Antarctica on Explorer II in January 2007

[hd0829]

Hi. A friend and I recently booked a trip to Antarctica for January 2007 and I'm wondering if anyone else has any information about Santiago, Chile, where we fly to meet the charter leg of the trip going to Usuhuaia, Argentina and meet the ship. If anyone has been to Antarctica, I'd love to get as much info as you are willing to share.

 

I am so excited about this trip and are spending a few extra days in Santiago before we go to Antarctica.

 

We have been doing a fair amount of cruising the past few years having just returned from a Panama Canal cruise in early March. We have pretty much curtailed our traveling to ensure we have the money to do the Antarctica trip the way it should be done.

 

Thanks for any information.

 

Helen

[Gorm]

Helen,

 

My partner and I sailed with Explorer II in January this year. We have posted an extensive review elsewhere in this forum and also on the Eco Cruising board. I hope that helps you.

 

Antarctica is spectacular, but the real highlight, in our opinion, was South Georgia.

 

Regards,

 

Gorm

[Louise22]

Helen - you might take a look at the Clipper Adventurer. I just returned from the shorter trip which does not include South Georgia. I do have friends that recently did the longer trip for the second time. The ship is a lovely expedition type ship - the food and service were wonderful. Probably a bit more cost wise but might be worth the extra price. Some other friends were very unhappy with the Explorer 11 on their Galapagos cruise last year - food, ship condition, lecturers.

[Louise22]

Helen - I decided to quote you what my friend said about her Galapagos trip on Explorer 11. I have sailed with her before on the Adventurer and the Odyssey and we were extremely happy with both. I had remembered how disappointed she and her mother were with the trip and have been considering a trip there so e-mailed her two days ago to ask which ship and this was the response I got - "From the outside, we didn't see any ship in the Galapagos that looked nicer. But the cabins weren't clean, they smelled, they didn't feed us (no snacks, extemely limited dinner menus, etc.) all 9 of us got sick. We had unexplained power outages, our ship dumped waste right outside of the area we were snorkeling in. On the whole, the staff wasn't very good - they don't aim to please (of course, there were a few wonderful staff members). If you want to lose weight, this is the trip to take. I lost five pounds. We all lost weight, even unfortunately, the kids who didn't need to lose any! If you go take your own food and take antibiotics." And then she goes on a bit more. I am just quoting what she said and sometimes people get differing ideas so I hope this helps.

[hd0829]

Helen,

 

My partner and I sailed with Explorer II in January this year. We have posted an extensive review elsewhere in this forum and also on the Eco Cruising board. I hope that helps you.

 

Antarctica is spectacular, but the real highlight, in our opinion, was South Georgia.

 

Regards,

 

Gorm

 

Gorm. Thanks for your response. Can you tellme where the postings are for your curise??? I will check the Eco cruising board.

 

Thanks!

[Gorm]

Helen,

 

It's on page 2 of this Board. Here's the link: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=287966

 

In our opinion, the main thing to remember with an Antarctic cruise is that it's all about the destination and not about the ship itself. We would also encourage you to do lots of reading and research beforehand - it makes the experience much more rewarding.

 

Regards,

 

Gorm