Live: Experienced cruisers try Celebrity 14 day cruise to Antartica on the Eclipse

[Oceangoer2]

34 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

The afternoon with the whales was a highlight that we will ALWAYS remember.  It was simply outstanding.  Some were so close, I could have thrown a snowball (well maybe a baseball) and be able to hit them they were so close.  They seemed to even be playing with us.  It gave you a feeling of being one with nature.  A little over the top, but it captures the essence.

You may have insight there....this show had tapes of the 'songs' of the whales in their communication and one of the scientists 'sang' back using a tape to one of the live whales to which they responded at regular intervals.  I'm not necessarily so much into nature (well, maybe human nature) but this little bit of exposure was very impressive.

[GatorMomInNC]

Looking forward to your final wrap up and wanted to thank you again for the time and effort you put in.  I hope someone on the current cruise or upcoming cruises on the Eclipse has time to do reviews also- it is great for someone like myself who is cruising on the Eclipse in a few weeks (albeit a different itinerary in that we don't do Antarctica). 

 

[OnTheJourney]

On 1/31/2024 at 4:10 PM, jimbo5544 said:

llama families

Actually I believe they were guanaco. We saw them also down there. Camelid closely related to llama.

 

Oops! I didn't read far enough. Someone beat me to it earlier!  Enjoyed your pics. It took me back to 2017 when we did this same trip on the Infinity. I'm sure zodiac landings are fantastic and real purists are not hesitant to say that you really haven't been to Antarctica if you never set foot on it, but we were fine with the "drive-by", especially having never been to South America. Fantastic trip all around, AND you had the same weather we did crossing the Drake the way it seems - had the 'lake" both ways. One of our favorite excursions was on Montevideo where we visited Estancia La Rabida and experienced a Patagonian traditional "asada" barbecue lunch which was amazing. When they put the meat on the grill down there, they don't mess around! Had a hay ride to the farm and then there were lots of different hands on activities. There was another barbecue lunch at Madryn - Estancia San Lorenzo, and yet a 3rd one (we didn't go hungry) at Estancia La Mimosa in Buenos Aires. There they also did gaucho horse races (pretty cool - a traditional game where they try to spear a ring suspended from a pole). Recoleta Cemetery was really interesting also.

 

Again, thanks SO much for taking the time to do this and post all your great pictures. I look back on the trip quite fondly and am so glad we did it. I've wanted to go down there for literally decades but always shied away from it due to the Drake reputation for notorious seas. Once the Celebrity itinerary came long (actually booked it while on another X cruise), we figured it's now or probably never! 

Edited February 6 by OnTheJourney

[OnTheJourney]

23 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

ours was the only sailing to make it there for them this year

Yep...we were told that had we been there the day before, we wouldn't have been there. It was sweatshirt only weather - wonderful for enjoying the scenery and taking many pics of penguins.

[OnTheJourney]

On 2/2/2024 at 6:58 AM, jimbo5544 said:

n the end, we decided to do a city tour.  

Curious as to whether one of the Estancia tours was an option? We didn't do any private tours with maybe the exception of Bluff Cove in Port Stanley - but I think that was a ship excursion also.

 

Like I mentioned, a long-time dream trip to go down there, for me anyway. My wife wouldn't have said the same before we booked it and wasn't totally sold on it, but I sweetened the pot by telling her we'd do an extra few days before and arrange a private (through Viator I believe) Pope Frances tour. We're both Catholic so that really meant alot to us.

 

Another dream trip has always been Australia / NZ, but realistically starting to think it'll never happen. Probably waited too long. DW is not big on real long flights, but for Antarctica we did business class with Argentine airlines. Price was reasonable and it made the 10-11 hours quite enjoyable. Left out of JFK.

Edited February 6 by OnTheJourney

[GatorMomInNC]

17 minutes ago, OnTheJourney said:

Curious as to whether one of the Estancia tours was an option? We didn't do any private tours with maybe the exception of Bluff Cove in Port Stanley - but I think that was a ship excursion also.

