Antarctica and Polar Ice Cap cruises after Jan 2022?

[Ken the cruiser]

14 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

Princess just released info that they are going to sail in the Antarctic region in the 2021 / 2022 season on the Sapphire Princess.  Has the code changed?

2021-2022SouthAmericaAntarctica.pdf 199.13 kB · 0 downloads

I can't open your link nor find the 2022 Antarctica cruise on the Princess site here in the US, but I do see that Celebrity and HAL as well as Azamara have Antarctica cruises scheduled for Jan 2022. So, my guess is they found a loophole.

Edited June 3, 2020 by Ken the cruiser
I was finally able to open your attachment. Thanks for the heads-up.

[azbirdmom]

4 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

I can't open your link nor find the 2022 Antarctica cruise on the Princess site here in the US, but I do see that Celebrity and HAL as well as Azamara have Antarctica cruises scheduled for Jan 2022. So, my guess is they found a loophole.

 

Try this https://book.princess.com/pdf/onesource/pc/sales_marketing/Destination/2021_2022_program_launch/southamerica-antarctica/2021-2022SouthAmericaAntarctica.pdf

[Ken the cruiser]

9 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

 

Try this https://book.princess.com/pdf/onesource/pc/sales_marketing/Destination/2021_2022_program_launch/southamerica-antarctica/2021-2022SouthAmericaAntarctica.pdf

Thanks!! I was finally able to open the other one you posted. It will be interesting to see when Princess posts these to the website.

[azbirdmom]

5 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Thanks!! I was finally able to open the other one you posted. It will be interesting to see when Princess posts these to the website.

 

I think they will be on sale to the general public in a week so they should show up then.  Haven't seen that in writing, just what I heard.  TAs probably have the scoop!

[Bgwest]

On 3/16/2019 at 6:45 AM, pompeii said:

Interestingly, our next two cruises are Canada/Greenland (August 2019) and SA/Antarctica (Jan 2020.)  Purely coincidence, I've had these booked for a while and hadn't heard of this law or regulation until I read about it on the recent Greenland thread.  But now I'm even more glad to have these on the schedule.  I'd love to set foot on Antarctica, and I truly envy Knickearth's husband.  What an experience! But even a sail-by is a lot more than most people have the opportunity to do so I am not unhappy whatsoever.

Check out the excursions. This past December when we did the Princess Antartica cruise, for the princely sum of $3500 per person one could fly to Antarctica for the day.
there were several people on our cruise that did and we’re bitterly disappointed that the weather gods would not cooperate and the excursion was scrubbed.

[frugaltravel]

13 minutes ago, Bgwest said:

Check out the excursions. This past December when we did the Princess Antartica cruise, for the princely sum of $3500 per person one could fly to Antarctica for the day.

Wow! My 21 day HAL SA and Antarctica cruise about 3 years ago cost that including single supplement and taxes. We had 3-1/2  days in Antarctica. No regrets at all.

 

Edited June 3, 2020 by frugaltravel

[azbirdmom]

19 hours ago, frugaltravel said:

Wow! My 21 day HAL SA and Antarctica cruise about 3 years ago cost that including single supplement and taxes. We had 3-1/2  days in Antarctica. No regrets at all.

 

 

The excursion was for those who wanted to set foot on the ice and as was mentioned it's frequently cancelled.  Conditions have to be perfect for the plane to take off from Punta Arenas.  The Princess Antarctica cruises include scenic cruising for 2 - 4 days in the Antarctic region at no extra charge above the cruise fare.  We were there in January on the Coral Princess and it was amazing.

[Coral]

22 hours ago, Bgwest said:

Check out the excursions. This past December when we did the Princess Antartica cruise, for the princely sum of $3500 per person one could fly to Antarctica for the day.
there were several people on our cruise that did and we’re bitterly disappointed that the weather gods would not cooperate and the excursion was scrubbed.

If I wanted landings I would go with a different line such as National Geographic, Lindland, etc... These small expedition ships have multiple possible landing sites.

[frugaltravel]

1 hour ago, Coral said:

If I wanted landings I would go with a different line such as National Geographic, Lindland, etc... These small expedition ships have multiple possible landing sites.

Exactly.   I know I did Antarctica "the poor man's way" but I could not afford 5x the price to take one of the small expedition ships.  Having said that, I was SO impressed with the three expedition leaders that we had on board our cruise.  Commentary during our Antarctic sailing, availability in a lounge almost daily, some lectures in the theater and they even arranged for some workers from one of the US stations to board our ship and give a presentation and Q&A.  It was a great experience.  When I did it, Princess was not sailing in Antarctica.  But HAL had a great price.

