**Sealord*...I actually broke my neck but a minor break.
OMG...at first I thought this was a lead-in joke until I continued reading. I'm glad you're ok. Never knew a broken neck could be minor. You have a great attitude...I hope you have a smooth sailing through the Drake Passage.
thank you all. I deleted the original post cuz I felt like I had left the curtains open. I was planning on playing golf this week until the rains came. Our ‘sunken’ bathtub is now full of pillows and we will probably have it replaced with something safer. The upstairs bath is getting more use. (;-). Antarctica is now ninety days away.
I've been checking the live webcam for L'AUSTRAL daily for the last week or two. Yesterday, they were hoisting what appeared to be some supplies onboard whilst docked in Marseille. Today, they are at sea, and cruisemapper is reporting their next port as "Rio"! At least it appears that they may be on their way to prepare for their first Antarctic cruise on 11/17. Yippee! Godspeed L'AUSTRAL!
Cathy and Steve - based on the attire and evenings you called out, I’m wondering if the Queen will be onboard. That sounds like the most formal tour ever. There must be a high percentage of non-Tauck people (more formal). Not only the type of clothes is called out, but the color as well ( in one case ). The two other Ponant based tours I’ve been on didn’t have anything like this dress code.
I have not been on this tour, so I can't speak from experience. Cocktail attire means different things to different people. Let's just say that I would not take a sequined gown on a cruise, particularly on a cruise showcasing nature.
I think the white attire for the Officer's evening is meant to be for fun. I remember seeing a photo of Sealord dressed in all white on one of his cruises, and he certainly did look quite dashing! Perhaps he will offer some suggestions. I would just go with black and white.
I have been to many restaurants where a suit and tie were necessary, but I think only a few times on a Tauck tour. Do what you feel comfortable with. If you have dressy tops, wear one with dress pants. That will certainly suffice.
Good luck with deciding what to do. The main objective is for you to have fun!
I agree with Sam, been on Le Champlain and another new Ponant ship. Eaten at the captain’s table twice. One had his wife with him, wearing a cocktail dress, they are French,I never saw any other cocktail dresses or tuxedos.
Cathy ,was this on the Tauck page or Ponant? I can’t see any clothing list like there used to be n Tauck’s pages.
CathyandSteve, I'm probably taking one dark suit, and one sport coat with 2 or 3 pr. of slacks. There'll be lots of mixin' & matchin' & repeatin' going on... So if you ever feel under-dressed, please feel free to sit with us. We will guarantee a judgment-free table! LOL
I don’t understand the need for all the clothing, if it is anything like our two small ship adventures on the same Ponant ships. Most peoples also go back to their rooms after dinner, don’t go to the lectures or the entertainment. We went to everything even the disco dancing.
Well, that ‘white’ outfit was a silk sport coat, the only one I brought, a white French cuff shirt, the only one I brought, and light khaki Dockers. That was on a Ponant ship, and that was the sum total of my dress up clothes. That was the farewell dinner at the Knights Templar. Another guest showed up wearing shorts and a T-shirt. We did witness people get turned away from dining on both the “Star Breeze” and “Le Bougainville” … shorts and shower shoes will not cut it. Some of the French got ‘dressed’, but the Tauck group was pretty much ‘smart casual’. We dined at the Captain’s table. I had my jacket and tie, others did not. I would not pay too much attention to the ‘Ponant’ packing list. This was off the ship, but this was about as dressy as we got. I wore a tie a couple times.
If you are prone to motion sickness, don't forget over-the-counter treatments. Although one individual referred to my ginger suggestion as "voodoo", it works for me and has been a homeopathic alternative for centuries. Anyway, it appears you are well prepared for your adventure!
Cathy - You're preparedness is approaching that of AlanS, in a different way. Yours is with respect to packing, medicines, clothing, etc.
Alan's is with respect to mapping out every step and the times required to get to/from all of the places that he has researched.
Both of you are masters of your craft! I'm sure you both enjoy what you do and believe your enjoyment on the tour will be proportional to the amount of preparedness you've done before the tour, so as to minimize the on-tour surprises.
