No Antarctica Feb 13th- We're Upset!

[brazilgirl]

Actually , rlbeck (Roger) , we did make it finally and we got our certificates too! Nice.

 

I´ve always been jealous ( I know , jealousy is ugly!) that you guys on the cruise after us had such perfect weather and didn´t miss anything. I almost went on your cruise , but because of my husband´s work schedule , we switched. Oh , sadness.

 

Anyway , my memories are great anyway....hope the current cruisers make some great memories too.

 

A Sixth said it well....Antarctica is not a place to be toyed with.

 

Kim

[Nonna and Papa]

We were on the same cruise as Roger (rbeck) - the Feb. 14, 2010 sailing. We were very lucky to have had as good conditions as we had. But while we were in Antarctic waters, the feeling of desolation can actually loom very large. Jules1, I can imagine how disappointed you are, and I would have been too.

 

But please, give some thought to the fact that if the ship had problems, and weren't able to continue to sail, it would be quite a long time until a suitable vessel could be dispatched to come to your aid, and by the time they arrived, so many things could have happened. There is nothing out there but mountains and ice - there is no place to go and no one to come help. The Captain had the passengers, crew and the ship's safety first and foremost in his mind.

 

Mary

[rlbeck]

Here is the link to the CC thread that was started about the blog. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1359945

The blog address is in the first post. They haven't posted on the thread for a few days, but have on the blog.

 

Mike: Thanks for that!:) I followed a similar blog from the Star Princess last year just prior to our own sailing. It was very helpful then and now it is nice to be able to see how others are faring. Take care..........BTW, Love your travel site!!!!!!

[MVPinBoynton]

Mike: Thanks for that!:) I followed a similar blog from the Star Princess last year just prior to our own sailing. It was very helpful then and now it is nice to be able to see how others are faring. Take care..........BTW, Love your travel site!!!!!!

 

Thanks Roger. I should have our upcoming SA cruise review added to it by the middle of April.

[rlbeck]

Actually , rlbeck (Roger) , we did make it finally and we got our certificates too! Nice.

 

I´ve always been jealous ( I know , jealousy is ugly!) that you guys on the cruise after us had such perfect weather and didn´t miss anything. I almost went on your cruise , but because of my husband´s work schedule , we switched. Oh , sadness.

 

Anyway , my memories are great anyway....hope the current cruisers make some great memories too.

 

Kim

 

Kim: Thanks for reminding me.:)Too many sailings to keep them all straight.:( I do recall your not making the Falkland Islands as being a particular sore point with some pax. We not only got there, but had a very smooth sail after that. We were shocked that The Drake Passage was so calm! Apparently the captain knew it, as we lingered around for an extra couple of hours at Paradise Bay. Spectacular!.... Who knew beforehand which was the 'right' one to do? Chances in life. Take care and happy sailings to you and your family......

[rlbeck]

Thanks Roger. I should have our upcoming SA cruise review added to it by the middle of April.

 

Mike: Thanks for that, will be looking forward to your postings. We are getting back onto the Infinity 4/24/2011 in Ft. Lauderdale for a B2B when it makes it's transition back to Alaska....26 nights total.:):) Nine weeks from today!!!! BTW, We followed your Diamond Princess NZ/AU cruise in 2006 closely, as we did about the same itinerary on the Sapphire in 2007. Great Cruise.......

[MVPinBoynton]

Mike: Thanks for that, will be looking forward to your postings. We are getting back onto the Infinity 4/24/2011 in Ft. Lauderdale for a B2B when it makes it's transition back to Alaska....26 nights total.:):) Nine weeks from today!!!! BTW, We followed your Diamond Princess NZ/AU cruise in 2006 closely, as we did about the same itinerary on the Sapphire in 2007. Great Cruise.......

 

NZ/AU was an awesome cruise in a very special place. We almost booked another cruise their next; but it didn't work out. Your upcoming cruise sounds great. Have a ball.

[GRBlizz]

From a blog I am following from a current Infinity passenger, they did get to stop at Elephant Island for an hour and a half. There was very low visibility, but at least they can say they made it to Antarctica; although not where they were hoping to get to.

 

I'm glad to hear at least this much good news. One of my Mom's closest friends is on that cruise. She can't really afford it, but she scraped the funds together because seeing Antarctica is on her "bucket list". Our hearts sank when we saw this thread. We hope she still has a wonderful cruise, though.

