maltcan

We will take your advice and look into these two tours.

Thanks again Arie, for taking the time while in London to answer our questions. We will look for your British Isles reviews. Could be our next cruise. Be Well. D & V.

Hello D&V! You have a lot to look forward to!

 

None of the shore tours were through HAL. Everyone was private; some of them I arranged, some by others, and a few just "DIY."

 

What I would do different in in Puerto Chacabuco I would do the tour offered by someone named Anne. It is an all-day tour but includes a lunch (something I normally avoid) on a private ranch/farm and the locals put on a native dance show. The 30 or so who did that tour RAVED about it.

 

Our tour at that port was enjoyable but we spent too much time in the van and not enough outside seeing or doing things. So I would go with the other tour. If you find the roll call for our cruise I'm sure a search of the thread with the port name you will find the info on the tour provider.

 

The other port I would do different was Punta Arenas. Again, our tour was entirely 'fine,' but the folks who went on the tour to the Penguin island just RAVED about it. We did have perfect weather for it, so if you plan for that, either through HAL or privately, you need to have a plan B in mind.

 

We are just off our British Isles cruise and enjoyed two days in London. Heading home tomorrow.

 

Arie

All the people I have talked to over the years that raved about Antarctica were absolutely correct. This was an outstanding cruise in general and the scenery enjoyed in Southern South America and Antarctica put it “Over the top.” It will be hard, if not impossible, for a cruise to top this one.

 

The very small misconnects that occurred in no way offset the overall positives. We loved having a cabin on deck 3 just steps from the “Biggest balcony on the ship.” Being somewhat forward, we did hear the sounds of the ‘late show’ in the showroom if we turned in early, so watch out if you book a cabin with #3300 – 3318. This did not bother us as it was not loud at all, but some might want to know this.

 

The Captain making the decision to go to Antarctica at full speed gave us an extra eight hours of perfect weather sightseeing that could never be recovered if we had not done so. The senior staff seemed to be “Out and about” around the ship and it always feels good to see them eating on the pool deck and interacting with the guests.

 

We had the best cabin team, Davies & Mil, that we ever recall. Our primary dinner waiter, Rooney, was outstanding. The on location talks were mostly top-notch. While in two ports we could have chosen better tour options, that is the kind of thing that is not HAL’s fault and we certainly had a great time in everything we did. There is no option but to give the good ship Zaandam and its crew five stars out of five for this great South America and Antarctica explorer cruise.

 

I hope you all enjoyed my log and that this will be helpful to those who are planning for this trip in the future!

 

Arie

We very much enjoyed your review and finding it very helpful.Thank you. We are booked on the Dec20/16 sailing. You said that in two ports you could have chosen better tour options. Which ones did you do with HAL and which

organized by your fellow CC members. Which would you consider a pass? What should we not miss? Would appreciate you assistance as we are starting to make our choices. Thank you. D&V

We have taken several cruises but always used the Cruise Excursions. This time we want to join some of the Cruise Critic groups but are concerned about getting back to the ship on time. Do the Cruise Lines (specifically HAL) generally wait for groups who may be a few minutes late getting back to the ship?

We are booked on the Dec 20th sailing on HAL's Zaandam out of Santiago.

Thanks

MaltCan