HAL vs Celebrity for Antarctica - Quite surprising to me

[sparks247]

Thanks, I will also check with HAL

 

Suggest to use one of the travel websites such as tripadvisor and check prices as follows:

Roundtrip Chicago/Miami (At the moment AA = $ 229)

And then a different multicity trip

Miami /Santiago - Buenos Aires/Miami (LATAM offers nonstop flights Miami Santiago and B/A, at the moment found non stop on LATAM for $ 1005, with slightly different dates as today you cannot book beyond feb 14, 2018 [wait a few more weeks], multistop for significantly less).

 

As others suggested check different travel websites and compare one ways vs multi city etc. BTW tripadvisor will check most popular travel sites.

 

Good luck!

Edited March 22, 2017 by sparks247

[MVPinBoynton]

The outside cabins on the Zaandam are 196 sq. ft. on the two lower decks; the Lower Promenade outsides are smaller.

 

Thank you for clarifying that. Makes much more sense. Still bigger than on the Infinity

[kangforpres]

We're doing the opposite for South America and Antarctica. Switching form HAL to Celebrity. (11 cruises on HAL 1 just 1 3-day cruise on Celebrity) We still both work so a 22 day cruise is not possible for us. 14 days is as far as we can stretch our vacation time since you need travel days to get to and from South America.

 

Also what's more appealing to me besides the 14 days vs. 22 days is that the Celebrity cruise is RT from Buenos Aries which makes air travel planing much easier than flying into and out of different cities. Also it looks like the port in Valparaiso is a good 90 minute ride from Santiago.

 

-Paul

[StartrainDD]

We loved this trip on the Zaandam. I have followed many of Hiltner's journeys and respectfully disagree. We watched folks on an expedition ship going ashore in Antarctica and other than walking among the penguins (which you can do in Chile or the Falklands) I'm not sure why this is worth paying 5 - 10X the price. Have a rough crossing of the Drake and that is some treat!

 

On our wonderful Zaandam trip we were very close to shore numerous times. The cliffs come straight up at times and the captain told us the sea was over 1,000 ft under the keel, no worries!

 

We stayed in an outside on the lower promenade deck. LOVED that location - a few steps and you are outdoors! Room still seemed larger than on Celebrity (not by much, but very comfy).

 

Agree with previous comments on flights. They are a pain. We just saved nearly $1000/pp on this year-end's trip to New Zealand (Maasdam) by booking separate tickets PHL-LAX and then LAX-Auckland. Yes it's a pain but that is real money.

 

Also agree with Ruth, if your time allows go down a few days early. Beware of your belongings though in both Santiago or Buenos Aires. Just like a large European city, lots of pickpockets. Nearly every cruise has someone who lost their wallet in one of the cities.

 

The ports in South America are not to be overlooked either! Wonderful port calls and outstanding service made the Zaandam cruise our #1 out of 26. We intend to go back and do this cruise again in Dec 2019 if all goes well.

[OlsSalt]

We're doing the opposite for South America and Antarctica. Switching form HAL to Celebrity. (11 cruises on HAL 1 just 1 3-day cruise on Celebrity) We still both work so a 22 day cruise is not possible for us. 14 days is as far as we can stretch our vacation time since you need travel days to get to and from South America.

 

Also what's more appealing to me besides the 14 days vs. 22 days is that the Celebrity cruise is RT from Buenos Aries which makes air travel planing much easier than flying into and out of different cities. Also it looks like the port in Valparaiso is a good 90 minute ride from Santiago.

 

-Paul

 

Valpariso is the far more interesting city.

[Roz]

I too noticed the huge difference in price between Celebrity and HAL. I think Celebrity's itinerary was a bit more interesting, but don't know that I would be willing to fork over the added dollars.

 

Roz

[rkacruiser]

I, too, have had good success in booking air through HAL. Not 100% of the time, but more times than not.

[MVPinBoynton]

I just did my air booking through HAL. The pricing was about the same as what I was seeing online. The only other time I have used a cruise line's air program was last year with Celebrity and the price was much lower with them. Since I booked it using the flexible fares, maybe it will come down. Of course, it could go up too.

[Turtles06]

We loved this trip on the Zaandam. I have followed many of Hiltner's journeys and respectfully disagree. We watched folks on an expedition ship going ashore in Antarctica and other than walking among the penguins (which you can do in Chile or the Falklands) I'm not sure why this is worth paying 5 - 10X the price. Have a rough crossing of the Drake and that is some treat!

 

 

I have been very fortunate and blessed to have been able to take an expedition trip to Antarctica, on the National Geographic Explorer. I can't say what is worth what to anyone, that's a totally personal decision, but I just want to correct your mis-impression that an expedition is just about "walking among the penguins." It is SO much more than that.

 

A few examples.

 

Zodiac cruising, being down there on the surface of the water in a small little boat, up close and personal with the ice, with minke whales swimming under your boat, with leopard seals on the ice a few feet away, etc., turned out to be utterly amazing, something we had not even anticipated being so special. And getting to do that day after day.

 

Not having a fixed itinerary, so that when we came upon a family of killer whales that was chasing a minke (breakfast!) we could spend several hours following along to see how the chase turned out.

 

Kayaking in the waters of Antarctica.

 

Putting on a bathing suit and taking the "polar plunge" into 29 degree F water. Magical!!