 

Edited June 4, 2020 by frugaltravel

[Ken the cruiser]

12 minutes ago, frugaltravel said:

Exactly.   I know I did Antarctica "the poor man's way" but I could not afford 5x the price to take one of the small expedition ships.  Having said that, I was SO impressed with the three expedition leaders that we had on board our cruise.  Commentary during our Antarctic sailing, availability in a lounge almost daily, some lectures in the theater and they even arranged for some workers from one of the US stations to board our ship and give a presentation and Q&A.  It was a great experience.  When I did it, Princess was not sailing in Antarctica.  But HAL had a great price.

 

We went on the Zaandam in Jan 2018 and had a wonderful time. We also had a great time walking with the penguins in Argentina and the Falkland Islands as well. Definitely glad to see the "drive by" Antarctica sailings will continue to sail in 2022 and beyond as we really weren't looking forward to paying $1,000+ pp/day to go on an expedition cruise.

[Coral]

54 minutes ago, frugaltravel said:

Exactly.   I know I did Antarctica "the poor man's way" but I could not afford 5x the price to take one of the small expedition ships.  Having said that, I was SO impressed with the three expedition leaders that we had on board our cruise.  Commentary during our Antarctic sailing, availability in a lounge almost daily, some lectures in the theater and they even arranged for some workers from one of the US stations to board our ship and give a presentation and Q&A.  It was a great experience.  When I did it, Princess was not sailing in Antarctica.  But HAL had a great price.

 

Glad you were able to do it. I have not been able to. Sounds like you got a great price! I have looked into it and air is so $$$$. I have it booked for December (on Princess) but I doubt I will be going.

[frugaltravel]

12 minutes ago, Coral said:

Glad you were able to do it. I have not been able to. Sounds like you got a great price! I have looked into it and air is so $$$$. I have it booked for December (on Princess) but I doubt I will be going.

Flights can be a deal breaker. Fortunately I was able to use miles for my flights and got a great deal. Plus I was surprised by the reasonable cost for a single traveler. Hope you can make it work.

[Gwendy]

December this year would be iffy with the rate of Covid19 in South America.  However don’t despair, book one for another time.  I have over 30 cruises all over the world and the Antarctica one is still my favourite.  We did this on Celebrity, I could not manage the expedition ships, getting in and out of zodiacs would be too difficult for me.

 

The sights we saw were amazing, huge icebergs, one calving as we sailed last, seals floating past sunning themselves on ice floes, whales and the penguins.  Skipping through the waves is the only way I can describe them, hopefully the Leopard seal we saw following them did not get any.  This cruise is a must for anyone.

 

[azbirdmom]

3 hours ago, frugaltravel said:

Exactly.   I know I did Antarctica "the poor man's way" but I could not afford 5x the price to take one of the small expedition ships.  Having said that, I was SO impressed with the three expedition leaders that we had on board our cruise.  Commentary during our Antarctic sailing, availability in a lounge almost daily, some lectures in the theater and they even arranged for some workers from one of the US stations to board our ship and give a presentation and Q&A.  It was a great experience.  When I did it, Princess was not sailing in Antarctica.  But HAL had a great price.

 

 

Our trip on the Coral Princess in January was fantastic as well.  They had experts on board as well - experienced ice pilots, a man who lived at one of the research station, and someone who provided the historical perspective.  There was at least one lecture every day leading up to our entry into Antarctic waters, but most days there were two.  And they did bring aboard some of the scientists from the Polish station who talked to us from the bridge in exchange for pizza and fruit.  They flew a pilot flag on their dinghy and were very entertaining.  The captain and crew were very excited as well - this certainly was special for all on board.  That was our last cruise before Covid hit and I've said more than once that if that was our final cruise, it was a doozy to end on.

[Coral]

1 hour ago, Gwendy said:

December this year would be iffy with the rate of Covid19 in South America.  However don’t despair, book one for another time.  I have over 30 cruises all over the world and the Antarctica one is still my favourite.  We did this on Celebrity, I could not manage the expedition ships, getting in and out of zodiacs would be too difficult for me.

 

The sights we saw were amazing, huge icebergs, one calving as we sailed last, seals floating past sunning themselves on ice floes, whales and the penguins.  Skipping through the waves is the only way I can describe them, hopefully the Leopard seal we saw following them did not get any.  This cruise is a must for anyone.

