Day Three
This morning, we had our first, official continental landing at aptly-named Paradise Bay. The scenery here – including Petzval Glacier in Skontrop Cove and the many ice floes – was stunning. And because we were snowshoeing, we were able to reach a higher ridge for even more expansive views.
Compared to kayaking, snowshoeing is far less involved. Strap the snowshoes on to your boots, grab your poles, and go. If you can walk, you can snowshoe, though I would say that you should be reasonably fit as the snowshoeing is uphill. Again, a guide leads you in a group for your own safety. As snowshoers, we got to head out first, gliding over the freshly-fallen snow. Without snowshoes, walking is a workout, as you easily sink to your knees in the deep snow. The staff set up an area where passengers could slide down the hill. The younger Chinese passengers were thrilled.
As I mentioned earlier, there’s an extra fee for snowshoeing; on this particular cruise, it was $195 per person. Again, the number of hikes is determined by weather and location. On our cruise, snowshoeing was only offered two times; on the previous cruise, it was offered seven times. It just depends. Snowshoeing was my son’s favorite activity in Antarctica. It felt good to be actively working up a sweat (to the point that we both took off our winter coats), especially when you consider how much we were eating on board the ship! Despite the cost and the uncertain number of hikes, I’d highly recommend snowshoeing.
Once back on board, the staff held the much-anticipated Polar Plunge. Yes, passengers voluntarily jumped into the bone-chilling Southern Ocean just to have bragging rights, my son among them. Me? Not on your life! I was safely videotaping from an upper deck. See the video here. Nearly 40 passengers and crew members took the plunge. For those who were of legal drinking age, the dunk was followed by a shot of vodka.
In the afternoon, the ship sailed into the 7-mile-long Lemaire Channel that separates Booth Island from the Antarctic Peninsula. At its narrowest point, the channel is less than a half-mile wide with peaks towering 2000 feet overhead on either side. It’s nicknamed Kodak Canal, Fuji Funnel, and Agfa Alley as it’s considered one of the most photogenic channels along the peninsula.
KidTripster Tip: My son and I watched from the bridge as the first mate and crew navigated the channel. On the Ocean Nova, the bridge is typically open to passengers. Don’t miss the opportunity to visit!
Once we reached our farthest southern point of the cruise, all the passengers boarded Zodiacs for a rare ride back through the channel, as our ship followed from behind. We spotted plenty of wildlife including Crabeater seals (who actually don’t eat crabs). We passed another Gentoo penguin colony – this one perched high above on a rocky ledge. It was amazing to watch these penguins waddle down the steep mountainside, jump into the water to feed, and then waddle back up the so-called “penguin highway.” As we neared the end of the ride, the sunlight hit the ice formations and snow-capped peaks just perfectly. It was a vision.
A word about the weather. Everyone asks me, “How cold was it?” We were blessed with really good weather. Most days averaged between 32° to 36° F. With the wind, it sometimes dropped to around 24°F. The Antarctica Peninsula – where most cruise ships sail – is typically much warmer than the interior of the continent. But remember, Antarctica is an unpredictable place, so it’s best to come prepared for frigid temperatures.
Day Four
This morning, we explored Cuverville Island. My son and I decided to split up. He went on the snowshoeing hike and got a good workout; his watch measured an elevation gain of 750 feet. He was excited to take the shortcut down, sliding on his bottom through the snow. I spent some quality time watching 4,800 pairs of Gentoo penguins. I continued to be amazed at just how high penguins will nest, making their treks to the sea all the more difficult. I had hoped to see chicks, but they hadn’t yet hatched.
KidTripster Tip: As cute as penguins are, they also can be pretty filthy and stinky! To capture the best photos of clean, Instagram-worthy penguins, try hanging out at the water’s edge and shoot them as they get out of the water.
Set against the backdrop of a spectacular calving glacier in Neko Harbour, we spent the afternoon in our kayak, navigating between ice floes and icebergs – some topped with Gentoo penguins and Wendell seals – all in a light snow. As opposed to the brilliant sunshine of the previous day, it was overcast, eerie, and quiet; the only sounds that could be heard were our paddles striking the placid water. Our kayak group was much smaller today – just our guide Sophia from Argentina and two fellow passengers from New Zealand and Canada. The photos from this afternoon look like watercolor paintings. The rest of the passengers took a short hike on shore and admired the harbor view from above.
Again today, we were treated to breaching Humpbacks in the afternoon and evening. Our on-board naturalists explained that it was rare to see the whales breach so much while feeding. In all my travels and many cruises, I’ve never seen so many whales!
Speaking of feeding, let me say a bit about the dining on board the Ocean Nova. Of the three mainstream cruises and four expedition cruises that I’ve sailed on, Antarctica 21 provided the best dining experience and food, hands down. This feat is especially noteworthy when you consider the logistics involved in feeding a ship full of passengers and crew members in Antarctica. The Ocean Nova is only in port every two months during the Antarctica season to resupply, so the chef and kitchen staff need to be master planners. We did have fresh fruits and vegetables daily, brought in on the same flight that delivered us to the continent. The amount and quality of food and its presentation was top-notch. The chef imports bacon from Germany, lobster from the Caribbean, and more. And the desserts? Insanely good! In addition, Antarctica 21 – more than other small ships that I’ve been on – strikes the right balance between speed and service. Breakfast and lunch are served buffet-style, so you don’t have to wait through a lengthly table service. At dinner, salads and soups are available on the buffet, appetizers are preset at your table, and then entrées are ordered and served by the wait staff. It means that your meal can be completed in about an hour, especially important when dining with kids. In addition to three meals daily, the kitchen also prepared an early riser breakfast of fresh pastries, afternoon snacks, and hors d’oeuvres before dinner. Drinks – including juice, soda, coffee, hot chocolate, and tea – are complimentary throughout the cruise, as is the Chilean wine and beer with dinner. Other alcoholic beverages can be added to a running tab and paid for at the end of the cruise. As opposed to the bar, I frequented the free, on-demand latte machine in Panorama Lounge.
KidTripster Tip: No matter what your dietary restriction – gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian or vegan – the kitchen will accommodate you.
In the evening, one of our guides, Nigel, gave a presentation about the 2-1/2 years that he spent at a research base in Antarctica. Many of the guides on our cruise have an extensive history with Antarctica and have spent multiple seasons here. My only disappointment on this cruise was that we didn’t hear more from these experts. Typically, an overview presentation would have been given on the first night and then more sessions throughout the week. But several circumstances – our late arrival, a Humpback whale interruption, and the Christmas holiday – prevented this from happening. While I do understand the need to be flexible, I wish that we would have had this additional educational component.
