We were with you in this cruise! Thank you so much for filming the trip…we also climbed to the top of the peak. Totally awesome but a bit dangerous at the top!
Hi Patti!! Wasn't that an amazing trip?! Once in a lifetime type stuff. I completely agree, it was a LITTLE scary at the top of that Base Brown peak. 😬
Another great day. How many more will there be? Will you cover crossing the Drake Passage? Thank you for doing these. We are going at the end of January.
I think there will be at least 3 more videos for this trip. I do plan on covering the return across the Drake since it was a good bit different than the original crossing going south. I hope you enjoy your trip as much as we did!
Thanks for the great videos and commentary. I have two questions: 1: With regards to the land content, how much time was allowed on each excursion to the continent? 2: When will you be releasing your next video on this subject? I'm very conscious of how much time and effort goes into producing these types of videos. So once again thank you very much.
Hey Wayne, 1. Most excursions were around 1 to 2 hours including transfer from ship to shore so no more than 1.5 hours on shore usually. However, this was our decision in most cases as they just ran "ferry service" with the rib boats back and forth the entire day so if you wanted to stay on shore (for example at Base Brown or President's Head) you probably could have stayed for hours and hours if you wanted. Several of the stops were this way. The Special Ops and Kayak trips were "fixed length" usually 1 to 1.5 hours, no landings. 2. I have been on another Viking cruise for the last few weeks but hope to get back in and release a new video on this series pretty soon. Thanks for the encouragement, I appreciate it!
Thanks for the videos, Jeff! We’re enjoying the beautiful pictures, and also really appreciate all the practical advice. Do you have any opinion to share about your onboard internet connection? I’m curious how often it was stable, how often it was shaky, and how often you were cut off completely.
Hey Jim. Sorry for the delay. Funny you ask as my wife and I just got back from a Viking Alaska cruise (today) and we both agree that the Antarctica internet was BETTER than that on the Alaska trip. In fact, in our onboard survey (Alaska) it was the only thing we had to say of a negative nature. We recommended that they look into the new SpaceX Starlink Marine service. Anyhow, the internet on the Antarctica trip was really amazlingly good considering how far from civilization we were. I assume it must be satellite based and with a smaller ship and therefore smaller guest count it didn't seem to get overwhelmed at all as best I can recall. (Bear in mind we were the first trip and had a reduced guest count). We were able to push our pictures from our phones to various cloud backup services regularly and do all our normal email and web surfing. It is possible there were times it didn't work but I'm a pretty serious internet user and it didn't stand out to me as a problem ever (obviously no direct cell service, and no internet when you are off-ship but that is to be expected). I did have a weird thing where some of my photos were geo-tagged as being taken in Norway, especially on the Drake crossing...weird but maybe related to the registered location for the wifi provider (?). I hope this helps.
Hi Jeff, thanks for your great videos! We just booked our Antarctica trip with Viking in January. Do you know if there was a self service laundry facility on board the Octantis? Also, will you be completing your video series of your trip? Thanks...
Hey, thanks! We didn't use the laundry facilities but deck plans show a Launderette on decks 3 & 4. I assume they are similar to the Sea ships but can't confirm. Enjoy your trip!!
Another terrific video. Thank you so much. I gather you really think this is a worthwhile trip? Any reasons or cautions as to why you wouldn’t recommend it?
Thanks! Yes, we absolutely LOVED the trip, one of our all-time favorites. The only caution would be you are a long way from nowhere so any real medical emergencies might be a concern although they do have medical staff on board. For something very serious it would be difficult and time consuming to be transported to a medical facility. Beyond that, the Drake crossing can be a little rough, depending on your luck but you should be able to address that with medicine.
@@JeffTSanders thank you. One more question. Viking currently is only booking economy air for Polaris in late November. Do you recommend trying to upgrade to premium economy or biz class? What’s the flight like to Argentina and back to states?
