Sub-Title: Antarctica Trip Was Canceled
Expeditions Online rating: 5/5
Antarctica XXI: 4/5
Hotel Albatros: 5/5
My disappointment level: Feels wrong to give it either a 1 or a 5
Research process: I had no idea where to start and which travel agencies were good, so I did a combination of Googling and browsing travel forums. Eventually, I came across Expeditions Online, which had a very informative website with a pleasant user interface. At the time, it was rated 4/5 on Facebook and also had great updates posted, but there was little community engagement, and not many reviews online, so I couldn't tell for sure.
Booking: After finding a trip I was interested in that also had an early booking discount of USD$1,000, I sent in an e-mail, which was responded to quickly. But even booking 10 months in advance, triple roomshare occupancy was all taken. I was offered a twin instead, which ended up being $1,000 more. Stewart was responsive every step of the way. It also turns out a few things on the website were outdated, so Stewart informed me of any differences in a very polite and professional manner.
Payment: While paying my deposit via Mastercard, a fraud alert came up, so I had my credit card company on the line and tried maybe 2-3 more times to get it through.
Pre-Departure Docs: After I made my deposit, it was confirmed with even more information about the trip shared via DropBox. There was a part of the website to register yourself on the trip, and that was down from that point for about 3 months in preparation. I started to get worried, and since I was buying travel insurance for medical evacuation anyway (it's mandatory) I also added trip cancellation/interruption/delay as a precaution.
Pre-departure confirmation: The interactive portion of the website was ready to go, and Stewart checked in every now and again to request any additional information that was needed, or to provide additional information TO me, as well as reminders about the trip.
Final payment via credit card: Even with the fee, it was worth it and went about as smoothly as the deposit payment. And more info on the cruise from Expeditions Online! Love it.
Flying out: 3 stops on LATAM Airlines, one of which was a 15-hr-long layover and airport change. I landed in Santiago first (decent airport), then EZE in Buenos Aires (lots of places to fall asleep horizontally), took a bus (255 ARS) to AEP (less than an hour trip from 1 am), arrived in AEP, which is deceptively small/big. Boarding gates are upstairs. Flew to USH (small, cute airport with souvenir shops and food).
Arriving: Arrived at USH and there was a taxi kiosk right before the exit, and the cab ride was 200+ pesos (about 11 dollars that I paid with my chip credit card) and the nice man said it would be around 5 minutes, but it arrived in like 5 seconds (I basically put my money away and went to retie my hair, and the nice man told me mid-hair tie that the cab was there. That was quick! Although, given that I had only had a few hours' sleep in two days, I might have been moving more slowly than I thought. He took my suitcase out to the curb and opened the door for me!
Where I stayed: Originally MIL810, which had water tank issues and referred my reservation to another hotel a short walk away, which ended up being a nice place attached to Marco Polo. Hotel Cap Polonio didn't allow an early check-in, but they did let me keep my luggage in a basement room (unlocked, incidentally, so I went to buy small luggage locks from nearby).
Weather: While I was sitting in the cafe hooked up to a very convenient USB strip at a table that had 6 electrical outlets a USB strip with 4 ports ) I need one of those at home), I got an e-mail from Stewart regarding a 2-day delay due to stormy conditions. I had added a 3-day buffer to the end of my trip, which would have been perfect had I been on the cruise coming into Ushuaia instead on the one waiting for them. They had a 2-day extension to their trip while I had a 2-day reduction, but Stewart had e-mailed the complete details, so there was no confusion on my end about why, and when, and how, and what, and had me sign a form from Antarctica XXI indicating which of the options I would choose (a) take the full 100% refund and a night in Ushuaia for my troubles, or (b) take the shorter trip and get refunded 65%, plus get 2 days in Ushuaia and USD$200 cash spending money until depature. They couldn't control the weather, but rather than take the money and run, they seemed committed to making sure people had a good experience. I received the e-mail about 4 hours after he sent it, and had to download a PDF editor to sign and return the form. (Free trial!) He responded back right away confirming receipt and answering the 5 or 6 other questions I had about the logistics of what would happen next. He also told me he had texted me prior to my e-mail response, so keep that in mind if you roam.
Meeting at the port: The port is a short walk away from both MIL810 and Hotel Cap Polonio, just head toward the sea and follow the signs. The huge cruise ships might also give the location away. Since the trip was canceled, I just did a dry run of the walk myself from Hotel Albatros, and it was super close.
Cruise portion: Unfortunately, the entire trip was canceled due to weather, but Antartica XXI checked me and other remaining passengers (those who didn't high-tail it out of there on the next mini-cruise to Punta Arenas) into Hotel Albatros for 1 night. Stewart and Expeditions Online immediately processed my full refund with no hassles, and I told him I would be looking forward to the next trip. He sent me a very detailed list of my options and what discounts would be offered as the original trip had been canceled.
Overall: I was definitely in denial about the trip being canceled after it was announced, for about a few hours after we were told what was happening. The practical side of my brain (the one that pays rent and bills on time, and that makes sure I eat enough protein with my meals), was basically like, "All right. There are a lot of things we have to do, so let's take this one step at a time and try to plan out every possibility as we get more information." While the right side of my brain (the one that likes to lounge around eating kettle corn and re-watching Pride & Prejudice (2005) was like:
I knew it before the trip, but inclement weather is a real possibility, though full-on cancellations occurred <1% of the time (one of the expedition crew members said in his 15 years of over 200 cruises, this was only the 3rd time).
That being said, I'm so glad I booked with Expeditions Online because weather's going to happen, no matter who your travel agent is. While the fear was getting in with an irreputable company that would take your money and bail without even so much as a "thank you," Stewart was always connected, and basically kept me updated in real time. Any questions I had were answered right away, and he kept a disappointing situation from spiraling out of control.
He refunded me same-day (and my credit card company said they would take about 3 days on their end to process), and I'm very happy and impressed with the customer service I received.
In my opinion, Antarctica XXI can't control the weather and is therefore not technically required to "make us whole" (something outlined in their contingency plan as well), but I was a little surprised that no arrangements would be offered to take us from Ushuaia to Punta Arenas, since that was our original ending destination. Of course, some would go by bus, or ship, or plane, and they were very helpful giving us agency contact information to make those arrangements ourselves (one of the crew actually ran down to the pier to knock on the doors of one of the ships to inquire about availability). And the crew themselves were waiting to go on the ship with the rest of us, so we were all in the same boat... Or rather, none of us were in the boat. I feel bad about giving them 4/5 since the did such a good job handling the fallout, but I would have been really impressed if they were able to actually get us on the ship after all this, so unfortunately I'll have to leave it as a 4. I will be going again when I can, so hopefully I can give them a 5 next time.
