Chile and Antarctica cruise

[VPS]

Just wanted to say thanks for another great trip report. I know I've been to Antarctica and I saw some different things to you but I'd be happy to go back again.

You have some amazing photos in there.

 

[RooFlyer]

Just wanted to say thanks for another great trip report. I know I've been to Antarctica and I saw some different things to you but I'd be happy to go back again.

You have some amazing photos in there.

Thanks. I bought a new SLR camera with zoom for the trip. Relieved that it paid off!

Is it possible to compare and contrast your experience - I think it was with Seabourn, the other 'luxury' cruise line down there?

 

[VPS]

I was actually going back and looking at some of my itinerary today.

I think because I went with Seabourn pre covid it was probably different because the staff were superb. I don't think there was one that I could complain about. The staff learned your name very quickly and after two nights I went into the bar after dinner and the barman just dark rum on ice miss - and of course I couldn't let him down.

They looked after me extremely well as a solo traveller and I must admit I'm not one to join in with other solo travellers and tend not to go to the solo travellers get togethers. They rang me every day to ask me if wanted to join a mixed table and I was always escorted to the table by one of the staff. I met a few people through cruise critic the night before the cruise and got on well with many other couples especially our trivia team. One couple from Adelaide have become good friends and only live about a 10 minute walk away.

Seabourn did only serve two wines at dinner but you could always ask for something different - something I found a little annoying as you did. Food was very good.

Expedition staff I thought were great. There was a list updated daily about what we had seen - just a screenshot of part of it. They were all very approachable and happy to answer any questions.

A lot of the Americans liked to eat early and go to a show but I liked to take my time over dinner and then either go to a bar and chat to others or take myself off with a book. There was an American comedian that the Yanks loved but I left early.

Seabourn didn't have butlers but the lady that serviced my room was lovely and the day I came back from a very snowy zodiac ride she must have thought I looked cold because someone delivered a hot chocolate and some cookies to my room.

There was always plenty of booze in the room - when you got on there was champagne which I sent back but you were given a card to choose two bottles of spirits and when they were empty they were replaced. I'm sure you could have had more but I didn't. Also a plate of fresh fruit in the fridge and ice. A couple of nights I had dinner in my room which was always handled well and I almost always had breakfast in my room. I had a balcony which like you I used a lot and it was pretty amazing to go out and watch the icebergs.

We didn't get to South Georgia because of the weather but we did go through Glacier Alley which was one of my highlights

We received afterwards a great PowerPoint presentation of some of the log and the highlights for each day with the some photos. We also got a USB as I think you did with some great photos.

If anyone else wants to see my TR it's here On the Quest to see pingüinos

 

[DazMel]

We pulled up at the new International terminal, open for about 2 years. Long walk to immigration (as is the custom in nearly all new terminals) and along the way you had to scan a QR code to fill out a declaration re bringing in agricultural produce - similar, but less detailed to the arrival card for Oz. The airline had an announcement before we landed that it could also be filled in via a form on the ground, but I didn't see that before immigration (may have been available in the baggage hall).

I was warned beforehand that immigration would be slow, and that the agents would grill me re my address in Chile and other intentions. There was a long queue, but it moved relatively fast. At the window I had to show my paper visa, which was inspected, and I was asked where I was staying, and this was typed in by the agent. No grilling as such. Got through pretty easily; 40 mins all up in immigration (filled in the agricultural form while waiting); bag was on the carousel. You get an e-mail with a PDF of your Ag form declaration and it should be inspected as you go through customs, but no-one asked for mine.

On exit, I was a bit disoriented. I was staying overnight at the Holiday Inn at the airport, which was (still is) right over the road form the old terminal arrivals. With the new terminal, NFI. Eventually found a sign to 'Hotel' and it was about a 300m walk along a new concreted path & gardens to the hotel.

I've stayed here several times before and its a favorite airport hotel of mine. Easy check-in, knowledgeable staff, good restaurant; I asked for and got a quiet room (not facing the roadway). Ghastly view, but I rarely care about that. No noise. Actually, during the night, you could just hear aircraft taking off, but certainly not a problem.

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Bathroom with shower and toilet.

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Yes, you can take your luggage cart up to the room.

