bcscot

Good luck with that. After I emailed them, the owner, Fred, called me. I am all set with him. He is picking me up in the port in BA for a transfer to the hotel and then I also have him booked for the transfer to the airport a few days later.

He speaks perfect English (from Long Island, NY). You do have to pre-pay for the service through pay-pal. So make sure you know what you want.

Terri

He is a little pricey though! :eek: At least, for two he is. :)

If you are looking for a private transfer I am using Silver Star for my transfer in February from the port in BA to the hotel. While I have not used them yet, my research has found that they come highly recommended.

The website is http://www.silverstarcar.com.

I hope this helps.

Terri

Thanks for that Terri. It might be a good move. :)

I've found yet another company that will arrange a 10am pickup and later return. It's getting better!

I heard that sometimes there is chaos at disembarkation and sometimes not enough taxis. Can anyone comment on this and can private transfers be arranged? The trouble with this is not knowing at what time we can get off.

Thanks. :confused:

P.S. Thanks Keith, we will make use of the hotel safe.

Thank you all, for your input. I have found a company that picks up clients at 9.30am from the hotel. This might work better.

We get into Buenos Aires on a Sunday, so hopefully the traffic issue should not be too much of a problem. We fly into Buenos Aires and the cruise leaves from there, so we should get our passports stamped on the way in.

Getting off at 8am might be a problem and I am not sure if this terminal bus arrangement will pose an insurmountable problem or not. I will continue to chip away at this to see if I can get it to work.

Thank you for any further advice and personal experiences that people have to offer.

P.S. Why would they let people get off early, carrying their own luggage, if you couldn't get to the port entrance with it?

We will be ending a Celebrity cruise in Buenos Aires next year and I am considering booking an Estancia and San Antonio de Areco tour on the day we arrive. They collect guests from our hotel at 8.30 am. Our ship is due to arrive in BA at 5am. I am assuming that we can get off (carrying our own cases) at about 7am. We would then have to get through immigration and catch a taxi from the port to our hotel in the city centre, leave our luggage there and be ready for the tour bus at 8.30.

I wonder if this is a feasible plan? Are there likely to be delays along the way? Does the immigration process take long? Is it easy to get a taxi at the port? Will our hotel be happy to keep our bags and will it be safe to leave them there?

I would be most grateful for any opinions from those with experience of this port.

Thank you very much for your help.

There is a discount cruise vacations website out there which is a good place to go for information, (which I use but will not be able to name on here), that still lists the departure time as 1am on 16th Feb. The 1st Feb. sailing has always been 5pm.

They ARE saying that, aren't they! Our documents say 1am on the 16th and nobody told us of any changes. Mind you, I don't know if Celebrity themselves, really know what is going on. I telephoned the company today and asked about the boat drill. The lady, to whom I spoke, read her information and struggled to give me an answer. The only useful thing that she told me was that the rules stipulate that the drill has to be carried out within 24 hrs of departure, so a lifeboat drill next day would meet with the requirements. She then seemed to veer off into the realms of her imagination and told me that the drill could be called at any minute over a 24 hr period, so we shouldn't go anywhere during that period! :rolleyes:

Now I don't even know when we are supposed to leave! I wonder if I should call them again! Maybe they should have told me on the phone today, if there had been a change. :confused:

A good number of pax who are not on the 2nd cruise of a B2B and who will be arriving at the departure city the day of sailing will likely be evening arrivals and they wouldn't schedule a boat drill before all pax were on board. Of all the cruises we've taken over the past few years, regardless of line or departure port, the boat drill has been just prior to "sail away" and departure.

Since we leave at 1am, that should be interesting! I wonder if the bar staff will come round to take drinks orders. :D

Thank you. We have never boarded a ship that left so late, before, so I don't know if they will have the lifeboat drill at the usual time, or not. It just seems a shame to break up such a long day in port and have to return to the ship in the afternoon. I suppose that the answer is that we will just have to arrange to go out again afterwards.

Our turnaround day is on the Infinity on 15th Feb. 2015.

