taxatty

We were on the same Antarctica Silver Cloud trip as WesW, and it was great, even with several excursions being cancelled or rerouted due to ice or swells as often happens on Antarctica cruises. It stopped at the Falkland Islands but not South Georgia. IMHO, the wildlife viewing in the Falklands for seals and penguins was as good or better than it was in Antarctica without the need to hike through ice and snow. We enjoyed that trip so much, we're taking the 18-day Wind voyage at the end of next year that includes Antarctica, the Falklands and South Georgia that we would have booked at the end of 2021 had the Wind then been ready to sail.

Motion seconded. IMHO, IB has mediocre economy and business class seats and food, and service has been average and below. IB also has the worst customer service department I've ever dealt with, even after trying to get help via Twitter--which covers a lot of territory--it took a year and a half and a DOT complaint to get flight credits for COVID-cancelled flights that we eventually used on BA.

OK, I stand corrected, but the point is that it MAY be possible to upgrade AA tickets if they so qualify and you are lucky and persistent. If your first call (or two) to an AA phone agent to request an upgrade results in a "sorry, your tickets don't qualify for upgrades" response as it did with us in one case a couple of months before our flights, try a HUCA--a different AA agent put us on the upgrade waitlist. AA "C" Class upgrade space later became available and we grabbed it. We've done this multiple times using both AA systemwide upgrades and miles + cash.

It does depend upon the airline. We were able to upgrade to business class both ways on AA MIA-SCL-MIA using AA's usual miles and cash co-pays for these flights (25,000 miles + $350 PP), once at the gate, and once clearing a few days in advance.

Here--south of Rotorua. https://www.waiotapu.co.nz/. It takes around 1 1/2 hours to see with a lot of easy walking.

You'll never take more pictures of the same object than you will of Uluru at sunset. As the sun begins to go down, the colors constantly change. It's absolutely magnificent.

Keep in mind that it's much less likely that you will see the yellow eyed penguins than the little blue penguins on the separate evening tour operated out of the Albatross center. When we did the YEP tour, it was very interesting and the guides were great, but the only YEP we saw was one they were rehabilitating in an enclosure.

There is definitely interest! Thanks again for your posts.

Some of those morning excursions were strenuous. You must have been the guy at the La Terrazza breakfast buffet with a stack of six pancakes and a pile of bacon.

The rotating early zodiac start times mean that you'll probably want to order quite a few of room service breakfasts. On our Cloud sailing, they were always promptly and cheerfully delivered with the hot items hot, the cold items cold, with lots of variety and universally delicious--one of the constant highlights of the trip. The only issues were that the table in a standard suite to hold everything is a bit small, and it's too cold to eat on a balcony if you have one. Neither one of those bothered us.

Gorgeous pics! Thanks! Looking forward to being on the Wind in 2024 for SS Antarctica trip #2 plus this time, South Georgia Island.

No charge for the USB flash drive on our Cloud cruise a year ago. The only problem I had with it was the Polar Plunge video at the end capturing everyone's dive into the ice-cold water, including my horrible-looking effort. 😬

" Offer applies to new, individual bookings on the Offer Cruise, which must be booked during the Offer Period...Booking cannot be cancelled and rebooked under this Offer."

Here's another person who would never use SS Air.

I never said it was equivalent. It DOES allow booking your own flights and foregoing transfers at a lower price than regular Door-to-Door based upon the allocable credits while retaining its other aspects, which is precisely what the OP was seeking.

Terms and conditions: PORT-TO-PORT PREPAID Cruise must be booked between Dec 12, 2022 and Feb 28, 2023. Guests benefit from a savings of up to 20% on Port-to-Port fares. Payment must be made in full within five days from the booking date. In case of cancellation penalties are 100%. Offer not valid on Top suites. Voyage to voyage are not allowed. Combinable only with Port-to-Port fares. Not combinable with Groups. Not combinable with any other promotion including but not limited to Events Certificate, Suite Upgrade, discounts, etc. Offer applies to new, individual bookings on the Offer Cruise, which must be booked during the Offer Period. Offer is capacity controlled, availability varies by sailing, and suites may sell out. Offer is non-transferable and applicable only to the Offer Cruise. Changes to booking may result in removal of Offer. Offer is subject to availability and change without notice. Booking cannot be cancelled and rebooked under this Offer. Silversea reserves the right to cancel the Offer at any time, correct any errors, inaccuracies, or omissions, and change or update fares, fees, and surcharges at any time without prior notice. Single supplement may vary by voyage. Ship’s Registry: Bahamas.

Terry--we just returned from a land tour (not a cruise) of New Zealand's North and South Islands--we first visited in 2016. The only evidence of COVID that we saw there were complimentary RAT boxes for the taking in the Customs area if you wanted to test yourself at some point during your stay--totally discretionary. It was much less crowded there than on our last visit as the many busloads of Chinese tourists that were then haven't returned due their own COVID issues. If you're intrepid enough to drive on winding, hilly roads on the left side (or flying from place to place) instead of having a ship do the work, it's a great time to go.

Various future SS cruises we've looked at online recently have a specific "door-to-door without flights" option that in effect provides a credit in advance for booking your own air and no transfers--was that an option for your cruise that would provide the same stateroom availability as "door-to-door with flights?"

Our last three cruises have been to Antarctica on the Cloud, a QM2 transatlantic, and last weekend on RCI's Freedom of the Seas (we live in the Miami area and those quickie trips are easy and convenient for us). Other than being in a stateroom on a ship at sea, these voyages could not have been more different in every conceivable way, but all of them were quite enjoyable with distinct reasons to recommend and repeat them.

Given the cost of an SS cruise, flying in the day before may be worth the extra hotel expense--the additional hassles should be much less than that of trying to make your connection. We've made connecting AA flights with that kind of timing at LAX, but our checked luggage didn't, and it only arrived on the next flight to our destination.

As with any other flights with carry-on (number or weight) restrictions, consider putting the binoculars, Kindles and anything else that will fit in a jacket with deep pockets (like ScotteVEST ) that you wear on the plane--just don't go crazy where the loaded jacket is so stuffed and heavy that you can't walk normally or look like the Michelin Man. We had no problems with this on our SS Antarctica flights to or from Santiago.

That's the only place we ate in Santiago on our trip due to the COVID restrictions then in effect, but the menu for the other MO restaurant looked good, and room service produced a very good burger.

Another vote for the Matsuri restaurant at the MO--superb, very creative food, prices weren't cheap but reasonable for what you get, and nice tables overlooking the pool area.

These gloves were not that bulky and worked well for me in Antarctica. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QRMO8IU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1