Michele Travels

I’ve started this blog to chronicle our “Once in a Lifetime” adventure to Antarctica. James and I booked this trip in January, 2024. We will have two days in Santiago, Chile before our departure.

We are permitted to bring only one personal item and one 22″ suitcase on this voyage. We have learned, over the years, to travel light. The challenge in this requirement is that we will be in two completely different climates.

Santiago is forecasted to have temperatures in the 90F/32C range for the first few days. On Sunday we fly to Puerto Williams to board our ship. We will be in 30F/-1C temps for the following 10 days. Temperatures warm up slightly once we head back across the Drake Passage to the tip of Argentina and the Chilean fjords.

The Silver Cloud holds 254 passengers and meets the very specific environmental requirements needed to sail in Antarctica. We selected a balcony cabin that is mid-ship on a lower deck – to minimize motion that causes seasickness and to have closer viewing of marine life. I am very excited at the prospect of seeing whales swim nearby. I have packed our small binoculars and my long camera lens.

We haven’t sailed on the Silverseas cruise line before. I have to admit that the name alone kind of worried me… envisioning a floating retirement home. LOL Given the fact that this is an expedition itinerary, I’m expecting most folks will be around our age or younger.

We booked directly with the cruise line when we saw a greatly reduced fare offer. The service has been top notch so far. Our fare is all-inclusive. We could have opted for airfare to be included, but because James has so many air miles we received a generous credit. They provide a chauffeured town car pick-up and drop off between home and the airport. Once on board, there will be no bar bill, all activities and shore excursions are included along with all gratuities.

While on the Antarctic Peninsula there are only 3 activity options: kayaking, hiking or zodiac exploration. After seeing a recent video of a whale swallowing a kayaker (then spitting him out!) off the coast of Chile – I think I will pass on the kayaking!

If you have any tips, please put them in the comments! Fingers crossed, all will go smoothly. I’ll let you know!