Can't wait to start getting Antarctica reports as the tours start in a little over a month.
Cathy- below is a link to a book about an "excursion" you should try when you go to Antarctica. The author actually did it and several other similarly invigorating "excursions" around the world.
By all means pack whatever pleases you. But, on our Ponant cruises to the Baltic, the Med., and Latin American I never found a need for more than a sport coat, a dress shirt, and a tie as far as ‘dress’ up clothes were concerned. There were always people dressed more casually. That being said, a few of the French women put on quite a fashion show.
Wow,,,the clothing list has indeed changed since we went in February 2014. We had 40 French guests along with about the same number of Chinese guests...the rest of us were Tauck passengers. We were on Le'Boreal...a beautiful ship. I know Tom took one sport coat for Buenos Aires at the beginning of our trip and I had a dressy top with slacks...but we absolutely did not wear it onboard again...we wore casual clothes at dinner each night. We were at the Captains table one night also but it was not dressy. Times have changed apparently! Went to every lecture with the naturalists speaking...it was phenomenal what we learned about the Antarctic. Dress as you are planning...actually sounds fun to have an all white night...The most important thing is you get to go to the Antarctic! All time favorite or at least in my top 5!
Cathy - Do you know if both restaurants will be open on your ship? For our Iceland tour in July the restaurant on the back of the boat wasn’t open. Only the main dining room was open.
Comments
Lots of snow there in Ushuaia in Jan! Actually snowed in the town when we were there.
cathyandsteve: I figure you are down to fifty days … we are at ninety. Are you packed yet?
Yikes Sealord, hope the ship doesn’t lurch around too much!
OMG...at first I thought this was a lead-in joke until I continued reading. I'm glad you're ok. Never knew a broken neck could be minor. You have a great attitude...I hope you have a smooth sailing through the Drake Passage.
thank you all. I deleted the original post cuz I felt like I had left the curtains open. I was planning on playing golf this week until the rains came. Our ‘sunken’ bathtub is now full of pillows and we will probably have it replaced with something safer. The upstairs bath is getting more use. (;-). Antarctica is now ninety days away.
I've been checking the live webcam for L'AUSTRAL daily for the last week or two. Yesterday, they were hoisting what appeared to be some supplies onboard whilst docked in Marseille. Today, they are at sea, and cruisemapper is reporting their next port as "Rio"! At least it appears that they may be on their way to prepare for their first Antarctic cruise on 11/17. Yippee! Godspeed L'AUSTRAL!
I just got another email from Tauck re-stating that Antarctica is a “Go”.
Received email that trip is on. One requirement is the purchase of Covid death and medical insurance. Can someone clarify this for me. On Jan 8 trip.
I expect we will hear more about that. St. Maarten has a requirement that you purchase their insurance which was quite inexpensive.
I called Tauck today about the same subject. She did not give me a definitive answer, but said she would get back to me.
Good!
Cathy and Steve - based on the attire and evenings you called out, I’m wondering if the Queen will be onboard. That sounds like the most formal tour ever. There must be a high percentage of non-Tauck people (more formal). Not only the type of clothes is called out, but the color as well ( in one case ). The two other Ponant based tours I’ve been on didn’t have anything like this dress code.
This seems a bit much for me personally.
cathyandsteve,
I have not been on this tour, so I can't speak from experience. Cocktail attire means different things to different people. Let's just say that I would not take a sequined gown on a cruise, particularly on a cruise showcasing nature.
I think the white attire for the Officer's evening is meant to be for fun. I remember seeing a photo of Sealord dressed in all white on one of his cruises, and he certainly did look quite dashing! Perhaps he will offer some suggestions. I would just go with black and white.
I have been to many restaurants where a suit and tie were necessary, but I think only a few times on a Tauck tour. Do what you feel comfortable with. If you have dressy tops, wear one with dress pants. That will certainly suffice.
Good luck with deciding what to do. The main objective is for you to have fun!
