Planning for one last Antarctica cruise on the Quest

[lvog]

 

16 minutes ago, maryogreen said:

Ken, sorry for the late response on this. I can't begin to rave enough about our Antarctica experience on the Quest. My husband and I sailed the Buenos Aires to Santiago route in January 2017. All the ports were fascinating, from the big cities to the remote Patagonian towns. Highlights in addition to Antarctica itself were the Falklands (journey to Volunteer Point to see the magnificent King Penguins), Punta Arenas (Magdalena Island expedition) and the charming town of Castro, Chile (walking on our own).

We hired a wonderful guide for a city walking tour in Buenos Aires and also did a wine tour at the end of the trip in the Casablanca Valley near Santiago. Please feel free to email me if you'd like contact information.

Here's a link to my blogs from Antarctica which you might find helpful. I also have stories and photos from every port listed under their respective countries on the Destinations page.

https://www.themodernpostcard.com/category/antarctica/

Whichever itinerary you choose, you will have a fabulous trip!
Mary

Travel Blog: https://www.themodernpostcard.com

Totally agree. Volunteer Point is a must and should be booked early. Magadalena was fun to see so many ***** penguins although we did have a problem with the excursion boat. Great little towns to wander around. I hope to do an extensive Patagonia tour when things settle down.

[vaitape]

Our tour in Stanley, Falkland Islands was wonderful. We took Patrick Watts' tour to Volunteer Point....highly recommend it and much more reasonably priced than the ship's excursion. 

[Ken the cruiser]

We realise folks booked on the now cancelled 2020/2021 Antartica cruises on the Quest as well as those on the cancelled Venture 2021/2022 itineraries will have first dibs on cabins if they choose to sail on similar 2021/2022 itineraries. So, since we're going to have to move fast if/when we're allowed to book, any thoughts as to where the more desirable veranda category cabins, or the ones to avoid, might be located would be greatly appreciated.

Edited September 11, 2020 by Ken the cruiser

[Fletcher]

On the Quest we had 742, midships, which is good for stability.  We also love Deck 7 as you can wander down to Seabourn Square for an early morning coffee and pastry and perhaps take it out on deck or scan the newspapers on the iPads or even write your blog for Cruise Critic.  If sailing from Santiago a port side cabin is perhaps a slight advantage. 

[Fletcher]

The view from 742 -

 

[scottjeanne]

I am not sure what the offers will be when they open the itineraries up for the Quest 2022 voyages, but we booked a type of guarantee-pay for an ocean view and get a verandah.  You don't get to pick your suite, but it was a significant savings.  And I would be happy being a stow away at this point!

[Ken the cruiser]

8 hours ago, Fletcher said:

On the Quest we had 742, midships, which is good for stability.  We also love Deck 7 as you can wander down to Seabourn Square for an early morning coffee and pastry and perhaps take it out on deck or scan the newspapers on the iPads or even write your blog for Cruise Critic.  If sailing from Santiago a port side cabin is perhaps a slight advantage. 

Thanks Fletcher! We will definitely keep an eye out for either that one or one nearby on the deck 7.

[Ken the cruiser]

16 minutes ago, scottjeanne said:

I am not sure what the offers will be when they open the itineraries up for the Quest 2022 voyages, but we booked a type of guarantee-pay for an ocean view and get a verandah.  You don't get to pick your suite, but it was a significant savings.  And I would be happy being a stow away at this point!

We just may wind up doing that if that's all they are offering. As they say, beggars can't be choosy. 🙂

Edited September 11, 2020 by Ken the cruiser

[whogo]

12 hours ago, Fletcher said:

On the Quest we had 742, midships, which is good for stability.

Looks good. Did you have any noise from the Patio area above?

 

Ken the Cruiser, we were just a few cabins from the front of deck five. While the anchor chain did not really run through the wall of our cabin, we certainly heard it and the bow thrusters. I am an early riser, it did not bother me. There was also more motion there than midships. The motion did not hinder our movements or sleep and we did not suffer seasickness.

 

[rkacruiser]

12 hours ago, Fletcher said:

The view from 742 -

 

What a great view!  Thanks for posting it!

 

I WANT TO GO AGAIN!

[Ken the cruiser]

Well, our Seabourn PCC called us today and even though the itineraries haven't been posted yet except for a 43 day one starting in Miami, we were able to book a V5 midship cabin on the 12/20/2021 cruise which includes the South Georgia Islands. Yay!!! Thanks everyone for your kind thoughts.

Edited September 11, 2020 by Ken the cruiser

[Ken the cruiser]

Now for my next question since we are now booked on an Antarctica cruise, and it has to do with eating in the MDR. I will be bringing a coat and tie and my DW will be packing her nice clothes for formal nights. However, is it appropriate to wear a nice polo shirt and Dockers on all other nights for dinner in the MDR? I checked out some of the other dress code threads and they mentioned Hawaiian shirts and sweaters, neither of which I wear, but no mention of polo shirts.

