Category: 2018 – Celebrity Infinity, Antarctica, 21 Jan – 4 Feb

Today was a very long day and also our first on land for 3 days.

We were up early because Mickey Live is doing an early morning session called The Sunrise Club in the Constellation Lounge each day during the southern most part of this cruise. This morning it was at 5:30 which was around the time we started our transit of Le Maire Strait which passes between Tierra del Fuego and Isla del los Estados, here we were able to see hundreds of birds and it’s where we caught a glimpse of our first penguins. I was really surprised to see how many people made the effort to get up that bit earlier.

Following breakfast we went to both the morning talks, Mickey Live’s being the most popular as it was all about Penguins. Again it was standing room only at the back. It’s like being back at school but the information being shared is so good and has certainly been beneficial to our making the most out of this cruise.

Our transit along the Beagle Channel provided some spectacular scenery and again many penguins were visible swimming in the water. They were impossible to get a photo of as they surfaced only briefly to get air before diving under the surface again. It was almost if it was a game to them.

We arrived at Ushuaia at 3:45 and again the scenery around the town was stunning. We had booked a trip back up the channel to get closer to the wildlife, catamaran on the way up and by road on the way back. The photo opportunities were plentiful and between Pip and I we could well have filled a 32GB memory card between us.

We paused at several points along the way to view small islands which have been made home by flocks of cormorants and sea lions. The prize though was the 20 minutes we had at Isla Martillo to view the penguins. We weren’t allowed to get off the catamaran but the front was pushed on to the beach so we had a stable deck from which to take our photos. There are two species of penguin there, Magellanic and Gentoo, the former being the most prevalent.

10 minutes later we disembarked the catamaran at the Harberton Ranch which was a homestead set up in 1886 by British missionary Thomas Bridges. It’s now a protected National Historic Monument and retains much of its original structure.

There is also a small museum and laboratory (Museo Acatushún) which is dedicated to the study of the region’s wildlife. Part of the museum is the casa de huesos (house of bones), which has skeletons of South America’s rarest creatures. Quite a fascinating place and strange to find something of this nature so far off the beaten track.

Our way back to Ushuaia was by road through the Andes which took just under 2 hours, we passed some stunning scenery along the route and darkness had fallen when we eventually got back.

As for the weather, the wind was really chilly while we were on the water but from then on it was really pleasant, the winds got stronger as we reached Ushuaia but were actually quite warm.

Back at the ship we were all tired and hungry, fortunately the buffet had remained open so we managed to get a quick bite to eat before hitting the sack.

Our third sea day on the trot and the temperature is certainly dropping as we make our way further south. This morning after breakfast we made our way to the theatre to see the third talk by Mickey Live which today was all about Ushuaia. Again a packed auditorium enjoyed his very informative talk. No Dr Dave today as Celebrity have given him the day off but we did manage to catch up with him for a brief chat during breakfast.

We are now starting to spot wildlife and there always seems to be an Albatross or two accompanying the ship as we head towards our first port. We also spotted our first dolphins this morning but it was only a brief sighting. Pip managed to get a photo and if we can work out a way of transferring the photo I’ll post it here.

All the following wildlife photos are Pip’s.

After lunch for a bit of fun Pip and I did a wine blending session with about 30 or so others. We were divided in 5 teams and each had to come up with a winning blend using percentage of either Grenache, Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. It was a really good laugh and in the end there was no outright winner as the head sommelier declared it a draw.

We had a really fun packed evening meeting up with Dr Dave and his wife Joni in the Constellation Lounge. It was a great opportunity for Pip and Dave to chat about their respective passion for wildlife. We were also joined by Jane Curry for about an hour who had been invited by Dave and what a lovely lady who shared with us some of the interesting storey’s that she had experienced in her career.

I don’t know what it was but everyone seemed to be happy last night, even our dining room team seemed to be on top form.

Upon returning to the cabin we were greeted with a confirmation letter to explain the itinerary change, because of currents and tides our arrival at Ushuaia had been delayed by 2 hours. I feel someone is looking after us because we hardly ever book a ship tour and in this instance it just seems to have been a blessing as all the timings have been automatically adjusted to reflect the changes.

The temperature had dropped a few more degrees this morning and we also had quite a downpour as well. Nicole went to the gym on her own this morning, Maria & Pip both opting to have a bit of a lie in while I went for a walk then on for an early coffee in the Tuscan Grille where I was later joined by the other three. We also spotted the wine spillers who kept a descrete distance, perhaps worried we might be plotting a revenge attack.

We again sat through talks from both speakers which were equally as good as the previous day’s. Mickey Live’s was basically tips on digital photography while in Antarctica which I found really interesting. As we are now much further south we have been told to keep an eye out for wildlife. The temperature has dropped considerably since yesterday and the wind has picked up which makes it feel much cooler.

