Antarctica! - Day 9, Cierva Cove and life aboard

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We arrived at Cierva Cove at 7 am and I had my typical hot chocolate up in the Dome Observation Lounge on Deck 7. The weather did not look particularly appealing, though it was calm, so the kayakers were able to go out. For me, I decided to skip the day's zodiac excursion. It was nice. I took a long hot shower, read my book, and just enjoyed some me time. L went and said it was actually pretty good, though it did start to snow. They saw more swimming penguins and humpback whales, but they may have even seen a blue whale! It was not a humpback and was huge, so that was exciting. He also showed me a video he took of two penguins walking along a mini iceberg.... and one fell off! So cute!

It took us three hours to travel to our next destination, Palaver Point, where we were supposed to have an afternoon land excursion. However, the weather did not cooperate and the excursion was cancelled. So, not much to talk about this day; instead, I'll go over a little of life on board the World Voyager.

Presentations and Meetings

It seemed as though each of the expedition crew members had some presentations ready just in case we had bad weather days or to occupy us on the Drake Passage. They were always given in the auditorium, but you could also watch on the TV in your stateroom as long as attendance was not mandatory. Sometimes we went in person, sometimes we just watched from the room. On this particular day, we watched Alana present about humpback whales. It was quite interesting, including that if you get a shot of the full whale tail, you should register it on happywhale.org as it will help track their movements. If they have enough data, they can detect patterns that may help determine changes in shipping lanes to better protect the whales, for instance.

Other presentations included Marine mammals, Birds, Icebergs, Apex Predators, Shackleton's Discovery, Whaler life, the Last Continent, Antarctic Airport, Conservation talk, Rocket launching from equator (captain), fisheries and krill, Tierra del Fuego, and the "Invention" of Antarctica. Some were quite interesting and I liked seeing the individual enthusiasm from each of the crew members.

Every day, we met in the Atlas Lounge on Deck 4 at 6:30pm for our daily briefing. Here we would discuss what we saw that day and had the opportunity to ask questions. We would also discuss the plan for the following day, which almost always changed a little bit!

Excursions and Dressing for Adventure

The Mud Room was on Deck 3 and we would go down when our group was called, first to the Atlas Lounge, then cleared to the Mud Room. Our cubby holes were listed by room, so it was easy to find. We were each given our own parkas on the first day to keep in the cubby until we left; the parkas were excellent and I never once felt cold while we were wearing them. We also were temporarily given boots that we tried on the first day that were kept in the cubby; taking these off was fun with the boot clamp thing. We were also each given a buff and a toque that we could keep, also super nice. When I went outside, usually I just wore a sweater or a heavy rain jacket and sometimes just filp flops; those were often just short little exits out for some quick photos.

Meals and Food Options

Paula's Pantry on Deck 4 opened at 7am until 7 pm and was a place to get a coffee / hot chocolate and pastries or small snacks. The Madeira Restaurant was the main place for meals, with breakfast starting at 8 am. It was a buffet with great options as well as a small menu to select specialty items. I always just got the buffet, which usually consisted of scrambled eggs with veggies, vegetables, bacon, sometimes mushrooms or some form of leftovers done right. However, my absolute favorite every morning was the best rye bread I have ever had in my life with a nice spread of perfectly salted butter. I think that's the one I miss most.

Lunch was also a delicious buffet with plenty of options for salad, vegans, and cheese selections. They had a daily 'cooking station' which would serve something different each day, such as a pasta. Also, a meat station which also changed daily, but included burgers, or pork, or roasted chicken. Just a great lunch.

Dinner, though, was the real food star. The people who cruise frequently were typically dressed up and socializing. We kept to ourselves and just wore our regular clothes. I liked that the TV in our stateroom would list the changing menu each day, so you knew what to expect. They had a menu with the same things every day (salmon, steak, french fries, greens, etc). There was a vegetarian menu with usually two options for mains and appetizers. They had the Alma menu, which was a Portuguese option because the majority of the crew were based in Portugal. Then there was the main menu, which usually had four options for starters and four options for mains. You also had a choice of about 5 desserts. The portions were usually small to reduce food waste and to allow you to try other things if you so chose. One night, we had a special "Asian-themed" menu which just looked so delicious, that we ordered all four main courses plus two of the starters. I had the Thai coconut soup to start as the description was mouthwatering.... but is the most disappointing - basically, just a chicken broth, zero Thai flavor. Thankfully, the main courses were much better, though we expected more of the Indian butter chicken since the chef was Indian (we think he toned down the spice for more bland palettes of the clientele.... but like, no flavor really at all). The clear winner was the Filipino Pork Adobo followed by the Indonesian Nasi Goreng Udang. Somehow, we still found room for dessert....

