Updates from the Coral on Jan 21-Feb 6 Antartica Voyage

[ebeluga]

If cruise mapper is accurate, it appears that Coral is around Elephant Island for the most part of today since 11 am and now it's 8:37 pm ship time.

[paradiselivin1]

When we were on the cruise in December, I would take a picture of the map on the tv showing our position, temp, water depth, etc. that I kept to match with the photos that I was taking at the time so that I could have a good idea of where we were after getting home and scrolling through all of those photos. Hope your trip is as good as ours. We were extremely lucky in Antarctica!

[cruisebie]

1 hour ago, paradiselivin1 said:

When we were on the cruise in December, I would take a picture of the map on the tv showing our position, temp, water depth, etc. that I kept to match with the photos that I was taking at the time so that I could have a good idea of where we were after getting home and scrolling through all of those photos. Hope your trip is as good as ours. We were extremely lucky in Antarctica!

 

That's a great idea, Paradiselivin1. I'm    sooo stealing this for my Antarctic cruise next year!

[lois1112]

13 hours ago, ebeluga said:

If cruise mapper is accurate, it appears that Coral is around Elephant Island for the most part of today since 11 am and now it's 8:37 pm ship time.

We were around it for hours.   However fog never lifted.   Other than a brief glimpse we missed it

however today has been spectacular. 

[erber]

When we were at Elephant Island one side was shrouded in fog and the other side of the island it lifted.  Sorry you only experienced fog. Are you in Neumayer Channel now? So glad today is fantastic!

[gottagocit]

Overnight we sailed south and into Antarctica Sound. Throughout the morning we made our way all the way into the back of the sound and past the large Argentine Esperanza Station which the captain and naturalist on the bridge announced was only the second time either of them have seen the sound so clear and smooth as to allow a cruise ship that deep. There were many whales blowing around the ship and countless Adele penguins porpoising in every direction. There was a massive colony of them near Esperanza. 
After reaching the back of the sound we’ve turned around and are now heading northerly and will arrive at Admiralty Bay on King George Island around 1:00 pm for a few hours there. 
 

Chris

Edited January 28, 2020 by gottagocit

[holidayhelen]

[holidayhelen]

[gottagocit]

Admiralty Bay has some spectacular scenery visible from either side. Dozens of massive glaciers lined the rugged mountainous coastline. As we entered the bay the captain informed us he had secured an agreement to have a small group of scientist from the Polish research station to take a zodiac trip to meet us and spend an hour or so answering questions and discussing life in their station.

 

At the time the seas were still relatively calm and winds were not substantial. Unfortunately the deeper into the bay we traveled the stronger the winds blowing down the tall glaciers and mountains became. Before we had reached the location of the station the winds had reached a point where it was not safe to take the zodiac trip so the visit was cancelled. For the next hour or so howling winds made even staying on the outside decks brutal in some areas. Winds were shown to be in excess of 50 knots much of the time on our cabin tv. Fortunately the seas did not grow significantly but did turn choppy with white caps on every waves. 
 

We saw numerous small icebergs and ‘growlers’, many with penguins on them. We have since left admiralty bay and are heading SW. Early tomorrow morning we should arrive in Charlotte Bay where we will spend 12-14 hours and are told we will see incredible ‘bergs throughout the day. The winds have already calmed to just 8 knots. 

 

Chris

[azbirdmom]

Hope you do get to spend all that time in Charlotte Bay.  We were only there for a couple of hours but what we saw was special.

[erber]

Yes, Charlotte Bay was amazing. We spent a few hours there and saw an abundance of humpback whales. It was beautiful. We did not get to Esperanza Station due to weather issues. Also,  the research station scientists couldn't come on board as they were unloading and setting up provisions that were being delivered  when we were in the vicinity.  

 

You will love Charlotte Bay. Enjoy every minute!

[holidayhelen]

2 hours ago, azbirdmom said:

Hope you do get to spend all that time in Charlotte Bay.  We were only there for a couple of hours but what we saw was special.

 

We get to spend a few hours in Charlottes bay then moving on to Gerchila straight and Neymeyer channel. Captain says it will be spectacular 12 - 14hr day.  Hoping the weather is good. 

[paradiselivin1]

Hope you have as spectacular day as we did in Neumeyer last month. Felt like we were so lucky with the weather and hope your luck holds! 

[pompeii]

13 hours ago, azbirdmom said:

Hope you do get to spend all that time in Charlotte Bay.  We were only there for a couple of hours but what we saw was special.

