The Grouch on Seabourn Quest January 12, 2020 San Antonio to Buenos Aires via Antarctica

[whogo]

Our stewardess was happy to remove the extra pillows, haven't found them stashed anywhere in the room.

 

Saturday, January 18, 2020. Punta Arenas, Chile.

Busy night last night, attended the pre-dinner magic show by Simon Coronel, very entertaining. Dined with host Ross Ellingwood from the expedition team had five delightful Australian table mates, however, a table for eight is too big to include everyone in a conversation.

 

Holland America cruisers would be shocked by last night's showroom entertainment, it started after bedtime at 9:45 PM when Ben Mills performed, gasp, rock and roll music. With wild abandon. Piano music. Electric guitar music. Crash banging devil drums. Enjoyed by all, it was madness. We dined at Ben's table a couple of nights ago, he'd already started grooming us for a rock and roll life of loud music, illegal drugs, and loose morals. Holland America cruisers: You Have Been Warned!

 

I do not begrudge Seabourn for having my stewardess rehang my towel as if it were clean or for barely browning my toast, save the energy, water, and the planet and all, but the Seabourn downward spiral continues. It is evident that Seabourn is not the same luxury experience it was six days ago. I'd always received a serving of four slices of bacon at breakfast, today the serving size had been cut 25% to three slices. I thought the Seabourn regulars had been exaggerating the problems, see now first hand what they were talking about.

 

Sometime during the night we entered the Strait of Magellan, we docked in Punta Arenas about six o'clock. I slept through it. I was on a waiting list for The Tycoons of Patagonia shore excursion. They say they limit participants to 70% of coach occupancy. As number 39, I put them over the limit. They put on a second bus, 20 to a bus, lots of empty seats, nice. Last time we were in Punta Arenas, Holland America said it was a thirty minute walk to the main square. It was three miles. This time a coach tour sounded more sensible. We were supposed to visit the cemetery, the main square, the Braun-Menendez Mansion, a scenic overlook, and a sheep farm.

 

Our guide Alicia explained the economy was based on shipping, gold, and ship racing. Ship racing? Her English was good, her accent a challenge at times. Make that shipping, gold, and sheep raising. I will not tell you what she made 'peaceful' sound like. Okay tour, we only drove past the Braun-Menendez Mansion, the main draw of the tour for me. I will have a chat with Seabourn staff. Returned to the ship just after the dining room closed, dined for only second time at the Colonnade (buffet).

 

The biggest irritation of the day was seeing a Viking Ocean ship parked at the prime spot a couple of blocks from the city. How did the new ocean cruise line rate the better pier? I assume the larger ship won out.

 

 

[Jay23]

Sorry about the breakfast bacon.  😪 

 

Too many diners on a table for eight.  Conversation does not flow easily.   We insist on a max of six guests.

 

I certainly don't think Viking Ocean should take precedence over Seabourn .  

 

Still going well for you.  Wonderful adventure..  

[puppycanducruise]

Only 3 slices of bacon!

Oh, the humanity.

[Kellybc]

What a joy to follow along on another of your journeys!  Though we were going to Alaska on Viking, I was reading  HAL for information since 2019 was going to be Viking’s first year there. Got hooked on your reporting and kept going all the way to Australia and New Zealand. I’m not sure how my husband is going to feel if you convince me to change our next cruise to Seabourn.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I'm loving your posts!  I can visualize since we were on Quest last fall.  I agree tables for eight are just too big, six is just right, usually (ahem.)

[Fletcher]

The Quest has just arrived in Ushuaia and is berthed alongside Silver Cloud and behind the Hanseatic Inspiration.

 

https://www.skylinewebcams.com/en/webcam/argentina/tierra-del-fuego/ushuaia/ushuaia.html

[whogo]

Sunday, January 19, 2020 Ushuaia

Added the kelp gull to my birding list, yesterday, they were thick as thieves around the ship. The Seabourn Club Represenative, Herman Pieters, welcomed us all back to Seabourn, maybe first timers were not supposed to have been invited to the club reception. The captain was busy elsewhere, explanations later. Mrs. Whogo, for reasons unknown, accepted a martini. She doesn't drink, I figured this could get very interesting very quickly. It didn't. She tasted it, did not like it all, thankfully.

