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Celebrity Infinity Feb. 5 cruise - WOW!!


OnTheJourney
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Just came back from this cruise. The weather was fantastic. So many of the crew and officers I talked to said it was the best weather they've seen down there in years. 2 "Drake Lake" crossings were more than I would have hoped for! We had a picture perfect day in both Port Stanley (also very rare from what I was told) and at Ushuaia. I had been worried ever since booking this cruise about the possibility of not even being able to call at Port Stanley since I know the weather can change quickly down there. All in all, a great cruise. The penguins at both Bluff Cove and Puerto Madryn were amazing! Again, incredible weather made it all the more spectacular. Our cruise director mentioned the one night that we were having better weather than they were having in the Caribbean. Can't ask for more - at least for a really good "drive-by" experience.

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Hi Turtles06...LOL about the 'disappointment' you would have experienced! I recall corresponding with you quite some time ago when I was still deciding on how I wanted to do an Antarctic experience. I KNOW you like the "motion of the ocean" if I recall your words correctly :) But for me, I'm good with having had the Lake both times! The weather was predicted to be much rougher after leaving Paradise Bay enroute to Port Stanley, and even our onboard lecturer told me, after the first crossing, that we "haven't had the full menu yet"...but I guess the rest of that menu never came. Now...an interesting point has come up during the cruise, though, which is that...if one only sees a continent from the deck of a ship and doesn't actually set foot on said continent, does it qualify as a true visit there? For many people onboard, this trip marked their 7th continent. Both our onboard lecturers said we're good to go with having 'been there', but I'll bet that some of those - like yourself - who have done expedition trips might think otherwise (?) Either way, I'm content with what I saw and I think everyone on the Infinity would like to think that they have now visited Antarctica (if even for a little). I know there is much more to experience though.

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If you had sailed around Manhattan, would you say that you had visited New York? I think not.

 

An Antarctic drive-by is just the same: close, but not a 'visit'. Sorry. On our first Antarctic trip the weather meant we were not able to make any mainland landings, *only* islands, some of them ridiculously close to the mainland. This was closer than a drive-by, but not good enough. So we went back.

 

You'll have to go back on an expedition ship and actually land!

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Yeah but it's a bit different. Any other continent except Antarctica you can easily land and explore the interior - states, countries, etc. But with Antarctica it's not quite the same. It doesn't really matter - just thought I'd bring it up since it came up at one of the onboard lecturer's programs. Thanks for your thoughts on it! I totally understand where you're coming from, but I think I'm done down there. Too many other places on the bucket list!

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Antarctica is not about bragging rights. I am fine with anyone who has been on a "cruise-by" ship saying he has been to Antarctica and I'm glad you had a good time and enjoyed it. Antarctica for me is about the experience, and on that front honestly I don't think a cruise-by is a good option, and what you are telling me about your trip doesn't do anything to convince me otherwise.

I have been to Antarctica twice on Hurtigruten's Fram (expedition-style cruises with landing). Antarctica is hands down the most amazing and mesmerizing place I have visited and I would love to go back (I did plan to go back and had to cancel for personal reasons). For me, a trip to Antarctica which leaves me only "content" and thinking I'm "done down there" would be a failed trip. :) But I don't think you would expect an ship lecturer to tell you that you did not choose the right ship!

To each his/her own of course.

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You may be misconstruing some of what I said. When mentioning that I'm "done" with going to Antarctica, it is not for lack of thinking that it would indeed be great to go back and experience it a different way, it's just that being in my sixth decade of life and knowing how many other places I want to visit yet while I still can, I deem it highly unlikely that I'll ever actually go back, and so there is a certain concession to reality that I probably will indeed not go there again and so essentially am 'done' with my once-in-a-lifetime journey to that area. I was also attracted to the other parts of the itinerary, having never been in South America before, so I opted to do the drive-by in part to get to see areas in SA as opposed to flying to Ushuaia, then down to Antarctica, then back again without seeing any parts of SA. It was a very tough decision - expeditionary / smaller ship (Fram, Le Boreal, etc.) - looked at loads of catalogs, talked to operators and guides of various trips, viewed websites , etc. probably over the past 10 years - and then just decided that the drive-by best suited what DW and I were most interested in. Also, I knew that if I just kept deliberating on and on as to how I wanted to go to Antarctica, that the process could continue forever and could result in actually never even going, so I looked again at the Celebrity trip while on another cruise and decided to just do it. (Isn't that a Nike commercial?)

 

I agree with you 100% and your points are well taken...ANY trip should not be about bragging rights, and unfortunately I think for some passengers this trip may well have been done partly to complete the run of the continents and the subsequent chance to make that known. Hence the question as to whether or not the drive-by qualifies for said bragging rights. No offense to anyone on the boards, but cruise critic is not exactly a place that appears to have a surfeit of overly-humble people who are hesitant to start telling you about how many cruises they've been on and where they've been. Rather, quite the opposite seems the case.

 

I went down there because I've always wanted to go there. It's all relative as to how much of a place one needs to see to feel like he/she has adequately seen it. There is always more to see wherever you go. As you correctly said, each to his/her own. I appreciate your thoughts.

