Antarctica

[macaroni]

Planning a January 2024 Antarctica/Falkland islands cruise. Trying to decide between 14 night eclipse  or 16 night Princess ….Princess is almost $4,000 more per couple and goes from Santiago to Buenos Aires as Celebrity is BA RT. We have done South America before so going around is not a requirement. Celebrity is 1 day less in Antarctica. Has anyone done both? Does anyone have opinions?

 

also, right now plan is for the end of January…..is earlier in the month better?

 

I know an expedition cruise is best but that is not happening.

 

thanks for any input or thoughts.

[cruisestitch]

That’s a lot of money for two extra nights

[macaroni]

But is the extra day in Antarctica worth it….for those who have been?

[jelayne]

We did Antarctica on the Infinity and loved it. Since it isn’t a expedition sailing then I would not think the extra day of cruising is worth the price.  

[capsplace]

We did Antarctica on the Eclipse in Feb 2020 and it was epic!  Followed up with a B2B to Brazil, in time for Carnaval.  Returned to USA early March, just as Covid was impacting travel and the world.  Friends stayed on board for the next two cruises, the itineraries of each were cancelled.  They never got off the ship until Eclipse returned to San Diego.  

[Ken the cruiser]

We're booked on the January 2024 Princess cruise from Santiago with 4 days cruising around the Antarctica peninsula whereas the Celebrity Eclipse cruise actually only cruises around the Antarctica peninsula for 2 days (days 7 and 8).

 

We actually booked the 14-day Celebrity cruise first, then switched when we found that Princess does 4 days in Antarctica and, yes, those 2 extra days are definitely worth the extra cost to us. We also booked the follow-on (much cheaper) Princess cruise from BA back to Santiago as it offers a somewhat different return itinerary but is also loaded with multiple "wildlife-enriched" ports to visit!

 

Back in Jan 2018, we did a similar HAL 22-day cruise from BA to Santiago which also spent 4 days cruising around the Peninsula, and it was truly awesome!  

 

As far as costing more per day, yes, Princess does cost more. But whichever cruise you choose, you're going to have a great time!! One suggestion - if there is a cabin available and your budget can afford it, book an aft-facing one so you can enjoy the wildlife and fantastic scenic views on both sides of the ship as well as from the aft from your balcony. Yes, you can walk around the promenade as well, but ... 😉

 

Cruise Details - 16-Day Antarctica & Cape Horn - Princess Cruises

 

14 Nights Antarctica from Buenos Aires, Argentina | Celebrity Cruises

 

BTW, remember when comparing costs online between Princess and Celebrity, the Princess base price includes a refundable deposit whereas the Celebrity one by default includes a nonrefundable deposit and you have to pay a little more for the refundable option.

Edited October 22, 2022 by Ken the cruiser

[macaroni]

I am looking at both prices based on the same inclusions…..actually Princess is 2 12 days and then 2 full days….

I think we will book both and read reviews this winter before finalizing.
 

thanks for the thoughts!

[macaroni]

Should say 2  - 1/2 days

[Arizona Wildcat]

Cruising by Antarctica was wonderful.  Again we had perfect weather.  As others have said the stop in the Falklands is about 50/50.  Hopefully someone will organize a private tour to see the penguins.  Wonderful.

No opinion about Princess vs Celebrity as both are similar and this cruise is very weather dependent for the entire cruise.  Two expedition cruises the week before ours were cut short due to 50' seas.  We had seas that very calm except for one day.

[the penguins]

18 hours ago, macaroni said:

Planning a January 2024 Antarctica/Falkland islands cruise. Trying to decide between 14 night eclipse  or 16 night Princess ….Princess is almost $4,000 more per couple and goes from Santiago to Buenos Aires as Celebrity is BA RT. We have done South America before so going around is not a requirement. Celebrity is 1 day less in Antarctica. Has anyone done both? Does anyone have opinions?

 

also, right now plan is for the end of January…..is earlier in the month better?

 

I know an expedition cruise is best but that is not happening.

 

thanks for any input or thoughts.

Shame you have ruled out an "expedition" cruise. We have done the "scenic" version on Celebrity and the "expedition" on Hurtigruten's Fram. There is really no comparison between the two experiences.

[macaroni]

I know…..besides the difference in price, which I wouldn’t mind for the experience, I would be afraid of being sea sick on a smaller ship and not enjoying it at all….

[the penguins]

11 hours ago, macaroni said:

I know…..besides the difference in price, which I wouldn’t mind for the experience, I would be afraid of being sea sick on a smaller ship and not enjoying it at all….

