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Everything posted by scubacruiserx2
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After shopping for a suitcase we had some good ice cream and went to the blue market for some money as we had heard stories about trying to get it later . For a clean , new $100 bill I got a stack of 117,000 A pesos . It was almost half an inch thick . The next stop was Plaza de Mayo or the City Square . The first thing that I noticed was the May Pyramid which was erected after the May Revolution in 1811 and was BA's first National Monument . The next thing was the Casa Rosada , the pink house which is where the President works . The balcony in the center is where Evita used to speak from . Lastly , was the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral where Pope Francis was Archbishop for 15 years before he became Pope . The remains of General San Martin is guarded by 3 statutes of countries that he liberated Argentina , Peru and Chile . We had planned on eating at the Jorge Newbery domestic Airport but we spent a long time moving clothes to the new suitcase so that they would balance out . Worse was customs and immigration considering that we were not leaving the country . We boarded at about 1630 for the 3 hour flight to El Calafate .
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We met our guide in the disorganization that was disembarkation and headed out for an unknown tour . The only 2 things that we knew were that we had a domestic flight to El Calafate at 1630 and that we needed to buy a new suitcase . AA has a more stringent weight policy on domestic flights . We were flying business class and were allowed more luggage but each suitcase had to weight less . 😜 The first stop was an upscale mall but the cheapest piece was $200 . So we moved on and would check the blue market later . We stopped at a park that dealt with the Guerra Sucia ( Dirty War ) . To summarize , Juan Peron was elected in 1946 and lived in an age when dictators were commonplace . Their society wasn't stable and he and his 2nd wife Evita brought some hope to the masses . After his death in 1974 , his 3rd wife and the state sponsored force AAA ( Argentine Anticommunist Alliance ) targeted left wing subversives and thousands of people disappeared under it's successor the Proceso de Reorganizacion National . This is what the park is about . What it didn't mention was that there was 1000% inflation and as the economy crumbled it tried to reintroduce national honor by attacking The Falkland Islands . The wall of missing people An instrument of torture with a free collage behind it A disappearing man as you walk by it This one disappears when the tide rises
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We like Aerolineas Argentinas as our airline in South America just as we prefer Virgin Atlantic to fly to London . But they have a couple of quirks . The first was that they had lowered their luggage weight limit after we had booked and didn't notify us . Unfortunately our second checked bag was overweight in Miami . If we could have moved some things from the larger bag to the smaller it would be no problem . But unfortunately it was gone down the conveyor belt and they would not retrieve it or give us a credit for a couple of pounds that would have gone in it . The result was red HEAVY tag and a $100 overcharge , even though the total weight never changed . The second odd thing is that AA always closes the window shades during the entire flight and most people go to sleep in the morning , only waking to be feed or excrete . So nocturnal is the norm in Argentina . The first time that we went to a nice dinner place in El Calafate we were surprised that they didn't open until 8 PM .
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We did show our last dinner but not our last lunch which was the same main for both of us and different desserts . While we sat at Gatsby's for the last time we were waiting for our guide and Monica to walk us down one last time to ding out from the Star . We had some time to reflect . Most of the cruise was good , very good . But just sitting in Gatsby's reminded us of a couple of reasons why we missed HAL . The most obvious was that we were in Gatsby's instead of our stateroom with it's peace and quite . And the second was the issue of laundry especially in warm climates where you sweat a lot like BA and South Florida . We were in a nice suite and we still had to pay for our laundry ! It seems like if you throw double digits in thousands of dollars that a couple of bags of free laundry wouldn't hurt them . Anyhow , we were purple tags for our checked bags and there was about a half an hour between it and the previous color so that's when we moved out of the frying pan and into the fire .
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You're welcome . If you look at our profile you will see Celebrity . Princess and HAL as our favorite lines . These are the ships that we have enjoyed the most and this was our 6th NCL cruise . Our 1st cruise to the Baltic and South America were both on NCL and this last cruise was too good for us to pass up , so we do have a soft spot for them . However , we think that longer is better and for that reason we preferred our 4 day cruise to Antarctica on HAL . We think that you made a great decision switching to the longer cruise and it may cost more but we think that the difference will be worth it in the long run ! Happy cruising . 🙂😊
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As we near the end of our cruise we feel a need to briefly summarize our cruise before we move to Patagonia which all pretty much self booked . The high points were the best cabin that we've ever had at an affordable price . The People , Vonn the butler , Monica the Concierge and Arlene were superb and we take care of the people who take care of us . We loved the intimate breakfast and lunch gatherings and the bed , robes and towels . The embarkation was not all NCL's problem but we wished that they would have kept some separation between groups and had seats on the bus for everybody - no standing on moving vehicles . The food wasn't great overall and the tenders need some work . As a Firefighter /Paramedic , if the tenders didn't work well during a routine operation than I'm concerned if they needed to be deployed as life boats . But the lowest point for us deals with our faith and NCL's lack of cooperation with our attempt to organize a Bible Study . The CC coordinators who arranged the M&M meeting , our new friends , @ziggyuk Anthony and Tony did a great job and helped us book a space and refreshments from HAL on a couple of day's at sea and a Sunday self led group . Unfortunately , HAL refused to allow us to post any signs or place it in the Freestyle Daily . There were no Bibles in the Paris Room or in our night stands which was something that I has never seen before in a ship or a Hotel . We did notice that self led Shabbat meeting that held was printed twice in the Freestyle Daily . And that their books were placed at the meeting place at 6 PM . The books were still there on our Sunday morning and I spent an hour reading the book . It also features some patriotic American songs . I do wish that NCL would be more like HAL in the way that they treat people of Faith . HAL has self led groups for Jewish and Interdenominational people and a Mass daily for Catholics . I only love one person more than my wife and family . My Rabbi is a Jewish carpenter and his name is Jesus , the one person that I love the most on this Valentine's Day .
