Anyone going in 2008/9?

I've just booked the Prince Albert II cruise to Antarctica for Jan 2009.

I've had a look at the roll calls and I couldn't see anything for this coming summer season.

I know one couple from the silversea boards is going.

Is anyone else on any ship going?

My daughter is going on Orlova in January 2009.

Check out the post before this and see if you can maybe change and take advantage of the 50% off for the end of the year. May be all filled by now though.

I've just booked the Prince Albert II cruise to Antarctica for Jan 2009.

 

I've had a look at the roll calls and I couldn't see anything for this coming summer season.

 

I know one couple from the silversea boards is going.

 

Is anyone else on any ship going?

Can't wait :D Second trip to Antarctica!

ParisChris - the Minerva looks fantastic! As it's your second trip you'll know exactly what to expect. I'm struggling with what to get in terms of clothes, wellies and layers and cameras etc.

What did you find worked best and is there anything you thought was a waste of time? Thanks

Hi, I can't go any earlier than the end of Jan, I was on a round the horn cruise which had to be cancelled as we couldn't go in Dec.

ParisChris - the Minerva looks fantastic! As it's your second trip you'll know exactly what to expect. I'm struggling with what to get in terms of clothes, wellies and layers and cameras etc.

 

What did you find worked best and is there anything you thought was a waste of time? Thanks

 

Hi, I can't go any earlier than the end of Jan, I was on a round the horn cruise which had to be cancelled as we couldn't go in Dec.

Hi there Soraya,

Wellingtons (gum boots in my lingo) are usually provided by the ship. They were on my last sailing on the Nordkapp and will be again on the Minerva.

Last time I packed a Goretex jacket - this time around I'll make do with the tour provided wind/waterproof jacket. Otherwise you end up with two in the suitcase at the end of the cruise.

I'm also leaving fleece behind this time and using my down jackets - much lighter, warmer and take up less room in suitcase.

Other changes I'm making - thin pair of gloves (I'm a photographer), with an outer glove to improve dexterity with the camera. My heavy gloves with an integrated lining didn't suit what I needed to do outside taking photos.

Also changing my hat/cap to one with ear flaps, no matter how silly I look. I like to spend a lot of time outside, the effect of wind whistling through one ear and out the other isn't very sustainable I discovered. :D

I'm also changing my footwear - I never take more than 3 pairs of shoes, last time I took my heavy hiking boots and wore them outside. They were warm, but too heavy to be clumping around the ship. So I'm going to swap them for a mid-weight trail shoe that will do me for the hiking after the cruise.

No change to the thermals and waterproof pants - they are needed for the zodiac transfers (never got wet), but are more useful for the landing and dealing with snow slips and penguin poo encounters.

I found the ships always well heated - tshirt inside, so layers are a must for dealing with the inside/outside.

Most of the ships have laundry facilities (the Nordkapp and Minerva certainly do), so no need to take 3 weeks worth of clothes!

As I'm a serious photog, I spend a lot of time outside - it may be different for you. My camera bag will also weigh more than my suitcase! :p

Cheers

I've just booked the Prince Albert II cruise to Antarctica for Jan 2009.

 

I've had a look at the roll calls and I couldn't see anything for this coming summer season.

 

I know one couple from the silversea boards is going.

 

Is anyone else on any ship going?

We were on the Nordnorge for a February 2009 sailing, until Hurtigruten pulled the rug on us and canceled the cruise. Now we are on the Fram on November 27th, 2009 followed immediately by a Galapagos cruise on the Xpedition. Should be interesting packing clothes going from one of the coldest spots on earth to one of the warmest ones. :rolleyes:

RonC

I remember the problems with the cancelle cruises.

Amazing contrast for your cruises! I think the order is great though - you get to defrost in the warm water afterwards!

We're going too !! on the Corinthian January '09.

I'm so excited I can hardly contain my silliness, calling my gardening clogs Finnesko's and my stock pot the hoosh pot.

