Cruising Latitude

Last year we were the first round of passengers on the ship (Epic) after repositioning from Europe. Embarkation was a nightmare b/c of port authority, not NCL. Regardless, it took hours upon hours to get on board. We left port several hours late. I haven't sailed NCL enough to know if this is the norm for repositioning. Hopefully, it was an isolated incident but you won't know until it happens.

We had the same experience with Dawn a few years ago. It was on her first or second sailing after repositioning and it took hours to embark and disembark. We were also told by NCL it was the port that was causing the problem but I did notice the other cruise lines’ ships at the same port on the same days were not affected.

We usually sail around the same time of the year and have sailed on many first sailings after repositioning on other cruise lines out of many different ports in and out of the country and have never had any problems with any of them, except Dawn.

In fact, to date our two by far worst embarkation and disembarkation experiences were from the only two NCL sailings we had. Not enough to call it a pattern or to deter us from sailing with NCL again but it is something I am taking notes on.

I will see if my upcoming Jade sailing breaks the pattern. Fingers crossed! [emoji3]

DH and I stayed in Ushuaia for 2 days before our 21-day Antarctica cruise (not with NCL).

We took the “End of the World” train, visited the Tierra del Fuego national park and hiked the Martial Glacier.

He basically said whatever I want to do is fine with him.

He sounds like my DH. [emoji16]

Does he like cruising in general? If he does you have nothing to worry about.

My DH actually doesn’t like cruising that much and I have found out to him and people like him destination is the key. Prior to last year our longest cruise was also week long. Last year we did a 21-day Antarctica cruise on a tiny 100 people ship and he absolutely loved it because the destination had so much to delight and to excite.

Europe also has much to offer I think as long as your fiancé at least somewhat likes cruising he will be fine either way you plan.

Does it apply to existing bookings?

Fantastic! Truly the Cruise-of-a Lifetime....rather than try telling you, I suggest you take the time to view this video, taken of our cruise....

 

Thank you bob! That looks fantastic!

We will be on the same ship. Which lakes are you referring to?

Drake Passage and the southern oceans are notorious for that and I will be there on a small ship in 5 weeks time. Definitely feeling a little apprehensive but it is the right of passage to Antarctica.

Besides expedition ships, the Crystal Serenity has done a couple of North West Passage voyages thru the Bering....I was on the recent one, in August, and it was as smooth as a lake...in fact it was quite foggy....

 

 

 

I have read that the Irish Sea can often be rough...

How did you like the Northwest Passage? Did you see a lot of wildlife? How was the scenery like?

We are trying to decide between several arctic itineraries for next year and the NW passage is one of them.

Thank you for the update, op.

I was booked on this sailing and joined the roll call.

Hate to say it but I had a feeling this was going to happen as soon as I found out Bonaire was not on the harbor master's list on November 22.

However when I called NCL like many others I was given assurance that the itinerary listed was the correct one.

I informed the roll call thread of what I learned at the time.

Anyway I have since cancelled this cruise because tbh I was always more inclined to trust the Bonaire harbor master and tour operators over NCL. Plus I knew when it all eventually came out NCL would evoke the "cruise line can change itineraries at any time without notice" clause to get out of this fully preventable listing error.

That being said the new itinerary does not look bad at all. The whole thing is just another reminder you never know what you have booked at the time you book.

Returning to your original post, my wife and I are traveling to SG and FI in October.

 

 

 

Bob

That's awesome, and early! lol

Is it this year?

If you ask any of the expedition team on board they will show you the very clever trick of rolling the parka into the hood - forming a ball about 2/3 the size of a basketball. People then just hang it off their carryon the same as others do with travel pillows.

That's pretty cool. Lol

They usually don't even begin to attempt to cross the circle until late December due to ice conditions. There might be a higher chance for success if you go in January or later.

We enjoyed the Sea Adventurer for both Arctic and Antarctic expedition trips. You will experience all the cabin and lounge upgrades that we did not. Ship crew and expedition crew were both great. Some of the Antarctic expedition crew members were working our Arctic trip. Dining room servers were great. Always lots of food. In fact, we were unable to disembark the Sea Adventurer while in Antarctica for 2.5 days and the food quality and quantity continued.

 

 

 

One comment - we often found the lounge to be warm. When the drapes were pulled and the discussion started - regardless of the interesting talk with slides or video - we found ourselves getting drowsy.

 

 

 

You might check out my blog for additional comments and photos about our polar adventures.

 

 

 

Bob

Thank you!

I also checked your travel blogs and they all look so wonderful! Polar and everything else.

We too have plans to have a Spitsbergen circumvent trip. I saw your blogs and it is wonderful you were able to see so many polar bears!