I appreciate the dilemma and for what it's worth our experiences were:

First trip on Celebrity:  8 days of continuous bad weather culminating in 60 foot waves and 90 mph winds. Just 1 glouroius day of calm and sun sailing amongst the icebergs but always looking down. The ship cannot go close to land. Fully stabilised. Decks closed for several days and no Bridge visits.

Second trip the Fram: 2 days of bad weather. Once across the Drake's passage ship can get close to the land where it is protected from the winds. Ship fully stabilised and much lower resulting in less side to side motion. Ice bergs tower above you. Even in the worst weather the deck was still open for passengers. Every passenger got a trip to the Bridge.

Price: on the Fram all excursions/landings are included as is a waterproof eind proof jacket( yours to keep ) and special insulated boots to borrow. 

Overall: Celebrity is still basically the same onboard experience with a different view from on deck. Fram, everything is tailored to the destination, talks, expert guides and lecturers. 

Our choice: book an expedition ship and the lowest cheapest cabin (you will only go in it to sleep) and embrace a once in a lifetime experience. Ideally pick a cruise that includes South Georgia which is the only place to see thousands of King Penguins.

[macaroni]

Thanks!

[NutsAboutGolf]

Cheapest rates are like 3.5x more expensive on Fram then on X.  On the sailing I'm booked on, it's over $10K/couple more to sail on Fram.  Rhetorical question, while I understand Fram offers a better Antarctica experience, is seeing king penguins worth that extra expense?  🤔

[macaroni]

the penguins……what months did you travel in?

[the penguins]

1 hour ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

Cheapest rates are like 3.5x more expensive on Fram then on X.  On the sailing I'm booked on, it's over $10K/couple more to sail on Fram.  Rhetorical question, while I understand Fram offers a better Antarctica experience, is seeing king penguins worth that extra expense?  🤔

On our cruise we had:

Landings on the peninsular at: Half Moon Island, Cuverville, Port Lockeroy and King George Island.

On South Georgia at Grytvikrn, Fortuna Bay and Stromness.

Docked ( no tendering) for a day in Port Stanley.

Had landings on New Island, West Point and Carcas Islands all part of the Falklands.

Highlights included:

Standing amongst over 20,000 adult King Penguins.

Sitting so close to Albatross nests that the birds flew just inches above our heads as the came into land. 

Exploring the ruins of the Whaling station on Grytvikrn and visiting it's tiny church.

Gliding on Polar Circle boats right upto Ice Bergs.

On every landing seeing penguins, seals or birds often all three and all with no fear of humans.

Exploring the 2 research stations on King George Island including the amazing Russian Church installed high on a cliff and held in place by 4 enormous chains drilled 40 feet into the rock. The inside was totally covered with hand painted frescos.

Having every landing accompanied by an expert expedition team.

Above all setting foot on ground that has no human habitation and where everything is totally unspoilt - we were not allowed to pick up or move a single item. All our outer clothing was vacuumed before we were allowed to do any landings.

💲for 💲it's hard to compare but we have done both types and if our health would permit it the experience we would repeat is on the Fram.

 

 

 

 

 

[the penguins]

1 hour ago, macaroni said:

the penguins……what months did you travel in?

INFINITY: 1 to 14 February

FRAM: 21 February to 14 March.

The difference between going in the early or late season are: 

Early: good chance to see whales, more snow on the ground making landings harder, lots of baby penguins, seals etc.

Late: very unlikely to see whales, very little snow on the ground making landings easier,  no baby penguins or seals just juveniles and adults.

Note: Kings breed all year so you see every size whenever you go. If you look closely our pic shows everything from an egg to adults. Geoff.

[marieps]

We are doing Ponant in January 2024.  I was going to suggest an expedition but penguins beat me too it.  Have a wonderful cruise, whichever you choose.

[the penguins]

57 minutes ago, marieps said:

We are doing Ponant in January 2024.  I was going to suggest an expedition but penguins beat me too it.  Have a wonderful cruise, whichever you choose.

If this will be your first time may I give you a few tips that worked great for us?

Oh well I will post them just in case:

1) buy some cheap ski goggles for wearing on the boats that take you in for the landings. We did this after we noticed in the pics that the boat drivers all wore goggles. Kept our eyes free of the freezing, salty water.

2) we find that we can't use our cameras whilst wearing gloves and nor would we be allowed to take our gloves off and put them on the ground. The solution? We fixed our gloves onto a long strip of elastic and threaded the elastic though our coat sleeves - just like our mum's did when were kids. It worked great, so great that I still have my gloves attached the same way. 

