Question for anybody who has cruised to South America

We are going on the Zandaam in just over 2 weeks, question is: will there be any speaker on the ship with lots of information about the cities/countries we will be visiting? We are taking our 11 year old grand daughter with us,?and want this to be an educational experience for her.

Thanks, Martha

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We are going on the Zandaam in just over 2 weeks, question is: will there be any speaker on the ship with lots of information about the cities/countries we will be visiting? We are taking our 11 year old grand daughter with us,?and want this to be an educational experience for her.

Thanks, Martha

We did the SA/Antarctica in 2015 on the Zandaam. There will be the standard 'Port' Talks by the staff which will have some country/city information, I don't remember any real detail information, probably because we had 3 or 4 ex-National Science Foundation staff on-board for the Antarctica portion. Now they provided more educational information that I could absorb. It was the most informed I ever came back from a cruise.

Their leader was the former head of Antarctic Operations for the NSF. He really had some good stories.

So what portion of SA are doing? We started in Valparaiso, rounded the horn, went to Antarctica and ended up in Buenos Aires.

Best cruise of our lives. We are definitely doing it again in the next few years.

Hi Eric!

We agree the Zaandam with SA/Antarctica was the best. Even just the SA part is wonderful.

One thing that we did that I know our grandkids would like was having a map on our cabin wall. We used magnets with variable luck. Kept sliding but we made do. We put small marks on the map when the Captain gave any info and we learned lots about the geography of SA and Antarctica.

Have a great trip!

Eric- let us know if you schedule Antarctica- we would love to do it again too. Hi to Janna!

Sue and Curt

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Did SA with Antarctica in 2013. Best cruise ever and would love to do it again.

You might consider getting this map: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1879568969/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1507938108&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=chile+fjords+map&dpPl=1&dpID=51vbx5XPDhL&ref=plSrch

That is so funny! I just checked Amazon and that is one that we had. The other was the northern section of Antarctica. And we still have both just in case anyone wants to see where we have been. The maps really added to our trip.

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When I was on the Zaandam (March-April) we did not have any "lecturers" but the EXC guide, Ryan Baird was fabulous. Not just his talks about the ports but he did go into a lot of the history and geology of the area and he is a real Shackleton fan which should be really special in Antarctica. He expects to be back on the Zaandam next year.

Roy

We did the SA/Antarctica in 2015 on the Zandaam. There will be the standard 'Port' Talks by the staff which will have some country/city information, I don't remember any real detail information, probably because we had 3 or 4 ex-National Science Foundation staff on-board for the Antarctica portion. Now they provided more educational information that I could absorb. It was the most informed I ever came back from a cruise.

 

Their leader was the former head of Antarctic Operations for the NSF. He really had some good stories.

 

So what portion of SA are doing? We started in Valparaiso, rounded the horn, went to Antarctica and ended up in Buenos Aires.

 

Best cruise of our lives. We are definitely doing it again in the next few years.

We are going to Rio de Janeiro for three days and then getting on the zandaam for a trip around the horn, disembarking in San Antonio Chile. 17 days. And we are super excited!!

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We are on the Zaandam in January to do SA/Antarctica. I thought that HAL would have lots of lectures during the cruise. I know our Celebrity SA cruise sure did. That is disappointing to hear.

We are on the Zaandam in January to do SA/Antarctica. I thought that HAL would have lots of lectures during the cruise. I know our Celebrity SA cruise sure did. That is disappointing to hear.

It’s possible you MAY have an Expedition Team for Antarctica. We did in 2013, and a coworker did in 2016. One of the main members, Dr. Chris Wilson, passed away recently. Not sure if his brother Dr. David Wilson, has continued with the cruise schedule. RAFinMD was on an Around the Horn cruise last year. He blogged about it.

When I was on the Zaandam (March-April) we did not have any "lecturers" but the EXC guide, Ryan Baird was fabulous. Not just his talks about the ports but he did go into a lot of the history and geology of the area and he is a real Shackleton fan which should be really special in Antarctica. He expects to be back on the Zaandam next year.

 

Roy

I’m looking forward to hearing him. I’m having another go at it this year.

We were on a South American cruise last year. It was not a HAL cruise.

We had an excellent enrichment speaker. He made himself available any time. We had some excellent talks but one huge benefit we got was his port knowledge. Specifically his ideas and opinions on DIY tours or using guides portside. We only had one private group tour arranged prior to sailing.