My husband does this a lot :rolleyes:

Dpro, glad things all worked out. Your wife is a jewel doing those two trips back to back. You must not have dawgs or jobs ;)

Have a wonderful trip.

We're going too !! on the Corinthian January '09.

I'm so excited I can hardly contain my silliness, calling my gardening clogs Finnesko's and my stock pot the hoosh pot.

My husband does this a lot :rolleyes:

 

Dpro, glad things all worked out. Your wife is a jewel doing those two trips back to back. You must not have dawgs or jobs ;)

Have a wonderful trip.

Yes, I think she is more excited than I am. We are retired with a cat, who has learned very well to take care of herself, (stays in our large workshop with a skywalk), while we are gone. Isn't there a lot of great info here, thanks to all who have contributed. Has anyone stayed 3 to 4 days pre-cruise in Quito, it seems there are plenty of side trips available. We are trying to figure out how to divide our time between Buenos Aires and Quito.

RonC

We're going too !! on the Corinthian January '09.

I'm so excited I can hardly contain my silliness, calling my gardening clogs Finnesko's and my stock pot the hoosh pot. My husband does this a lot

I'll be on C2 in Cabin D329 a year behind you in January 2010. I hope you'll come back to this forum and give us the details of your cruise. I've been to Svalbard (North Pole area) in 2005 and was covered with stars to observe two polar bears in the wild. They clambered all over the hills and crags for 3 hours, creating havoc with a lot of anxious nesting birds. So penguins have a lot to show me!

Enjoy your cruise - I'm sure it will be abfab.

Ruby

Well there seems to be quite a few of us off to the Antarctica this year.

ParisChris - my DH is a very keen photographer -do you have any tips? what would be the best lenses to take and what's not worth carrying? how did the camera react to the temperatures? How about the zodiac transfers did you use a waterproof casing? He has a waterproof rucksack the sort you can drop in the water and stays sealed - worth carrying? Was the snow so bright that it was a problem? He's planning to go mainly digital but also film.

I think his entire hand luggage is the cameras.:)

Thanks

How funny... three of us Texans....might it have something to do with escaping this HEAT ?:cool: ?

Ruby, i'll make a deal with you. We plan to do Svalbard, or something similarly Arctic, in 2010. Have you posted a review or pictures? Link it, and i'll try to be a good participant and report on our journey.

A promise has been made, (hopefully to be kept) to H2So4. Her wonderful post here at C.C. was our original point of inspiration. (For those of you who haven't read it, do so immediately)

I've promised her a post upon return...but being a horrible journal keeper, don't expect too much, i'm no H2So4 :(

Ron, there is a TON of great stuff to do from Quito. You might want to check out that humongous Celeb "X" thread for suggestions. It's titled "anyone recently back...".

The Birding is outstanding, the Otavalo Market... you can easily stay busy for 2 weeks depending on your interests. Of course, you'll see plenty just on the two little excursions "X'" has planned for you.

If you want night life, restaurants and some incredible Art museums, spend your time in Buenos Aires.

With less than six months to the White Continent, preparation of sledges, dogs and ponies continues...:p

Ruby, i'll make a deal with you. We plan to do Svalbard, or something similarly Arctic, in 2010. Have you posted a review or pictures? Link it, and i'll try to be a good participant and report on our journey.

A promise has been made, (hopefully to be kept) to H2So4. Her wonderful post here at C.C. was our original point of inspiration. (For those of you who haven't read it, do so immediately)

I've promised her a post upon return...but being a horrible journal keeper, don't expect too much, i'm no H2So4 :(

What a treat you're in store for with reports from both H2So4 and Saga Ruby!!

Well there seems to be quite a few of us off to the Antarctica this year.