 

Like I mentioned, a long-time dream trip to go down there, for me anyway. My wife wouldn't have said the same before we booked it and wasn't totally sold on it, but I sweetened the pot by telling her we'd do an extra few days before and arrange a private (through Viator I believe) Pope Frances tour. We're both Catholic so that really meant alot to us.

 

Another dream trip has always been Australia / NZ, but realistically starting to think it'll never happen. Probably waited too long. DW is not big on real long flights, but for Antarctica we did business class with Argentine airlines. Price was reasonable and it made the 10-11 hours quite enjoyable. Left out of JFK.

Aus/NZ was big on my bucket list and I did it last year when I had a sabbatical.  Fantastic - I want to go back; even with 5 weeks I could not see it all. 

 

The flight was horrendous, even from LA.  But you might want to consider what my sister did - she booked to Honolulu, overnighted, and then went on to Sydney.  It was a nice breakup, made the flight a little more manageable, and she spent the night in a hotel overlooking Waikiki.  

[OnTheJourney]

11 minutes ago, GatorMomInNC said:

she booked to Honolulu, overnighted, and then went on to Sydney. 

Great option. Not sure I could talk DW into that extensive (or long) a trip anymore. Going that far, should at least do 3-4 weeks. Thanks for the idea though! 

[OnTheJourney]

This thread has really got me going here. Couldn't resist sharing a few pics from my '17 trip. 

 

We were on the ship during the super bowl (another amazing Tom Brady comeback in the second half - largest in super bowl history actually, with Patriots overcoming a 28-3 deficit).

 

The ship put out quite a bit of food and a cake. Had we known all that there would be to eat, we would have eaten less at dinner. Showed the game in the theatre and had (team) colored balloons on both sides of the stage. It was so much fun and the most unique super bowl ever. Would have enjoyed seeing the Falcons win though. 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cruise director promised we'd dance in Antarctica...sure enough! 

 

a few penguin pics

 

 

At the one Estancia, I got talking to a young family member about this horn. He said his grandfather died on the Titanic and somehow the family wound up with this horn. Authentic, not a reproduction. I personally remain a tad skeptical but interesting for sure. How would they have gotten it - surely doesn't look like rescued from a dive expedition. It worked, too. 

 

 

 

 

 

The other thing that intrigued me (actually drove me crazy for awhile) is that the moon phases appeared to be reversed, which makes sense being in the southern hemisphere. It's not a change in phase, of course, but rather a difference in the orientation of the moon with respect to your horizon. 

Edited February 6 by OnTheJourney

[jimbo5544]

20 hours ago, BuckeyeMark said:

You've done a tremendous job here ... really good stuff and I appreciate your answer so much.  If you decide being a TA is not for you consider being a travel writer - you have what it takes! 

LOL, wow thanks for the compliments.  It is a labor of love.

[jimbo5544]

20 hours ago, Oceangoer2 said:

You may have insight there....this show had tapes of the 'songs' of the whales in their communication and one of the scientists 'sang' back using a tape to one of the live whales to which they responded at regular intervals.  I'm not necessarily so much into nature (well, maybe human nature) but this little bit of exposure was very impressive.

Without going over the top, the world we live in is not just OUR world, but all those inhabit here.  I got that sense when we were with the whales.

[jimbo5544]

20 hours ago, GatorMomInNC said:

Looking forward to your final wrap up and wanted to thank you again for the time and effort you put in.  I hope someone on the current cruise or upcoming cruises on the Eclipse has time to do reviews also- it is great for someone like myself who is cruising on the Eclipse in a few weeks (albeit a different itinerary in that we don't do Antarctica). 

 

Thanks for following along, it has def been fun.

[jimbo5544]

18 hours ago, OnTheJourney said:

Actually I believe they were guanaco. We saw them also down there. Camelid closely related to llama.

