Antarctica Again

[joybook]

Yes I know of and have read the extensive comments on the other Antarctica thread but at the risk of sounding difficult, could someone who has cruised Princess to Antarctica outline their experience and in particular comment on just how close up the ship gets to icebergs/wildlife/whales etc.

 

The Antarctic has been a passion of mine since childhood and while getting on a bit now, I feel the cost may stop me from a landing expedition and I would like to consider a 'sail-by' cruise, but need convincing. I just don't know if it would satisfy me. Many thanks.

[tamsocal]

we had an amazing trip 2010/11

here is a very long answer that may not even answer your questions, if you want to read my journal LOL. I havant even looked at this journal for 7 years. I cruised with my then 7 year old and it was mostly writing home to my husband who I left home with our toddler twins.

 

I just cut out the Antartica days to keep from torturing with the rest of the 3 weeks

 

Day #9 December 26 Port Stanley, Falkland Islands

Sunrise 4:50am Sunset 8:55p

I didn't want to get too excited about this port call since it was my most treasured port out of our entire intineary and it is a frequently cancelled port! :( The other ports might be just as wonderful but on paper this appeared to be the port that I most desired to visit. The cancellations are often times just outside the harbor as well- so people will wake up in the morning get dressed & expect to be tendering in 30min & will hear the loudspeaker chimes & the captain announce, unfortunately we will not be able to tender due to gale force winds, etc, etc....... I warned Gavin again at bedtime " we are cruising to Port Stanley but remember that we might not be able to go ashore or if it has been raining we might not be able to make it to Volunteer point to see the king Penguins......". Volunteer Point is one of the most popular destinations or desired destinations for tourists. It is home to the largest colony of King Penguins in the Falklands & is the most accessible in the world. King Penguins, Magellanic & Gentoo colonies + lots of birds and white sandy beaches to take pictures of. We went to sleep last night at 9p early as planned. I woke up at ~4:30a & could not fall back to sleep. It was a beautiful sunrise, forgot to take pics.....woke Gavin up at 5:30 after I had everything ready to go for our day on shore (parkas x2, umbrella, binoculars x2, hand warmers, cameras, $$, snacks). We were out on deck within a few minutes & then had breakfast in the buffet as Gavin wished. It was great. The seas were calm & the winds were near gale force. I spotted 2 Commersons dolphin while we were at breakfast. Gavin was able to see them as well but not as much as I was able to but I was still thankful that we were able to see some as Gavin really wanted to see them on this trip (they are a smaller dolphin & only found in the far south. Then it was off to tendering meet up. We met as planned for our Cruise Critic VIP tendering on the 1st or 2nd tender and all was going perfectly except some in the group forgot their ID's-- had to run back to cabin (UGH!) and then we were off to the tenders. Cruising along, halfway thru the ride there was a penguin swimming in the water, and we were still doing well for meeting out private tour as planned-- early ASAP. Next I hear alarms beeping just like on the Gambler......hhhmm what's that I why can't they stop the noise/alarm? it sounds like engine alarms but I cant see their panel, the next noise we heard was screaming and panicking..... there's smoke-- get up, you get up, there's smoke over there too.......smoke was coming up at the end of every row on the starboard side & around the steps in the middle area of the tender. I double checked at this point that our life jackets were indeed under the seat (but the water certainly is cold if we are going to have to jump in!!). Check, life jackets are under the seat! One of the crew members shut off some switches, another crew member grabbed the fire extinguisher but the smoke was decreasing by then. Thought to myself-- ok our last shore excursion was not the most fun-- is this day going to end up the same??? Please no more drama!! The crew never spoke to us and did not elicit any comfort to us by their mannerisms, not quite chickens with their heads chopped off but somewhere in the middle or close. At one point the shore excursion supervisor said a few words & asked everyone to remain in their seats. There we drifted in the bay, we were awaiting another tender to come rescue us..... 1st they told us we were going to transfer to another tender- oh joy this will be fun watching a bunch of elderly people hobble from tender to tender as both tenders are rocking about- I have watched drunk people go from dinghy to the Gambler in flat water within the bay & fall in-- how is this going to turn out...... Next thing we knew, they had started the working engine and we limped along to the dock on a single engine, alarm sounding, but no smoke. Docking seemed to be a bit of a challenge, not sure if it was due to the wind or docking with a single engine or just due to the crew that I don't have alot of confidence over their skills as tender captain. Finally we tie up 40 min later. Note to self: this is tender #18- unless the ship is sinking & I am assigned to lifeboat tender#18 just let the people in line in front of you go & hop aboard a different tender!

