frantic36

Ariana in Colonnade said that one of the waiters managed to save a passenger who fell plus the wine bottle the waiter had in his hand. Much calmer in MDR for lunch though a few glasses fell.

That will be interesting to read. My husband is in finance for ourselves and reads charts most days so I will get him to look over it.

Hopefully you will get on one of the Seabourn ships soon and will be able to see for yourself how things are. On a positive side note I wish to share a Seabourn moment I had the other day. I must have injured my right leg the other sea day while walking on deck. The next day when we got to Punta Arenas it was very painful. I dosed myself up with analgesics and we walked to the Crematorium and did some snack shopping for crew. On the way back the analgesics stopped working and I limped aboard the ship. The Assistant Maitre D' in Colonnade saw me limping and on hearing of my problem went and got my some epsom salts from her personal supply and told me how she used it to soak her legs when she first started onboard. I did a long soak that afternoon and it did improve and by the next day my leg was fine. Though I soaked it once more to be sure. The staff have all been lovely to my husband and myself. There are some glitches and more training needed but overall they always smile and say hello.

I just realised photo 1 is upside down unfortunately. Here is what the base looks like properly. I do understand markham's frustration and I have noticed some improvement with communication sometimes after he has chatted with the Captain but unfortunately the advice doesn't seem to stick for long.

As markham mentioned the seas have become rougher over the day and I suspect looking at the deepening troughs they are likely to get rougher before they get better. The current Captain has many years experience on HAL not Seabourn though he did indicate he was still employed to help maintain the ships during the shutdown. So this Captain is not used to the Seabourn culture. I am using my time to do some laundering of my silk dresses which I won't send to laundry. We gave our cabin stewardesses the day of cleaning our room which they were grateful for, and no Mr L. it is not because we are messy.🙂 My husband is one who unfortunately received a jacket in the wrong size but he has a down jacket which he can wear as an inner jacket and will just swap out the outer jacket. My understanding was the number of jackets received was correct but the sizing was very poorly supplied so people ended up with jackets either bigger or smaller than they ordered. My jacket was fine thankfully. I have managed to get a few photos to download to my laptop. So here are three from Glacier Alley yesterday... And this was our view of Ushuaia yesterday evening at 8.30pm in TK Grill when we sat down for dinner... Julie

Not at this point in time, I am quite happy. I think it is something in my settings on my devices not the ship's connectivity this time. I will try to get one of the IT guys to look at it for me. I have been trying airdrop etc but no luck as yet.

Dear Mr L, Demanding soul that you are 😄. As soon as I sort out the connectivity between phone and laptop you will get your pictures.

2nd February, Sorry for the radio silence but internet has been very poor. They fix it for a short while and then it disappears again. While I have it I have been using the time to contact family and friends. We have just docked at Punta Arenas and I have been able to turn on my phone to get internet connection. Yesterday we went through the Chilean Fiords and the scenery was stunning. We stopped for a while at El Brujo Glacier and it was spectacular. Unfortunately my phone and my laptop have stopped sharing photos so until I get that sorted I can't share any. 3rd February Yesterday was Punta Arenas where we got a chance to stretch our legs and passengers and crew got the chance to stock up on any essential items, like snacks for the crew, before leaving civilisation. The other important thing we picked up was a new modem which the IT staff connected overnight so today we have good connectivity. In the afternoon we were informed that because there was a major storm about to hit Drakes Passage our course was being changed. So today we are sailing through more Chilean Fiords, Glacial Pass and again the scenery has been beautiful. We are due to pick up the pilot for Ushuaia in an hour and will be anchored there from ~3pm when we will stay overnight. Depending on weather conditions in the Drake Passage will be when we leave Ushuaia. The plan is for 8am leaving. We realise this may impact time spent in Antarctica but we are safe and can still enjoy wandering the ship. I was told but haven't been able to confirm that a ship that did do the Drake had to confine all passengers to their rooms and only room service was available. We are enjoying the misty/slightly rainy weather. I looked in briefly and trivia is packed. Today for the first time in many years we are going to the MDR for lunch. Julie

