LIVE! HAL Oosterdam 1/7-1/29 South America & Antarctica—Let’s Cruise!

[TravelBluebird]

We are at the Lido Marketplace for breakfast (open till 10am). As you would imagine, not so crowded this morning!

 

We have decided on a hardy breakfast and the excursion “lunch” as our 2 meals for today. I’m sure I’ll be wanting to take photos and video as we cruise back out of the channel tonight during dinner time!

 

Some of the clouds have cldeared on the snow covered mountains.

 

Edited January 10 by TravelBluebird

[TravelBluebird]

Little pink donuts for breakfast! 

[whogo]

4 hours ago, caneable said:

TravelBluebird, those of us on the next cruise will be docking (?) at the island Chloe as we’ve had Punte Del Este removed from out itin. Did you manage to get any other shots of the island?

You will be tendering at Castro.

 

Yes, she managed a photo.

[TravelBluebird]

After breakfast, we walked out to the sea view pool on 9. What views!  I think this is one of the prettiest ports I’ve ever been to.

 

Edited January 10 by TravelBluebird

[TravelBluebird]

27 minutes ago, whogo said:

You will be tendering at Castro.

 

Yes, she managed a photo.

@caneableI have some additional photos on my Nikon—I’ll post tonight after our excursion 

[TravelBluebird]

We’ve had a beautiful walk all over the port area.  Three BIG buses on way to nature preserve!

[TravelBluebird]

Had a 2 hour walk through the forest with our guide Pablo.  He was very knowledgeable about the plants and trees we saw.  
 

Then traditional lamb cooked over open fire near a lake—no cell or internet service on excursion, as you would imagine.

 

The evening  cruising through the Chilean fjords even more beautiful than this morning!

Edited January 10 by TravelBluebird

[TravelBluebird]

OK…have been going, going all day!  Was on the balcony looking at the beautiful fijords till about 9, then the siren song of the casino called, and I played the one armed bandits (err…one button bandits these days?) until now.

 

First, here are some photos from tonight’s scenic cruising. I went a little nuts on the photos tonight, so here are just a few. No photoshops or any other adjustments needed! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 11 by TravelBluebird

[TravelBluebird]

The next set of photos are from the Nature Walk Excursion.

 

If you are interested in this excursion, it gives the activity level as “strenuous.”.  The walk itself is not strenuous; it is mostly flat.  However, you have to be able to walk for 2 hours (there was one spot with benches where you could sit for maybe 5 minutes, and a couple places where you stand for a couple minutes to learn about what you are seeing).

 

Very nice path, but it can be uneven with roots and rocks. Definitely not an excursion for anyone needing a walker or with mobility issues.  But if you are looking for a truly strenuous hike, this is not for you either.

 

This area was settled in the early 20th century, and they burned down most of the trees for agriculture and animal husbandry…nearly all the trees in the forest are under 100 years old because of this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 11 by TravelBluebird

[TravelBluebird]

This last set of photos is of the “lunch” spot.  Really it was an early dinner at about 4pm.  Lovely setting. We were served Chilean empanadas as appetizers (they are square), lamb cooked over an open fire, salad, and boiled potatoes.  Desert (which many of us didn’t have as we wanted to explore the grounds) was cheesecake with black berries.

 

We were served pisco sours and calafate berry sours. I preferred the calafate berry sour. They say if you eat this berry, you will return to Patagonia. They are vaguely reminiscent of blueberries.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 11 by TravelBluebird

[TravelBluebird]

DH has a massage in the morning and I hope to get some rest. I walked over 17,000 steps today!  

 

I am going to go to the Port Talk for Port Arenas at 10, then go outside for the scenic cruising at around 12:30.  No plans after that; we shall see where the day takes us!

[Hogladyrider]

@TravelBluebird...wow what experiences you are having!

Stunning photos 

[Haljo1935]

On 1/4/2024 at 11:34 AM, TravelBluebird said:

...

In any event, I tried to change our seats online and I was not allowed to..  So today LATAM figured out we shouldn’t be in those seats, and we got a bunch of seat changes, which landed us in two middle seats in rows 4 and 20.  

 

Keep your fingers crossed we can change the seats; not the end of the world if we can’t, but it woud e nice to be together.

Note to self - make friends w/Dee and sit next to Russ for peace of mind (always good to be near a pilot) 😉

Agree it's nice to sit w/DH, but I just want us out of those middle seats🤔

Happy to follow along w/you - I always learn so much. Thanks for letting us tag along.

[Haljo1935]

On 1/4/2024 at 11:39 AM, Hogladyrider said:

Ensenada Mexico the day before we return to San Diego in February....new port to us we are there from 2-10 pm

I'm jelly - you know our stop in Ensenada was 7pm-1130pm. I did manage to get in a nice wine tasting.

[Haljo1935]

On 1/7/2024 at 7:26 PM, TravelBluebird said:

...We did go to the Holland America Origin Story show at 8pm. It’s just one person (Ed the cruise director? No idea; he didn’t introduce himself) narrating live, with a video presentation.  It was extremely well done, and both Russ and I love history and enjoyed the presentation. It wasn’t too crowded, but I’m sure its the type of show you only need to see once...

