campingcaryn

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!