Yesterday on Quest I did an experiment getting dressed in the multiple layers...thermal, day clothes, jacket, water proof pants, socks, boots, neck scarfs, gloves & beanie. Mainly to see how long it would take and to check my waterproof pants would go over my boots. I came to the conclusion as much as I love seeing wildlife doing this once a landing per day would be fine.😄

The sea days tend to pass in a blur with chatting to others or reading sending emails to family. I regret to say I have not attended any lectures but friends who have said they have been very good from a Nasa space expert to the Expedition Team giving talks about wildlife and what to expect re kayaking and zodiacs when we get to Antarctica. They do repeat them to watch on the television for those of us who don't get the lecture. Yesterday was a bit difficult and frustrating for passengers and crew as Seabourn has changed providers for supplying jackets and boots. The quality is still good but the provider mixed up orders so many people received goods larger or smaller than what they ordered. So what is usually just some people needing to swap items out meant it was basically ship wide. The rare person received the correct jacket & boots, of which I was one, but most needed to change including my husband. he now has correct boots but is waiting to get his jacket since they are going to fly new jackets in to one of our upcoming ports. I felt for the crew as some of the loud, usual complainers onboard were berating them for something that they had no control over. Sure people have a right to express their frustration but yesterday the crew needed to have signs up like displayed in many businesses post Covid asking people not to be verbally abusive with staff. By that I am speaking in a loud, aggressive tone about how useless Seabourn is in general rather than this one incidence which onboard staff have no control over. The crew handled themselves professionally and diplomatically keeping calm. On a happier note all was calm in the evening where we had our last formal night for this segment, I think. Many in dark suits or even tuxedos in the MDR and others more casually dressed in other zones and everyone mingled happily. We shared a convivial table with friends where we had good food and wine. The lobster with saffron risotto was lovely and the lobster was tasty, not watery at all. Our friends had Beef Wellington which was perfectly pink with the only issue was the portion size was rather large. I broke my usual rule and and had the Grand Mariner soufflé which was delicious. No photos as too busy eating, drinking and chatting with friends. Puerto Montt today and we are doing a Seabourn tour to Emerald Lake. Overnight the ship's foghorn has been going since early morning. A tip is to bring earplugs for these occasions. There is still a drizzly fog outside which I think is lifting as we drift past the buildings of the city. Hopefully it will lift enough so I can get photos of the volcano later.

Still live Music in the club pre-dinner and after the show on Quest now. I have seen some passengers doing ballroom mainly cha cha, foxtrot and rhumba pre dinner. There are dance classes at 11am most sea days. Post show dancing is more likely modern free form dancing. Both bands that alternate have been excellent. In the Obs bar there is Felippo a very good pianist and singer and if you have a particular song you want which he doesn't know give him a few days and he will try to learn it for you. No dancing there though.

Iquique, Chile was another important place for Chile in the War of the Pacific. It was a site of defeat for Chile in a Naval battle but General Pratt the Commander of the ship Esmeralda is considered a brave hero and again they have a National Day on 27 May to honour the battle fought that day between the old, wooden Esmeralda and the new, iron built Peruvian ship. The Esmeralda was sunk that day but they now have a replica you can visit which is what we did. We were able to get audioguides in English as all tours are in Spanish. The Audios were a little glitchy to work at first but once we got the hang of it they worked well. Payment for entrance is in Chilean Peso only but since we had none we used a card. It was 1.5 hours well spent and wasn't far to walk from the shuttle drop off. Replica Esmeralda Difference between crew dining and officer dining are. Other much has likely changed over the years. After our enjoyable tour we went to the old Casino Espanol which has been converted to a restaurant. We noted a group of Seabourn passengers had been brought there some food as part of a tour. The interior was very elaborate with various paintings depicting Don Quixote's story. The food was delicious and pisco sour was very good but one was enough. I had a Marinara Risotto and the Risotto included squid ink. My husband had the Marinara Salad.