I agree with Sam, been on Le Champlain and another new Ponant ship. Eaten at the captain’s table twice. One had his wife with him, wearing a cocktail dress, they are French,I never saw any other cocktail dresses or tuxedos.
Cathy ,was this on the Tauck page or Ponant? I can’t see any clothing list like there used to be n Tauck’s pages.
My husband came across this about Covid insurance, very interesting
https://apple.news/AH-OKmMglRKqBYik0KnXgRw
CathyandSteve, I'm probably taking one dark suit, and one sport coat with 2 or 3 pr. of slacks. There'll be lots of mixin' & matchin' & repeatin' going on... So if you ever feel under-dressed, please feel free to sit with us. We will guarantee a judgment-free table! LOL
The idea of requiring formal dress for dinner on an adventure trip is absurd.
I don’t understand the need for all the clothing, if it is anything like our two small ship adventures on the same Ponant ships. Most peoples also go back to their rooms after dinner, don’t go to the lectures or the entertainment. We went to everything even the disco dancing.
Well, that ‘white’ outfit was a silk sport coat, the only one I brought, a white French cuff shirt, the only one I brought, and light khaki Dockers. That was on a Ponant ship, and that was the sum total of my dress up clothes. That was the farewell dinner at the Knights Templar. Another guest showed up wearing shorts and a T-shirt. We did witness people get turned away from dining on both the “Star Breeze” and “Le Bougainville” … shorts and shower shoes will not cut it. Some of the French got ‘dressed’, but the Tauck group was pretty much ‘smart casual’. We dined at the Captain’s table. I had my jacket and tie, others did not. I would not pay too much attention to the ‘Ponant’ packing list. This was off the ship, but this was about as dressy as we got. I wore a tie a couple times.
If you are prone to motion sickness, don't forget over-the-counter treatments. Although one individual referred to my ginger suggestion as "voodoo", it works for me and has been a homeopathic alternative for centuries. Anyway, it appears you are well prepared for your adventure!
The kitchen sink?
Don't forget the sunscreen & sunglasses
Dont forget Glacier Goggles
Cathy - You're preparedness is approaching that of AlanS, in a different way. Yours is with respect to packing, medicines, clothing, etc.
Alan's is with respect to mapping out every step and the times required to get to/from all of the places that he has researched.
Both of you are masters of your craft! I'm sure you both enjoy what you do and believe your enjoyment on the tour will be proportional to the amount of preparedness you've done before the tour, so as to minimize the on-tour surprises.
Can't wait to start getting Antarctica reports as the tours start in a little over a month.
Cathy- below is a link to a book about an "excursion" you should try when you go to Antarctica. The author actually did it and several other similarly invigorating "excursions" around the world.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002NXORCE/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
By all means pack whatever pleases you. But, on our Ponant cruises to the Baltic, the Med., and Latin American I never found a need for more than a sport coat, a dress shirt, and a tie as far as ‘dress’ up clothes were concerned. There were always people dressed more casually. That being said, a few of the French women put on quite a fashion show.
Cathy, can you find out from Tauck how many French there are to see if you can scale down your dressy clothes to match your fellow passengers?
Wow,,,the clothing list has indeed changed since we went in February 2014. We had 40 French guests along with about the same number of Chinese guests...the rest of us were Tauck passengers. We were on Le'Boreal...a beautiful ship. I know Tom took one sport coat for Buenos Aires at the beginning of our trip and I had a dressy top with slacks...but we absolutely did not wear it onboard again...we wore casual clothes at dinner each night. We were at the Captains table one night also but it was not dressy. Times have changed apparently! Went to every lecture with the naturalists speaking...it was phenomenal what we learned about the Antarctic. Dress as you are planning...actually sounds fun to have an all white night...The most important thing is you get to go to the Antarctic! All time favorite or at least in my top 5!
Cathy - Do you know if both restaurants will be open on your ship? For our Iceland tour in July the restaurant on the back of the boat wasn’t open. Only the main dining room was open.
I am so terribly sorry to hear your daughter is ill and hope she recovers soon.