Zaandam to Antarctica

To those of you who have made the Zaandam trip to Antarctica, either Valparaiso/Buenos Aires or reverse: Does the Zaandam hug the coast of Chile up/down the coast so that one can see the beautiful fjords? Or does it cruise in the Pacific and just swoop in occasionally to see a fjord or port?

On my last trip like this, the ship had about 800 pax and we hugged the coast all the way down. The one time we went into the Pacific we rocked and rolled until we got back closer to shore.

Already I figure that if I book the Zaandam, I am accepting a slightly ratty ship with mediocre food in order to be near Antarctica for four days. The icing on the cake would be many Chilean fjords on the way.

To those of you who have made the Zaandam trip to Antarctica, either Valparaiso/Buenos Aires or reverse: Does the Zaandam hug the coast of Chile up/down the coast so that one can see the beautiful fjords? Or does it cruise in the Pacific and just swoop in occasionally to see a fjord or port?

 

On my last trip like this, the ship had about 800 pax and we hugged the coast all the way down. The one time we went into the Pacific we rocked and rolled until we got back closer to shore.

 

Already I figure that if I book the Zaandam, I am accepting a slightly ratty ship with mediocre food in order to be near Antarctica for four days. The icing on the cake would be many Chilean fjords on the way.

When we did it at the end of January 2015 we started in Valparaiso and ended in Buenos Aires. It was wonderful sailing through Patagonia before Antarctica.

Jim

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To those of you who have made the Zaandam trip to Antarctica, either Valparaiso/Buenos Aires or reverse: Does the Zaandam hug the coast of Chile up/down the coast so that one can see the beautiful fjords? Or does it cruise in the Pacific and just swoop in occasionally to see a fjord or port?

 

On my last trip like this, the ship had about 800 pax and we hugged the coast all the way down. The one time we went into the Pacific we rocked and rolled until we got back closer to shore.

 

Already I figure that if I book the Zaandam, I am accepting a slightly ratty ship with mediocre food in order to be near Antarctica for four days. The icing on the cake would be many Chilean fjords on the way.

"...a slightly ratty ship with mediocre food..."

How can you justify such a comment? Reviews and comments that I have read about the Zaandam's South America/Antarctica cruises have been positive.

Your question about whether Zaandam will hug the coastline or not is valid. I just made a booking on the 12/15/17 cruise and all of the staterooms on the Port side of the ship in the category I wanted were booked. People are assuming, I think, that the Port side will be the "preferred" side.

When we have done this cruise, we spent some time sailing through the Chilean Fjords area, Canal Sarmiento, Beagle, Cockburn and Darwin Channels. This is standard for HAL. Otherwise, you are far off the coastline.

Some of this may be at night depending on itinerary, but HAL makes sure some of it is during peak viewing times.

Did that cruise on Veendam in 2013 and plan to return next month for the run the opposite way, this time without Antarctica. We were inside most of the time. We DID have to sail outside from P. Chacabuco for most of a day due to fog. The scenery is superb.

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Already I figure that if I book the Zaandam, I am accepting a slightly ratty ship with mediocre food in order to be near Antarctica for four days. The icing on the cake would be many Chilean fjords on the way.

Goodness, this is a beautiful ship - our favorite of all the HAL fleet and the food was just fine. How did you get your impression it was "ratty with mediocre food".

The Zaandam IS a lovely ship with a wonderful crew, we found both service and food to be excellent during our cruise last year.

What you should bear in mind though that due to high winds for example you might not be able to reach all the ports. We have done the cruise round the Hoorn ( with and without Antarctica) three times now : once we had problems reaching Port Stanley ( Falklands) in time for our private tour because of the long tender ride (due to the high seas), once we couldn't stop at Puerto Montt because of bush fires and once we couldn't reach Punta Arenas, again because of high winds and seas. But I'd repeat that kind of cruise especially to Antarctica in a heartbeat and probably will.

The better balconies for viewing the glaciers in Chile - and yes, you will be very near to them in Glacier alley etc.- really are on port side when you start in Valparaiso. But many passengers were on the open decks as well as in the Crow's Nest to view or at least warm up. And don't forget that lovely pea soup which also helps in warming up ...