@@mymentorjane6705 I would VERY MUCH recommend upgrading to the extent your financial situation allows. We signed up for "My Viking Air" business class on our trip due to the length of the flight and Viking actually changed our flight around multiple times in the week or two leading up to the trip. Not their fault and they dealt with it as best they could. This was due to a) us being on the first Antarctica trip, b) COVID impacting commercial flights heavily at this time, and c) a specific charter company they tried to switch to actually went out of business at the last minute so I think and hope you will not have any of this drama on your trip. On the way down we flew thru Buenos Aires (which was nice) and on the way back we had to stop in Montevideo (not so nice) to get security checked (and refueled) due to some TSA weirdness related to security in Argentina. Somewhere in all of this madness we ended up not getting a business class seat on the way home that we paid for. We were reimbursed by Viking but that doesn't help the fact that it was a very uncomfortable flight given my wife's claustrophobia issues. The business class flight on the way day, on the other hand, was a dream. Highly recommend upgrading if possible. It's a LONG day of flying. Hope this helps.
@@JeffTSanders thank you. You sealed the deal. Only right now Viking says business class is not available for sale and MAY be closer to the date so we’re in Regular economy. yikes!
Hi Jeff, Thanks for your insight. It may seem a silly question as the weather is unpredictable. Were the recommended layers necessary during the Antarctic summer? We are doing the same cruise November 13. Regards John
Hey John, I will say a qualified "yes". For the Special Ops boat rides I would wear EVERYTHING they recommend because they get going fast and are fairly open to the wind so it can get pretty cold. On other things like shore visits we occasionally dropped the sock liners, glove liners and neck gator. I would recommend bringing it all though. Easy to stick things in your jacket pockets if you don't need them vs. being cold. Enjoy!!
I was able to find a picture that I could see the label in. This is the one they use for excursions, such as the Special Ops boats. It's called the Viking YouSafe One. The Viking name appears to just be a coincidence, different company. I found this website with more info. I hope this helps. myviking.viking-life.com/en/Personal-Protective-Equipment/Lifejackets/p/PV9342
We were with you in this cruise! Thank you so much for filming the trip…we also climbed to the top of the peak. Totally awesome but a bit dangerous at the top!
Hi Patti!! Wasn't that an amazing trip?! Once in a lifetime type stuff. I completely agree, it was a LITTLE scary at the top of that Base Brown peak. 😬
Just wanted to say thanks for posting. To out of shape to do this . So get to see it through your posts.
You're welcome! 👍
Interesting how it didn’t look steep until you saw the views from the top!
Absolutely!
Thanks Jeff!
You're welcome!
thank you
You're welcome!
Another great day. How many more will there be? Will you cover crossing the Drake Passage? Thank you for doing these. We are going at the end of January.
I think there will be at least 3 more videos for this trip. I do plan on covering the return across the Drake since it was a good bit different than the original crossing going south.
I hope you enjoy your trip as much as we did!
Thanks for another great and very helpful video, Jeff.
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching.
Thanks for the great videos and commentary.
I have two questions:
1: With regards to the land content, how much time was allowed on each excursion to the continent?
2: When will you be releasing your next video on this subject?
I'm very conscious of how much time and effort goes into producing these types of videos. So once again thank you very much.
Hey Wayne,
1. Most excursions were around 1 to 2 hours including transfer from ship to shore so no more than 1.5 hours on shore usually. However, this was our decision in most cases as they just ran "ferry service" with the rib boats back and forth the entire day so if you wanted to stay on shore (for example at Base Brown or President's Head) you probably could have stayed for hours and hours if you wanted. Several of the stops were this way. The Special Ops and Kayak trips were "fixed length" usually 1 to 1.5 hours, no landings.
2. I have been on another Viking cruise for the last few weeks but hope to get back in and release a new video on this series pretty soon.
Thanks for the encouragement, I appreciate it!
@@JeffTSanders Thank you for the information, it was exacting what I needed to know! Looking forward to episode 9.
Thanks for the info Jeff. We are headed there in November on the Polaris. This series is very helpful!
You're very welcome. Enjoy your trip!
Thanks for the videos, Jeff! We’re enjoying the beautiful pictures, and also really appreciate all the practical advice. Do you have any opinion to share about your onboard internet connection? I’m curious how often it was stable, how often it was shaky, and how often you were cut off completely.
