cnbfrank

This was a wonderful cruise - I would love to repeat it. I packed Goretex jacket and pants for wind/rain, with layers underneath for warmth, and used them on the Antarctica portion as well as one Ushuaia excursion. Hat, gloves, binoculars - don't forget sunscreen for Antarctica - including your lips. We liked our ocean-view cabin - could run up one flight to the promenade deck, but could also watch penguins floating by our window on icebergs.

Hotels in Spain held our passports for a few hours in just the past two weeks. Our tour leader told us it was a new procedure, based on the Brussels attacks.

Coming home, we were required to go through two additional screening stations at Madrid airport before entering the gate areas served by American Airlines - quick questions confirming our zip code/purpose of visit, etc. This was after the usual initial security screening of carryons, etc. that follows initial check-in.

These stations were obviously set up fairly quickly with podiums, and movable barriers, so things can change on short notice.

In Spain, we left passports in hotel safe, carried photocopies, with no problems. Would have needed passports for bank transactions.

We were on Veendam Jan 2011 with dfish and others we'd met through the roll call. We loved our ocean-view cabin, a little aft of midship, where we could go up the main stairs quickly to either side of the promenade, or to the stairs to the rear promenade where there were a few dedicated birders fascinated by the albatross gliding along behind the ship. The Antarctic days were long, cold but sunny. Don't forget sunscreen, and warm/windproof layers. There were just so many vistas of blue, green, grey, black, white that your brain and eyes would get a little overloaded, but how could I nap when there were penguins floating by our cabin window on an iceberg!

On our Veendam SA/Antarctica cruise in 2011, there was a laminated chart spread out in the Crow's Nest, with our projected and actual routes around the Antarctica peninsula marked out. Also a handsome young officer, on occasion, to update it and answer questions :)

I agree with much that's been said. We booked many months in advance for an OV cabin midships on Main Deck and were very happy with it. What can compare with seeing penguins and seals float by on icebergs at eye level?? We could go out our door, up the nearby stairs quickly to the promenade deck.

We spent much of our time on the promenade deck and open bow during the three days in Antarctica. Prime spots in Crows Nest were taken early and we preferred to be out and about in any case. Wonderfully sunny, but still cold. Take layers with windproof on top, hat and gloves. Sunscreen is a must. Long, long daylight hours when we hated to go back inside the ship. It was truly an emotional, spiritual experience for me - so much beauty, and feeling truly "at the end of the world".

Drake passage was a little rocky returning to SA, but that's what my husband, the sailor, wanted to experience!

We were on the same cruise as dfish, above, and really enjoyed getting to know the people on our roll call, sharing private excursions, etc. The onboard speakers were fantastic. I, too, would go back in a minute.

On our Jan 2011 Veendam trip, we understood the flight to Antarctica was fully booked, and preliminary "decontaminating" steps taken on board the ship, but then the excursion was canceled when our Punta Arenas stop was missed due to street demonstrations/blockages over heating gas prices.

We had already had three incredibly beautiful days of cruising the Antarctic Peninsula, close enough to shore to see individuals moving around the research stations, and to smell the thousands of penguins. The landscape looks so vulnerable, we had no real desire to set foot on land, but loved the HAL trip - would do it again anytime.

I looked back at my Veendam pix from Jan 2011 - the open bow was teak at that time.

I think the surface of the open bow is painted metal. It's not part of the teak promenade deck altho it's on the same level; you have to know which forward heavy metal doors to go through to get out onto the bow.

We were on the Jan 6 2011 Antarctica cruise. I remember seeing only a couple of young children and no teenagers - and then only very infrequently. I wondered if they were children of the officers, perhaps. There are a lot of sea days on this trip - Antarctica is spectacular, but they might become restless at "scenery" and wish to be ashore and active on more days than this voyage allows. You know your children best, though. For the two of us who love being out on deck and observing birds and nature in general it was a fantastic trip.

There may have been concerns about the privacy of individuals' medical reports/history....she did name names and describe injuries in some detail.

We were on a TA on QE2 a couple of years ago. I'm sure not everyone was in black or white for the "Black and White Ball". It was more that the dance floor area was decorated in black and white.

There were quite a number of guests in national dress at dinner on formal nights. I think the sari would be lovely any evening.