 

The open bridge policy (as on most expedition ships). Hanging out on the bridge whenever you wanted. Incredible!

 

Getting to cross the Drake Passage -- twice -- on a small ship. Rough both times. Loved it.

 

Those are just a few examples. I have a very comprehensive photo journal of our trip at the link below; it was far more than walking among penguins (as fabulous as that was!).

 

https://antarcticjourney.wordpress.com/

 

Speaking of penguins, though, I smile every time I look at this photo and recall this one particular and wonderful morning off the ship among the penguins:

 

 

(photo by turtles06)

[Krazy Kruizers]

I have been very fortunate and blessed to have been able to take an expedition trip to Antarctica, on the National Geographic Explorer. I can't say what is worth what to anyone, that's a totally personal decision, but I just want to correct your mis-impression that an expedition is just about "walking among the penguins." It is SO much more than that.

 

A few examples.

 

Zodiac cruising, being down there on the surface of the water in a small little boat, up close and personal with the ice, with minke whales swimming under your boat, with leopard seals on the ice a few feet away, etc., turned out to be utterly amazing, something we had not even anticipated being so special. And getting to do that day after day.

 

Not having a fixed itinerary, so that when we came upon a family of killer whales that was chasing a minke (breakfast!) we could spend several hours following along to see how the chase turned out.

 

Kayaking in the waters of Antarctica.

 

Putting on a bathing suit and taking the "polar plunge" into 29 degree F water. Magical!!

 

The open bridge policy (as on most expedition ships). Hanging out on the bridge whenever you wanted. Incredible!

 

Getting to cross the Drake Passage -- twice -- on a small ship. Rough both times. Loved it.

 

Those are just a few examples. I have a very comprehensive photo journal of our trip at the link below; it was far more than walking among penguins (as fabulous as that was!).

 

https://antarcticjourney.wordpress.com/

 

Speaking of penguins, though, I smile every time I look at this photo and recall this one particular and wonderful morning off the ship among the penguins:

 

 

(photo by turtles06)

 

 

Your picture is PRICELESS!!

[janmcn]

The cruise from Valparaiso to BA gives you wonderful ports in addition to Antarctica. Loved our 4 days cruising around Antarctica...each day was totally different.

 

 

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[MVPinBoynton]

The cruise from Valparaiso to BA gives you wonderful ports in addition to Antarctica. Loved our 4 days cruising around Antarctica...each day was totally different.

 

 

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Thanks so much for the link. Very nice photos that show us coming attractions. I am looking forward to taking my own. :D

[iancal]

We almost always do open jaw flights. We recently returned from South America. We used airline points. We had a choice of either a stopover or an open jaw- based upon the airline's point redemption rules. We wanted a stopover in Central America rather than the open jaw

 

To get around this flew into Santiago and then took a one way flight on Sky Airlines to Montevideo, across from BA. Worked for us because we decide to spend time in Uruguay. We could have also flown into BA. Our airfare,booked on Sky's website was just under $100. each including all taxes.. Short flight.

[cabinluvn]

I have been checking all the ways discussed here and am seeing $1400/pp. That is better than the way I was doing it before and it is not going to break the bank. Thanks for everyone's help. I will check with my HAL PCC and see if he can do better. Can't book yet as the airline calendar doesn't go out far enough to book the return flight.

 

 

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[StartrainDD]

I have been checking all the ways discussed here and am seeing $1400/pp. That is better than the way I was doing it before and it is not going to break the bank. Thanks for everyone's help. I will check with my HAL PCC and see if he can do better. Can't book yet as the airline calendar doesn't go out far enough to book the return flight.

 

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Not sure where you are flying from but from almost anywhere in North America $1400 round trip is a pretty good price. It doesn't get much better than that based on our 2015 experience. I tracked fares for months...

[cabinluvn]

Not sure where you are flying from but from almost anywhere in North America $1400 round trip is a pretty good price. It doesn't get much better than that based on our 2015 experience. I tracked fares for months...

 

 

 

Guess I got spoiled with our RT Minneapolis-Amsterdam for $700/pp comfort plus for extra leg room. The $1400 is from Chicago. We bought the Amsterdam fare about 8 months ago and have seen it go as low as $550/pp. Now it is up ove $900/pp. It certainly is a roll of the dice whether you get the best fare or not

 

 

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[MVPinBoynton]

I guess that I shouldn't complain. The airfare for out SA cruise was $1,110 pp. I just got Miami non-stop fares from HAL for $936 pp. I was hoping to do better; but I am good with what I have. That doesn't mean that I won't keep watching the prices. :D

[Augie's mom]

[7]Yes, the january 28 22 day. Am very excited, but finding the one way airfare from Chicago to Santiago and Buenos Aires to Chicago to be quite daunting. As it stands now, the total for the two of us would be over $5000.

 

 

We have used Holland flightease, call them or have your travel agent contact them. We got very good fares twice to Europe on open jaw travel. Enjoy your cruise , I have wanted to do that trip too.

Augie's mom (Terri )

 

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[iancal]

We shopped for fares to SA prior to using airline points. We found that there were fewer good offers. Most probably because of the volume and number of flights.

 

We have found the opposite for Europe. Over the past four years our best pricing has been 45-60 days out. Have not shopped for this fall yet but it may be different. I suspect the load volumes have increased.