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If you can provide me with an email address I will happily send photos. Cherie

Everyone raves about Volunteer Point but we chose another tour. Kidney Cove Tours. It was amazing. Only 4 of us, 4 different species of penguins, all on a private "farm". Just amazing. www.kidneycovetours.com. Would do this tour over the other in a nano second. It was only 45 minutes before we entered the property. Happy to send photos. Cherie

Thank you Ottawa traveller, amazing info and photos. And, to The-Inside-Cabin, I apologize for using this thread for getting info. Your "live froms" are always chalk full of great info and photos. Cherie

Wow, Thank you so much. I have been reading the posts, love the history and adventure. Guadalcanal is a stop, in PNG we will be at Alotau, Conflict Is, and Kiriwina so I'll check if your stops are on those islands. Thank you again. Cherie

Sorry the itinerary map has a marker at PNG but I see you were never going there. Cherie

Thank you, I look at Viator and do as you do. I thought the 2020WC had PNG on the itinerary prior to being canceled. I scour all of the sites for private tours. Thank you for your reply and this live from. Cherie

Yes it is, but how many who like your post have commented on post #17, including me and did not address CO on the Oosterdam if booked in a Neptune suite? I did respond to the OPs original question but possibly there should be a new thread that deals with post #17's complaint. We have not been on a ship with a separate CO dining facility but only on the Oosterdam which the OP is asking about. Happy cruising to everyone, Cherie

I'm also really enjoying another "live from" from you. Always wonderful photos and info. I have used your private excursion info on several trips. We are on a 2026 Islands of the South Pacific cruise and I have been scouring your previous cruises for info. It looks like the only cruise you had planned to Papua New Guinea was cut short because of covid. Did you have any private excursions planned in PNG? It is difficult finding reviews of the South Pacific islands, even the CC forum, and the roll calls for 2020 are no longer here. Thank you for letting us cruise with you again, Cherie

I'm learning a lot about suites, I've only been in Neptune suites. The space in SS suites look great. Totally understand getting out of the heat. We lived in Dallas for 5 years and I took the kids for summer adventures the day after school was out. 78 days over 100 is crazy. Hope you have a great summer, San Antonio is a fabulous city. Cherie

Wow. We loved the Gran Melia Iguazu. We flew from BA to IGA. Enjoyed an afternoon and evening at the hotel including a view of the falls when in the infinity pool. It is inside the park as is the Belmond. The falls were visible from our room. On day 2 our guide took us to the Brazilian side of the falls, awesome, and we took a helicopter ride. Day 3 our guide took us on the hike/walk from our hotel and then we enjoyed the beautiful grounds of our hotel. We loved the jungle, wild life, and natural beauty of this area. There is a very popular adventure, the Argentine Experience, which includes cooking and enjoying a meal in Iguazu. We were going to do this but just loved where we were. Did you see both sides of the falls? Did you have a Coati come up to you hoping for a hand out? Did you have Capuchin monkeys running along your patio railing to see if you had left the door open? Did you see the bridge from Brazil to Paraguay? Did you experience Iguazu Falls National Park? I have a photo of me in the infinity pool looking at the falls 30 minutes before our driver was to pick us up. I did not want to leave, it was just beautiful. 24 hours? O.K. But not our experience, Cherie

Hi Robin, We loved our January 2024 cruise from Santiago to Buenos Aires. With the fun things we planned before and after the cruise I don't think it matters. We could have done these adventures at the beginning or end. I thought ending with a 4 night stay in Iguazu Falls was the perfect end to our trip. We began the adventure with Santiago, an overnight in the Andes, 2 nights at a vineyard near the port and then the cruise. It was awesome. My primary reason for choosing our cruse was the cabin I wanted. You will love either direction. JMO. Cherie

I have recommended an SS to friends who want to join us in 2026. We have reserved an aft wrap but if not for that balcony I would do an SS. Hope you have a nice pool to stay cool in during the high temps in Texas. Cherie

Sorry I misunderstood your post #16 where you did not indicate you would choose a SS over a verandah cabin. This post makes so much more sense. Cherie