We had lunch in the buffet today and despite leaving it late in the session still found it a bit of a bun fight. Stick a plate in some people’s hands and they seem to loose all sense of direction along with spacial awareness.

The afternoon was a very relaxed affair for Maria, Nicole and myself, we all donned our jackets and sat out on the balcony, out of the wind there was still quite a bit of warmth from the sun. Pip on the other hand went to the gym to do some running.

Apart from the usual evening routine that pretty much summed up the days proceedings. We have another sea day tomorrow and then we arrive at Ushuaia.

Despite a few things not going as smoothly as we would have liked during embarking and unpacking, the rest of the evening went much better. We have a nice table in the Trellis Restaurant on deck 5 on the edge of the balcony overlooking the lower part of the dining room. The team serving us were really good too and very chatty despite the first night mayhem. Our steward also seems to have a good grip on things so it seems we have all the required elements in place to enjoy those aspects of the cruise.

Since leaving Buenos Aires we have had two additional visits by Pilot Boats, one about 2 hours out of port and another around 4:00 this morning. From what I can gather the transit from port along the Plate River estuary is quite a narrow channel hence the need for pilots at such a late stage.

The temperature was much cooler this morning compared to the previous 3 mornings and early we had partially cloudy skies. While Nicole and Pip disappeared early to go to the gym I decided to visit the Tuscan Grille to grab a decent coffee at the Elite breakfast while they expended some energy. The WiFi has a much stronger signal there than in the cabin so I was able to catch up with what was happening in the world.

In the morning we attended the “From the Podium” talk in the theatre which was an introduction to Antarctica by a chap called Mickey Live who is the onboard naturalist. If we weren’t already excited about the prospect of visiting the region then Mickey turned the dial up considerably. The theatre was completely full with standing room only and his delivery was excellent. We thoroughly enjoyed it.

I had researched tours at Ushuaia prior to leaving home and the go to company for private tours , a company called Pira Tours were all fully booked and had been for some time, we had read you could still book trips on the pier and were going to do that but having come away from the talk we have made the rare decision to book a ship tour so not to miss out.
After a hour or so we returned to the theatre for another talk by our old friend Dr. Dave entitled H2Ohhhh MY! which was similar to the one we saw last year on Solstice.
After a small but late lunch it was back to the cabin to sit out on the balcony in the lovely warm sunshine. This afternoon it was perfect sea day conditions.

Our evening consisted with a drink or two at the Elite drinks gathering followed by a trip to the theatre to see Jane Curry, it’s the 4th or 5th time we have seen her now and it’s still the same routine but entertaining all the same. The only downside was we were sat one row from the back and poor Nicole accidentally had a whole glass of wine spilt over her which meant she had to go back to the cabin to change and wash her hair.
We do get the feeling someone is testing us with all the little things that keep happening.

Another sea day tomorrow which looking at the daily programme will be very similar to today.

I am starting to fall into sync with the timezone because I was awake for work his morning. I don’t believe there are any other time changes until we have to come home so once I am fully acclimatised it should be plain sailing.
This morning we were very lazy and after breakfast we repacked the cases ready for their trip to the ship. We pre-booked our transport yesterday with the concierge but the first vehicle to arrive, was in both ours and the driver’s opinion no where near big enough. A substitute was quickly arranged which was exactly the same size!!! Not to be deterred and probably wanting the fare the driver managed to squeeze the four of us plus nine cases into his taxi. 15 minutes later we arrived at the port with just about all the other passengers.

A numbered ticket system was employed to get through security and it took 20 minutes to get through this stage. Next was check-in which took just 10 minutes because of our loyalty status. The next bit took a little longer. Argentine immigration with snakey queues which took around 25 minutes to complete. After surrendering our passports we were free to board. Not the quickest embarkation experience or slickest but at least it’s over and done with now.

Our cabin was ready straight away so we quickly located it to drop bags off before going to get lunch.
Muster was at 3:30 and if I was completely honest you would think the crew had never done one before. If I had to sum it up I would say uncoordinated and unprofessional.
We were supposed to sail at 4:30 but didn’t get away to gone 5:15. The weather was gorgeous and it made for a really nice sail out of Buenos Aires.

After receiving all our cases we encountered another hiccup when one of them wouldn’t open because the combination lock became jammed, a trip to guest services resulted in a maintenance man called Teddy turning up with a screwdriver to prise it open. Not sure how we get over it for the return leg but we do have 14 nights to think of something.
Time is of the essence tonight so I will cut it short.

Sleeping in a bed again was bliss, however as comfortable as it was it didn’t stop us from coming round before the crack of dawn. Trying to put a positive spin on it you could say one of the benefits of waking early is we were able to watch the daylight bring everything to life from our 10th floor room, the view is a mixture of old and new and although it’s not the prettiest scene it’s still fascinating to sit and study.