 

Guest Services Manager Chris Haas, from Austria, hosted our dinner table. The Mancunian couple and our fellow American were well traveled and interesting. A good time was had by all. I do enjoy these hosted tables and a table for six was an improvement over the larger table.

 

Warm day in Punta Arenas, yesterday, my thermometer read 67°F here while it was 6°F (-14°C) at home. We are sailing to Antarctica to escape the winter chill back home.

 

I was out on deck at 6:20 AM, today. Headed east on the Beagle Channel, we were still about a half hour from Glacier Alley. Balmy 49°F outside, broken overcast, wind from the south, more snow on the mountain tops and the tree line is lower at this latitude. Saw a brown skua and southern giant petrel and went down to another dining room breakfast and glacier viewing. Without any commentary, I did not know the names of the glaciers, but I saw the one with a wide stream and waterfall flowing from it and one that came all the way down to the ocean as well as others that I cannot describein such precise geologic terms. Wide swaths of bare rock show areas that were previously scraped by glaciers. Plant life has not yet been established where the glacier has retreated.

 

Saw a terminal moraine marking a glacier's longest reach. An expedition team member brought around a little diving petrel that had ended up on the ship. Unable to stand on land (or ship), he/she/it (did not find out what gender it had chosen) was released into the air.

 

Anticipation is building for our Antarctica visit, attended a mandatory briefing to learn how to board a zodiac and how to keep Antarctica pristine. I am betting that I will some rule breaking, hope I am wrong.

 

Predicted swell for tonight's Plan A sailing across the Drake Passage to Antarctic is 8 meters, more than 25 feet. That is too high for us to safely sail. Plan B: We will leave the Ushuaia dock as scheduled at 9:00 PM and move to anchorage. Tender service will be available tomorrow until our noon departure. We will lose 18 hours, will not stop at Half Moon Island in the South Shetland Islands and will head directly to the Chilean Naval Base on the Antarctic Peninsula.

 

We arrived early in Ushuaia, about 1:00, Mrs. Whogo and I were eating lunch in the dining room, lamb chops for me. There were more diners than usual, did one of you tell my fellow cruisers how pleasant it is to dine there? Other ships docked with us were Hamburg, Hanseatic Inspiration (ships for the German marker?), Silver Cloud, Ventus Australa, and Plancius (looked like a serious expedition ship).

 

We walked in a stiff breeze to the Ushuaia Prison and Maritime Museum, interesting combination, housed in a former penitentiary. I wondered if they sugar coated the prison experience, it did not sound too bad. The most interesting maritime display told of the sinking of the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano (originally the USS Phoenix) during the Falkland War. We bought expensive post cards and postage.

 

We returned in time to take tea in the Observation Bar with a rack of treats.

 

Ate for the first time at The Grill, were given the best table for two, others were too close together. The restaurant interior is modeled on a railroad dining car. Canned music was not overly loud, as reported on Cruise Critic, I could not make out the artist who sang Mambo Italiano, for instance. Service was even more attentive than in the dining room, must have had eight or ten people help out in some way. I ordered the New England clam chowder, richest, creamiest ever, sadly lacking in clams and clams flavor, only two dark, rubbery clams. I would suggest more clams and less cream.

 

The lobster thermidor was similarly rich, my gall bladder will get a workout. Very nice meal, but I will not order those dishes again. Mrs. Whogo's Dover sole was fine, but I thought sole was a much thinner fish, hers was a half inch thick. What do we know, we're from the prairie and not the right kind of people. My dessert was pretty cool, a mini lemon meringue pie with the meringue beautifully formed into a number little peaks and nicely browned. Excellent. I don't want to know how many calories I consumed.