I can't agree more with you Khlela. Many on this forum mention the amazing space in a Signature suite. They love it. Post #16 indicates Signature suites are just a larger cabin for more money, but Petronillus was not charged for the upgrade. How much was the difference of crew appreciation between a veranda cabin and a signature suite? Probably only about $3/day. That would be worth an upgrade to me. I don't really understand the importance of Mariner points except for discounts. We have pins, never go to Mariner recognition events, and really don't pay any attention to those that flaunt their Mariner status. To iowacruiser - We were on the Oosterdam in a Neptune suite in January and yes, automatically had CO. If we went to the MDR there was a wonderfully short line for Club Orange. There was a CO menu but it really just had an additional CO entree. We did not often order it. Often we had guests from non suite cabins joining us but the host/hostess never blinked an eye and we were given the table location we asked for. The staff is amazing and you will love the Oosterdam. JMO. Cherie

You might check Jeff Farschman's travel blog amazingvoyages2.blogspot.com. He is currently on the Oosterdam and they were detoured to Nice and tendered there on Monday, June 10. His photos and detailed tour of the day are fabulous. You're going to love it. Monaco is not my favorite place to visit but I love the region and coast. JMO. Cherie

We were on the Oosterdam for 3 weeks in January and had 3 dining credits each. I think that the online specialty dining reservations opened @3 months prior to the cruise. Since the Pinnacle is the most expensive we chose 2 nights in Pinnacle and 1 night in Canaletto. We actually enjoyed Canaletto more and paid to go there another night. Choosing the night for specialty dining is up to you. We did not choose a port day unless we were back on board by 4. We eat late. Sea days are great to plan a specialty dinner, and some enjoy dinner the first night in a specialty restaurant to avoid the chaos of the MDR or Lido. As you, before our January cruise we had not gone to a specialty restaurant and were happy with the MDR. HIA makes it important to make the reservations ahead of time to get the time and evenings that suit you best. This was our experience. If you are working with a TA they can also assist you with this. Cherie

shipshape sam - there are many reasons why passengers opt to pay for CO. Just from my limited knowledge, the benefits include an upgraded cabin, priority boarding and debarkation, a priority dining line for the MDR if there is not a private CO dining room on the ship, a CO guest services line to take care of problems. Of course if you do specialty restaurants every night it really doesn't matter about the priority line into the MDR or the CO speciality restaurant, and if you pay the price of the cabin you want and will not give up, CO has little value. Good post. Can't wait to see the responses to your post. That's the great thing about CC, differences of opinion. Cherie

This was not overbooking rooms it was overbooking a specific service. I know there have been threads on cabanas booked and paid for and then taken away. To me overbooking a service is different. It sucks for the guest and HAL should do the right thing, but they did not take away the OPs ability to take the cruise. There has been mention of a Japan cruise where they did overbook cabins and impressive compensation was offered. I would be upset if I was OP. Cherie

Thank you, thank you. I finally found the one on Harr from @ 1 year ago. It is set up differently than the Oosterdam and does not seem as roomy but I love those balconies. Cherie

Thank you. I checked Youtube and saw aft balconies but not the corner wrap suites. Will keep trying. Cherie

Thank you so much. We were in 8140 on the Oosterdam in January and loved it. I assume we will also love 8147 on the Noordam. When I googled the cabin I saw a cabin that was differently layed out than the Oosterdam. I love aft wraps so I'm sure it will be fabulous, was just hoping for recent info. Thank you again, Cherie

I have looked at Hal facts and tried to find recent reviews of aft Neptune suite 8147 on the Noordam? I welcome suggestions to search or personal opinions. Thank you, Cherie

I don't know who you will be tipping but if it is your room stewards, ask them. On our South America/Antarctica cruise staff seemed to like local currency that they could use when going to local markets. When using USD they have to exchange at the front desk for local currency and it is not the best exchange rate. If you give them local currency it's easy. Many may prefer to take USD home and put in a bank account. Just our experience. Cherie

Never thought of asking for blankets instead of a duvet. When we are in the South Pacific this could be very nice. Thank you for the thread. Cherie

I hope OP is enjoying his family cruise and will think about CC when they return. I'm as anxious as anyone to know what happened but OP just needs to enjoy the cruise. JMO. Cherie