20221228-29 Wednesday December 28-Thursday December 29, 2022; The Long Journey Home
We never did get a chance to get off the ship in the evening as the ship did not relocate to the city pier until the wee hours of the morning while everyone was asleep. Everyone was pretty busy with getting everything back into suitcases which had to be out in the hallway before 11pm.
The buffet opened for breakfast early so the full selection was available as everyone prepared to disembark. Passengers had to be out of the staterooms by 8AM and disembarkations were staggered by luggage tag groups over several hours. It was really the first time that the ship seemed a little crowded in the living room, although there seemed to be adequate space and seating for anyone who wanted one.
Transfers to the airport got a little confused because the charter flights from Ushuaia to Buenos Aires ended up inexplicably delayed by several hours. Fortunately, we all had 6-9 hour layovers planned in Buenos Aires. When the buses initially arrived at the airport, the staff thought they would be returning us to downtown Ushuaia to wait for the several hours delay, and then be transported back to the airport, but it was only 41˚F with rain and winds to 25mph. Nobody was particularly looking forward to being dumped on the streets of Ushuaia under those conditions for several hours. Janet even got off the bus to fetch a warmer coat out of the carry on luggage in the coach's hold and lobbied sternly to be allowed to remain at the airport. Eventually, the staff relented and allowed everyone to exit the bus and wait it out in the airport terminal.
It's a good thing we did so because Viking had failed to get boarding passes for most of the passengers and the check in lines were backed up. Also the security lines at Ushuaia airport were pretty much overwhelmed and it took close to an hour to get through to the gates. The charter planes arrived 4 hours late. When we got to Buenos Aires, we were still unable to check into our American Airlines flights back into the US. The American Airlines counters would not be open for checking in until just 3 hours before boarding time. Viking held our luggage and provided lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe at the Buenos Aires airport. When we sat down in the restaurant, which was filled with Viking passengers, we were immediately assaulted by mosquitos. We couldn't imagine how there could be mosquitos in the middle of an air conditioned airport unless there was stagnant water somewhere behind the scenes where the mosquitos were breeding.
The lunch was pretty mediocre, especially after 10 days of the exquisite Viking Polaris cuisine. There were some decent meat empanadas, but the main course of dry salad without dressing, overcooked steak and french fries left much to be desired. There was ice cream or sorbet for dessert, and soft drinks and beer were included. Refills on the drinks were hard to come by.
When we were finally allowed to recover our luggage from Viking, we had to get it through the check in lines. It wasn't bad for Ben and Janet who were flying business class, but for the kids, the line was huge, and it took an hour to get through it. But they all managed to get their bags checked and boarding passes. Then we had to get ourselves through customs and immigrations, which also took a very long time. By the time we arrived at our gates, there was less than an hour before boarding began for our outbound flights out of Buenos Aires. We were surprised that we had to undergo yet another security screening at the time of boarding right at the boarding gate where they hand screened our carry on luggage to remove any liquids over 4oz. During the earlier screening before the gates, we were allowed to keep water bottles. There were no water fountains or any facilities to fill water bottles with safe drinking water in the airport, so you could only purchase water or other beverages at the restaurants and vending machines. There should be a Geneva Convention rule that mandates availability of safe and free drinking water at all international airport terminal waiting areas.
Remarkably, everyone boarded their homebound flights without notable delays, and everyone made all their homebound connections without losing any luggage. It is truly a sad state of affairs when this is viewed to be an exceptionally rare thing and considered a blessing when it happens. The chaos, stress and anger caused by American Airlines and Viking Air so severely marred the beginning of this journey for everyone that it could easily dissuade many from ever considering leaving home ever again on an international flight to catch a cruise ship going anywhere. There will certainly be some serious correspondences with the customer relations departments at American Airlines and Viking Air, as well as to the Department of Transportation seeking compensation and regulatory changes to better protect passenger rights.
We are grateful to the one American Airlines agent who spent over 3 hours in the middle of the night in Peru working with Ciara and Tom to work out a flight that got them to Ushuaia 2 hours before the ship departed, and to Captain Maggie for promising to hold the ship for Ciara and Tom's arrival. They ended up with a bit of celebrity as tales of their Incredible Race spanning 36 hours and 7 international airports in 3 countries spread around the ship.
In the end, I can only say that Antarctica is a remarkably spectacular and unique destination, but it is also a very unpredictable and unforgiving place. Going there really is an expedition. It's not Disneyland. Nothing is guarantied except changeability. We were there during Antarctica's summer so the temperatures were moderate (close to freezing most of the time), but conditions frequently changed within a matter of hours. We had a glorious landing at Damoy Point that was worth the entire trip. The scenery and whole experience were just out of this world. And the experience of being surrounded by so many whales at Paradise Bay will also never be forgotten. But Antarctica is a very wild and unforgiving place. Even with 4 layers of clothes, ski goggles and heated gloves, when the wind and rain whipped us in the Special Operations Boat, you knew the price for lack of proper preparation in a place like this can be very high. You can see how easy it would be to die in a place like this.
There were many disappointments caused by poor wind, wave or ice conditions that cancelled half our landings, and many of the planned submarine and kayaking excursions. We were also disappointed that our last port of call to President's Head in the South Shetland Islands and scenic cruising around Cape Horn were both cancelled by a rapidly approaching severe storm system that would have trapped us in Antarctica for days. Both the Viking Polaris and Octantis were instead sent on an early race back across the Drake passage ahead of the worst of the storm.
We know all of these things are out of Viking's control, but in the marketing materials, a high expectation is set for passengers who expect to see and do what is in the itinerary. What Viking must do is a better job of explaining that these expedition cruises into Antarctica are just that- expeditions. Antarctica will dictate what can be seen and done on her own terms, and we can only show gratitude for what she allows us to see and do. We should be thankful to the highly skilled crew who get us to this very wild place, and return us safely and in comfort. Just last month, one passenger died and 4 others were injured on this very same ship while crossing the Drake Passage when it was hit by a rogue wave. When passengers sign up for kayaking or submarine dive excursions, it should be made clear up front that signing up only puts passengers in a lottery for participating on these excursions if weather, sea and ice conditions allow, and that there is a less than 50% chance of any excursion actually every taking place because of Antarctica's fickle and unforgiving nature.
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We did have a true Christmas miracle in being able to experience Antarctica together as a family, to have set foot on the 7th continent, seen some of her secrets up close, and to have returned safely. For us, it probably will be a once in a lifetime experience because out of all our travels and adventures in the past, this has clearly been by far the most expensive, inconvenient and troublesome one. But in the end, it was well worth accomplishing and the memories of the experience will certainly bond us as a family and last a lifetime.
If you are interested in a video Tour of the ship or overview of the Expedition experience, you may view them on YouTube.
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