22/12/2024
Cleanliness, they take it seriously. At the entry to each restaurant is an sink station and each guest is required to wash their hands before entering.
We are each given muck boots to wear on land. There is a very strict protocol for visiting Antarctica and HX follows the rules. You must not sit down and not even bend down. They are of course worried about Avian Bird Flu. We’ve heard one of the small islands often visited has been shut down. You can imagine that it would be ships and passengers who could carry the flu from one spot to another. Of course, birds can fly from one to another, but the idea is to do what we can to prevent spread.
Just before we board the zodiacs, wearing our muck boots, we step in a shallow pan with disinfectant. When we return from a landing, we go through a wash station, spinning brushes like a car wash to remove anything on our boots. Then we step through a disinfectant pan again. After our Kayaking trip, while still wearing our dry suits, we get hosed down!
It's a tight ship and we appreciate it
