Another Live from the Oosterdam? 1/29-2/20

[kazu]

16 minutes ago, 0106 said:

The experience in the Santiago airport was not the nightmare that I had anticipated.  From what I could find out, the International terminal was renovated in 2021 and appears very modern.  We waited in a restaurant for 2 hours before we were able to check our bags for our 11:55 American flight.  There is very little other seating available. We were able to check our bags 4 hours before our flight.  After dropping our bags, we proceeded through the security doors. It took about 10 minutes to get through the passport check and another 10 minutes to get through the airport security scanner.  After a long walk to our gate, there was plenty of seating in what appeared to be a new space.  Yes, it was a 6 hour wait for our flight but I felt safe the entire time.  One weird thing was an additional baggage check before boarding the plane.  No water was allowed through this additional security check.  Our flights were on time and we are now home.

 

This cruise was exceeded my expectations.  If this cruise is on your bucket list, book it!  Please feel free to ask any questions and I will help you if I can.  

 

Welcome home Tina.  

 

Thank you so much for a terrific Live thread.   It was truly appreciated 🙂 

[Sea42]

Thank you for all of the photos and information, it is greatly appreciated!

[Haljo1935]

Welcome home and thanks for letting us hitch hike 😀 😊 

Thoroughly enjoyed the info and pictures. 

[Cathygh]

Thank you, we have booked this for 2025.

 

Can I please ask, is there anything you wish you had done and you didn't? Or anything you think is not worth doing?

Thanks

[0106]

@Cathygh We throughly enjoyed all of our private tours.  I highly recommend booking privately.  We used HIA credits to book 2 HAL tours.  I was unhappy with both because of the waiting and large crowds at the sights we visited.  I booked the HAL tour to Magdalena Island in Punta Arenas to see the penguins because it was a 2 hour boat ride from the port and I was going without my DH.  If I hadn’t already seen so many penguins it would have been a good tour but it was late in the season and there were fewer penguins than on my previous tours.  
 

Book your private tours ASAP, they will sell out.  I found people to join me on the Roll Call.
 

If you are interested in photography, I recommend a zoom lens.  However, all the photos posted on this thread (unless I indicated they were taken by someone else) were taken with my iPhone SE.

 

We used our verandah frequently during scenic cruising.  It was very windy many days.  Be sure to bring appropriate clothing.

[Cathygh]

10 minutes ago, 0106 said:

@Cathygh We throughly enjoyed all of our private tours.  I highly recommend booking privately.  We used HIA credits to book 2 HAL tours.  I was unhappy with both because of the waiting and large crowds at the sights we visited.  I booked the HAL tour to Magdalena Island in Punta Arenas to see the penguins because it was a 2 hour boat ride from the port and I was going without my DH.  If I hadn’t already seen so many penguins it would have been a good tour but it was late in the season and there were fewer penguins than on my previous tours.  
 

Book your private tours ASAP, they will sell out.  I found people to join me on the Roll Call.
 

If you are interested in photography, I recommend a zoom lens.  However, all the photos posted on this thread (unless I indicated they were taken by someone else) were taken with my iPhone SE.

 

We used our verandah frequently during scenic cruising.  It was very windy many days.  Be sure to bring appropriate clothing.

Thank you very much. It looks like we will need winter and summer clothing, is that right?

We also have a shorex credit so we will be careful what we choose.

[0106]

1 hour ago, Cathygh said:

It looks like we will need winter and summer clothing,

Yes, it was very hot in Buenos Aires & Puerto Madryn and very cold and windy in the Falklands and Antarctica.

[slewis7]

I agree that this is an absolutely wonderful itinerary.  My highlights were our pre-cruise visit to Iguazu, the Antarctica scenic cruising and the last several ports in Chile.  The red eye flight the eve of disembarkation was painful but it was worth it.

 

As for the Holland America shipboard experience, it exceeded all my best expectations!  I especially enjoyed the food!  Will sail HAL again!

[Haljo1935]

18 minutes ago, slewis7 said:

I agree that this is an absolutely wonderful itinerary...

