Final Communique arrived!

Now, we are really excited! Something about that fat envelope with luggage tags and travel documents is so exhilarating. We finally learned our cabin number, 327. It is right where we requested, low and center. We would be happy about this except for a recent sister ship Cruise Critic review reporting that it is a cabin that floods in rough seas due to a design flaw! Well, knowledge is power, we'll try to remember to keep everything well off the floor in case.

We got a passenger list! In the it's a small world category, we'll be sailing with Grinling's old veterinarian from El Paso, TX! Now, if you're reading along, you saw that I said we were on a Tulane Alumni charter. News today is, not quite! It is a charter, but there are 32 different colleges or universities listed along with 4 independent travelers with no school affiliation. There are 201 passengers listed and we are the only Tulane Alumni listed. There are people from 3 countries, USA, Canada and Turkey and from 28 states and 2 provinces. There are 4 other people from Raleigh and 15 from all of North Carolina. California and Texas are tied for most passenger counts.

I have scanned and will post below the pages of our Expedition to Antarctica Itinerary. Keep in mind that it is subject to change by the weather, seas, captain, etc....... Note that Page 5 is partial. That is because we go home, but the charter group may be continuing with a post cruise to Iguassu Falls. Once was enough for us! And our Yellow Fever vaccinations have expired!

Itenerary

Trip Preview

We leave to visit our 7th continent in less than a month now. We are really excited. We booked this months ago after receiving a Gohagan mailing from Tulane University Alumni Association for Clay. Since Le Boreal is a French expedition ship, we probably otherwise would never have sailed on her.

We realized just the other day that we will be in Antarctica for Mardi Gras! With a group of Tulane alumni! We expect that to be special. We are most worried about, the long flights, the notoriously rough waters of the Drake Passage, the luggage weight restrictions on the charter flight from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia of 33 pounds checked and 11 pounds carry on. That is not much for all the layers of clothes required. We have to wear our big knee-high rubber boots on the flight to Ushuaia, but the cruise line will give us parkas after we arrive. So, that is good to have one less bulky item to carry along. We are most excited about setting foot on our 7th continent and seeing lots of ice and wildlife.

Don't expect us to post blog entries during the trip... I am afraid that we will probably not have reliable Internet access, plus we are not taking a laptop due to our luggage and weight restrictions. I will be making notes each day though and will get a day by day report up with photos as soon as possible after our return. If I find I can make any posts while on the trip, I will do so.