Thank you for your responses. It is a back to back out of Buenos Aires in Argentina. The ship arrives at 5am and leaves after midnight (possibly to let people go to a tango evening). It seems a shame to break up a long day in Buenos Aires with a trip back to the ship for the safety drill. I wonder if they would allow us to do it at a different time.

We are booked on a back to back with a long day on the turnaround day, (not leaving till after midnight). Will we have to attend the safety drill for the second cruise and if so, is it likely to be in the middle of that long turnaround day, or can we plan to be out all day and evening?

Thank you for your help with these questions. :)

If it wasn't for the fact that people had died over this issue, Argentina's claim to the Falkland Islands would be laughable. The British were among the first to sight these islands and were probably the first to land there. The British did indeed establish a small settlement on West Falkland, a year after the French established one on East Falkland. The Spanish believed that they had a right to the islands because of a papal decree dividing the New World between them and Portugal, so their ally, the French, handed over their colony. The Spanish then militarily chased the British out, resulting in the Falklands Crisis of 1770, when the two nations almost went to war over the issue. An agreement was reached and the British returned.

During the mid 1770s, because of economic pressures resulting from problems in their American colonies, the British withdrew from their settlement but maintained a claim over it. The Spanish did the same during the Napoleonic Wars, as their power began to dwindle. What would become Argentina then gained it's independence from Spain and seemed to think that they had a right to the Falklands, just because Spain had been there. An Argentine commercial venture was established, with British permission, provided that they were answerable to the British. They however decided to take control and in doing so, apprehended several American sealers' ships. The U.S.of A. were non too chuffed, sending in their navy to remove the culprits (and many but not all of the inhabitants). The American ambassador in Buenos Aires stated that it was the American position that Argentina had no political control over the Falkland Islands. The Argentines then tried to establish a penal colony there.

With all this going on, the British decided, in 1833, that it was time to restablish their control over the islands. The Argentine military forces on the island consisted of mainly British mercenaries, so there was no fight. The civilians on the island stayed, but there were very few of them. About 1840 the British began to populate the islands, so for about 180 years, the population of the Falkland Islands has been mainly British in origin.

In the 1840s the United States of America waged an aggressive war of conquest against Mexico and took over California and much of what is now the south west of the USA, which used to be part of Mexico. Now to get this thing into perspective, Mexico probably has a greater claim over those American states than Argentina has over the Falkland Islands.

I really do not understand why they cling to this fantasy.

I have been seriously considering buying a small portable air purifier for my next cruise. I, too, am tired of the respiratory stuff and the hot middle of the night sweats. Has anyone tried this? I know on the Antarctica cruise one couple put a portable humidifier in their room. The humidity is so low in the Antarctic that we draped wet washcloths over the a/c vents so we could get moisture in the air

From my perspective, this is not a problem of temperature, humidity levels, impurities in the air etc, but simply one of no fresh air. Ventilation can be independent of temperature, humidity and impurities, simply requiring the provision of fresh air to a room (with the oxygen we need to breath) and the removal of stale air (with the carbon dioxide that is a waste product from us breathing). Reducing the temperature, adding humidity and filtering impurities, allergens etc, can help to reduce the discomfort from those problems, but it still doesn't give us the fresh air we need to breath. Opening the balcony door (if you have one) helps, but only if it is not hot, humid or windy outside and also may incur the wrath of your neighbours, the crew and a few legalists on this board! ;) :)

I was on Zaandam with a group of 24 on the Antarctica sailing in January. Our cabins were scattered on different decks, categories etc. I chose a balcony cabin which was close to the laundry - or at least according to the deck plan it was close to the laundry. However not so.... the laundry and whatever space was alongside, had been converted to cabins. A physical check found only 1 laundry on board on a lower deck and 2 ironing tables to service the entire passenger contingent. Didn't matter in the scheme of things as the HAL laundry bag deal must be one of the best at sea and we were very happy with that.

