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Celebrity Eclipse Jan 19 to Feb 3, 2020

My trip to Antarctica

Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.
— Oscar Wilde.

This is the first post on my new blog. I’m just getting this new blog going, so stay tuned for more. Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates.

Hotels in Buenos Aires

Looked around Trip Advisor for hotels that would make the trip memorable, but we are not ready for the Four Seasons prices. Ended up choosing Miravida Soho Hotel and Wine Bar. It has only 7 rooms, but was rated #2 in their 2019 Travelers’ Choice awards and it looked very cute. Located in the Palermo area of Buenos Aires which a local told me was a very nice neighborhood. Breakfast is included and they arranged for transportation to pick us up at the airport. Really looking forward to our stay. We are flying in a day early as we don’t want to be one of those people whose flight gets delayed and they are running down the dock waving for the ship to come back for them. We have another reservation for the day our cruise ends at the same hotel…but am wondering about changing it to Estancia Villa Maria, which is just outside of town. It has a golf course, horseback riding, and carriage rides. Sounds nice, but not sure if we want another day in the city, or if we should go old school with the hotel/villa outside town. Have two months to decide on that one.

My bucket list trip to Antarctica

In college I joined the United States Coast Guard Reserves. While in basic training in Cape May, New Jersey in the summer of 1983, I learned about two Polar Class Icebreakers (the USCGC Polar Star and USCGC Polar Sea) and always thought that would have been a great tour. However, after college, I ended up joining the Air Force instead, and no, we do not have any Air Force bases in Antarctica. Since then, it has always been in the back of my mind.

In 2016, my wife and I went on a cruise to Alaska on Holland America’s Noordam. It was a great week and we loved our time visiting Vancouver before and after the cruise. The drive to Whistler was one of the many highlights. We look forward to the opportunity to explore the Canadian Northwest in more detail someday in the future.

Ever since that trip, I continued to get emails from VacationsToGo.com to see what other cruise specials might come along. In February, I saw a special on Celebrity Cruises to go on a 14-day trip to Antarctica on the Celebrity Eclipse. After discussions, we went ahead a booked it. So for the last 8 months, I have been able to dream about and plan our trip. And in 77 days, our trip will begin.

So far we have booked our excursions for Ushuaia, Argentina (the Canoe trip to the end of the World) and to see some penguins on the Falkland Islands. Need to still decide what to do in Puerto Madryn, Argentina and Montevideo, Uruguay. Have made hotel reservations at a cute little boutique hotel called Miravida Soho Hotel and are really looking forward to seeing Buenos Aires.

My goal is to post photos, videos and a running update of our cruise and travels. If anyone enjoys my photos and comments, all the better. Two and a half months to go, can’t wait.