Quest Grand Voyage around South America, 2023

[tjcox9]

On 2/15/2023 at 10:16 PM, mcmarya said:

We're from Springfield, northern VA.

We saw no discounts on jewelry, however, yesterday (sea day prior to Montevideo) the window displays changed from apparent pricier items to smaller items. At one point, there was a $60000 plus opal necklace on display! When it disappeared I was sure my husband had purchased it for me for Valentine's Day, but, alas, I was mistaken!

[2SailingNomads]

On 2/16/2023 at 3:18 AM, frantic36 said:

We did go past Elephant Island where they did a running commentary about the Shackleton, how he then made the trip to South Georgia to get help for his crew he left behind on Elephant Island. Also how those men survived while they waited. Elephant Island  looked very inhospitable. There was also a large pod of fin whales we didn't see many breaching but we saw many blows all around us.

 

Hi Julie,

 

We had a similar drive by of Elephant Island.  I do know some other cruise lines make an attempt to actually stop there, but do not know the success rate.  On the Quest there was no mention of the possibility.  Too bad you could not get up close to Shackleton's resting place.  Great pictures, brings back many fond memories. Please keep posting.

[frantic36]

Montevideo 20 February

 

I had booked a "free" walking tour for 10.30 which is where you tip at the end what you think it was worth. Our guide was English speaking and there were only 7 in the group as opposed to the Spanish speaking which had about 20 people.

 

Our guide discussed cultural, historical and Architectural aspects of Uruguay and Montevideo. The tour lasted 2 hours and there was a lot of walking so we got about 11 kms that day.

 

There were lots of influence by European and especially France. The Salvo Palace is fascinating and has a twin in Buenos Aires which the architect built a large light on top with the plan being to have a light bridge between the two. As our guide pointed out the architect Mario Palanti didn't allow for curvature of the earth so it never worked. 

 

 

The Cathedral was also quite beautiful.

 

After the tour we went to the Mercado Puerto for lunch. We had been told the difference between barbecues in Uruguay and Buenos Aires is Uruguay uses wood fire whereas BA uses coal fired. @hoya68 we saw a few wine shops so decided we would just walk around and pick a place to eat. 

 

We opted for the steak option but an lovely Irish guy who was on the tour with us opted for Paella and we both enjoyed our meals.

 

There were some good clothing shops we decided to go back to check after lunch but sadly for me but not my husband they were all shut for lunch and ?siesta. Only the tourist shops open. Another enjoyable aspect was there were many pedestrian only streets.

 

 

Edited February 24, 2023 by frantic36

[frantic36]

Buenos Aires 21 February

 

We went on a private tour organised by another couple we are friends with. Our guide Merta was excellent as was Alberto our driver. The van was modern and very comfortable. What was interesting to me was how clean, and the multitude of parks there were. In one there was a very old Ficus that they had used some ingenious devices to support the limbs.

 

Again a lot of French architecture influence on the older buildings. The Plaza de Mayo in front of the Presidential Palace was some I think interesting cultural aspects. On the paving in a circle was painted white head scarves remembering the mothers who protested there and who still protest looking for their missing children who were taken during the military dictatorship between 1976 - 1983. Many of these were students and union workers most under 35yo who spoke out against the government. Azucena Villaflor one of the main leaders of the movement who was herself kidnapped and killed for speaking out has had her ashes interred at the Plaza.

 

At the base of one of the original BA military founders statue was multiple pebbles with the names of people who died during the first two years of Covid. Apparently this is around a few different statues in the city.

 

 

 

[frantic36]

Buenos Aires continued...

 

Of course the tour included information about Eva Peron. Since the current government are similar in nature to Peronistas they honour her. In the Presidential Palace the balcony door where she gave her final speech is left open.

 

The controversy about her is divisive and at one time her body was sent overseas to stop the discord however after a number of years a General associated with the opposition party was kidnapped and killed and the Peron supporters refused to release his body until Eva was returned to BA where she was buried in her sister's family mausoleum under the name Duarte. It is all a bit crazy to me. However the Crematorium with the various Mausoleums to the wealthy though interesting were also an ode to excess.

 

Eva Peron's Mausoleum that attracts multiple people still.

 

The most expensive mausoleum. In the cupola was a mosaic with multiple gold leaf tiles and apparently this was echoed inside where the caskets were as well.

 

We visited various areas in BA including the area where Italian and Spanish immigrants arrived and were inspired by an artist to make their houses colourful to make the area more attractive.

