Serene Wandering

Hispaniola is the second largest island in the Caribbean, behind Cuba.  The island is shared by two independent countries, Haiti and the Dominican Republic.   

There is a long messy history including colonization by both France and Spain without concern for the natives who lived there first.

In 1697 France and Spain agreed to split the island, but it was all French from 1797-1804.

In 1804, Haiti claimed independence. The Dominican Republic fought against Haitian control, gaining independence in 1844.

In 1863, the Dominican peoples were betrayed by a dictator who re-joined them to Spain.  The DR fought Spain and was separated in 1865.

Over time Spain imported African slaves and most of the natives had died by aggression or disease. (Seventy percent of current DR residents are mulatto.)

These past sentences should not be confused with a full history – these were just the primary points given to us by the tour guide.  

With that long and messy history, Haiti and the Dominican Republic are not island friends.  The Haitians generally speak French.  The Dominican citizens speak Spanish and are 60 percent Catholic.

Our cruise port, Amber Cove, was in Peurto Plata, on the north side of the Island. At 60,000 inhabitants, it is one fifth the size of the capital Santa Domingo.

We chose a guided tour from the cruise line and Cindy and Bob chose to get a taxi and have the driver take them around. Both choices worked well and we went to some of the same places.

We both went to the San Felipe Fortress, although Randy and I were there before the museum opened. The fortress was built from 1564-1577 and named for King Felipe II of Spain. Its purpose was to protect the city of Puerto Plata from pirates and other invaders.

During WWII, the Dominican dictator opened the island to Jews but also killed many of his own residents. In 1959, the dictator used the fortress as a prison against the resistance.

In 1962, the DR elected their first president. In 1965 American soldiers came and began decades of American interference.

This very morning, October 14, 2026, I read an article about how the US pressured the Dominican Republic to disengage with Cuba.  I likely wouldn’t have noticed the article if we hadn’t just been there and heard about US interference. 

The fortress is one of the oldest European structures in the Caribbean.  

Cindy and Bob got to go inside.

This picture shows the Dominican Republic flag with the Bible at the center.   Theirs is the only flag in the world that has that.

Our guide led us downtown where we stopped to listen to a street band.

We stepped inside the Cathedral of San Filipe Apostle. 

The original church was destroyed by fire and construction began on this building in 1870.  There were also periods of reconstruction after earthquakes in 1946 and 2003 caused substantial damage.  

The front facade has stain glass images of St Marcus, St Lucas, St Jonnes and St Mattheus.

Both couples visited Umbrella Street – a colorful tourist place with restaurants and shops.

We also both visited Pink Street, officially the Paseo de Dona Blanca.

Mrs. Bianca Franceschini, and her husband Don Isidoro Rainieri, moved to the Dominican Republic from Italy in 1898. 

They opened  the Hotel del Comercio, later named the Hotel Europa. It was considered the best hotel in the country in its time. They were credited with aiding the development of early tourism.

Bianca was known as a hard worker and generous person. Her husband died in 1904,when the oldest of their nine children was only 17. She raised the children on her own.

The street is painted entirely pink, and is a popular wedding and photo destination.

Sugar cane is grown in the Dominican Republic. They also make rum – many kinds of rum!

We tried the island favorite MamaJuana and didn’t love it.

We went to a different rum tasting establishment and were given a demonstration of how sugar cane is processed. 

We were offered many flavored rums – most of which we declined. I did try a little of the pineapple rum paired with a little of the coconut rum for a pseudo pina-coloada rum!

However, I did find a liquor that I thought was very delicious in the museum that was our next stop.

The one on the left, Poncho Bordas Premiun Cafe, was so delicious that I considered buying a bottle even though we’d have to manage it on the ship and airplane going home. Ultimately, I did not.

The museum’s main purpose was to detail the history of the Dominican Republic and its peoples and customs.

The museum details the confluence of the Originating Groups, the Europeans and the Africans.

Following, we were taken to a restaurant where we had samples of chocolate coffee, and then lunch! We learned that 90 percent of the food eaten on the island is grown here.

Tourism is important to the country’s economy with 60 percent working in the field. The monthly salary is the equivalent of $300 USD. Most have a second job, often driving an Uber motorcycle.  

In the middle right of this mural, there is a baseball. Baseball is the national sport, an important part of the culture. There are Dominican players on every team in the major leagues. All 30 major league teams have academies on the DR because there is so much talent.Those players are identified early and have the opportunity to improve their baseball and English skills for when they transition to the US minor leagues.

We did not go to the place where Cindy and Bob are photographed, but it looked nice!

