Days 284 – 287: Antarctic Cruise Days 20 – 23: At Sea
The captain cut our time in Antarctica/South Georgia short by one day, as the weather forcast showed two big storms brewing in the Southern Atlantic Ocean. His plan was to book it as quickly as possible through one and try to catch a break of good weather inbetween the storms. “It’s going to be rough,” he warned over the PA. Sure enough, our first full day at sea was a doozy! We had to camp out in the common area at the back of the ship as our stateroom was bouncing up and down like crazy. When we returned to our room at the end of the night, we were a bit alarmed to see monster waves crashing over our balcony! Glad we didn’t pay extra for that balcony, as it would be a death trap to try and use it…
OK, these waves must be over 30ft high, since they are BREAKING OVER OUR 5TH FLOOR BALCONY!
During our final four days at sea, we had a challenge to keep ourselves entertained. We got a lot of writing done, and finished a rough itinerary for our Patagonia road trip. Other than that, there wasn’t any “work” for us to do (nor Facebook to idle away the time!), so we attended more educational lectures (up to three per day), binge-watched Downton Abby, and ate lots of food out of boredom.
Going to Afternoon Tea (’cause, that’s what you do when you are at sea and need to fill the time) and listening to the ship’s cast of singers belt out showtunes
Once the storm dies down, we get some lovely sunny weather – perfect for hanging out on deck and watching the albatross circle the ship
Igor gazes into the distance as the albatross flies away
Indonesia-themed lunch! The kitchen staff are amused are how excited we are to get a fried egg on our Nasi Goerang
Lindsay breaks open a bottle of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc from our minibar to “help her” research our upcoming road trip in Argentina
During our last full day at sea there is a formal farewell and applause for the ship’s staff. Well done, guys…now go make my dinner.
So, here’s a helpful hint for anyone considering a cruise with Seabourn: caviar is available ON DEMAND. Apparently everyone on board knew this rule, but we were lazy and didn’t read the info material given to us the first day, so we didn’t find out until the last week of the cruise. Good thing, too, otherwise they might have run out of caviar!
Igor takes full advantage of the unlimited caviar policy and gets his fill of delicate, delicious black sturgeon caviar every night for the rest of the trip.
Second food related tip for Seabourn: they will cook ANYTHING you request given 24hr notice. When we ask the restaurant manager, Damir, if we could make request, he gets out his notebook and welcomes us to order away.
“Can we have some cookie dough ice cream, please?” The manager’s face falls – he was hoping for a challenge.
“That’s it? You don’t want Crepes Suzette? Chocolate Soufflé? Cherries Flambé? How about a Baked Alaska?” Our ears perk up at the last one.
“Baked Alaska? Really?! OK, yes – we would like that!”
Damir also talked us into some insanely decadent caviar appetizers and warm chocolate ganache cake on top of that. If that had been our last meal, we could have died happy.
Baked Alaska, made JUST FOR US. Thank you, Damir!
Our final day at sea ended with a sunny patio-party as we sailed into port at Montevideo, Uruguay, one day ahead of schedule. While it was nice to get off the boat, we were starting to get depressed – our fabulous cruise was ending! The endless champagne, the delicious food, the comfortable beds – our luxurious hotel would float away without us in less than 48 hours, and we would be back to being bums in South America! The only logical response to this horrible state of affairs, was to indulge in as much debauchery as we could while it lasted!
Afternoon patio party with desserts from around the world – Wanna wash down some Anna Pavlova from Australia with a frosty can of Fosters?
Norwegian pudding (with a Viking hotel director!) and caramelized crème brulee from France
The party starts to come to an end as we see land ahead and a pilot boat arrives to guide us into port – we’ve reached Uruguay!
We decide to save our sight-seeing for tomorrow, but we do get off the ship as we have a few errands to run, so we catch an amazing sunset as our taxi drives past the beach
Watching some of our new friends dance the night away on our last carefree evening on the Quest
Lindsay and Igor joining in the party
While Lindsay & Igor turned a few heads with their ballroom dance moves, no one could match this guy for enthusiasm!