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ANY trip should not be about bragging rights, and unfortunately I think for some passengers this trip may well have been done partly to complete the run of the continents and the subsequent chance to make that known.

 

Bragging rights? Like when you are standing in the Charles Darwin Centre in the Galapagos Islands at the end of a week long trip and looking at wall-to-wall giant tortoises with several others from the ship who haven't listened to a word the naturalists have said all week and are calling the tortoises turtles! They had no interest in where they were other than the opportunities offered to discuss how they were 'Elite on Celebrity' and how their friends 'would never be able to take a trip like this'. Ugh!

 

 

No offense to anyone on the boards, but cruise critic is not exactly a place that appears to have a surfeit of overly-humble people who are hesitant to start telling you about how many cruises they've been on and where they've been. Rather, quite the opposite seems the case.

 

Which is why I have signatures turned off!

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SarniaLo,

 

Just checked out the Antarctica portion of your blog...your pictures are truly amazing. Now you DO make me want to go back! That kayaking around the icebergs looks like a pretty neat experience. I probably should have invested in better camera equipment for this trip. I'm sure you did not use a compact point-and-shoot, which is all I have. Oh well, I got what I got. But from what I'm seeing in your blog just a cruise through Paradise Bay, Schollart Channel, and (a rather overcast weather day) at Elephant Island really isn't all that complete of an Antarctica experience. Yeah, the Infinity trip was definitely worth it, but your pictures just make me want to do more.

Edited by three4rd
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Bragging rights? Like when you are standing in the Charles Darwin Centre in the Galapagos Islands at the end of a week long trip and looking at wall-to-wall giant tortoises with several others from the ship who haven't listened to a word the naturalists have said all week and are calling the tortoises turtles! They had no interest in where they were other than the opportunities offered to discuss how they were 'Elite on Celebrity' and how their friends 'would never be able to take a trip like this'. Ugh!

 

 

 

 

Which is why I have signatures turned off!

 

 

Amen....exactly! Sometimes cruise critic feels like a 'bring and brag' club. What really kills me is the people who not only list every trip they've taken, but also the number of days-at-sea. Seriously? Speaking of the Galapagos trip - Celebrity was really pushing that trip the entire time we were on board.

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SarniaLo,

 

Just checked out the Antarctica portion of your blog...your pictures are truly amazing. Now you DO make me want to go back! That kayaking around the icebergs looks like a pretty neat experience. I probably should have invested in better camera equipment for this trip. I'm sure you did not use a compact point-and-shoot, which is all I have. Oh well, I got what I got. But from what I'm seeing in your blog just a cruise through Paradise Bay, Schollart Channel, and (a rather overcast weather day) at Elephant Island really isn't all that complete of an Antarctica experience. Yeah, the Infinity trip was definitely worth it, but your pictures just make me want to do more.

Thank you very much for your kind words. And I'm glad you understand where I was coming from as well! ;) I have DSLR camera bodies with several lenses, for landscape and for wildlife.

The kayaking was pretty awesome indeed, and the close encounter with the fauna is unforgettable. Keep that in the back of your mind then. Who knows, maybe someday, you'll go back and will do more!

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The Fram was in port at Ushuaia the same day we were. Then, we saw her later down in Antarctica (from a considerable distance). Have you crossed the Antarctic circle in any of your voyages down there? I think that would be pretty neat. I've been once above the arctic circle when we visited Alaska - gave up our day in Anchorage to fly up to Barrow - it was well worth it.

 

It looks like you have some great trips that you've done in Norway. Would like to go sometime. There was a cruise that went up there the week after we did a Baltic trip that ended in Copenhagen - in retrospect we should have booked a B2B and added the additional week. Hindsight is always 20/20.

Edited by three4rd
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The Fram was in port at Ushuaia the same day we were. Then, we saw her later down in Antarctica (from a considerable distance). Have you crossed the Antarctic circle in any of your voyages down there? I think that would be pretty neat. I've been once above the arctic circle when we visited Alaska - gave up our day in Anchorage to fly up to Barrow - it was well worth it.

Yes, I did cross the Antarctic Circle on my first voyage. It was fun to have the certificate but that wasn't the main incentive for the trip, I chose this trip because it was the longest trip I could afford. This being said, on that particular voyage certainly our most amazing landscapes and most memorable days were those below the Circle (plenty of spectacular ice, great landings, visits of ancient scientific bases where not many people go). But I knew going in that the Circle is never a guarantee, as getting there is dependent on weather and ice conditions. I was glad we made it though!

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Like SarniaLo, we have been below the Circle on Fram and, like SarniaLo, we thought the ice and the light were somehow different. Add in visits to some really interesting conserved bases like Stonnington and Horseshoe, then south of the circle is AmazingAntarctica+.

 

That said, I would still recommend Antarctica, South Georgia and the Falklands as the itinerary to go for for a first or only trip.

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We are on the Ponant Le Soleal sailing January 2018 that crosses the polar circle as part of our itinerary, it was one of the reasons I chose the sailing. I hope nature plays along and we are able to do so. If not, I'm sure it will be a spectacular trip nonetheless.