[sfvoyage]

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

is it appropriate to wear a nice polo shirt and Dockers on all other nights for dinner in the MDR? I checked out some of the other dress code threads and they mentioned Hawaiian shirts and sweaters, neither of which I wear, but no mention of polo shirts.

 

SB has changed with the times, so I think polo shirts should be fine.  I wear a nice long-sleeve dress shirt (no tie or coat) in the MDR, but I've seen plenty of other collared shirts, including short-sleeve and polo.  Sometimes I've even seen T-shirts, but that is not really allowed, although it depends on the hotel manager and the MDR staff whether the rules are enforced.

Edited September 12, 2020 by sfvoyage

[Ken the cruiser]

7 minutes ago, sfvoyage said:

 

SB has changed with the times, so I think polo shirts should be fine.  I wear a nice long-sleeve dress shirt (no tie or coat) in the MDR, but I've seen plenty of other collared shirts, including short-sleeve and polo.  Sometimes I've even seen T-shirts, but that is not really allowed, although it depends on the hotel manager and the MDR staff whether the rules are enforced.

Thanks! I was hoping to hear that.

[sfvoyage]

55 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Thanks! I was hoping to hear that.

Sure. You'll have a great cruise; the Antarctica and South Georgia one is by far the most memorable cruise I've ever done.

 

BTW, whatever you do,  just don't wear a baseball cap to dinner, which apparently would elicit complaints from various guests. 😉

[Ken the cruiser]

5 minutes ago, sfvoyage said:

BTW, whatever you do,  just don't wear a baseball cap to dinner, which apparently would elicit complaints from various guests. 😉

LOL!! I usually wear a baseball hat, but take it off when we embark on a cruise and put it in the closet until the cruise is over. 

[scottjeanne]

Seabourn has the 2021\2022 itineraries posted with the Quest cruises, prices, and dates. 

[whogo]

15 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

LOL!! I usually wear a baseball hat, but take it off when we embark on a cruise and put it in the closet until the cruise is over. 

I thought the dress code rule about baseball caps on the luxury lines was that you had to turn the bill around to the front upon embarkation.

[zelker]

12 hours ago, scottjeanne said:

Seabourn has the 2021\2022 itineraries posted with the Quest cruises, prices, and dates. 

 

Sadly, prices and deposit are definitely higher than the 2020/21 pricing, even with the 5% past guest discount, and no perks included. 

[cruiseej]

20 hours ago, whogo said:

I thought the dress code rule about baseball caps on the luxury lines was that you had to turn the bill around to the front upon embarkation.

 

But is it opposite in the southern hemisphere? 😉

[jjs217]

21 hours ago, whogo said:

I thought the dress code rule about baseball caps on the luxury lines was that you had to turn the bill around to the front upon embarkation.

 

43 minutes ago, cruiseej said:

 

But is it opposite in the southern hemisphere? 😉

Wow - thanks!  It is fun to read a thread and get to actually laugh.  Maybe "things" are getting better.

[whogo]

19 hours ago, zelker said:

 

Sadly, prices and deposit are definitely higher than the 2020/21 pricing, even with the 5% past guest discount, and no perks included. 

Are they? The ocean view prices on the 21 day Quest Antarctica cruises are about what I saw advertised for our 2020 cruise,. The price was also 1/3 less at times and Seabourn offered a guarantee veranda for the ocean view price. I did not pay any attention to penthouse prices.

[zelker]

48 minutes ago, whogo said:

Are they? The ocean view prices on the 21 day Quest Antarctica cruises are about what I saw advertised for our 2020 cruise,. The price was also 1/3 less at times and Seabourn offered a guarantee veranda for the ocean view price. I did not pay any attention to penthouse prices.

 

An assigned Cat V2 is now $7,420 more than when we put it on hold on August 7th.  Was 50% discounted deposit, now it's full deposit which is around $10K rather than just under $4K.  No free internet or OBC which we had before.  (this is for the 24 day itinerary with South Georgia Islands, in February)

[whogo]

Thanks, zelker. I'd love to do that cruise, DW is not interested.

[Ken the cruiser]

1 hour ago, zelker said:

 

An assigned Cat V2 is now $7,420 more than when we put it on hold on August 7th.  Was 50% discounted deposit, now it's full deposit which is around $10K rather than just under $4K.  No free internet or OBC which we had before.  (this is for the 24 day itinerary with South Georgia Islands, in February)

Well, I can see I'll definitely have to do fake bookings every week or so up until the FPDD. I remember when we were looking at this cruise a few years back, a veranda was around $575 pp/day. Not sure if it will drop that far, but it will be great if it drops down into the $600 range. Right now it's in the mid $900 range for a V5.