they took away a small portion of the Horizons Lounge and put up an Artist’s Loft sign on the glass divider. I think there are four folding tables in the space that can accommodate 4 people each comfortably. Whether they did this just because this ship does the world cruise, I don’t know. It would be easy enough to do the same on the other R class vessels for longer cruises, but I don’t know if they have.
  24. Novices are very welcome … at least that has been our experience on two world cruises on Insignia. Cannot speak to how it works on other ships. My husband joined classes on the recently-completed world cruise. He is very much a beginner, and improved greatly. Classes were first come, first served (no sign up) on sea days only and open to everyone, not just world cruisers. Two sessions were held and both were full. The area set aside as the studio was open all day, so those who wished to practice or finish their projects were able to use the facilities anytime they wished. An exhibit of every ones work was held at the end of each segment. There were a number of different artists leading classes … some on for a single segment, some on for multiple segments.
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