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The view from 3rd (top) floor in the middle; new international terminal in the background.

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Front of the hotel and old terminal, now domestic only.

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Another view, looking towards International. Walkways here on departures level and also on ground level.

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[DazMel]

I'll make this brief. I've read similar posts to yours regarding travel challenges geting from Australia to South America to commence an Antarctica cruise, and resolved to find a more relaxing itinerary for my first adventure in retirement. In 2018 I booked a 11 day Antarctic cruise bording in Urshuaia and a AirNZ J seat AKL-EZE. Then COVID hit; AirNZ cancelled my flight, refunded my fare within days and announced not returning to that AKL-EZE route.

In 2023 COVID was done and Antarctica travel reaopened. I read more issues about using QF or LATAM connections and non ideal travel experiences. United had just announced a partnership with Velocity and I considered myself familiar with immigration processes in USA. So I searched the United website and scrolled and scrolled the available connections MEL-EZE and found a J seat that even my TA couldn't match at wholesale prices.
VA: MEL-SYD
United: SYD-SFO-IAH(Houston)-EZE all with 2 hour connections
I made all of the connections; my checked bags and I arrived as scheduled.
I spent 4 days exploring Beunos Aires from my base at Intercontinental Buenos (on points).
Travellled on domestic flights to and from Urshuaia and had a wonderful cruise with Quark.
On my return the connections not so good for the price point, as a ten hour layover was required at Houston so I used points for a room at the airport HI before continuing EZE-IAH-LAX-MEL

In all I enjoyed an awesome Antarctica experience with Quark and a wonderful experience with United not to mention a heap of SC for my Velocity account.

 

[Chalkie]

Interesting. This is what Ponant sent to our expedition:

View attachment 361933

Just to update things on my (sadly now behind me) expedition to the Falkland Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula: we had a full explanation from the Captain and the Expedition Leader (who was an old Antarctica hand) once we were onboard about the decision not to go to South Georgia . The combination of the hardly any landing locations left and the piles of corpses on the beaches dictated their decision. People were understandably disappointed, but in the end I wasn't. The crew of Ponant's L'Austral went above and beyond to deliver an incredible expedition. The two extra days we gained to spend in Antarctica were put to good use, going to the Weddell Sea and some spectacular spots there that I'd not been to before. We also got to see king penguins in the Falkland Islands, some emperors in the Weddell Sea (not commonly seen!), an incredible albatross colony in the Falklands and plenty of elephant seals on the Peninsula. I didn't feel as though I'd missed out.

Here are some of my highlight photos:

 

[TheRealTMA]

Just to update things on my (sadly now behind me) expedition to the Falkland Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula: we had a full explanation from the Captain and the Expedition Leader (who was an old Antarctica hand) once we were onboard about the decision not to go to South Georgia . The combination of the hardly any landing locations left and the piles of corpses on the beaches dictated their decision. People were understandably disappointed, but in the end I wasn't. The crew of Ponant's L'Austral went above and beyond to deliver an incredible expedition. The two extra days we gained to spend in Antarctica were put to good use, going to the Weddell Sea and some spectacular spots there that I'd not been to before. We also got to see king penguins in the Falkland Islands, some emperors in the Weddell Sea (not commonly seen!), an incredible albatross colony in the Falklands and plenty of elephant seals on the Peninsula. I didn't feel as though I'd missed out.

Here are some of my highlight photos:
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Excellent.

 

[Chalkie]

A couple more:

 

[bPeteb]

Here are some of my highlight photos:
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Amazing photos! Thank you

 

[zig]

Just to update things on my (sadly now behind me) expedition to the Falkland Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula: we had a full explanation from the Captain and the Expedition Leader (who was an old Antarctica hand) once we were onboard about the decision not to go to South Georgia . The combination of the hardly any landing locations left and the piles of corpses on the beaches dictated their decision. People were understandably disappointed, but in the end I wasn't. The crew of Ponant's L'Austral went above and beyond to deliver an incredible expedition. The two extra days we gained to spend in Antarctica were put to good use, going to the Weddell Sea and some spectacular spots there that I'd not been to before. We also got to see king penguins in the Falkland Islands, some emperors in the Weddell Sea (not commonly seen!), an incredible albatross colony in the Falklands and plenty of elephant seals on the Peninsula. I didn't feel as though I'd missed out.

