bethtex

went in Dec 2019. Waterproof pants and long underwear were enough. Light weight long underwear for hiking, and heavier/warmer when on a zodiac cruise. definitely was glad had my wide brimmed hat with a chinstrap - kept the sun off. Also a good warm beanie hat. Sunglasses were necessary but not ski goggles. I had both ski gloves and lighter weight gloves that could also serve as a liner. I usually wore a light weight wicking/dri-fit longsleeve shirt, a turtleneck and a light fleece or sweatshirt with my parka. Often shed layers while we hiked - 32 and sunny was plenty warm. one pair of waterproof pants enough. Easy to do laundry on board and pack less. We bought our own pants and muck boots (Hisea on Amazon). Will now have them for Arctic this summer and Antarctica again in 2025.

Thanks - good idea There in early December before , penguin eggs, but no chicks. Going later might be fun.

Thanks - appreciate all the information and insight. Good idea to go at a different time of year.

Thanks everyone for your answers to my questions

We went to Antarctica in Dec 2019 on Silver Cloud. It was the most amazing trip. 2 excursions a day (except one day when weather prevented and we sailed by ice bergs). We only had about 200 passengers and were divided into groups of about 50 for each landing/excursion. We want to go again, but SSea prices have gone up quite a bit. So looking at other lines. Was looking at Hurtigurten, but it looks like the cabins are considerably smaller, and only guaranteed one landing a day. Is this correct? One post I read mentioned paying for excursions - do you have to pay extra for anything? The dinner choices seem limited too. Also considering Viking. Some good deals now including air. I think the only extras to pay for are gratuities and submarine (it costs extra). But what can anyone tell me about excursions? how many a day can we expect? What about Seabourne? how would its expeditions compare? What costs are not included in the basic fare? Linblad and Nat Geo are more expensive than SSea so aren't under consideration. Any others I should consider? Finally for people who have been to Antarctica more than once - did you feel your later trips were less "special" than your first trip? Our first trip was so perfectly spectacular, we wonder whether we should stick with that rather than risk being disappointed in another trip.

when you talk about excursions being expensive, is this for basic going ashore/hiking, kayaking, zodiac rides? or something more. Trying to compare with other lines where everything is included (though on one the submarines are extra $$).

my parents were just on Beyond and were telling me about this we are doing TA on Edge in April and are going to get reservations for each night ahead of time - booking most nights in one restaurant and one night in each of the 3 others. So most nights we can have our same waitstaff (which we prefer) Also like to have "shared tables" so we can meet new people. 14 nights of just us is too much togetherness! We will ask each night for a larger table and ask that anyone who asks for a shared table be seated with us. I really don't like this open seating concept.

If flight not ticketed yet, call Viking and can probably change it. Research options first. Found cheaper to call them than change online. We only have an 1 hr 25min to transfer in Zurich to Budapest. Hoping we can make it - was changed and ticketed while we were on another cruise so would be $500+ to change now.

SS first booked me on flights I didn't like, so had my TA contact them and ask for options. Was able to change my flights with no extra costs, and you probably can too so long as not ticketed yet We did Antarctica on Cloud in Dec 2019. WONDERFUL trip. Diet Coke or Coke Zero/Light available. I drank iced tea at meals Definitely call and talk to someone directly. Good luck getting everything resolved to your satisfaction.

hope you were able to book. Aug 22 - 29 on Moon now showing as sold out!! there are still plenty of excursions available. For some that were booked up, looks like they have recently added additional tour times. see you on board!

if safety considerations, would expect this years cruises to be cancelled or changed as well so makes sense that demand may be down so they are moving a ship and redoing the itineraries. headed to Baltic and Norwegian Fjords in Aug 2022, and hoping no more changes to our itinerary.

just did the 18 day cruise & pre & post land tours in May for the pre-cruise land tour, no meals included except lunch on Fox Island. We did have a private car for the train and the meals in the dining car were excellent. on the post-cruise tour from Vancouver to Calvary, the daily bus tours included lunch 3 days which we weren't expecting. 2 days the food was pretty good, and one day not so good but adequate. The pre-cruise tour we were on a bus with only other Celebrity passengers. Had the same guide and drive the whole time in Alaska. In Canada, a different bus and guide each day and other people on the tours, not just Celebrity folks. The daily bus tours were done by Brewster tours. The guides were very good. A lot more included than we expected from what was on the Celebrity website. let me know any other questions you may have.

Just checked and my veranda and family veranda bids show "expired' but Concierge bid is showing still pending, so hopefully we are getting it.