Drake Passage
Our trip through the Drake Passage has been quite an adventure - they are saying that is was quite calm. We have been rolling and bumping for over 24 hours and many of the passengers are ill and many are carrying the sea-sick bags around ‘just in case’. They have the bags on every possible location, tables, railings… We are very lucky that neither of us have that problem, but Alice and Richard are suffering from mal de mar.
This morning we woke up to blowing snow and ice - the windows on the port side of the ship are completely covered with ice - needless to say, this isn’t the nice weather I was hoping for. At 9:00 we had to attend the safety and environmental lecture. This was mandatory for anyone planning to do any of the landings. It was quite well done and covered pretty much anything we would need to know. We were issued our life vests for the landings and had our packs vacuumed so that we take nothing ‘foreign’ onto the land. We will get boots just prior to each landing.
If the weather permits we will have our first landing late this afternoon at Halfmoon Island… we are all prepared, but so far the weather doesn’t look too promising. The temp is about 37 degrees and it is force 8 - gale force winds - big waves and swells. Everyone is just crossing their fingers that we will be able to do it as this is the only location where we will see the chinstrap penguins.
We saw the first icebergs about 30 minutes ago; first a smaller one and then a bigger one. We were in the dining room eating lunch and could watch them through the windows - everyone was clapping. Ok, we are all nuts - 200 of us onboard!
All announcements are done in English and then German and some of them are repeated in French and Chinese as there are a large number of them aboard too. It is quite a mixed and interesting passenger load. As I said many times, this is not a luxury cruise. Dinner last night was a sit-down dinner; no choice of food. They do post the menu early in the day and offer a second entrée, but if you want that one you have to let them know by 2:00. The food has all been good - nothing to complain about at all. Dinner tonight will be buffet again to allow for the landings. There are nice choices on the buffet and always a fish and a meat and a pasta for the entrees, with lots of veggies both hot and cold, nice desserts etc.
Well, I guess that’s all for now, wish us luck with the weather today for our first landing.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Buenos Aires to Ushuaia and we are sailing!
We awakened at 4:45 to have a quick breakfast and then head to the airport for our flight. After we were on the bus our guide announced that LAN was having a ‘little strike’ and there would be a ‘little’ delay at the airport. When we arrived there were many strikers picketing in front of the checkin lanes for LAN and the TV cameras were all there. We were taken upstairs to an area where we did manage to find a table and chairs for all six of us and there we sat and sat and waited. At about 11:00 they announced that our flight would leave at 12:05 so we all proceeded through security to the gates. Our flight did leave not long after that time and we arrived in Ushuaia about 4:30. We had only planned to wander in the town prior to boarding so it wasn’t a problem for us, but the people that had booked the excursion to the National Park were disappointed that it wouldn’t take place.
Boarding and checking in on the ship took place quite quickly and we came to our cabin. All 6 of us are in Mini-suites which are nice and comfortable with a large window that looks out over the side across a public deck space. As with most cabin windows that are at a public space you cannot see into the cabin except when the cabins lights are on so we will need to remember to close them at night. We had many things to do prior to dinner; register a credit card, turn in our medical forms and get our Antarctic jackets. Dinner was buffet style and everything was very good; it seemed everyone was very hungry after all our delays during the day. They canceled our lifeboat/safety drill until 11:30 the next day - by international law they have 24 hours in which to hold the drill. We had a short Welcome cocktail party with the Captain and Expedition staff and then by 10:00 pm we were back in the cabin and ready for bed.
The Captain had said that it would be very smooth for about 6 hours and then it would get a bit bumpy as we would enter the Drake Passage. We woke up sometime in the early morning hours are realized that the ship was slightly rolling, but hardly any bumping and slept until about 6:30 this morning. Life is just fine… no butlers or room service on this ship, but there is an electric kettle and instant coffee and tea available in the room so I’m perfectly happy. After a couple cups of coffee, we wandered around the ship a little and then headed for breakfast.
Note: the battery in my laptop will not charge, so I have to plug in to use it… and I only saw one plug in the reception area where the wireless connection is located. I’ll try to post as often as possible and hopefully be able to add pictures when we get a little more organized.
Boarding and checking in on the ship took place quite quickly and we came to our cabin. All 6 of us are in Mini-suites which are nice and comfortable with a large window that looks out over the side across a public deck space. As with most cabin windows that are at a public space you cannot see into the cabin except when the cabins lights are on so we will need to remember to close them at night. We had many things to do prior to dinner; register a credit card, turn in our medical forms and get our Antarctic jackets. Dinner was buffet style and everything was very good; it seemed everyone was very hungry after all our delays during the day. They canceled our lifeboat/safety drill until 11:30 the next day - by international law they have 24 hours in which to hold the drill. We had a short Welcome cocktail party with the Captain and Expedition staff and then by 10:00 pm we were back in the cabin and ready for bed.