Here are some of my highlight photos:
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So glad that you made the most of your expedition and had some great highlights.

 

[VPS]

A couple more:View attachment 368273View attachment 368274

Superb photos. What were you using?

 

[Chalkie]

Superb photos. What were you using?

Iceberg photos are with a Samsung Galaxy s10 smartphone.

Wildlife photos are with a Canon Eos RP with a Sigma 150-600mm zoom lens.

 

[Chalkie]

Just following @RooFlyer's format, here is my summary of the Ponant Antarctica expedition I just took:

Itinerary: I was on the 14 day "Great Austral Loop". The itinerary was meant to be Ushuaia-Falkland Islands-South Georgia-Antarctic Peninsula, but the avian flu outbreak meant South Georgia was eliminated. Ponant has the highest biosecurity clearance (and the biosecurity measures were fairly rigorous - pre-expedition inspecting and vacuuming of clothing, boot and clothing washing and disinfecting protocols after every Zodiac outing, no sitting permitted at any landing site, no landing if any corpses present (inspection by the expedition team before each landing)). The decision to remove South Georgia was made by the Captain and Expedition Leader, who fully explained their reasons. As I came to know the Expedition Leader and learned of his extensive Antarctica experience (21 seasons), I completely respected the decision, which was made by experienced people.

Missing South Georgia meant we spent more time in the Weddell Sea, which was fantastic.

Vessel: L'Austral. This was my third expedition on L'Austral (coincidence not design). I love the layout and facilities. There were 200 passengers on board (can accommodate more than that - I think a max around 250) and it never felt crowded and a seat could be had wherever you wanted.

Standard verandah suite, deck 3. The staterooms aren't huge but the beds are comfortable (firmer European style which I like), there's plenty of storage room and there's a place for everything. They're decorated in modern Scandi neutral style so easy on the eye. One tiny niggle is the absence of bedside power points. You need a EU and a US adaptor to make the most of the points on the desk. Our cabin steward was terrific and did our laundry daily (up to 10 pieces per day included as we're Ponant Admirals in its FF scheme) and kept everything clean as a pin.

Ship restaurants and bars. Food and drink quality is superb. Classic French gastronomy. Too easy to eat way too much as it is all so good. Freshly baked baguettes and pastries in the morning (along with every other breakfast item you could want), choice of a buffet or table service lunch - with fantastic desserts - at lunch (eg, freshly churned ice cream with different flavours every day). There's also French cheese and butter at every meal! I declared on day one that I'd eat salad for lunch (the salad buffet was excellent), but then I noticed at lunch that the upstairs restaurant had a carvery station with a different feature dish every day, so on day 2 when an excellent beef wellington was served (with the most buttery delicious mashed potatoes), any pretensions of salad-based virtue went out the window.

Dinner could be had in the upstairs buffet or downstairs table service restaurants. We had breakfast and dinner downstairs, and lunch upstairs. Table service dinners were 4 course affairs, but with French "right sized" portions (aka too small for Americans) and always a choice in each course of lighter fare (eg, consommé, salady bits, a light fish dish and fresh fruit for dessert). Ponant is all-inclusive on the wine and standard spirits front and the standard inclusions are perfectly drinkable. We went to a wine tasting and the sommeliers were so good that we ended buying from the "upgrade" menu for wine quite a bit. The bartenders will mix all your favourite coughtails - all included, and there was always a daily feature coughtails.

There are usually a couple of "gala" nights where one has dinner with the officers and dress up a bit. The Captain's Gala is a jacket and tie (but not dinner jacket / evening gown) affair, and the Officers' gala is a "white night". It's in keeping with Ponant approach - elegant but not over the top fancy.

Expedition crew: Everyone on the team was lovely, although some were not as confident in English (Ponant is a French-owned line) as they might have been. A noticeable difference from our first expedition in 2015 were fewer hard core scientific briefings, although there were some eminent young scientists on the team and their briefings were good. There was no geologist on this expedition and that showed. The expedition leader led a daily debriefing and following day briefing each day and there was always a good mini-science and/or history lecture as part of that. Ponant encourages guests to invite the expedition crew to dinner to chat about things in more detail. We are French speakers so we had dinner with a couple of the French team who were keen to speak English to improve their English!