As for the Holland America shipboard experience, it exceeded all my best expectations!  I especially enjoyed the food!  Will sail HAL again!

YAY - makes me smile to read HAL exceeded your expectations and that you'll be back. 😊 No cruise or cruiseline is perfect, but HAL does a great job onboard.

[perrysburg]

On 2/22/2024 at 10:56 AM, Cathygh said:

Thank you, we have booked this for 2025.

 

Can I please ask, is there anything you wish you had done and you didn't? Or anything you think is not worth doing?

Thanks

My sister-in-law did Bluff's Cove at the Falklands and said it was AMAZING. I wish I had done that. (official HAL tour)  Like 106, I was unhappy with the HAL excursions generally because they were all large buses going to the most obvious accessible locations.

[perrysburg]

On 2/22/2024 at 9:29 AM, 0106 said:

The experience in the Santiago airport was not the nightmare that I had anticipated.  From what I could find out, the International terminal was renovated in 2021 and appears very modern.  We waited in a restaurant for 2 hours before we were able to check our bags for our 11:55 American flight.  There is very little other seating available. We were able to check our bags 4 hours before our flight.  After dropping our bags, we proceeded through the security doors. It took about 10 minutes to get through the passport check and another 10 minutes to get through the airport security scanner.  After a long walk to our gate, there was plenty of seating in what appeared to be a new space.  Yes, it was a 6 hour wait for our flight but I felt safe the entire time.  One weird thing was an additional baggage check before boarding the plane.  No water was allowed through this additional security check.  Our flights were on time and we are now home.

 

This cruise was exceeded my expectations.  If this cruise is on your bucket list, book it!  Please feel free to ask any questions and I will help you if I can.  

The cruise exceeded my expectations as well!  Great captain, great itinerary and great service onboard.

 

Thank you Tina for all your work in advance and on this thread. 

Eat a crabcake for me!

Perry

[BermudaBound2014]

@0106 thank you for this report! Very timely.

 

Few questions (for anyone who cares to reply):

 

1) I have zero tendering priority and I'm concerned about making private tour arrangements and not being able to get there in time. On the 35 night Kdam cruise, it took nearly 6 hours to get everyone off in Nuka Hiva. It was also challenging in Fakarava, and several people were left behind by their private guide. What are you thought on this?

 

2) I have $300 to burn on SE. Like you, I really don't like HAL excurstions, but I'll spend the money. What tour(s) would you recommend from HAL??

 

3) What stops were fine to get off and just explore on our own? We are hikers. Distance isn't really an issue.

 

4) What are the top three tours you did?

 

Mahalo!!!

 

 

[0106]

9 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

1) I have zero tendering priority and I'm concerned about making private tour arrangements and not being able to get there in time.

I had zero tendering priority.  We made arrangements to meet our private tour group (between 8-12 people arranged on the Roll Call) in the Ocean Bar.  Then the group went to Rolling Stones to line up for our tender tickets. The tour operators seem to understand the difficulties of tendering.

9 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

What tour(s) would you recommend from HAL??

 I met many people who only did HAL tours.  If you are going Santiago to BA, the penguins on Magdalena Island from Punta Arenas.  I wanted to see penguins at every possible opportunity.  If it was my first experience it would have been incredible.  It was my last and there weren’t as many penguins as at some of the other places because by mid February, the juveniles were beginning to migrate.

9 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

What stops were fine to get off and just explore on our own?

We explored Montevideo and Isla de Chiloe Castro on our own. If you want to hike, you will need transportation to get out of town.  Chile is a beautiful country with many hiking opportunities.

9 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

What are the top three tours you did?

Adventure Falklands (formerly Patrick Watts) was by far the best tour.  People cautioned me about the long rough drive but it was so worth it.

 

El Pedral from Puerto Madryn, my first time walking with the penguins.

 

Tierra del Fuego National Park with Alma Calma in Ushuaia.

 

When planning, I found a lot of information on the previous Roll Calls.  You should book your tours asap for 2025.  Have a great time planning.