[shipshape sam]

Feb 13th Antarctica Cruise - we made it to Elephant Island this morning. The fog was heavy and then lifted. An announcement was made about 2:00 pm that due to weather we will not be going to Antarctica. Instead, we have to go to Ushuaia a day early for an overnight stay. We still have 8 nights left on this cruise and we are really upset that the itinerary has been abandoned for predicted 48 hours of bad weather. This is not a Ushuaia cruise, this is an Antarctica cruise. Instead of abandoning Antarctica we would be happy to give up any or ALL of the remaining 3 ports (Ushuaia, Puerto Madryn and Montevideo). This is Celebrity's last Antarctica cruise and we can't believe that they are not even going to attempt to visit Antarctica. Very depressing-I've never felt like this in 27 cruises. Celebrity's response is very disappointing. One announcement at 2:00 pm - NO other information other than it's clear the ship has turned around on the TV.

 

We too were on the Jan/Feb 2010 Antarctica cruise that missed both the Falklands and Elephant Island as they diverted to Cape Horn/Ushuaia. The good news MAY be, that they will evaluate the weather and head back to Antarctica. WE did and made it on the second attempt. Crossed Drake's passage 4 times with 10-20+ foot waves and 45-60 mile/hr winds. Diverted another weather system Low with 20-30+ ft waves and 60-80 mile/hr winds by hugging coast of Argentina. Weather is fast changing down there.

 

Celebrity, in my opinion on our cruise, clearly tried to get us (and did) get us to Antarctica. Also, due to the course the ship took, I am sure it also cost Celebrity a lot more money ($$$) to sail the extra hundreds of miles it did on our cruise sailing.

 

Hope the weather allows a second attempt! WE reached Antarctica around 3:30 am and it was spectacular! I will say also that I do not recall Celebrity telling us in advance that we would try a second attempt and falsely get our hopes up, so here's hoping for some good news for you and your fellow cruisers!

 

Second Antarctica cruise last year, had good weather the whole cruise per my understanding. I would rather miss Antarctica than have an issue with no other ships around to help. Water is a bit cold.

[cityt]

I was on the Infinity and I will tell you that Pax were quite civil! There was no more trouble then what you witness on every cruise. Everyone seemed to get the safety issue and the vast majority of us were Select or Elite who know how things work. Our Captian was stellar in his care of us! Things happened the Captain could never know of or control that made the situation less then ideal. As an example when the announcement was made that we would be over nighting rather then trying again for Antarctica I was in the casino and my dealer actually waved his fists in the air and cheered. Another example was that the cruise video staff indicated that yes they would include the footage of the previous cruise which had beautiful weather in that area so we could enjoy what we missed. When we went to pick it up we were told that "their boss" said they could not include footage of a previous passage because it was "illegal," but did offer a refund should we not want the video afterall. I suspect that since the ship made the return last year after folks got tossed for bad behavior when a port was missed (much more to that story I know) there was a glimmer of hope that the possibility existed we would make another run at it. It would have been a good thing had that hope been extinguished immediately.

[TravelerThom]

...My guess is that in the coming years "cruise ships" will be banned from the dangerous and ecologically sensitive areas around the southernmost Continent. Maybe not for anything more than political reasons, but wait for it.:mad:...

Actually the the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has banned the use and carriage of heavy fuel oils, the type of fuel commonly burned by big ships, in the Antarctic as of 1 August 2011. This Austral summer [2010-2011] is the end of "cruise ships" in Antartica; smaller expedition ships using lighter fuels will still be going there.

 

Thom

[shipshape sam]

I was on the Infinity and I will tell you that Pax were quite civil! There was no more trouble then what you witness on every cruise. Everyone seemed to get the safety issue and the vast majority of us were Select or Elite who know how things work. Our Captian was stellar in his care of us! Things happened the Captain could never know of or control that made the situation less then ideal. As an example when the announcement was made that we would be over nighting rather then trying again for Antarctica I was in the casino and my dealer actually waved his fists in the air and cheered. Another example was that the cruise video staff indicated that yes they would include the footage of the previous cruise which had beautiful weather in that area so we could enjoy what we missed. When we went to pick it up we were told that "their boss" said they could not include footage of a previous passage because it was "illegal," but did offer a refund should we not want the video afterall. I suspect that since the ship made the return last year after folks got tossed for bad behavior when a port was missed (much more to that story I know) there was a glimmer of hope that the possibility existed we would make another run at it. It would have been a good thing had that hope been extinguished immediately.