 

Soccer is of course huge in Argentina and they were very happy about winning the World Cup.

 

Our lunch was simple in a local restaurant consisting of Empanadas, Chorizo & salsa and beer.The beer we shared as it was a litre bottle but it was very nice similar to an IPA. My empanadas was delicious as was the chorizo sandwich and my photos don't do them justice.

 

 

 

[Mr Luxury]

Lovely photos Julie.

Keith's sausage is a bigun and that beer.

How's the food on board.

[frantic36]

35 minutes ago, Mr Luxury said:

Lovely photos Julie.

Keith's sausage is a bigun and that beer.

How's the food on board.

Food has been good though we had a bit of shortage issues as new supplies didn't arrive in Punta Arenas so there was some repetition towards the end of the second segment. We had 15 containers loaded in Montevideo so the decision was made to have arrival at 8am instead of 1pm to allow loading time. Even then we still left an hour late. They got there earlier by going to New Island early, starting the group transfers early and then going a bit faster on the sea days. The only thing missing was fresh strawberries which the chef told me the purchased in Buenos Aires.

 

Chef Trevor is very good and did a special French dinner for us about 10 days ago. His French Onion Soup especially was delicious which even friends who joined us agreed it was done right. He leaves on the 27th January and we are getting Chef Christof who is French but I don't know him, do you?

[Mr Luxury]

3 hours ago, frantic36 said:

Food has been good though we had a bit of shortage issues as new supplies didn't arrive in Punta Arenas so there was some repetition towards the end of the second segment. We had 15 containers loaded in Montevideo so the decision was made to have arrival at 8am instead of 1pm to allow loading time. Even then we still left an hour late. They got there earlier by going to New Island early, starting the group transfers early and then going a bit faster on the sea days. The only thing missing was fresh strawberries which the chef told me the purchased in Buenos Aires.

 

Chef Trevor is very good and did a special French dinner for us about 10 days ago. His French Onion Soup especially was delicious which even friends who joined us agreed it was done right. He leaves on the 27th January and we are getting Chef Christof who is French but I don't know him, do you?

Never a dull day then.

No I don't think I know Chef Christof.

I hope the crouton had cheese on it floating on top of the French onion soup.

Yum

[hoya68]

On 2/24/2023 at 8:10 AM, frantic36 said:

Montevideo 20 February

 

I had booked a "free" walking tour for 10.30 which is where you tip at the end what you think it was worth. Our guide was English speaking and there were only 7 in the group as opposed to the Spanish speaking which had about 20 people.

 

Our guide discussed cultural, historical and Architectural aspects of Uruguay and Montevideo. The tour lasted 2 hours and there was a lot of walking so we got about 11 kms that day.

 

There were lots of influence by European and especially France. The Salvo Palace is fascinating and has a twin in Buenos Aires which the architect built a large light on top with the plan being to have a light bridge between the two. As our guide pointed out the architect Mario Palanti didn't allow for curvature of the earth so it never worked. 

 

 

The Cathedral was also quite beautiful.

 

After the tour we went to the Mercado Puerto for lunch. We had been told the difference between barbecues in Uruguay and Buenos Aires is Uruguay uses wood fire whereas BA uses coal fired. @hoya68 we saw a few wine shops so decided we would just walk around and pick a place to eat. 

 

We opted for the steak option but an lovely Irish guy who was on the tour with us opted for Paella and we both enjoyed our meals.

 

There were some good clothing shops we decided to go back to check after lunch but sadly for me but not my husband they were all shut for lunch and ?siesta. Only the tourist shops open. Another enjoyable aspect was there were many pedestrian only streets.

 

 

Sorry about the wine shop confusing.  It was a wine bar I was mentioning . I hope it is still there as we are booked on the Quest Antarctic cruise next year. 

 

[number one eagles fan]

Quick question for those of you lucky enough to be on this sailing. 

 

I am researching this cruise for next year and wondering if I should book it or go with a cruise/expedition ship that is in the antarctic for the entire season and not just passing through once. I don't want to be short-changed of the full antarctic experience. So my question is this, did you feel you that your expedition guides were top notch and did your experience truly feel like an expedition experience?

 

Thank you so much for any insight you can give me.

 

[cruiseej]

2 hours ago, number one eagles fan said:

I don't want to be short-changed of the full antarctic experience.

