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Could it be Cristian at cristiana.rios@saitourchile.cl? He is helping us on our January 2024 trip. Cherie

TayanaLorna - We scheduled a private tour with another couple with Sentir Patagonia for our visit. We decided on a box lunch so that we can see as much wild life and scenery as possible. Do you remember how long the drive was from the port to the entrance to Peninsula Valdes? Really looking forward to this adventure. Diego at Sentir has been so helpful. Thank you for the recommendation and info. Cherie

Hi Copper10-8, We are on the Oosterdam in January 2024 and I hope the Lincoln Stage will be on board. Thank you for this info. Enjoy your summer cruising!!!!! Cherie

Hi, I have been looking at flights from IGU to LAX and there were 2 stops, including GRU. Will keep checking but it did not seem easier or less expensive than IGR. Cherie

If I remember, snacks can be brought on board if they are wrapped like something from Trader Joes. You can have just about anything wrapped like that. I don't think HAL delivers apps like you are describing to your cabin, not even sure they have them. Wish you were on our cruise!!!! Cherie

Bringing your favorite apps and charcuterie would be awesome. Looking forward to how it goes. We will be boarding in Chile and I know I will want to bring savory treats on board. Sometimes you can get food items "packaged" for airline travel and this may be what you need. Let us know, Cherie

Sorry, I do not have an answer but I have been researching the same thing. It seems like the best flights start in BA. We will probably take an afternoon flight back to BA and connect with an overnight to CA. I hope if you find something you will post. Cherie

Thank you Haljo1935 - since we will be in Chile prior to the cruise I will just take a collapsable bag that I can put clothes wrapped bottles of wine in for boarding. crystalspin and Kazu, Thank you. I was thinking that if we pay the corkage we can bring bottles of wine on in ports to consume. We will be visiting vineyards in Chile, Uruguay, and Argentina. Can't wait. Hopefully we will have some bottles left over to bring home. Of course, we should decide that prior to paying a $20 corkage fee!!!! Thank you again for the help, Cherie

Thank you. We are hoping to tour Peninsula Valdes because it is more diverse in what to see. I think the penguins here are a side show. Cherie

Haljo1935, do you bring wine when embarking and in ports? We are on a South America/Antarctica cruise in January and love Chilean and Argentinean wines. Do you pack them in anything special or just bubble wrap or clothes? Thank you, Cherie

If you are not a 4 or 5* Mariner with a discount it may be less expensive to bring bottles of wine on board when you embark or in ports and pay the $20 corkage fee. This is for wines enjoyed in the cabin or a restaurant. I think that's what we will do for some bottles on our 21 day cruise. With the cost of the wines listed in the packages we would rather pay $20 per bottle and bring our own. JMO. Cherie

On my 70th birthday the t-shirt said "corks are for loosers." I always take corks just in case. Cherie

Thank you Nebr.cruiser, If you remember the tour company let me know. I am not a fan of 14 person tours because it seems like there is always 1 or 2 that never seem to be back on the van on time. Is there anything that you particularly liked about your tour? We would like to schedule a private tour with Sentir, $500/car, for 4 persons and are hopeful we can find 2 more. Thank you again for your post, Cherie

Thank you Kazu. For some reason I thought I had read in one or more of the dress code threads that people tended to be less dressy in the Pinnacle on "dressy" nights. I appreciate your post and it does help. Cherie

Thank you for this post. I did more research and realized why the cost was so high for this on Tours by Locals. When I read all of the details it was an 18 hour adventure. And, the ship description did mention a plane. Punta Arenas is a port where I'm not wowed by anything and Torres del Paine looked amazing. Oh well. Thank you again, Cherie

Thank you soooo much. Lunch in the Pinnacle is a great option for the Chilean Fjords. I don't think we are too excited about "dressy" nights so a specialty restaurant would be good for us on sea days, if dress code is not enforced. We are lucky to have an aft corner cabin for this cruise so that we can hopefully enjoy a couple of MDR meals there. Thank you for the help, Cherie

Thank you so much. We do want to enjoy Canaletto also so I am happy to hear it will be a good view. I hadn't really thought about the difference between sea days and scenic cruising days. Thank you, Cherie

Hi, We will be enjoying the Oosterdam in January, Santiago to BA. We ended up with HIA. I assume that specialty restaurant reservations should be on "scenic cruising" days. We are not early diners. Are there any "scenic cruising" days that are best enjoyed from the Pinnacle? Thank you so much for any and all suggestions. Cherie

Can't you go to the Holland America website, choose your cruise and level of cabin and find out what is available. We are scheduled on a cruise in January and I do this to see if there's a cabin I would rather have. Not a frequent HAL cruiser so this is what works for me. Cherie

We would like to do a private tour to Torres del Paine. Recommendations for guides? Thank you, Cherie

Thank you, we'll hope for the opportunity and clear skies. Cherie

DCThunder - I would love having this on our Oosterdam cruise in January. Unfortunately it will be South America and Antarctica. Maybe Hal will have an astronomer for these cruises. I love the night sky. Cherie

TayanaLorna, I think you have recommended Sentir Patagonia previously and they do indeed look wonderful. The $150 pp is not a problem, and as you say could be better bang for the buck when you consider rental car and self driving. My problem is needing to find 2 others interested in doing this. I know that posting on roll call is an option but if I do not get 2 others to join we would have to cancel or pay the entire fee ourselves. I really appreciate your responses and the enthusiasm for your private tours. We are not fans of 10-14 person van tours and prefer small private tours. Thank you, Cherie

We are deciding whether to book a small tour, expensive, or rent a car in Puerto Madryn and drive to Peninsula Valdes for the day. Does anyone have recommendations for doing a self drive? Thank you, Cherie

Thanks to both of you. Seems like we should have no problems!!!! I hope OP also has also been helped. Crew News - $190/shot - $11..... I think I will stick to a Bailey's or Single Malt after dinner. Cherie