Meeting up with Nyree was easy- she was waiting for us patiently ($159pp w/ lunch included)-- we should have been 30 minutes earlier but tender issues were out of our control. The weather was nice. Minimal wind, a bit cloudy but we didn't need perfect blue skies. We hopped in our Land Rover (Nyree Heathman, me, Gavin, Sandy & Keith- from Delaware). WIthin 5-10 minutes we were driving on gravel road and then ~15min later we were driving out in farmlands with wet bogs, creeks & streams running thru. The land was absolutely beautiful. We passed thru the Falkland Battlefields where the Argentineans had gone to war against the Brits & Falkland Islands. It was a very bumpy ride-- I don't think Billy's back would have been able to take it. We were in a 6 vehicle caravan. 2 of the vehicles became stuck in a bog on the way out to Volunteer Point. Our driver Nyree helped them both get moving along with a quick tow. The drivers today were Nyree, Nyree's Mum & Dad(Tony Heathman), their neighbor, a friend and a niece in law. When the ships come in to port the town just attempts to organize these trips to various penguin viewing coves & tours, but there are a limited # of people who live on the Islands: ~2,900 and they can't offer a tour for everyone on board the ship. To get to Volunteer point we had to drive thru private farmland and then arrived at a cove. There were about 4 other vehicles there. Within minutes we were walking about King Penguins. There were 1,000's of them. We walked thru the area they were in and then down to the beach. There were tons of Magellanic penguins. They were both up on land & also running towards the ocean and then dove in to the ocean. Today there were not any orcas or sea lions to snatch them up- darn! They swam for a little bit & then came back to the beach waddling thru the sand. We also walked over to see the Gentoo rookery. We were able to see baby Gentoo's and adult Gentoo's, baby Magellanic & adults in the burrows and juvenile Kings but I did not notice any baby King;s. We had a wonderful time at Volunteer Point & it far exceeded my expectation of being a fun shore excursion. The drive it self thru the farmlands & bogs in the Land Rover was in itself a fun shore excursion & Nyree is a 6th Generation Falkland Islander and great historian. We drove back to town & then Nyree dropped us off about a mile outside of the harbor/tender dock. We did some sightseeing past Jhelum Shipwreck (in 1849 damaged coming around Cape Horn carrying guano & limped in to port Stanley), Solar System Sculpture, Battle Memorial, the Governor's Mansion, Royal Marine Monument, along the seaside boardwalk, St Mary's Catholic Church, Christ Church Cathedral & whalebone arch, Jubilee Villas, shopped a little (2 $15 Tshirts for Gavin- ouch & the most expensive shotglass I have ever purchased for my collection I think at $8.50 and a few trinkets for the twins- spent $75 and seems like it should have been about $25-- oh well- just supporting the tourism economy in Port Stanley), mailed our postcards (@ $2 each! EEK!), and then went to catch our tender. Thankfully no fires onboard this tender & it wasn't #18. We had a quick dinner in the buffet & then out on deck to sightsee. Lots of birds, no dolphin & then Gavin needed to be on his way to KC for the olympics. Hopefully these competitive sports don't end the way Wii did yesterday!!! I went off to the Spa Thermal Suite where I catch up on typing and relax and then off to get Gavin.

An exhausting day but a day I will not forget & hopefully Gavin won't forget either! It's odd to imagine how far south we are and how few people visit these beautiful places. Hopefully they are places I will be able to visit again in the future- they offer so many wonderful things to do and a port call doesn't offer enough time for everything. Gavin says it rollercoaster day tomorrow! EEK! I hadn't mentioned the Drake Passage to him since we went over the map at the last Antarctica lecture but he knows all of our cruise plane for the upcoming week. Pray for continued flat seas!! We have been blessed so far and I know we can't expect for the entire cruise to have flat seas but one can hope! right??? Haven't decided yet if we are going to pre-medicate..... me with patch and gavin with half dose dramamine...leaning towards not.... will I regret it?

