Live from the Venture - headed back to Antarctica

[DubLady]

I just walked into my family room and my husband is watching your video on you tube. He said it’s the best one he has seen. He was not aware it was done by the person whose reviews I had been reading to him last week. It took me a few minutes to realize it was your video. It looks great on the big screen. Very authentic and made us more excited.

[jjs217]

23 hours ago, nast said:

We are doing Antarctica on the Pursuit January 06th. 

 

Question about the complimentary Helly Hansen PolarShield® parka. 

 

Do the jackets come out large?
Better to order a size smaller or not?

Last year, I had to go UP a size.  Remember, you will be wearing layers, and water proof/ski pants.  Even with a size UP it was a very snug fit across the bottom.  They didn't have the jackets and associated items in the room.  We went to the theater.  They had all the different sizes hanging on racks and you could try them on.  The pre-order is just to get an idea how many they need in each size, but they had extras of each.

[Esquired]

My wife is XS but opted for S to give her room for layers and she was quite happy.

[Laylam]

Whilst I know there are no formal nights, I have a question regarding being "dressed for Dinner" on an expedition cruise.  We are on the Venture over Christmas and New Year, and, on most cruises these would be "very dressy" occasions. 

 

My dilemma is this, I remove my layers and dress for Dinner, and, with almost 20 hours of daylight, an extraordinary wildlife encounter is announced from the Bridge which I miss because I am inappropriately dressed..

 

I would like those who have been there/done that to share their experience, please.  Is it possible to stay rugged up and eat outdoors??.

[kej1]

Great question.  We were on Quest Dec2017/Jan2018.  On NYE some neighbors had a cocktail gathering before dinner.  The plan was we would all go to dinner together.  My husband never showed up.  I went back to our room and he was sitting on our patio watching 11 orcas following the wake of the ship.  ( we were in PSS on back of ship).  Needless to say we never made it to dinner, ordered room service and watched this special encounter for hours instead.  It was a beautiful sunny evening so chilly but with the right clothes perfect!  It was truly a “ Seabourn moment” thanks to the orcas!

[Laylam]

1 hour ago, kej1 said:

Great question.  We were on Quest Dec2017/Jan2018.  On NYE some neighbors had a cocktail gathering before dinner.  The plan was we would all go to dinner together.  My husband never showed up.  I went back to our room and he was sitting on our patio watching 11 orcas following the wake of the ship.  ( we were in PSS on back of ship).  Needless to say we never made it to dinner, ordered room service and watched this special encounter for hours instead.  It was a beautiful sunny evening so chilly but with the right clothes perfect!  It was truly a “ Seabourn moment” thanks to the orcas!

Thank you kej1,  Were the Patio Grill and outside the Colonnade ever opened for dinner?

[highplanesdrifters]

8 hours ago, Laylam said:

My dilemma is this, I remove my layers and dress for Dinner, and, with almost 20 hours of daylight, an extraordinary wildlife encounter is announced from the Bridge which I miss because I am inappropriately dressed..

You will either go outside and brave the elements as is, or run to your cabin and grab your parka. Even better, go outside brave the elements while Lovie runs to cabin for parkas. 😃

[markandjie]

32 minutes ago, highplanesdrifters said:

You will either go outside and brave the elements as is, or run to your cabin and grab your parka. Even better, go outside brave the elements while Lovie runs to cabin for parkas. 😃

 

This. And the beauty of a small ship is that one is never far from your room. And indeed, from the MDR all rooms are more or less on the way to the various forward looking viewing areas. Not to mention the bridge usually spots wildlife from a distance and starts moving towards them at a slow pace, so you have time. 

[highplanesdrifters]

24 minutes ago, markandjie said:

 

This. And the beauty of a small ship is that one is never far from your room. And indeed, from the MDR all rooms are more or less on the way to the various forward looking viewing areas. Not to mention the bridge usually spots wildlife from a distance and starts moving towards them at a slow pace, so you have time. 

Exactly!  One often grumbles about poor ship design.  Not so here. No matter where you are on the ship you are only moments away from an outside viewing area. And there are so many!  If you are sans parka it's easy to run in for a quick warm up. FOMO will keep you warm. 😀

[markandjie]

23 minutes ago, highplanesdrifters said:

FOMO will keep you warm.

 

In case you want to see what this looks like in practice for a 16 yo. When orcas are frolicking there's no time to go back for pesky things like pants or shoes... 🤣

[JMB56]

10 hours ago, Laylam said:

Whilst I know there are no formal nights, I have a question regarding being "dressed for Dinner" on an expedition cruise.  We are on the Venture over Christmas and New Year, and, on most cruises these would be "very dressy" occasions. 

 

My dilemma is this, I remove my layers and dress for Dinner, and, with almost 20 hours of daylight, an extraordinary wildlife encounter is announced from the Bridge which I miss because I am inappropriately dressed..

 

I would like those who have been there/done that to share their experience, please.  Is it possible to stay rugged up and eat outdoors??.

