Do you know when South America cruises for fall 2021 should be announced?

[cashmeremypuppydog]

Good morning everyone,

Do you know when the HAL South America cruises will be announced?

For the people who have cruised SA, what would you do different, what would you STRONGLY recommend someone to do, what HAL should do/change to make the cruise perfect...

Thank you

The Canadians!😎

[Roz]

I may be wrong about this, but I thought most SA cruises were during our winter, which is summer in the Southern Hemisphere.  Most of them seem to be in January and February.

[RuthC]

3 hours ago, cashmeremypuppydog said:

For the people who have cruised SA, what would you do different, what would you STRONGLY recommend someone to do,

I STRONGLY recommend that you book a cruise that includes Antarctica, if it is still available then. It's a shame to fly so far and miss the main event. 

Another strong suggestion is to schedule your return flight carefully. Both Santiago and Buenos Aires are killer flights after a very long day, if you are flying out the day of disembarkation. The disembarkation port is usually an overnight, so one thing you can do is fly out your first night there. You can get up later on the last day, spend it relaxing on board, have dinner, then head to the airport for you very late flight. 
Or, you can disembark when everyone else does, but spend one night in the city. Again, you can spend that day and the next somewhat relaxing, ask for a late check-out, then head to the airport at a reasonable hour for the flight. 

Three times I have flown back from South America, and three times I have regretted flying the same day as the ship disembarked. The first time was a 33-hour 'day' that I was up; the second time was a 39-hour 'day', because a flight was delayed. (I napped as soon as I arrived home.) I don't recall about the third time. 
Those are killer days, so anything you can do to shorten them is worth considering. 

[cashmeremypuppydog]

1 hour ago, RuthC said:

I STRONGLY recommend that you book a cruise that includes Antarctica, if it is still available then. It's a shame to fly so far and miss the main event. 

Another strong suggestion is to schedule your return flight carefully. Both Santiago and Buenos Aires are killer flights after a very long day, if you are flying out the day of disembarkation. The disembarkation port is usually an overnight, so one thing you can do is fly out your first night there. You can get up later on the last day, spend it relaxing on board, have dinner, then head to the airport for you very late flight. 
Or, you can disembark when everyone else does, but spend one night in the city. Again, you can spend that day and the next somewhat relaxing, ask for a late check-out, then head to the airport at a reasonable hour for the flight. 

Three times I have flown back from South America, and three times I have regretted flying the same day as the ship disembarked. The first time was a 33-hour 'day' that I was up; the second time was a 39-hour 'day', because a flight was delayed. (I napped as soon as I arrived home.) I don't recall about the third time. 
Those are killer days, so anything you can do to shorten them is worth considering. 

 

Thank you both for your reply.

The South America cruises are typically from Nov-March.

 

To tell you the truth, we were not going to do Antarctica as we are from Canada and glaciers and snow doesn’t appeal to us.  As well, too many sea days are not something we enjoy.  We did our first TransPacific in May 2019 (just to confirm our thoughts) and we will NEVER do a repositioning cruise in the future.

 

We cruise just so we don’t have to pack and unpack too much.

Actually, this is our thoughts:

1-) Pre cruise: Lima, Cuzco, Machu Picchu, Santiago and Valparaiso 

2-) cruise from Chile to Argentina

3-) post cruise: 2-3 more nights in  BA, Ignazu Falls and maybe Mendoza.

 

I am wondering about what not to miss at the port of calls, or what tour operator to select...

 

Thank you again for taking time to reply.

 

The Canadians!😎

Edited January 2, 2020 by cashmeremypuppydog

[skurvish]

Also Canadian here and we did this cruise last February. We did go to Antarctica and it was the best part of the trip. We have been to Alaska and see the glaciers there but they pale in comparison to Antarctica . Yes there are a number of sea days but we found plenty to do an there are many naturalists talks to enjoy. If you decide to include Antarctica then you are doing the best direction, Chile to Argentina.

 

For your pre/post excursions I can highly recommend Rylee Mcgowan of LatinAmericaForLess (don't let the name put you off). She did a great job with our post cruise trip to Iguazzu and offers great excursions to all the places you plan to go. Her email is rylee@latinamericaforless.com.

 

For private shore excursions in most of the ports contact Edgar at TourGuideUshuaia. He has relationships in most ports and can set you up. He offers discounts for booking multiple ports and he is very very responsive. Website is www.tourguideushuaia.net  and his email is transportetrasandino@gmail.com. Tell him Alex sent you.

 

If you are going to the Falklands your best bet is Patrick Watts, a great guy and guide. He doesn't have a website but email him at pwatts@horizon.co.fk

 

Any questions I would be happy to answer them. This cruise was probably one of the best we ever took.

