crunchii

We did our first landing today. In the morning we took the Zodiac to The Naze on James Ross Island. We saw some penguins and seals there.

In the afternoon, we were supposed to do another landing at False Island Point on Vega Island, but the condition wasn't right, so we just did a Zodiac tour through icebergs.

Then in the evening, we saw a couple pods of orcas. They swam along with us for a while.

Tonight, the ship will go east, then south along James Ross Island to Rum Cove, where we'll have another landing tomorrow morning, weather permitting.

I use Samsonite Winfield carry-on. It fit in the overhead compartment fine. The plane was old, but it was a regular airplane.

Yes, I was able to bring my carry-on wheeled luggage like usual. We put our checked luggage out in the hallway the night before at the hotel, and we didn't see it again until arriving at the airport in Ushuaia. Dunno if they weighed our luggage during that time or not. Carry-on luggage was not weighed.

Yes, lunch was served, but it was not very good. Ham and cheese sandwich (no lettuce, etc.) and some mixed fruit. (Sorry, forgot to take pictures.) That plane ride definitely was not luxurious.

We're now in Antarctica, just about to pass through between the tip of Antarctic Peninsula and Joinville Island toward Waddell Sea.

It's smooth sailing and no more significant rocking 🙂

During the briefing yesterday, someone asked about the stabilizers. Their answer was pretty much what was stated in the letter we received (it's a comfort issue and not safety issue), but they also mentioned the reason why South Georgia was dropped from those itineraries that included it. (Ours doesn't include it to begin with.)

It has to do with the direction they would be sailing. When they sail southwest from South Georgia to the Antarctica, the waves will hit the ship from unfavorable direction.

That makes sense. I was wondering why they can go to Antarctica through the Drake Passage without the stabilizers, but not South Georgia. Now I know.

We're in the middle of the Drake Passage. The sea is fairly mild, but the ship is rocking quite a bit, so yeah I say the stabilizers are important. 😆 But it's tolerable. Nothing has fallen off the table or shelves.

We're onboard now 🥰 Grabbed a light lunch in Lido and now having coffee in Seabourn Square 🙂

Yep, Hanseatic Nature is behind us and Scenic Eclipse is across. HAL Oosterdam is also here. They're tendering.

Arrived in Buenos Aires this morning. There were several Seaborn representatives holding up signs right outside of the exit, then we followed one of them to the bus to our hotel.

We were lucky and able to get our room right away, but if no rooms are available, they can store your luggage, so you can go sightseeing. Seabourn offers some tours in the afternoon and evening (see below), if you don't have anything planned.

We'll fly to Ushuaia early tomorrow morning (our bus leaves at 5:30 am 😱) to board the Venture.

I don't know how well the Internet works on the ship, but I'll try to post when I can! I'll definitely report our experience through the Drake Passage without the stabilizers.

We're booked on 1/4 cruise as well. We have not received any communication from Seabourn about the stabilizer issue. We're still going regardless though. Crossing my fingers that we won't have any serious issues!

I'll try to post from the ship and let you know how things are going.

P.S. I received the email from Seabourn just when I was going to click on Submit Reply! LOL. The wording is exactly the same as what toseaornottosea posted.

We're on the same cruise as Folkfan13, and the final document I downloaded says there will be two formal nights. (Actually, it says "Formal Optional Nights: 2." I wonder what that means...?)

So, do most women wear a different dress for each formal night or just wear the same dress?

42 minutes ago, jjs217 said:

Just heard back from Seabourn.  A test can be supervised by way of a home test through Optum and Radeas.  This are the email addresses they sent:

Optum: https://store.optum.com/shop/products/abbott-binaxNOW-COVID-19-ag-emed-at-home-test-kit-2-pack/?utm_source=carnival-corporation&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=two&utm_campaign=travel_ready_covid_test

 

Radeas: https://cruise.radeas.com/ 

Yes, that's the one we use. 🙂

We are on the cruise after yours, and as of now, it says vaccines/testing are not required for our cruise, but I'm expecting it'll change to vaccines/testing required like yours. If they do, we'll just get the BinaxNow home tests. We used it before and worked great.