 

I think you answered your own question with that statement. I think almost everyone who has done the Quest in Antarctica feels they had an excellent experience. But you do get more of the experience if you go on a smaller expedition ship. It's purely a matter of numbers: the expedition ships with around 200 passengers can get you off the ship twice a day for landings and/or zodiac cruises, where on the Quest with double the number of passengers, you'll generally get off once a day. 

 

You see the same exceptional scenery along the Antarctic peninsula from the ship on a smaller or larger ship, and some people find doing one landing a day is enough for them. And you do get the luxury benefits of a larger ship (more restaurants, more/bigger entertainment staff). But if you want to get "the full Antarctic experience," in my opinion being able to go ashore more often is what delivers the maximum experience. 

 

Just before Covid, we had wanted to book the new Venture to go to Antarctica, but it was delayed, and we ended up booking a similar trip on Silversea. (Older ship, but saved about $20,000 versus the Venture!) If you have the time, and the $$$, you cannot beat taking an extended trip which visits the Falklands and South Georgia Island. When we first became interested in going to Antarctica, it was through fellow passengers on a few Seabourn cruises, and they all said the same thing: "you go to South Georgia!" So now that I've been there, I'm paying it forward, and telling anyone weighing their options that if you can possibly do it, you must go to South Georgia! 😉 And our first day in the Falklands was a huge and pleasant surprise. the trio of theFalklands, South Georgia, and Antarctica is spectacular, and we're extremely happy we chose that itinerary, and although we love the Quest, that we went on a smaller ship.

 

P.S. I thought I was the number one Eagles fan! 

[number one eagles fan]

On 2/27/2023 at 4:43 PM, cruiseej said:

 

I think you answered your own question with that statement. I think almost everyone who has done the Quest in Antarctica feels they had an excellent experience. But you do get more of the experience if you go on a smaller expedition ship. It's purely a matter of numbers: the expedition ships with around 200 passengers can get you off the ship twice a day for landings and/or zodiac cruises, where on the Quest with double the number of passengers, you'll generally get off once a day. 

 

You see the same exceptional scenery along the Antarctic peninsula from the ship on a smaller or larger ship, and some people find doing one landing a day is enough for them. And you do get the luxury benefits of a larger ship (more restaurants, more/bigger entertainment staff). But if you want to get "the full Antarctic experience," in my opinion being able to go ashore more often is what delivers the maximum experience. 

 

Just before Covid, we had wanted to book the new Venture to go to Antarctica, but it was delayed, and we ended up booking a similar trip on Silversea. (Older ship, but saved about $20,000 versus the Venture!) If you have the time, and the $$$, you cannot beat taking an extended trip which visits the Falklands and South Georgia Island. When we first became interested in going to Antarctica, it was through fellow passengers on a few Seabourn cruises, and they all said the same thing: "you go to South Georgia!" So now that I've been there, I'm paying it forward, and telling anyone weighing their options that if you can possibly do it, you must go to South Georgia! 😉 And our first day in the Falklands was a huge and pleasant surprise. the trio of theFalklands, South Georgia, and Antarctica is spectacular, and we're extremely happy we chose that itinerary, and although we love the Quest, that we went on a smaller ship.

 

P.S. I thought I was the number one Eagles fan! 

Thank you so much for your thoughts. I was ready to pull the trigger on the Quest but am now reviewing other options. Silversea seems to have more options that include the "trio" of stops. So many cruises exclude the South Georgia Islands and I had read that it is a "must do." Your comments only confirm that. 

 

I don't know about you but I'm just now getting over that Super Bowl loss. It was, however, a fabulous game and I'm sure Jalen will take us back some day.

 

Thank you again for your thoughts and recommendations. I hope you have many smooth sailings in your cruising future.

[frantic36]

@number one eagles fan I do agree if you are keen to have the full expedition experience it is better to go on an expedition ship. Our cruise was hampered by poor weather but Venture did end up sailing further south then we had even scheduled to go when she went on her cruise after we left Antarctica. My husband was curious and tracked where Venture went.

[frantic36]

Sorry for the lack of updates. I will get there soon but busy each port day and then catching up with friends onboard during sea days. Another port day in Natal Brazil tomorrow then some sea days and cruising the Amazon so that should give me a chance to catch up.