Thank you markham and CanAmBrit for replying as yesterday I was busy chatting via email & WhatsApp to family. One of the crew took an Uber with friends to visit the sculpture "Hand of the Desert" in the Atacama desert. They said the drive was about an hour and they were glad they went. This photo was a stock photo but gives an impression of size. I wasn't interested in going as I have stayed at desert resorts before so didn't need to see another desert. My husband and I just wandered around, got some money changed to peso and had lunch. Antifagasta didn't do much for me as it just felt like a big city with lots of shops. Sad to say I did overeat a bit so your supervision failed. 😆 Another sea day today in which we will do the Champagne tasting lunch and I still have catch up with emails and report on our day in Iquique here. My husband and I are doing a private wine tour and lunch from San Antonio.

Arica, Chile was our next port of call. This has great significance to Chilean history as it was the site of a battle in the War of the Pacific. The day is commemorated as a National Day on 7th June. The Peruvian army was stationed at the top of the great hill and three garrisons surrounding it. The Chilean army led by Colonel Lagos (now General) knew they had to take it swiftly so they took that hill in ~55 minutes and then the garrisons. This was one of the turning points of the war which Chile eventually won. The hill with the flag on top is where we climbed and as you can see in the second photo it was steep. I will admit to some tenderness in my calf muscles the next day. Seabourn used this as an opportunity to set up a welcome back party with drinks and some local dancers. They also went to a local market to get some fresh fruits.

I was very glad you were able to get your supplies and pick up the Galapagos passengers and also Captain Hamish's wife.

Some updates from our cruise. As you know the second day in Lima all Seabourn excursions and the shuttle into Mira Flores was cancelled. The shuttle to the port gate wasn't. I had spoken to my Haku guide and they reassured me they were not going to be near any protests ( or manifestations as they called it) as these were likely in the Historical Centre near the government buildings. So four of us went on our tour. We started and a local fish market where we had a freshly cooked crumbed herring burger with salsa, this was my favourite so far. Sorry it is upside down. Then we went to a large street market where many different fruits were purchased. We then went to restaurant where these were served followed by a pouch of a seafood a rice soup, fish ceviche, seafood fried rice and fried fish. We then went to see street art which was very colourful As I mentioned a few days ago, while we were out we saw no evidence of road blocks or protests as our guides kept us away from any problems. It was very sad the next morning to hear of what happened in the evening as this impact of lack of tourists will hurt the local people the most. A market we stopped at to buy a t-shirt we were the only tourists there. We were unable to leave Callao till 2pm the next day and any further ports in Peru were skipped and we headed straight to Chile.

We left Callao ~2pm and are heading south to our new port of call Arica, Chile. The seas are quite calm but there is a lot of fog about and the ship has been using the foghorn for the last hour or so.

@florisdekort we used Haku Tours for both days in Lima. We had a driver and a guide both days and the cars were new and very comfortable. We felt very safe with them.

My husband and I and one other couple went ashore yesterday as we had a private food & art tour booked in the morning and we were not going near the Historical Centre where the protesters were due to be in the afternoon. The Historical Centre is of course where the Presidential Palace and Government buildings are. While ashore we saw no problems or road blocks so felt very safe. It is so sad the events of the evening became violent and chaotic as the people we met were lovely and just wanted to get on with their lives. We remain docked at Callao allegedly due to "high swells" outside the port but who knows? As markham said we just want to get on to Arica in Chile.