I am currently on Venture now. 'Dressed for dinner' on Venture means different things to different people. I tend to wear a 'good' pair of trousers for dinner along with a collared shirt and a sweater/jumper.  My wife wears a nice dress, something she would wear to an upscale restaurant in London.  However, there are people in jeans and t-shirts, shorts ... you name it, and they all seem to fit in fine. One woman wore a sequined dress last evening. I brought a tweed sport coat and have only worn it once in six days and probably will not again ... just not necessary.  However, the gentleman with whom we were seated in the main dining room last evening was wearing a navy blue suit and white shirt (but no tie).

 

The upshot is to wear what you feel comfortable wearing and you'll fit in.  Christmas and New Year's Eve may call for dressier attire, but I doubt if you would be forced to wear it.

 

I agree with others that it is simple to dash back to your room if you need something heavier to wear if whales are spotted.  I have taken to bringing the supplied lightweight, black inner jacket with me to dinner and the lounges thereafter so I can be outside awhile if a photo opportunity arises.  A lot of us take our cameras to dinner (along with our partners 😊).

 

Many people like to eat outside at the Colonnade at lunch.  There are heaters in the ceiling over top the patio. I guess you can also eat outside at dinner, but I haven't noticed anyone eating there (but then I haven't really looked).  The weather on this cruise has been sensational: bright sunshine each days with temperatures generally between 0C and 5C and very light winds. I hope your weather is as fine as ours has been.

 

Also worth noting:  the infinity swimming pool is heated to about 29C (85F). My wife swims for about an hour each afternoon.  The pool is small, but she says she can swim laps if she goes slowly.  The pool and the neighbouring hot tubs are delightful and popular.

[kej1]

When we were on the quest ( dec 2017/jan 2018) the Antarctica/South Georgia islands trip started in Santiago and ended in Buenos Aires.  I do recall eating on the patio not only during warmer parts of the trip but also sometimes in Antarctica as we had in general good weather and the overhead heaters worked well especially when one had on warm clothing.  
I don’t recall eating dinner there at night as I don’t think they had started with the E&O concept yet ( I could be wrong), and we aren’t big Colunnade people so don’t recall if people ate outside there in the evening.  I imagine on nice nights yes, but I’m sure it was weather dependent.  
 

On that trip the MDR was open for lunch every day, not sure about breakfast as we don’t eat much and often use room service for that meal, but I assume it was open for breakfast as well.

 

i can say that when we were in Alaska summer of 2019 we ate at E&O a number of times so despite some cold weather it was open and full as I recall.

 

So I think you might have better feedback from those who have taken the new ships to Antarctica!  Have a great trip!

[Laylam]

Thank you all for your very helpful replies.  I love the photo of the 16 year old, he is either very hardy or the indoor temperatures are quite toasty.

[DubLady]

Our charter flight from EZE to Ushuaia leaves at eight and arrives at 1130a. My question is would we have time to check in on the ship and then spend some time in Ushuaia and could we pick up our jackets as I presume we will need them there to do some sightseeing. We are not planning on bringing heavy jackets as we won’t need them in BA

[markandjie]

1 hour ago, DubDublady said:

My question is would we have time to check in on the ship and then spend some time in Ushuaia and could we pick up our jackets as I presume we will need them there to do some sightseeing.

 

Yes, you'll have some time though not a lot given I believe the safety briefing was at 4:30p. By the time you collect luggage, bus to the ship, check in, go to your room, maybe get lunch, etc... But some people definitely did get off and explore Ushuaia a bit.

 

Parkas should be in your suite when you arrive, so from that perspective you should be good to go.

[toseaornottosea]

We were on a Venture Antarctica cruise in January’23. Shortly after boarding, I don’t recall the exact time but I think it was around 1:30pm, the captain made an announcement that we would be leaving Ushuaia early to get ahead of a storm.  We left at 3:00pm and lucky we did.  2 other ships were stuck in port for 2 days due to the storm.  So could be risky to go into town. 

[jjs217]

The Parka's were not in the room last year.  I believe it was the at sea day (the day after embarkation) that we went and picked up our parka's.  They may do it differently now, but I don't think so.  We had the first flight out of Buenos Aires down to Ushuaia, and had to get up at 3:30AM to have a quick breakfast before departing for the airport from the hotel.  By the time we got to Ushuaia, everybody was pretty tired, and just wanted some champagne, lunch and relaxation.  Also, it was very chilly and damp.  

[markandjie]

1 hour ago, jjs217 said:

They may do it differently now, but I don't think so. 

 

In November parkas were waiting in our room. Same on Venture in July in Iceland. 

[JMB56]

I don’t know if you can really plan when you will arrive in Ushuaia.  We were informed two weeks in advance that our flight to Ushuaia would depart BA at 6.30am.  The day before departure, we were switched to a 1.15pm departure.  We did not board the ship until nearly 6pm. Tomorrow, our last morning on Venture, our bus is leaving the pier for the Ushuaia airport at 8.30am.  All we will have seen of Ushuaia is from a bus!

[DubLady]

Thank you everyone.I have a feeling we won’t be seeing too much of Ushuaia

[KathyL2537]

Hi all. Appreciated all the info that I got from this thread so thought I’d weigh in with our first day experience. There were a few instances where info I had received from Seabourn back office was different than what happened on the ground so, while your mileage may vary, let me know if this is helpful. 
 

