Semi Live from Celebrity Eclipse - Antarctica 14 nights from Buenos Aires

[Ex-Airbalancer]

4 hours ago, the penguins said:

Sorry for your problems we missed the port completely when we went with X.

The long tender ride, shallow water, and changeable weather conditions make Port Stanley the number 1 port that cruise ships cancel or where there are huge delays.

The only answer is to cruise on the small expedition type ships which get right in to the port which is what we did on our second trip.

But it is a big extra cost involved 

[the penguins]

16 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

But it is a big extra cost involved 

yes and no - depends how you look at it.

What the big cruise lines all offer is basically a South America cruise with a few days of "scenic" cruising looking at ice bergs. Nearly all the photos used of penguins are in South America or the Falklands none of which are the Antarctic.

If the purpose of your cruise is the Antarctic then really that the price you are paying is for the days of scenic cruising.

Expedition cruising: we had an inside cabin ( used only for sleeping the rest of the time we were fully engaged with landings, briefing and looking out from the deck/lounges)

The price includes all landings loan of boots and a wind proof water proof jacket that you keep.

Weather is the luck of the draw - we had the worst weather on our X cruise culminating in 90mph winds, 60 foot waves and the sea coming in through the doors outside the Sky Lounge - yes we know that's high. The Falklands was dropped.

On Hurtigruten we had 1 bad day in the open sea and a couple when the ship simply moved to another bay to hide from the wind - something the big ships can't do.

We have done the cruise on X and Hurtigruten - there is really no comparison.

I posted pics on another Thread entitled The Antarctic and will be happy to post them again here.

If you book early a lot of the expedition lines have good offers - for example Hurtigruten is currently including free flights London/Buenos Aires/London.

as always it's about choice - not right or wrong - but it's important to understand the options and differences before making a booking.

[LXA350]

37 minutes ago, the penguins said:

yes and no - depends how you look at it.

What the big cruise lines all offer is basically a South America cruise with a few days of "scenic" cruising looking at ice bergs. Nearly all the photos used of penguins are in South America or the Falklands none of which are the Antarctic.

If the purpose of your cruise is the Antarctic then really that the price you are paying is for the days of scenic cruising.

Expedition cruising: we had an inside cabin ( used only for sleeping the rest of the time we were fully engaged with landings, briefing and looking out from the deck/lounges)

The price includes all landings loan of boots and a wind proof water proof jacket that you keep.

Weather is the luck of the draw - we had the worst weather on our X cruise culminating in 90mph winds, 60 foot waves and the sea coming in through the doors outside the Sky Lounge - yes we know that's high. The Falklands was dropped.

On Hurtigruten we had 1 bad day in the open sea and a couple when the ship simply moved to another bay to hide from the wind - something the big ships can't do.

We have done the cruise on X and Hurtigruten - there is really no comparison.

I posted pics on another Thread entitled The Antarctic and will be happy to post them again here.

If you book early a lot of the expedition lines have good offers - for example Hurtigruten is currently including free flights London/Buenos Aires/London.

as always it's about choice - not right or wrong - but it's important to understand the options and differences before making a booking.

 

Great summary. That kin of cruise X, HAL etc are offering has nothing to do with a Antarctica expedition. It just gives you you a little preview of that part of the world, but to properly explorin it you need to spend there a longer time and be able to get off the ship. It's a bit like bein the first time in a City and getti on a bus and taking a panoramic city tour without getting of and walking around and exporing. Nevertheless it still gives you a small impression of that place 😉

[gfkcruiser]

47 minutes ago, the penguins said:

yes and no - depends how you look at it.

What the big cruise lines all offer is basically a South America cruise with a few days of "scenic" cruising looking at ice bergs. Nearly all the photos used of penguins are in South America or the Falklands none of which are the Antarctic.

If the purpose of your cruise is the Antarctic then really that the price you are paying is for the days of scenic cruising.

Expedition cruising: we had an inside cabin ( used only for sleeping the rest of the time we were fully engaged with landings, briefing and looking out from the deck/lounges)

The price includes all landings loan of boots and a wind proof water proof jacket that you keep.

