RT Buenos Aires or Chile too?

[liberty176]

Hi,

 

We are a family of 4 looking at sailings leaving December 2024 (mostly overlapping with the school break).  My kids will be 10 and 7 at time of cruise, and are experienced cruisers.

 

Our choices (only considering drive-by) are the Sapphire Princess or HAL Oosterdam.  We have been on HAL pre-covid and enjoyed it, did the Discovery Princess last year and loved it (ship was a little larger, but enjoyed Princess).  We liked the food choices better on HAL (don't eat meat), but Princess was probably a bit better for us for entertainment and kids club.

 

The big difference here, though, is the itinerary. 

1) Princess is a 17 night sailing, RT Buenos Aires, so just down the coast, 4 days Antarctic sailing, and back.  The RT flight is appealing, and I know we'll have enough vacation time.

2) HAL is 22 nights, same leg down from Buenos Aires and then 4 days of Antarctic sailing, but then continues on round the horn for the Chilean fjords and ends in San Antonio.  Is this worth the longer amount of time?  I don't anticipate being back in this area of the world for a long time, but we'd have to pull out of school for longer, deal with the two one-way flights (we're not a nonstop flight for either city, though).  But 2 out of 4 are somewhat prone to motion sickness in choppy seas, and I don't want to spend the last bonus week miserable.

 

So I guess my question is, is the additional itinerary worth it?  Thanks!

 

 

[Nitemare]

If i was never going to be in the area again and could afford it I would do the longer cruise every time

[MamaFej]

Chilean fjords? Yes, please! 

 

Then Chilean wine country? Yes, please, again! 

 

I hope my two trips to Chile aren't the only ones I'll ever take. 

[donaldsc]

The Chilean fjords are beautiful.

 

DON

[DanJimmy]

On 9/5/2023 at 8:26 AM, liberty176 said:

Hi,

 

We are a family of 4 looking at sailings leaving December 2024 (mostly overlapping with the school break).  My kids will be 10 and 7 at time of cruise, and are experienced cruisers.

 

Our choices (only considering drive-by) are the Sapphire Princess or HAL Oosterdam.  We have been on HAL pre-covid and enjoyed it, did the Discovery Princess last year and loved it (ship was a little larger, but enjoyed Princess).  We liked the food choices better on HAL (don't eat meat), but Princess was probably a bit better for us for entertainment and kids club.

 

The big difference here, though, is the itinerary. 

1) Princess is a 17 night sailing, RT Buenos Aires, so just down the coast, 4 days Antarctic sailing, and back.  The RT flight is appealing, and I know we'll have enough vacation time.

2) HAL is 22 nights, same leg down from Buenos Aires and then 4 days of Antarctic sailing, but then continues on round the horn for the Chilean fjords and ends in San Antonio.  Is this worth the longer amount of time?  I don't anticipate being back in this area of the world for a long time, but we'd have to pull out of school for longer, deal with the two one-way flights (we're not a nonstop flight for either city, though).  But 2 out of 4 are somewhat prone to motion sickness in choppy seas, and I don't want to spend the last bonus week miserable.

 

So I guess my question is, is the additional itinerary worth it?  Thanks!

 

 

 

 

@liberty176 Definitely the one on HAL if you have 100% decided that you would like to do just the cruising in Antarctica. 

 

However, if you are still open for consideration, I would strongly recommend to do the expedition cruise to Antarctica. It will be shorter and more expensive, but worth every penny as it's once-in-a-lifetime for the most of us.

 

For me, if we are going all the way over there to that part of the world, you might as well step outside and set your foot on the 7th continent. I am taking Seabourn Pursuit on December 17th-December 28th to Antarctica this year and am looking forward to it.

 

Hope you decide soon. Enjoy the time with your family!