One thing we are quickly finding is things are not that expensive and we don’t seem to be spending as much as we had budgeted for. Taxis are really cheap and they don’t even expect a tip.

As we were awake early we decided to take breakfast in the hotel and then go for a walk.

Leaving our senior member back at the hotel, we set off and walked practically the length of the Avenue 9 de Julio passing the large Obelisk which commemorates the 400th anniversary of the capital’s founding.

We carried on walking along the avenue plotting a circular route to take in the Avenida del Libertador, to see the British Clock Tower and the Islas Malvinas-Falkland Islands War Memorial. It was then on to the Plaza De Mayo before returning back to the hotel along the Avenue De Mayo. Sadly there seems to be building work going on everywhere and most of the sites in that area were covered by fencing and hoarding.

Most of the Plaza was fenced off so we just had to make do with what was available to see. Even the Casa Rosa had a crane in front of it. The only building not affected was the Cabildo but even then because of limited angles from which to take a photo I had to stand on a column base to see over a fence in order to get my snap.

It was a good walk taking over 2 hours and it allowed us to get a feel for the city. Plus being so early it wasn’t so hot. We all agreed that we didn’t feel the need to go to Cemeterio de la Recoleta or even La Boca which all the tourist trips seem to visit. We have been quite happy with our choices and given the heat then maybe the right decision for us.

We spent the afternoon doing pretty much the same as yesterday which was just chilling out with a spot of imbibing for good measure.

Tomorrow we get on the ship.

On the vast majority of our cruises, there tends to be a flight involved to reach the ship. This trip has followed that trend with us flying with British Airways on their direct service to Buenos Aires. We departed from Heathrow at 10:30pm on Thursday which was 20 minutes later than scheduled and flew through the night. It was quite a bumpy ride and I found it difficult to sleep, I did manage doze on and off for 5 hours so it wasn’t all bad. I also found there wasn’t space for my carry on case near my seat so it got upgraded not to Premium Economy but to Business! I firmly believe that I should have gone too but it wasn’t to be.

Flying is a necessary evil if you want to see the worlds far flung places and fortunately it’s something we don’t mind doing as for us it’s all part of the cruise process. No pain, no gain as they say. And talking of no pain, we were met in arrivals by Pip who had travelled from Johannesburg to join us and she had arrived Thursday evening just as we were leaving the UK. Her journey involved first flying to Dubai with a 2 hour connection before catching the the flight to Buenos Aires. The last leg taking 19 hours where there was yet another stop, this time at Rio De Janeiro and unfortunately she had to stay on the plane to whole time. The whole trip taking over 30 hours. That’s dedication for you!

Today is also Nicole’s birthday so it was nice treat for her to have her mum, eldest daughter and me together for the start of this adventure.

We arrived 10 minutes behind schedule which was due to 4 other large planes all converging at the same time. This had a knock on effect with immigration which took around 30 minutes to clear. Once through we picked up our cases and went on search of our transport to the hotel. We have booked in at the Intercontinental for 2 nights and have plenty of ideas for things we want to see but will maybe decide when we have had some proper food and a good night’s sleep laid flat in a bed.

We are all feeling the effects of getting here and to be honest will all grab an early night.

After a really tasty lunch we spent the remainder of the afternoon sat out in hotel terrace while partaking in some liquid refreshments. I think the temperature hit 30°C which is in complete contrast to what we left behind.

At the time of writing we have still to make our minds up what to do tomorrow.

Everyone else turned in really early but I decided to go for a wander just to help stay up just that bit longer. I managed almost a length of the Avenue De Mayo before returning to the hotel for just a couple of beers. Time for some shut eye.

 

This cruise was inspired by my mother in laws desire to go back to Antarctica to see the penguins, ever since she took a cruise circumnavigating South America in 2010 on board ms Prinsendam she has often reminisced with us about how amazing it was to see these little black and white flightless birds as they passed through the region. So while we were on a cruise in the Caribbean in January 2016 we received a flier in our cabin advertising an Antarctic itinerary. It caught our attention straight away because it was in our price range, so after speaking to the Future Cruise Sales Team on-board we decided to take the plunge and booked it there and then as a surprise. Our little plan was very favourably received and then to complete our line-up we were later joined by Nicole’s eldest daughter Pip who seized her opportunity to fill the empty bed in Maria’s cabin.

A cold climate cruise is a completely new venture for us so we have been busy researching what to wear while in the Antarctic area, the advice seems to indicate that layers are the way to go. This little saying caught my eye while reading a review.

There is no bad weather in the Antarctica, there is just inappropriate clothing!

However, it won’t all be cold because while also looking at the temperatures for Buenos Aires at that time of year we have discovered it should be very hot and humid so we will need to pack for the heat as well.

