South America/Antarctica 2007

[GAJE]

We finally did it. The 2007 South America/Antartica schedule was posted by HAL Friday, Nov. 11, and we are now booked. We have wanted to take this cruise in January for two years, and it looks like it is going to happen - if we are both still around by then. I will be relying on the help and advice from those of you who have done this cruise. It was in part due to your rave reviews that we put this one on our "must do" list.

I am soooooooo excited!

Betty

[Bill S]

Way to go, Betty! You have made a wise choice, IMO. Our SA/Antarctica cruise really was a "one-of -a-lifetime event"! I hope you both have a great time planning for and enjoying the experience of seeing Antarctica.

Which ship will you be on?

[obriendan]

Congratulations! Without a doubt, this is our favorite cruise of the nine we've taken. We took the cruise in January of 2002 on the ms Ryndam. The scenery in Antarctica is stunning. If you have any specific questions, just ask and I'll try to answer them.

[Grumpy1]

We're seriously thinking about the 2007 Prinsendam South America Grand Voyage... only problem is Slinkie thinks it will be too cold for her... making noises about a full length fur coat to keep her warm... oh, well, just one more expense to figure in:eek:

[RuthC]

Congratulations, Betty! I can't tell you how excited I am for you. That cruise was the absolute best cruise of my life---the Antarctica portion was the best part.

O'briendan was kind enough to give me a CD of photos he took on the cruise (even have a couple with me in them!), and Bill posted many from his cruise. Bobpatj also added to the collection---and I still can't get enough of it.

As you look forward and plan, please come and post any questions. I'm sure there will be no shortage of answers.

[cdkempton]

Congratulations! You will absolutely love it. I'd love to do it again. We were on the Ryndam back in 2001 and we still talk about events from that cruise. It's the best.

Colette

[Robin7]

We finally did it. The 2007 South America/Antartica schedule was posted by HAL Friday, Nov. 11, and we are now booked.

 

What is the itinerary? Which ship? This is my dream cruise. I'm envious. Can I go in your suitcase????

 

Robin

[GAJE]

The ship for the South America/Antarctica cruise is the Rotterdam. It leaves from Valparaiso on January 11th and ends in Rio January 31, a 20 day cruise. It includes a stop in the Falklands (weather permitting) and three days cruising in Antarctica.

Packing for this one should prove to be a challenge!!

We plan on booking our own air, going down to Santiago the day before. We want to use HAL transfers, and hope we don't get messed up on the logistics since we did not have HAL make the air arrangements. We did this in Seattle a few years ago and there was no one to meet us or show us where to get the bus - not a good way to start our first cruise. Hopefully that was a very isolated occurrence!!!! Any comments on this would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Betty

[obriendan]

As I’m sure you are aware, Santiago is about 80 miles from Valparaiso, where you will board the Rotterdam. On the reverse cruise, Rio to Valparaiso, we purchased the transfer on the cruise for approximately $45 pp. So you shouldn’t have any trouble getting the transfer even though you are doing the air independently. You should be able to purchase the transfers directly from HAL well before the cruise. When we did our air independently the total difference was more than $1000 in our favor compared to HAL air! It might be wise to find out which hotel in Santiago that HAL will be using. That’s where the transfer buses will leave from.

[RuthC]

Packing for this one should prove to be a challenge!!

It is; but not an insurmountable one.

I'll tell you what I did: I packed my largest suitcase and carry-on. Plus, I always sling an extra HAL canvas bag over the carry-on handle. That has reading material, tape player/tapes, documents, and snack food. In that I also placed a collapsible suitcase.

Since I was landing in hot, humid Rio, I wore a lightweight dress covered by my heaviest coat to the airport. Gloves were in the pocket. When I got there I took off the coat, placed it in the collapsible suitcase, and checked it through. Didn't have to worry about it until I took it and gave it to the HAL rep. in Rio.

I packed mostly light-weight clothes, a sweatshirt, flat-knit sweater then layered as needed. The heavy coat was very necessary.

[GAJE]

Obriendan: What a great suggestion to find out what hotel HAL uses in Santiago!!! Surely our TA can find that out. I have this nightmare of "missing the bus" and having to get to Valpariso by paying a transportation fee the second time.

Ruth: Your coat packing idea is a very good one. Thanks.

Betty

[Bill S]

Betty: when we went in 2003, HAL was using the Sheraton as the hotel for passengers, but that could have changed for your cruise. We went by the Sheraton during our city tour and it looks like a nice hotel, just out of the way a bit. We stayed the Hyatt Regency, closer to downtown-it is a very nice hotel. We used Port Compass for our transfer to Valparaiso, but I guess we could have tried the HAL transfer.

 

Regarding packing, I did a rough calculation of how many days we would be in cold weather versus how many days we would be in warm weather and packed accordingly. For us, there were more warm days than cold days. It started getting cool about the 4th day sailing south from Valpo and warmed up again rapidly on the second day out of the Falklands to Buenos Aires.

 

While in Antarctic waters the temperatures were in the mid to high 30s.

 

Keep us posted about your plans and progress!