Btimmer

I didn't note the outbound facilities at Santiago, so I have no recommendations. On our first voyage 8 years ago, we did a similar wine tour transfer to the ship from Santiago. Chile has nice wines. Castro is a nice port stop and we did a wonderful private excursion there on the GSA. My blog has the details.

We made it back to Seattle just fine. On disembarkation day, we took the HAL City Tour and Airport transfer which we really liked. We were at the international airport by noon for a 10:30pm 10.5 hour American Airlines 787 flight to Dallas where we connected to a 3.5 hour Alaska Airlines flight to Seattle. Global Entry really sped up the Border Security process with friendly agents. Fortunately the BA airport has lots of food and shopping options in the International Terminal before checking in, but there is little seating. The OUTBACK restaurant is reasonably priced. The BA cruise terminal has a little damage, but the shops and vendors are all open. I'll get my blog updated in a few days with pictures and detailed commentary (it's written). In summary, the Oosterdam cruise turned out to be more like an expedition as we got very close to the penguins in Antarctica and saw much more wildlife than on the earlier Zaandam cruise. We highly recommend either cruise for a chance to experience Antarctica.

We've spent well over 100 days on the Volendam and wouldn't hesitate for a moment to return to sail on it. We are booked for the 11/24 cruise RT FLL just after it comes out of drydock. We just returned from two voyages to Antartica on the Zaandam and the Oosterdam, and they handled the Drake crossing just fine. I would say, however, that the Oosterdam was much smoother especially in seas that reached 15 feet on the way to the Falklands.

We just got off of the Oosterdam and we had a solo pianist, Adam, who was really good. We were apprehensive at first (fan of Meghan and Gabe), but he totally won us over and we were there almost every night after the 7:30pm Main Stage show. His final sets on the last night of the cruise were very well attended with much appreciation being shown him.

My wife has submitted the required retirement letter and a copy of her ID, but still was rejected. What does it take to appeal the denial process?

Enjoy your cruise, we are now home safe and sound after disembarking the day you embarked. We did the HAL transfer to the airport and a city tour but we still got to the airport at noon for a 10:30pm flight to Dallas and then a connecting Alaska Airlines flight to Seattle. Enjoy your cruise. Punta del Este is another walkable town (don't miss the Hand monument and the lighthouse).

Sorry to hear about the itinerary change. We're booked on the second half of the '25 World Cruise and I expect we'll have a similar deviation.

We've had it on the Noordam and the Zaandam. It's okay and messy as others have indicated. You can get one pot and share and that works for us. The last chowder was not Ivar's but was good. At $35 it's a good value for the two of us.

Thanks, that worked. But it would be so much easier to just have all of the cruises populated in the APP. I find that the HAL APP is much easier to use and does have immediate access to all booked and past voyages.

We're booked on the Regal departing 3/3/24 and on the Majestic on 4/6/24. I can use the new APP to view and book items for the Regal, but I'm unable to view or access the Majestic cruise on the APP. I can see my booking on a PC but not in the APP and I've tried all of the suggestions made above. A semi related question is that I'm continually being prompted to register my account after registering it (on the PC).

Today in Buenos Aires, the called play was to do a spa day. But we punted and did the red hop on hop off bus trip ($25/person) around the city and enjoyed it except that the commentary didn't keep in sync with the map and they didn't broadcast stops through the headset but used the PA system. We gave a tango show tonight onboard and tomorrow morning we disembark and head home. Planetarium Linch at the end of the tour women's bridge street art Obelisk

Correction: It was the Fascinosa in port with us today and it appears they will be with us tomorrow in Buenos Aires.

Thanks. We've totally enjoyed ourselves. Everyone can have an adventure; taking the first step begins it.

We've just spent our last two days in Uruguay. Yesterday was Punta del Este (a wonderful little port) and today is Montevideo. The Costa Fabiosa was in port with us today. Today we walked a bit over 7 miles including the nice tourist walk plus we walked a couple more miles to the MAM (Mercado Agricultro de Montevideo) where we ate lunch. Mt lunch was a chivito and it was much better than what the ship makes. Along the way I got a haircut for $11 plus a $4 tip. On the way back we walked by the deserted central train station and walked the Rambla which paralleled the port. There were a few historical things, but I would recommend the tourist route as it's more interesting. Here's few pictures from today. We wrapped up our day with a visit to the Carnival Museum and the next door Mercado. Go to my blog if you'd like information about Punta del Este yesterday. Inside the MAM Carnival exhibit q

You will be competing with MANY. 4-5 star Mariners on that voyage. The best tip I can offer is to get in the tender ticket line as early as possible. While we had 5 star status on the Oosterdam, the first tender for us did not require tender tickets, but the tender filled quickly and they turned over the tenders pretty rapidly. The Oosterdam has much nicer tender platforms than the Volendam in my estimation. But don't overly fret about it. Shaun knows the drill. Keep in contact with him as your arrival gets closer. He can see the ship from where he lives. Tim

This morning at sea was towel animal zoo day along with the City At Sea presentation. Llama Crocodile

Here's your last penguin fix from this voyage. We did a Viator excursion out to Punta Tombo and the Magellan colony. Besides penguins we saw many guacanos which are a relative of llamas and alpacas. The penguin chicks are just about as large as their parents and are beginning to molt. Punta Tombo is a 2.5 to 3 hour drive each way. But it's worth it. Along the way we saw a full size replica of a dinosaur whose bones were found nearby.

We're just entering Puerto Madryn, Argentina. We're off to see more penguins today. We have company with the Norwegian Star.

Thanks for following along. We are missing Iguazu Falls this trip as well.

You were in the parking area with Russ and the penguins would not have been a distraction. . .

Thanks, yes it was. I saw you there but didn't get a chance to say hi.

For a detailed commentary on our visit to Stanley including my recommendations for a first time visitor, please visit my blog at https://timmer2024osa.blogspot.com/.

Here's your penguin fix for today. There were thousands of them. They weren't as smelly as those in Antarctica. The Kings are those with the colorful heads. Gentoo a thief Baby Gentoo I think I can fly

What a wonderful day despite the wind at Volunteer Point on the Falkkand Islands. Don't miss that excursion. Here's a few preliminary pictures and my blog will have some important observations about this excursion. I'll post more penguin pictures after I upload them from my big camera. Our Land Rover in front of thousands of King Penguins With Adam our driver A 2 plus hour ride with 1.5 hours 4 wheeling across peat bogs. Volunteer point is at the top.

We've made it to the Falklands. The seas are calm. Now we need the wind to stay away.