Antarctica Cruise on Aurora Expedition's Greg Mortimer
Having not flown long haul for two years we were very excited to be heading to Heathrow one Friday afternoon in early March to board British Airways longest direct flight from London Heathrow to Santiago in Chile. Our fifteen hour overnight flight was the first leg of our journey to Punta Arenas in southern Chile where we staying for two nights before flying to King George Island in Antarctica to join Aurora Expeditions new x-bow designed ship, the Greg Mortimer, for an eight night voyage around Antarctica and back to Punta Arenas via the Chilean fjords.
Thirty hours after leaving home our wonderful corner room and room service dinner (we had to stay in isolation until we received the results of our PCR tests taken in Santiago airport) in Cabo de Hornos hotel in Punta Arenas couldn’t have been more welcome. Because of flight times we had arrived at the hotel a day early but would be meeting up with the Aurora ground team and our fellow passengers the following day. Cabo de Hornos hotel itself is probably the finest hotel in Punta Arenas and is perfectly positioned for a pre-cruise stay, being within walking distance of the port and having plenty of rooms with views out to sea and the ships coming in.
Despite our comfortable room and extreme tiredness we had a somewhat disturbed night because of the rather unusual Saturday night pastime in Punta Arenas for locals to race their cars around the streets of the city throughout the night until the sun starts to rise (at least we found out why there were ear plugs on our bedside tables). Nonetheless we set out early ready to explore the city before our scheduled Aurora antigen test and pre-departure briefing. Punta Arenas is renowned for being one of the windiest cities in the world but we seemed to have hit it lucky with clear blue skies making for a pleasant walk up to the Mirador Cerritos De La Cruz park view point and along the extensive coastal promenade which was buzzing with locals who were gathering for a planned family bike race. Later that afternoon we assembled with the rest of the Aurora passengers for our pre boarding lateral flow tests which thankfully all came back negative. After dinner we all came together again for our first briefing where we were informed that our flight to Antarctica was scheduled for 10am the next morning.
With a 7am departure the fabulous hotel team opened the restaurant early so we could all get something to eat before leaving for the airport. The Aurora ground team made sure we all got checked in ok and we all waited patiently for our gate to open. When they announced that we would be boarding a massive cheer went out from us all and we headed out to board our penguin plane for the 1 hour 45 minute journey to King George island with Antarctica airways. The plane was very spacious and the flight surprisingly smooth, probably helped along by the free flowing champagne.
We landed amazingly gracefully on the gravel runway and headed off the plane for a short walk along the runway to the booting up area. Everyone grabbed some muck boots and donned warmer clothes ready for the 2km walk from the runway down to the harbour where the zodiacs were waiting to take us on the short ride to the awaiting Greg Mortimer. Upon boarding we were directed to reception where our room keys were distributed and we were able to go straight to our fabulous balcony room on deck four, room 407.
The balcony room was modern and spacious with a large balcony adorned with two reclining armchairs on it. A small seating area complete with a two seater sofa, a dressing table and small occasional table was situated in front of the doors out to the balcony. The large bed was very comfortable with a large flatscreen TV built into the wall unit opposite the bed. Aurora have smashed it with storage with shelves, cupboards and drawers everywhere, as well plenty of full length mirrors. The best bit of the sizeable bathroom is a lovely heated floor and a powerful walk in shower with an adjustable head.
Lunch was being served in the main restaurant on deck five and our cruise card indicated our table number which would remain ours for the entire voyage at the buffet breakfasts and lunches, as well as the al a carte dinners. Although breakfast and lunch are buffet style, the crew serve everything for you, and with more crew than passengers on our voyage the service was exemplary, especially from Gerry who looked after our table of four. After a delicious lunch we went back to the room to quickly unpack before heading to the lounge for a full afternoon of briefings about our landings, the zodiacs , safety and our guides, followed by before our first dinner of the cruise and an early night in preparation for our early start the next day.
Our first full day aboard the Greg Mortimer and Rich and I were up at the crack of dawn having jumped out of bed at the sight of icebergs from our patio doors. From the top decks we noticed that we were surrounded by humpback whales, often time the sound of them spouting drawing our attention to them. Our first expedition that day was a zodiac cruise off the coast of Enterprise island, so called because it used to be a popular spot for the whalers catch and process whales for their oil. All of the expeditions start in the mudroom on deck three where each passenger is allocated a locker to keep their outer wear and boots in. Guests are scanned out of the ship here and then head down the stairs onto the zodiacs, with no more than ten guests on each of our zodiacs. We were on the first zodiac with our zodiac driver Justine and our naturalist Lauren and headed straight over to a ship wreck of an old whaler boat that in the early 1900s was celebrating the end of the whaling season with a below deck party when someone knocked over an oil lamp and set fire to the ship. The captain steered the ship into the island so all of the crew could get off but all they could do was stand and watch it burn.