And dessert... generally very good. Typically, small portions as well. I am not usually a dessert person, but I figured I would have to try them while I could. However, I often just got the ice cream. One night, there were five dessert options that we just could not decide on, so we ordered all five! And finished them! Well, L did most of the work. I think we both loved the baklava most.

In-room Entertainment

The in-room TV surprisingly had a lot of options. Since we were so remote, live programs (like the news) were few and frequently interrupted. However, they had three camera channels to watch the outside, and plus one was for the auditorium, so you could watch the lectures or presentations from the comfort of your room. They had the menu channel as well, which let you know what was planned for the dinners each night.

Unfortunately / fortunately, we watched many movies! Starting with some that were sort of akin to our boat experience, such as Castaway and The Abyss. Yikes. We also watched over the 11 days many other movies: Ever After, Fantastic Four, The Big Year, Misbehaviour, Big Trouble in Little China, Call of the Wild (new), Borat, Stuber, Idiocracy, Die Hard, Gift, Deadpool, Ford vs Ferrari, the Martian, The Racer, The Mountain Between Us, Bad Times at the El Royale, Romancing the Stone, Hitman (L hated!), Can You Forgive Me?, Keeping Up With the Jones's, and 9 to 5.

Our balcony was quite nice and we used it more frequently than expected. It could get cold and windy, but sometimes it was just peaceful to observe the surroundings in peace and quiet. I often saw icebergs and swimming penguins from the balcony, not to mention the distance landscapes or heavy snowfall overnight.

The shower was amazing. You had the options of rain shower, hose shower, or side jet showers, with combinations in between each of the options. Plus, shampoo, conditioner and body wash were included. The free minibar was stocked with soft drinks and a couple of beers and would be replenished during each room clean. You were also given 1GB free of data so I could upload a few photos to my family during the day.

Other

Often, we found ourselves, either together or individually, enjoying a hot drink and maybe a snack (pastry or small sandwich) from Paula's Pantry, and then sitting in one of the many lounge areas. There were tables and comfy chairs along the corridor on the 4th deck, as well as the Atlas Lounge which was mostly empty during the day. We often walked by the expedition team's office area, and from here you could look at information of each team member. They also posted a list of daily animal sightings.

On the 4th deck was also the (expensive!) gift shop where you could also round out your supplies (like rain pants or sunscreen). Reception was here as well as the spa. I went to the sauna early twice, which helped clear my head during my cold - I loved being able to look out the window in the sauna as we were moving.

On Deck 5, near our room and at the bow of the boat was an outdoor observation area with 'heated' benches; they were not exactly warm, just you would not get frozen by sitting on them. This was often a spillover or just a simple access area for wildlife or landscape views.

On Deck 6, the bridge was open a few times during our voyage. We went up one day and got to see the working controls, with the captain next to us in case of any questions. It was pretty interesting. There were also lists of certain crew members and it was cool to see all the different places they were from.

Most often, we found ourselves up on the 7th deck at the Dome Observation Lounge. I visited early each morning with it mostly to myself. We also would come up during the day to just watch the views, often getting lucky to see whales in the distance. We played cards up here and they had some other board games for the passengers. This is where afternoon tea was served as well as any celebrations such as the Antarctic Circle crossing. There was a nice outdoor open area on Deck 7 as well as a pool and two hot tubs; it was far too cold mostly to enjoy these. The pool bar was closed. I had planned to use the track up on Deck 8 more frequently, but the cold and wind made that a poor choice. However, it was nice alternative for some wildlife watching.

In the evenings, Atlas Lounge was a good place to get a drink and relax before or after dinner. They had a couple of fun things here too such as the first night of karaoke and one of the last night's crew Talent Show (I watched for about 30 minutes, but needed sleep!). In the Dome Lounge, it was the most lively at night. We went up once or twice for drinks and it was like almost everyone was there.

On one of the last days, the expedition crew presented in the auditorium about the overall experience, with each of them sharing their favorite experience with accompanying photo. It was very nice. L and I joked that we should have got the "Least Social" award. Most people seemed to make new friends and just party a lot. It looked fun. We were very solitary, though I noted other people around our ages that were also pretty low-key. It was a great mix of people actually - everyone seemed to have an amazing adventure!

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