The almost perfect 'cruise' that missed its final destination.
The Sea spirit definitely has the most charm, with an amazing crew, expedition team, restaurant, bar & housekeeping. Even stabilizers for rough seas. This cruise also had an great photographer who gifted everyone with a memorable video (hats off to Piet). Sadly enough, it was a few antarctic scenes short from being epic. As well travelled, nature & wildlife lovers and photography enthusiasts, we search to spend the most time outdoors looking for wildlife. We chose this cruise as Poseidon advertises this as an expedition, with an itinerary going half way down the Gerlache strait and a detailed summary describing this as the most beautiful and calm area booming with wildlife. The trip started with the Falklands and the gorgeous sights at South Georgia. An extraordinary place! Where it all went wrong is that an elderly passenger had tripped and fractured her arm during a mediocre hike. Resulting in an evacuation being necessary. With no contingencies in place to offload a passenger at King George harbour, the ship had to remain a drift for an evening and almost 2 full days, untill a plane had confirmed taking off. Resulting in a four day itinerary for the Arctic region being reduced to one day, with most highlighted destinations such as Portal point and Wilhelmina bay being unreachable in the time left. The only option to reach the peninsula was 'Cierva cove' where they chose to do a ten minute photostop on a rocky beach. Doing so, the 'official step on 7th continent' was made before having to head north again. Technically we have not set foot on snow or ice.. on the arctic continent.. Out of shear luck a group off humpbacks crossed paths and a quick zodiac cruise saved the day. Apart from that, wildlife sightings in that regions were minimal. In my opinion this still is a luxury cruise, not an expedition. With the targeted audience being those at retirement age or with money to spend, and such an audience comes with a higher risk level for injuries to occur. Having no contingencies in place to offload a passenger at the Shetlands is a higher risk Poseidon takes, risking a journey to come full stop. An IAATO shared 'waiting station' at King George Island would solve this issue. Before boarding you have to sign off on being fully vaccinated and in good healthy conditions. The person that was evacuated had physical conditions where she broke bones easily. She had been helped down the stairs from day one and bragged about recent injuries at the dinner table. She was also the first covid case on board and in a weakened state, placing her under doctors supervision. In a recent comment Poseidon waves responsibility for the health form to ultimately be up to the passenger, but this in my opinion contradicts their own guidelines. Whether this person forfeited her medical form or not, the doctor failed to screen her and declare her unfit for certain activities. Quote: The Customer is obliged to have themselves examined before the journey, if necessary with the involvement of expert medical advice, whether participation in the journey with its specific contents and its route through extreme climatic conditions is actually compatible with the Customer’s respective physical condition, constitution and current state of health. In these cases, the traveller agrees to be examined by a doctor/ship’s doctor who will check the traveller’s fitness to travel and, if necessary, determine that the traveller is unable to travel, which shall be binding for both parties. This is where Poseidon failed in my opinion, they have taken the health declaration form too likely and risked a cruise with a 100+ people having to wait adrift for one person that did not meet the medical and physical requirements to participate in activities. The obvious response to any further complaint about being stranded there will be 'due to bad weather', however there were calm seas near the original destinations further south. They rushed in a few extra landings so the minimum required was met and the continental landing (roughly ten minutes) has also been ticked off the list. That simply doesn't feel right and justifyable to those that spent a lifetime saving for a once in a lifetime destination. Still, most other guests wil rate this as excellent for the luxurious dining and services rather than the actual destination. Most don't even know what they have missed, such as Portal point and Wilhelmina bay for ex, or what wildlife it harbours. For me this luxury cruise missed its most highlighted final destination.