Hey Jim. Sorry for the delay. Funny you ask as my wife and I just got back from a Viking Alaska cruise (today) and we both agree that the Antarctica internet was BETTER than that on the Alaska trip. In fact, in our onboard survey (Alaska) it was the only thing we had to say of a negative nature. We recommended that they look into the new SpaceX Starlink Marine service. Anyhow, the internet on the Antarctica trip was really amazlingly good considering how far from civilization we were. I assume it must be satellite based and with a smaller ship and therefore smaller guest count it didn't seem to get overwhelmed at all as best I can recall. (Bear in mind we were the first trip and had a reduced guest count). We were able to push our pictures from our phones to various cloud backup services regularly and do all our normal email and web surfing. It is possible there were times it didn't work but I'm a pretty serious internet user and it didn't stand out to me as a problem ever (obviously no direct cell service, and no internet when you are off-ship but that is to be expected). I did have a weird thing where some of my photos were geo-tagged as being taken in Norway, especially on the Drake crossing...weird but maybe related to the registered location for the wifi provider (?). I hope this helps.
Hi Jeff, thanks for your great videos! We just booked our Antarctica trip with Viking in January. Do you know if there was a self service laundry facility on board the Octantis? Also, will you be completing your video series of your trip? Thanks...
Hey, thanks! We didn't use the laundry facilities but deck plans show a Launderette on decks 3 & 4. I assume they are similar to the Sea ships but can't confirm.
Enjoy your trip!!
More videos coming!
Another terrific video. Thank you so much. I gather you really think this is a worthwhile trip? Any reasons or cautions as to why you wouldn’t recommend it?
Thanks! Yes, we absolutely LOVED the trip, one of our all-time favorites. The only caution would be you are a long way from nowhere so any real medical emergencies might be a concern although they do have medical staff on board. For something very serious it would be difficult and time consuming to be transported to a medical facility. Beyond that, the Drake crossing can be a little rough, depending on your luck but you should be able to address that with medicine.
@@JeffTSanders thank you. One more question. Viking currently is only booking economy air for Polaris in late November. Do you recommend trying to upgrade to premium economy or biz class? What’s the flight like to Argentina and back to states?
@@mymentorjane6705 I would VERY MUCH recommend upgrading to the extent your financial situation allows. We signed up for "My Viking Air" business class on our trip due to the length of the flight and Viking actually changed our flight around multiple times in the week or two leading up to the trip. Not their fault and they dealt with it as best they could. This was due to a) us being on the first Antarctica trip, b) COVID impacting commercial flights heavily at this time, and c) a specific charter company they tried to switch to actually went out of business at the last minute so I think and hope you will not have any of this drama on your trip. On the way down we flew thru Buenos Aires (which was nice) and on the way back we had to stop in Montevideo (not so nice) to get security checked (and refueled) due to some TSA weirdness related to security in Argentina. Somewhere in all of this madness we ended up not getting a business class seat on the way home that we paid for. We were reimbursed by Viking but that doesn't help the fact that it was a very uncomfortable flight given my wife's claustrophobia issues. The business class flight on the way day, on the other hand, was a dream. Highly recommend upgrading if possible. It's a LONG day of flying. Hope this helps.
@@JeffTSanders thank you. You sealed the deal. Only right now Viking says business class is not available for sale and MAY be closer to the date so we’re in Regular economy. yikes!
Jeff, again, these videos are SO HELPFUL! Have you released anything beyond Day 8? I can't seem to find any of your videos beyond this one. Thanks!
Just released Day 9, hope you enjoy. Working on Day 10 next.
Hi Jeff,
Thanks for your insight.
It may seem a silly question as the weather is unpredictable. Were the recommended layers necessary during the Antarctic summer? We are doing the same cruise November 13. Regards John
Hey John,
I will say a qualified "yes". For the Special Ops boat rides I would wear EVERYTHING they recommend because they get going fast and are fairly open to the wind so it can get pretty cold. On other things like shore visits we occasionally dropped the sock liners, glove liners and neck gator. I would recommend bringing it all though. Easy to stick things in your jacket pockets if you don't need them vs. being cold. Enjoy!!
Love it!
Did you happen to note the note the brand of life vest they used?
I was able to find a picture that I could see the label in. This is the one they use for excursions, such as the Special Ops boats. It's called the Viking YouSafe One. The Viking name appears to just be a coincidence, different company. I found this website with more info. I hope this helps.
myviking.viking-life.com/en/Personal-Protective-Equipment/Lifejackets/p/PV9342