Weather is the luck of the draw - we had the worst weather on our X cruise culminating in 90mph winds, 60 foot waves and the sea coming in through the doors outside the Sky Lounge - yes we know that's high. The Falklands was dropped.

On Hurtigruten we had 1 bad day in the open sea and a couple when the ship simply moved to another bay to hide from the wind - something the big ships can't do.

We have done the cruise on X and Hurtigruten - there is really no comparison.

I posted pics on another Thread entitled The Antarctic and will be happy to post them again here.

If you book early a lot of the expedition lines have good offers - for example Hurtigruten is currently including free flights London/Buenos Aires/London.

as always it's about choice - not right or wrong - but it's important to understand the options and differences before making a booking.

Have read postings that the weather prevented some from stepping onto the Antarctic as these had to be cancelled due to poor weather or sea conditions.  I would be disappointed to sail on an expedition cruise and miss this experience.  Have you encountered this?

[the penguins]

43 minutes ago, gfkcruiser said:

Have read postings that the weather prevented some from stepping onto the Antarctic as these had to be cancelled due to poor weather or sea conditions.  I would be disappointed to sail on an expedition cruise and miss this experience.  Have you encountered this?

[the penguins]

Just now, the penguins said:

45 minutes ago, gfkcruiser said:

Have read postings that the weather prevented some from stepping onto the Antarctic as these had to be cancelled due to poor weather or sea conditions.  I would be disappointed to sail on an expedition cruise and miss this experience.  Have you encountered this?

Each landing is subject to local conditions and is checked out by the first boat in which carries the Expedition Leader and the Emergency Supplies in case the ship can't pick you up again.

One landing was a aborted due to rough seas - the ship moved about 500 yards turned to block the wind and then all was good.

Another had a beach with too many seals again we moved further along  - animals always get priority.

Most sailings only land on the peninsular but we were due to try for a landing on the mainland. Unfortunately a passenger had a suspected heart attack which resulted in us going to King George's Island where we had to wait for 5 hours for an air ambulance to arrive. Turned out to be a great day as the 2 Research Bases agreed we could all land, explore the bases and meet the Scientists/workers. The passenger was "rescued" and we learnt later that she hadn't been having a heart attack - better safe than sorry.

As it was then too late for a landing we went as far South as we could get only stopping when the ship nudged up against the solid ice.

The great advantage the small ships have is their ability to adapt to the ever changing conditions plus they can get in really close to the shore something the big ships can't due. They are also "ice strengthened".

I suppose if every landing was cancelled if would just be a panoramic cruise like  X offers but I have never heard of that happening.

Pics show how close in the ship gets. The last pic but one is the landing at Port Lockory the Southern most Post Office in the world and a Research Station. Manned by staff from the UK for 6 months every year. 

 

[the penguins]

1 hour ago, LXA350 said:

 

Great summary. That kin of cruise X, HAL etc are offering has nothing to do with a Antarctica expedition. It just gives you you a little preview of that part of the world, but to properly explorin it you need to spend there a longer time and be able to get off the ship. It's a bit like bein the first time in a City and getti on a bus and taking a panoramic city tour without getting of and walking around and exporing. Nevertheless it still gives you a small impression of that place 😉

Correct - I only wish X and the other big lines made that clearer. It always seems to me they get very close to breaking the Advertising Standards and  Consumer Protection Rules/Regulations. 

Our CC name gives you an idea of how much we enjoyed the experience.

[gfkcruiser]

12 minutes ago, the penguins said:

Each landing is subject to local conditions and is checked out by the first boat in which carries the Expedition Leader and the Emergency Supplies in case the ship can't pick you up again.

One landing was a aborted due to rough seas - the ship moved about 500 yards turned to block the wind and then all was good.

Another had a beach with too many seals again we moved further along  - animals always get priority.

Most sailings only land on the peninsular but we were due to try for a landing on the mainland. Unfortunately a passenger had a suspected heart attack which resulted in us going to King George's Island where we had to wait for 5 hours for an air ambulance to arrive. Turned out to be a great day as the 2 Research Bases agreed we could all land, explore the bases and meet the Scientists/workers. The passenger was "rescued" and we learnt later that she hadn't been having a heart attack - better safe than sorry.