Next Up: Turks and Caicos, our final port.

The second port on our cruise was the island of Eleuthera, a long, thin island in the Bahamas, roughly 110 miles long and, in places, only one mile wide.

Named from the Greek word for “freedom,”  The island was settled in the 1600s by English Puritans.

We didn’t know we were going to Eleuthera!  Our itinerary listed Princess Cays, a port specific to the Princess Cruise Line.   Cruise line “private islands” have been featured in the Caribbean for years and we have been to at least a couple of others.

The four of us had chosen the same excursion which included island amenities, snorkeling gear, float  and an island cruise in the afternoon.

After the initial rush was over, we boarded a tender for our ride to the island pier.  

The amount of infrastructure was really quite impressive.  All varieties of day accommodations, water toys and activities were available. 

We found lounge chairs in an area we were happy with. 

We stored our valuables in lockers.  As a result, we have very few pictures.

A feature of the private island was that we could use our ship board account for food and drink.  Randy and Bob went off to get mango margaritas and beer.  After their order was taken, the bartender asked “Would you like those mango margaritas to be strawberry or piña colada?” That became a running joke throughout the cruise.

We eventually moved to the snorkel pond where we saw a few varieties of tropical fish.  It was good, not great, snorkeling.

We went back to the ship to clean up and have lunch before our island cruise.

We boarded our boat and had a very fun guide and driver.  We had glass bottom capability but weren’t usually motoring in shallow enough water to see anything special.

While cruising, our guide told us a bit more about Eleuthera.  The island had three international airports and hotels and resorts. Most of the population works in tourism, including cruise line private ports.

The island has about 15,000 inhabitants.  They desalinate for fresh water and use diesel generators for power.

 

As we went around the island, we saw another ship in the distance. Disney also has their own private section of the island.

The ship was the Disney Fantasy – the same ship we’d seen earlier.  The crew was touching up the paint.

Lighthouse beach is the most southern point of the island. We were told that parrotfish excretions result in the beautiful white sand beaches.  Further research indicated that in tropical regions white sand is indeed developed this way because parrotfish eat coral and algae.

Our guide talked about the traditional Bahamian food -conch. There are over 100 preparations.  

She said it is nearly impossible to get a conch out of its shell.  The back of the shell must be cracked and the conch prodded out with a knife. 

Our guide also told us that the Princess Cays portion of the island won’t be used by Princess much longer. Within a few months, they will be transitioning to Celebration Cay nearby.  Carnival, Holland America and Princess will all use Celebration Kay.

The move will be an employment disruption for people who live on Eleuthera.  If they choose to stay with Princess employment, it will add hours to their commute to go to the other island.

In the evening, back aboard the ship, we enjoyed a show by Omar Cardona.  He was in the final four for the 22nd season of The Voice.  He was very good.

After traveling from Arizona to Florida, and having two port days in a row, we were very happy to have a sea day!

I started mine with a mocha, pastry and book with a view!  Randy enjoyed sleeping in.  He did join me for the Meet the Captain talk. 

Our captain was from Scotland and began his career with Princess in 2001 on the Royal Princess. He spent years working his way up through junior and senior officer positions.

Captains aboard a ship this size have many jobs.  He was going to officiate at a wedding later in the day.

His position is three months on, three months off, swapping with the other Caribbean Princess captain.  The same senior management group usually stays together for three years on the same ship. 

Once a year, during their “off” months, they are expected to train at a disaster simulator in The Netherlands.

Amazingly, the captain says the ship can be spun with a ten meter allowance on the bow and stern.  He says he has a two hour checklist prior to arriving in port and wind is the biggest factor in aborting a port. 

We followed up a bit later with a Navigation at Sea talk. 

I’ll just leave the slides for you engineering nerd types.

These posts cover September 22 and 23, 2026.

Next Up: The Dominican Republic

When we travel with other couples, we most often choose excursions separately. Occasionally we’ll choose the same but either way, there is always something to talk about over drinks and dinner.

Our excursion in Nassau, The Bahamas was to swim with pigs! The Nassau swimming pigs are thought to be descendants of pigs that survived a shipwreck or were left by sailors and pirates as a food source. Regardless of how the pigs got established, swimming with them is a popular tourist attraction.

The picture above is what I thought we were going to be doing… uh, no. I don’t remember what Cindy and Bob’s excursion choice for Nassau was – but they made the better one! More on our pig experience later in the post.

While coming into Nassau and waiting for our ship to dock at the pier, we enjoyed breakfast on our balcony.