[trixiee]

1 hour ago, skurvish said:

Also Canadian here and we did this cruise last February. We did go to Antarctica and it was the best part of the trip. We have been to Alaska and see the glaciers there but they pale in comparison to Antarctica . Yes there are a number of sea days but we found plenty to do an there are many naturalists talks to enjoy. If you decide to include Antarctica then you are doing the best direction, Chile to Argentina.

 

For your pre/post excursions I can highly recommend Rylee Mcgowan of LatinAmericaForLess (don't let the name put you off). She did a great job with our post cruise trip to Iguazzu and offers great excursions to all the places you plan to go. Her email is rylee@latinamericaforless.com.

 

For private shore excursions in most of the ports contact Edgar at TourGuideUshuaia. He has relationships in most ports and can set you up. He offers discounts for booking multiple ports and he is very very responsive. Website is www.tourguideushuaia.net  and his email is transportetrasandino@gmail.com. Tell him Alex sent you.

 

If you are going to the Falklands your best bet is Patrick Watts, a great guy and guide. He doesn't have a website but email him at pwatts@horizon.co.fk

 

Any questions I would be happy to answer them. This cruise was probably one of the best we ever took.

This, 100%! 
Do not miss Antarctica!  It is nothing like a transatlantic.  There is so much to keep you occupied  - great lectures, abundance of Wildlife!  Truly an experience you won’t regret.  Bring really good binoculars and camera.  How I wish I could afford to do the trip you have planned! 

[willow949]

We were on Oosterdam last week and was told that 2021 South America should come out around April. 

[cashmeremypuppydog]

Just saw all your replies...  Thank you everyone.  We will need to think over about doing Antarctica...  We are in Tanzania and when we left Canada Jan 15, it was -50C!  This is why snow and glaciers don’t warm our hearts.

The Canadians!😎

[What was that?]

I am looking at the possibility of an "around the Horn" cruise in early 2022 and am awaiting HAL posting the schedules for that time period. After looking at current offerings, I had decided that Argentina to Chile would be the best way to go, as it includes the Strait of Magellan. Well, then someone on FB started up with Antarctica photos and I have to admit that pretty much sold me on a cruise that would include it. So, MY BIG QUESTION is: What does it matter which way we go, whether Chile to Argentina or reverse?

[RuthC]

1 hour ago, What was that? said:

So, MY BIG QUESTION is: What does it matter which way we go, whether Chile to Argentina or reverse?

Whichever direction you go, there will be something spectacular as a build-up, and something that isn't as spectacular on the way back. 
East to west, Iceberg Alley begins slowly, with infrequent, tiny bits if ice. Then they grow, both in frequency and size, until you see high, long, tabular icebergs---some large enough to land an airplane! And then you get Antarctica itself, which puts all that to shame. 
But on the other end, Glacier Alley in Chile are anticlimactic. 

Now, west to east is the literal reverse. The glaciers on the way over are impressive, and you will be so glad to see them. Then, Antarctica, which is unique. There is no place anything like it on earth. Coming back, though, I thought it sad to see the icebergs getting smaller, and finally disappearing. Made me feel everything was all over, even though there was still several days left in the cruise. 

So, pick your poison. Go whichever direction fits your schedule better. 
Or, do a round trip! 

[What was that?]

37 minutes ago, RuthC said:

So, pick your poison. Go whichever direction fits your schedule better. 
Or, do a round trip! 

Thanks, RuthC. Now why didn't I think of that?

Are there any proponents of the west to east direction?

[travelholics]

 Heading West to East you still have the Falklands, with King penguins and the prospect of a side trip to Iguazu Falls from Buenos Aires to enjoy! 

We took the Antarctic cruise from Santiago to Buenos Aires last month and added on a 4 night stop in Easter Island. It was a 5 hour flight from Santiago, costing around $600 return each. We stayed at a wonderful bed and breakfast and our host took us on 2 day trips to view the moai statues. Definetely recommended, if you have the time available.

[Sue from Canada]

8 hours ago, cashmeremypuppydog said:

Just saw all your replies...  Thank you everyone.  We will need to think over about doing Antarctica...  We are in Tanzania and when we left Canada Jan 15, it was -50C!  This is why snow and glaciers don’t warm our hearts.

The Canadians!😎

It was -35C with the wind chill in Ottawa a few days ago.  Even so, I plan to do Antarctica.  And, the icebergs I saw in Greenland were magnificent.  I'm also heading back to Alaska for the 9th time this May.  I love snow.