The South American and Antarctic experience on the Zaandam

[scubacruiserx2]

Our next adventure in June

 

[scubacruiserx2]

In addition to the 14 day Northern Isles pictured above we just added a 10 day Jewels of the Baltic pictured below .

 

[pspercy]

We'll be on NCL Star next March and won't be buying their internet offering.

Can you comment on the availability of free or low cost wifi in the ports ? Thanks

[scubacruiserx2]

We did use the ship's internet and there was a fall off as we went further South . We didn't try it ashore but were on tours and shooting photos .

[scubacruiserx2]

A few more videos :

 

Romanche glacier in the fog Christmas day 2018

 

 

 

 

Romanche in the sun 2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TayanaLorna]

17 minutes ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

A few more videos :

 

Romanche glacier in the fog Christmas day 2018

 

 

 

 

Romanche in the sun 2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stunning

[TayanaLorna]

On 5/8/2019 at 4:10 PM, TayanaLorna said:

Stunning

Hello again scubacruiser.  Looks like we will have another day in BA as our flight home is late evening.  Can you tell me who you used for that most excellent and extensive BA tour?  Thanks.

[scubacruiserx2]

5 minutes ago, TayanaLorna said:

Hello again scubacruiser.  Looks like we will have another day in BA as our flight home is late evening.  Can you tell me who you used for that most excellent and extensive BA tour?  Thanks.

 

Sure , we used Tours by Locals and the guides name was Elisabet . Here's a link : https://www.toursbylocals.com/TBL/WebObjects/ToursByLocals.woa/1/wo/wwYGcbAO0ZanVtpSuMtqS0/2.69.1.3.1.5.5.1

 

When do you go ? We leave a week from Monday to the Baltic and Iceland , we do like to visit cooler weather !  😉

[TayanaLorna]

1 hour ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

 

Sure , we used Tours by Locals and the guides name was Elisabet . Here's a link : https://www.toursbylocals.com/TBL/WebObjects/ToursByLocals.woa/1/wo/wwYGcbAO0ZanVtpSuMtqS0/2.69.1.3.1.5.5.1

 

When do you go ? We leave a week from Monday to the Baltic and Iceland , we do like to visit cooler weather !  😉

Thanks for info.  We don't go until January 21, 2020 but I am a plan ahead person.  We only do a big trip like this every year and a half so it helps with the waiting.  We live in Puerto Rico so I also like cool weather cruises as I can wear jeans, sweaters and jackets...although we do tend to bundle up more then others.  😎

[newkq]

On 5/18/2019 at 9:24 AM, scubacruiserx2 said:

 

Sure , we used Tours by Locals and the guides name was Elisabet . Here's a link : https://www.toursbylocals.com/TBL/WebObjects/ToursByLocals.woa/1/wo/wwYGcbAO0ZanVtpSuMtqS0/2.69.1.3.1.5.5.1

 

When do you go ? We leave a week from Monday to the Baltic and Iceland , we do like to visit cooler weather !  😉

Hi scubacruiser, I am interested in the Baltic cruise for 2020, and would love to watch your reviews/pics when you go on this one next week. Do you have a website/blog where i can follow your adventures and I can get some ideas when I go next year?

[scubacruiserx2]

1 hour ago, newkq said:

Hi scubacruiser, I am interested in the Baltic cruise for 2020, and would love to watch your reviews/pics when you go on this one next week. Do you have a website/blog where i can follow your adventures and I can get some ideas when I go next year?

 

We don't have a blog or website so we use this site . We don't do our travelogues until we return home and we may do our review on the cruise lines site like HAL or on the destination site like South America or Baltic . It will more than a month before we review our next cruise . If you would like to see our previous Baltic cruise that we took in 2016 with our grandson use can click on this link .

 

 

Here's a few photos from that trip

 

 

Copenhagen

 

 

London

 

 

Berlin

 

 

Stockholm

 

 

Tallin

 

 

Saint Petersburg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Eclipse

 

 

 

 

We liked London and St. Petersburg the best .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

We're sailing toward Estonia tomorrow and it's nice and cool .

[scubacruiserx2]

 

We have been reviewing our last cruise on HAL to Norway and Iceland and just to contrast between them and SA / Antarctica .

 

 

 

 

Icelandic Glacier  

 

 

Chilean Glacier

 

 

Norwegian Fjords

 

 

 

Chilean Fjords / Glacier Alley

 

 

 

 

Icelandic birds

 

 

 

South American birds

 

 

 

Any questions ?

 

Edited August 1, 2019 by scubacruiserx2

[Song in my heart]

On 1/12/2019 at 6:14 AM, scubacruiserx2 said:

We just returned from a 22 day cruise and 9 nights pre and post cruise visit to South America . 

 

 

The cruise was on the HAL Zaandam from San Antonio , Chile to Buenos Aires Argentina .

 

 

We took over 10,000 photos on this trip so it will take a while to cull , download , edit and upload to Photo Bucket before writing , so please be patient . It will be mostly in chronological order and will use some photos from our previous cruises to South America .

 

 

 

So , bags packed and ready to go ?

 

 

Boarding passes ?

 

 

OK , lets go .