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That said, I would still recommend Antarctica, South Georgia and the Falklands as the itinerary to go for for a first or only trip.

Me too, for sure. That was actually our initial choice, then the trip was cancelled, and the Antarctic Circle was the longest replacement trip we could go with. And Falklands/SG/Peninsula was our second Antarctica cruise. Definitely way worth it.

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I'm just grateful for the day we had at Port Stanley. Could not have been better. And yet if we had been scheduled to come in the day before we would not have been able to do it. The gentoos out at Bluff Cove were so adorable!!

 

Terry&Mike...best wishes for the type of smooth sailing and great weather down there that we had. I'm not a fan of rough seas, and so having "Drake Lake" twice was more than I even realistically hoped for. Curious..how did you find the HAL trip to AU/NZ to be? AU and NZ are high on my list but I don't prefer to do it by cruise since I'd like to do fairly extensive touring of the interior parts of AU. Most of the cruises I've looked at only visit a few ports in AU. Then again, you mention "lots of land trips" so perhaps you've already done one of those on that continent anyway.

Edited by three4rd
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I'm just grateful for the day we had at Port Stanley. Could not have been better. And yet if we had been scheduled to come in the day before we would not have been able to do it. The gentoos out at Bluff Cove were so adorable!!

 

Terry&Mike...best wishes for the type of smooth sailing and great weather down there that we had. I'm not a fan of rough seas, and so having "Drake Lake" twice was more than I even realistically hoped for. Curious..how did you find the HAL trip to AU/NZ to be? AU and NZ are high on my list but I don't prefer to do it by cruise since I'd like to do fairly extensive touring of the interior parts of AU. Most of the cruises I've looked at only visit a few ports in AU. Then again, you mention "lots of land trips" so perhaps you've already done one of those on that continent anyway.

I certainly enjoyed the trip, but it doesn't rank among my all time favorites. It was a 14 day cruise, and we extended a bit before and after. We found the scenery lovely, and the Maori culture interesting. I find for myself, I generally enjoy a location more that is vastly different from the US, in culture, customs, food, and/or scenery. So yes, it was lovely, the people were pleasant, the food was good, but not a standout for me. Of course, your mileage may vary. I hope this didn't post twice but CruiseCritic is giving me fits this morning.
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I certainly enjoyed the trip, but it doesn't rank among my all time favorites. It was a 14 day cruise, and we extended a bit before and after. We found the scenery lovely, and the Maori culture interesting. I find for myself, I generally enjoy a location more that is vastly different from the US, in culture, customs, food, and/or scenery. So yes, it was lovely, the people were pleasant, the food was good, but not a standout for me. Of course, your mileage may vary. I hope this didn't post twice but CruiseCritic is giving me fits this morning.

 

 

Then you should certainly enjoy Antarctica! Unlike any place I've been to. Thanks for your thoughts on the AU/NZ trip. For us, we've found that some of our more exotic and complex trips - while being very impressive in terms of what we've seen - have not been the most memorable. Our favorite mode of travel is by car (within the US), and so some of the trips where I poured over maps for weeks, planned out a route, booked hotels and sightseeing plans along the way - have turned out to be among our favorites. While we like cruising and organized land tours, it sometimes gets old being with large groups of other travelers (let alone a big ship full of literally thousands of people).

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We had originally booked this cruise two years ago and switched to Hurtigruten Fram. Coincidently we arrived Ushuaia two-days before the Fram sailing and saw Infinity in port. As some have mentioned, there is a significant experiential difference between a "drive-by" at distance and actually traveling in an ice rated expedition ship through the narrow passages between islands, into fjords, and landing on the continent. There is also a further differential experience between the regions north of the Antarctic Circle frequently by most expedition cruises and south of the Circle. The 150 nm difference doesn't seem like much, but the scenery, animal life and terrain change significantly. Great cruise on Fram, wonderful crew, exceptional naturalists and perfect ship (and food) for crossing the Drake and experiencing the White Continent.

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Glad you enjoyed Fram and that you experienced/noticed the changes further south and appreciated first hand the difference between a drive-by and an expedition trip.

 

Now you're entitled to a 5% return booking discount you'll have to take the Falklands, South Georgia, Antarctica trip!

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Hurtigruten was high on my list for a long time when deciding on an Antarctica trip. I think I just got so weary of trying to decide on which company to go with over a period of a few years, that once I became aware of the Celebrity trip (actually saw it during a RCL cruise), I decided that for both DW and I it was probably the best fit for going down there. I also liked that it stopped at Puerto Madryn and Montevideo. Having never been in South America, it gave me a chance to see a bit of several different areas. I don't question the deeper, more extensive, and more authentic an experience to be had with the expedition trips, but after weighing out many different factors the Infinity trip seemed like a good choice. IF I go back, then definitely I'd do an expedition journey, but from where I sit right now I deem it unlikely to ever get back down there. Too many other places I haven't been to yet!

Plus, next time I'd go it may well be a totally different situation in the Drake. I can't imagine getting any luckier, weather-wise, than I did with this trip.

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