 

[Ellencruise]

2 hours ago, 0106 said:

I had zero tendering priority.  We made arrangements to meet our private tour group (between 8-12 people arranged on the Roll Call) in the Ocean Bar.  Then the group went to Rolling Stones to line up for our tender tickets. The tour operators seem to understand the difficulties of tendering.

 I met many people who only did HAL tours.  If you are going Santiago to BA, the penguins on Magdalena Island from Punta Arenas.  I wanted to see penguins at every possible opportunity.  If it was my first experience it would have been incredible.  It was my last and there weren’t as many penguins as at some of the other places because by mid February, the juveniles were beginning to migrate.

We explored Montevideo and Isla de Chiloe Castro on our own. If you want to hike, you will need transportation to get out of town.  Chile is a beautiful country with many hiking opportunities.

Adventure Falklands (formerly Patrick Watts) was by far the best tour.  People cautioned me about the long rough drive but it was so worth it.

 

El Pedral from Puerto Madryn, my first time walking with the penguins.

 

Tierra del Fuego National Park with Alma Calma in Ushuaia.

 

When planning, I found a lot of information on the previous Roll Calls.  You should book your tours asap for 2025.  Have a great time planning.

 

I agree with all your private tour choices. And the guides wait and fully understand our tendering processes. I took this cruise in March 23, best time ever!!!

[Sea42]

On 2/16/2024 at 9:40 PM, perrysburg said:

Another note for Future Travelers:

 

In Ushuaia:  English speaking cab driver Diego Joel Giles. The price for 3 hours in the National Park was $140. We booked him and he waited at the cruise port gate for us with a sign. He took us exactly to the places we wanted in the Tierra Del Fuego National Park and could talk to us easily. We spent 4 hours with him and were very pleased. Diego can be reached at +54 290 146 4119  or diegojoelgiles@yahoo.com

 

Thanks so much for your recommendation! Diego has been very easy to work with for our upcoming SA cruise.

[0106]

Was wonderful to see this thread pop back up on such a hot day! 
 

For those of you cruising to South America and Antarctica in December 24 & January/February 25,  NOW is the time to book your tours.  They fill up quickly!

[BermudaBound2014]

@0106 did you do any specific hiking tours? If so, where? If not, where do you think would be good places for hiking? Nothing crazy. Less than 10 miles total and less than 2,000 feet elevation so moderate hikes. 

[cccole]

52 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

@0106 did you do any specific hiking tours? If so, where? If not, where do you think would be good places for hiking? Nothing crazy. Less than 10 miles total and less than 2,000 feet elevation so moderate hikes. 

I am not 0106 but I can recommend places where we would have hiked if my husband was not still recovering from a hip replacement.  In Santiago our guide actually likes to specialize in hikes around Santiago,  there was a great one up to a volcano, not crazy but looked good.  In Ushuia we did short walks with our guide in the Tierra del Fuego National Park, but he does 1/2 day  hikes.  When visiting the Peninsula Valdes at Puerto Madryn it looked like there were some nice shore line trails.   Hope this helps,  Cherie   

[BermudaBound2014]

8 minutes ago, cccole said:

I am not 0106 but I can recommend places where we would have hiked if my husband was not still recovering from a hip replacement.  In Santiago our guide actually likes to specialize in hikes around Santiago,  there was a great one up to a volcano, not crazy but looked good.  In Ushuia we did short walks with our guide in the Tierra del Fuego National Park, but he does 1/2 day  hikes.  When visiting the Peninsula Valdes at Puerto Madryn it looked like there were some nice shore line trails.   Hope this helps,  Cherie   

 

Thank you!!! Do you have contact info? I've been trying to line up that 12K hike in the andes to the Volcano from Santiago but not having much luck. I would also be interested in contact info for your guide in Tierra Del Fuego and Puerto Madryn. MUCH appreciated!!

 

PS: I think I'm sailing with you in 2025 but I can't remember if it's the 22 night Antarctica or the 25 night Tahiti :). 

