The ship was previously used as a ferry, and had undergone a major re-fit a couple of years ago. I was pleasantly surprised to see the lovely big cabin we got - twin cabin with window. Quite a large cabin, plenty of wardrobe space, boxes of tissues, a hairdryer, comfortable beds, a desk and chair.....perfect. It was so nice to unpack after 2 weeks of rushing around South America. And nice that they had non-slip mats on the bedside tables and desk, it really helped keep stuff stable. The bathroom was quite tiny but it did the job. and we had Raquel, our Filipino cabin steward, who visited our cabin about 5 times a day to clean, tidy, make the beds, clean the bathroom.
Food was really great - big buffet for breakfast with bacon, eggs, pancakes, hashbrowns, cereal, yoghurt, fruit, toast, pastries, you name it. Lunch was also a buffet style, crispy salads, herbed salad dressings, things like madras chicken, or quiches, or meat pies, lamb and so on. Plenty of choice, soup included as well. Dinner was usually a 4-course meal, there were 2 options for appetizer, main meal and dessert, as well as a vegetarian option. The Filipino wait staff did a great job.
Not only were the meals big, the 'extras' were lovely too. 24-hour coffee/tea/water/hot chocolate/biscuits available. Popcorn served during a movie. Pretzels and peanuts at happy hour. We never went hungry!
The expedition crew on the ship was experienced, informed, friendly, and all had their own specialty of knowledge. it was a pleasure to get to know them all.
We awoke to find snow on deck, very exciting. The temperature had dropped as well, around zero or minus one or two. ....