 

I had about 40 minutes before all aboard to dash to the post office to mail postcards, made it, I wasn't the last one back. Remember that the official Seabourn report of our cruise is available here: https://my.yb.tl/seabournexpeditions/

 

[Chairsin]

So sorry you are missing Half Moon Bay. Yes, Seabourn now has enough experience in that part of the world that there is always a plan B (as well as C, D, etc.) One thing one has to be prepared for when cruising Antartica is that weather and safety trumps all. To help manage passenger expectations Seabourn intentionally does not publish a specific schedule for the days they are scheduled to visit Antárctica but rather label the anticipated days there as the Antárctic Experience. Hope the you make it to the Chilean Station and if you do please tell Marilyn hello for us.  

[saminina]

Interesting comment on the TK Dover Sole as I was wondering same about thickness.   I'm thinking the past three cruises have had a thicker version than a year ago.   It's way too consistent to be a fluke.   And maybe my memory is worse than imagined.

And maybe they are made in a machine. Who knows?

Edited January 20, 2020 by saminina

[kimanjo]

We sailed Seabourn for the first time this past November.  We really do consider ourselves "not your typical SB passenger".

1. Never been in a suite.  2. Never flown Business or First class. 3. Don't drink. 4. Have an actual travel budget... How many of others out there are there who are like us??? 

I'm very much enjoying this thread. Antarctica is on my list of love to do's.  3 year saving plan.

Edited January 20, 2020 by kimanjo

[whogo]

January 20, 2020. Ushuaia.

We're going... We're staying... We're going... We're staying...

 

Captain Eldering announced in public areas before 7 AM that with a dramatic improvement in wind conditions we would sail as soon as customs formalities were completed, we departed about 14 hours later than originally scheduled instead of 18. I do not know what this means for our landings in Antarctica.

 

I hope I did not give the impression that I thought the delay was a mistake, I know that safety comes first.

 

We did not move to anchorage as planned last night. Strong winds of 35 to 45 knots kept us against the pier, Quest received permission to stay. Gusts were as high as 60 knots. Our original docking had been a challenge. I thought the wind was blowing right at the pointy end instead of the side, but what do I know? The Hamburg was still docked as we left. I watched National Geographic Orion pull in last night and the Midnatol appeared from somewhere.

 

Except for the cities, I have seen no signs of civilization in either the Sarmiento or Beagle channel, no other ships, no farms, no boats, no goatherds.

 

We received a revised The Herald for what has become a day at sea. In yet another cutback, it was not folded in half by staff, had to do it myself. Will this misery never end? I have tried to find a positive aspect to the cutback in the bacon serving size with out luck.

 

1. It's not a cutback, serving size is at the whim of cook. What kind of madness is that?

2. Staff think I am taking in too many calories and have cut my serving size. What business is my waistline of theirs?

3. Mrs. Whogo asked them to trim my serving size. Augh! See answer 2 above.

4. Management has ordered the cutback. You call this a luxury line?

 

Seabourn has eliminated those little individual sugar and artificial sweetener paper packages. Sugar, raw sugar and sweetener are now in dispensers on the table. I suspect that Seabourn still has a ton and a half of individual packets to use up and staff members are dumping the packets into the dispensers.

 

Great day for wildlife spotting. Saw black-browed albatrosses in a group of two dozen or so with some skuas mixed in. Imperial shags were numerous, they fly in a vee pattern. And the big sightings were some Magellanic Penguins and a distant humpback whale spout and tail. The most fun sighting was a flightless steamer duck who paddled like crazy, only the Quest created a bigger wake. Needed expert help to identify sooty shearwater and blue petrel.

 

Went through biosecurity check in the club, the experts wanted to examine any used outerwear for things that might contaminate Antarctica. My inspector found nothing on my gloves. My rental boots, new Gore-Tex pants, new walking poles, and unused Seaborn parka did not need to be inspected.

 

Cruise director Jan made a whole ship announcement promoting the 50's & 60's party, the totally unnecessary announcement was not what I expected on a luxury ship. Liked the music though, The Band and the trio are favorites of mine. Sliders, mini-hotdogs and mini-shakes were available.

