Scenic cruising Antarctica 2021: HAL vs Princess, thoughts?

[BSinPNS]

Regarding BsAs, we had a great time with Tomas Hughes - Bonaventuratrips.  Three days - one to a ranch, one of the city and one on the Tigre delta.   Reasonable priced private tours.  Touring with Tomas beats sitting on the floor at EZE airport.  

[Storylady]

3 hours ago, wearesiamese said:

I have booked the January 3, 2021 less16 day cruise because it is the ony one I can really  afford HAL maye but  the shorter duration is a plus  me.To  eposter who said this cruise has fewer Antarctic days, that is not true.What we are missing are the days in Chile/the Chilean fjords and I am not paying $3000  more for

part of the itinerary  that I can easily do some other time and for a reasonable fare.  am paying $5500 vs $8600 on HAL. 20 day for an inside stateroom

A no brainer for those of us on a tight budget. Look at the itinerary and Coral Princess  has the same 4 days as the other cruise on HAL

The prices I see for an inside in the Coral Princess begin at $135 per person per day. On the Zaandam this year in January, it is $85 per person. Of course, I am not looking at Princess or Hal Websites. You might check around before booking. Who knows you might be able to do the longer cruise. Also, the insides on the Coral Princess are quite a bit smaller than the Zaandam.

Edited November 6, 2019 by Storylady

[Storylady]

3 hours ago, StLouisCruisers said:

 

Just to clarify, Seabourn does not charge for landings or zodiac rides in Antarctica.  That is included in your fare.  They also provide Antarctica parkas, puffy jackets which can be worn under the parka, waterproof backpacks which are helpful on the zodiac rides, and a woolen cap with a penguin on it.  A friend advised us to book a guarantee price verandah suite since you wouldn't have a problem with most any cabin assigned.  That might save you several thousand dollars.  Keep an eye on pricing, too.  We noted a drop around 5 to 7 months out.  

 

That cruise (which included South Georgia Island) was the best cruise ever.

I mentioned Seaborn because someone was considering booking Oceania which doesn’t go to Antarctica. If they were considering Oceania, they would really enjoy Seaborn more. And anybody who can afford to do Seaborn should do it now. Seaborn Quest is the ship you want if you are looking for a more reasonable price. The cruise on Seaborn Venture which will be launched in 2021 is the ship that will be extremely pricey on those cruises to Greenland and Antarctica.

[Sue from Canada]

On 11/3/2019 at 7:46 PM, cruisemom42 said:

 

 

It's true that it may happen on any ship, but I read these forums and reviews regularly and I am convinced that problems are reported more frequently on the older ships.  I like to minimize my chances of encountering things like plumbing or A/C issues. 

After cruising on the Noordam's maiden voyage, I will only cruise HAL's smaller ships and have never encountered an AC or toilet problem in many years. I use to order a fan for my cabin but haven't had to do that in years either.  I'm also looking for an Antarctic cruise for 2021 but those flights (from Eastern Canada) are standing in my way (for now).

[cruisemom42]

7 hours ago, Sue from Canada said:

After cruising on the Noordam's maiden voyage, I will only cruise HAL's smaller ships and have never encountered an AC or toilet problem in many years. I use to order a fan for my cabin but haven't had to do that in years either.  I'm also looking for an Antarctic cruise for 2021 but those flights (from Eastern Canada) are standing in my way (for now).

 

As a long, long time cruiser, I also would never cruise on a maiden voyage. My rule of thumb is to wait until a ship is in service at least 6 months. They need time to work out the kinks. 

 

As to the older, smaller ships, I dunno.  Maybe if it was just a short (week) cruise and inexpensive, I might risk it. But I do not have enough confidence to plunk down what for me is a hefty sum for an Antarctic cruise or similar and risk having such issues.