We spoke to the speaker privately several times and got some excellent tips on touring. These tips enabled us to do what we wanted, to avoid the over priced ships tours and avoid touring with a bus load of people. We have done this before. Some of these lecturers have lots of great info that they may be reluctant to pass out in a large forum so try a one on one if possible.

We are going to Rio de Janeiro for three days and then getting on the zandaam for a trip around the horn, disembarking in San Antonio Chile. 17 days. And we are super excited!!

 

 

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My spouse was somewhat reluctant to do a SA cruise. It was on my list, as was some land travel in South and Central America.

We had a wonderful cruise. We were able to land in every port. During cruise I was not certain about DW. But now, this is one of our cruises that she speaks of most frequently. Very different, very enjoyable. We also very much enjoyed our precruise time in Uruguay, Argentina, and Chile.

The cruise prior to ours had significant weather issues and challenges that apparently caused it to by pass a few ports, including Falkland. We had unbelievable weather, cool but blue sky when we wanted it most. I wish this for you.

That is so funny! I just checked Amazon and that is one that we had. The other was the northern section of Antarctica. And we still have both just in case anyone wants to see where we have been. The maps really added to our trip.

 

 

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I have checked the Amazon web site and see several maps available. I'd appreciate a specific reference to the Antarctica map available at Amazon that you referenced. Thanks.

Hi! We are on the same cruise and can't wait for the adventure to begin. It is also our first time to S.A. Happy travels and perhaps we'll meet on the ship. [emoji4]

 

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You can't miss us! An older couple with an eleven year old girl should stick out like a sore thumb![emoji6] come up to us and say "hi"!

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My spouse was somewhat reluctant to do a SA cruise. It was on my list, as was some land travel in South and Central America.

 

We had a wonderful cruise. We were able to land in every port. During cruise I was not certain about DW. But now, this is one of our cruises that she speaks of most frequently. Very different, very enjoyable. We also very much enjoyed our precruise time in Uruguay, Argentina, and Chile.

 

The cruise prior to ours had significant weather issues and challenges that apparently caused it to by pass a few ports, including Falkland. We had unbelievable weather, cool but blue sky when we wanted it most. I wish this for you.

Thank you!

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I hope you do a review. I'm looking at this itinerary for December 2018. DH uses a transport chair and can walk short distances, so I'm curious how accessable the ports are for the disabled.

You can't miss us! An older couple with an eleven year old girl should stick out like a sore thumb![emoji6] come up to us and say "hi"!

 

 

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I re-read your original post...our Zaandam cruise departs December 1st, so you'll get an advance preview of our cruise. Have a great time with your granddaughter!

Just returned from a HAL Zuiderdam fall color cruise from NYC to Quebec City. No enrichment lectures at all.

When we went around South America/Cape Horn in 2001 with HAL we had an on-board astronomer, historian, and scientist who all gave enrichment lectures about the local culture, flora, fauna, and history. We had star gazing on deck several nights. I am sad to say, don't hold your breath to get some of that your trip.

The port talks were all held at 7PM, when we were either napping or dressing for dinner, and talked about tourist attractions and places to shop. Very disappointing.

Suggest instead you look at some books to read before/during your cruise about the history and culture of the areas you will visit.

Thank you everybody!

We are home schooling our granddaughter for this semester only so we can do some extensive travelling. I have been having her read about the various countries and cities we will be visiting and writing a paper about each one. I'm learning a lot too!

Thinking of packing now, planning to bring summer and winter clothes both. As most of the passengers will be non-Americans, and it's been our experience that they dress up at night quite a bit. Planning on taking formal wear as GD is really excited about her fancy new dress! Do you recall how people dressed on the gala nights? What percentage of men wore a tux or dark suit?

I agree with what you said about refusing to pay for the visas required to get into Brazil. If we'd known how COSTLY and what a hassle it was, we would have opted to go out of Buenos Aires. $299.00 per person, plus all these processing fees--over two thousand dollars for the three of us--ridiculous! Oh well, live and learn.

We are very excited about the trip and don't mean to complain though.

Thanks for your input and now could you give me some tips on what to pack?

I wouldn’t assume the pax will be mostly non US. I think they were the majority on my SA cruise. There were a lot of Canadians, Brits and Aussies too.

What ports are included in your cruise?

You might want to assign your GD a report on (hierba) mate (pronounced “ma tay”). You will find the custom and drink prevalent in SA. It seems each region has special style cups used. And once you are aware of it, you will see people having mate all over.