We were scheduled on Bus #1 and flight #1. Luggage out before 1130 pm Saturday night, and up at 3:30 am Sunday to get to breakfast by 4 (really wasn’t ready til 4:10 or so but the staff was working hard to have everything ready. Not sure if delays were from the wedding reception they had Saturday night that closed down around 4am, just as we were getting up!)

 

On the bus by 4:50am with a quick ride to AEP.  Luggage drop off and security were fast, we didn’t have to stop at checkin counter since Seabourn gave us boarding passes and bag tags on Saturday.  The plane was a 3/3 configuration, and while most rows seemed to only have 4 people, ours was not one of them, we had three so it was the middle seat for me 😞
 

A quick note for anyone who hasn’t flown in South American recently, there is not an issue with liquids in carry on. I grabbed a bottle of water from the Seabourn hospitality suite Sat and took it unopened in my carry on. No problem at all, and that wasn’t a one off, we also flew Santiago to Mendoza and then Mendoza to BA and it was the same thing. We had been here in March so knew this and was glad to see it was still ok. That said, then there was a secondary screening at the gate just before boarding flights back to US and we had to dump our water there so will plan on that again. 
 

Flight #1 arrived in Ushuaia just before 11, then we got our bags and went to the buses. 

 

The bus did a quick stop for photos at the Ushuaia sign then to the pier. We got to the ship around 12:20, cabins were ready before 1.  I believe some people left to walk into town; we did not since we had been there earlier this year and had had plenty of time then to explore the city. Before the trip Seabourn had notified us that our boarding time was 2:20, so we were prepared to have lunch in town with our carryons but there was no need, we just got on board and stayed there. Everyone had to be back for mandatory briefing at 4:45.  The second flight was an hour behind ours I think, so that would be less time available for touring. I am not sure whether you can request the earlier flight, if it’s important to you it might be worth a try. 
 

One other Seabourn communication issue was airport pick up. Our cruise consultant had told us that we would not get an included transfer since we flew in from Mendoza Friday night and the transfer was for people who arrived Saturday. So we booked our own transfer and a night at a different hotel.  There was a bit of confusion when we found two different people waiting for us at the airport….

Also still waiting for on board credit that was promised to show up in my account. 
 

otherwise it’s been great! So far conditions are looking good for the Drake “Lake” not the “Shake” tomorrow so fingers crossed. Parkas were in our cabin, with size exchange option scheduled tomorrow morning, along with boot fitting. 

 

let me know if this is helpful and if you have other questions.

[clafren]

Thanks for the info here! Did you end up taking the ride that you had booked on your own from the airport?

 

If you had taken Seabourn’s, would they have dropped you off at one of the Alvear hotels?

[KathyL2537]

9 hours ago, clafren said:

Thanks for the info here! Did you end up taking the ride that you had booked on your own from the airport?

 

If you had taken Seabourn’s, would they have dropped you off at one of the Alvear hotels?

Not sure, we were confused as it took us a few mins to realize that the seabourn rep wasn’t the one we had booked and the other driver was a few minutes late. It was only when she said she  was going to take us to the Alvear Palace that we realized the error and found the other driver. We all chatted for  a moment and decided to go with the driver we had booked, but she might have taken us to the hotel we booked if we had asked her. 
 

I was concerned that seabourn had booked us for another night in the Palace, at our expense, but she called her company and said they were fully booked that night. So in the end it was all ok ( and by the way I highly recommend the Ker San Telmo if you have extra nights and want to stay in the Puerto Madero area but don’t   want to pay the Alvear prices). 
 

It just annoyed me that Seabourn had set this up without letting us know, and after explicitly telling us that they would not. Would have saved us some time and money and not wasted the time of the other driver and guide. 
 

oh and I almost forgot. We had to check out of the San Telmo at 10 so Uber’d over to the Alvear Palace to stash luggage there. But our room was ready, which we were not expecting and really appreciated. Very nice hotel. 

[Laylam]

22 hours ago, KathyL2537 said:

 

The bus did a quick stop for photos at the Ushuaia sign then to the pier. We got to the ship around 12:20, cabins were ready before 1.  

 

 

KathyL2537, thank you for taking the time out from your trip to post here.  We are on the next sailing of Venture and so I am VERY interested.  Was the ship docked at the pier or did you have to take a Zodiac/Tender?  Our pre-boarding info suggests that we do and to bring a wind or rain jacket.

[KathyL2537]

Laylam, I can only speak to our experience in Ushuaia but we’ve been here twice in the last year, once on Stella Australis and now on Seabourn and both times we accessed by driving up the pier and then just walking on. It’s a great question because I thought the same, given the info provided by Seabourn it looked like it might be a tender to the ship but for us it was not.
 

That said, I think that most people on our bus from the airport appreciated having a rain/wind jacket in Ushuaia. Didn’t bother me as 1. I am always warm and 2. I didn’t get off the bus for the Ushuaia picture. I brought a rain jacket but have not used it.

Edited December 12, 2023 by KathyL2537
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