For the past ten years, my ship travel has been on small vessels ranging from 22 passengers (UnCruise) to 190 (Adventure Canada). Then, two years ago, I signed on for a Norwegian Cruise Lines transpacific crossing from Seattle to Japan. The cost was less than flying business class to Japan and provided plenty of sea days that allowed my husband and me to work on personal projects (mostly music-related). It turned out to be a very pleasant trip despite having 2,000 passengers.
Recently, my friends gave glowing reports of Silversea cruises they’d taken. Silversea’s ships are smaller than NCL but larger than most of the adventure cruises I've been om. My friends are such devoted Silversea fans that I decided to try a trip from San Pedro to Papeete to see if my husband and I would like it. We did. We are people who love sea days. What made that cruise even better was that we “won” an upgrade auction to a Grand Suite. I bid low on it, thinking I wouldn’t have a chance, and bid high on a lower-category suite, hoping to win that. To my surprise, we won the higher category.
The trip was so fantastic that I am thrilled to be embarking on the Puerto Williams to Cape Town cruise. This voyage will stop at some of the most populous places for sea birds and penguins, including South Georgia Island and the difficult to get to Tristan da Cuncha.
Two Climates! Again!
For some reason, I keep planning trips that require both cold-weather and hot-weather clothing. Our first trip to Africa included a 24-hour layover in Paris. Since we were staying at an airport hotel, I didn’t think much about packing for the weather. Then, after landing, we realized we could take public transport into Paris. Why not?
Why not? Because it was the middle of winter. It was cold. It was raining. We had only safari clothes—nothing warm. Still, we hopped on the train then ran to Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower (which was enclosed in fog and only open to the first level), and finally found a warm café where we had beef bourguignon and a genuine café latte. The food and drink made all the shivering worth it. I learned from that trip to pack differently. For this trip, I have clothes for temperatures ranging from 38°F to 87°F, and I’m bringing a raincoat.
Essentials to Pack
When people find out that I’ve been to the Swedish Ice Hotel (sleeping on ice), the Northwest Passage, skiing in Yellowstone National Park at -40°F, and traveling through West Antarctica for 30 days, they are amazed to learn that cold weather and I don’t get along. However, extreme weather fascinates me, so I’ve learned to pack properly. Years ago, I purchased my own Muck boots for their superior cold-weather insulation. I bring hand and foot warmers, pack layers, and always carry extra gloves. This ensures I can comfortably stand on deck to view seabirds and whales, and hike on land to encounter penguins. For this trip, Silversea provided an option to rent boots, which I’ve taken advantage of—it frees up space in my luggage, allowing me to pack for two climates.
The Tyranny of Luggage Regulations
I love flying international business class because of the liberal luggage requirements. However, that doesn’t help for this trip, as our Santiago to Puerto Williams flight has restrictions—most notably, only one checked bag. I’ve traveled so much over the years that I own just about every size and shape of luggage. In addition to the charter flight restrictions, the post-cruise safari has further limits: we can check a soft-sided “safari bag,” and our carry-on must also be soft-sided to fit properly. I had to find a safari bag and make space in my checked luggage to carry an empty safari bag. Once in Cape Town, our large checked bags will be sent ahead to Johannesburg for our flight home, while we live out of our small, soft-sided safari bags for a few days. (Image: The checked bag, )
I’m familiar with the “safari bag” drill from a recent trip to India and Nepal with Tauck, which required one for the safari portion. In that case, Tauck provided the bag. For Africa, we must supply our own, so I’m using the Tauck-branded bag. Is that poor etiquette? I decided that the company that gives me a bag deserves the advertising.
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