 

ParisChris - my DH is a very keen photographer -do you have any tips? what would be the best lenses to take and what's not worth carrying? how did the camera react to the temperatures? How about the zodiac transfers did you use a waterproof casing? He has a waterproof rucksack the sort you can drop in the water and stays sealed - worth carrying? Was the snow so bright that it was a problem? He's planning to go mainly digital but also film.

 

I think his entire hand luggage is the cameras.:)

 

Thanks

Hi Soraya,

The camera gear I'm taking is (all Canon):

5D with 400mm 5.6 lens and 24-105 lens

20D with 100-400m

The 20D and 100-400mm can with me last time, with a 24-70 lens. The 100-400mm got the biggest workout with wildlife, so I'm expanding my wildlife capability with the 400mm f5.6, which will be fine on either body.

24mm on FF is wide enough - I took a 10-22mm lens last time on my entire trip - and used it about twice. Same with a 70-200mm lens - just not long enough.

Coupled with a laptop, flash, battery grips, DVDs for burning, external hard drives, light meter, spare batteries, rain covers etc, My camera bag will weigh 15kg easily.

In terms of the waterproof bag - I used a dry bag to transport the camera on the zodiacs. A waterproof backpack will be fine.

Cold wasn't an issue for the gear - although I did run through 2 lithium batteries very quickly shooting a friendly group of whales.

Cheers

ParisChris- thanks for the detaile info. My DH was well impressed with the lenses you have! His camera is also a Canon and he's having a rethink on lenses - he thought the 12-24mm he had would be used a lot but it sounds like his 50-500mm would be more worthwhile. ( Hope I've got those right!)

Will make sure we have extra batteries and chargers to hand as well.

Thanks again for the info.

ParisChris- thanks for the detaile info. My DH was well impressed with the lenses you have! His camera is also a Canon and he's having a rethink on lenses - he thought the 12-24mm he had would be used a lot but it sounds like his 50-500mm would be more worthwhile. ( Hope I've got those right!)

 

Will make sure we have extra batteries and chargers to hand as well.

 

Thanks again for the info.

Soraya,

You're welcome! The 12-24 is pretty wide, even on a crop camera. The Bigma (I'm assuming the 50-500 is a Sigma) would be much more useful if your DH is into wildlife. Better still, take both to be on the safe side.

Cheers

I've just booked the Prince Albert II cruise to Antarctica for Jan 2009.

 

I've had a look at the roll calls and I couldn't see anything for this coming summer season.

 

I know one couple from the silversea boards is going.

 

Is anyone else on any ship going?

We are going on the MS Fram in Febr 2009.

I was at the North Pole on Saga Ruby 3 years ago in June 2005. She is an upscale small British ship with about 580 pax.

The town of Longyearbyen on Svalbard proved to have a 20mph wind with light snow blowing horizontally. We were picked up at the pier by school shuttle buses, went down an industrial road, turned right at the Radisson Polar Hotel which featured rare Svalbard reindeer grazing in the yard. The reindeer are short and stout and quite handsome.

After enjoying some power shopping in Longyearbyen, we sailed further north to Magdalenafjord where we followed the leads in the sea to the mouth of the glacier which is touching the sea. Someone on the Bridge spotted a polar bear in the water at the tip of the glacier, the Captain got on the tannoy, and the entire ship emptied out.

Nobody budged from their places at the rail while we had the great pleasure of watching a polar bear in the wild meander up and down the stark black hills for 3 hours sending up flocks of nervous Arctic birds. The bear climbed easily up into the black, snow-covered crags then belly-surfed in the snow down to the coastline. It was an absolute thrill to have a close up view with the binoculars provided in every cabin. The Captain said that, in the 6 seasons he had sailed to Svalbard, this was the only time he had seen polar bears.

One of the ship’s tender was launched with the ship’s photographer inside who made hundreds of snaps in colour and black-and-white. He sold so many prints of the bears that he ran out of paper!

