Kolbs On The Road: Antarctic Cruise Day 7/40 - Baggo victory, more deck tours, and toys

Sunday, October 2, 2022

Antarctic Cruise Day 7/40 - Baggo victory, more deck tours, and toys

Antarctic Cruise Day 7 / 40 - Baggo victory, more deck tours, and toys

Trip day: 7 / 40
Port days: 4
Sea days: 2
Countries: 1
Continents: 1
Ports: 1

*WARNING* - heavy-duty post coming today - strap in!

We continue to be reminded that we are at sea. I'm not sure if it because this is a smaller ship, or if the seas and winds are that much more in motion at the moment, but we're moving. Again, nothing violent, but definitely making folks adopt the "low and slow" method of walking. Here's the view out of our window on deck #3.

Speaking of deck #3, let's take a tour!

We'll start mid-ship, where our room is located.

Facing aft from mid-ship, we see the central stairway

Turning to face forward, we see the elevators and a table - more on that in a minute

The travel consultant's office is to the right (starboard)

Other ships have had a cruise consultant - the Polaris has a travel consultant - I don't know if that is a corporate change or unique to expedition ships

To the left (port), we find the Nordic Shop

They offer a selection of sweaters, jackets, gloves, and such plus a small selection of souveniers and necessities

Nicole is happy to show you their offerings

A touchscreen is embedded in the table in the middle of the central area

You can watch a series of informational videos here

Let's make our way aft. You walk down a hall of guestrooms on either side of the ship.

Open the swinging wooden door and proceed back - our room is just through the opening ahead

Speaking of our room - they added a nice feature - the doorbell button is not illuminated when you are out of your cabin - when you're in there, it turns blue - pressing the service button turns it green - pressing the do not disturb turns it red and disables it - a nice touch

All the way aft, we find a heavy door

Open that door and step to the side and you find yourself in The Aula, right at the top seating level

There is also a stairway and elevator located here

Taking the port side hallway back toward midship, we pass large windows that overlook the lifeboats

There are also provision containers that contain survival supplies like tents, blankets, fire starters, and more

The third floor launderette is across from room 3028 on the port side - there is another launderette on deck #4

It has five washers and dryers - you can see the automated soap dispensers on the right wall

It also contains a sink, iron, and ironing board

If you continue all the way forward on deck #3, you find a series of doors - once you pass through, you find yourself is a space called The Shelter - a seating area at the front of the ship that is sheltered from the elements - you can see the ship's plaque right in the middle front

The Bow is forward from there - unlike most other ships, there is access to the bow on Polaris

Going all the way forward gives you unrestricted views of the ocean ahead

It also gives you a nice view of The Shelter's windows, the first and second floors of the Explorer's Bar, and the bridge above that

This morning, they organized a guest versus officers Baggo (cornhole) competition. Only three guests showed up - Arlona, me, and a guest named Andreas. We competed in The Aula, tossing bags from three different levels on the stairs. It was a heated competition but in the end, the guests won 1275 - 1225. Mimosas were enjoyed by all. We have a rematch coming.

We are now winners of the first-ever Baggo competition on Polaris - look in the Baggo hole for Arlona's smiling face

After lunch, we took a walk outside as it was about 65F and sunny with much calmer seas. We decided to pop up to deck #6, so you get a bonus deck tour today.

There isn't much to deck 6. It is mostly mid-ship and it is dominated by the owners suite, explorer's suites, and their attached garden and seating areas. The area behind that is an open deck area on the sides with windbreak glass and seating, although the seating was stacked up today.

The only smoking venue on the ship is on the starboard side of deck #6

As we walked, we saw a stairway on the port side going up. There was no sign restricting entry, so we went up. We arrived above deck #6 on an unnamed deck. I expect it is a service deck and generally not open to passengers, so we took a quick look and came back down.

I believe this is the helicopter winch area where a helicopter could drop a line and perhaps a stretcher without landing - there isn't enough room to land

You can see the Polaris's International Maritime Organization (IMO) number - IMO 9863209 on the top of the ship

Looking aft along the starboard side

Looking aft from the front

The captain, in his noon report, said that the seas would be calming down, and he was absolutely correct. We're still moving a bit but the swells have settled a lot.

Late this afternoon, we had the opportunity to tour both the Science Lab and The Hangar. This will cover parts of deck #1 and deck #A.

The Science Lab and the upper portion of The Hangar are all the way aft on deck #1

In the lab, they conduct all kinds of experiments on marine life, microplastics in sea water and so on. A team on onboard scientists are responsible for conducting this research in collaboration with top research institutions worldwide.