Corinthian II Antarctica 2009

[maztoz]

Corinthian II Antarctica

January 31 - February 10, 2009

 

"We sail within a vast sphere, ever drifting in uncertainty, driven from end to end"

Blaise Pascal

 

...and so began our Southern voyage.

Let's call these comments, "In the Wake of H2So4, Voyage to See What's on the Bottom".

If you haven't already read this excellent review;

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=531528

 

please do so first. Also read this ongoing thread for valuable info from Barbara.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=614740

 

Two individuals aboard CII commented that if you ever planned to visit the Arctic or Alaska, do so before you visit Antarctica. Every other similar destination pales in comparison, and I must agree.

This was the most transcendentally beautiful place we have ever visited. If you are enamored of spectacular scenery, abundant wildlife, intelligent shipmates and a splendid ship, visit Antarctica aboard Corinthian II. It was a magnificent journey.

 

Travel Dynamics has every detail under control. We were so impressed with their operation we plan to keep a close look at their other itineraries. If you have specific questions on logistics, please ask, I'll try to answer.

(To Ruby: The group does meet in the lobby of the Hyatt for the charter flight to Ushuaia at 7:15 or 7:30, sorry :eek: The timing varies depending upon which airport is used. Our charter left from EZE to Ushuaia, allowing a later start up time. Even if you get up early, don't forget it will be hassle free! All your luggage will conveniently disappear, leaving you free to chat and visit with the group. There were at least 4 single women traveling during our voyage. They all had a great time and were terrific people.)

 

The ship is lovely, well appointed and very comfortable. You will lack for nothing. The staff is excellent, the Naturalists all brilliant scientists in their own right, willing and able to Zodiac you around the leopard seals and stunning, sculpted icebergs.

 

The food is good to very good. Lamb was excellent, the fish was even pretty decent. The chef is Greek and the cuisine reflected his influence. Eggplant dishes, pastas, even a respectable baklava! They poured a lovely Malbec every night which we thoroughly enjoyed. It's pleasant to have a nice wine with your meals.

We don't do breakfast, so I can't make comments on this uncivilized time of the day. The lunch buffets were always good. Don't miss the blue cheese. It's off to the side near the desserts. (It's possible the husband and I ate more bleu than all other passengers combined)

 

On gearing up: Sunscreen is an absolute must. At the suggestion of H2So4, we used Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch SPF 55, which turns out to be the best facial sunscreen we've ever used. It does rub off however, especially around the nostrils if you have a cold weather runny nose. So re-apply or suffer sunburned ring-around-the-nose-holes :)

 

Many mention gloves. The big, heavy, waterproof variety are impractical if using a camera, but you must have a pair for your backpack in case the seas or the wind kicks up. Bring at least 2 pair of silk liner gloves. They are invaluable for photography and light protection. Layer over the silks a pair of dexterous mid-weight, windproofs and you'll be all set.

 

We never used the fleece layers planned for around the ship. The ship is cozy warm. We never used our expedition weight underwear, finding it much more comfortable to layer a light weight pair over an ultra-light silk pair. Practically no bulk and you can still bend your limbs.

 

Boots: We each had a pair of heavier, well treaded boots and an additional pair of light weight NEOS. This turned out to be a fabulous way to operate. On days when we needed to do some climbing, the boots. On zodiac rides or flat-lands the comfort and convenience of the NEOS over our light hikers. This worked out great for us.

 

The Drake: We were very, very lucky. Moderate seas both ways, yet many were stricken with mal de mere. Husband used the scopolamine patch but still missed a dinner. I used meclizine; initial loading dose of 25mg, then a half tab every 4-6 hrs, and I also took ginger capsules and nibbled candied ginger. At one point I put on my Psi Bands when the sea was being particularly unpredictable and unsettling. I believe they helped. At least I made it to the Dining Room for dinner on lobster night!

 

The Parkas are of excellent quality and very warm. Pockets galore. Hand & toe warmers were wonderful to have in pockets and on the colder, cloudy days.

 

The cabins are very spacious and comfortable. (Ruby, We did end up having our window shuttered for the return across the Drake. It didn't bother us in the least, since we were never in the cabin except to sleep. You end up missing no scenery at all. For us it was a risk worth taking to save the money.) Our cabin (330) was actually a little bit bigger than the standard rectangular versions right next door. The windows on 3 Deck are big and allow a beautiful view. We heard a few complaints from the 2 Deck people who only had a Porthole. I visited the 5 deck cabins with sliding glass doors. They had a tiny verandah with no room for a chair, stand up view only. The 4 Deck has the same windows as 3 Deck, but also had a constant stream of people walking by. These folks had to keep their curtains drawn.

 

The Bridge was always open, so I made my daily visit up there to make sure all was under control. The Bridge staff is wonderful.