Zodiac safety etc all flawless. Excellent attention to biosecurity measures.

Social activities, entertainment, spa etc. Ponant does do singles dining/mixing events early on. But the public areas are very conducive to chatting to fellow passengers (especially the deck 6 observation bar and lounge) and with 200, it is easy to get to know as few or as many folks as one wishes. Ponant's typical entertainment line up is a classical pianist, a singer, a couple of instrumentalists and maybe another singing duet, and a dance troupe. The dance troupe does excellent cabaret style dance shows and leads things like the "Dancing with the Stars" night (which was great fun). There was either a movie or dance show in the theatre each night, but if that wasn't your thing, the onboard entertainment system available in the staterooms had a huge range of tastefully chosen movies, TV and documentaries.

There is a spa, hairdresser, steam room and gym on board the L'Austral (and its sister ships, Lyrial, Boreal and Soleal). I've never used them!

Pre and post. This expedition had a pre-trip hotel night in Buenos Aires, and a mix of charter and commercial flights to Ushuaia the following day. For some reason we were on the commercial flight with Aerolineas Argentinas and not the Ponant charter flight from AEP to USH. The most annoying thing about that was the excess baggage situation. AR is strict about luggage limits. You get one included piece of 23kg, one carry on of 8kg or less, and pay for everything else. The cost of excess baggage is cheap (US$6 for our extra bag), but you have to line up at a cashier to pay the excess as it can only be paid at the airport, and it seems to take forever!

The one night hotel in Buenos Aires was at the Sofitel, which was fine. But we'd just stayed at an excellent boutique hotel around the corner called Hub Porteño, so the Sofitel was a come down from that.

Ponant. This was the fourth Ponant (and second to Antarctica with them) expedition I've taken. I'm a fan. Their ships are small, the crews lovely and the passengers are always a good international mix - usually about 50% French, 25% Australians and 25% rest of world (with Americans very often a small minority). The expedition format really appeals to me - out and about during the day in Zodiacs and hiking, and then back for coughtails, a delicious dinner and some low key but always enjoyable entertainment. I'm not an Icon of the Seas sort of person, so I'll never go on a big ship cruise. But for exploring somewhat hard to get to destinations in comfort and understated elegance, Ponant is my choice. We've already booked our next expedition in 2025 - weaving our way from Bali to Darwin through Indonesian islands to scuba dive and see Komodo dragons and remote Indonesian islands that we'd never otherwise visit.

All that said, Ponant is not the best when it comes to pre-expedition communications and some aspects of dealing with them can be a bit of a struggle. Part of that is cultural - Ponant is a French company and that shows when trying to do things efficiently. But once you're on board, everything is wonderful.

 

[RooFlyer]

Ship restaurants and bars. Food and drink quality is superb. Classic French gastronomy. Too easy to eat way too much as it is all so good. Freshly baked baguettes and pastries in the morning (along with every other breakfast item you could want), choice of a buffet or table service lunch - with fantastic desserts - at lunch (eg, freshly churned ice cream with different flavours every day). There's also French cheese and butter at every meal! I declared on day one that I'd eat salad for lunch (the salad buffet was excellent), but then I noticed at lunch that the upstairs restaurant had a carvery station with a different feature dish every day, so on day 2 when an excellent beef wellington was served (with the most buttery delicious mashed potatoes), any pretensions of salad-based virtue went out the window.

Thanks. That's all very helpful to me, as I've just booked Le Lyrial for the Arctic next year.

The tucker sounds much better than I had on Le Laperouse in the Kimberley last year. No cheese unless you chose the Australian menu , the croissants were the same as you buy frozen (and I'm certain they were frozen) and the wines were very ordinary. The French menus to me were decidedly un-French-like!



Here's the TR if you are interested

Cruising the Kimberley coast on Le Laperouse, Darwin to Broome

OK, let me first say to the cruise veterans out there - I get it now. This is my first substantial cruise (spent a week around the Galapagos islands but the boat was smaller and very much not the focus) and after a day I'm loving it. You'll have to put up with some gushing, sorry. I'm on...