The Captain had said that it would be very smooth for about 6 hours and then it would get a bit bumpy as we would enter the Drake Passage. We woke up sometime in the early morning hours are realized that the ship was slightly rolling, but hardly any bumping and slept until about 6:30 this morning. Life is just fine… no butlers or room service on this ship, but there is an electric kettle and instant coffee and tea available in the room so I’m perfectly happy. After a couple cups of coffee, we wandered around the ship a little and then headed for breakfast.
Note: the battery in my laptop will not charge, so I have to plug in to use it… and I only saw one plug in the reception area where the wireless connection is located. I’ll try to post as often as possible and hopefully be able to add pictures when we get a little more organized.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Buenos Aires
Well, we made it out of Miami almost on time even with the huge rainstorms that had swept through all day. The flight was almost nine hours - that's a killer for my pelvis/back. We are now in the Pan Americano hotel in downtown Buenos Aires. Beautiful hotel - and very crowded. We have a nice large room so I'm going to spend some time resting my back and then we will go walk around the city a bit and get some dinner.
On arrival at the hotel we - there were about a dozen Fram passengers on that flight - did a quick checkin at the hotel reception desk and then went to a meeting room to check in for Fram... That took forever - why don't people read their documents ahead of time??? Anyway after waiting for our turn for over an hour, we checked in in about 10 minutes. Our Fram bag tags are pieces of red ribbon.... this is NOT a cruise like we are used to doing. We are all getting excited, but are already tired of traveling and we have a 3 hour flight tomorrow morning at 8:30 to get to Usuaia. That means breakfast is at 5:00 - we leave the hotel at 6:30.
My next post should be from the ship.
On arrival at the hotel we - there were about a dozen Fram passengers on that flight - did a quick checkin at the hotel reception desk and then went to a meeting room to check in for Fram... That took forever - why don't people read their documents ahead of time??? Anyway after waiting for our turn for over an hour, we checked in in about 10 minutes. Our Fram bag tags are pieces of red ribbon.... this is NOT a cruise like we are used to doing. We are all getting excited, but are already tired of traveling and we have a 3 hour flight tomorrow morning at 8:30 to get to Usuaia. That means breakfast is at 5:00 - we leave the hotel at 6:30.
My next post should be from the ship.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Miami
We are at the Best Western Oceanside Resort in Bal Harbour, FL. It is a cute older motel-type resort. Rooms are huge and include full kitchens. We walked along the beach and had dinner with Alice and Richard last night then it was time for me to 'get flat' and give my back a rest. I am really dreading the 8 1/2 hour flight Wed. evening from MIA to Buenos Aires.
It is raining very hard this morning - good thing we aren't staying for a beach vacation! I'll post again at my next internet connection.
It is raining very hard this morning - good thing we aren't staying for a beach vacation! I'll post again at my next internet connection.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Almost time to leave
We leave for Miami tomorrow morning. It’s been fun watching the Fram webcam over the last few weeks getting a preview of our adventure.
Yesterday was packing day for us and we did manage to get everything into two large bags and come in under the requirement of 50lbs each… it was close. We are allowed a carry-on each, but for us that will be our camera bags.
As if heading for Antarctica isn’t enough excitement for a while, last Thursday we were invited by our consortium, the Ensemble Travel Group, to be the onboard Hosts for the South America Grand Voyage that leaves January 13th. This is a 70-day cruise all the way around S America that includes the Panama Canal, a week in the Amazon, the Chilean Fjords and cruising Antarctica. We leave January 12 and will return March 24, 2010. We will visit 32 ports in13 countries. Cruise Details for 70-DAY GRAND SOUTH AMERICA EXPLORER . So we have really been in crunch mode getting everything arranged for both trips!
Yesterday was packing day for us and we did manage to get everything into two large bags and come in under the requirement of 50lbs each… it was close. We are allowed a carry-on each, but for us that will be our camera bags.
As if heading for Antarctica isn’t enough excitement for a while, last Thursday we were invited by our consortium, the Ensemble Travel Group, to be the onboard Hosts for the South America Grand Voyage that leaves January 13th. This is a 70-day cruise all the way around S America that includes the Panama Canal, a week in the Amazon, the Chilean Fjords and cruising Antarctica. We leave January 12 and will return March 24, 2010. We will visit 32 ports in13 countries. Cruise Details for 70-DAY GRAND SOUTH AMERICA EXPLORER . So we have really been in crunch mode getting everything arranged for both trips!
