Kavey - What a very sad ending for her and her family. Of course everyone would be disappointed to not have the cruise they had planned, especially the continental landing. For so many this is a trip of a lifetime. I guess that it is in circumstances like this that one needs to become philosophical and count their blessings.

Kavey -- sorry to hear about the ending to that situation. That is just terrible.

Chris

I had really been hoping that she would be OK and that we'd hear some good news on our return home. So her passing was certainly a sad thing indeed.

The only positive is that she was an older traveller and passed away doing something she really enjoyed.

Just a quick note to say that we just returned from our trip to the Falklands, South Georgia and Antarctica with Quark Expeditions on the Orlova. I have 300GB of pictures to go through and eventually I will write a trip report, but for now I will just say that the trip was a wonderful experience and I really enjoyed it a lot. If anyone has any specific questions, I would be happy to answer them while I am working on the pictures and the trip report.

I would like to thank the members of this Forum again for their extremely helpful advice in helping me plan and pack for this trip. Thank you!

Chris

Welcome back, Chris! Glad it lived up to expectations, can't wait to hear more about it!

Kavey, thanks, and thank you for your pre-trip advice as well. As I reflect more on the trip and look through our pictures, I am increasingly feeling what a profound experience it was. Kind of like the first time we went to Africa.

I am working hard on the pictures and hope I will have them done in about two weeks, then comes writing the trip report.

Chris

Chris - welcome back ... again ... my previous welcome back seems to have disappeared into the ether. I have a friend on her way back from Antarctica ... she returns tomorrow. Between your photos/trip report and hers, I'm looking forward to taking a couple of virtual trips back to that wonderful part of the world.

Chris, of the trips we've done that linger and linger and linger in the memory and have us desperately longing to go back, African safaris and Antarctica are both at the top.

Chris and Kavey, I agree - Africa and Antarctica are places that have an undefinable essence. I can't find my trip report when I do a search - for some reason it isn't coming up, but if you are interested in my December trip you can find it here: http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...ind&fid=31

Within the report is a link to some of the photos I took as well.

It was a magical trip and I think about it every day!

oops, wrong link. My report is here:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35176076

een (hope you see this, as this thread is from a long time ago!), I bookmarked your wonderful report a year and a half ago when I first booked my own Antarctic trip, and have come back several times to read it. Thanks so much for sharing your experiences.

Now that my trip is nearing, I'm ready to go shopping. I noticed you used kayak dry bags instead of waterproof photo backpacks, and I'd like to do the same. My question is - did you get the ones with backpack handles? I'm not sure of how it works when you go from the ship to the zodiac and then onto land - do you need to be "wearing" your pack and have your hands free? Or did you just get the dry bags that are big sacks and hand them off to someone? Thanks for your help.

Glad to hear that my report has proven useful.

The ideal would be to have your hands free -- not just when you're getting into and out of the zodiacs, but also when you're walking down the gangway. We bought the kind with the backpack straps and wore them on our backs ... also made it easy when we were on land as it kept our hands free for the camera; often there is nowhere to leave things when you get off the zodiac on shore.

Have a terrific time and I hope you come back to share your experience.

Eenusa's report rocks, doesn't it?

When you walk down the gangway to get onto the zodiac (and back up it when returning to the ship) you'll want at least one hand free. I preferred both as I found the footing a little scary, though it was fine. So either something that you can carry as backpack OR something with a handle you can slip over your arm and still use your hand to hold the rail. That said, some sure-footed passengers were quite happy with just one hand for the rail and had both backpack plus items in their free hand.

In the zodiac you will not be permitted to keep anything on your back but will need to store it on the floor of the boat, between your feet. So make sure, if it's a backpack, that it's not one that's really difficult to get on/ off.

In terms of ease of use, being able to drop a NORMAL backpack or back inside a waterproof bag (with handle) works fine, as once you are on shore, you'll either carry your bag as normal or, what often happens, leave it lying on the ground and come back to it as and when you need it.

Hey Kavey ... interesting reading that you had to remove backpacks when on the zodiac ... that wasn't our experience as everyone kept their packs on their backs. I didn't see anyone with an overly large pack, though. We were also discouraged from leaving our bags unattended, so we always took ours with us. Good to know that different operators may have different rules ...

Oh that's interesting. We were absolutely NOT allowed to keep backpacks on during zodiacs - they said that if we hit a rough patch of water or submerged ice, the backpacks may make the difference in terms of our balance and make it more likely for someone to fall backwards over side!

In terms of leaving the bags, it was quite common for people to leave them near the lifejackets/ boats. The crew were there anyway. We were encouraged to ensure they were heavy enough that they could NOT be blown away by strong gust.

And it was not a problem for us to leave them on the ground elsewhere, if we were within reasonably close distance, so could grab them if problem.

Of course, there was strong encouragement not to accidentally leave ANYTHING behind.

I felt very guilty when, on one occasion, I took a tissue fro my pocket to blow my nose, and part of it slipped out of my hand and flew away. I couldn't retrieve it or even spot it in amongst all the feathers being carried all over by the wind - lots of moulting going on. The crew member nearby said not to worry though as would degrade very quickly indeed. But I felt awful still! Littering not good!

Thanks een and Kavey, I've been having a difficult time visualizing the zodiac procedure and this conversation helps. I'm hoping to find the 70L dry bag backpack and see if my regular photo backpack with compartments fits inside. And still debating whether to bring my tripod, and if so, how I'll carry it...

Nutella, don't worry. Occasionally, when I wanted to take something extra ashore, such as a tripod, but didn't feel secure enough walking up/ down gangway with just one hand for the rail, I'd ask for help and one of the crew members would do an extra run up/ down the gangway for me to carry the extra item.

I took a monopod and my husband took a tripod - since we had our camera equipment on our backs, we easily carried them down the gangway and once at the bottom, gave them to the crewman in the zodiac who placed them on the floor of the boat, thus freeing our hands for the sailor's grip used to help us into the zodiac. Sounds more complicated than it is ... after the first time, you get used to the process - there are two crew members helping and they know what they are doing so just follow their instructions.

Okay, I'm sold on the tripod! I don't want to be "that woman lugging all the camera gear and slowing everyone down," but I'm sure that however much I have, someone will have more :)

Nutella
If you can fit it into your luggage and get it onto the ship, then take it. You can always leave it in the cabin if you realise after the first excursion that you don't want/ need it. Better to have it and not use it than not to have it and hanker after it!