 

However, and much more to the point of this thread.... How on earth can the air-conditioning which was designed to service 'x' number of cabins, be expected to efficiently function when the cabin numbers and subsequent passengers being accommodated, have been increased. I had been forewarned through this board about the air con problems. They are most definitely not exaggerated. We had ours adjusted from too hot, and then it became too cold. The technicians arrive with a thermometer which displayed a pleasant temperature but they had no option but to agree it was sweltering.

 

In addition the aircon absolutely, most definitely, is turned off - not by us - during the night. A survey of the rest of my group found that theirs was also turned off mysteriously during the night. Most of them were suffering with too hot or too cold rooms after the adjustments. The poor service mechanics were operating round the clock trying to keep up with demand. We kept our drapes closed during the day and balcony door open at night as there was absolutely no other option other than pass out!. I am an experienced traveller both on land and sea and have to say the situation on board with regards to the air-conditioning situation on Zaandam was absolutely appalling. I understand with the OP position.

We had our first experience of this problem, three years ago on the Zaandam while on a cruise to Hawaii. We had been sailing with HAL for eight years, including Zaandam, Rotterdam and Oosterdam, but never experienced this. Since then, it has been every cruise, including all those ships. We just cancelled our Zaandam Antarctic cruise for next year as we really don't want to have that experience again. It happens whether it is hot or cold outside.

Thanks for taking time to do this we board as you disembark in Auckland. You're really whetting our appetite!

Hello. We waved to you in Doubtful Sound! ;)

They are not the only ones to be following you, Terry. We were two weeks behind you, on the HAL Oosterdam. I enjoyed seeing your photos which brought back a lot of recent memories. We met the Solstice in Doubtful Sound on her way back. The weather was glorious in Fiordland and we even had a smooth crossing of the Tasman! I'm glad you enjoyed New Zealand and Queenstown (I lived there 30 years ago!).

Thanks for your review and wonderful photos. :)

Bingo! My initial hypotheses that your original post sounded rather conspiracy theory-ish was spot on! Never let wacky theories and wild conjecturing be tamed by facts, science and expert opinions. :rolleyes:

....... Is that like statistics? ;)

Oooh........ an interesting range of responses. Thank you for your input. I personally, find FACTS to be rather subjective. So called 'scientifically proven' facts seem to change with remarkable frequency and I find that if you ask six different 'experts' for an opinion, you get six different answers. Anyhow, the point is that we have been very uncomfortable in our cabins at night, recently, on HAL and I was hoping that we might be more comfortable on Celebrity. I suppose that I will just have to wait and see. :)

We have experienced this recently on two different hotel stays....exactly as you say.....in the middle of the night we are running to try to adjust the air and we turn it all the way up because we are so hot, and nothing happens because there is obviously a master control that is overriding our individual control. It is not fun when you need the A/C.

 

We have never experienced this on X....yet! Our last cruise was 12/2012.

Yes, we have also had this problem in many, often very good quality, hotels. It is a constant problem when you are sensitive to this and dependent on someone else providing you with your air! We prefer an open window (unless it is tropical outside).

I am very glad to hear that you have not experienced this problem on Celebrity ships. Thank you.

Unhappy to report that this is true from first hand knowledge from the ships doctor on my just completed Millie Asia cruise. ($400 worth of chest xrays, blood work and meds) Many, many people were suffering from bad coughs and congestion. The variations of +35C heat outside, to 20C inside the ship caused a lot of people to suffer from Upper Respiratory Infections on the Indonesia cruise.

 

My problems did not result from A/C temperature fluctuations in the cabin mentioned by OP but rather from outdoor/indoor fluctuations. And OP, our A/C worked perfectly:)

 

http://www.essortment.com/air-conditioning-health-15668.html

One of the problems that we have had is in explaining to people that we are not talking about a temperature problem, but a ventilation one. Yes, the cabin gets hot, but the main problem is one of poor ventilation. Good ventilation is required for a comfortable room, requiring the provision of fresh air (with oxygen) and the removal of stale air (with carbon dioxide). The cabin can be too hot, too cold or just right, however the air can still be stale and of poor quality due to poor ventilation. This has been our problem at night on HAL ships. We are very sensitive to this, as are many others, however, possibly the majority of people are not (so HAL are getting away with it).