Unfortunately we weren't there for a couple of hours.  The captain inexplicably decided to leave after 1 hour 15 minutes.  Even though we arrived over an hour early and were scheduled to be there for 2 hours 30 mins, per my memory and the log of the cruise we stayed in the bay only half that time.  As you can probably tell, I am still fuming over this because we had already lost so much of Antarctica, to cheat us of half our scheduled time in Charlotte Bay was absolutely unacceptable.   We could have stayed 3 and a half hours and still been on schedule.  Yes, they heard about this in my survey.🤬

 

Even with that, it was amazing and I feel fortunate to have seen it at all.  You guys are very lucky to be there for a few hours.

Edited January 29, 2020 by pompeii

[gottagocit]

The scenery in charlottes bay this morning was amazing. There were dozens of glaciers All around and many whales near the back of the bay. Some breached the surface and came largely out of the water. There were also some medium to large size icebergs. 
The captain is now taking us to a bay that has never been visited by a princess ship. Pardon my likely misspelling of Wilhemina bay. Apparently is is normally filled with ice but not today!

[azbirdmom]

2 hours ago, pompeii said:

Yes, they heard about this in my survey.🤬

 

I did too, in a couple of different places in the survey.

[lrgaster]

7 hours ago, azbirdmom said:

 

I did too, in a couple of different places in the survey.

In my post cruise survey also.  

[xDisconnections]

8 hours ago, azbirdmom said:

 

I did too, in a couple of different places in the survey.

Still have to fill mine out- can’t believe the difference in times for Charlotte Bay! 

[paradiselivin1]

18 minutes ago, xDisconnections said:

Still have to fill mine out- can’t believe the difference in times for Charlotte Bay! 

Don't forget that you have a short timeline to get it done. I missed doing mine by a day because we spent an extra week in Chile at the end of our cruise and I came home sick so was unhappy that when I opened the email to review; I was too late!

[azbirdmom]

2 hours ago, xDisconnections said:

Still have to fill mine out- can’t believe the difference in times for Charlotte Bay! 

 

Definitely fill it out as soon as you can as they expire quickly as mentioned.  By the way found this slide that someone posted about the expected times for the current cruise.

 

 

[xDisconnections]

2 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

 

Definitely fill it out as soon as you can as they expire quickly as mentioned.  By the way found this slide that someone posted about the expected times for the current cruise.

 

 

Thanks Julie!

[gottagocit]

Well it’s the final morning in the Antarctic Peninsula region and it turned out to be a very interesting one.
The seas were again very calm and as we reached deception island we were very surprised to hear the captain say the tides and sea coast conditions were perfect to allow us to enter the caldera of the volcano. At this time we are in whalers cove on the right side of the caldera and pivoting prepare to exit. Quiet an amazing experience to be out on the forward deck as we quietly sailed into the volcano. Simply amazing!  And a wonderful way to end our visit to Antarctica!

 

Chris 

[azbirdmom]

Glad you were able to see it!  We only saw a sliver of the top of it for a couple of moments so Mother Nature was kind to you.  Keep on enjoying the cruise!

[ebeluga]

7 hours ago, gottagocit said:

Well it’s the final morning in the Antarctic Peninsula region and it turned out to be a very interesting one.
The seas were again very calm and as we reached deception island we were very surprised to hear the captain say the tides and sea coast conditions were perfect to allow us to enter the caldera of the volcano. At this time we are in whalers cove on the right side of the caldera and pivoting prepare to exit. Quiet an amazing experience to be out on the forward deck as we quietly sailed into the volcano. Simply amazing!  And a wonderful way to end our visit to Antarctica!

 

Chris 

Your Antarctica portion is as good as it gets based on the 3 itineraries in the last 6 weeks!

[gottagocit]

42 minutes ago, ebeluga said:

Your Antarctica portion is as good as it gets based on the 3 itineraries in the last 6 weeks!

I could not agree more. The weather,  

route, crew/staff as well as the captain regularly sharing information and insight to his decisions have been exceptional. We have been so lucky in so may ways this far. I’m keeping fingers crossed this will continue for the rest of the voyage.

 

The only not-so-well thing I’ll throw out is I wish people who insist on coming aboard with nasty colds (or worse) would at least quarantine themselves in their cabins or outside areas rather than walk around the ship mingling with everyone and coughing their heads off, spreading it to so many others. The evening before last I came down with the crud and have been seeing everything since from our cabin glass doors or balcony since. A quick visit to the medical facility found it’s likely just the typical respiratory illness so many suffer with with traveling in tight quarters with those who have the illness and spread it rather than being more respective of others. I was given a couple medicines to take for the next few days. 
 

I always make a point of listening for a few minutes while waiting for shows or lectures to begin and notice how many I hear coughing around me. Without exception the number increases significantly from the first few days to later on every cruise we’ve been on. 
I will never understand why people can’t show more respect for others. 

Chris