As the ship turned to leave, we saw another polar bear right by the ship, calmly swimming with huge flat feet to shore. There were small disks of glacial snow floating by Saga Ruby’s hull and many of them had the impressive paw print of the bears embedded into the surface with seawater filling the holes of their claw prints.

That evening I ordered the wild loin of reindeer with lingonberries which was delish. By the bye, a fellow CCritic poster was on Sea Princess on the exact same day, exact same time. They never saw the bears because the ship was too large to enter the bay but they saw our ship’s tender being lowered and thought that passengers were going ashore. Not likely!

When we left Magdalena Bay after seeing polar bears, we could not continue north to circle the island because the North Pole ice pack was too solid. We visited the research station of Ny Alesund where we are told to keep strictly to the paths, never ever leave litter, in general please understand the scientists are not hospitality hosts. The locals did, however, muster up enough energy to open a gift shop for our convenience.

On that Far North adventure it was strange to be sailing for 2-3 days to get "down" to the Arctic Circle. And, of course, the Midnight Sun is exactly that - always in the sky.

I will be going to Antarctica in Jan 2010 on a small expedition ship, Corinthian II. My joke is that I want to compare Far North icebergs to Far South icebergs.

Ruby

Thanks for the post Saga Ruby; sounds like you had a great experience ... will have to check this line out.

Ruby,

Thank you so much for taking the time to post.

These "Ruby's" do indeed sound like jewels and warrant further investigation. Such lovely ships! They stir memories of the old S.S. Norway, albeit mini-versions. The Norway was possibly the loveliest ship ever winched up onto a beach... (cried real tears when I saw those photos :( but I digress)

If our trips on Corinthian were not a year apart we could have been neighbors. Our bunks are right across the corridor. Upon return I'll give journaling my very best effort. There won't be any details, but perhaps enough impressions to help fuel your anticipation.

In the meantime, safe travels and smooth seas :)

Mary

I am going with Quark on the Orlova Nov 19th!

Sara

We are joining Sorya in Antratica on the Prince G Jan 29th - and we have sailed the Xpedition last Oct -

RonC - we (wife and I) purchased the pre-cruise stay in Quito but had mixed feelings about it - X does a marvelous job of pampering you - everything from the airport pickup to the tours - and the hotel itself is fab - however - the hotel is not really walkable to any kind of nightlife and the tours themselves are quite boring (especially in comparison of what is to come in the following week) While it is a great way to meet fellow travellers pre-trip - I'll be brutally honest and say most of bonded over the horrible local food offered and the hilarity of not being able to drink because of federal elections - in retrospect - we would have prefered to have skipped Quito and either stayed in the heart of the Galop pre cruise or have done Quito on our own - otherwise our week in the Galop (food aside) was one of the most incredible intellectually stimulating travel weeks we've ever had -

jc

toronto

We are joining Sorya in Antratica on the Prince G Jan 29th - and we have sailed the Xpedition last Oct -

 

RonC - we (wife and I) purchased the pre-cruise stay in Quito but had mixed feelings about it - X does a marvelous job of pampering you - everything from the airport pickup to the tours - and the hotel itself is fab - however - the hotel is not really walkable to any kind of nightlife and the tours themselves are quite boring (especially in comparison of what is to come in the following week) While it is a great way to meet fellow travellers pre-trip - I'll be brutally honest and say most of bonded over the horrible local food offered and the hilarity of not being able to drink because of federal elections - in retrospect - we would have prefered to have skipped Quito and either stayed in the heart of the Galop pre cruise or have done Quito on our own - otherwise our week in the Galop (food aside) was one of the most incredible intellectually stimulating travel weeks we've ever had -

 

jc

toronto

Thanks for the info JC, we are still working on our days between Antarctica and Quito. Turns out we have 2 more days than we thought we did, so we are going to Iguazu Falls for those two days.

RonC

Can't wait :D Second trip to Antarctica!

We will be on her in February. Please post a review when you return,