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Antarctica on l'Austral (long, with photos)


Dutch Diver

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We just booked a veranda cabin on the port side of the Celebrity Infinity, I know this whole blog was about the smaller ship to Antarctica but was wondering which side of the boat would be better if we enjoy viewing from our balcony?

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We just booked a veranda cabin on the port side of the Celebrity Infinity, I know this whole blog was about the smaller ship to Antarctica but was wondering which side of the boat would be better if we enjoy viewing from our balcony?

 

Hmmm... this borders on thread hijacking and if you'd do a search on the boards you'd find this thread, but I'm in a good mood. :p

 

Bottom line is, it shouldn't really matter what side of the ship you're on. I've been to Alaska on a similar ship as Infinity and when there's a nice view (glacier, mountain ridge, etc), the ship will do a 180/360 turn to give pax on both sides equal viewing of the scenery. One big caveat: if there are whales or other wildlife, the ship will be limited in its maneuvarability. You may have to scramble to an outside deck on these occasions.

 

Being on the port side is also a little more forgiving during the southbound Drake Passage, since the winds and the waves will come from the West. Northbound, however, you'll be in for an interesting ride. Be careful opening your balcony door in 40 knot winds. :D

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We just booked a veranda cabin on the port side of the Celebrity Infinity, I know this whole blog was about the smaller ship to Antarctica but was wondering which side of the boat would be better if we enjoy viewing from our balcony?

I can't imagine why anyone would want to view Antarctica from a balcony. You need to be out on deck and moving around.

 

Now back to l'Austral...

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I can't imagine why anyone would want to view Antarctica from a balcony. You need to be out on deck and moving around.

 

Now back to l'Austral...

 

I can't imagine going all the way to Antarctica and not being able to get off the ship! :eek:

 

Back to l'Austral indeed.

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I can't imagine going all the way to Antarctica and not being able to get off the ship! :eek:

 

Back to l'Austral indeed.

 

Having been there on the Nat Geo Explorer earlier this year, obviously I picked an expedition just so we could "get off the ship." But I think it's really important to keep in mind that not everyone is in the position to afford such a trip. If it weren't for my very generous aunt, I wouldn't have been either.... So I can understand why folks take a "drive by" cruise...

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I, too, cannot imagine going to Antarctica and not being able to go ashore: our landings on Hurtigruten's Fram last year were simply amazing and we're going back on her for more next year.

 

As for affordability, it's worth doing the maths and comparing overall cost for a drive-by and overall cost for an expedition. The results can be quite interesting... and the difference in the experience chalk and cheese.

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I understand drive-bys perfectly well! I wanted to (and did!) CAMP

one night. Most of my friends think I'm crazy, at least for someone my age.

A few ... a very few ... did such things in their youth. But not now. Most would

not have considered it at age 20. Their idea of nature in the winter is skiing at

the most expensive resorts in Colorado or Utah. In the summer they do do day

hikes around Telluride or in New Hampshire. They don't cruise either, of course ...

they consider themselves too "sophisticated" for such things. (Well, maybe

not too sophisticated for a sailing cruise in the Greek Islands.) And for my

arctic adventure ... spending 12 days river rafting up the Arctic Ocean,

camping, or hiking across Lake Clark National Park, 55 miles without a trail

... at my age ... the word they use is insane.

Its not insane, just take guts to sign up for, and daily exercise.

 

Different people have different images of themselves and their vacations

match that. For many a drive by to Antarctica would be perfect.

REMEMBER ... even for those of us who went there to go ashore,

there were lots of superb places we drove by. Look at your pictures ...

now lets be honest .... aren't some of the very very best ones made

while driving by?

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@dtvmacd.: OK, I'll bite on this one. A drive-by without landing and experiencing Antarctica all around you is a poor, pale copy of a real trip. If we put finances aside, and (perhaps) put mobility issues aside, I'd like to make the strong claim that anybody satisfied with a drive-by of Antarctica (or anywhere else) ought to give his head a shake.

 

As evidence, I'd say re-read Dutch Diver's review or your review of your G Adventures trip. A drive-by would be 5% of the experience of an expedition cruise.

 

You are of course correct when you say that many great images can be captured from the ship. I think that's one of the lesser parts of the experience--we can always look at others' photos. I have a photo of a penguin picking at my drybag. The photo's objectively kind of lousy, overexposed. The experience, I'll never forget.

 

I think an apt comparison of a drive-by to Antarctica, or for that matter any destination at all, is akin to walking through a Michelin-starred restaurant, looking at the plates, but not allowing oneself to experience the food and service.

 

Don't necessarily expect anyone to agree with me, but that's my belief.

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@dtvmacd.: OK, I'll bite on this one. A drive-by without landing and experiencing Antarctica all around you is a poor, pale copy of a real trip. If we put finances aside, and (perhaps) put mobility issues aside, I'd like to make the strong claim that anybody satisfied with a drive-by of Antarctica (or anywhere else) ought to give his head a shake.

 

 

But that was just my point. We can't put those things aside. There are many people who simply are not in a position to afford an expedition trip to Antarctica, period. (And some who physically can't do it.)

 

I don't think there are a ton of people who are really interested in Antarctica and who can afford an expedition who are sitting around saying "oh, I'll just do a drive by."

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There are many people who simply are not in a position to afford an expedition trip to Antarctica, period.

 

But if they did the maths some may find that they were mistaken and that the difference in cost between a drive-by and an expedition isn't too great.

 

(And some who physically can't do it.)