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

On your cruise, what were they like in calling out, say, whales about? Again, in the Kimberley there was nothing.
Was there a choice of dinner menus, or just the one (ie French)?

I was concerned in booking my cruise that expedition crew with adequate English may be lacking, especially as the included flights are from/to Paris.# Sounds like that might be the case. Maybe they'll do what SS did for the Chinese aboard - they had a Chinese-speaking butler and a Chines-speaking zodiac driver (I think there was 2) to themselves! Les anglos, s'il vous plaît, embarquez sur Zodiac cinq.

# But might reinforce food French cuisine.

 

[Chalkie]

Thanks. That's all very helpful to me, as I've just booked Le Lyrial for the Arctic next year.

The tucker sounds much better than I had on Le Laperouse in the Kimberley last year. No cheese unless you chose the Australian menu , the croissants were the same as you buy frozen (and I'm certain they were frozen) and the wines were very ordinary. The French menus to me were decidedly un-French-like!

View attachment 368465

Here's the TR if you are interested

Cruising the Kimberley coast on Le Laperouse, Darwin to Broome

OK, let me first say to the cruise veterans out there - I get it now. This is my first substantial cruise (spent a week around the Galapagos islands but the boat was smaller and very much not the focus) and after a day I'm loving it. You'll have to put up with some gushing, sorry. I'm on...

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

On your cruise, what were they like in calling out, say, whales about? Again, in the Kimberley there was nothing.
Was there a choice of dinner menus, or just the one (ie French)?

I was concerned in booking my cruise that expedition crew with adequate English may be lacking, especially as the included flights are from/to Paris.# Sounds like that might be the case. Maybe they'll do what SS did for the Chinese aboard - they had a Chinese-speaking butler and a Chines-speaking zodiac driver (I think there was 2) to themselves! Les anglos, s'il vous plaît, embarquez sur Zodiac cinq.

# But might reinforce food French cuisine.

I'm interested to hear that about the Le Laperouse expedition to the Kimberley. When we went to the Kimberley (2017) on L'Austral, it was the same level of service and amenity as we had on our first trip to Antarctica on L'Austral in 2015 and then this latest one to Antarctica (and also on the Paul Gauguin in French Polynesia last April). I am wondering whether they've done a switcheroo for the Kimberley season and because there are relatively speaking so few French people on those expeditions they've decided they don't need to offer the gastronomy the French demand.

Lyrial has two restaurants - one on deck 6 which is more casual and offers a buffet at lunch and dinner, supplemented by some daily specials and at lunchtime the carvery. The other is on deck 2 and is more formal and offers some buffet dishes at lunch but always a menu for dinner. On our expedition the menu was in French and English (there can often be amusing translations from French to English) and from memory there was a choice of three or four dishes in each course, usually along the lines of a lighter fare, vegetarian or heartier/meat. Breakfast is the same at both restaurants - buffet and eggs and pancakes to order. At both restaurants they offer some "all the time dishes" including things like a burger, club sandwich, steak and veggies. I had a burger for lunch one day and it was great. I saw quite a few people ordering the steak dinners and they looked delicious, but I can cook steak at home and wanted to try the French menu all the time.

Everyone in my party (of 5) raved about the food. There were very occasionally some dishes that weren't as successful as others, but the standard overall was amazing. Thinking back one of the highlights we all enjoyed was the soup at lunchtime on deck 6 which was always piping hot and delicious, and changed every day. They also offered a differently themed afternoon tea each day and a different hot drink (flavoured tea, consomme, hot chocolate, chai latte, etc etc) each day when you came back from the afternoon zodiac cruise or landing.

Whale calling etc in Antarctica on L'Austral was top notch. We had the immense privilege of observing in the Gerlache Strait (on the journey between Cierva Cove and Danco Island) for a couple of hours feeding humpbacks at close quarters. The Expedition Leader called when they were spotted and the team went to the outside for'ard observation deck and provided commentary as we watched in real time. There ended up being about 5 feeding groups, and one group came right up beside the ship. It was magical. The same thing happened when we saw emperor penguins on the ice floes in the Weddell Sea - the expedition leader called it, and then the team appeared on the open decks to provide commentary.