We pulled in next to Carnival Celebration.  She was new in 2022 and carries 5362 passengers given double occupancy.

Randy said there were to be four ships in Nassau that day and soon came Disney Fantasy, capacity 4000. She did a 180 in the lagoon and backed in next to us.

Soon enough, it was time to meet our tour guide on the pier.  I wish I had taken a picture of the woman who rounded up us “pigs” and led us throughout the day. She was a force of nature and, while remaining pleasant, had dock workers, boat captains and waiters jumping.

We began with a 25 minute ferry ride to Pearl Island. 

We were divided into groups and ours went first to the lighthouse where we could explore, relax and have lunch.

It felt really muggy to those of us used to a “dry heat” and the strawberry daiquiris were most welcome. 

We had barbecue chicken, red beans and rice, with coleslaw.  The gulls were very interested, but not bothersome.   

By the time it was our turn to go to “pig island” we were warm enough to look forward to getting in the water and cool off – even though we don’t like saltwater.

Our  “swim” with pigs really meant we stepped out a few feet and fed them pieces of apple on a stick.

Some were very dirty and, unfortunately, urinated right where we were feeding them.

We were absolutely not inclined to get any deeper in the water with them, and soon moved away to at least pretend to get cleaner ourselves!

The next activity was to hold a piglet.  I wouldn’t have stood in line to do so, but they handed her to me first and there we were.  The baby was only 20 days old

Another passenger waded out into the water with her, and she swam all the way back to shore. Pigs do swim!

We went back to Pearl Island and then boarded the ferry to head back to port.

This frigate marked 19 and flying a US flag was the USS John A. Moore  It served in the Caribbean against drugs until 1999. It has been used since as a set in various TVs and movies.

The fourth ship of the day, The MSC Seashore, came in while we were gone.

This is a front view of our Caribbean Princess.

That evening was the beginning of spending time at the Wheelhouse Lounge. There were almost always musicians playing from 4:30 on and we seemed to land there most every afternoon or evening.

Cindy and Bob, as well as others, took the opportunity to enjoy their ballroom steps.

We were in Nassau on September 21st.

Next Up:  Princess Cay Private Island

Randy and I took our very first cruise in 1989 to the western Caribbean and Yucatan Peninsula! (Aren’t we cute with our matching perms?) Our cruise was aboard Norwegian Cruise Line’s Seaward which began service in 1988.

The Seaward was renamed Norwegian Sea in 1997 and sold in 2005.  The ship then operated as the Superstar Libra with a different cruise company.  She was taken out of service in 2018 and used as an accommodation ship for workers at a German shipyard. Ultimately, she was beached for scrap in Turkey earlier this year. What a history.

Circa 1995, we took daughter Natasha and her friend on a Caribbean Cruise on Royal Caribbean.  I don’t remember details of the ship except that our adjoining cabins were upgraded to balcony cabins. We have never chosen an interior cabin since that upgrade.

Randy did a few barefoot sailing trips in the region in the 2000s with co-workers from HP and remembers the adventures very fondly.

Together, we went back to the Caribbean in 2011.  That trip had us flying in for a week each in San Juan, Puerto Rico and Christiansted, St. Croix. 

All of those past trips were before we started blogging our adventures.  

It was definitely time to head back to the Caribbean and friends, Cindy and Bob, were happy to do it together.

We chose a late September sailing on the Caribbean Princess.

Cindy and Bob arrived in Orlando a couple days before us because they had unused Disney passes from the 1990s.  The passes had survived in Bob’s file cabinet and Disney honored them without any grief.

We connected and the next morning headed to Port Canaveral – the busiest cruise port in the world.

This was our first look at the Caribbean Princess.

We embarked smoothly and checked out our mini-suite cabins. They were very comfortable.

We enjoyed chocolate covered strawberries, a gift from our travel agent.

After watching our safety video and reporting to our muster station, we had celebratory drinks in one of many lounges.  

I decided that I would see how many different types of martinis I would try on this cruise.  My first was a lemon drop, and my second was a sour apple.

As we left Port Canaveral, we could see ships behind us.  The captain reported that, because the port is so busy, arrivals and departures are strictly controlled.

We could also see the beaches on the Florida space coast.

Later in the evening we went to a show performed by the Princess singers, dancers and band in the theater.

We could have watched the NFL game on the big screen above the pool.  We chose to watch it in our cabin.

It was great to be at the beginning of a week aboard the Caribbean Princess!

Martini Spoiler: Over the course of the week, I had a new martini most days but did not get to the end of their martini menu. That was true even though I eliminated all gin martinis because I don’t like gin. 