 

If you are a Birder you will be in paradise. We saw penguin chicks at every stage from newborn to almost adult feathers. In addition some adults were in the moult, fascinating to see. We observed Snowy Sheathbills and their fledglings, Shag and Pintado chicks, Terns galore..... Seabird activity was light due to light winds, but we saw all the big players. We saw whales and seals. During a particularly exciting zodiac cruise we had an intimate encounter with an enormous leopard seal that either wanted to eat us or.... well.... Let me quote our zodiac driver, who was also our Expedition Leader, John Frick. He playfully stated, "That leopard seal looks like he wants to copulate with our zodiac! Must be my sexy driving." :D

Any questions, please ask.

Pictures...eventually.

If you can manage, GO !!

Mary Z.

 

"I now belong to a higher cult of favored mortals, for I have seen the Albatross"

Robert Cushman Murphy

[Saga Ruby]

Gosh, my face is red! I completely missed your thread about your adventures on CII. I've only been using computers for over 25 years and obviously need to work on that complicated "Scroll" function.

 

Your notes plus those of Barbara are so very helpful. Your cabin was right across the hall from mine this January. As far as mal de mer, in the 5 decades I've been cruising, I've never had to hug the porcelain pony. Which was all put to the test in 2007 off the coast of Greenland where we did marvelous displays of pitch, roll, and yaw for days on end. We could not land at Nuuk due to Force 10 gales (hurricane winds) and the Captain told us that a loaded 40' trailer on the dock had been blown over. The dockmaster told the Captain to sail on by, no use in trying to tie up.

 

On that Greenland trip, I learned that my muscles get tired of correcting for balance after 2-3 days of endless rough seas and I also grew weary of putting everything back on my cabin desk top. When the chair in the room started walking around on the carpet, I knew it was rough. But I digress.

 

My main interest in this cruise is a comparison to my 2005 cruise on Saga Ruby to the North Pole ice pack which is my "hall of fame" cruise. And years ago in NZ, I visited the Royal Albatross colony in Dunedin and, ever since, I have hoped to catch a glimpse of those magnificent birds circling around in the skies over the South Pole. At the colony's home in Dunedin, we stood in a WWII gun turret, peeking out the gun slit to watch the birds landing and taking off on a sloping greensward in front of our eyes. An incredible sight.

 

I cracked up at your quote of John Frick and the leopard seals. What a hoot! Thanks to you and Barbara for posting all these delish details - now I'm rarin' to go!

 

Ruby

[maztoz]

Ruby,

You are going to have a fantastic voyage! Be prepared to be blown away; Your Hall of Fame is about to get crowded. We saw more Royal Albatross than we did Wandering, but the Blackbrowed were the most plentiful and the most beautiful.

Hopefully by the time you return from your Spring trip we'll have pictures available for you to enjoy.

 

On the subject of rocking & rolling, I packed a few small pieces of this stuff:

 

http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/product/Grip-It-Shelf-Cushion-Liners/6901

 

It's grippy shelf liner from our Camper. Worked wonders at keeping everything in it's place, even cocktail glasses, etc.

[Saga Ruby]

Thanks for the tip on the "Grip-It" thingy. Wish I had some pieces of those grippers on the roller-coaster ride in Greenland. It got really tiresome having the entire desk top - fruit, water pitcher and glasses, magazines, room key (a real key) - flying all over the place. Did you have a real metal key for your cabin or the plastic card? Did you even bother to lock your cabin?

 

When I went to Far North and the polar ice pack, it was quite peculiar to take 2-3 days to get back down to the Arctic Circle. I equate that with the Drake Passage that y'all took. These polar regions are funny old things, yes? You mentioned "intelligent passengers" - that is a huge draw for me on this cruise. I avoid the apartment barges nowadays but enjoy a more educated crowd whenever possible.

 

I became fascinated with Arctic terns in Far North and saw a bloody battle break out over a female on a nest in Ny Alesund (a research station). The two males would fly high above the nester and attack each other, fighting for mating rights. The gentlemen on our cruise that were "hair challenged" were warned quite strictly to keep their heads covered as the terns could easily attack and draw blood on the men's scalps.

 

Thanks for the reminder of the sunscreen. I will definitely get the Neutrogena. I think I'm in good shape about gloves - by the bye, what are NEOS? Some kind of neoprene boot? Where does one buy them? I like to shop online and have UPS hand my purchase to me at the front door.

 

Every time I see Barbara's avatar on these pages, I smile at the marvelous photo of the blue-footed boobies. What a great picture!

 

Ruby

[maztoz]

Yes indeed ;) Barbara's Boobies are adorable.

Ruby, if you haven't visited Galapagos, I'd recommend looking into Celebrity's Xpedition. We had a marvelous time on that trip.