 

I attended the cast's show last night, not my thing, four singers, two dancers, did not care for it at all. Talented performers, just not what I want to watch. Had to go to the show, vocalist Laura Waterson was to be our host tonight. She was a delightful hostess, I know Mrs. Whogo and I enjoyed the dinner, think the others did, too. Thankfully, I was not asked to critique last night's show. Laura and the rest of the vocalists soloed and sang backup for the 50's and 60's, I could truthfully say I enjoyed her singing.

 

Tonight's showtime performer, violinist Jakob Trasek put on a good show. I had to leave after “Those Were the Days” and “Halleluiah”, I have burned out on those songs, couldn't take any more. Another day at sea tomorrow, maybe we will catch sight of Antarctica.

[jozi]

On 1/19/2020 at 6:57 PM, whogo said:

Sunday, January 19, 2020 UshuaiaAdded the kelp gull to my birding list, yesterday, they were thick as thieves around the ship. The Seabourn Club Represenative, Herman Pieters, welcomed us all back to Seabourn, maybe first timers were not supposed to have been invited to the club reception. T

 

Sounds like Herman moved up from Destination Manager.  He did a nice job on the Quest last July- he had lots of good local information not just touting the paid tours.  Thanks to his advice we got day of tickets for a splendid cello concert at a music festival in Bantry, Ireland.

 

your posts have been hilarious, enjoy.

[Videopark]

15 hours ago, whogo said:

Seabourn has eliminated those little individual sugar and artificial sweetener paper packages. Sugar, raw sugar and sweetener are now in dispensers on the table.

 

Do you know which sweetener? I prefer Splenda.

[Flamin_June]

Splenda of the Seas ?

[cuddles115]

1 hour ago, Flamin_June said:

Splenda of the Seas ?

Very good....I love it.  I had the same experiences with the sugar dispensers. I thought it was a temporary measure.  I guess it's permanent.  All in the name of the environment.  That it's much cheaper than individual packets takes a back seat.

Edited January 21, 2020 by cuddles115
add the to response

[tjcox9]

2 hours ago, cuddles115 said:

Very good....I love it.  I had the same experiences with the sugar dispensers. I thought it was a temporary measure.  I guess it's permanent.  All in the name of the environment.  That it's much cheaper than individual packets takes a back seat.

As a Seabourn and HAL cruiser as is Whogo, it was interesting to see upon our return from the last Seabourn Antarctic/South Georgia voyage that there was a post on HAL showing a pic of the very same sugar dispensers, however, they still had the individual sweetener packets..................wonder how long that will last?? 

 

WhoGo is bringing back such fond memories of our first (the soaps) and our most recent experience. Can't wait to get onboard one of these fine ships. The Quest crew is the BEST!!

[whogo]

Tuesday, January 21, 2020. At sea, approaching Antarctica.

 

Something felt weird last night. Woke at 2:30 and found the seas had calmed considerably, could barely feel the ship's movement, big change.

 

Sensitive people will want to skip this paragraph. I will wait a moment for you to do so. Okay, you were warned. I can tell it now, although I hate to think of it. A man walked down the hall toward me yesterday wearing a robe, which gaped open at the bottom from the wide spread of his feet for steadiness in rough seas. Oh, god, was he wearing anything under it? Don't look, don't look, don't look. Stare at the ceiling. get past him, get past him, whew.

 

The nightmare continues, four strips of bacon this morning. Perhaps the problem is in the term 'rasher', a rasher is either a strip of bacon or an undefined serving of bacon. I am receiving conflicting instructions from the voices in my head. I hate it when they argue with each other.

 

Blueberry pancakes were heavy and tough, will have to ask Mrs. Whogo to teach the chef how to fix them right. The 1.6 ounce jar of maple syrup from Oxnard, California was cute, never thought of Oxnard as maple syrup territory. Successful breakfast, did not get my fingers sticky with syrup. Guava juice was sweet, contained 42 grams of added sugar. Fun to read the can in Spanish, differences are one of the joys of travel. Have had an occasional Coca-Cola, Light-Savor Liviano, sin azúcar, sin calorías.

 

Outside temperature here was 47°F at 9:00 AM in the Drake Passage, 1°F -17°C at home. Continue to enjoy the balmy weather.