 

Very sorry to hear that you did not make it to Antarctica. We took a number of photos and if you want some vicariously of Antarctica, let me know an email address.

 

As to dashing your hopes quickly, the weather changes rapidly down there and they may have 'hoped' themselves, I am sure, to get you to Antarctica. I think we actually got to Antarctica 4 days later than we were originally planned to be there, so again, I think they may have wanted to wait till the last possible moment before saying no to an attempt to reach Antarctica.

 

On our particular sailing, there were a number of passengers the Captain did let off or required to leave the ship in Ushuaia. The shame for those passengers, was that we did make it to Antarctica after they were let off the ship and we made our 2nd attempt.

[MMDown Under]

Feb 13th Antarctica Cruise - we made it to Elephant Island this morning. The fog was heavy and then lifted. An announcement was made about 2:00 pm that due to weather we will not be going to Antarctica. Instead, we have to go to Ushuaia a day early for an overnight stay. We still have 8 nights left on this cruise and we are really upset that the itinerary has been abandoned for predicted 48 hours of bad weather. This is not a Ushuaia cruise, this is an Antarctica cruise. Instead of abandoning Antarctica we would be happy to give up any or ALL of the remaining 3 ports (Ushuaia, Puerto Madryn and Montevideo). This is Celebrity's last Antarctica cruise and we can't believe that they are not even going to attempt to visit Antarctica. Very depressing-I've never felt like this in 27 cruises. Celebrity's response is very disappointing. One announcement at 2:00 pm - NO other information other than it's clear the ship has turned around on the TV.

 

I am sorry you are depressed, as I can well understand your extreme disappointment.

 

Poor communication from the Captain appears to have compounded the situation.

 

I hope you enjoy your overnight stay in Ushuaia.

[edgee]

My wife and I were on this Celebrity "Antarctic" cruise...just returned on Sunday. We thought, although disappointing, the right decision was indeed made and the communications were appropriate. In fact, I thought the efforts to put the weather forecast and radar on the TV system were almost too defensive. Although it did not make up entirely for missing Antarctica, we had an enjoyable extra day in Southern Argentina with spectacular weather there, in the Falklands and while cruising Cape Horn. I give Celebrity an excellent grade for the way this was handled. I do, however respect the OP's deep disappointment...we felt it too. Just do not degree that Celebrity could have handled the situation in a much better fashion. The weather in that part of the world is what it is.

[gingerspike]

I have to agree with cityt and edgee about how Celebrity handled this situation. The weather forecast was for 0, that's zero, visibility with 24 ft seas and 50 knot winds. I went to the talk given by the Navigation Officer and he said with the fog, you would not have been able to see the stern from the bow of ship. With ice in the area, I don't think it would have been a great idea to attempt Paradise Bay. With the multiple weather reports and the advice of the Chilean Ice Pilot, the decision was made to head north.

 

We also were extremely disappointed in not reaching Paradise Bay, but are thrilled we were able to see any of Antarctica.

 

One other note: when we first arrived at Elephant Island, we could not see land--we only knew it was out there somewhere when it was announced on the PA. Fortunately for us, the weather cleared a bit so that we could see the island and one lonely iceberg.

[Senga]

This is the main reason we do lots of research in advance and why we have chosen a land vacation over a cruise in certain cases. When we went to Greece we had read that bad weather sometimes prevents the ships from visiting Santorini which was a main reason for us visiting Greece. We opted for a land vacation instead and loved it. We were thinking of a France river cruise next year but, having read that rising water levels can sometimes prevent the riverboat from using the waterways and passengers being transported by bus, we have decided not to take the risk and will look instead at a land based trip. A friend recently had their Egypt trip cancelled and jumped at a Manchu Picchu trip even though they had read about this being the rainy season. They went anyway and had a terrible time, not even getting to see the site. Research, decide what you REALLY want out of the trip and then make an informed decision. Yes, unexpected things can and do happen but preparation goes a long way IMHO.

[Moeve]

We were also on that last cruise on the Infinity. Were we disapointed for not making it SURE 100% BUT and this is important the cruise was always a 14 night SOUTH AMERICA & ANTARTICA cruise. It was NEVER just 14 nights Antartica!! and technically with our trip to Elefant Island you did get to Antarctica.