 

In reverse order of your questions:

 

1. NEOS: Super lightweight waterproof over boots, meant to be worn over regular hikers.

We have these: http://www.overshoe.com/recreational/products/detail.php?s=TRS

They are available from many vendors Online, just Google them. They don't have the greatest traction, but are wonderfully light. We'll use them often for coastal Birding and I plan to use them in the summer veggie garden to outwit the fire ants.

 

2. Fellow passengers: An amazing array. Doctors, Lawyers, Indian Chiefs. We had a marine biologist, a Smithsonian invertebrate paleontologist, assorted birders, a Freudian psychoanalyst, a United Nations translator..... Our guest speaker was the fascinating Paul Mayewski from the Climate Change Institute.

http://www.climatechange.umaine.edu/Directory/people/mayewski.html

Almost everyone was educated, well read, gracious and pleasant. The group received an A+ from the picky Maztoz.

 

3. Yes, We locked our cabin. The door locked automatically and was opened with a plastic key card.

 

4. Purchased a roll of heavier weight grippy stuff at Walmart, chopped it into 6x6 squares, had it scattered all over the cabin and bathroom. Kept everything quite ship-shape.

[Saga Ruby]

I looked at those really cool NEOS online - what fun! But, of course, it brings up more questions. Did you usually step from the Z onto gravel, rocks, and sand, or were there times that you were ankle-deep in cold water? And I still don’t understand how the Z skipper can back out to open water carrying the weight of the passengers. Sand on the bottom - no problem. Rocks and gravel - a whole ‘nuther kettle of fish.

 

Digression - one of the most impressive displays of athletic ability I have ever see was in Juneau. Eight of us were in a raft crossing Lake Mendenhall, we had a headwind of about 20mph, and our guide was telling us about the glories around us as he rowed toward the base of the mountain where we were to "shoot" the Mendenhall River. On this particular day, there had been 3 weeks of rain so that river was tossing us around like corks. I later asked our guide what he did in the winter season and he said he was a snow-ski instructor.

 

I was thrilled to read your profile of onboard pax - doctor, lawyer, merchant chief. I may want to stay onboard for the next go-round. By the bye, what hotel did you stay in before the cruise in BA?

 

Yes indeed Barbara's Boobies are adorable. You had me laughing at that one! Speaking of avatars, is your avatar "Uno?" He or she is a fine-looking beagle.

 

 

Ruby

[maztoz]

The avatar is not Uno, but my Duke... who thinks he is number one guy in charge of everybody :) Duke and Uno share the same great-grandfather, Kahootz Chase Manhattan "Ben". This blood line comes from Glen Rose Texas, up close to your neck of the woods, Ruby!

 

There were a few passengers on our trip that DID stay on board for a second go round. Apparently it's fairly common if the cabin space is available, and VERY economical. They will even work with your T.A. to re-arrange flights and what not.... while you are out hanging with the pinguinos :D

Travel Dynamics is on the ball.

 

We stayed at the Hyatt one night Pre trip, then straight home. Very nice hotel, overly snazzy, but fun.

 

Disembarkation from zodiac occurs on all surfaces you mention, so be prepared for ankle deep water, rocks, gravel, the lot. The crew makes it extremely easy and carefree. No one had any difficulties that could not be overcome. A walking stick is an invaluable addition if your knees are as decrepit as mine....:cool:

[Saga Ruby]

The avatar is not Uno, but my Duke... who thinks he is number one guy in charge of everybody :) Duke and Uno share the same great-grandfather, Kahootz Chase Manhattan "Ben". This blood line comes from Glen Rose Texas, up close to your neck of the woods, Ruby!

 

Ahh, Glen Rose. Quite a beautiful rural setting - dinosaur tracks and park, staying at the B&B where one sits on comfy chaise longues facing the lazy river and enjoying the shade of 300 yr.-old oak trees and soft lime-green grass. Wunderbar.

 

Uh oh. Today's headline on CNN's website:

Connecticut-based Quark Expeditions said the M/V Ocean Nova became stranded Tuesday in the bay not far from an Argentine research base. Marguerite Bay is about 900 miles south of the tip of South America.

 

The ship is carrying 65 passengers and 41 crew members, Quark Expeditions said.

All those aboard the vessel "remain safe and calm," the company statement said.

The ship's captain is awaiting high tide to make another attempt to move the vessel.

"The midnight operation will occur in daylight, as the ship is below the Antarctic Circle, where the sun never sets during February. We anticipate a positive outcome," Quark Expeditions president Patrick Shaw said.

It seems to be a seasonal tradition for a ship to be grounded in Antarctica. One hopes that, in this case, grounding is the only problem to be dealt with.

 

Thanks for the heads-up about the Zs and use of same. You've given me a lot of ideas of how to play the game - and what to wear.

 

Ruby