I tried a Bugsy, a Midnight Coconut, a Creme Brûlée and a very bad chocolate martini.

My favorite martini of the cruise was a Baccarat, made with raspberry vodka. I had it on our last day. If I had tried it sooner, I might not have had any other.

My favorite martini server was Joyce.  She is from the Philippines and lives away from her young child for nine months a year.  He is in the care of her parents.  She usually FaceTimes with him about 10:00 pm, which is 10:00 am in the Philippines.  What a hard choice these workers have to make.

When Joyce brought me my Espresso Martini, she made me smile because she gave me 4 coffee beans.  Three beans are the norm in an espresso martini, symbolizing health, wealth and happiness.  I don’t know what Joyce’s fourth bean meant – It was probably a happy accident.

We began our cruise on September 20, 2026.

Next up: Nassau, The Bahamas

We had one final presentation on the Drake crossing that I waited to write about because it wasn’t by an expedition team member or ship officer.  

This presentation was by Pedro who works for the BBC.  

Pedro is from Brazil and told us his story that began as a kid who loved water activity.

He grew up to be a marine biologist and receive degrees in filmmaking.

Those accomplishments led him to being employed by the BBC Natural History Unit.  Because 90% percent of natural history content is made in Bristol, England, it is called Green Hollywood.

Pedro has been onboard the Venture for two months through a partnership between the BBC and Seaborne. That means he has been on seven cruises with multiple submarine dives per cruise.

Pedro’s next gig will be on a Japanese scientific ship, much less glamorous!

His stories about transporting all his gear were interesting! He travels alone and manages all the equipment shown above.

A BBC program/series takes about 4 years to develop from inception.

Wildlife aren’t the most cooperative actors!

It is important for the BBC to take the time to double and triple fact check. If any scientist disagrees with a theory or assumption, it is dropped. The BBC feels the need to get it right to maintain their reputation and that of David Attenborough. The shows have a massive global outreach.

Pedro is the last person out in the field for the BBC’s latest series in development.  He couldn’t say a word about the new series but said we would know it when we saw it. We can’t wait.

As our cruise came to an end, we found the map of our voyage interesting. The part in the very south doesn’t happen for most cruises but ours was two days longer than usual.

The international breakdown of passengers was also interesting.

Seabourn did everything so well!  This was an expedition cruise, different from their regular offerings, but we would be very happy to sail with them again.

Because Seabourn needed us off the ship to prepare for the next cruise, they gave us “meal money” and hired a tour of Ushuaia as we waited for our flights out.  

Ushuaia sits on the Beagle Channel which separates Argentina from Chile at the southernmost tip of South America.

We had bus and walking components on the Ushuaia tour, but is it fair to tour anything right after Antarctica?

I went in search of something to purchase to be our Antarctica Christmas ornament – something I always do to commemorate our trips.  There just weren’t any souvenir shops in Antarctica!

Once I found this penguin, I was satisfied. It is blue eyed so not really representative of Antarctic penguins but good enough. (Only fairy penguins from New Zealand are blue eyed.) 

Our flights home were uneventful and mostly dedicated to sleeping.  

Global Entry kiosks at the Houston International terminal weren’t working so we had to pass by and interact with arrogant and rude border patrol and immigration officers at the Houston airport.  It was disappointing to think this is how the United States presents to visitors to our country.  

It took 32 hours from leaving the ship to walking in our door at home. 

We have been so fortunate to travel to so many places and to take numerous trips that others have considered a “trip of a lifetime.”

We have never used those words previously, but this may be the one. 

This is the trip that has, at least for the time being, usurped The Best of Italy, as our favorite trip ever.

This is the trip that allows us to say we have crossed both the Arctic and Antarctic circles and allows us to say we have been to all seven continents!

This flag went with us to Antarctica and now hangs in our travel hall.

In our seven continent achievement, checking off Asia is a bit different than the others. We have both traveled in Asia – just not together. We did go to Istanbul which straddles Europe and Asia, but that would be a pretty narrow interpretation. 

However, as a teenager, my family lived in Thailand and we traveled to a number of countries in Southeast Asia. 

As a Hewlett Packard employee, Randy traveled to and worked in India. 

So, yes. We’ve absolutely both been to Asia.  An extended trip to Asia is scheduled for 2027.

Finally, photographer Harry took bird pictures throughout our Antarctica voyage but I never highlighted them. 

I will close out our Antarctica adventure with Harry’s birds.

If you ever have the opportunity to go to Antarctica – DO IT! Major cruise lines do “drive bys” which many find absolutely fine. Only the smaller ships allow you to step on land. We are glad we did it the way we did.