 

Looked for wildlife without much luck, a couple of Wilson's storm petrels flew past our balcony, my only new species, lots of empty ocean.

 

I attended Joe Rottman's “The Ends of the Earth” 11:00 lecture comparing the north and south polar regions. We finished well out of the money on team trivia, the winners for the first half of the cruise received stuffed Seabourn Teddy Bears. Another session will begin after we leave Antarctica.

 

Slow service, good food at lunch in the dining room. The captain reported during his 1:00 noon update that we crossed the 60° south latitude at 7:00 AM and officially entered Antarctic waters. We should arrive at our next stop and begin boarding Zodiacs at 9:00 AM, tomorrow.

 

Toby Stephenson's 2:30 lecture on whales, dolphins, and porpoises was interesting and well presented, still found myself fighting to stay awake. Then back on deck, fog set in, visibility was reduced and no sooner had I given on up wildlife spotting and come into Seabourn Square than I saw my first cape petrel fly by the window.

 

We attended our first Briefing with the Expedition Team, a roundup of what we have seen and presentation of what will come. We are in in the green group, are last to be scheduled to go ashore at 2:00 PM.

 

We enjoyed another hosted table, this time by guest entertainer Rogerio Tutti, a pianist who will perform in a few days. Ended the evening with the show by guitar duo Siqueira Lima and by posting this drivel.

[Fletcher]

I see that the 'official' Seabourn blog makes no mention of the prolonged stay in Ushuaia or the cancellation of the South Shetland Islands visit.  The expedition team have all graduated from the Pyongyang school of Journalism.  However, they do work their inner and outer socks off for the passengers.

[whogo]

January 22, 2020.

 

Wow! Up at 4:00 to look out on Antarctica. Wow! First sight was of snow on a steep mountain side as we sailed past a big, flat bit of sea ice. If you are looking for an adequate description of what I am seeing, you are out of luck. I can not do it.

 

Was that the sound of ice against the hull?

 

Remember that Seabourn's blog of this cruise with maps, commentary, and photos is available here: https://my.yb.tl/seabournexpeditions/ They post photos. I don't. They probably describe it better than I do. Yes, they white wash it a bit, apparently the expedition team send the blog to corporate for posting.

 

We sailed slowly, seven knots, snowy land on both sides, ice in the water, blue ice from glaciers, white from somewhere else, maybe. Did I miss a lecture?

 

We approached another ship, smaller, might be the Hanseatic Inspiration we saw in Ushuaia, don't know what her plans were, she was motionless in the water. I thought our ship would stop, we kept going.

 

Saw my first gentoo penguins swimming on the surface, still visible as they swam underwater. A couple of penguins posed on a bit of ice as we sailed past. Someone in the Observation Bar claimed a whale sighting, might have been, without binoculars all I could see was a dark something surfacing every once in a while. Definite sighting of a seal or sea lion on a chunk of ice, he waved his flipper at me found out it was a crabeater seal. They are the most common seal in Antarctica, do not eat crabs, they strain krill through their teeth.

 

The Chilean Naval Station at Waterboat Point came into sight. Others were uncertain if that was the Chilean base, I thought the building with a Chilean flag painted on it was a giveaway. I went down on the open bow for more viewing. It is overcast, doesn't seem any lighter at 8:00 than at 4:00. Was surprised at how close we came to the station, I thought the captain was going to run the ship up on the shore as if it were a runabout.

 

We were the last group sent to shore. The process is well choreographed. We headed to The Club fully dressed with waterproof pants, coat, and gloves with our life vest worn properly. Underclothing is up to the individual, I wore light long underwear and a tee shirt under my two layer Seabourn supplied parka. From there we were directed to the boot locker to put on our rented (in most people's case) boots and then continue to go down in groups of ten to the deck 3 three platform to board our zodiac. Strong arms helped us into the boats and then it was a quick ride to the base.

