SEABOURN ADDS SEVENTH CONTINENT ON 'ULTIMATE ANTARCTICA & PATAGONIA' VOYAGES

Seabourn plans to extend its repertoire of highly desirable cruising destinations to include Antarctica for the first time in 2013. Seabourn Quest, the newest ship in Seabourn's award-winning fleet, will begin a series of four 21- to 24-day voyages sailing between Valparaíso, Chile and Buenos Aires, Argentina starting in November of 2013.

The all-suite ship will cruise the Chilean coast, including visits to Puerto Montt for the Chilean Lakes District, Castro on the huge island of Chiloé, and Puerto Chacabuco, from where guests can tour the magnificent Torres del Paine National Park. Then the intimate ship will thread the glaciers, peaks and channels of the Chilean Fjords, culminating in a transit of the Beagle Channel and its spectacular Glacier Alley. Weather permitting, following a call at Ushuaia in Argentina's Tierra del Fuego, Seabourn Quest will cruise by Cape Horn bound for the Southern Ocean. Guests on board will experience five days in Antarctica, including scenic cruising of highlights such as the breathtaking Lemaire Channel, picturesque Paradise Bay and the Gerlache Strait. An experienced Antarctic expedition staff will ensure that guests enjoy the best of the numerous available sites for landings and cruising in smaller inflatable boats, based on real-time weather and wildlife reports during their Antarctic adventures. Scientists, naturalists and other lecturers in a number of disciplines will speak on board and accompany guests ashore to add insights to their once-in-a-lifetime experiences.

During the South Atlantic portion of the voyage, guests will enjoy visits to Port Stanley, in the Falkland Islands, and Montevideo, Uruguay's capital, en route to or from Buenos Aires.

A 24-day Holiday version will include two days exploring the sub-Antarctic wildlife Eden of South Georgia Island, renowned for its beauty and its vast, teeming rookeries of king penguins and other seabirds, as well as breeding elephant and fur seals.

Seabourn's new Ultimate Antarctica & Patagonia sailings are available presently for sailings beginning in November of 2013.

heaven on earth

The Seabourn Sojourn with Handre as CD is now a "pirate ship" according to Argentina. She visited the Falkland Islands and wasn't able to tender guests in, but that's still a No No with Argentina. It seems now that any ship visiting the Falklands is no longer welcome in Argentina. Regent, Oceania and others have cancelled future stops in Stanley, including the Mariner's upcoming Circumnavigation South America.

Jim

oh no, It's a cute, quaint town. Glad we've visited Stanley if it's now off limits !

Going to be interesting not sure how a boat as large as the Quest can land that many people by zodiac. There is a maximum allowed on shore at one time. I guess they just give everyone a turn and landings are short. Another thought is that they will limit the numbers of guests. Plus I bet they don't have reinforced ice hull. This will be a challenge. If they can logistically pull this off it would be great to have a nice ship like this in Antarctica and even a couple of landings would really mean so much as just sailing around does not do the real experience of Antarctica justice. Might be just the ticket for those that just want a taste of Antarctica without a regular style expedition cruise with many landings.

Pat and I are taking the Seabourn Quest's Holiday Antarctic cruise this year (2014), and are wondering if anyone has advice on tours and tour guides in and around Santiago (we plan to fly in, arriving on Dec 18) as well as a transfer/tour to Valparaiso to embark on Dec 20th. We disembark in Buenos Aires Jan 13, planning to stay there a couple of days, so similar tour/tour guide advice there would be welcome as well, as would recommendations for (or against) hotels in both cities. We visited Iguazu Falls before joining the last leg of the Navigator’s World Cruise back in 2002, so we won’t be repeating that very worthwhile experience. Thanks in advance.

By the way, this cruise is not calling at the Falklands, so the Argentinians will have no beef with us, although other of Seabourn's Antarctic cruises this year and early next do call there. This cruise goes to South Georgia instead, which in 1914 hosted the whaling station Ernest Shackleton finally reached by sailing from Elephant Island in a small boat with a crew of six - 17 days across 800 miles the world's least hospitable ocean, then 26 miles through the mountains of South Georgia itself to reach the station, all this after more than 500 days being trapped in the Antarctic ice pack and then marooned on the ice pack itself. He was then able to go back and rescue every one of his other 21 colleagues, overall a truly incredible feat!

I only know this because the NOVA film on the reenactment of Shackleton’s epic journey is currently playing on our local PBS station. It has certainly stimulated our interest in the cruise!

Pat and Mike, Antarctica is VERY special, you'll LOVE it! We went there with then Radisson in 2006. As I recall we stayed in Santiago Sheraton then toured wineries on way to Valparaiso. Might have been an included tour OR an extra fee.

We had great weather. Day of deck barbecue it was sunny, blue sky and 52 degrees and we were anchored in Paradise cove - truely Paradise!

Cold of course, but I wore cotton glove inserts to operate camera without freezing fingers! Regular gloves too cumbersome.
Bon Voyage!

Mike, it's been years since I first met you and Pat, on a short jaunt to the Chilean Fjords that Ngaire escorted. Todd Riley recalls that we used a company, TravelSur, which is still in business.

Not sure whether they arranged transfers from the airport to hotel, and city tour, as well as a visit to a winery on the way to the ship in Valparaiso. We used them for a private tour in Puerto Montt on the day we had a lunch which you attended, that was shown on the internet live from the restaurants webcam. That was so much fun! I think that was in 2003 or 2004.

Editing to say, that restaurant still has a photo of Ngaire that day on their website.
http://www.chilotitomarino.cl

I really loved that cruise in the fall of 2003 - we had one of the best deals of our lives because the Navigator blew out a bow thruster and cancelled two of the cruises we had booked, so instead, with a hugh boost from Ngaire, we got to cruise from San Francisco to Rio de Janiero on the Mariner instead. The last time I cruised with Todd, on the Navigator, he was looking for duct tape, which I usually carry, but that was a local Caribbean cruise; we drove over to Ft. Lauderdale, had packed late, traveling light, and plain forgot the tape!

I do think the lunch in Puerto Montt was a real kick, and Ngaire dancing with that very young man was clearly the highlight! Those were the days. We were on the Mariner 43 days, home for a week or 10 days, flew up to our home town in upstate NY for a couple of weeks over the holidays, then back home in Florida for a week, and out to LA where we joined the Voyager's first World Cruise as far as Melbourne - 37 days - then drove around Australia for another three+ weeks!

I'll check out the Sheraton Ted, and also TravelSur Betty, although I seem to recall walking to the restaurant that day - Pat and I were late, which she will be the first to tell you is my perpetual state of arrival - my whole family, according to her. And after 49 1/3 years, she's usually right.!