During the first day back in the Drake, Seabourn Venture was rolling a bit, but in a good way – great for sleeping but not for walking! 

As suggested, we slept in, even putting a “We’re Relaxing” tag on our door. 

On Seabourn, all presentations were available in the cabins.  I watched the Women in Antarctica presentation on the TV in our cabin with a mocha and biscotti.  

Of course, women weren’t allowed on early explorations but their names are there.  For example:  Mary Byrd Land and Adèlie penguins were named for wives of explorers.

Jackie Ronne was the first woman to be a working member on an expedition.  She worked, and overwintered, at Stonington, site of our first stop in Antarctica. The Ronne Ice Shelf was named for her.

In the 1950s, the first countries to allow women to work on Antarctica were Argentina, South Africa and the former Soviet Union.

Regardless of chauvinistic perceptions, women have been shown to do better in extreme cold psychologically and physically (because of more subcutaneous fat).

Ideas of colonizing Antarctica began in the 1970s with Argentina and Chili.  To that end, a very pregnant Argentinian women became the first woman to give birth on the continent.  The Antarctic treaty eventually nullified colonization intentions.

In 1993, the first all women team reached the South Pole led by American Ann Bancroft.

By 2025, there was one woman for every two men in US Antarctic work.

We went to several presentations in the expedition lounge over our two days in the Drake Passage.

Ben presented on Seabirds, primarily the albatross.  

He highlighted the wide range foraging trips parents go on to feed  their chicks, perhaps over 2 million kilometers over their lives.

During the Q&A afterwards, someone asked Ben how he went from doing remote island research to a luxury cruise line expedition team. Ben explained that Seabourn contacted the science team he was part of at the University of CapeTown. Two of the 12 members were interested.  Ben is in polar regions with Seabourn about six months a year.

Historian Udo presented on the long Antarctic saga of Ernest Shackleton.  

Shackleton had come up in small ways in other lectures but Udo gave an hour on his extensive Antarctica experiences. (If you know, you know. If you don’t, there are many books, videos and movies.)

Udo is standing next to Ernest Shackleton’s headstone in Grytviken, South Georgia Island, in the South Atlantic Ocean. He died in January 1922.  

We had a lecture by Merel on the Spineless Wonders of the Ocean.

Merel presented again the second day on the ”scary” creatures of the deep.

Ship photographer Harry presented an 11 minute video of his photos of our trip. We were able to download the video to keep.

Expedition leader Luqui closed our expedition team lectures with one about scientific research on penguin poo!

It is a real thing!

Penguins are trained to poo outside the nest

Luqui’s closing presentation was perfect!

We laughed almost to tears!

A bit later we were almost to gratitude tears with the Captain’s presentation of the officers and crew who gave us such a fabulous voyage.

Randy had a last conversation with expedition crew member Robert.

We enjoyed some closing time with a couple we had met during our delay in the Buenos Aries airport 10 days before and talked with frequently throughout the voyage.

Then it was time for the SuperBowl!

I had worn my Seahawks shirt around the ship the entire day receiving many comments. I believe I was the only one to wear anything other than a cap.

One fellow passenger coordinated the pool and I bought two squares.

Seabourn gave us a nice tailgate spread for the SuperBowl.

We watched the first half on the big screen with fellow passengers but went back to the cabin at halftime.

Since some people had thrown such a fit about Bad Bunny being the half time entertainer, we wanted to be able to really watch his show. We enjoyed it!

We watched the third quarter in bed but in the middle of the fourth, I had to get dressed to head back to the lounge because my square was winning the pool.  Before I left the cabin, the Patriots scored again.  Oh well, back to watching the Seahawks win, in comfort, in the Drake Passage on Seabourn Venture.

Next up:  Our final experiences and thoughts.

PS: This is our 500th Serenewandering post. Woo-hoo!

Our ship got to the opening into Deception Island about 5:00 am on February 6, 2026.  We were awakened by the engines slowing, and everything being still.

There is a very small 500 meter gap in the caldera that was hard to see and easy to miss, thus the name.

Deception Island holds the safest harbor in Antarctica, if you ignore that it is also an active caldera. The last substantial eruption was in 1969 but seismic activity is ongoing.

As promised, we began entering the caldera at 6:45 a.m.  We watched from our cabin and balcony.   

There was a penguin colony way up on the ridge. It seemed quite far from the water!

We saw equipment, presumably to measure seismic activity. Both Spain and Argentina operate seismic studies on the island.

Our time came to go ashore.

We walked up and saw a small caldera from the eruption in 1969.