PS- Gavin won the ring toss in the olympics- came in 2nd place for 3 other events and then in the lead thus far for Wii Bowling but the game is not finished- will be resumed on another day :)

HISTORY:

1st documented landing was 1692 by John Strong. 200 Islands covering 4,700 sq miles(slightly smaller than Connecticut). The Panama Canal impacted the Falkland Islands significantly. There are 2 names for these island. Falkland Islands or Islas Malvinas. The islands are a British protectorate and have inhabited for years by Britains. The Argentinians decided in 1982 to go to war against the islanders by invading the island and the British confirmed their sovereignty by fighting & winning a short but bitter war over the Falklands. There are still landmines present on the Island following this war.Argentinians still think the Islands rightfully belongs to Argentina and refers to it as Islas Malvinas-- so don;t talk about the Falklands while in Argentina- refer to them as Islas Malvinas. The Islands economy is mostly from sheep farming & newly fishing industry due to decline of world demand for wool, etc. Much of the flat lands is boggy making travel difficult to many places on the Island. It rains or snows ~250 days of the yr

time for sleep! miss all of you

Day #10 December 27 SEA DAY crossing the Drake Passage

We are heading towards Elephant Island

Sea conditions: Moderate 4-8ft swells from midnight to midday

at 10pm Sea conditions: ROUGH 8-12 feet. Temp 35deg F; Wind speed: force 10

for Billy-Ship position 59deg 02.56 S, 55 30.89 W

It was a nice day today. We had expected rough seas all day long but the weather was no big deal for either of us. We went about our daily activities just as we had any other day. There were definitely not as many people out & about on decks-- except there seem to be more people camped out on loungers & in the public areas- it seems like alot of those with inside staterooms just take naps in the pool loungers and camp out for the day- not sure. Heard some people mention that they would spend the rest of the day in bed but the seas for us were nothing worse than we had experienced on prior cruises. Most of the time unnoticeable motion & every once in awhile a bit of a rock but again not bothersome. They had a presentation about Antarctica & the US Coast Guard with Captain Bob Parsons our Ice Captain for the voyage. He was with the USCG for over 30yrs & Captain of the Polar Star- which I guess is the best non nuclear ice breaker in the world. The props spin at 150rpm's & can break thru ice over 20ft tall (?did I get this right?)- they had amazing video footage. Next was a lecture on Shackleton & Elephant Island and his amazing journey and voyage he set out to accomplish only to have his ship get caught in the ice in the early 1900's and then the crew had to abandon ship- will have to check out the book once I go home-- have been told it is a great book to read.....

We have already started seeing wildlife, a few dolphin and lots of birds (Black-Browed Albatross, Cape Petrel, Wandering Albatross, Royal Albatross) .

We passed the Antarctic convergence about midday today. Gavin went to KC off & on. I started reading book #2...... I went to one of the revue shows which was great except on of the 4 lead singers seems really out of place-- she is about 30yrs older than the other singers & the romantic songs are weird since it seems like the guy in his 20's is singing love songs to his grandma, not really sure how to sum it all up but it was just weird and she didn't sing as well as the rest of them. The seas are finally being identified as "rough" at bedtime tonight--> 8-12ft seas- but still not really noticeable for me or Gavin-- but some people didn't look well when we were on our way back to the cabin form KC.

Edited May 27, 2018 by tamsocal

[tamsocal]

next sunrise: 3:03am- next sunset 10:20pm

HISTORY

Antarctica is the southernmost continent and includes the South Pole. Many Geographic sources disagree as to the titles of the surrounding oceans-- most now refer to it as the Southern Ocean-- but maps still sometimes have South Pacific Ocean, South Atlantic Ocean, and Indian Ocean. It is divided by the TransAntarctic Mountains. On average it is the coldest, driest & windiest continent and has the hisghest average elevation of all of the continents. Antarctica is the 3rd smallest continent (Europe & Australia). It is 98% covered in ice. Because there is little precipitation (except at the coasts) the interior is technically the largest desert in the world. There are no permanent human residents. Plants & Animals: penguins, fur seals, mosses, lichens & algae.

Day #11 December 28 Antarctica Peninsula

Seas early in the day rough

WOW what a day. Thought we would have had the dramatic weather on the 27th crossing the Drake Passage but today was the day thus far......