For our Antarctica trip, we packed one small empty duffel bag in our check-in luggage for our (post-expedition) Quark jackets. We then added the small duffel as a second check-in luggage piece. The jackets are bulky and we didn't want to hand carry them after getting off the Sea Adventurer (now Ocean Adventurer) and our first check-in luggage pieces were full from the start of the trip. As a plus, if you get penguin poop on the jackets, this keeps your other clothes from getting this somewhat unattractive smell.

 

 

 

Bob

Thanks for the great suggestion! I will bring a duffle bag too. I also plan to bring only our oldest travel cloths and may just leave a few items behind if we run out of room.

BTW, how did you like Sea Adventurer? Anything good, not do good and bad?

Mid Nov into Dec is excellent for SGI as its when you get the tens of thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) of seals and penguins all along the shores. Photographers dream. For the Kings its their fluffy kiwi fruit look times when they are moulting. No chicks - but many many juveniles and adult pairs. Always a lot of Adelies hanging around too. Should be macaronis and rockhoppers at certain landings.

 

You will still get whales at least daily - just not in mass numbers at that time.

Thank you PP.

After a lot of consideration DH and I decided to go for the November trip which goes to FI SGI as well as the peninsula.

In November on SGI we will be able to see large fluffy King chicks and females with new eggs as well as hundreds of thousands of elephant seals, and at the sea we will see huge spectacular icebergs before they all melt in late Nov and Dec, and on the peninsula we will be able to experience ice and snow on the ground and see some mating behaviors. Although no new hatchlings, to us that seems to be the best compromise.

I think February might not be the best time for us to visit since we are more interested in seals, penguins and spectacular icebergs than whales.

It depends if your agent is simply "making a booking with Quark" - or whether it is buying space on board as part of a bulk charter.

 

 

 

If its a charter than Quark does not distribute its boots and parkas. If its simply a booking then yes you get a parka to keep and boots to loan. Not that the parka has a removable puffer inside it so its essentially 2 jackets.

Thank you, PP.

The travel agent told us the parkas and boots are included so that is two less bulky items to pack.

BTW, we decided to go with Ocean Adventurer due to its smaller size as well as earlier season in Nov, which offers more icy scenery. Since this is a trip of a life time and finance is not a huge constraint to us we decided to go for what we consider a slightly better trip.

That being said ms Fram would have saved us about $3500 in an inside room and given us 2 more days and it is in January which is hatching season on the peninsula, so it is definitely a better deal if you prefer later in the season and don't mind inside rooms.

No, that will most likely not be possible.

 

1) Prices often don't drop.

2) You can change your booking for a fee (until a certain number of days before departure) but they might not allow you to switch to a special offer (the German t&c specifically state that you cannot, the UK t&c don't - so who knows what they will allow and what not).

3) Price drops IF they happen are usually special sales and new bookings only. In that case you might be able to cancel your booking and re-book at the lower price. In that case you would lose (part of) your deposit so you'd have to see if you are actually saving more than what you lose. How much you lose depends on the conditions you booked under - booking in Germany you lose 10% until 45 days before departure, booking in the UK you lose the deposit until 60 days before departure (20%). Check the terms and conditions you are planning to book under, they are not the same throught the EU.

 

I think in all special offers I have seen so far they will pick your cabin for you in the categorie you booked. So you might end up in a cabin all the way at the front or next to the hatch. Or you might lose perks (wifi and/or coffee included).

Many of the special sales are some type of "save the single supplement" which might not do you any good. Or include flights/transfers which you might not want. Or they might only be valid for specific dates or ships and not include the voyage you are booked on.

There are no regular "last minute sales" as the big cruise lines often have to fill up the ship. At least not that I am aware off. Even the winter voyages aren't as empty as they used to be 10 years ago. (We were <10 round trip passengers on a Christmas voyage (!) in 2008, talk about empty.)

 

The German website currently has a "company anniversary offer." If you book a voyage for April - December 2018 you get the early booking discount and a 4.600 NOK onboard credit (11/12 day coastal voyage, select/platinum rate, double occupancy). I don't know where you are and where you are planning to book so no idea if that's available to you. [We considered booking a April voyage instead of February to book under this sale... February is still less expensive, even with the on-board credit]

 

Anyhow, you shouldn't count on any sale coming up at a later date. Hurtigruten is not [enter cruise line of your choice here] and it's more likely that there won't be a sale. Book the cabin you want on the ship you want at a price you are comfortable paying and don't expect to save anything later. If you do, even better.

 

 

 

You can check their brochure for the regular price and compare to the price the website is giving you (http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/ec64f8b9#/ec64f8b9/64 - I hope that woks).

 

See if the English version of the catalogue lists the dates by which you have to book for their early bird discount. If their deadlines are the same everywhere you would have to book by 31 October 17 for a discount from January to May 2018 or by 31 March 17 for voyages from June through December 2018. But as their t&cs vary by country, I couldn't say.

