Sunday, March 19, 2023

Change of plans today — After some very rough seas overnight through the Strait of Magellan, the captain of our cruise ship announced early this morning that we will not be stopping in Punta Arenas, Chile as planned because of the weather. Currently, Punta Arenas is experiencing 75 mph winds with 15 ft seas which are categorized by the National Weather Service as a hurricane or tropical cyclone. The captain made the prudent choice overnight to change course. It proved to be a smart decision as we later learned that Punta Arenas closed their port due to the storm.

Instead of visiting Punta Arenas today as scheduled, we had another “sea day” on the ship as the captain did his best to quickly exit the storm’s path. We are now traveling north along the Chilean coast with a stop in Puerto Montt, Chile on Tuesday. I’m sure there were some upset passengers on the ship, but the change in plans didn’t matter to Andi and I. I’d much rather be safe and have favorable weather in Puerto Montt than be rained out or get stuck in Punta Arenas. Interestingly, Puerto Montt, Chile is on the other side of the Andes Mountains from Bariloche, Argentina where we spent several weeks last month. We are excited about the opportunity to see Chile’s Patagonian lakes district.

Thanks to violent winds and rough seas, we experienced another sleepless night on the ship. It’s not that we didn’t get any sleep, but we were awoken constantly by the sounds of glasses rattling, drawers opening & closing, and the ship swaying back and forth. Quite a few people felt motion sick. I saw lots of motion sickness bands around people’s arms today & generally less people around the ship. Andi felt nauseous today, too. He took another motion sickness pill this morning which caused him to sleep for a good portion of the day.

Tory, Aden, and I have been feeling OK. The kids wanted to go to Camp at Sea this morning, so I blogged in the ship’s technology lounge while they went to the kids activities. When they finished at Noon, the three of us did some schoolwork in the Oceanview Cafe while we ate lunch. Stir-fry, tacos, and elaborate desserts on repeat for those two kiddos.

Just because the ship is traveling through rough waters doesn’t mean the programming and activities stop on the boat. Tory and I attended a watercolor class in the ship’s Constellation Lounge. Then, the kids and I went to a juggling show in the Celebrity Theatre this afternoon. It was fantastic! I imagine it had to be tough for the performer to nail his tricks with the sway of the ship, but he didn’t miss a beat. The entertainment is one of my favorite things about life on a cruise ship. There’s live shows every night at 7:00pm and 9:00pm & on sea days there’s also a matinee show at 2:30pm. The performances are easy to attend — just show up and be entertained without waiting in line, buying tickets, or even having to get dressed up. The quality of the talent has been really great, too.

That cruise ship life — ice cream bowls outside the kids’ stateroom door.

Unfortunately, tonight’s 7:00pm show was cancelled due to the weather. A singing and dancing show including acrobatics and aerial performances was planned, but the cruise director announced just minutes before showtime that it wasn’t safe for the performers to take the stage. The ship is still swaying back and forth in a fairly constant rhythm. Instead, the cruise ship scrambled to fill the evening’s entertainment slots with another show. It ended up being a 18+ comedy act, so our family opted for dinner in one of the ship’s specialty restaurants instead.

Meals at the Oceanview Cafe (buffet) and Trellis (main dining restaurant) are complimentary, but there’s also sushi and steak/pasta restaurants on board the ship where passengers can dine for an additional fee. After eating at the buffet and main dining restaurants on repeat, Andi and I were ready for a change in menu tonight. We were able to get a table right away at the steak/pasta restaurant called Tuscan Grill.

This specialty restaurant charges a flat fee of $60/pp for dinner. Drinks are an additional price unless passengers have purchased a beverage package on the ship (we did not). The waiter let us know right away that they’d only charge $10/per child which was a nice surprise. Andi ordered several starters for our table to share including pork belly, meatballs, and a beet & goat cheese salad. Andi and I both ordered steak filets for dinner, Tory chose homemade gnocchi, and Aden ordered spaghetti & meatballs. The food tasted great and our service was excellent.

After dinner, Tory and Aden wanted to go to the last hour of Camp at Sea. Andi and I could have gone to one of the many adult activities happening on the ship this evening, but we didn’t feel like it. It might be different if we were interested in drinking at one of the many bars with live music playing, but typically we’re not people who stay up late to party. Instead, we returned to our stateroom and watched a downloaded show on the computer which is much more our style.

Monday, March 20, 2023

Today was our second day in a row at sea as we make our way up the southern Chilean coast to Puerto Montt, Chile. There are 1,121 nautical miles (1,290 miles) between Punta Arenas and Puerto Montt which is a considerable distance to travel in two days. The cruise ship traveled quickly through the turbulent ocean water. During his morning announcement, the ship captain said the seas should be calmer by this evening.

Andi, Tory, Aden, and I ate breakfast again at the Oceanview Cafe. After nine days on the ship, Aden’s grown tired of bacon which I never expected to happen. (He also caught a cold so that could be partly to blame.) Andi comes to the table most mornings with the most random mix of food from the buffet — carved ham, fried rice, sautéed vegetables, and poached eggs. Tory eats a waffle smothered in butter and chocolate sauce every single morning.

Tory and Aden asked to go to Camp at Sea after breakfast, so Andi and I went to the technology lounge to work/blog while they were there. Back-to-back sea days with 2,000 people on a ship felt like a lot today — passengers wandered the floors of the ship like caged animals. There are many activities happening throughout the day to keep people occupied, but still there are people in every nook and cranny on this boat. I’m not sure if it’s the fluctuation in weather temperature or the incubation period of so many people being together in one space, but it seems like a lot of people are sick now with colds and coughs.

For lunch today, we decided to eat at the main dining restaurant called Trellis. It’s a nice change to be waited on at lunch instead of fighting masses of people in the buffet lines. Each one of the restaurant servers we’ve had at the Trellis restaurant have been over-the-top friendly and accommodating. There’s one particular waiter named Aditya from the Philippines who adores Aden. He always comes over to ask him about his day and if he’s enjoying his meal.

After lunch, Tory, Aden, and I did school in our stateroom and then the kids went back to Camp at Sea. Andi and I have also been impressed with the kids programming on the ship — if it weren’t fun there, Tory and Aden wouldn’t request to go back again and again. Tory and Aden made friends with two kids from Canada who are similar ages. That’s made kids camp even more fun for them.

Tory’s one request on the cruise ship was to have dinner at Qsine. This specialty restaurant uses 3D technology and digital animation to project images of a “petite chef” onto the table who tells a story about how he prepares the dishes. Andi and I had very low expectations for this meal, but it was actually really cool! The whole table came alive with projections of dancing vegetables and La Petite Chef jumping off our plates.

Something about the animation made Tory willing to try any food. She ate (and loved!) a tomato and feta tart, salad, and short ribs. Our thoughtful restaurant server brought Tory and Aden both dessert options from the menu to enjoy. The four of us really enjoyed this dining experience on the ship.

After dinner, we caught a spectacular sunset over the coast of Chile. The seas were much calmer now that we were in a channel between Chilean islands. As the boat smoothly glided through the water, passengers emerged onto the ship decks for the first time in days.