Antartica

[cashmeremypuppydog]

Hello all,

Can someone explain to me why HAL does not have any cruises in Antartica during winter 2024. The 22-day goes to Antarctic Peninsula (cruising) but it is listed under “South America”. However, the same cruise in 2025 is listed under “Antarctica” and instead than cruising it says “expedition cruising”.

Would it change the experience of the cruise?

 

Princess and Celebrity have 16-day and 14-day “Antarctica” cruises for 2024 cruising to Elephant Island, Paradise Bay or expedition cruising.

 

I am confused why HAL cruises in 2024 are not considered “Antartica”.

 

What would you say is the best quality/price Antarctica cruise?

 

Thank you for your reply.

The Canadians!😎

 

[OlsSalt]

Sorry, it does appear confusing right now, and I can't help out on how they are getting marketed.

 

But I did want to add that doing only a "drive by" cruise, instead of a boots on the ground expedition cruise, is still and incredible adventure when it comes down to the large price differences between these various offerings called "Antarctica.

 

One  really does need to do a spread sheet because of the variables - where does the cruise leave from and return to; does it also go to the Falkland Islands, does it also include South Georgia. What are the extra costs if you do landings - what equipment do you need to buy or rent or is it included.   It does take time to sort out all the options.

 

So you are doing the right thing right now ....trying to make sense of what is out there.   Bottom line, if you can fund an expedition cruise with actually landings, that narrows down the choices.

 

But if you can be content with just a "drive by" then see what else is included and how deep you actually get to go into the "Antarctic" region. This would be two lists - (1) expedition and (2) drive-by,  for the minimal level of initial sorting. There are some websites who help you sort this out too.

[cccole]

I asked this question last year on the HAL forum and recently posted on our decision because of the informative posts.  Celebrity, Princess, and HAL have great "antartica" cruises but not the real thing. We decided on a cruise that is not a "drive by".  Cherie  

[Guest ldtr]

Considering the limits placed on any cruises ships that are not Polar rated. (not being able to go as far south as they could a few years ago), I would consider it to be HALs to be more accurate.  Once the new regulations kick in (varies ship my ship based upon their renewal certification date) the sale by may technically be in Antarctic waters and may be by some islands, but not very far along the peninsula.  

[cashmeremypuppydog]

Thank you all for your posts.

 

I understand “drive by” cruise versus “expedition” cruise. I wish we could afford the expedition but we can not.

My plan is to do a 22-day South America cruise with HAL in 2024 and then see while I am in Argentina what I can found last minute for an expedition cruise. I am from Canada and have enough of the snow and cold already so maybe the  22-day will be enough. I guess, time will tell. We will just tour around in Argentina and Chile on our own if we can not find any other interesting cruise.

 

We just came back from an 7-week epic trip to Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa (Johannesburg & Cape Town) and Botswana (Kasane). We had a FANTASTIC time. If anybody has questions about these counties, do not hesitate to contact me. I will be happy to give you info and maybe this will help you to decide to finally visit Africa.

 

Thank you all

The Canadians!😎

Edited April 3, 2023 by cashmeremypuppydog

[OlsSalt]

The South America -Antarctic cruise is one of our favorites. Even just the South America part is worthy of repeats. You are making a very good choice for yourself.

[OlsSalt]

Just finished reading 'Under the Ice" about the recent high-tech discovery of Shackleton's Antarctic expedition ship the Endeavor, which sank over 100 years ago. Upright and much of it still intact, after disappearing through the Waddell Sea ice floes with only the crudest  location reference points.

 

The sinking of Shackleton's Endurance certainly created one of the grandest survival and rescue stories of the last century. A sobering reminder when one travels among these desolate south polar islands. How long could any of us last eating hard tack and boiled penguins meat? But they all did.

[tupper10]

@cashmeremypuppydogWe had always wanted to do an expedition cruise to Antarctica but found the prices to be way too high for our budget. I went on a web site (sorry can't link it here on CC)  that tracks cruise prices and put in a few to track.  We ended up getting one well w/in our budget if we booked it immediately, which we did. Our cruise included the airfare to Ushuaia on a chartered plane.   We had the worst room on the ship but it didn't really matter since we only used it to sleep.  Just a suggestion since it sounds like you would rather do the expedition vs a drive by.  