 

At 3:02 PM local time I stepped onto Antarctica, continent number seven. The gentoo penguin are all around on nests of pebbles, most with fluffy little chicks, a few with eggs, and a few larger chicks which already have black feathers. Great to observe them, most chicks just sleeping, a few were fed. Penguins protect their turf, anything getting too close gets a peck, saw some threats, no pecks. There call is not at all musical, when a pale-faced sheathbill walked through, it was threatened with hisses. The behaviors are fun, do not know why a couple will suddenly stick their beaks up and squawk together.

 

We heard the thunder of falling ice a couple of times.

 

Today's trip ashore was a walk in the park. The temperature was a balmy 46°F at the start, we had a few drops of rain, the water and wind was calm. Guana was dry and not nearly as stinky as it can get. This was an easy one.

 

At 5:40 expedition leader Chris announced that the bridge had spotted a pod of orcas. There was a mad rush for the open decks, Mrs. Whogo spotted a dozen of them, I only saw five before the cold sent me in. Should have taken a coat and camera. Check the Seabourn blog in a day or two for photos.

[cat shepard]

Somehow your inability to adequately describe Antarctica speaks volumes. Thank you for sharing your experiences with us.

Edited January 22, 2020 by cat shepard

[frantic36]

2 hours ago, whogo said:

At 3:02 PM local time I stepped onto Antarctica, continent number seven. The gentoo penguin are all around on nests of pebbles, most with fluffy little chicks, a few with eggs, and a few larger chicks which already have black feathers. Great to observe them, most chicks just sleeping, a few were fed. Penguins protect their turf, anything getting too close gets a peck, saw some threats, no pecks. There call is not at all musical, when a pale-faced sheathbill walked through, it was threatened with hisses. The behaviors are fun, do not know why a couple will suddenly stick their beaks up and squawk together.

 

 

 

I am definitely going to time my Antarctica cruise around young penguins there. The Venture sailings do go to South Georgia in mid February as well so hopefully there will still be some young penguins maybe just more developed then the fluff.

 

Anyone know...Fletcher? I have tried researching but I couldn't be sure.

 

Thanks again whoso for a great blog.

 

Julie

[tjcox9]

48 minutes ago, cat shepard said:

Somehow your inability to adequately describe Antarctica speaks volumes. Thank you for sharing your experiences with us.

Prior to enjoying the last Seabourn South Georgia/Antarctia voyage, we had done four (yes - four) "drive" by cruises as they call them on the main stream lines. It just kept calling us back and then we decided to take the plunge and actually get off the ship. Each way is wonderful and it's so hard to explain to those who haven't done it.

 

The scenery, ice, and wildlife are ever changing. There is nothing which with to compare. 

[Fletcher]

7 hours ago, frantic36 said:

 

 

I am definitely going to time my Antarctica cruise around young penguins there. The Venture sailings do go to South Georgia in mid February as well so hopefully there will still be some young penguins maybe just more developed then the fluff.

 

Anyone know...Fletcher? I have tried researching but I couldn't be sure.

 

 

On the Christmas/New Year trip we saw quite a few chicks and brown moulty birds, especially in South Georgia where I guess the whole breeding cycle is a bit earlier than Antarctica itself.  Lots of those chicks were being viewed as delicacies by skuas. However, later in the year would I think be more special in this regard.  By the way, one of my disappointments was the lack of those mountain-like elephant seals with the giant schnozzles.  Later in the year for those, too, we were told by wildlife guru Brent Houston.  Whogo needs to snuggle up with Brent, pose these questions and report back definitively. 

[frantic36]

1 hour ago, Fletcher said:

On the Christmas/New Year trip we saw quite a few chicks and brown moulty birds, especially in South Georgia where I guess the whole breeding cycle is a bit earlier than Antarctica itself.  Lots of those chicks were being viewed as delicacies by skuas. However, later in the year would I think be more special in this regard.  By the way, one of my disappointments was the lack of those mountain-like elephant seals with the giant schnozzles.  Later in the year for those, too, we were told by wildlife guru Brent Houston.  Whogo needs to snuggle up with Brent, pose these questions and report back definitively. 

 

 

Thanks for your reply Fletcher. Giant elephant seals with giant schnozzles is definitely on my wish list. I am mindful that mother nature likes to be selective what she shows us sometimes even with the best research. My philosophy is she likes to keep us uppity humans in line. 🙂

 

Julie

[whogo]

Thursday, January 23, 2020. Pléneau Island.