If you don't care for the Zaandam which we personally prefer you could also look at Celebrity Infinity which is a bit less expensive in regard to balcony staterooms, has good food, too , but only offers two days of cruising in Antarctica compared to HAL's 4 days. Still a good experience. We had booked a cabin at the stern of the Infinity which was a perfect choice for Antarctica.

We just completed this cruise over this last Xmas and New Years period. It was without a doubt our best cruise experience to date. We were lucky enough to have beautiful weather and calm seas. The Captain did a great job getting us as close as possible to glaciers and large and I mean large glaciers. While we were in Antarctica proper and the end of every day we would head back out into open sea for safety reasons,but the next day depending on weather condition we would proceed back into some incredible areas of glacier bays filled with ice and wildlife.

As to the ship itself Zaandam is an older ship but to me seemed to be in excellent shape. Other than some early cruise plumbing issues that were quickly fixed we had no problems.

We found the food onboard to be perhaps the best we have had on a Hal cruise, our 13th

The entertainment in the evening was a little sedate for my taste but that is subjective.

I would without question recommend this cruise to anyone and hope to perhaps do it again myself someday.

Zaandam is a lovely ship!! Sailed around Cape Horn 2 years ago and enjoyed every day. Food was excellent and our cabin stewards were the best!! The scenery was beautiful. Hoping to take this cruise again and include the Antarctica portion. I am trying to pick my jaw up from the floor with the "ratty mediocre food" description.. that was not our experience!!

Zaandam is a lovely ship!! Sailed around Cape Horn 2 years ago and enjoyed every day. Food was excellent and our cabin stewards were the best!! The scenery was beautiful. Hoping to take this cruise again and include the Antarctica portion. I am trying to pick my jaw up from the floor with the "ratty mediocre food" description.. that was not our experience!!

Our feelings exactly - we would love to take this cruise and this ship again but also include the Antarctic portion ...... in heart beat. But this year it is the Arctic Voyage of the Vikings that gets our travel budget.

Our feelings exactly - we would love to take this cruise and this ship again but also include the Antarctic portion ...... in heart beat. But this year it is the Arctic Voyage of the Vikings that gets our travel budget.

Sailed Voyage of the Vikings, Boston to Boston, in 2016 and it was an excellent cruise as well. Two transits through Prinz Christen Sound were highlights for me!

Are you doing the round trip?

Sailed Voyage of the Vikings, Boston to Boston, in 2016 and it was an excellent cruise as well. Two transits through Prinz Christen Sound were highlights for me!

 

Are you doing the round trip?

Yes, the full VOV 38 days. Where is the Prinz Christian Sound and what should we look for? Just starting to do my homework on this cruise and its ports. I need to get a good wall map so I can plot this out. The Roll Call for the 38 day VOV is very slow right now. But then final payment has not yet happened so once money is on the line, maybe this will perk up interests.

Where is the Prinz Christian Sound and what should we look for?

Prins Christian Sund is at the southern end of Greenland, and is a day of scenic cruising. If you are fortunate, there will be commentary starting just before you enter, and for most of the day.

Be on the look-out for waterfalls, glaciers, some bergs in the water, and a small hamlet deep inside.

People live there! Cut off from most of civilization, it looks forlorn.

Is it "summer in Alaska" type weather to be out on deck during the VOV cruise. Starting to think about packing. Down parka and hood or just heavily layered with wind breaker?

We were in Iceland for a few weeks in June once and "Iceland sweaters" and rain gear were our daily outfits, but this was on land. No winds coming at us over the water. This cruise will be in August.

Do both transits spend time in this same area - so it won't matter which side of the ship we have our cabin. Or should we be staking out a final pick - port or starboard while we can.

Hit the double quote button and nothing happened. Oh well.

