From the Arctic to Antarctica in five months

[rimmit]

18 minutes ago, Yorkshire-Pudding said:

 

A lady after my own heart. Actually you raise an important point, maybe my DH and DS should do an expedition. I can't imagine my DS saying no to a free holiday! Your children will be a little older by 2021 so will no doubt enjoy it even more.

 

You right about the more luxurious operators. We have never sailed anything smaller than 2,500+ passengers, so its going to need a mindset adjustment (or rather I will) for a smaller ship.

 

I think the largest expedition ships are maybe 400 pax that can do landings.   I personally wouldn’t go to Antarctica on a ship that hold more than 120.  It is time intensive to Zodiac or chopper to the landing sites and more than that I can only imagine would be cumbersome and ruin some of the serenity of Antarctica and South Georgia.

 

We has 98 and 49 the two times I went south.   The luxury expedition ships have spas, nice lounges,  gorgeous cabins and lots of amenities now.   Heck,  even on our two expeditions we had a masseuse on board that you could sign up for and these were not luxury vessels by any stretch of the imagination.

 

I am sure your DH and DS would love it.  Especially if they have an adventurous spirit.  It is something I hope I can take my kids on someday when they are older.

[Yorkshire-Pudding]

14 hours ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

We also like the creature comforts , maybe that comes with aging and bad knees . It was nice to have a quick access to food and a bathroom just a few feet from the balcony .

 

 

 

 

Your photos and footage is stunning. The baby penguin, so adorable. I will make sure my husband does not see it otherwise he will not wait until 2023. We have sailed a few brands but never sailed HAL in part because we are non-smokers so like the very strict policy on RC and Celebrity. 

 

Ah those little nice touches, are so hard to give up once you get a taste for them. Your balcony looks lovely and large. I am guessing that it is on the aft, judging by the orientation of your photo. We sailed RC in June of this year on the aft for the first time because the cabin category we wanted was only available on the aft. Whilst the extra walking was good for us, we decided we are lazy and prefer mid-ship.

[Yorkshire-Pudding]

8 minutes ago, rimmit said:

 

I think the largest expedition ships are maybe 400 pax that can do landings.   I personally wouldn’t go to Antarctica on a ship that hold more than 120.  It is time intensive to Zodiac or chopper to the landing sites and more than that I can only imagine would be cumbersome and ruin some of the serenity of Antarctica and South Georgia.

 

We has 98 and 49 the two times I went south.   The luxury expedition ships have spas, nice lounges,  gorgeous cabins and lots of amenities now.   Heck,  even on our two expeditions we had a masseuse on board that you could sign up for and these were not luxury vessels by any stretch of the imagination.

 

I am sure your DH and DS would love it.  Especially if they have an adventurous spirit.  It is something I hope I can take my kids on someday when they are older.

 

That sounds like a DH and DS thing. They would both absolutely forgo the luxuries for the adventure so thank you for that.

 

When we went to Alaska, I did book a private tour to Admiralty Island (with all the brown bears), for them with a float plane, kayak and a guide for the day. Unfortunately, another trip with a helicopter onto a glacier for dog sledding did not work out because although they landed on the ice, the weather was too poor to sled, so the idea of zodiacs and helicopters onto ice would just be up their street.

 

I'm not so sure about the masseuse, that sounds too much like luxury, although with the cold weather conditions you probably need it. 

 

 

[OnTheJourney]

4 hours ago, rimmit said:

 

Barrow is fascinating.  I can’t imagine living there.  The cold and inaccessibility to everything would get old after a while I would think.

 

Yeah, really. Would not want to live anywhere that has even close to several months of (basically) darkness all the time (or at least little or no sun for extended periods). On the other hand, would not want to live in the tropics or places that don't experiences the 4 seasons. 

[scubacruiserx2]

31 minutes ago, Yorkshire-Pudding said:

 

Your photos and footage is stunning. The baby penguin, so adorable. I will make sure my husband does not see it otherwise he will not wait until 2023. We have sailed a few brands but never sailed HAL in part because we are non-smokers so like the very strict policy on RC and Celebrity. 

 

Ah those little nice touches, are so hard to give up once you get a taste for them. Your balcony looks lovely and large. I am guessing that it is on the aft, judging by the orientation of your photo. We sailed RC in June of this year on the aft for the first time because the cabin category we wanted was only available on the aft. Whilst the extra walking was good for us, we decided we are lazy and prefer mid-ship.

 

Well thank you . We really didn't smell much if any smoke on HAL and we do like their itineraries . In August we're booked for a Norway , Iceland and Greenland TA from Copenhagen to Boston . 

 Yes we had an aft to Iceland this year and next year for the view and to exercise a bit . We did have a mid-ship for Antarctica and Patagonia which is prone to strong winds and a bumpy ride . It was convenient to the Neptune Lounge for snacks and the Pinnacle Grille for breakfast but near a stairway and elevator traffic .

[rimmit]

1 hour ago, Yorkshire-Pudding said:

 

That sounds like a DH and DS thing. They would both absolutely forgo the luxuries for the adventure so thank you for that.

 

I'm not so sure about the masseuse, that sounds too much like luxury, although with the cold weather conditions you probably need it. 

 

 

 

The Massuese was the only "luxury" item on the ship.  The ship are Russian research vessels or ice breakers chartered for expeditions in their off seasons. 

 

To further push you over the edge to get your DH and DS to go, here are some of the many pics I took. 

 

The one pic is of the workout/rec room. As you can see, not exactly luxury.

 

One is of St. Andrews Bay, that has over 300,000 King Penguins.

 

The Emperor penguins are much harder to come by and only live on sea ice. They do not I've on land.  To see the babies you have to go very early in the season, and use an ice breaker as the ice is too thick at that time for a regular ship to get to them.  The King Penguin chicks are much easier to see, but they are not nearly as cute.  They are very curious and friendly.

 

 

[rimmit]

2 hours ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

. In August we're booked for a Norway , Iceland and Greenland TA from Copenhagen to Boston . 

For a second there I thought you were on our sailing.  It goes to Norway, Iceland, and Greenland but leaves from Amsterdam Sept 2nd on the Brilliance of the seas  

[scubacruiserx2]

32 minutes ago, rimmit said:

For a second there I thought you were on our sailing.  It goes to Norway, Iceland, and Greenland but leaves from Amsterdam Sept 2nd on the Brilliance of the seas  

 

Sorry , no we aren't . August 19 from Copenhagen .