As Justine guided our zodiac round the back of the ship Lauren excitedly spotted an Emperor penguin standing in the snow on the waters edge, the first she had ever seen in this region with them usually found in the Ross sea. We took our turn to take a look and then moved on to let the other zodiacs have a look. As we headed away from the wreck we were joined by a large leopard seal who took a bit of a liking to us and kept hugging our zodiac, putting its flipper on side of the zodiac and swimming beside us.
Leaving the leopard seal to romance the other zodiacs we spotted a few humpback whales on the horizon so our intrepid guides decided we should try to get over there. Although they were quite a long way off we persevered and were rewarded with a number of humpbacks pairs lurching and diving around us. Turning off the engines and simply taking in the wonder of it all, an eerie silence fell upon the whole zodiac as we sat and watched and listened to the noises they were making as they spouted, lurched, rolled and dived.
Before leaving Lauren asked us if we would be willing to take part in some Citizen Science, in this case measuring the amount of plankton in the sea using a Secchi disk. A Secchi disk is a large white disk weighted down so that it can be dropped into the sea and lowered down until it is no longer visible.
Back on board the ship we upped anchor and headed off for our next destination as we enjoyed a leisurely lunch. With just enough time to let our food go down we were all called down to the mudroom again to rug up ready for our next outing, this time a mainland landing at portal Point in Charlotte Bay. It really is hard to describe the awe and excitement at setting foot on land that so few have visited, walking on deeper snow than we have ever seen and listening simply to the sounds of nature as the glaciers and snow creak and crack around us. We spent a couple of hours wandering around the point taking in the views of the surrounding icebergs before getting back on board the zodiacs for a closer view of these magnificent floating blue sculpture-like works of nature.
That evening as we enjoyed cocktails in the lounge the wonderful expedition team briefed us on the plans for the next day as the ship set sail for Melchior Islands. Overnight the sea became a little choppier and on our morning wake up call our guide warned us that due to the weather and sea conditions we were already on plan C for that day. With snow on the open decks and freezing conditions our morning visit to the open decks was a little shorter than the previous day. Nonetheless after breakfast we headed out on the zodiacs even though the sea was quite choppy, there was snow on the zodiacs and the visibility was poor. Despite the driving snow we stayed out in Dallman Bay for over an hour simply marvelling at the scenery, spotting the odd fur seal along the coastline and an occasional penguin jumping out of the water. By the time we got back to the ship we were all freezing cold so we de-robed and grabbed a hot chocolate to warm us up. The polar plunge was scheduled to take place upon our return but when we got back but the swell and the snow meant it had to be cancelled so instead we all did our two day antigen test!
In search of better weather we again set off over lunch time, this time heading to Neko harbour where we hoped to see some penguins. After lunch we had a review and briefing in the lecture lounge then there was just time for a quick afternoon tea in the Elephant bar before rugging up for our next landing. Approaching the landing in our zodiacs there was no mistaking that there were penguins there, the smell hit you in the back of the throat, even with a mask on! We had free time on land to simply spend with the penguins or go on a small hike if we preferred. We decided to spend our time near to where we landed, simply watching the Gentoo penguins go about their daily business seemingly oblivious to our presence. Many of the penguins hung around on the rocky shoreline but we enjoyed watching them on the snow covered mound off to the right, which had three of four penguin highways carved into the snow. It was amazing how quickly the penguins could climb up the hill using these highways.
Although the weather had improved considerably since the morning whilst we were on our landing the clouds came back and the temperature dropped. Our return zodiac ride was a little more challenging than the outward journey because of the amount of sea ice that had drifted in whilst we were ashore. Despite the sea ice the re-scheduled polar plunge went ahead with the expedition team working hard to keep the ice away from the marina on the stern. Nearly half of the passengers decided to do the plunge as the rest of us cheered them on from the rear decks.
Our third full day in Antarctica started early with a coffee in the Observation lounge as we sailed through the narrow Lemaire passage with the captain navigating the narrow channels peppered with icebergs. Once we were through the narrowest point we grabbed a quick breakfast before gearing up for our 8am landing on Petermann Island. The zodiac landed on one side of the island so we could walk round the point and leave the island from the other side. Walking across the island we were surrounded by a waddle of Gentoo penguins and a small colony of Adélie penguins (identifiable by their black, rather than red, beaks). After an hour on the island we boarded the zodiacs for a cruise around the bay into an area know as an iceberg graveyard, peppered with large icebergs and sea ice, home to groups of lazing crabeater seals, some in pairs and others in larger groups. Whilst we were out on the zodiacs the ship followed us down the channel ready to pick us up a bit further along.
Back on board the ship we set sail for our next stop, Wiencke Island and along the way we were finally treated to some glorious sunshine as well as the odd lurching humpback whale. Our navigation to Wiencke Island included sailing down the Peltier channel, again testing our magnificent Captains’ navigational skills as he negotiated not just the narrow passage but a large number of icebergs along the way. Safely reaching Damoy Point the ship lowered its anchor and we boarded the zodiacs and headed to Port Lockroy, the UK Antarctic base and home to a traditional British red post box, the only one in Antarctica. Ashleen, our expedition leader and zodiac driver, quickly tethered us to the island so that she could post the postcards the guests had written to be posted from Antarctica, before heading off for our landing at Wiencke Island. On landing our first port of call was a traditional expedition hut, now preserved for visitors to get a feel of what living in Antarctica would be like. During our landing on Wiencke Island we went on a rather challenging hike up the mountain for a wonderful view over Port Lockroy and Mount Francais, the highest mountain in the Antarctic peninsula.