 

Due to new emission restrictions, I think this will be the last year that larger ships will be able to go. I don't know specifics on it but I think it will be pretty restricted in the future.

[Coral]

2 hours ago, frugaltravel said:

Flights can be a deal breaker. Fortunately I was able to use miles for my flights and got a great deal. Plus I was surprised by the reasonable cost for a single traveler. Hope you can make it work.

I tried to use my AA miles right away but couldn't (they were blocked on dates). Though, I don't think it will go in December anyway.

[azbirdmom]

12 hours ago, Coral said:

Due to new emission restrictions, I think this will be the last year that larger ships will be able to go. I don't know specifics on it but I think it will be pretty restricted in the future.

 

Having read information on the multiple threads on this topic (I revived the oldest one), 2021 was supposed to be the last year for the larger cruise ships to sail in that area which is why I was surprised to see that Princess is going there in 2022.  For the sake of those booking, I hope that something in the "Polar Code" changed and that these cruises won't ultimately be cancelled.

[Coral]

43 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

 

Having read information on the multiple threads on this topic (I revived the oldest one), 2021 was supposed to be the last year for the larger cruise ships to sail in that area which is why I was surprised to see that Princess is going there in 2022.  For the sake of those booking, I hope that something in the "Polar Code" changed and that these cruises won't ultimately be cancelled.

Thanks - I didn't realize this. Can you give me a ship and date? 🙂 

[azbirdmom]

1 hour ago, Coral said:

Thanks - I didn't realize this. Can you give me a ship and date? 🙂 

 

Sapphire Princess with two cruises scheduled in 2022.  They are open for Elite booking on June 9th at 9 AM PDT, general sales start on June 10th.

 

[Coral]

6 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

 

Sapphire Princess with two cruises scheduled in 2022.  They are open for Elite booking on June 9th at 9 AM PDT, general sales start on June 10th.

 

Thanks! I hadn't kept up with announced but not available bookings. So unlike me 🙂 . Thanks for filling me in. I doubt mine is a go for this year and I am not sure I would want to go at that time anyway (possible no vaccination), South America currently a hot zone.

[Coral]

2 hours ago, azbirdmom said:

 

Sapphire Princess with two cruises scheduled in 2022.  They are open for Elite booking on June 9th at 9 AM PDT, general sales start on June 10th.

 

Sorry I missed the earlier posts in this thread!

[Cruisegroover]

I have been wondering about the polar code as well. I have booked on the 4 Jan 2022 cruise but thinking of changing it to 19 Dec 2021. If the new requirements take effect 1 Jan 2022 and if Sapphire have an Ice Class certificate valid until 31st Dec. 2021 then technically they cruise further than they could on 4 Jan cruise.  It's seems to be very hard to find the correct information but I will keep trying.

 

I had originally booked at cruise for Jan 2021 but have cancelled due to an indefinite travel ban the Australian Government has placed on us. Fingers crossed end of next year we can travel.

[Syracusefan44]

Princess announced today that they are returning to Greenland in August 2022 with all the ports on the 2021 cruise (some of which appear to be in violation of the polar code).  

Edited November 13, 2020 by Syracusefan44

[Ken the cruiser]

9 minutes ago, Syracusefan44 said:

Princess announced today that they are returning to Greenland in August 2022 with all the ports on the 2021 cruise (some of which appear to be in violation of the polar code).  

Where did you read this announcement if I might ask?

[SoBaycruiser]

On 7/12/2020 at 8:19 PM, Cruisegroover said:

I have been wondering about the polar code as well. I have booked on the 4 Jan 2022 cruise but thinking of changing it to 19 Dec 2021. If the new requirements take effect 1 Jan 2022 and if Sapphire have an Ice Class certificate valid until 31st Dec. 2021 then technically they cruise further than they could on 4 Jan cruise.  It's seems to be very hard to find the correct information but I will keep trying.

 

I had originally booked at cruise for Jan 2021 but have cancelled due to an indefinite travel ban the Australian Government has placed on us. Fingers crossed end of next year we can travel.

I think I’d stick with the January trip.  When we went in January 2008, we had a wonderful time. Six weeks before, the MV Explorer hit ice and sunk.  All the passengers were rescued.  We had no problem getting into areas of beauty.  We got down to 65S on that trip.  I’m not saying Princess would do anything unsafe.  Just that you might have to see things from afar if there is a lot of ice.  Then again with global warming it might be totally different now.