Woke up at 6am just to see outside & if any wildlife was around. The skies were blue with grey skies in the distance. We were expected to arrive to Elephant island ~9am. We were told that there was fog ahead & visibility would decrease. I think the weather reporter needs fired. What was ahead was no Elephant Island (at least within eyesight). Well yes I guess there was fog but more importantly we did get 100knot winds and a snow flurry. At one point the ship listed a good 10-15deg for what felt like 5-10min. So while we were within a mile form Elephant Island we could not see it. Gavin & I made the best of it & gathered up snow & built 2 ~18 inch snowmen-- one on deck 14 & then another on deck 15. Gavin was quite the sight with his snowmen & he will go home with many of the passengers of this cruise (well his picture of him & his snowmen will go home with them). It was soooo cold. Gavin wore all of his snow outfit except the ski goggles- will get them out next time if we have winds that high again. Amazingly enough within 2hrs the winds died down to a measly 20 knots and blue skies started to break thru, snow stopped and there we were right in front of Elephant Island. We cruised along in front of Endurance Glacier. the sun came out & weather was perfect the remainder of the day. It was still 35deg F and with the ship moving still chilly! but not the dramatic weather we had early am. We saw Chinstrap Penguins swimming in the water, there were a pod of unidentifiable whales in the distance, the glacier was amazing, still tons of birds. Had a quick dinner in the MDR-- we dined alone so were in & out in 45min since scenic cruising was predicted to be at ~6:30pm. We then cruised along XX Island. We stayed in our cabin from 6:30p to bedtime- was very convenient with the balcony & sightseeing

We are headed to Esperanza Station. We have ~6 polish scientists that hopped onboard in Montevideo, uruguay and they will be picked up by a Zodiac tomorrow & taken to the Arctowski Polish research station (can house 70 people during the summer & 20 during winter). Gavin wants to come back & live/study at one of the research stations one day.

Ships position 62deg 13.57 S, 56deg 46.88W

heading

speed

next sunrise 2:37am, sunset 10:30p. Sea Temp 44 degrees. SEAS moderate 4-7 ft but would not know it being on the ship-- seems completely flat

Day #12 December 29 Antarctica Peninsula.

Cruising today: Antarctic SOund- Hope Bay, Iceberg Alley. Could not get in to Esperanza station- the Polish scientists will get off at Arctowski station. Then in the afternoon we went back to the South SHetland Islands- to King George Island where Arctowski station is located

Gavin & I need to get more sleep! he says he doesnt go to sleep when it is still light outside. "Ok Gav-- but it is not even getting pitch black dark at any hour during the day right now. It gets dusky between sunrise & sunset-- and it is still quite light out". So we have to go to sleep at some point! We have to keep waking up early since we are traveling to so many incredible places & I don't want to miss seeing them. This morning at 7am we were in Iceberg Alley. We can't sleep in until 9am & miss Iceberg Alley. He whined a little when I woke him up but was cooperative. It was foggy at 6am when the alarm went off so I slept for another 30min- was a little disappointed that the fog was so thick but just like yesterday the weather changes so fast. We definitely have not had clear blue skies & sun-- but the weather has been very cooperative with letting us see the amazing glaciers, icebergs, research stations, and wildlife.

We have seen Adelie & Chinstrap penguins swimming in the water, on icebergs, and on land. Still lots of birds. We love watching the Albatross & Petrals. I have never been much of a bird watcher but the wingspan of these birds & the beautiful feathers & marking they have make it easy to sit & watch them. We saw Minke Whales, Humpbacks & Southern bottle-nose whales. I saw one seal not sure if Gavin did or not. We had a wonderful afternoon in Admiralty Bay (thats where much of the wildlife was). It was so much fun to see the penguins waddling on floating icebergs all day long. Off to dinner. and then Gavin off to KC & me off to the spa. They were giving Hot Stone massage samples today so did that for 15min before heading to the thermal suite.

Weather continues to be mid 30's F outside but the wind & boat moving makes it even more chilly. Still are bundling up quite a bit when going out and will have to say the balcony has been worth the extra $$ for dealing with the wind & weather since it is so windy at times & much easier to sightsee & have the comfort of the cabin.

Last night my new best friend who insisted upon hugging me brought me a present. She is still thankful for me helping her with the Falkland Island Penguin Tour..... had to hug me once more as well. She is really sweet. I am glad I was able to help & she was able to get on the tour she was desiring to but definitely didn't need to have a gift for it.

