Originally Posted by
747FC
Thanks. We went to Antarctica in 2018, and it was The Trip of a Lifetime.
We just got off a cruise from Iceland-Greenland-Baffin Island, and it was filled with past Antarctica cruisers. It was interesting to talk to some of the cruisers who had not yet been to Antarctica. Everyone of these folks mentioned that when they asked previous travelers to Antarctica how they enjoyed it, the unanimous opinion was that it was The Trip of a Lifetime.
The lack of medical evacuation options once one is "down under" can be worrisome. It all depends on risk tolerance and medical situation. Personally, if I had to die and go to heaven, Antarctica would not be a bad place to start the journey.
FYI, there was a 2017 Seabourn Antarctica cruise that got diverted/shortened because of a medical condition that resulted in death of a passenger. Also, in 2018, the captain who commanded our Antarctica cruise died during the next voyage.
https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/c...in-larsen.html So, medical stuff happens.
Thanks. All of the above are concerns, of course. And we [sort of] agree about the "what a way to go", given we aren't young anymore, etc.
Someone who posted a *lot* on CruiseCritic (incredibly active and helpful, and had apparently met - including at his home - many others from CC) was with his wife, approximately half-way on a 'Round The World' cruise, when he passed... very sudden heart attack, as I understand it. Needless to say, it was a total nightmare for his wife, unfortunately.
But it isn't clear in many such cases whether being "closer to home" (or even AT home) would have yielded a different outcome. Of course, in *some* cases, it certainly could. DH needed emergency care on his *first* cruise, after it had taken me decades to convince him to give it a try [and he gets some sort of "Super Duper" award for continuing on other cruises! ]. We were very impressed with the medical care on board. He was transferred by ambulance to the ER at Bermuda, and there - and also at our major teaching hospital - all agreed that what had been done was precisely what they would have done had he presented in their ER at the start. But obviously, some procedures or even meds won't be available/possible during the Drake Shake, or such.
We've just booked a New Zealand & Australia cruise on short notice (already entered above), and ... some of the flight just to get there... there won't be a nearby emergency airport, etc. Likewise spending a week in a very rural mountain cabin, or such... no emergency care or ambulance "right nearby", etc.
However, somehow "Antarctica"
sounds genuinely remote, because it is, in a different way. But we aren't going to "just stay home" (or "sit in the ER waiting room!?!) just in case......
We are actually getting closer to booking something to Antarctica (!!), even if we are thinking "perhaps we'll cancel before penalties". That would make it so much more likely that we *would* go, as we get more used to the idea. After all, the chance of "something happening just then!" are pretty low, given our generally good health, despite being "Geezers-in-Training".
[But as they say, "Life Happens!" - or not... ]
The more we read reports of those who've "been there"... how can we NOT go!??
GC