[number one eagles fan]

5 hours ago, hoya68 said:

We went on an Antarctic cruise last November on an expedition ship of another "ultra-luxury line and my wife describes it as the cruise as the cruise from hell. Their expedition staff was nowhere near the quality of the staff that one expects from Seabourn. We both got COVID which we believe was the result of lax COVID protocols. There was a general disorganization of the cruise staff (e.g. within hours we received two directly contrary instructions on how to pick up our luggage at the end of the cruise, so we had to get off the ship to find which was true. The food was also mediocre. I don't know what the Venture is like and whether they have much entertainment. We like the full cruise experience...good entertainment, trivia, a casino, etc. as well as wonderful shore experiences. I have convinced my wife to try again next January on the Quest, which we have enjoyed in the past. 

Thank you for your comments. It is difficult to get a consensus on what company to cruise with. It is a high-ticket item so I want to do my best in getting the experience I am truly looking for. I need to continue to do my research.

 

Once again, thank you for taking the time to respond.

[Catlover54]

25 minutes ago, number one eagles fan said:

Thank you for your comments. It is difficult to get a consensus on what company to cruise with. It is a high-ticket item so I want to do my best in getting the experience I am truly looking for. I need to continue to do my research.

 

Once again, thank you for taking the time to respond.

 

In case you don't already know, there is a general Antarctica forum on CC which has a lot of useful information.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/370-antarctica/

[tjcox9]

8 hours ago, Catlover54 said:

 

In case you don't already know, there is a general Antarctica forum on CC which has a lot of useful information.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/370-antarctica/

And if you are a Facebook user, there is a group there you can join named The Antarctic Experience.

[number one eagles fan]

On 3/3/2023 at 9:40 PM, Catlover54 said:

 

In case you don't already know, there is a general Antarctica forum on CC which has a lot of useful information.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/370-antarctica/

Thank you so much!

[number one eagles fan]

On 3/4/2023 at 6:00 AM, tjcox9 said:

And if you are a Facebook user, there is a group there you can join named The Antarctic Experience.

Thank you so much. I just joined the group.

[frantic36]

25 February Ilhabela, Brazil - Seabourn excursion, 4x4 Safari Curral Beach and Tres Tombas Waterfall

 

The 4x4 vehicles were the type with bench seats in the back to sit on. There was only five of us in our vehicle so we weren't packed in. Not the most comfortable ride as the roads were bumpy but it was only about 20 minutes. Interesting scenery on the way and very obvious it is a very Catholic community with the prominent statuary along the way.

 

 

The beach itself was clean and the water cool but very refreshing in the heat of the day.

 

 

The waterfall part was disappointing because I misinterpreted the write up which read "be cooled by the spray from the waterfall" to mean we could walk next to the waterfall. Unfortunately as impressive as the falls were we were fenced off from them. I know it can be dangerous but I have some experience clambering over rocks so it was disappointed. Thankfully when I get to do my Kimberly expedition cruise I will get to clamber over the rocks.

 

 

After the excursion we returned to the ship to clean up and then returned ashore. The tender ride was short so easy to do. This was also a great stop for not doing an excursion as it had good walking paths, local boutique shops and some beaches nearby. The crew appreciated the fact they could stock up on snacks, toiletries etc and also have a chance for a swim quite easily. It was a pretty town with nice people and good food.

[Mr Luxury]

Very nice Saffron potatoes Julie

[frantic36]

Rio 26 February Day One:

Our Tours by Local Guide Ana met us promptly at 8.30am at the port gate. She had brought a driver and a large comfortable car. As it was the Sunday after the last day of Carnival she warned us we may have to detour as some roads were still blocked as they cleaned up viewing stands etc. Traffic was light being Sunday so it wasn't really a problem.  

 

First we went to the Selaron Steps which was the work of a Chilean artist who fell in love with Rio and a local woman and dedicated covering the steps with tiles and Mosiacs. The work took from 1990 till his death in 2014. Many people from all over the world donated tiles to help him with the work.

 

I will post further about Rio soon but this is my second attempt to write this and I don't want this attempt lost, plus it is time to get ready for dinner.

 

[Mr Luxury]

Loving the tiled steps.

Enjoy dinner Julie.

[frantic36]

Day One Rio continued...

After the stairs we went to the Cathedral which from the outside it looks very bland but inside the stained glass is lovely.

 

 

Rio also went through a period in the 1920s where French architecture was most desired.

 

The modern architects in Rio are also clever with preserving old buildings. This old home of a wealthy socialite now used as an art gallery was preserved using modern iron and wood internally to make it usable.

 

 

It had amazing views from the top floor.

 

I will have to do more later as heading to a sommelier's lunch now.

 

[Mr Luxury]

Any time for the gym Julie?

 

Lovely photos,glad you are having a great time.