2:00 a.m. – Rise and shine!! Today we get to fly to Antarctica!!! We hve to get up, get things in our backpacks and ready to go for our early morning transfer and flight.
Why so early you ask? Good question. Normally on an Antarctica cruise, you would board the ship in South American and sail for 2 days across the Drake Passage – the part of the ocean where the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans meet. It is a notoriously rough stretch of water so Silversea Expeditions added an itinerary where you Fly the Drake instead of sailing it. 2 hour flight versus 2 days on rough water. They charter 2-3 planes to fly all of the passengers across but when they land in Antarctica, it is on a military base with a dirt runway and no instrumentation equipment to guide the pilots in so they have to be able to see the runway clearly. If the weather doesn’t cooperate, they cannot fly. So, while our flight was scheduled for 12 noon, it got bumped up to 5 a.m. due to cloudy weather coming in.
3:15 a.m. – Just before we get on the transfer bus to the airport, we have a continental style breakfast in the hotel lobby/restaurant so I grab a quick sandwich and some water.
4:00 a.m. – The airport is empty since they are not technically open as we are a charter flight just for Silversea Expeditions guests. Actually, 3 flights as we are split into groups of about 70 on each flight. Security was very brief since there weren’t very many of us and they staggered the transfer times so we didn’t have to wait in security long.
5:00 a.m. – The flights that we are using have the wings attached to the top of the fuselage so the engines are higher off the ground. This is because we have to land on a dirt runway in Antarctica and they try to keep the gravel out of the engines.
We have to walk outside to board the plane. Not so bad out as temps are in the lower 50s but the wind makes it a bit chilly. The flight is about 2 hours and they take care of us with food and drinks. Very smooth and enjoyable flight.
Boarding the plane for Antarctica
This plane has 3 seats on the left side and 2 seats on the right but they don’t fill the middle seats. That gives everyone a bit of extra elbow room which is a great thing as we have to put on waterproof pants and knee high boots while on the plane. We had reasonable legroom but trying to put on knee high rubber boots and pants is a little tricky on a plane.
7:00 a.m. – We arrive on King George Island off the coast of Antarctica. It’s hard to explain the set up, but there is no airport terminal, just a couple of shipping containers turned in to waiting rooms. But they are not large enough to hold all 200+ passengers at once. So, there is a choreographed dance that takes place to get passengers off the plane and in to the waiting rooms, then once bring passengers who finished the previous cruise have to get on the plane. Again, it’s quite a logistical feat to move people around so the returning passengers don’t mix with the incoming passengers all while they clean each plane and clean the ship. Just incredible how they do it.
We wait on our plane for about 45-60 minutes while all of this is taking place. Finally we are escorted off the ship and into vans which drive us down to the beach. There are zodiac boats (inflatable rubber crafts that hold between 8 and 16 passengers) waiting for us to take us to the ship. First we have to be fitted with a life jacket and we get to check out the penguins that are about 15 feet away from us!
We arrive on King George Island, Antarctica
8:15 a.m. – We put on our life jackets and climbed in to the zodiac. As part of our safety briefings, we learned the proper technique for getting in and out of the boats. We thankfully only have our backpacks because anything you don’t give the cruise line as checked luggage you have to hold on a wet boat with water splashing around.
We arrive at the ship and exit the boat on to the cruise ship. As you walk up the stairs, a staff member sprays the bottoms of your boots off to remove any sediment from the beach. At the top of the stairs, you step in to a tub with a solution to disinfect your boots too. This is a process we will come to know as each time you step foot on land, you have to repeat this process once back on the ship.
Further up the hallway is the Mudroom which is where we store our boots. They have these awesome boot warmers that you hang your boots on and everyone has a locker to store their life jacket or any other items when you leave the ship.
8:30 a.m. – I am all checked in and able to explore the ship. Only bad part of this expedition is that we now have 2 layers of pants as well as a heavy parka, plus my backpack. I have an expensive camera in my pack so I don’t want to just leave it sitting on a chair or in the corner, like some are doing.
10:00 a.m. – There is a mandatory briefing about safety, life on board the ship and how everything works in general. This lounge isn’t large enough to hold everyone at once so I am in the hallway just listening to it instead of watching the presentation. Good thing I have already watched the videos and have an idea of what should happen.
The rooms are now ready so everyone makes a mad dash to their room. Good thing there are only 200 passengers so it is not a big deal with elevators or stairs being crowded. I change out of my extra pants and leave my parka behind.
All rooms are suites
Balcony view
11:15 a.m. – One of my goals is to do a kayak excursion and there is a mandatory meeting for anyone wanting to kayak. I am super excited but it is essentially a lottery system as to whether or not you can kayak. Only 12 guests kayak at a time and only 2 times per day. Weather is a big factor in kayaking so if the water is too choppy, you don’t get to go and they push yours back to the next time. I sign all of the waivers and get my name in the system. Woohoo!
12:30 p.m. – There are 3 restaurants to choose from, a buffet, the main restaurant and a specialty French restaurant. I selected the buffet which is in the pool area with lots of glass to see the landscape outside.
1:30 p.m. – We finish up lunch and head upstairs to the Panoramic Lounge in the top front of the ship. We grab some adult beverages and the travel advisors start talking “shop” a little bit.
3:00 p.m. – It’s been a long day of traveling and since lunch service is concluded, they open up the pool and hot tub. I relax in the hot tub for a while.
4:00 p.m. – I decide to wander the ship and take some pictures of the passing landscapes. We see some whales but I am too far away to get any pictures but it was super cool to see them.
5:30 p.m. – We make our way back to the Panoramic Lounge for some pre-dinner drinks.
6:00 p.m. – Each evening at 6 p.m., there is a daily recap and a talk about what tomorrow will look like. Very interesting with weather conditions, times are listed for each group to go ashore and other tidbits.
7:30 p.m. – Dinner time! Tonight we enjoy the main dining room, simply called The Restaurant. Beef Carpaccio, lamb & rice, corn chowder and apple crisp with ice cream.
Dinner in The Restaurant
9:30 p.m. – Most evenings there is live music in the Panoramic Lounge so we decide to see what that is about. There are only 2 musicians – one on piano and one on guitar but they are awesome!
11:30 p.m. – Boy, we have been up for almost 22 hours now so I am getting sleepy. I head back to the suite to jot some notes and get ready for bed. Good night!!
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