 

 

I am reading along with interest.  I am debating an "around South America" cruise run from Fort Lauderdale with Princess, or Ft. Lauderdale to San Diego with HAL, or a South America cruise on Celebrity.  I like the idea of boarding and embarking in USA but perhaps we would be better doing BA to Santiago.  What criteria did you use to decide on which cruise line and itinerary?  Any information would be appreciated.

[scubacruiserx2]

5 minutes ago, Song in my heart said:

I am reading along with interest.  I am debating an "around South America" cruise run from Fort Lauderdale with Princess, or Ft. Lauderdale to San Diego with HAL, or a South America cruise on Celebrity.  I like the idea of boarding and embarking in USA but perhaps we would be better doing BA to Santiago.  What criteria did you use to decide on which cruise line and itinerary?  Any information would be appreciated.

 

Do any of those cruises include Antarctica ? Next year will be the last year to see it on any of those cruise lines . We chose based on the most days in Antarctica and wanted a ship that went to Punta Arenas , Ushuaia , The Falkland Islands ( best place to see penguins ) and Puerto Madryn . Only HAL met that criteria .

[Song in my heart]

8 minutes ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

 

Do any of those cruises include Antarctica ? Next year will be the last year to see it on any of those cruise lines . We chose based on the most days in Antarctica and wanted a ship that went to Punta Arenas , Ushuaia , The Falkland Islands ( best place to see penguins ) and Puerto Madryn . Only HAL met that criteria .

Yikes.  I better review and book.  I wonder why Antarctica is being discontinued after next year.

By the way...I agree with a previous member and wish you published a blog.  I thoroughly enjoy your writing and pictures.

[Manfred B]

The Antarctic International Treaty makes it very difficult for big cruise ships to sail south of the 60th parallel, essentially the Antarctic circle, while abiding by all the specific laws that pertain to this region by the treaty. However, smaller exploratory ships will still be going there with tourists. But those will be considerably more expensive.
 

On the plus side, those smaller ships typically also include shore excursions onto Antarctica with small guided groups transported on Zodiacs; the bigger cruise ships don't allow you to set foot on the continent. The smaller ships can also get a little bit closer to the shoreline and navigate tighter passages. 
 

But, for the time being, you still get your money's worth on the big ships: sailing amid all the magnificent scenery: snow-packed mountains, glaciers, icebergs, both tabular and irregular. And then there are the more than plentiful whales and seals and penguins, oh my! Even though we didn't set foot on Antarctica, I can still boast about having made it to this remotest and most exotic of all the continents, even if it was just a tiny piece of it!
 

If you can afford the cost and time of a trip that goes all the way from the US east coast to the US west coast (or vice versa), and includes Antarctica (I don't know of any; as far as I know, these all strictly traverse the Strait of Magellan without crossing the "dreaded" Drake Passage), then go for it by all means. As for us, we chose, as Scubacruiserx2 did, on the basis of maximum time in Antarctica, and it was magnificent!
 

In addition, we are rather partial to Holland America. IMHO, they've got the best food and entertainment for the money.

[scubacruiserx2]

A couple of the cruise lines offer a day trip with a landing on Antarctica from Punta Arenas . It is expensive and doesn't always go due to weather . We used the money for a week in Patagonia instead .

[Manfred B]

Our Holland America cruise similarly offered this optional flight onto Antarctica from Punta Arenas at a very steep price and the weather caveat. The option even provided an alternative to a National Park in South America. As I understand it, both options ended up being canceled due to weather on our particular cruise and we were told that the chances of it proceeding on any given cruise are considerably less than 50/50, so you were probably wise to choose a week in Patagonia instead.

[scubacruiserx2]

10 minutes ago, Manfred B said:

Our Holland America cruise similarly offered this optional flight onto Antarctica from Punta Arenas at a very steep price and the weather caveat. The option even provided an alternative to a National Park in South America. As I understand it, both options ended up being canceled due to weather on our particular cruise and we were told that the chances of it proceeding on any given cruise are considerably less than 50/50, so you were probably wise to choose a week in Patagonia instead.

 

When was your cruise ?

[Manfred B]

We were on the same cruise with scubacruiserx2 from Santiago to BA on the HAL Zaandam, mid-December 2018 to January 9, 2019.

[scubacruiserx2]

We did make the flight from Punta Arenas to Torres Del Paine in 2013 but when we stayed in Patagonia we hired a guide who drove us to the park from where we stayed .

 

 

 

Breakfast was great and on time so we were off early . About 25 people boarded the bus that morning for the ride to the airport . It was still windy and rainy so not the best conditions for flying. I had hoped for a single large plane but we were divided into two groups flying on two separate planes. A roll call list was used for plane and seating assignments. We had hoped for the larger Twin Otter but we were chosen for the second flight on the smaller Cessna with our new friends Daniel and Sarah. Here is a photo of the larger Twin Otter.

 

 

 

 

I'm not sure why I was chosen to sit in the co - pilots seat but - I was. My wife thinks that it was because I was the tallest .

 

 

 

 

With no experienced co - pilot flying with us , I figured that I should take a crash course with the instruments and flying ( in case of emergency ). First question - " where are the parachutes " ?

 

 

 

 

 

The pilot was great and had a lot of flight time logged. Take off was smooth but it wasn't long before we disappeared in the clouds. The flying was mostly IFR (instrument flight rules) , in other words , flying using instruments only with no visual references .