 

Staff on our Fram trip got one wheelchair user ashore...

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OK, the hijack continues. So does the sneering.

 

But where does it stop?

 

Consider Alaska. There are drive-bys on monster ships. There are people

who get off the big ships at a port with a proper monster ship dock,

then take an excursion to whale watch from a small boat from

Juneau, or visit Anan Creek. I did all that from a small boat (8 passengers). Everybody got to do everything.

 

But ... did I see the REAL SE Alaska? Should I have taken a kayak

for the whole trip? Oh wait ... one time I did take a kayak for the whole week long trip (hopping on the 8 passenger yacht for another week).

 

Did I see more on the kayak trip ... yep, I sure did. Lots more bears

on shore, lots more beautiful starfish, ate lots more abalone 15 minutes

out of the water. :) Did I get seasick? Well, for 45 minutes, yes. :mad:

On the yacht, no seasick. And the yacht stopped at both Anan

Creek and Pack Creek, included in the price.

 

But up in the north its different. You can do a cruise-tour in AK and visit Denali, for example, on a bus. That's more than a plain cruise on a big ship, much more.

 

But is that experiencing the real inner Alaska? The answer is a

resounding NO.

 

I've done three big "real Alaska trips" and the experience is far beyond

any ocean based trip. From Skagway, there is the Chilkoot trail. It is absolutely marvelous, quite beautiful. And modestly lonely. Its not particularly exotic as trails go, not really different from say Wyoming. But the history is very interesting.

 

I did, as I mentioned, a raft trip from the crest of the Brooks Range

up to the Arctic Ocean. This is true wilderness: we saw no other people for

11 days. And the wildflowers were the most amazingly profuse I have ever seen. And the experience of waking up at midnight, the sun shining in

my tent, because I thought someone tripped over my tent strings, and looking out to see it was a line of caribou stretching to the horizon in both directions .... that beats penguins.

 

I also hiked across Lake Clark National park, 10 days, no other people,

no tracks on the ground, anywhere. That's a different experience.

So, you see, the 130 passenger ship in Antarctica is only the middle of the

range.

 

Did the people we saw in Antarctica who were on a 5 passenger yacht

see more? Probably not, in that case, but they could have spent far

longer on shore.

 

So, you see, the sneering at the hoi polloi can hit us on the 130

passenger ships too, by the people on the 8 passenger ships.

 

Where does is then stop? (The sneering that is). The summit of Mt. Everest? Well, actually, no, it doesn't. (I have heard that more people climb Mt. Everest each year than yacht in 5 passenger yachts to Antarctica). It stops at the summit of Mt. K2. Or, perhaps, it stops 130 miles above the summit of Mt. Everest.

 

The point is ... don't sneer! Everybody has their correct point!

 

Sorry for the long hijack. Perhaps we really should call it quits.

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@dtvmacd.: You've made a Slippery Slope argument as to "Where does it stop?" and I have no answer. I would, however, ask "what do you expect?"

 

Dutch Diver put together an exceptionally thoughtful expose´of an expedition trip, and somebody wanders into the thread with "What side of the ship do I want to be on for my drive-by?" For those of us interested in expedition trips, and in particular in Dutch Diver's experience such a post is quite incongruous.

 

Dutch Diver responded in good spirits with a helpful link. Bravo. But can you really be surprised if some of us reacted, in an expedition thread, to the intrusion with confusion as to why anybody would opt for a drive-by? I think we tried to stay positive, and I think digitl makes very solid points about mobility issues (which I wrote about at length elsewhere) and cost.

 

After re-reading Dutch Diver's piece, I can't imagine doing a drive-by. There's disagreement, and I think there's room for disagreement. (There's certainly a market for it, or drive-bys wouldn't be offered.) And I think that's great, and what the internet is for.

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OK, the hijack continues. So does the sneering.

 

I haven't noticed any sneering other than that of yours where you do exactly what you are complaining about when you (repeatedly) describe your extreme trips.

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For me its yes ... yes, some of my best shots are landscapes from the

ship. I'm not knocking my swimming and jumping leucistic penguin shot,

or the hatching egg ... but the feeling one gets with the best B&W landscape shots is positively chilling. Try looking at these while listening to the Ralph Vaughan-Williams Symphony #4 "Sinfonia Antarctica" (Actually movie music from a Scott documentary). Really cold. But I do point out they are not snapshots: they are 40-100 megapixel panoramas, printed large.

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  • 6 months later...

Thanks for the great review. Can i ask you a question about communications on this boat? I've been researching the web and talking to the travel company that has booked my upcoming trip but I cannot get an answer on reliability. Did you use the internet or telephone whilst on board the L'Austral ? I'm wondering how reliable, if at all, the communications were. I'm looking to be able to conduct calls and check basic email.

Thanks in advance.

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Can i ask you a question about communications on this boat? I've been researching the web and talking to the travel company that has booked my upcoming trip but I cannot get an answer on reliability. Did you use the internet or telephone whilst on board the L'Austral ? I'm wondering how reliable, if at all, the communications were. I'm looking to be able to conduct calls and check basic email.

 

I did not use internet or telephone, but I spoke to several guests who did. Telephony was good, but the internet was slow, even for basic email. However, it was sufficient to keep in contact.

 

As for reliability, there was one location (Neko Harbor) where the mountains were blocking the signal and comms were down for the afernoon. This was clearly mentioned in the Daily Program and announced on the PA by the CD.

 

snapshot-0.png

 

Hope this helps. If you need more specific info you can email me: jpkraus at gmail dot com.

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