ANTARCTIC - The Comfort

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The ship we were on, the Ortelius, is not the most luxurious of ships, but it is one of the few with helicopters. 

Not one helicopter as expected, but three. As with most ships, it had zodiacs, 10 in total. The ship was built in Poland and first used as a Russian Research Vessel. It was then converted to a cruise ship to be used for "expedition cruising". It is advertised as being, "not luxurious, but very comfortable". 

Our ship could break through up to 2 m of solid ice. It could also push ice bergs, which was very impressive!

The ship was fully sold out, but one couple was unable to make the journey. As a result, we were able to upgrade from a porthole cabin to a twin cabin with three windows on the newly renovated 5th floor.  

We ended up spending more time than expected in our room, so it was nice to have the extra luxury and space. 

The dining room was split in two so that everyone was able to dine at the same time but in two adjacent rooms. Breakfasts and lunches were served buffet style with plated dinners. The meals exceeded expectations.

We kept up the goal of enjoying a bottle of champagne in each country. 

We had a bottle of Simsonsig champagne that we purchased in South Africa. It was a well travelled bottle of champagne having travelled on 6 flights, 1 bus and 1 boat before it's cork was finally launched. As tempting as it was to launch the cork in the Antarctic Sound, we honoured the " leave no trace" ethic and carefully uncorked it in our cabin. 

As an anniversary gift, Marlon, the ship's baker, made a  beautiful cake. 

Unfortunately, the day that the cake was baked was one of our roughest days at sea. Steve was feeling seasick so missed dinner. Marlon and Michael, the guest services coordinator, brought the cake to our room. Steve felt good as long as he was lying down. He enjoyed cake in bed, followed by creme brûlée. It may have been one of his favourite suppers !!