New Year's Eve on an Antarctica Cruise

The closest call with a whale on our entire trip happened while I was holding an espresso martini.

An espresso martini with South Georgia in the background

It was the afternoon of New Year's Eve, and I was the only guest hanging out in the Constellation Lounge while most of the ship napped ahead of a late night. The Constellation Lounge sits all the way forward on Deck 9, with floor-to-ceiling windows wrapping around three sides, and it's my favorite room on any ship, anywhere with a drink and a wall of glass and nothing to do but watch the water. Afternoon tea was being served, and I was working on that espresso martini (which I remember specifically because I rarely order them) when the ship took an unbelievably sharp turn, hard enough that it listed to one side and my fork slid clean off the table.

A minute later the captain came over the intercom to apologize. A pod of whales had crossed directly in front of us, close enough that avoiding them meant a genuinely rough maneuver. Hitting a whale would be devastating for both the whale and Venture, since whales are massive and have been known to sink ships.

Whales near the ship were a regular part of life on board, well beyond the excursions. Whenever one was spotted, someone, whether it was the captain, the expedition team, or whoever was on watch, would come over the intercom and send everyone to port or starboard because whales were feeding right there. Some of my favorite whale photos from the entire trip were taken through a window from somewhere in the middle of the ship. I would apologize to people we were eating meals with for not looking at them, but there was no way I wasn’t going to be staring out the window. I’d be watching the horizon for water spouts all the time, and I’d see them too, without fail.

That one day took me through most of the ship, which makes it a good excuse to run through how Venture's public spaces actually get used on an expedition.

There were two primary restaurants. The Restaurant was white tablecloth dining, where we'd go for most dinners. These were full three-course events, and I will fully admit I was not up for that length of dinner every night, so other nights we'd order room service, have sushi in the Club, or go to one of the theme dinners in the Colonnade. The Colonnade was also where we had every breakfast and lunch, other than the occasional afternoon tea in the Constellation Lounge on sea days.

Afternoon Tea on Seabourn Venture

The hours for all the venues were fairly limited, though, and that’s my one piece of criticism about the cruise. We were usually off the ship so early that breakfast was over by the time we got back. Our second excursion would then compete with the hours lunch was open, meaning that there were days that our first actual meal was dinner.

It’s worth noting that Adam, our expedition leader, did hear the complaints from many guests when this happened repeatedly, and landing times further along on the trip were adjusted to ensure each color group had time to get at least one real meal in during the day.

When we missed meals, we headed to Seabourn Square. You’ll find some version of the square on every ship in the Seabourn fleet. It’s a hangout on every ship, but even more so on Venture, where the snacks regularly became breakfast or lunch. There was cozy seating inside and out, along with some board games and puzzles that everyone contributed to solving over the course of the trip. This was a common place you’d find people with laptops and cameras editing footage or getting some work done during downtime.

Downstairs you’d find the photo studio, with even more computers for editing photos. Anyone could go in at any time and chat with the photography team, and everyone was eager to chat about filming tips, their lenses, and show off the best of their pictures every evening when we gathered for the evening briefing.

And that would happen in the Discovery Center - the expedition version of a theater, which is set up more like a college lecture hall with seats facing a small stage. All of the briefings, lectures and performances onboard happened there, and it was very funny how quickly people found their regular seats. Every evening we’d gather and catch up with the same people who always sat around us, sharing stories.

Expedition Leader Adam Jenkins giving a briefing in the Discovery Center on Seabourn Venture

Directly outside the Discovery Center was the Expedition Lounge where we waited once we were bundled up for an excursion. The stairs outside here led to the mudrooms, so most of us would gather here when we were waiting for our color groups to be called, holding our heavy outer layers so we could put them on at the last minute so we wouldn’t overheat.

The Club was where we played trivia during the day, and most evenings one of the musicians played there for anyone who wanted to dance before or after dinner.

There were a few different options for New Year’s Eve on the schedule, but it certainly felt like the entire ship ended up in the Club.

After a big gala dinner that everyone dressed up for, we made our way to the Club to hang out and dance up until midnight. By then we were ten days into the sailing, and we'd gotten to know the crew well enough that it felt completely natural when officers and staff started joining in. They popped magnums at midnight, and we all celebrated a fantastic New Year at the bottom of the world.