 

In all truth after having spoken to some of those complaining it seems many just didn't do their homework or were just not understanding just how BAD it really was. The day we were at Elefant Island the expidition ship Prince Albert 2 was further down in the Gerlache Straight and even they high tailed it out of there. This little ship had "0" visability infact the bridge couldn't see the back of their little ship which translates into bridge wing to first MAYBE 2nd lifeboat on the Infinity. Had they gone it would have been a hell of a ride to see NOTHING, ZERO, ZILCH.......and then God help us if anything had happened. There is absolutley not way of any help getting there from anywhere on the face of the planet and NO ONE is getting into ANY life boats in 125 km or more of wind. Then I bet my knickers the loved ones of the over 3.000 passengers & crew would be suing the line for being reckless because we would have become ice cubes....

 

Unfortunately we became the perfect example for why they don't want those big ships in what can still be considered one of earths final frontiers. Can we be be disappointed - YES!!! Can we be angry at the cruiseline NO!!! It was the ONLY correct thing to do - like it or not.

[Moeve]

I would like to add something I have just read up on the particular storm we encountered. It is now being considered the worst storm to hit Antartica in the last 20 years and ahd a tragedy to boot. Granted they were stupid but a Norwegian attempt at the south pole lost at least 2 members of the expedition during the course of exactly the storm we ran from.

[ehschief]

We also heard from a crew member that the ship we saw in Uhrasia (however you spell it), not the Octopus but the other one, had all kinds of damage, art work of over $200,000.00 was destroyed and the passengers had to stay in their cabins until they got out of the storm.

 

Are we disappointed, yes, I cried, but we knew it could happen, we did see Elephant Island, and got to go to Port Stanley which we loved.

 

Consider this bucket list item scratched off..

[annh999]

We were also on this cruise and disappointed by the weather conditions preventing us from going further along the Antarctic route, but the reality is the Captain absolutely made the right decision and we are very pleased with the way everything was handled.

 

The commnets about the difficulty in reaching our ship should we need assistance are well stated and extremely accurate. The risk was too high and with no visibility, what would we see for taking such a gamble?

 

This was our third cruise on the Infinity and we will absolutely be back!

[shipshape sam]

We were also on this cruise and disappointed by the weather conditions preventing us from going further along the Antarctic route, but the reality is the Captain absolutely made the right decision and we are very pleased with the way everything was handled.

 

The commnets about the difficulty in reaching our ship should we need assistance are well stated and extremely accurate. The risk was too high and with no visibility, what would we see for taking such a gamble?

 

This was our third cruise on the Infinity and we will absolutely be back!

 

Ann,

 

Sorry to read you guys did not make it to Antarctica! We were on the 1st of two sailing from 2010 and we missed Falklands and Elephant Island and on 2nd attempt made Antarctica.

 

I still think of our 2009 Panama Canal cruise as one of my top 3! Also, still very much appreciated You/Bob hosting the end cabin in the cabin crawl. Even on that cruise, due to H1N1, we could not visit Mexico, so there are always reasons for a cruise to be modified during the cruise.

 

We too like Celebrity and Infinity. I am a little concerned by the proposed changes they are making to Infinity this coming December. As I read the dry dock changes, it sounds like they are adding cabins and reducing public space.

 

Hope to sail again together someday! :)

[travelberlin]

I understand your dissappointment. However, I think this is a cruises that really has no port guarantee. We were on the Infinity in December and the Captain and team made the decision not to go to Punta Arenas because of bad weather. Many people felt dissappointed, but I guess they will not make a decision like that without a good reason for safety. We have felt safe with Captain Margaritis.

[Jade13]

When we did the Antarctica cruise last year , we missed the Falklands , stayed 7 days straight at sea and had one of the two days in Antarctica chopped off due to weather. We had 27ft waves. There was A LOT of frustration on our ship , which culmilated in people being kicked off in one port due to a near mutiny.

Kim

 

 

Tha is scary tha passengers would behave that way.

[Jade13]

A friend recently had their Egypt trip cancelled and jumped at a Manchu Picchu trip even though they had read about this being the rainy season. They went anyway and had a terrible time, not even getting to see the site.

quote]

 

Why was Machu Picchu cancelled?

[Senga]

He said "weather related"; possibly fog?