rivah1

For those of you with Vista Suite experience, is one level preferable to another? At this point, at least one each on levels 8, 9, and 12 is open. Sorry to semi-hijack the thread.

We recently stayed in 1090 and loved it. Perfect experience!

Thanks very much for that info. I would just love to go to Volunteer Point but don't want to risk bad luck with the tenders. I think I'll play it safe and go with one of the shorter tours.

We are hoping to do a private Volunteer Point tour in the Falklands; however, I am a bit concerned about the timing. I know that cruise line excursions have tendering priority, so can anyone tell me how difficult it is to get off the ship early if going on a private tour? Any suggestions?

meant to include that our final payment will be prior to Nov 5

Would love for someone to explain this, as we've just booked our Feb 3 cruise.

also..... Roxburgh, do you have the name of the private guide you used in BA?

Getting ready to book Iguazu, so I'd love to pick your brain a bit more.

We only have three nights after the cruise, but our flight back to the US doesn't depart until 11PM... so we do have reasonable time. However, I would prefer to only spend one night at Iguazu if we can actually see enough to justify the trip. There's a flight that arrives at Iguazu at 11AM, so that would allow a good portion of that day. We could then get a flight the next day that leaves at 4PM (or 5:30, if necessary), which also gives us a fair amount of time that day. Would the Falls be feasible with that amount of time?

On a different note, what are the phone and Internet options on the cruise? I don't want to stay terribly connected to civilization but do want to have the ability to communicate with my 15 yr old son.

Fortunately, this Seabourn cruise does include Falklands with some really good excursion options there. But I will miss South Georgia.

Many thanks to ALL of you for your comments and advice.

digitl, thank you for your responses to my questions. I do understand that nothing is guaranteed and that we could have no landings whatsoever the entire time. Heck, we recently returned from Alaska, and it was far from a brochure cruise. No whales or bears and record rainfall. Still, it was fantastic. In any event, I was just trying to get a feel for how the landings would work IF they actually took place. I wasn't taking issue with Seabourn's customer service saying that it was "up to the captain" regarding Zodiac tours. I didn't express myself well on this. I was concerned that it sounded more like "I don't know that it's even a possibility" i.e. not really in their repertoire. As it turns out, I was mistaken. They actually do offer that... at least at times. This was a positive. I'm still curious to hear how long you're typically off the boat (between Zodiac cruising and on land) for each landing on smaller boats such as Orion.

Also, I did both call and email Hurtigruten. Their dates just don't work. It looks like a fantastic company, though.

With all of that said, we made a decision last night that is ideal. I am booking with Seabourn this morning. My husband and I will be traveling quite a lot in the coming years, but our bucket list of lengthy vacations (3+ weeks) is fairly short... Africa; Australia and New Zealand; Asia (destinations TBD). 1-2 week ones are plentiful. SO, I struck a deal with him that - if we love Antarctica as much as I think we will - we will add Orion's 24 day expedition to our bucket list and do it in the next few years. He agreed. I think Seabourn will be a great opportunity to explore many areas... not just Antarctica. I am very, very excited... especially as I'm fairly certain we'll be heading back down there for a truer expedition experience... and to also see South Georgia!

I'm sure I will have more questions as we near Feb 3rd - even with the fantastic info posted here.

Thank you again :D

My thanks to ALL of you for your help. I am booking with Seabourn this morning. My husband and I will be traveling quite a lot in the coming years, but our bucket list of lengthy vacations (3+ weeks) is fairly short... Africa, Australia and New Zealand, Asia (destinations TBD). 1-2 week ones are plentiful. SO, I struck a deal with him that if we love Antarctica as much as I think we will, we will add Orion's 24 day expedition to our bucket list and do it in the next few years. He agreed. I think this will be a great opportunity to explore many areas... not just Antarctica. I am very, very excited! I'm sure I will have more questions as we near Feb 3rd - even with the fantastic info posted here.

Here are a couple already :o 1) Are you permitted to take a GoPro on a pole for underwater pics from the Zodiacs? 2) Did anyone do a trip to Iguazu Falls from BA? If so, what did you do, and with whom did you make arrangements? I understand that booking this through Seabourn is extraordinarily costly, but the rt flights from BA to Iguazu are only about $350US... so I would imagine there are more reasonable options. 3) If you didn't do Iguazu, what were your favorite excursions from BA? We have three nights and almost 3 full days there at the end of the cruise, as we save about $6,000 in airfare (for both of us) by staying those extra days.

Thank you again!!!!

cat, yes I did read that thread as well as Roxburgh's page. It was fantastic. Still, though, it didn't really address the time allowed on the landings, so I am very appreciative of the info you've given me. I will be referring back to that thread to plan our cruise if we book it. So much great info.

I actually called Seabourn today to ask if they did any Zodiac tours while other groups were on land, and I was told that it was up to the captain... that I should inquire on board. That would be perfect if they would allow that. From what I've seen on various forums, the zodiac "cruises" are almost as good as being on the land... and sometimes better.

Should we book this (which we must do by tomorrow if we are going), are the Veranda Suites ok, or do you think the Penthouse is worth the upgrade?

Thanks, Turtle. Seabourn won't say whether they'll allow zodiac tours while others are on land. Their customer service said "it's up to the captain". I guess that's my concern. If you only have 60-90 minutes on land, what in the world do you do the rest of the time? I realize there are lectures and sightseeing/photography from the ship, but I would like more than an hour off the ship.

Just found this thread... thankfully!! :D

We are contemplating booking the Feb 3 2015 cruise, but I am concerned about the large size of the boat as opposed to Orion, for example. Specifically, I don't know how much time you actually have on land at each landing when they're having to transport 400 by Zodiac. I love the creature comforts of Quest but don't want to be shortchanged on the Antarctica experience. I read someone's post that said you had an hour on land. I just can't imagine how that is adequate time, but perhaps I'm off base.

Hubby wants to book this, but I am torn between "going for it" and waiting until next season for Orion/Nat Geo. Also quite a nice ship but 2-3 landings/day... and includes South Georgia. However, downside to Orion is no Chilean coast. And - because they're waitlisting - we would have to postpone the trip. I don't want to wait!

Would really appreciate your thoughts.

Are they not primarily French speaking, Mike?

Good to hear from someone who has done Seabourn :) How many landings did you make, and how much time did you have on land each time? As I said, that's my one BIG concern with it. Also, how close in were you able to get with the boat?

digitl, I thought about Hurtigruten, but they have nothing that works date-wise. I really don't want to wait until 2016 if I don't have to. I'm not a very patient person :(

maryann, I am on that forum also. Everyone is in favor of the smaller ships, but no one - other than cat above - has actually done Seabourn. As far as I know, Seabourn is the only "luxury" line with a mid-size boat that actually does Antarctica with landings.

Plus, I have to admit that the pricing has been surprising. Seabourn is quite high end, yet it's far less than Quark or Lindblad. $19K pp as opposed to $30K.

Trying to arrange our first cruise to Antarctica. Hubby is set on Seabourn because of the comfort as well as the fact it also goes down the Chilean coast with excursions there. However, I am concerned it may be too large with close to 400 passengers. Also worried a bit about the lack of history/experience as they only just started going there last year. Would love to hear from someone with experience about this. With that many passengers, how much time do you actually have with each landing? And I also assume that it will be limited to one landing per day?

If Seabourn is not the way to go, any suggestions?