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Look what we found in the mailbox yesterday . It's an invitation to observe World Whale Day ( February 18th this year ) with National Geographic . The only problem is that all of the ships have sailed except the cruises to Antarctica and Patagonia : Legendary Ice and Epic Ice Fjords . It's no wonder that they can afford to be so generous with their discounts !! We don't have to walk in the penguin poo to smell it . We want Antarctica and the Falklands and not at $21 K p.p.
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We have not pursued it . But we had a couple of friends who were a retired LEO and his wife who lived and worked in Cozumel . They missed the family and returned back to Denver . Grand Turk is a nice laid back place but may be too slow for some people . Cayman is pretty but pretty expensive . We could dive there twice for the same price as Cozumel and we prefer the drift diving there . It's similar to Palm Beach County but clearer water and a lower cost of living .
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When we arrived at dinner they were closing down the 2 other stations and ours was the only one working that night . I guess everybody was packing . They have 2 chefs working back to back which was really noisy . Spinning the fork ( you'll poke your eye out ) The egg snake and the fried rice The Main course , of course After the din of dinner we really wanted a quite walk on the deck and I thought of Al Stewart's song that I always listen to on the first night of a cruise .
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That sounds like a great plan to avoid the crowds on the tenders and a nice relaxing day . We needed a tube of some lip balm for cracked lips and bought some there in the Pharmacy . It was unmarked and we thought how much could it be ? It was $5 back in 2007 . We love cruising through the Chilean Fjords and it seems to be much cooler there than on the Atlantic side and you should see 1 more glacier there . Cheers Mic and Rosie . It is still summer so you may need the hat and glasses .
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A lot of our day was spent packing and reorganizing to move to hot and then cold weather again . Our last night on the ship was saying fair well to some of our new friends and the many people that helped us have a great cruise . It was the only night that we could get the TEPPANYAKI at a reasonable time and to help things we were called an asked if we could come in early at 1900 which was fine for us .
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It appears that you may be in the Falkland Islands a day early . Hopefully , they will let you sleep in a bit instead of the 0600 tender time that they gave us in January where we missed breakfast at O ' Sheehan's because they we not open for breakfast early enough . And hopefully they have more tenders in the water or allow you to say later than the 2 pm last tender that they told us . The reality was it was 1630 before we boarded . We never heard from the Captain once , much different than the early morning and lunch announcements that we hear every day on HAL . Additionally , if there were problems , he let us know on the PA .
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When heard that Angel , Vonn's friend was playing in the atrium we tried to get good seats to video him with his permission . We were eating at O'sheehan's and we did lift a couple of his songs to share on line , hopefully it will help him . He did a couple of Beatles song that were not our favorite but a couple that we did like . He did Proud Mary the way that CCM wrote and performed it . John Lennon said that it was his favorite song of 1969 . He also performed Hotel California
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Our fear of Triskaidekaphobia was ignited we we first noticed that we usually ate breakfast and lunch at the intersection of Moderno and Cagney's . Fear of choking here was allayed as this was one of Monica's usual places where we would see her . When we met her at the ship 's receiving line of officers and I shook her hand I told her that " I've been Touched by an Angel " . She didn't get it as a TV reference and I felt like a Dumbo with my wife trailing , while I stood alone with my punchline failing . Maybe 13 really is unlucky . A quick walk thru of the grill at Cagney's and where we were first seated in the corner for lunch back on the 1st day . For breakfast we usually ordered from the menu while grazing at the small buffet . Early risers we almost always ate by the windows , one battery before the buffet and the other on the other side of the buffet . We almost always heard a cat's meow in the aft section . I usually take the gunslinger's place but once when I faced the other way and noticed that the door leading to the kitchen was the culprit when it closed a certain way near the last window . Something that I had not noticed during my pool walk was the Smuggler windows over the Topsiders pool grill . This is where we usually ate breakfast .