With the weather the best it had been since we boarded the crew had something special planned for us, a deck BBQ. But first we had our daily briefing, although it was hard to concentrate with the tempting, delicious BBQ smells emanating throughout the ship. As soon as we respectably could we headed up to deck eight to enjoy the delicious food with the most scenic backdrop. Despite the gorgeous weather it was freezing cold so when we could stand it no longer we all headed in to the Observation Lounge where the party continued late into the night.
Leaving our sheltered spot later that evening for our 18 hour transit back to the South Shetland islands, the sea started to build up waking us up in the middle of the night. By breakfast time the ship was moving quite a lot so we just had a little breakfast accompanied by a seasick tablet which sent us back to bed for a drowsy little sleep. After a couple of hours sleep we felt a bit better so we joined some of our fellow passengers in the lounge for a talk on penguins. At this point we were still hoping to land at Half Moon bay despite the high winds and whilst the Captain hung around in the bay for as long as possible hoping the winds would drop they didn’t let up, so eventually about 3pm we left the bay and started out transit through the Drake Passage and back to Chile.
As soon as we left the shelter of Half Moon bay and entered Drake Passage the seas picked up even more and though most passengers had collected in the Observation lounge for our sail away they quickly started to disperse as the waves picked up and the ship’s movement increased. Despite the movement and although it was a bit like sleeping in a washing machine we did manage to get a good 12 hour sleep (probably helped by the seasick tablets) but we woke up to find we were in the midst of a Drake Shake sailing in five metre waves. With the MV Greg Mortimer being quite a small ship we definitely knew we were in high seas, but the x-bow design clearly reducing the crashing noise and shuddering we have felt in other ships in these types of seas. Although the sea state remained the same throughout the day we enjoyed having a bit of a rest and relaxation in the lounge (thankfully situated in the middle of the ship, quite low down) and a lecture on whales.
After another choppy night we were relieved to wake up to calmer seas and clearer skies with the sun shining in through our balcony window. Early morning we had entered the Beagle channel with Argentina on our starboard side and Chile on our port side. The wind was still strong making it challenging for the pilot, who would take us all the way back to Punta Arenas, to board the ship. Although the wind made it almost impossible to go out on the open decks, the Observation lounge was the perfect location to take in the fjord views of our transit up the Beagle Channel. Throughout the day our fabulous guides out on a variety of lecture ranging from cloud formations, crime in Antarctica and the most appropriate of the day - wind!
During the night we were rudely awoken as the ship left the Beagle channel and briefly entered the open sea causing the ship to start rocking and rolling again! Thankfully after an hour or so we headed back into the Cockburn Channel entrance and the seas calmed down again. The expedition team planned for us to have a final zodiac cruise this morning, but as often happens in expedition cruising, we all rugged up and were waiting in the mudroom when the team announced that they were unable to deploy the zodiacs because of the swell on the sea. Instead, as we were all gathered together we headed up to the top deck for a group photo, where we were joined by a pod of dolphins to keep us entertained for a short while. With the photo taken we all disrobed and cleared our gear out of the mudroom, including the complimentary Aurora jackets we had all been given on embarkation, ready to pack our bags.
The end of our magnificent cruise was marked with a celebratory cocktail party where Massimo, our expedition photographer announced the winner of the photo competition and showed us the slideshow of guests photos he had put together. Saying goodbye to our wonderful expedition guides and fellow travellers was quite an emotional experience, knowing that we had shared a a unique and once in a lifetime experience with them. Though we were sad to say goodbye to the MV Greg Mortimer and her amazing team, we still had more than a week left on our epic Chilean adventure starting with five days in nearby Torres del Paine National Park in Patagonia (look out for our upcoming review of our time spent at Rio Serrano Hotel and Spa)
Thank you to our preferred travel partners Panache cruises and Aurora Expeditions who hosted us on this Antarctica cruise. We were hosted by Aurora who paid our cruise fare, including a one night stay at the Cabo de Hornos hotel, transfers from the hotel and ship to the airport, the flight to King George island and all of the expeditions. All other costs were covered by ourselves including the flights to get to Punta Arenas, an extra night at the Cabo de Hornos hotel and our onward journey. Neither Aurora or Panache had any editorial control over any of our content, either before, during our after our voyage.
If you enjoyed this blog why not take a look at our Uniworld Egypt and the River Nile cruise or a review of our week in the Galapagos Islands with Silversea Cruises. If you are interested in booking a cruise with these or any other luxury cruise lines then we would recommend contacting a connoisseur at our trusted cruise partners Panache cruises - please mention that you have been referred to them through Visit With Us.
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