Today we would push off from dock and received some welcome news upon waking: Anne's luggage had made it to Buenos Aires and was likely to be on a morning flight to Ushuaia. This allowed us the freedom to spend our final half-day on land doing all-important last-minute knick-knack shopping, instead of trying to recreate her gear at the local over-priced outfitters. The overwhelming theme of the souvenir stores of Ushuaia is the penguin: you can get anything you might ever need or want emblazoned with this ubiquitous feathered friend. While fun at first, after the first row of stores we quickly found it to be a bit overkill, even for someone like myself: a girl with an admitted penguin fetish. More our speed was the local artisan market down by the water: jewelry, knitted items, carvings, etc. I bought 4 necklaces over 2 days and still regret not buying more. But then again, I also have a necklace fetish.
Anne's luggage arrived within an hour of boarding. Lesson #2 (after the blizzard) in arriving well in advance of departure.
And then we boarded the boat and it all started to sink in. My heart raced a bit as somewhere amidst the quick tour of the boat and the 'welcome aboard' happy hour, our ship pushed off from the dock. Standing on the top deck of our ship, we cruised down the Beagle Channel and spotted birds as they passed by, including our first penguins, Magellenics. And then soon enough we left the mainland behind. We were really going to Antarctica.
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