It is not possible to catch a cold or sinus infection from this. Aside from that, this seems very conspiracy theory-ish to me and I doubt there is any veracity to this. If your a/c is not working properly at night, report the issue the next morning so that the maintenance problem can be rectified.

I suggest that you may mean that YOU do not believe that one can get an infection from this. This is a very controversial subject, however, I believe it from experience. Why is it so hard to accept that if one's throat and nasal passages are inflamed, swollen and blocked from being in a hot and airless cabin (if one is sensitive to this) that one would not therefore be prone to developing a secondary infection?

We recently discussed this problem with a friend who is an international shipping expert and he concurred that this was probably an unacceptable cost cutting measure. I am just putting two and two together from our repeated experiences and coming to a conclusion. I am interested, however, in other people's experiences and opinions on the subject. Thank you for yours. :)

Having sailed many times over many years, we are fully aware of the necessary cutbacks in recent years, as cruise companies cut costs and prices in a bid to survive in the current economic climate. It seems that the growth in cruising has been so rapid that it has resulted in a glut of cruise ship berths, necessitating further cutbacks. Some of the economy measures, although lamentable, can be understood and accepted (especially when accompanied by lower prices). Some cuts however, in my opinion, are not acceptable. We have sailed a lot with Holland America and over the last 3 years, have found that they reduce the air flow to the cabin during the night. The A/C works well when we go to bed but we awake at about 2 or 3 am feeling like we cannot breath, in a hot and stuffy cabin. This causes a sore throat and stuffed up nose which often leads to a cold or sinus infection. At about 4 or 5 am, we can feel the flow of cool, fresh air resume. No amount of discussion with the front desk or engineering staff makes much difference and a fan only helps a little. Opening the balcony door (if we have one) is no good if it is windy or hot and humid outside.

We are convinced that this is a cost cutting measure, although it is denied. Not everyone seems to be sensitive to this problem, but many are and have experienced similar problems. For us, it has happened on 5 cruises in a row and we are fed up with it. It did not happen on a Cunard cruise during this time. We now have three cruises booked with Celebrity and whatever the differences between the two lines, we are really hoping that Celebrity will allow us to breath in our cabin at night and have a good sleep (a requirement for us to enjoy rather than endure, our cruise). Some have suggested that this is now happening on most lines, as a cost cutting measure. We really hope not. Has anyone experienced this problem on a Celebrity ship? Thank you for your feedback. I would be very interested to know.

Thank you for your understanding and kind replies. I am mystified as to why so many others, who say they need a cold and well ventilated cabin, have not experienced this problem. We thought that maybe it was just bad luck, so we persisted, but every cruise for five in a row! We also sailed with Cunard during this time and did not have this problem. We experienced the problem on Zaandam, Rotterdam (back to back) and Oosterdam (twice), but only in the last three years (never before). It is hard to continue to see the glass as half full when the problem persists and causes such discomfort to us, especially when we have other options available to us. I just find this to be so sad because we really like HAL otherwise, but this is a deal breaker for us.

We have had to resort to wedging our balcony door open (when we had one) but that is no good when it is hot and humid outside or there is a strong wind blowing (I didn't want to wake the neighbours with our whistling cabin!). It will be interesting to see if we experience this problem on other lines in the future. I did wonder, however, if it would be worth trying Prinsendam sometime. Would they really do this to passengers on a world voyage segment?

A thank you to one and all for your replies. It is a shame that it is off limits to the rest of us though. It looks like a nice place for a quiet drink. Did it used to be the smoking lounge? It looks like a cigar lounge. :)

We usually ask for a fan for our room, it helps to keep the room comfortable, especially if the air is not working well.

The fan was essential, otherwise we couldn't have slept in the cabin. Because of our past experiences, ordering a fan from the front desk was our first priority after boarding the ship. Unfortunately they did not deliver it until the second day (saying that there was not one available!), by which time, we had had a miserable night and had started to get sick.