 

Oops! I didn't read far enough. Someone beat me to it earlier!  Enjoyed your pics. It took me back to 2017 when we did this same trip on the Infinity. I'm sure zodiac landings are fantastic and real purists are not hesitant to say that you really haven't been to Antarctica if you never set foot on it, but we were fine with the "drive-by", especially having never been to South America. Fantastic trip all around, AND you had the same weather we did crossing the Drake the way it seems - had the 'lake" both ways. One of our favorite excursions was on Montevideo where we visited Estancia La Rabida and experienced a Patagonian traditional "asada" barbecue lunch which was amazing. When they put the meat on the grill down there, they don't mess around! Had a hay ride to the farm and then there were lots of different hands on activities. There was another barbecue lunch at Madryn - Estancia San Lorenzo, and yet a 3rd one (we didn't go hungry) at Estancia La Mimosa in Buenos Aires. There they also did gaucho horse races (pretty cool - a traditional game where they try to spear a ring suspended from a pole). Recoleta Cemetery was really interesting also.

 

Again, thanks SO much for taking the time to do this and post all your great pictures. I look back on the trip quite fondly and am so glad we did it. I've wanted to go down there for literally decades but always shied away from it due to the Drake reputation for notorious seas. Once the Celebrity itinerary came long (actually booked it while on another X cruise), we figured it's now or probably never! 

Wish I had known more about those, sounds memorable, and I AM a foodie.  Thanks for coming along for the ride.

[jimbo5544]

18 hours ago, OnTheJourney said:

Curious as to whether one of the Estancia tours was an option? We didn't do any private tours with maybe the exception of Bluff Cove in Port Stanley - but I think that was a ship excursion also.

 

Like I mentioned, a long-time dream trip to go down there, for me anyway. My wife wouldn't have said the same before we booked it and wasn't totally sold on it, but I sweetened the pot by telling her we'd do an extra few days before and arrange a private (through Viator I believe) Pope Frances tour. We're both Catholic so that really meant alot to us.

 

Another dream trip has always been Australia / NZ, but realistically starting to think it'll never happen. Probably waited too long. DW is not big on real long flights, but for Antarctica we did business class with Argentine airlines. Price was reasonable and it made the 10-11 hours quite enjoyable. Left out of JFK.

Sometimes the "getting there" is the biggest hurdle, at least that is true for us.

[jimbo5544]

17 hours ago, GatorMomInNC said:

Aus/NZ was big on my bucket list and I did it last year when I had a sabbatical.  Fantastic - I want to go back; even with 5 weeks I could not see it all. 

 

The flight was horrendous, even from LA.  But you might want to consider what my sister did - she booked to Honolulu, overnighted, and then went on to Sydney.  It was a nice breakup, made the flight a little more manageable, and she spent the night in a hotel overlooking Waikiki.  

IF we do that trip, that is the way we will do it, maybe make it two nights....

[jimbo5544]

17 hours ago, OnTheJourney said:

This thread has really got me going here. Couldn't resist sharing a few pics from my '17 trip. 

 

We were on the ship during the super bowl (another amazing Tom Brady comeback in the second half - largest in super bowl history actually, with Patriots overcoming a 28-3 deficit).

 

The ship put out quite a bit of food and a cake. Had we known all that there would be to eat, we would have eaten less at dinner. Showed the game in the theatre and had (team) colored balloons on both sides of the stage. It was so much fun and the most unique super bowl ever. Would have enjoyed seeing the Falcons win though. 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cruise director promised we'd dance in Antarctica...sure enough! 

 

a few penguin pics

 

 

At the one Estancia, I got talking to a young family member about this horn. He said his grandfather died on the Titanic and somehow the family wound up with this horn. Authentic, not a reproduction. I personally remain a tad skeptical but interesting for sure. How would they have gotten it - surely doesn't look like rescued from a dive expedition. It worked, too. 