[cashmeremypuppydog]

Again,

Thank you everyone for your great posts.

OlsSalt, I will get the book from our library as it sounds like a great read.

Tupper10, I tried to send you an email through CC but the option was disabled. Can you email me the name of the website please? chantalanddennis at hotmail dot com

Thank you again.

The Canadians!😎

P.S. Actually, I want to do both as I believe cruising the Chilean coast will be rewarding as well. Maybe I am wrong…

[BSinPNS]

We returned in February from the 22 day HAL Antarctic trip.  It was GREAT.  While we like Celebrity, we opted for Oosterdam since it had four days in Antarctica.  The master explained that when they said "expedition mode" it meant they (navigation crew) were free to cruise where they thought we would have the best experience based on weather and observations.  We were hundreds of yards from the Viking expedition ships which were taking their guests aboard RIBS to actually step on the ice and penguin poop.  None of the ships really go much further south than the Antarctic peninsula due to the travel time.  The trip was Alaska on steroids – multiple whale sightings, surrounded by glaciers, icebergs, and bergy bits.  We were able to get up close to penguins in Puerto Madryn, Ushuaia, Port Stanley, and Punta Arenas.  Penguin viewing seems to drop off after early February as the molt is over and they return to the sea.  We thought January was peak season.  If we were to do it again, we would do East to West, Buenos Aires to Santiago, as the terminal facilities are right in Buenos Aires and it is set up for passengers.  On our first of two days in BsAs, there were three cruise ships in.  Oosterdam was the only one on turnover day.  We boarded in San Antonio (HAL”s port for Santiago).  The ship was late arriving due to seas in and near the port.  (Not a problem in BsAs.)  We waited for about five hours in a warehouse with chairs and few ammenities.  Others waited much longer and had no chairs as there were only a few hundred available.  Plus the drive from Santiago to San Antonio is about 1.5 hours without allowing for potential road problems.  Feel free to ask other questions.

[0106]

@BSinPNSThank you for your comments.  We will be doing the same trip from January 29-February 20, 2024.  

Did you do any private small group excursions?  If you liked them could you please share the tour company you used?

 

Where did you see the most penguins?

 

What was your favorite excursion? Why?

 

What was your favorite port?  Why?

[OlsSalt]

Two trips down to this area - all drive-bys - but still fabulous,  Saw lots of penguins from the ship on land, beaches and on icebergs, as well as "dolphining" penguins very near the ship.  Tons of whales too. 

 

But the best walk among the penguins for drive-by cruises was on the Falklands Islands very rugged 4X4 adventure out to a rookery with thousands of tall, elegant King penguins, as well as others.  The chicks were molting, looking very pudgy in their tattered raccoon coats. The sounds and smells of the penguins is not to be forgotten.

 

There is also a shorter bus trip excursion across the Falkland Island to the Bluff Cove family farm which runs a smaller penguin reserve site, where they also had the very best penguin themed souvenirs - very high quality stuff. https://www.falklandpenguins.com/shop/

 

Sadly the downtown Super Penguin store in port is now all cheap Chinese made stuff, and pretty generic.  

 

 

Edited April 4, 2023 by OlsSalt

[BSinPNS]

We loved the Bluff Cove tour.  It is only bookable through the ship now.  Here are the non-ship tours we enjoyed:

-Santiago - Inca Lagoon in Andes Mountain Range - Visit Local Vineyard with Tasting included (Viator)
-Puerto Madryn - Off the Beaten Track: Magdalena Penguin Reserve (Shore Ex Group) 
-BsAs - Tomas Hughes (Private Guide) Bonaventura Trips

If you are starting in Santiago, read about the problems with taxis at the airport.  Get a taxi at the taxi stand inside the customs areas.  Do not take one from a walk-up offer once you leave customs.  We mistakingly arranged one through Viator (MTO Tours) which was a no-show.  

[cashmeremypuppydog]

Wow, wow, wow! Great info out there.