Day #13 December 30 Antarctica Peninsula

Yesterday marked our halfway point Day 12 of our 24d trip. last evening we left King George Island and crusised past the other South Shetland Islands- Nelson Island & Robert Island. We traveled overnight in Bransfield Strait and arrived this morning in the Palmer Archipelago- cruised past Trinity Island on Port side and into the Gerlache Strait. Brabant Island was on the right and the Danco coast of Antarctica was on the left with Cuverville Island, Lemaire Island, Bryde Island and Almirante Brown Station all on port side. On the right we were circling around Wiencke Island. We went past Flanders Bay on the left and Bismarck Strait and then made a sharp turn into Neumayer channel. There was alot of brash ice floating about & small icebergs. The brash ice makes crackling noises. Once in Neumayer Chanel Wiencke Island was still on starboard side & Anvers Island was on port side. The channel was narrow & I am amazed our large cruiseship went thru. It was fun breaking thru the small areas of ice and watching the seals just keep sitting right on their icebergs and float down the side the ship. We saw one weddell seal and lots of Crabeater seals. There were more humpback whales out today and lots of gentoo penguins- on land & floating on icebergs. The weather has been very cooperative. A little bit of sun here & there. Brief light snow early am today & the remainder of the day just a little windy and cold with intermittent patchy blue skies. A couple at breakfast this am was not able to get into Neumayer Channel or Gerlache Strait in February during their cruise due to complete fog & no visibility. They were very disappointed so were hopeful this am. Captain says we have a break for a little bit cruising in Bransfield strait until we arrive at our next destination, but Bransfield Strait is beautiful as well & this has been where we have seen whales too-- so no time for breaks!! We are still watching out the windows & going out every few minutes while we are rewarming & thawing out! Not sure where we will end up tonight but we are heading in the direction of Deception Island which we will arrive at tomorrow before heading out to the Drake Passage & Cape Horn

Gavin requested a few days ago to start sitting at the table for 2 near our assigned table at dinner. He likes to eat faster and we can;t typically get out in less than 1.5-2 hrs when we dine w/ other couples. The MaitreD switched us permanently to the table for 2-- she has been really nice to Gavin the entire cruise. Our ex tablemates didn't know why we had moved tables-- but Gavin & I just told them Gavin wanted to eat & leave so he could get to KC. We still chat since they are only a table away. And we still have Fabian & Xeus as waiters. They are great. They are nice to Gavin too. Always have Apple juice waiting for him to arrive. Gavin went to KC for SuperHero night and watched the Incredibles. He wanted to talk to me about my favorite part of the movie & his favorite part..... except I have never watched it.... but he says I have.

Have I explained the Thermal Suite? It has wet saunas, dry saunas, aromatherapy saunas and 6 heated tile loungers that are nice to relax on. I think I have been every day except one so far on the cruise. Likely won't go much next week since it is a week filled with port calls. Glad we will be moving into a little bit warmer climate soon but will miss Antarctica.

Antarctic convergence- between 56-60deg S: fluctuating line where the cold waters of the Southern ocean meet but don't mingle with the warmer waters of the subantarctic. the antarctic treaty system covers everything below 60deg S

Temp today 31-36deg F

next sunrise 3:02, next sunset 12:01am UGH!

Sea conditions: slight-- but better described as flat lake like

64deg 48.01S, 63deg 05.23 W- sea temp 34deg

Day #14 December 31 Antarctica Peninsula New Year's Eve!!

Started off the morning at 7am. Woke up early since we are still in Antarctica & will be approaching Deception Island at ~8am. We arrived on time as planned. The was heavy fog but it lifted a little bit off the coastline. Deception Island is also made of volcanic rock. It last erupted late 60's or early 70's. We were not able to fit into the mouth of the bay & the captain also says the depth in the inner bay is very shallow. There were 100's of Gentoo Penguins swimming in the ocean around the ship. We could hear large colonies on land but could not see them since they were up a little beyond the shoreline but could see a few here & there along the shoreline, just not the volume that we could audibly hear. At about 11am we drove away from Deception Island and started off towards Cape Horn & Drake Passage. The seas have been a little bumpy here & there but nothing significant. Gavin went to KC for a few hrs this afternoon & then we went out for Formal Night. Had a great dinner in the MDR. I had Lobster. Any guesses re what Gavin had?????? Once again Fettucine Alfredo w/ Chicken! Gavin & I went to the show after dinner. It was great minus the lady who can't sing to my liking & doesn't fit in. The show was exactly the same as the one on the Golden Princess from back in September. The Golden Princess singers were better than the Star Princess singers..... Forgot to mention- Gavin got a bloody nose just before dinner. After the show we went to the Atrium area to wait for New Year's. Gavin said he wanted to see the balloons drop. All was good until a lady sat on him. He started crying & then his nose started bleeding again. It stopped but he fell asleep. I ended up just staying there since NY was only ~50min away. He woke up for the balloons to drop and then off we went to the cabin for sleep. The band was great in the atrium. Update on Gavin--He's on page 721 out of 870 pages with his Harry Potter book. His plan was to finish in 2010 until the lady sat on him & ruined his plan......

