Antarctica Travel Blog Nov 16th: Iceberg Challenge!
November 16th -- 6:15 am
The view from the bridge was of calm sea with light visibility of about 300 meter. At times there is light snow. The wind makes the air almost too cold to leave the porthole open in my cabin. Sailing through the shrieking 60s now we begin our look out for icebergs. The expedition leader, Mike Messiok, gave us a challenge -- first one to view a an iceberg and rushes to the bridge to announce it wins a bottle of champagne. I better start looking!
November 16th -- 6:45 pm
Location 64 Degrees Latitude and 180 Longitude
The first iceberg was spotted with the assistance of binoculars. According to radar, it was about 19 miles from the ship when it was first spotted. Now that we are in the ice, the expedition leader gave a brief lecture about the excursions we may take during the two weeks in the Ross Sea after the Kaptain Khlebnikov is parked in the ice. It is impossible to determine which excursions we will take or when we will be at the first possible stop which is Coulman Island to visit an Emperor Penguin rookery. Coulman Island is over 300 miles of ice and some open sea from our current location. Even with the ice charts and modern equipment, it is difficult to determine the best route to the Coulman Island as the wind can change the ice conditions very quickly. Breaking through ice is not easy without the correct weather conditions. During our next two weeks in the Ross Sea area, "weather permitting" will be the most common phrase on the ship.
Adventure Life has been an extraordinary travel resource for us over the years and today was no exception. Our River Cruise booking was handled by Jess (who has been our personal trip planner for several years) the same day as our inquiry. Suggestions were given for cabin choice and pre-trip options (that were not shown on the cruise line's website) like airport transfers and prepaid gratuities. Trip insurance recommendations followed and we were assigned a travel co-ordinator till the end of the tour. All we have to do is show up! Great service from friendly folks.
APtravelwell
1 day ago
My representative Kevin was very responsive generally and in crafting our itinerary to our specific priorities.
Rocco Labella
1 day ago
Although there was a lot of paper work, I received help and guidance when I needed it.
Donna Kirby
2 days ago
Our travel was flawless! The rider pickup (airport, hotel, ship) was seamless. Jane's recommendation for Emerald Cruise Sakara was everything I wanted but the experience was soooo much more. Adventure Life took care of each and every detail and this was the easiest of all my travels.
Anne Petty
3 days ago
Follow up was effective any questions were answered in a timely manner