Randy decided to walk further up the hill and get better views.

I wandered my way back down the mountain. 

I walked along the beach and saw two seals.

A Weddel seal was quite close to the water and was totally unconcerned with people (and birds) around.  He opened his eyes a few times.

The fur seal was far enough away that he mostly ignored us. 

Two chinstrap penguins came along and entertained us for a time. 

Actually, they did nothing specific, we were just entertained by their presence.

The Deception Island settlement was originally a Norwegian whaling station, originating in 1912.

In its time, this was the only land based whaling station offering support to vessels. Up to 500 people worked here during the active summer months.

Whalers began just rendering the blubber but, over decades, eventually used every single part of the whale. This included the meat and getting oil from the bones.

Norway was neutral during World War I and made a lot of money selling whale oil as a source of fuel.  Norway closed the site in 1931. 

The big petrol tanks held whale oil and other things over the years. 

The British established a base in 1944 and operated it primarily as a meteorological unit. In 1967 an eruption caused them to leave.  They came back briefly but abandoned Deception Island permanently in 1969.

For some time, the site had been primarily used by scientists for studying seismic activity and the volcano.  Because of their research they were able to leave when the eruption became imminent and no one was harmed. The site wasn’t destroyed by lava, it was covered in 15 feet of mud.

These crosses are a Norwegian memorial to the 50-60 whalers, and one research scientist, who died over the sites early years.  Their graves were buried during the volcanic eruption so the memorial was erected.

The buildings remaining are a collection of those from Norway whaling, the British Navy, and British meteorologic and seismic studies.

In 1990-1992, the British removed remaining hazardous materials.

In 1995 the whaling station was designated a historical site, protected by the Antarctic Treaty.

These picture show Deception Island’s stacking of ice and black soot and ash over thousands of years.

Steam rises along the shoreline due to geothermal activity.

The water was 80° centigrade in this spot.

The ground was warm enough to grow a moss covering.

Randy always enjoyed listening to our expedition team members!

Another team member showed us krill.

When we returned to the ship and cabin, we had a snack that had become a habit.  

Our cabin stewards left potato chips for us and I enjoyed it so much that it became a habit.  I always prefer salty to sweet. They brought chocolate too!

As we headed down for our expedition briefing, we passed another common happening.  There was always self serve hot wine, hot chocolate and coffee available with all the possible additives.  Of course, if you didn’t want to serve yourself, the bartender was happy to make you whatever you wanted.  On this cruise, all drinks were included.

Deception Island was our last shore excursion before we started the trip back across the Drake Passage.

It was time to look at our potential conditions for our two day crossing.

We were given our timed group assignments for the next day. Sleep in!

On this cruise, the excursions and expedition lectures were the primary entertainment.   

The music duo and cruise director (right) also provided a short schedule of entertainment and activities but we hadn’t attended any until this last night. It was all so pleasant and a perfect end to our time in Antarctica.

Next Up: The Drake Passage Round 2

Postscript: No Kings Protests, objecting to Trump administration policies, took place on six continents around the world on March 28, 2026.

Only it was really all seven continents! These four participated from Deception Island, Antarctica.

On February 5, we woke to announcements that the morning’s landing would be difficult because of rocky terrain.

That, on top of nonstop activity for five days, made us less interested in going ashore. 

As an alternative, they were offering a short zodiac ride.  Even that wasn’t appealing to me because, as a short person, if I don’t have good seat placement in the zodiac,  I can see very little.  

We all were so much better at gauging how many layers,  which waterproof pants, goggles or not, etc. we would need. However, donning all the outer gear to leave the ship, was still significant.  We had to have it all on before pulling on our waterproof boots in the mudroom. Only then could we get in line to depart.

I decided to have a down day while Randy contemplated his decision.  He eventually decided to go.

Randy was in the front on the right as the zodiac went away. He would have optimal viewing at that position on the very short trip to land.

My only regret at staying was the likelihood of not getting up close and personal with chinstrap penguins as I had with the Adèlie and Gentoo.

Given that very few zodiacs were operating, it seemed a lot of people made the same choice that I did.

Randy and the ship’s photographer, Harry, got some great pictures of fur seals and chinstrap penguins!

From our balcony, and a zoom lens, I could barely make out the penguins on the shore, but the shared photos were great!

This iceberg looked like it had a lounge chair.

No lounge chair but, as I enjoyed the balcony, I could hear the mountain ice, groaning, cracking and occasionally calving.