 

I have not bothered including latitude and longitude on this blog, it is available with photos and commentary by Seabourn here: https://my.yb.tl/seabournexpeditions/

 

No show last night, the movie “March of the Penguins” played in the Grand Salon instead. Expedition leader Chris announced before dinner that there would be scenic cruising at 9:30. What did he think we sailing past, chopped liver? The official scenic cruising was through the narrow Lemaire Channel. I took a look at the entry way, impressively narrow with steep mountains and went to bed. Mrs. Whogo watched from our cabin and found the reflection of the mountains in the water impressive. We did not turn the commentary on in our cabin, she did not see the orcas or minke whales. We awoke today just out of the south end of the channel at Pléneau Island. The ship is holding position here without anchoring, we hear the bow thrusters which are right below us.

 

The bacon problem is solved for today. We are scheduled for a zodiac tour at 8:00 during dining room breakfast time. No bacon, no problem. A micro-mini continental breakfast is available daily in the Observation Bar. I had a crock of sweetened yogurt with oats, decided that was a girly breakfast and added a donut with chocolate frosting. Do not tell Mrs. Whogo.

 

The forecast called for 32°F with winds of 20 mph, it was 39°F with a light breeze, I only wore one glove and did not put on my stocking cap, others wore everything they had. Zodiaced (that's now a word) around amongst the ice, spotted my first arctic tern, saw swimming seals and swimming gentoo penguins nearby and maybe four seals on an iceberg and had a distant view and scent of a large gentoo penguin colony, much larger than yesterday's colony. The book says gentoo penguins are up to 36”. I expected them to be waist high. They were a foot shorter, the 36” is measured beak to tail tip when they are stretched out.

 

Highlight of the zodiac tour was seeing an iceberg turn over. As the saltwater eats away the submerged part of the berg the center of gravity changes until the iceberg flips. Do you understand the iceberg flipping process in my one sentence? Our guide made it simpler and longer and repeated and repeated as if we were fourth graders. He continued his fourth grade lecture for the explanation of seals (no ear flaps, less agile on land) vs sea lions (ear flaps) and every other topic of conversation. Maddening. Our guide did not identify the species of seal we saw. Crabeater? Wedell? [People with the good guides said they were crabeaters, one looked different because it was molting.] We approached the most interesting berg, big tilted thing with caves carved into it. We neared the place where you could look into the caves. Neared, did not get there, missed by fifty yards of clear water. Other zodiacs went farther, we did not. Maddening. Do not get me wrong, the zodiac ride was cool, seeing penguins and seals swimming nearby was thrilling, but the commentary was disappointing. I warned you in the title of this blog that I was a grouch.

 

Think the Seabourn Quest is a beautiful white? It is in port. Against a snowy backdrop it looks dingy. To finish my grousing, lunch was poor, maybe by plan, it was England themed. Mushy peas were cold, chips were undercooked, and the breading on the fish did not crisp through. Meal was redeemed by the bread and butter pudding. Mrs. Whogo and I shared a serving, she had a quarter of a forkful.

 

This spot at about 65°S latitude is as far south as we will cruise. We have lost satellite connection for internet and television, I won't miss it.

 

We headed back north up Lemaire Channel at 5:00 PM at a sedate 5 knots, lots of ice in the water, no commentary available. I spotted glaciers and a penguin colony without expert help. The mountain tops were hidden by clouds. Have yet to see the sun in Antarctica, although there was a patch of blue sky today. I watched a herd of at least eight gentoo penguins swim and leap out of the water. I went out on the bow to see why the ship had stopped, the Quest had run out of sea, the captain had driven into a bay, maybe it would be called a fjord. The glacier therein apparently calved. I did not see it, naturally. I will have to find out how far apart our stops are, seem very close, I have not seen a map with a scale. The recap and briefing was cancelled.

 

Attended another hosted table, this time by the human resource manager, she was from Transylvania, Aussies and Brits rounded out the table.