As it was then too late for a landing we went as far South as we could get only stopping when the ship nudged up against the solid ice.

The great advantage the small ships have is their ability to adapt to the ever changing conditions plus they can get in really close to the shore something the big ships can't due. They are also "ice strengthened".

I suppose if every landing was cancelled if would just be a panoramic cruise like  X offers but I have never heard of that happening.

Pics show how close in the ship gets. The last pic but one is the landing at Port Lockory the Southern most Post Office in the world and a Research Station. Manned by staff from the UK for 6 months every year. 

 

Thanks for all the info and beautiful photos.  Do agree that this type of sailing would be beneficial for this part of the world.  Just have to get my DH onboard for this long a flight from northern US. 

[the penguins]

1 hour ago, gfkcruiser said:

Thanks for all the info and beautiful photos.  Do agree that this type of sailing would be beneficial for this part of the world.  Just have to get my DH onboard for this long a flight from northern US. 

 

1 hour ago, gfkcruiser said:

Thanks for all the info and beautiful photos.  Do agree that this type of sailing would be beneficial for this part of the world.  Just have to get my DH onboard for this long a flight from northern US. 

Talk her into the cruise first then mention the flights. Hurtigruten start from Buenos Aires with a charter from there to Ushuaia. Or fly to Buenos Aires and take a side trip to the Iguassu Falls will make it even more special.

Whichever do it while you have your health, to many people wait until its too - our motto is "if we end up not being able to travel we will have memories not regrets". This type of cruise would now be impossible due to mobility issues.

enjoy a few more pics:

[the penguins]

Just now, the penguins said:

 

Talk her into the cruise first then mention the flights. Hurtigruten start from Buenos Aires with a charter from there to Ushuaia. Or fly to Buenos Aires and take a side trip to the Iguassu Falls will make it even more special.

Whichever do it while you have your health, to many people wait until its too - our motto is "if we end up not being able to travel we will have memories not regrets". This type of cruise would now be impossible due to mobility issues.

enjoy a few more pics:

something went wrong should have been 3 different pics

 

 

[Boatharbour]

7 hours ago, the penguins said:

yes and no - depends how you look at it.

What the big cruise lines all offer is basically a South America cruise with a few days of "scenic" cruising looking at ice bergs. Nearly all the photos used of penguins are in South America or the Falklands none of which are the Antarctic.

If the purpose of your cruise is the Antarctic then really that the price you are paying is for the days of scenic cruising.

When we looked at even the cheapest expedition cabins they were at least  double  the price  of a “cruise by” trip. For many people this is the deciding factor.
I also have mixed feelings about tourists landing on this pristine environment. Can nowhere be left untouched by tourism?

[Ex-Airbalancer]

46 minutes ago, Boatharbour said:

When we looked at even the cheapest expedition cabins they were at least  double  the price  of a “cruise by” trip. For many people this is the deciding factor.
I also have mixed feelings about tourists landing on this pristine environment. Can nowhere be left untouched by tourism?

Only double 🤔😉😁

[Kos123]

The expeditions I would book are starting at 13k$ pp without flights. Our total for this cruise was about 7k$ with flights. I absolutely wouldn’t go again on this one but at least we got some time together with my wife that wouldn’t be possible otherwise. 
 

the disembarkation today went very smoothly, we waited in a lounge till they call our numbers, the shuttle took us to the terminal where we picked up our luggage. the taxi is a bit tricky part, didn’t want to take the ones next to exit, so we went outside of the terminal, crossed the road and ordered it through DiDi. We found a hotel to store our luggage and went exploring the city before going back to the airport. Attaching some pictures. 
 

To wrap up this review: 

- I think this cruise is not for everyone. For us it was simply too many sea days
- Antarctica is great but the weather makes it unpredictable and it’s just 2 days “passing by”. 
- Tendering in Falkland Islands is a hot garbage if you don’t have status and/or excursion. Plus a risk to be cancelled all together because of the weather.  
- We really liked service and food on board. 
- The ship is great. A bit showing its age but not really noticeable.
- Entertainment for the most part was cheesy for us but that’s because we were 2/3 times younger than most cruisers. Not a big deal, live music is awesome though. 
- A absolutely hated nickeling and diming by Celebrity on everything, same as super overpriced drinks on board. 
- The piece of advice I can give is monitoring flash sales. Pretty much everything we got: an excursion, WiFi, laundry, a bottle of wine, a slot tournament entry, something else I forgot( were at 50% off and still felt ridiculously overpriced. 