That's good to hear! 😊

OK, thank you! I guess I'll start researching!

Hello! A question from a Seabourn newbie.

When the first day of the itinerary is an overnight hotel stay, does it usually include dinner and/or breakfast? FYI, it's the Jan. 3 Antarctica cruise on Venture. We'll be staying at Alvear Icon Hotel in Buenos Aires.

Just wondering if I need to research the restaurants in the area or not.

Thank you!

The coffee machines in the Neptune Suites are Mocoffee. NOT Nespresso. Nespresso pods won't work (sorry).

Note: This photo was taken in 2018, but it was the same machine on Westerdam three weeks ago.

Currently on Westerdam. On my Navigator, it says $40.00 to upgrade to Premium for 7 days. "Buy 7 days" is a clickable button, so I assume you click on it to purchase it.

Thank you! This will be our first post-COVID cruise. Excited, but a bit nervous too, since we pretty much stayed home the whole time (didn't even go out to eat, just doing take outs!) At least we won't have to fly. 🙂

Hi kazu,

Thank you so much for all the hard work you do to maintain this list!!

Looks like one of my cruises fell out of the list. 🙂 It would be great if you could add it back in. Just made the final payment, so we're going for sure, unless some catastrophe happens! 🤞

AUGUST 2022
Westerdam - 21-Aug-22 - 7 day Alaskan Explorer
crunchii & Zarmengar

Thank you!

3 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

Oops - I missed that you had this under September 2023 but you have the date as August?  I will list it as August 2023 - if I am in error and it is September 26, 2023, please let me know and I will amend it.

I'm sorry, my mistake. You're correct. It should be under AUGUST 2023.

AUGUST 2023
Zuiderdam - 26-Aug-23 - 7 day Canada & New England Discovery
crunchii & Zarmengar

Thank you!

Hi kazu,

My nephew decided to get married right in the middle of our cruise! So we had to move our New England cruise to 2023 and book Alaska cruise instead for this year...

Please remove:
SEPTEMBER 2022
N Statendam - 17-Sep-22 - 7 day Canada & New England Discovery
crunchii & Zarmengar

And please add:
AUGUST 2022
Westerdam - 21-Aug-22 - 7 day Alaskan Explorer
crunchii & Zarmengar

SEPTEMBER 2023
Zuiderdam - 26-Aug-23 - 7 day Canada & New England Discovery
crunchii & Zarmengar

You can also remove:
JANUARY 2023
Seabourn Venture - 03-Jan-23 Antarctica Exploration (Expedition cruise)
crunchii & Zarmengar - celebrating 35th anniversary - cruise starts with overnight in Buenos Aires & sails on Jan. 4th

We're still going, but we don't want to cause you the extra trouble of looking up a non-HAL cruise. (Especially now that the cruise is sold out, it won't show up in regular search!)

Thank you!

Well, there were A LOT of additions this week (and multiple from me all at once, sorry!), so I'm amazed that there was only one mistake!

I appreciate your putting this together every week, Jacqui! I know it's a hard work!!

2 hours ago, leanstostarboard said:

The notice listed below is not correct.   The new Statendam is sailing  from Barcelona to Rome in Sept 15 2021

 

 N Statendam - 17-Sep-21 - 7 day Canada & New England Discovery
crunchii & Zarmengar

 

 

Yes, it should be 17-Sep-22. Thank you!

21 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

Wow, nice 🙂 

 

No worries at all on a bunch of them.

 

I tried to find your Seabourn cruise to see if I should list it as Jan 03 or Jan 04 but I can’t even find the cruise. 🤷 

Let me know how many days it is please and if it actually starts on Jan. 03 should I show it that way?  Thanks 🙂 

You should be able to find our Seabourn cruise, if you select "Expedition" as the destination, rather than Antarctica.

The web site doesn't say how many days, but I just looked at my confirmation, and it says "12-Day Antarctica Exploration" cruise.

As for the start date, the web site shows the start date as Jan. 3, 2023, so I guess we should go with that date, although we don't actually sail away till Jan. 4? I'll leave it up to you!

Thank you!