3) related to number 2: mittens are much warmer than gloves just make sure they are waterproof.

4) the temperatures won't be particularly low but the wind will be cutting. Layers are the solution and long sleeve thermal vests and longjohns are essential.

5) presumably the ship will provide waterproof, thermal insulated boots and if so these work fantastically well but only if you wear thin socks. 

Enjoy your trip.Geoff

 

[the penguins]

8 minutes ago, the penguins said:

If this will be your first time may I give you a few tips that worked great for us?

Oh well I will post them just in case:

1) buy some cheap ski goggles for wearing on the boats that take you in for the landings. We did this after we noticed in the pics that the boat drivers all wore goggles. Kept our eyes free of the freezing, salty water.

2) we find that we can't use our cameras whilst wearing gloves and nor would we be allowed to take our gloves off and put them on the ground. The solution? We fixed our gloves onto a long strip of elastic and threaded the elastic though our coat sleeves - just like our mum's did when were kids. It worked great, so great that I still have my gloves attached the same way. 

3) related to number 2: mittens are much warmer than gloves just make sure they are waterproof.

4) the temperatures won't be particularly low but the wind will be cutting. Layers are the solution and long sleeve thermal vests and longjohns are essential.

5) presumably the ship will provide waterproof, thermal insulated boots and if so these work fantastically well but only if you wear thin socks. 

Enjoy your trip.Geoff

 

Sorry sent to quick.

If you use a digital camera take lots of small chips (1 for every landing day) that way if you do have a problem you won't lose all your pics. Antarctica is remote and you shouldn't, indeed mustn't, rely on being able to upload photos or indeed even to be able to connect to the outside world. Heaven, just pure heaven.

 

[marieps]

5 hours ago, the penguins said:

Sorry sent to quick.

If you use a digital camera take lots of small chips (1 for every landing day) that way if you do have a problem you won't lose all your pics. Antarctica is remote and you shouldn't, indeed mustn't, rely on being able to upload photos or indeed even to be able to connect to the outside world. Heaven, just pure heaven.

 

Geoff, your posts are always valuable and this list is a shining example.  Thanks so much.  We were supposed to sail together on a cruise long cancelled.  I can't remember which one.  Hope to meet you at some point.

Edited October 25, 2022 by marieps

[the penguins]

6 hours ago, marieps said:

Geoff, your posts are always valuable and this list is a shining example.  Thanks so much.  We were supposed to sail together on a cruise long cancelled.  I can't remember which one.  Hope to meet you at some point.

I also remembered your CC name. Probably on a Transatlantic that was cancelled due to Covid and before we dropped Celebrity due to the thankfully short lived introduction of compolsary AI. Now that experiment is over we are back to booking on Celebrity and our next cruise is on Reflection October 2023 TA from Barcelona to Fort Lauderdale. Geoff

[floridatravelersforlife]

Just saw your post.  We were on one of the Inaugural Infinity cruises to the Antarctic peninsula  back in  February 2010.

 

To answer a question you didn't ask:  The earlier the season, the better chance that you will successfully reach each of the destinations. We missed the Falklands due to heavy weather and had to initially divert from crossing the Drake passage due to a huge storm. We still hit part of the storm with 10m seas and 75 knot winds.  We went to Ushuaia first and then to the Peninsula.  The rest of the trip was uneventful. 

 

Some cruises are on flat water .  But if we were to do it again, we wouldn't take the chance to miss any of these important stops.  

 

 

[marieps]

7 hours ago, the penguins said:

I also remembered your CC name. Probably on a Transatlantic that was cancelled due to Covid and before we dropped Celebrity due to the thankfully short lived introduction of compolsary AI. Now that experiment is over we are back to booking on Celebrity and our next cruise is on Reflection October 2023 TA from Barcelona to Fort Lauderdale. Geoff

We are on Sillie's TA in October 2023.  Enjoy.

[LB_NJ]

On 10/22/2022 at 8:26 AM, macaroni said:

Planning a January 2024 Antarctica/Falkland islands cruise. Trying to decide between 14 night eclipse  or 16 night Princess ….Princess is almost $4,000 more per couple and goes from Santiago to Buenos Aires as Celebrity is BA RT. We have done South America before so going around is not a requirement. Celebrity is 1 day less in Antarctica. Has anyone done both? Does anyone have opinions?

 

also, right now plan is for the end of January…..is earlier in the month better?

 

I know an expedition cruise is best but that is not happening.

 

thanks for any input or thoughts.

 

Go on the smallest possible ship.