Randy was glad he had gone ashore, and I was glad I stayed. He was able to talk with one of the expedition guides for an extended period.  They were so interesting to talk with individually. The expedition crew was cross-trained, helpful and knowledgeable.  Our cabin television showed bios for all of the officers and expedition crew.  They have many PHDs, expedition and extreme sport leadership roles among them.

Later, Randy had a second submarine dive.  They offered greatly reduced rates for a second dive to those of us who paid full price for a first dive.  

Full price had been $1000 per person and we had prepaid for Randy months before to make sure he had his dive.  We had enough on board credit to cover my dive when I decided to go. We had almost enough on-board credit left to pay for his second dive,  so it was an easy decision.  

It was also easy for me to be happy with my first dive and pass on a second.

I watched the submarine leave the ship and go out on its way. We often felt fortunate to have had a balcony on the port side as we were able to watch most of the coming and goings of zodiacs, submarines, and kayaks.

Randy saw something new – salp chains! The chains are transparent and gelatinous and can grow in length to 50 feet in open ocean.

The chains contribute to the food chain and create carbon-rich feces that assist in the ocean’s carbon sequestration.

He also saw new types of sponge and starfish.

We valued our interactions with Marel on our cruise whether she was piloting the submarines or giving an interesting lecture. We hope she will “land” in a good place as Seabourn is discontinuing their submarine excursions.

I was able to stay on our balcony and watch the “brave” people doing the polar plunge into Antarctic waters.  Neither of us were inclined to do that.

During our expedition lecture later in the day, we learned that 118 fellow passengers completed the plunge.

One crew member jumps whenever the opportunity presents.

He told us about the physical benefits, which still didn’t make us wish we had done the Polar Plunge.

Next, we learned more about humpback whales.

Slapping a flipper or fluke/tail is thought to be communicative.

Breaching can also be communicative or as a way to shed barnacles or old skin.

Usually the males are the only ones who sing or vocalize.  Their songs can travel over 900 miles underwater in optimal conditions.

A fluke print doesn’t develop until two years old.

Seventy percent of the whales in Antarctica come from Equador with most of the remaining coming from Brazil. Whales return near to their place of birth.

Over 100 incidents of humpbacks helping other species have been documented.

We also learned about the napping behavior of penguins. 

They take micro-naps.

They always need to be somewhat aware of their surroundings to protect their eggs and chicks from predatory birds.

We had a preview of our next, and last, destination in Antartica – Deception Island.  We would be sailing into an active volcano!

This was the evening when many passengers had invitations to dine with officers. We did not have status on Seabourn but do on Holland America, a sister line. We also stayed in a mid level suite.

For whatever reason, we were invited to share dinner with six other passengers and the chief purser. It was a most pleasant evening.

Our Antarctic journey continued February 4, 2027 at Cuverville Island.  

The plan was to visit another Gentoo colony. 

We saw more and more Gentoo penguins. They were everywhere.

 

We saw this smart penguin laying on a flat rock catching the morning rays.

Cuverville Island had early whaling activity and there were a few remnant bones.  A whaling crew brought in one whale at a time to process the resources.  In the beginning, whalers did not value whale bones so they were left.  When it was later learned that oil could be gleaned from the bones, they were likely gathered, or disappeared over time in the elements.

As the Gentoo territory was north of the Adèlie colonies, we saw parents still feeding their chicks. 

There was a lot of water play just off the beach.  

Some seemed to just have the “zoomies!”

The Gentoo were completely unconcerned about our presence and very fun to watch.

Randy talked to one of the expedition leaders about penguin black and white coloring.  When the black presented, the penguin is difficult to see from above.  When the white is visible as they swim, they are difficult to see by potential predators from below.

Of course, we also saw a few seals!

Following our morning activity, we had lunch on board Venture and enjoyed the scenery as we sailed to our next destination.

Our afternoon excursion was a zodiac ride in a chinstrap penguin area. 

We were in the final group to go out and the weather had turned cold and windy.   

The ship’s hotel team were in a zodiac with the Antarctica flag and champagne.  It was a very nice gesture but the conditions weren’t great for lingering over champagne!

It was so bumpy that we didn’t even try to get pictures of the chinstrap penguins, or nearby whales.

Photographer Harry had captured this chinstrap penguin earlier in the day and shared it.

Once back aboard Venture, we had our expedition meeting to go over the events of the day and plans for the next day. As was typical, the briefing was followed by lecture segments about 5-10 minutes long.

The first was on ice and icebergs. 

There are a variety of types of ice, all of which we’d seen.

We had seen many glaciers and heard and saw calving numerous times.

When you see an iceberg, only about 10% of it is above the water line.