I am on the Quest at the moment and having a very good time. My husband told me he overheard some people complaining about small portion sizes. For me there is so much food I am happy to have small servings and you can always order more. For dinner I have the appetiser, salad and entree/main. I can't fit in dessert or bread, so it would be a waste to serve my husband and I bigger portions. The service has been good though I can tell there are new trainees. We have a few hiccups in the first couple of days and now it is fine. When we had a problem we went to the Guest Services Manager and Head of Housekeeping and the problem was fixed. most of it was as simple as our curtains near our bed were stiff to draw across and we wanted to ensure they would be usable once we got to Antarctica. Today some people complained about why stop at Machala but we had a great day with lunch and walking around.Though we were warned about high crime we stayed aware and took all our jewellery off prior but we actually felt very safe. In fact my husband dropped his Seabourn card in the local restaurant and while we were getting our bearings across the road to go back to the shuttle bus a man ran across and handed it to my husband. My whole long post is to confirm what Mr L said above, different people and expectations can lead to different experiences.

The Narwell Food Tour was excellent and all eight of us enjoyed it. We caught the port shuttle to the terminal a short 5 minute ride. Our guide Maria was waiting. We boarded a newish 10 seater bus that was very comfortable. First we went to Casa Rosa, a lovingly restored dwelling which is now used as a cafe, bottom floor, lovely restaurant and high end conference room and rooftop bar. We had fresh roasted coffee and an empanada classic breakfast. We were shown how they roast the raw beans in a special machine. Our guide with the barista and a bowl of raw beans as the discuss temperature setting. The house was fascinating with lots of historic photos and we returned to eat to see the ceviche made and for lunch after the fish market. The fish market was very clean and we weren't hassled. We got to see also them pulling some nets to shore and the swarms of various seabirds. It was amazing chance to see birds of all descriptions from pelicans to white egrets and migratory birds. The cats were obviously well fed. After buying the Dorade fish we returned and Chef Nicolas demonstrated the method of Ceviche which was chopped into small cubes and served with plantain chips and was delicious. Our main course was grilled fish with a shrimp sauce, salad and rice. The meal was served on the rooftop terrace under cover. To be continued but hopefully this is helpful @florisdekort.

We had a sea day yesterday and crossing the Equator event. There were quite a lot of Polly Wogs, I think 23 was the count including a few crew. Jan the CD did an excellent job of keeping everyone moving through and the jokes coming. Our Hotel Director is new to the Seabourn brand but has worked as Manager for Dorchester, Claridges and Belmond brands. He was a Polly Wog and joined in the event in good spirit. His entry into the pool was enthusiastic. We tried the TK Crispy Chicken at Colonnade last night. We had tried it last in 2018 but was disappointed as it wasn't as crispy as we had at tried at Ad Hoc in Napa. Last night was very good and we enjoyed it with friends we had made on this cruise. We do our food tour today in Manta so @florisdekort I will report back.

Thanks for this picture. We are on Quest so I assume we will get the same jackets when we reach Antarctica. I agree about people doing the polar plunge. This little black duck likes warm water only.

Hi Floris, It is a local company and here is the link to the description. https://www.narwelltours.com/producto/manta-food-tour/ They were responsive to emails and in fact we are a party of four and they told us about another Seabourn party of four and asked if we wanted to join up tours which reduced the price from$145pp to $100pp. So I will let you know how it goes. I misspoke in my earlier post and on the second day we are doing another private tour organised by a roll call member to the Pacoche Rainforest. It is in Lima we are due to do a private food tour one day and Seabourn tour the next. By the way Mel's visit was a highlight for me of the block party and we did meet some other nice people. Cheers, Julie

Oh No!!!😂 I hope you don't mind me contributing markham? We enjoyed our monkey watch tour in Fuerte Amador today even with the rain and getting wet. Though some didn't enjoy the long bus ride or getting wet on the speed boat ride. We did manage to see some groups of Howler & White Faced monkeys, various vultures, a humming bird and Iguana though I was hoping for an Anaconda. After our sea day tomorrow we have two days in Manta, Ecuador where we will do a private food tour Day 1 and another Seabourn Tour Day 2. For those who will visit Fuerte Amador in the future we docked and air conditioned buses picked us up. The new port buildings still have a long way to go and the road is partly graded sand based road. Our driver was careful and I didn't find it uncomfortable though it was a little bumpier than normal roads. It was only about 10 mins before getting onto normal road.