Celebrity Infinity is also a new ship for us, we have been on her sister Celebrity Constellation but only the once and just for a couple of nights. I am looking forward to cruising on one of Celebrity’s older ships and having the chance to compare it to with our favourites in the Solstice class.

We don’t actually set foot on Antarctica as this cruise is merely a sail past which last two days and it is an opportunity that we could not let pass by. I am hoping to be able to utilise the zoom lens on my camera to capture what promises to be some amazing scenery.

DATE	LOCATION	ARRIVAL	DEPARTURE
Sunday, January 21, 2018	Buenos Aires, Argentina		5:00PM
Monday, January 22, 2018	At Sea
Tuesday, January 23, 2018	At Sea
Wednesday, January 24, 2018	At Sea
Thursday, January 25, 2018	Ushuaia, Argentina	9:00AM	9:00PM
Friday, January 26, 2018	Cape Horn, Chile	6:00AM	8:00AM
Saturday, January 27, 2018	Schollart Channel, Antarctica	11:00AM	1:00PM
Saturday, January 27, 2018	Paradise Bay, Antarctica	2:00PM	4:00PM
Saturday, January 27, 2018	Gerlache Strait, South America	5:00PM	7:00PM
Sunday, January 28, 2018	Elephant Island, Antarctica	2:00PM	6:00PM
Monday, January 29, 2018	At Sea
Tuesday, January 30, 2018	Port Stanley, Falkland Islands	8:00AM	5:00PM
Wednesday, January 31, 2018	At Sea
Thursday, February 1, 2018	Puerto Madryn, Argentina	7:00AM	4:30PM
Friday, February 2, 2018	At Sea
Saturday, February 3, 2018	Montevideo, Uruguay	9:00AM	4:30PM
Sunday, February 4, 2018	Buenos Aires, Argentina	5:00AM

We have a pair of cabins right next to each other and all being well will be able to open them up into one large one like we did on the Baltic cruise on Celebrity Eclipse. We are in 7176 while Maria and Pip are in 7174 and they are located towards the aft of the ship very close to the stair and elevator lobby.

I set off in the hope that I will be able to make a post every day but given the area we are travelling the internet might well be rather poor due to the satellite connections and I have in fact read a few stories where on previous cruises it has been almost useless so we will just have to wait and see and be optimistic about it.

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Well that was the plan up until a week before we set sail, on the Saturday before we left we received an email from Celebrity informing us of an itinerary change due to a propulsion problem with the ship.

Due to a technical issue with the ship’s propulsion system, as a precaution, we will have to reduce our maximum speed by a few knots. We assure you, there is no safety issue with the vessel; however, due to the speed reduction, we have to modify our itinerary. Some ports of call will have shortened visit times, while some will have more time.

We also had to remove our visit to Puerto Madryn, Argentina from the itinerary. Due to the cancellation of this port of call, we are issuing each guest a refund in the amount equal to one day of your vacation.

So reading between the lines we will now leave Buenos Aires half an hour earlier and arrive at Ushuaia 5 hours later than previously scheduled losing 4 hours of port time.

We pass Cape Horn at a slightly more sociable hour but have a whole sea day crossing the Drake Passage so lets hope its the Drake Lake we cross.

Port Stanley is now a day later but we do get an extra 3 hours there and we have lost Puerto Madryn from the itinerary completely which is a little disappointing.

And an extra 30 minutes at Montevideo which will make all the difference…..

Our revised itinerary is as follows with the changes in yellow.

DATE	LOCATION	ARRIVAL	DEPARTURE
Sunday, January 21, 2018	Buenos Aires, Argentina		4:30PM
Monday, January 22, 2018	At Sea
Tuesday, January 23, 2018	At Sea
Wednesday, January 24, 2018	At Sea
Thursday, January 25, 2018	Ushuaia, Argentina	2:00PM	11:59PM
Friday, January 26, 2018	Cape Horn, Chile	9:00AM	10:30AM
Saturday, January 27, 2018	At Sea
Sunday, January 28, 2018	Schollart Channel, Antarctica	7:30AM	8:30AM
Sunday, January 28, 2018	Paradise Bay, Antarctica	10:30AM	12:30AM
Sunday, January 28, 2018	Gerlache Strait, South America	1:30PM	3:30PM
Monday, January 29, 2018	Elephant Island, Antarctica	10:30AM	2:30PM
Tuesday, January 30, 2018	At Sea
Wednesday, January 31, 2018	Port Stanley, Falkland Islands	7:00AM	7:00PM
Thursday, February 1, 2018	At Sea
Friday, February 2, 2018	At Sea
Saturday, February 3, 2018	Montevideo, Uruguay	8:00AM	4:30PM
Sunday, February 4, 2018	Buenos Aires, Argentina	5:00AM

 

We have since discovered they are concerned about vibration on one of the azipods and will do further investigating when the ship gets back to Buenos Aires.

So all we need to do now is get to Argentina to join the ship.