Its starting to get slightly more bumpy- best guess is the seas are 7-10ft.

Winds force 8 Gale. 39deg F. Next sunrise 4:54; sunset 10:16p.

Sea Conditions moderate 4-8ft- from the map looks like we are 2/3 of the way to Cape Horn

Day #15 January 1st Cape Horn. Welcome 2011!

Sea Conditions- Rough 7-12ft- doesnt feel too bad though. Not sure where we are in regards to time we will arrive at Cape Horn. Princess Patter said last night sometime this afternoon- I think near 4-5p was on our initial cruise papers.

Gavin stayed up til after 3am (not sure of the time since I went to sleep at 3am) reading Harry Potter. Captain updated us at about 11am and said he has decided to not circumnavigate Cape Horn. We have to pick up Chilean Pilot for this & captain thinks the seas are too rough & that people onboard are not comfortable. OK I will agree with him on the if its too dangerous to pick up the Chilean Pilots then of course we can't do it, but as far as the seas-- they are a bit bumpy but don't really seem that bad and I am comfortable! :)

we went around about 50-60% of it. It was a bit overcast/foggy but still visible. Sometimes they have to completely cancel going anywhere within site of the Horn or get there & can't see the Island. There is a monument on Cape Horn with an albatross in memorial of the many sailors & ships that have seen their death or have sunk in these waters. There is also a chilean building- not sure if it is military or civilian.

thus far we have cruised 3700 nm

we have 309 until Ushuaia

57 41.09 Sl 66 deg 13.14 W

Temp is 43deg F. Sea temp 34deg. Wind force 9. strong gale

We didn't have much planned today. I did laundry for the 2nd time, might not have to again..... Watched a movie in the theatre. Gavin wants to play Giant Checkers-- they will likely put them out tonight- nothing has been allowed to be on deck the entire time in Antarctica- no deck chairs, no straws, no sports equipment, no balcony dining etc. Gavin went to KC for Shark attack night & Magic night- he might have a few magic tricks to show when he gets home. I went to see a show again. The misfit singer got her haircut today. She looks about 10yrs younger but still too old, but it looks nice! Gavin is a little behind with journal we need to catch up. Also behind with a few other homework issues- gave up at 10:45 since we have an early start tomorrow.

WOW mailing postcards is quite expensive! has been about $2 - $2.50 for each one. OUCH! We have sent one in Rio, Falklands, Ushuaia- we sent an Antarctica & a cruise ship post card today. SInce we had a busy day & I wasn't sure if we were going to be able to buy an Ushuaia postcard, fill it out & get to our tours..... :) we will have to see how long it takes for them to arrive. Maybe one will be back before we get home :)

Day #16 January 2nd Ushuaia (Tierra Del Fuego), Argentina

Ushuaia is on the North Shore of the Beagle Channel it is known as the city at the end of the world and a beginning place for Antarctica- since lots of people start their journey to Antarctica form Ushuaia. Ushuaia dates form 1870 when the SOuth AMerica Missionary Society placed one of their 1st settlements. Due to a british presence arising in Ushuaia the Argentina established a prison settlement which continued until 1950. The railroad was built & used by the prisoners to transport logs. Many of the waterways have been or continue to be disputed by Chile & Argentina and some are divided in the middle of a waterway between the 2 countries.