Overall did it once, wouldn’t do it again.  I had booked the best of Japan cruise with Celebrity prior to this cruise and now I’m researching an alternative option. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 3 by Kos123

[GatorMomInNC]

Thanks so much for your review and photos.  We are going on the Eclipse  in 9 weeks, so I found this especially informative.  We are NOT going to Antarctica - our cruise is from Valparaiso, around the Cape Horn, and then up to Buenos Aires.   

 

I am opposite from you in that I LOVE sea days- I cruise in part just to have days with nothing to do and escape from my very hectic normal life.  So lots of sea days is a plus for me... I am the type who has done 14 night trans-Atlantic cruises with mostly sea days and skipped getting off in ports just to spend more time on the ship 🙂

 

I would like to do a cruise to Antarctica some day, but I don't think I will do the "expedition" cruises.   I understand they are more for purists, but I think I am okay with a typical cruise on maybe Holland, Princess or Celebrity.   For one, the expedition cruises are SOOOO expensive - I could pay for a couple years of my kids college for the cost of one cruise!    For another, I am fine with looking through binoculars and viewing scenery from afar - I am not in great shape and looking at the traipsing around on the land I am pretty confidant I would twist an ankle or hurt myself in some way.   

 

But, after reading about your experience, I would probably look for a cruise that has more than one port day in the Falklands (if those even exist) and a few more cruising days in Antarctica, to increase the chances that we would get to port and get some good weather on the cruising days. 

[Boatharbour]

24 minutes ago, Kos123 said:

Overall did it once, wouldn’t do it again.  I had booked the best of Japan cruise with Celebrity prior to this cruise and now I’m researching an alternative option. 

Thank you for a frank and honest review. I’ve really enjoyed reading along. It reassures me that our decision not to sail with Celebrity to Antarctica was the right one for us. We’ve chosen another line which has four days cruising in Antarctica. 
 

Our Japan cruise on Millenium in late 2019 was one of the best cruises we’ve done. Great itinerary and not many sea days. We had a few days in Tokyo at the start and used mainly private tour companies for excursions. There were no tendered ports so no trouble getting off the ship. 

 

 

[Kos123]

Totally! 
 

some pieces of advice about Buenos Aires if you are going to spend any time there: 

 

- currently because of the economic crisis everything is dirty cheap. Credit cards have good exchange rates so it’s not longer the case that you need to exchange a lot of cash. We exchanged $100 mostly for tips and small purchases like empanadas and coffee. 
- Uber works, but usually 1.5/2 more expensive than DiDi. Both are super cheap and easy to use. 
- We were super cautious about our phones and valuables, wore backpacks faced front. We left our documents, wallets and jewelry at Airbnb/ hotel when went out. There are a lot of police but I heard petty theft still happening. Generally felt safer than most places we have visited. 
- our Spanish is just enough but we had to use Google translate in some casses - people are really nice and understanding though.

- Wine and steaks are absolutely the best and fairly cheap, we researched where to go through Reddit and Google maps. 
- we did a bike tour, cooking class and a tango class/milonga (where locals dance) through Viator and Airbnb experience. The tango class in milonga is probably the highlight from this trip for us ( - penguins of course 🙂 ) 
 

[the penguins]

1 hour ago, Boatharbour said:

When we looked at even the cheapest expedition cabins they were at least  double  the price  of a “cruise by” trip. For many people this is the deciding factor.
I also have mixed feelings about tourists landing on this pristine environment. Can nowhere be left untouched by tourism?