Friday, November 13, 2009
Getting Ready
We are less than two weeks from our departure from Denver. The stack of stuff to be packed keeps growing. We are limited to one bag (each) of 50 lbs or less and a carry-on. Our carry-ons will be our camera bags so we will need to pack extra carefully.
We are reading the daily blog from Fram and watching the webcam. Yesterday they passed an enormous iceberg estimated to be 17 by 12 nautical miles in size! Icebergs this size are all catalogued and are give names - this one is called B15I. They also watched a number of whales.
I’ve received a couple emails asking me to include some additional information on the ship. You can read all about her here: http://www.hurtigruten.us/MSFram.asp and I’ve added a picture of the deck plans. We are all in Mini-suites – forward on Deck 5.
You can get a better idea of the small size of the ship with these pictures (Thanks toCarmello of CruiseCritic). The large (3000+ passengers) Carnival Splendor is docked across the pier from Fram.
We are reading the daily blog from Fram and watching the webcam. Yesterday they passed an enormous iceberg estimated to be 17 by 12 nautical miles in size! Icebergs this size are all catalogued and are give names - this one is called B15I. They also watched a number of whales. 
You can get a better idea of the small size of the ship with these pictures (Thanks toCarmello of CruiseCritic). The large (3000+ passengers) Carnival Splendor is docked across the pier from Fram.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Background information
We are heading on another adventure soon – this one to Antarctica. People are asking me why and my answer is “because it’s there”. This will be our 7th continent and the one most people don’t get to. As an added boost for me, this actually gives us all 7 continents in one year. As some of you know, we did a World Cruise earlier this year which hit all 6 of the other continents. I’ve always wanted to visit Antarctica to see and photograph the penguins and icebergs. We will be traveling with our friends Alice & Dick Bardsley and their son Rich & his friend Alice Goedl.
We looked at a number of options for the trip and decided on Hurtigruten’s MS Fram. MS Fram is named after explorer Fridtjof Nansen´s most famous polar ship. She is the newest (2007), most luxurious vessel in their fleet and is specially designed for cruising Arctic and Antarctic waters. The technical standard is state-of-the-art and she handles icy conditions with no problem. MS Fram has 128 cabins, which feature two lower berths or a twin-size bed, and several suites. The panoramic lounges and wide deck spaces give every guest the opportunity to enjoy a fantastic view on this masterpiece of an Arctic/Antarctic cruise ship. With all berths filled, she can hold 318 passengers, but for Antarctic cruises she will carry only about 200. This is to allow all passengers to do the landings in their Polar Cirkel boats. There are very strict regulations in the Antarctic as to how many people can land at one time. Vessels carrying over 300 passengers are not allowed to make any landings; they can only cruise by the areas we will be able to explore. The Polar Cirkel boats are similar to Zodiacs but have rigid sides and seating and handrails at the front for use in embarking and disembarking the boat.
We looked at a number of options for the trip and decided on Hurtigruten’s MS Fram. MS Fram is named after explorer Fridtjof Nansen´s most famous polar ship. She is the newest (2007), most luxurious vessel in their fleet and is specially designed for cruising Arctic and Antarctic waters. The technical standard is state-of-the-art and she handles icy conditions with no problem. MS Fram has 128 cabins, which feature two lower berths or a twin-size bed, and several suites. The panoramic lounges and wide deck spaces give every guest the opportunity to enjoy a fantastic view on this masterpiece of an Arctic/Antarctic cruise ship. With all berths filled, she can hold 318 passengers, but for Antarctic cruises she will carry only about 200. This is to allow all passengers to do the landings in their Polar Cirkel boats. There are very strict regulations in the Antarctic as to how many people can land at one time. Vessels carrying over 300 passengers are not allowed to make any landings; they can only cruise by the areas we will be able to explore. The Polar Cirkel boats are similar to Zodiacs but have rigid sides and seating and handrails at the front for use in embarking and disembarking the boat. Our adventure will start November 24, 2009. We fly to Miami and overnight there; on the 25th we board our LAN flight to Buenos Aires, Argentina where we also overnight. On Nov. 27th we fly to Ushuaia, Chile to board the ship. After 9 days at sea we will do the reverse itinerary arriving back in Denver late on December 7th.
I will post a few more times prior to the trip and then I hope I am able to post daily. Stay tuned!
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