Live (when possible) from the Venture in Antarctica 1/3 - 1/16

[cruisr]

Can you tell us which charter company Seabourn used for the flight please. What type of aircraft 737 or similar?  How was

seating assigned and did some get stuck in

middle seats?  No business class I

presume. Thanks

[crunchii]

The airline was Jet Smart. I don't know the aircraft type. My husband thinks it was Airbus A320, but not sure. Whatever it was, it was old, and some of the seats were broken...

 

The seats were pre-assigned and we didn't get to choose. Economy class only. The plane had two rows of three seats. I don't know if anyone got stuck in the middle seats, but I think most rows had only two people.

 

And here are our "window" seats. LOL

[rallydave]

;Your husband may be correct as they started with 11 A320S but, currently have an additional neo's which were brand new.  You have to remember, the interior of all commercial airlines are specified and bought by the airline not provided by Boeing or Airbus, simply installed at the factory so while most people complain about the manufacturer putting in substandard seating, it is not their fault.

 

This is similar to the fact that airlines buy planes without engines and the airlines like the interiors specify the engines and Boeing/Air bus simply install the customer supplied engines.

 

Airbus A320-200	11	—	186
Airbus A320neo	6	30	186	Deliveries began in October 2019.[19]
Airbus A321neo	2	48	244	First delivery (CC-AWT) in July 2022.[20][21]
Airbus A321XLR	—	14[22]	TBA

[toseaornottosea]

Any Covid on board?

[crunchii]

Not that I know of. I haven't seen any sign of it.

[crunchii]

We had our second landing this afternoon on D'Hainaut Island in Mikkelsen Harbor. Lots of penguins! Submarines and kayaks were also out today. I think this is the first day the sub/kayak tours didn't get canceled and actually went out.

[Fletcher]

The penguins live in conditions of some squalor, don't they?

[w.w.voyager]

On 1/8/2023 at 9:46 PM, crunchii said:

The airline was Jet Smart. I don't know the aircraft type. My husband thinks it was Airbus A320, but not sure. Whatever it was, it was old, and some of the seats were broken...

 

The seats were pre-assigned and we didn't get to choose. Economy class only. The plane had two rows of three seats. I don't know if anyone got stuck in the middle seats, but I think most rows had only two people.

 

And here are our "window" seats. LOL

LV-IVN JetSMART Argentina Airbus A320-200

Manufacturer Serial Number (MSN  8730

Aircraft Type Airbus A320-200 Age 3.9 Years

Test Registration D-AXAD Production Site Hamburg (XFW

Delivered Feb 2019

[crunchii]

In the morning, we were supposed to do a Zodiac tour in Hidden Bay, but it got canceled due to high wind. We were able to do a landing at Petermann Island in the afternoon. It was similar to D'Hainaut Island. Some old huts and more penguins.

 

Then there was a surprise Zodiac tour through icebergs in Pleneau Bay in the evening.

[toseaornottosea]

Can you provide photos of both pieces of the parka?

[crunchii]

Here you go! Sorry, the hood is cut off. My husband takes lousy pictures 😝

[crunchii]

Zodiac ride through snow and thin ice this morning in Börgen Bay. It was fascinating.

 

After that we watched some crazy people do the polar plunge. 😱

 

Then we had another landing in the late afternoon to Damoy Point. It was another little island with old huts and penguins, except that we could actually go inside one of the huts this time.

 

Earlier this afternoon, they said we'd have to leave Antarctica one day early to avoid the bad weather. Then later in the evening, they said the weather report had changed and we'd stay two more days here as scheduled. Whew! (Of course, the weather can change again.)

[toseaornottosea]

20 minutes ago, crunchii said:

Here you go! Sorry, the hood is cut off. My husband takes lousy pictures 😝

Thanks. Is the dark inner layer like a “puffy” jacket?

[crunchii]

1 minute ago, toseaornottosea said:

Thanks. Is the dark inner layer like a “puffy” jacket?

 

Yes, it is. It's pretty warm too. It comes in handy when I go out on deck/balcony to take quick photos.

[toseaornottosea]

Thanks for all the valuable info you have been providing.  

[frantic36]

11 hours ago, crunchii said:

Here you go! Sorry, the hood is cut off. My husband takes lousy pictures 😝

 

Thanks for this picture. We are on Quest so I assume we will get the same jackets when we reach Antarctica.

 

I agree about people doing the polar plunge. This little black duck likes warm water only.

[rallydave]

never mind

Edited January 12, 2023 by rallydave

[crunchii]

Today's landing site was Telefon Bay in Deception Island. It was a very geologically interesting place.

 

Abandoned whaling station:

 

Massive chinstrap penguin colony:

[crunchii]

Sorry, I got a bit seasick last night and went to bed early, so I couldn't post.

 

Yesterday, we made our last stop in Antarctica at Elephant Island. Due to the weather, the planned Zodiac tour was canceled, but we saw Cape Valentine and Point Wild from the ship.

After that, we left Antarctica and started our way back to Ushuaia.

 

Today was the Drake Passage crossing. It was pretty rough, but it was mostly pitching, so I don't think the stabilizers would've made much difference.

 

This afternoon, they opened the bridge for tour.

 

It's now the evening of Jan. 14. We are out of the Drake Passage now and expected to arrive Ushuaia tomorrow. They said they'd have tenders out to take us to Ushuaia to look around.

[jjs217]

13 hours ago, crunchii said:

 

It's now the evening of Jan. 14. We are out of the Drake Passage now and expected to arrive Ushuaia tomorrow. They said they'd have tenders out to take us to Ushuaia to look around.

A word of warning about Ushuaia.  We were on the Holiday cruise previous to your cruise.  The two days we were in Ushuaia, the authorities shut down the port both afternoons for a few hours.  No one could get back on board, and no one could get off.  Finally, they (who ever they are) opened a big catamaran for us to wait in until they could get the tenders running again.  It was weird.

[neophyte]

Hi Crunchii, THANK YOU for these wonderful and informative updates as we are on the January 26 cruise.  I am wondering:  what are the temperatures there?

[crunchii]

Yeah, one of the expedition staff mentioned that too. Thanks for the warning!

 

We're anchored off Ushuaia now. We have to wait for the divers to finish the inspection before the tenders can be launched, so not sure when/if we can go ashore.

[crunchii]

20 minutes ago, neophyte said:

Hi Crunchii, THANK YOU for these wonderful and informative updates as we are on the January 26 cruise.  I am wondering:  what are the temperatures there?

It wasn't that cold. Probably around 32F, though the wind chill can make it feel colder. The provided parka kept me warm.

[toseaornottosea]

56 minutes ago, crunchii said:

We're anchored off Ushuaia now. We have to wait for the divers to finish the inspection before the tenders can be launched, so not sure when/if we can go ashore.

Are the divers inspecting the stabilizers?

[ppricenh]

Thanks for the updates.   We are on the January 26 sailing also!