We have seen all of these shapes.

Randy has been fascinated by the various shades of blue going slightly into purple that we have seen on icebergs. 

We learned why that happens.

Our next lecture was on the importance of krill to the southern ocean. 

Unfortunately, manufacturers are finding ways to use krill and if populations are depleted through this and/or climate change, ramifications on the planet are massive.

We went to dinner, and noticed whales out the dining room windows. This is one of photographer Harry’s pictures and is so special because it also has a penguin!  (The pictures at the end of this post are also his.)

We went to our cabin and saw more whale activity.

We kept going out on our balcony to watch,  and take pictures and videos. 

There had to be 50 whales! We saw them come up and go down so many times – often with three, four or five whales in view.

You could scan the horizon and see whale after whale after whale.  

We went to a dessert event on deck and continued to watch the whales.

 

We came back to our room and continued to watch whales and more whales.

We finally closed the drapes on them and went to bed!

Next Up: Chinstraps and the Polar Plunge

Because we had been adventuring south, the morning was spent sailing Venture north.  That allowed passengers the opportunity to relax a bit.

We had a lecture called Biomimicry: Designed by Nature, Adapted by Humans. 

To highlight a few:

The physiology of albatross wings, birds that fly around the world almost continuously, is being looked at by wind energy and aircraft developers for better efficiency. A few albatross were spotted on our voyage but we never saw them.

The physiology of penguin feet and flippers have impacted commercial kilns and petroleum distilleries.

Seal whisker physiology is helping scientists design underwater vehicles that won’t scatter the wildlife.

Antarctic icefish swim in near freezing water. (We saw one on our submarine ride though this picture is from the web.) They have an antifreeze protein in their blood that doesn’t freeze until -2.5 degrees centigrade.  (Seawater freezes at -1.8 degrees C.) This adaption has opportunities in food storage and transport, freezing reproductive cells, and keeping ice-cream creamy instead of crystallizing.

While most of the passengers were at a “Caviar and Bubbles” event, we grabbed some prime real estate in the Constellation Lounge.  Actually, prime real estate on Venture was usually available.  There were lounges throughout the ship which is a feature we really enjoyed.

We also appreciated well thought out features like drink shelves in the presentation room and bottle wells in our cabin. 

Another favorite was the warming cupboard in each cabin.  Our waterproof pants, and various hand washables, went in there daily.

Back on our balcony, we enjoyed some really beautiful views as we sailed into our destination bay.

Photographer, Harry, had the advantage of using a drone.

We were surprised to see a red sailing boat. It sails for Moretime Expeditions and has 18 passengers.

The Antarctic Treaty limits how many visitors can be on land in any area at a given time.  We learned that not all companies hold themselves to treaty standards. Passengers from this boat were on land when we began disembarking but were not nearby.

Our destination for the day was Neko bay, a place where whalers once brought their catch and left the bones.

Neko bay was named by Adrien de Gerlache.  The map shows a strait named after him as well.  

He headed an expedition from Belgium and this is the area where they sailed and were the first to overwinter.  Tomorrow’s destination was also named by Gerlache after one of his crew that perished.

I mentioned the book earlier and recommend it if you are interested in early Antarctic exploration. It was confirming of our efforts at trip preparation that the voyage and book repeatedly came up in lectures.

Based on assignment to color groups which rotated daily, we were among the first to leave the ship. We went to the mainland of Antarctica and begin enjoying the Gentoo penguins. 

Watching the Gentoo was a good time!

We walked up the hill for great views!

We could hear and see ice calving off the glaciers.

We had our picture taken with the Antarctica flag again.  Some people dispute whether the Antarctic islands (or sea ice in our case) “count” as part of the continent. 

In fact, there was a dispute for decades about whether Carolyn Mikkelsen was actually the first woman to step foot on Antarctica on February 20, 1935.   It was eventually determined that she stepped onto an Antarctic island.  

For purists, Ingrid Christensen was the first woman to step on the Antarctica mainland on January 30, 1937.

Abby Jean Morrell was the first known woman to sail in the Antarctic region, accompanying her husband as he captained an 1829-1831 voyage.  She wrote an account of the voyage, the first from a woman’s perspective.

It was so sunny and warm on our side of the ship when we went back that we were able to stand outside on our balcony without a jacket.

As a zodiac approached the ship, we saw a whale within 25 yards.  We watched for it to raise again, and eventually saw the fluke. 

We had a nice dinner and went back to our cabin. We watched the whales for most of the evening. 

It was such a beautiful day!

Next up: Gentoo penguins, whales, whales and more whales!