BEAUTIFUL weather today. The tourguide says they have about 9 days a year with this type of weather in Ushuaia and it has been raining, fogged in, etc for over 2 weeks. Basically it was CA weather. Mid 60 to high of 70's maybe, blue skies & sunny. I got a bit sunburned...... So we got lucky with the weather here! Woke up early and was ready at 7:30a for our Cruise Critic tour. We got off the ship and then went to the end of the pier. Our tour guide was not there. Ultimately we all stood around for an hour while our tourguide was waiting back closer to the ship with the bus. Oh well. we still had a great trip but was just shortened a little. The am tour was a bus into Tierra Del Fuego a National park- we went on a hike & then back to the bus to go to the train station. We hopped on board the train in Tierra Del Fuego (which happens to be "at the end of the world"- since SOuth AMerica is the lowest land mass with the exception of Antarctica and since it isn't populated with humans on a permanent basis- Ushuaia refers to themselves & their state highway etc., as road to the end of the world, train to the end of the world, etc- I paid $2 for a stamp to send a postcard from the end of the world.......why?) and rode the train back towards Ushuaia. The Estacion del FIn del Mundo is 8km west of UshuaiaThe train is an old narrow guage train and winded thru the park & beautiful landscape. There were lots of wild horses and foals. We stopped and hiked a bit more, then hopped back on the train. We had to hurry a little once at the train station since we had another tour for the afternoon. Our ride took us back to town(the tour guides brother helped out since we were in a bind to get back earlier than the others....- he was so sweet- he also drove us up to a look out point for taking pictures of the harbor & town.) and then we went on the Princess tour "Beagle Channel cruise". We took a catamaran up the Beagle Channel to see birds, sea lions, jellyfish, cormorants, there were sea lion pups too & a giant sea lion bull! more scenic cruising of the area, etc. It was fun- I liked the train the best. Gavin enjoyed the catamaran cruise more- so good think we booked both. Made for a hectic day and I didn't have time to find a shotglass, but we got a carved penguin instead :)

Once back at the ship- we went swimming & Gavin worked on homework. We're going to a show tonight after dinner. Can't keep writing it's 5:20 & have to be at dinner at 5:30. We are cruising in the Chilean Fjords- we got rid of our Argentinean Pilot & picked up a Chilean. We will be in the straits of Magellan soon. We cruised past 7-10 glaciers after dinner tonight-- they were amazing. One had a huge waterfall falling the last part of the glacier into the Channel. I guess it isn;t good that there is so much water flowing from the glacier...... I didn;t win the photo raffle tonight :(. Gavin didn;t go with me for good luck, he says he will go next time. Gavin has been GREAT lately with manners. He has been talking to our cruisemates, dinner mates & talked to a lady in her 70's or 80's today on our bus/train tour- her name was Nancy- she asked him if he knew anything about whales. I asked him did you ask her if she has a few months to talk to you about whales...... the other people on the bus got a kick out of quiet Gavin turning into Chatterbox about whales...... He later went up to her & started talking to her again and then asked me later on the ship-- mom I didnt ask Nancy what cabin she was in to talk to her again.

When I ask him if he wants to do X, he then asks, do you want to mom? (we talked near Christmas about respecting others when planning our day or when inviting friends over to play, etc-- & not just saying I want to play Legos or I want to go to the pool. You can respond-- what would you like to do mom or what would you like to play Andrew? I went to another show tonight. It was fantastic- minus the lady I can barely sit & listen thru- luckily she isn't lead singer..... We are almost caught up w/ Gavins homework. SOme days of his journal are more enjoyable to read than others. Have to go to sleep. Punta Arenas tomorrow- hopefully things will go smoothly with our Magdalena Island tour. DId I mention above that I got fried today!! thank goodness I had a long sleeve shirt on-- my face is a little sunburned & my neck it toasty red..... didn't bring any advil with me that I can find but do have aloe vera-- it doesnt hurt-- which I am shocked since it is lobster red. UGH!

My Iphone was dead today- bummer! I will have it all day tomorrow in port & can text- port is form 9a-6p my time which I think is 5 hrs difference now vs 6 since we got an hour back over Christmas. Billy- I am going to try emailing the commersons dolphin tour person for a possible tour on the 6th in Puerto Madryn-- if he doesnt email me- maybe you can call him tomorrow Billy- I will cc you on the email

No weather update- we are basically cruising in a glossy lake. No wind. Blue skies. I hear it can get a little choppy with the waves when we get closer to Punta Arenas. It is also a tender port- which means it is sometimes cancelled. For now it is basically like cruising the inside passage in Alaska-- land on both sides of the ship. Snow capped mountains and glaciers, waterfalls, glacial ice floating along the sides of the channel. Made it a difficult decision tonight.... go to the show or sit & watch the scenery..... decided to go to the show for 40min & then get back to the scenery. Some other cruisers said that when they last cruised this same course-- they did not get to go to Ushuaia nor did they see any of the glaciers due to fog/rain