Crow's Nest or on the bow, if it is open, is the place to be during the transit of the Sound. Both ways, we had narration and we had differing weather/lighting conditions. The narration was available on the outside decks as well (I was told). Location of stateroom makes no difference. The 2016 was my 3rd transit of this area. The first time, it was rainy, foggy, cold--just miserable on deck. I layered with only a windbreaker as my outer garment, obtained a deck blanket, and was "comfortable" in a deck chair on the Lower Promenade Deck. The Pea Soup, then on the Eurodam served in a sourdough bread bowl, helped!!!!! Once through, my traveling companion and I went to the Crow's Nest for a Captain's Coffee and that really warmed us up!

The 2016 VOV transits of this area had decent weather conditions in both directions. The On Location Guide, if such a position still exists this Summer, provided us with a good map that showed our path through the Sound.

The Eurodam stopped opposite a small village and used both Emergency Boats to ferry supplies to them. In return, the ship received fresh fish which then appeared on the MDR menu. The Rotterdam, this Summer, did not make such a visit.

You are in for a treat! Just be prepared for ugly weather if it happens!

My apologies if I have offended anyone with my comments about the Zaandam; they were based on my past experience on the Z and other HAL ships and the comments of CCer's, whose comments I value. Your comments have made me want to do this trip even more than before.

I have asked the Mariner's Society to provide me more detailed proposed route maps through the Chilean fjords for 2018. If I can figure out how to do it, I will post them here.

We got off the Zaandam several days ago after cruising Valpo to Buenos Aries. We were in gorgeous fiords most of the Chilean part of the cruise, venturing into the open ocean only when needed, and then mostly at night. It was a wonderful cruise, and the Zaandam is just fine.

Sailing the Antarctica cruise January 2018 and we are excited to see all the wonderful scenery. Thanks for the clothing suggestions. HAL used to have a tab that gave the weather for ports on the booking site, but the new updates have removed that...too bad!

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Check Seabourn. Newer ship, nicer cabins, better food, better service and most importantly you get to go on shore as opposed to just wave to Antarctica from a distance. Nothing beats walking around on land in between the penguins.

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Check Seabourn. Newer ship, nicer cabins, better food, better service and most importantly you get to go on shore as opposed to just wave to Antarctica from a distance. Nothing beats walking around on land in between the penguins.

 

 

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Already booked on HA and love the line. We are 3 star and it is hard to sail something else when you start getting perks

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Check Seabourn. Newer ship, nicer cabins, better food, better service and most importantly you get to go on shore as opposed to just wave to Antarctica from a distance. Nothing beats walking around on land in between the penguins.

 

 

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You can also do this on the 4X4 Falklands Island segment - thousands of them. All murmuring strange sounds None of them afraid. King penguins there.

Just did this cruise on HAL (not Antarctica, though) from Santiago to BA and it was a FABULOUS trip! The ship and its service, as well as the food, was great and I was very pleased with every minute of this once-in-a-lifetime experience! The ship went through many channels, and Glacier Alley was fabulous! The ship cruised where it was the safest, of course, but we went through many fjords and channels, with lots of narration whenever possible. We had good weather for most of the trip--did Cape Horn and the Falklands--and I am planning to do this same cruise again in the next two years. I splurged and went for a balcony room for this cruise, on the port side, and had a great time with my new camera! I often went out on the decks and sometimes in the Crow's Nest. How lucky I was to do this cruise and will always consider it one of the best trips I've ever done!!!!!

Thank you to everyone who has provided feedback on this trip. Based on this, I have booked the Jan 6-28, 2018, Antarctica trip on the Zaandam. Hope to see some of you there. Will now transfer to the roll call for info.

Hi all - I did my first cruise ever on HAL Veendam in November 2016, full Panama transit. Jan 6, 2018 I will do the South America/Antarctic cruise. Ticking off those bucket list items lol.

Really enjoy reading all the comments!

Hi all - I did my first cruise ever on HAL Veendam in November 2016, full Panama transit. Jan 6, 2018 I will do the South America/Antarctic cruise. Ticking off those bucket list items lol.

Really enjoy reading all the comments!

We did our first HAL in Alaska in 2012 so we could get go Glacier Bay. I loved the hydraulic balcony door closers. The Statendam was our first and only HAC, but we loved it. Ran out of time. I think it compares favorably with all the other ships we have been on.

Link to an Antarctica Fly Cruise adventure--

Anatarctica:

Barbacue in Antarctica