Only book on a cruise that conforms to Antarctic Convention rules - max 100 people on shore at any one time, no one person on shore for more than an hour including crew. Groups  are rotated to meet these standard. Hurtigruten's Fram can carry 500 passengers but it restricts the number to 208 for Antarctica

On Hurtigruten on the way down all the outer clothing you will wear is vacuumed to remove any contaminants

You are also measured for your "muck boots"  thermally insulated waterproof boots that you must use on every landing. Once on land you can't pick anything up, put anything down or move anything. You can't even use tissues for a runny nose. Any breach of the rules brings instant rebukes by the Expedition Team and repeat offending results in you being banned from the landings.

On returning from each landing you have to walk through a disinfectant bath for your boots. Your outer waterproofs are checked and if there is any mud etc your clothes are hosed down before you can enter the rest of the ship. Boots have to be removed in the cleaning area where they are dried ready for your next landing.

You must wear life jackets on each landing and on return these are cleaned and dried ready for the next landing. 

All landings are proceeded by a specific briefing and if you fail to attend you are not permitted to do that particular landing.

 

[Boatharbour]

3 minutes ago, the penguins said:

Only book on a cruise that conforms to Antarctic Convention rules - max 100 people on shore at any one time, no one person on shore for more than an hour including crew. Groups  are rotated to meet these standard. Hurtigruten's Fram can carry 500 passengers but it restricts the number to 208 for Antarctica

I realise there are rules but still  ask myself what actual benefit is there to this fragile environment for groups of tourists to go on shore? They’re not contributing to the economy. They’re not providing jobs for the locals. Each to their own, but I choose not do it. 

[the penguins]

Just now, Boatharbour said:

I realise there are rules but still  ask myself what actual benefit is there to this fragile environment for groups of tourists to go on shore? They’re not contributing to the economy. They’re not providing jobs for the locals. Each to their own, but I choose not do it. 

sorry what locals? there are no residents in Antarctica of any sort except on Research Stations.

Hopefully by going passengers appreciate just what a pristine world where animals have no fear of man can be like.

Far more tourists and ships go to the Great Barrier Reef every day than have ever been to Antarctica and without any of the controls.

[Boatharbour]

9 minutes ago, the penguins said:

sorry what locals? there are no residents in Antarctica of any sort except on Research Stations.

Hopefully by going passengers appreciate just what a pristine world where animals have no fear of man can be like.

Far more tourists and ships go to the Great Barrier Reef every day than have ever been to Antarctica and without any of the controls.

Of course there are no locals! I was quoting oft used justifications for tourism.  Not sure of the reason for the  comparison to the GBR  but as you state Antarctica is pristine. I’d like to leave it that way. 

Edited February 3 by Boatharbour

[the penguins]

1 hour ago, GatorMomInNC said:

Thanks so much for your review and photos.  We are going on the Eclipse  in 9 weeks, so I found this especially informative.  We are NOT going to Antarctica - our cruise is from Valparaiso, around the Cape Horn, and then up to Buenos Aires.   

 

I am opposite from you in that I LOVE sea days- I cruise in part just to have days with nothing to do and escape from my very hectic normal life.  So lots of sea days is a plus for me... I am the type who has done 14 night trans-Atlantic cruises with mostly sea days and skipped getting off in ports just to spend more time on the ship 🙂

 

I would like to do a cruise to Antarctica some day, but I don't think I will do the "expedition" cruises.   I understand they are more for purists, but I think I am okay with a typical cruise on maybe Holland, Princess or Celebrity.   For one, the expedition cruises are SOOOO expensive - I could pay for a couple years of my kids college for the cost of one cruise!    For another, I am fine with looking through binoculars and viewing scenery from afar - I am not in great shape and looking at the traipsing around on the land I am pretty confidant I would twist an ankle or hurt myself in some way.   

 

But, after reading about your experience, I would probably look for a cruise that has more than one port day in the Falklands (if those even exist) and a few more cruising days in Antarctica, to increase the chances that we would get to port and get some good weather on the cruising days. 

Prices: book early is the best way to reduce the costs. Hurtigruten have 12 nights this year from  £6316 ( $7800) per person including flights from the UK and 19 nights in 2026 for £6000 ($7500).

We did the reverse of your cruise on Eclipse to celebrate our Golden Wedding and had a fabulous time.- we did the Igassu  Falls first and then a b2b ending in San Diego.