South america & antarctica

[Mary Ellen]

How close do you get to Antarctica? HAL has told me that there are no shorex.

Only ships with less than a certain number of passengers (200???) are allowed to send them ashore in Antarctica. Even they have to go ashore in shifts. If 'stepping foot' on Antarctica is important to you, you need to look at an 'expedition' type of cruise. It wasn't important to us and we loved our HAL Antarctica cruise. After the very rough seas we encountered going down to Antarctica, DH is SO glad we weren't in a <200 passenger ship. We felt very safe on the Rotterdam and she handled the seas quite well. Anything smaller has him concerned. He's even said no to returning there on the Prinsendam due to size concerns should we encounter similar seas.

 

I can't say exactly how close to shore we were. The views were spectacular - and we could still smell the penguins. ;) At the research stations we could easily see any people who were outdoors.

[RuthC]

How close do you get to Antarctica? HAL has told me that there are no shorex.

You get at least as close to land as you do in Glacier Bay, or any other scenic cruising areas I can think of. You get close enough to smell the penguins! :eek:

There are areas you cruise in that are bays, so you are closely surrounded by land.

 

When cruising Antarctica, you are cruising the peninsula, going in and out of various bays, straits, and channels.

[grayjay]

Another vote for this cruise and for Antarctica! If I had to choose between a balcony and the shorter cruise around the Horn and - on the other hand - Antarctica in an ocean-view cabin, I'd always take the OV, even if we loved having an aft cabin with balcony on our Antarctica cruise on "Celebrity Infinity". As there was no wind chill, we were able to sit outside quite a lot in the sun (!) and enjoy the scenery. During our stay in Paradise Bay ( absolutely awesome experience!) we were happy to sit in the Crow's Nest lounge in front of the huge windows, venturing outside for a few photos and views - it was cold, cold , cold despite the sun, because of the wind. The views were even better there and there was a lecturer on the bridge.

Whichever cabin category you choose, I'd try for a midship location. We were very lucky - calm seas , mostly sun and no rain, but the cruise before ours had rough seas, lots of fog etc.

In 2012, we personally found Buenos Aires rather seedy and run-down in some places, but it still is a really exciting city to visit when we stayed there for a few pre-cruise days. This year, we didn't like Santiago very much and chose to stay a few days at the sea instead before be boarded in Valparaiso to do the Panama Canal cruise. What others have written about staying a few days pre-cruise really is true: two days to get over jet lag are a really good idea.

Iguazu: That's another idea you should consider. Following our cruise we went up to Iguazu for a few days ( booked flights and hotel ourselves because much much cheaper than what the cruise lines and tour operators offer). Besides the days in Antarctica they were the best days of our vacation.

Book early or late? I have been monitoring prices closely because we will be going around the Horn down from Valparaiso to Buenos Aires in March, but had also considered doing Antarctica again. I looked at Celebrity, Princess and HAL and it was interesting to see that prices for balcony cabins rose steeply or were steep from the beginning, but fell sharply just around final payment day. Just to give an example: If you are willing to go in February, Celebrity has offered its Antarctica cruise for a really good price as a special deal last Tuesday.

When checking HAL prices I also noticed that the sailings WITH the promo (beverage package) were quite a lot more expensive than the one we chose - which was one without the promotion....

Another alternative to think about would be combination of a South America cruise : from Buenos Aires to Valparaiso and then up to the US (Miami or Fort Lauderdale) through the Panama Canal. If you can afford the time - this would be another great cruise. The Panama Canal is another experience not to be missed.

[shaq]

Crystalspin & Menea,

 

We are thinking of doing the 12/20/15 or 1/10/16 cruise. Which one are you considering doing?

 

We also just booked the NA cruise you both are on, still have to join that roll call.

We are Harold & Ron

[lizzies_mom]

We did the cruise on the Veendam in 2013 (januari 30th) and it was fabulous. We did the itinerary going from Buenos Aires to Valparaiso and we indeed also did Antarctica. I still think about it very often. There are no words to describe it. You have to experience it to truly get a sense of how it is.

 

We had an OV room on the Main Deck in the middle, and it was a great cabin. We never had a cabin with a balcony before, so I can't do any comparisons, but the OV suited us fine.

 

I usually was out on deck all day, and there were so many good places to see everything. I found it never was a problem not to have an own balcony.

 

Our cruise originated in Buenos Aires, and we added a couple of days. There is so much to see and do. I loved it. We also went to Iguazu. We had an extra day added in Santiago as well, but we did not do much there. I really liked Buenos Aires alot.

 

In our case, indeed we were told that 2013 would be the last year HAL would offer this cruise, which is why we took it. I was suprised when the itinerary's for 2014 came out and the itinerary was there. And now it is 2015 and once again the itinerary is there. So I am not sure what you should do. Perhaps 2015 really is the last year, but then again....maybe not ;)

 

We were so Lucky with the weather!!! We made all ports, including the Falklands, and even in the ports where it rains more often than not (Ushuaia for one) we had the most beautiful weather. Puerto Montt was also the best: clear blue skies so the Osorno volcano was clearly visible, and that was an awesome sight. The crossing to and from Antarctica was pretty calm as well. I do get seasick, but we were lucky to have the weather we had.

 

If you are interested in seeing some photo's or reading about our cruise, I kept an extensive blog during the cruise (boy that really did cost me, internet packages were expensive, but worth it) and I also made some video's and put them up on Vimeo (downloadable if you prefer) and YouTube. I still have not finished them all, but the ones in highest demand are there, such as Falklands and Antarctica.

 

Have fun planning your cruise, this is the most amazing trip we have ever done.

 

Travel blog: http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog/ina01nl/1/tpod.html

YouTube channel:

Vimeo Channel: http://vimeo.com/channels/insesa2013

 

Ina, thank you so much for your blog. Someone posted a link to it on the roll call for our cruise (January 30, just 20 days away, but who is counting?); it really raised the level of anticipation for lizzies_dad and me. Your enthusiasm is contagious.

[JanDom]

If you are interested in seeing some photo's or reading about our cruise, I kept an extensive blog during the cruise (boy that really did cost me, internet packages were expensive, but worth it) and I also made some video's and put them up on Vimeo (downloadable if you prefer) and YouTube. I still have not finished them all, but the ones in highest demand are there, such as Falklands and Antarctica.

 

Have fun planning your cruise, this is the most amazing trip we have ever done.

 

Travel blog: http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog/ina01nl/1/tpod.html

YouTube channel:

Vimeo Channel: http://vimeo.com/channels/insesa2013

 

Now I can say THANK YOU!

I know all the videos and the Blog and they were the reason we booked the cruise for december 2015!

We loved your pictures!

Thank you so much for all the work ! 🌹🌹🌹

Greets from Germany

Janine

[JanDom]

Crystalspin & Menea,

 

We are thinking of doing the 12/20/15 or 1/10/16 cruise. Which one are you considering doing?

 

We also just booked the NA cruise you both are on, still have to join that roll call.

We are Harold & Ron

 

 

We choosed the christmas cruise so we can celebrate New year in antarctica and my Birthday in puerto chacabuco ;)maybe we will meet us on the trip 😊

Janine