[cccole]

18 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

Thank you!!! Do you have contact info? I've been trying to line up that 12K hike in the andes to the Volcano from Santiago but not having much luck. I would also be interested in contact info for your guide in Tierra Del Fuego and Puerto Madryn. MUCH appreciated!!

 

PS: I think I'm sailing with you in 2025 but I can't remember if it's the 22 night Antarctica or the 25 night Tahiti :). 

I will post their contact info here.  I wish I was sailing with you to Antarctica or Tahiti.  Our next scheduled cruise is The Islands of the South Pacific in January 2026.  Will post contact info shortly.  Cherie

[cccole]

39 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

Thank you!!! Do you have contact info? I've been trying to line up that 12K hike in the andes to the Volcano from Santiago but not having much luck. I would also be interested in contact info for your guide in Tierra Del Fuego and Puerto Madryn. MUCH appreciated!!

 

PS: I think I'm sailing with you in 2025 but I can't remember if it's the 22 night Antarctica or the 25 night Tahiti :). 

Santiago - Mauricio Escobar Fernandez, psmauricioescobar@gmail.com

 

Ushuia - Sebastian Mansilla Teodori - Phone 54 9 2901 476656, we met him thru Tours by Locals but he gave us his card and you can contact him directly.

 

Puerto Madryn - Diego Allende - ventas@sentir-patagonia.com.ar.  We hired a car and a guide for the day, $500 for 4 of us, but he may also be able to help with hikes.

 

I also think that Puerto Chacabuco could be a good spot for hiking. When we drove along the river and into the Andes it was beautiful.

 

Enjoy your adventures, Cherie

 

 

[BermudaBound2014]

9 minutes ago, cccole said:

Santiago - Mauricio Escobar Fernandez, psmauricioescobar@gmail.com

 

Ushuia - Sebastian Mansilla Teodori - Phone 54 9 2901 476656, we met him thru Tours by Locals but he gave us his card and you can contact him directly.

 

Puerto Madryn - Diego Allende - ventas@sentir-patagonia.com.ar.  We hired a car and a guide for the day, $500 for 4 of us, but he may also be able to help with hikes.

 

I also think that Puerto Chacabuco could be a good spot for hiking. When we drove along the river and into the Andes it was beautiful.

 

Enjoy your adventures, Cherie

 

 

 

 

Thank you so much. Based on your experience, do you think it possible to just hire someone to take us hiking as we get off the ship? What would you expect for pricing? 

[0106]

@BermudaBound2014 I recommend that you look at the January 2024 Oosterdam RollCalls for some tour contact info.  I will go back and find my specific contacts for you when I get on my desktop.  

[BermudaBound2014]

3 minutes ago, 0106 said:

@BermudaBound2014 I recommend that you look at the January 2024 Oosterdam RollCalls for some tour contact info.  I will go back and find my specific contacts for you when I get on my desktop.  

 

I've read the whole roll call but I did not see many people were interested in hiking. I'm apprehensive to book a hiking trip through HAL as I suspect we are looking for something a bit more robust than HAL delivers.

 

Thankyou sooooooooooo much for adding your contact info from your desktop. Much appreciated.

[cccole]

20 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

 

Thank you so much. Based on your experience, do you think it possible to just hire someone to take us hiking as we get off the ship? What would you expect for pricing? 

If you are asking if I would just get someone when we exited the ship for a hiking excursion I would not. I don't remember if there were guides looking for business because we had plans.  Times in ports are not under my control so I like to have things arranged ahead of time, and I like to know something about them.  For Sebastian we paid TBL $450 for 4 of us, it would be less if you arrange with him directly.  He was happy to customize our tour.

 

Mauricio is so awesome and reasonable.  We hired him for all of our needs in Santiago, the night in the Andes, and getting to Casa Mirin before the cruise.  I have a note that a hike "El Sauce" was 150,000 CLP. 

 

I found Mauricio's info on Trip Advisor so you might also post a question there.

 

We spent a week in Chile prior to the cruise and I fell in love with Chile.  Please let me know if you have other questions.  Cherie

Edited July 4 by cccole