Thank you for the info! I have also noticed a lot of things vary by country on their site, from pricing to t&c to inclusions.

Another thing to consider in the Hurtigruten vs Quark decision is whether you're especially interested in camping in Antarctica. Quark allows you to see whether this is an option and add it at the time of booking (at least if you do it through their website), whereas Hurtigruten does a lottery on board. If this is important to you, and it's available on the Quark sailing, that would be a huge plus for me. On our Fram sailing, there were probably three times as many people in the drawing as there were spaces in the camping program, so lots of disappointment.

 

Re: the parka and boots... Nearly every ship has boots, and if the ship you're on loans out boots, it doesn't matter how you booked. Similarly, for the ships that typically include the parka for free (which is fairly common now), it doesn't matter where you booked. The only time that might change is if a charter company books out the entire ship and sells it at as a separate product (e.g. as they do for the marathon and certain other special cruises).

Thank you! I will let DH know as I think he will be interested in camping if it's available.

Silly question regarding booking Hurtigruten: if I book a trip on the European site, will I be able to upgrade to a higher category cabin if prices come down later, eg, during last minute sales?

Also how do I know if there is an early booking discount?

You can research detailed information and ask questions on the Trip Advisor Antarctica Adventures Forum, which is a valuable resource for research on all aspects of Antarctica travel.

 

 

 

Planning is half the fun! :)

It really is!

I have been reading feverishly on Trip advisor and Travel to the poles this weekend! LOL

In my opinion - having seen the Fram often berthed in Ushuaia next to the "normal" sized expedition ships - its HUGE to me and I wouldn't personally set foot on it. But thats me. I prefer the smaller ships with less than 100. I have been on Sea Adventurer which is now the Ocean Adventurer on one of my trips and its a nice size when not fully booked. Apparently its just had a whiz bang makeover too - I haven't had a good look at the new interior photos yet.

 

Quark technically has a lot more long term experience in region over Hurtigruten (Quark and Lindblad have been operating down there longer than any other companies - by decades) and due to the sheer amount of ships Quark has - it generally has a lot more permits at hand - which gives it more flexibility over companies that only have 1 or 2 vessels.

 

If there are multiple ships (of any company) in a region they will all be in contact with each other comparing conditions and working out who can relocate elsewhere etc to still maintain the landing rules for a specific zone. There is no sense of "competitiveness" among the companies - they all share a common goal.

 

As the others said - a lot of time is spent working out plan B.... and C and D haha !!

Falkland Islands is not one island but an archipelago which offers plenty of landing conditions depending on weather. I was with Fram in 2013 on such an itinerary and our first landing spot in FI was cancelled because of wind and swell, but we were able to make it to another island which had a more sheltered landing point in that weather. Similar situations can happen in SG. Usually the expedition team and the ship's crew have a vast range of plans B, C, D and so on in case plan A does not work so they will do their best to get you to land. If they really can't, they will try to offer something else to keep you busy (zodiac cruising...).

 

What cannot be planned in advance is the specific location you will land, and of course as PP said everything in these areas are conditionned by weather so it might happen that landing is impossible for a full day. Big cruise liners that go only to Port Stanley for on day have more risks to have that landing cancelled because they don't have plan B and cannot afford to wait if the conditions are unfavorable. But expedition ships usually plan to stay a few days in FI and SG and it would be really bad luck if you are unable to land at all. However I suppose it could happen so keep your expectations low and your mind wide open, and you will have a great time.

 

I travelled twice on MS Fram to Antarctica and both trips were awesome but if you are happy with the smaller ship I would go with the smaller ship. Both Hurtigruten and Quark are very knowledgeable and respected operators in this area so you cannot go wrong with either.

I visited Falkland Islands, SG and A on MS Fram. In the Falkland Islands we visited three places - two by tender and Stanley by wharf. As Perfectly Perth said, there is always Plan B. We had two landings every day, in turn, as well as kayaking and overnight on the snow (extra $). Hurtigruten (Norwegian Cruise Line) has history in the region, which adds to the voyage.

When we went at the end of November, we had good weather and rough seas only between SG and A.

Thank you all so much!

As a researcher and planner the uncertainty unnerves me a little, but the excitement of adventure makes up for it abundantly. :)

BTW, does any of you know if Quark Ocean Adventurer offers parkas and boots if we book through a 3rd party agent?

Every voyage has the risk of weather affecting some or all of a day, and some or all of an entire voyage. Its so changeable down there that no-one predicts more than a few hours ahead.

 

With the Falklands its usually very specific landing spots - like West Point Island and Saunders Bay and Stanley itself. All involve zodiacing to shore so that is dependant on wave and swell conditions. With West Point the ship (depending on the size) can manoeuvre a little further into the shelter of the bay to make for a shorter zodiac trip. With Stanley it can be very choppy and the wind really whips through. Saunders is very flat and open to the elements.