I know when I investigate/plan our future trips, I sometimes over think… We just came back from Cape Town and saw lots of penguins at 2 different locations. I think you can not get tired of looking at wildlife. We surely did not this winter in Uganda, Tanzania and Botswana.

 

I think I am decided: the HAL  22-day on Jan 29 or 7. I was looking at Jan 29 but after reading the penguins viewing “dropping” in Feb, I am considering Jan 7. I wanted to start from Chile anyway but I did not want to fly during Christmas season… Time will tell as I do not want to buy our cruise now…

I have researched all port of calls and Chile and Argentina with Lonely Planet so I already know lots about these 2 countries…

 

Oct-Nov 2021, hubby and I and another couple spent 50 days in Ecuador and 10-day in Peru in Dec. We were blessed to find a tour operator living in Quito and booking with him. We purchased a 15-day catamaran (8 rooms) cruise in The Galapagos. I didn’t think we could afford 1-week luxury catamaran cruise (I was looking at “basic” catamaran) but this TO came back with an unbeatable price: US$4,000/person for a luxury cruise. Keep in mind nothing was selling at the time due to Covid… The usual price (pre-Covid) was US10,000-$12,000! I love building relationship with people that help us enhance our vacations. We met him and his wife for supper when we returned from our catamaran cruise in Quito. I have great memories of our evening getting to know him and his wife..

 

Well, thank you again everyone for helping me with my decisions.

Bye for now!

 

The Canadians!😎

[cashmeremypuppydog]

21 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

Just finished reading 'Under the Ice" about the recent high-tech discovery of Shackleton's Antarctic expedition ship the Endeavor, which sank over 100 years ago.

I just requested this book from my library. Hubby is looking forward to read it.

The Canadians!😎

[cashmeremypuppydog]

Me again!! 
Anybody met great taxi driver or guide/drive in Chile and Argentina?

I try to hire drivers for the day instead than going on tours. This is what happened in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Victoria Falls. I am still messaging all of them on WhatsApp. This really enhances our travel experiences.

 

Please share names if you know anyone in Chile and Argentina that could help enhance our experiences there.

 

The Canadians!😎

[koolforkatz]

1 hour ago, cashmeremypuppydog said:

 

 

Please share names if you know anyone in Chile and Argentina that could help enhance our experiences there.

 

The Canadians!😎

 

I would second @BSinPNS and recommend Tomas Hughes in Buenos Airies. In Chile I would highly recommend https://www.thegermanpirates.cl/en/nosotros.php . We have used them twice now, including most recently in January. We also did Antarctica on that cruise and loved it. Drive-by only, but I didn't feel I missed anything by not landing. I was just thrilled to see it. It was absolutely amazing and magical.

 

We were also in southern Africa in the fall @cashmeremypuppydog. I thought Cape Town was one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen.

[R'man]

On our recent scenic cruise around the Antarctic Peninsula we received a notice of the international rules in our room.  Among the items noticed was that ships carrying more than 500 passengers are not allowed to take any ashore.  So, be clear with HAL on their definition of an Expedition cruise.  And due to the company's ship insurance, we were not allowed to cross the Antarctic Circle.  The captain brought us within seconds of it, in the middle of the night, but never across.  (I have the exact coordinates somewhere.)

[Guest ldtr]

54 minutes ago, R'man said:

On our recent scenic cruise around the Antarctic Peninsula we received a notice of the international rules in our room.  Among the items noticed was that ships carrying more than 500 passengers are not allowed to take any ashore.  So, be clear with HAL on their definition of an Expedition cruise.  And due to the company's ship insurance, we were not allowed to cross the Antarctic Circle.  The captain brought us within seconds of it, in the middle of the night, but never across.  (I have the exact coordinates somewhere.)

I would be interested in those coordinates?

 

Cruises on ships like HAL, Princess and Celebrity are limited in how far south they go.  Even on the expedition ships very few go beyond the Antarctic Circle.  To reach the Antarctic Circle you would have to go south of Adelaid Island.  Whereas the main stream cruise by routes usually do not go south of Anvers Island. The US research base, Palmer Station is at the south end of Anvers.  Especially now that the new more restrictive Polar Code has gone into force. 