 

 

 

 

 

The other thing that intrigued me (actually drove me crazy for awhile) is that the moon phases appeared to be reversed, which makes sense being in the southern hemisphere. It's not a change in phase, of course, but rather a difference in the orientation of the moon with respect to your horizon. 

totally agree on the moon thing.  Being that far down in the southern hemisphere really screwed with my head.

[jimbo5544]

The ship.  SO as you all know, X was new to us.  While I had read about this particular ship, we had never experienced it.  There is much on the ship that I really enjoyed.  First and foremost, she handled the seas admirably.  We had no technical issues, and the crew and then operations ran just fine.  The cabin.  Seemed somewhat smaller to me than we are used to, but some of that was because of all the extra clothes we brought (layers and layers).  Even on our Alaskan voyages we never brought near to what we brought on this trip.  Cabins seemed a little more narrow and longer, if that makes sense.  We were staying in Aqua class on floor 11, port side.  About 8 to 10 cabins down from forward elevator (never counted).  Never asked, but maybe someone can opine as to what those red lights every 20 cabins or so always lit in the hallways.  Always meant to ask but never did.  To be honest, was a little disappointed in our position and the cleaning rigs (not in front of us but if we look hard forward they were always in the way.  The second thing was those dang supports from the overhang coming down on an angle to the side of ship.  Normally, probably would not have been an issue, but with all the pics, was always trying to zoom more or less, go right a bit or left, more of a knit.    

[jimbo5544]

Storage in the cabin felt tight,  took us 3 days to find the overhead over the bed ...... duh.  Also the drawers were really tiny, or so it seemed.

 

 

[jimbo5544]

[jimbo5544]

Specialty restaurants.  I have never seen as much talking for trying to get people to go there as we saw on this sailing.  Was it the crowd?  Has something changed recently?  I would be interested in anybody's thoughts in this.  

 

Blu I have zero bad to say on this, the menu was a little eclectic for our taste, but food was good to really good.  Service from hostess to water servers was top notch, among the best we have EVER had.  

 

And now for the negative.  Ocean View was plain not good,  WAY WAY too small, it made some breakfast and ALL lunches close to totally enjoyable.  Maybe other cruises it is more balanced, but frankly it sucked.

[Oceangoer2]

1 hour ago, jimbo5544 said:

 Ocean View was plain not good,  WAY WAY too small, it made some breakfast and ALL lunches close to totally enjoyable.

Was the word 'not' missing in this sentence? 🤔 I've never found the OV to be small on any S class ship?  or am I missing some tongue in cheek or being too literal?

[jimbo5544]

32 minutes ago, Oceangoer2 said:

Was the word 'not' missing in this sentence? 🤔 I've never found the OV to be small on any S class ship?  or am I missing some tongue in cheek or being too literal?

LOL typo..... it was NOT enjoyable.  

 

To further clarify, it was NOT due to lack of effort on the staff's part.  They tried hard, from top to bottom.  There was tons of options but, an especially at lunch time, it really was not that good.  I do not set the bar all that thigh for buffet food.  When you add in the fact that around one it was virtually impossible to get a seat (especially when the weather was not forgiving enough to sit out on the aft open area.

[jimbo5544]

The bars all around the ship.  We had the classic drink package and we were impressed at all bars (not that I spent hours a day at them....  Several are worth mentioning.  Sunset bar (aft open air) great spot when weather is cooperating.  Martini bar, pretty busy around 5 but we had cocktails there more than  few days before dinner.  Lastly this bar. 

[jimbo5544]

[jimbo5544]

Entertainment.  Celebrity from the outside has a bad rap regarding their nightlife.  What there was is really good, just not a lot going on.  From the cruise world we came from, it was noticeable.  That said, I totally recognize that the clientele is...well.....somewhat more mature.  We got by just fine.

Edited February 6 by jimbo5544

[jimbo5544]

The crew. One word....outstanding.