 

 

For South Georgia each landing zone is very different - some are wide unsheltered stretches of shoreline and others are small sheltered bays - the weather can be completely different from bay to bay just an hour apart. Generally the captain will arrive at a potential region and make a decision to watch and wait for an hour or move on to another location.

 

 

The expedition team's goal is to ensure everyone gets to experience a landing and they and the captain will work hard to achieve that. But Mother Nature out rules everyone else so if she is in a mood - then she wins !!

 

 

The landing permits are dependant on who it is you are choosing to travel with. The larger long term companies like Quark usually have plenty of spare permits and time slots up their sleeves so they can be more flexible. Smaller companies may only have a single permit and time slot ie "Gold Harbour Tuesday AM only".

Thank you for the insight! The two trips I am looking at are by Hurtigruten and Quark respectively and I think they are both big players.

I will do some research about the two ships, MS Fram vs Ocean Adventurer. At first glance seems to me the Fram is nicer but the Adventurer is smaller which likely translates to more landing time.

DH and I are not able to take a month long vacation due to work so we are looking at a few relatively shorter (18 to 19 days) cruises that go to both FI and SGI in addition to the peninsula so the ship can stay at each island for only 2 or 3 days.

My question is, does that sound very risky in terms of missing an island all together in case we run into bad weather? Will the captain have some flexibility to shuffle the itinerary order around to stay away from bad weather? Or are landing times fixed for each ship so there is no flexibility?

I understand it is impossible to predict weather but just want a little better understanding.

Thanks!

It depends on which region you are specifically looking at - and which penguin breed. The regions differ - as do the breeding seasons.

Thank you!

Another question, I am also looking at a late October/early November itinerary that includes FI and SGI. It seems to me Nov is a very good time to go to both, might even be better than Dec or Jan if I want to see elephant seals, is that correct?

Or is early Nov too early?

PS we are more interested in seals and penguins than whales.

Ms Eden, that was 20 years ago so I;m sure things have changed. My trip was on the Professor Multanovski, a Russian research ship that was placed in the tourism trade after setbacks in the economy of the Soviet Union. At the time the ship was chartered to and I booked with Mountain Travel Sobek.

 

 

 

Roy

Thank you Roy for the info! An expedition ship would be so wonderful.

Is late February and early March too late? Chicks all gone?

We are looking at a Hurtigruten cruise.

Do check with HAL on air. It may or may not be good but I've gotten a very good deal on HAL on a 1-way flight from Rio, so it may generally be good for South America.

 

 

 

I think you also would want an "open jaw", going to Santiago and return from Buenos Aires of vice versa; the prices for those are frequently close to round trip prices.

 

 

 

By the way, I've also been to Antarctica twice; 1997 on an expedition ship and 2016 on the Crystal Symphony. I have a request in for the 2019 Prinsendam Grand South America/Antarctica; 3 times is NOT too much. I did enjoy the landings on the expedition ship but doing it on a large ship is awesome as well.

 

 

 

Roy

 

 

 

Roy

Thanks! Time to check out Hal choice air! Which expedition ship did you go for? I read good things about National Geographic, Ponant and Hurtigruden.

If you end the cruise in Buenos Aires, with an overnight there, I have a suggestion to make the flight home just a little more bearable.

 

Make arrangements to disembark the ship, and fly home, on the last night instead of waiting for disembarkation the next morning. Pack (starting in advance), enjoy the ship and the last supper, then leave straight for the airport and board your flight.

 

 

 

If you disembark in the morning you have to get up very early. You then spend a full day waiting for a late evening flight overnight, and possibly a change of plane when your body is just not functioning at peak. There's a time zone difference when heading back to the US and Canada, too.

 

My first trip back (from Santiago) was 33 hours from rising to go to bed; the second trip (also from Santiago) was 39 hours, due to a delayed connection.

 

Third trip was a bit less, as I was able to get a non-stop from BA to NYC, then a car home, but it was still a long, long 'day'.

 

 

 

An alternative to leaving on that last night would be to stay over one night in BA, then sleep in the next morning and have a relaxing day at the hotel.

Thank you RuthC for the suggestion. It does make it much easier if we can stay on the ship longer.

The last time I was on Zaandam it was an Alaska cruise. The flight home was late and long and a red eye and we ended up waiting in the airport for 9 hours. Yikes!

We booked our flights through HAL. It was a bit cheaper than booking on our own. We also can change the flights if needed. Not to mention, not having to pay until final payment date.

 

 

 

We are fortunate to be able to do the flights non-stop from MIA. The cost was $940 pp going to BA and returning from Santiago. I was disappointed in the price of the flights, until I looked back and saw that the same flights cost us over $1,200 pp back then.

We also live in Miami. That's what I will do then. Thank you all for the suggestion.

Now time to find out things to do in Santiago!

:)