[BSinPNS]

On our January Oosterdam cruise, we stopped at Deception Island during our transit from Ushuaia to Antarctica.  Day 1 of our Antarctic Experience was spent in Lemaire Channel and Neumayer Channel along with the Viking Octanus, World Traveler and the HMS Protector where we were surrounded by high mountains with calving glaciers and various sized chunks of ice in the water and opportunities to see lots of penguins from a distance. The glaciers with their blueish striations were impressive.  On day 2, we entered Paradise Harbor and Neko Harbor where we saw multiple humpback whales. Day 3 brought us to Wilhelmina Bay and Charlotte Bay where saw lotes of humpbacks beautiful mountains and glaciers.  Temperature throughout was about 34F with wind and snow.  Crew members from the Philippines and Indonesia were out and about taking selfies. One of the security team built a snowman and someone put a small orange scarf on it.  Each day the captain opened the bow and forward areas on the upper decks.  The overnights were spent in holding patterns in the Gerlache Strait.  On day four, we stopped briefly at Elephant Island on the way to Port Stanley.  We felt that four days was just the right amount of time to spend.  We were concerned that the two days offered on Celebrity Infinity might not be enough if there were poor weather conditions. We were able to get up close (two meters) to penguins in the Falklands, Ushuaia, Puerto Madryn and Punta Arenas.  

[Guest ldtr]

Last time I was in Antarctica it was from Sept 25 until Dec 15. Thought that was not long enough.

 

McMurdo Station Ross Island.

[Turtles06]

On 4/3/2023 at 9:29 AM, cashmeremypuppydog said:

I understand “drive by” cruise versus “expedition” cruise. I wish we could afford the expedition but we can not.

 

There's no question that a genuine expedition cruise to Antarctica is very expensive.  I certainly don't mean to pry into your personal finances and I mean this most respectfully, but looking at the lengthy international trips you've mentioned in this thread that you've taken or plan to take, have you actually priced an expedition cruise (in comparison to the trips you have spent money on)?  

 

Edited April 8, 2023 by Turtles06

[cashmeremypuppydog]

Happy Easter everyone,

in regards to travelling in general, quality/price always win. I only worked 20 years so my pension was penalized and is small. I need to be smart to be able to travel more than 2-3 weeks.

 

I could write a lot about it but I have difficulty to pay over US$1,000/night/person for a genuine expedition cruise knowing my level of happiness would not rise accordingly compared to a 22-night cruise with HAL (for example) US$250/night/person.

I always use the “fulfillment curve” when I analyze what I want to buy but I call it quality/price.

As I have seen many penguins right beside me in Cape Town at 2 locations, elephants two feet away from our truck in Kasane, Botswana, many cats (lions, leopards and cheetahs) only a few feet away in Tanzania, I can not say FOR ME that I would receive a lot more fulfillment with a genuine expedition cruise. 

Now, if the price would not be 4x more than HAL, I might consider it but still… I know it might be difficult to understand me…

 

This book ‘Your money or Your Life’ has a huge impact on my life.

https://www.coachcarson.com/your-money-or-your-life/

I think every child should read it.

Now, I decided to change my signature. I always used to finish with The Canadians!😎 but from now on, it will be

An African Ambassador!🦍🐘🦓🦒🦁
 

Edited April 9, 2023 by cashmeremypuppydog

[Ellencruise]

Estancia Tours in Port Stanley has a wonderful ATV tour out to volunteer Point. I “danced “ with the King penguins

[CruiseMGM]

2 hours ago, Ellencruise said:

Estancia Tours in Port Stanley has a wonderful ATV tour out to volunteer Point. I “danced “ with the King penguins

 

Another shout out for Estancia Tours! They were great!

 

Also saw lots and lots of wildlife on the cruise. Just a few penguin pictures attached, from the ship. Got much closer with Estancia Tours in the Falkland Islands! We decided a "drive by" of Antarctica was good for us and our budget and haven't regretted it one tiny bit.

 

Best wishes, and have a FABULOUS cruise!