Day #17 January 3rd. Punta Arenas, Chile

We went on a shore excursion with another independently arranged tour company by a fellow cruisecritic member. At least today the company was on time & we easily found them. They drove us out on the highway to a dock. We boarded a 20+ foot zodiac and after a 30 minute ride arrived at Magdalena Island. Magdalena Island is home to XXX magellanic penguins. They could be seen everywhere. These type of penguins burrow and house their babies in the burrows. There is an identified path to keep people on to protect the penguins but the penguins walk on the path & also feel comfortable enough that some have dug burrows right in the middle of the path. I stopped along the path to watch one and he walked right up to me and then pecked my shoe. Gavin had fun seeing the different stages of babies & juveniles. There were also baby seagull chicks. We walked up the hill to the lighthouse- which also had a tiny museum and then back to the path. We were on the Island for ~1hr 15min. We then went to Isla Marta to see the cormorrants and sea lions. Next we were transported back to town and then we did a little bit of sightseeing and shopping. We went to a few government buildings, chapel, Plaza Munoz Gamero, museum. THe maritime museum was closed. We did not walk to the post office since time was a bit tight & PO was opposite of ship. At the port we bought a shotglass and then asked the clerk if she had stamps- she said no- they were soldout. I asked her if I could pay her for the stamp & then she mail my postcard- she acted like she was never asked such a question..... asked her mom & then told me yes :). We gave her our $$ & postcard and off we went back to the ship. Tendering was slow due to low tide & they had to restrict the amount of people on each tender to prevent them from bottoming out.

Weather today was manageable. Blue skies & partially sunny this am then changed to rain while driving to the boat dock. At the Island the rain cleared up. Once back to mainland the rain was coming down pretty well all the way back to town (~45min) but once we started walking around town- the rain cleared up-- so overall I would say we lucked out almost on an hourly basis.....

We are cruising in the Magellan Strait & Captain says we will be at the mouth of the Atlantic Ocean at ~1am tonight. I think we are giving back an hour soon....... Thankfully it is a sea day tomorrow! we don't have to wake up early

Punta Arenas is Patagonias largest city and the regions capital. It stretches north & south along the Strai of Magellan. The economy depends on fishing, shipping, petroleum, and tourism. Historically it used to be the gateway to Antarctica but Ushuaia has since become the primary gateway.

[tamsocal]

I can't recall everything we saw on our cruise-- but here is a list of the things I know we did. Lots of wildlife -- this was similar to Alaska cruises- I hate going to bed-- its light out and I didn't want to miss anything :)

of course we would love to get back to Antarctica to do another cruise with landing but no regrets with this one--

 

Albatross- several different species

petrals

southern bottle nose whale

wedell seal

crab eater seal

commersons dolphin

minke whale

humpbacks

blue whale

other dolphins but its been several years and I don't recall species

cormorants

penguins: rockhopper , king, Magellanic, gentoo, chinstrap, Adelie

sea lions,

 

all kinds of icebergs

excellent landscape diversity- the scenery was amazing and breathtaking for the entire 3 weeks

[tamsocal]

Yes I know of and have read the extensive comments on the other Antarctica thread but at the risk of sounding difficult, could someone who has cruised Princess to Antarctica outline their experience and in particular comment on just how close up the ship gets to icebergs/wildlife/whales etc.

 

The Antarctic has been a passion of mine since childhood and while getting on a bit now, I feel the cost may stop me from a landing expedition and I would like to consider a 'sail-by' cruise, but need convincing. I just don't know if it would satisfy me. Many thanks.

to specifically address how close.....

very close at times- sometimes we had icebergs hitting the boat with sea lions and penguins on them. Sometimes they would hop off and swim away- other times they would keep resting on the ice bergs and stare at us as we stared at them.

There were times where scenery and wildlife were off in the distance but I was impressed and thankful for everyday and every opportunity.

Yes some our fortunate to experience the landings and great for them.

and some our fortunate to experience the "drive by"

 

many people will do neither and I would not want to be in this sub group.

[joybook]

Thank you so much for your detailed response/report.