@TravelBluebird Hey Dee - you may have already mentioned this, so if you did I apologize for the redundancy. Jumping in here late and not yet caught up... Although you are a very seasoned cruiser, you may find "City on the Sea" worth attending. It's kinda HALs filmed version (aka free) of a "Behind the Fun" tour. It should be listed in the Daily & Navigator for the World Stage. Very interesting to get a look at many of the places we want to see but can't go to plus learn a lot about the ship and services. 😉

[Haljo1935]

On 1/8/2024 at 1:25 PM, TravelBluebird said:

Overall, a nice sea day.

 

Two little glitches—one, I needed an extra pillow, and it took me nearly 24 hours to achieve that, so I only had one last night. I didn’t see my room steward again after he introduced himself. He had left a card but it only has the number for guest services on it if you need something. SO I left a card out that was in the room on my door (it is specifically for needing something—blanket, pillow, ice, etc) in the afternoon. Card was still there in the late evening, so I tried calling guest services four times, but I was on hold for a really long time each time and gave up.  

Card for pillow was still on my door this morning. Room was made up after lunch, card was gone but still no pillow. I finally called guest services again and the wait was shorter and got the pillow.  

 

Other little glitch is that Russ went up to see if he could get me on a Puerto Madryn excursion. It was accomplished (I am going on the Spanish speaking excursion to Puunta Tombo) but in the process, my husband somehow got deleted from an excursion wait list, and the staff member was rude to him in the process.

 

 

Oh, no - sorry Russ got removed from a waitlist and very sorry he was treated rudely😪; no matter what is happening, there's never a reason that should happen.

I've seen those hangers you used to ask for a pillow, but have never used one myself. Have you considered trying the Navigator App? Last cruise (ended Jan 6) the service request feature wasn't working, but the "Let us Know" feedback was. You can send a request for pillows, laundry pickup, etc through it and GS will get it to the right dept. Just an option if you weren't aware of it.

 

 

[Haljo1935]

On 1/9/2024 at 10:44 AM, TravelBluebird said:

 

Such a lovely spot!  Very popular on this cruise, as you would imagine!

 

Last night, before listening to the piano player Adam, we sat up there and had two delicious Melon No-Jitos!

Ooh - if you like fruity nojitos, you might try a strawberry 🍓 mojito; I'm sure it could be made as the nojito variety. It was suggested to me by a bartender on a HAL ship and it was love at first sip. 🧡

[Haljo1935]

On 1/9/2024 at 5:41 PM, TravelBluebird said:

We have found MUSIC IN THE OCEAN  BAR! 😀

 

They are called “Third Avenue West” after HAL’s address in Seattle,  They were listed in events under the name with no description. 

 

 

Yay for a terrific Ocean Bar trio!! I quite enjoy hanging out there no matter which ship, OB seems to always have great talent.

Your excursion sounds amazing! I hope you have a great time and get fabulous pictures.

This cruise may have had a bit of a bumpy start, but it seems you're headed toward a great time.

[TravelBluebird]

9 hours ago, Hogladyrider said:

@TravelBluebird...wow what experiences you are having!

Stunning photos 

 

Chile is a stunning place!  Having incredible experiences and we aren’t even near Antarctica yet!

[TravelBluebird]

This morning I woke up late, around 8:30.  Got some well needed sleep!
 

Ordered continental room service breakfast and coffee, hopped in the shower to wash my hair, and my breakfast has arrived!  Less than the 30 minutes promised.

 

We are out in open ocean right now until we head to the Chilean Inside Passage at 12:30.  Heavy overcast, low 50s, a bit of ship motion but not bad at all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 11 by TravelBluebird

[TravelBluebird]

5 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

Yay for a terrific Ocean Bar trio!! I quite enjoy hanging out there no matter which ship, OB seems to always have great talent.

Your excursion sounds amazing! I hope you have a great time and get fabulous pictures.

This cruise may have had a bit of a bumpy start, but it seems you're headed toward a great time.

 

Yes, they are truly terrific! Not playing tonight and neither is Andrew our piano player.  Tomorrow is another sea day so I can stay up late and listen to music…

 

The main stage perfomance tonight is a one man band. I do think that Holland America could up their entertainment offerings a bit. 

[TravelBluebird]

5 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

Ooh - if you like fruity nojitos, you might try a strawberry 🍓 mojito; I'm sure it could be made as the nojito variety. It was suggested to me by a bartender on a HAL ship and it was love at first sip. 🧡

 Looks yummy!

 

Blueberry and blackberry mojitos or nojitos are very nice too!

[TravelBluebird]

6 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

@TravelBluebird Hey Dee - you may have already mentioned this, so if you did I apologize for the redundancy. Jumping in here late and not yet caught up... Although you are a very seasoned cruiser, you may find "City on the Sea" worth attending. It's kinda HALs filmed version (aka free) of a "Behind the Fun" tour. It should be listed in the Daily & Navigator for the World Stage. Very interesting to get a look at many of the places we want to see but can't go to plus learn a lot about the ship and services. 😉

 

Thank you for the recommendation; we will check that out when offered! 

[Haljo1935]

2 minutes ago, TravelBluebird said:

 

Yes, they are truly terrific! Not playing tonight and neither is Andrew our piano player.  Tomorrow is another sea day so I can stay up late and listen to music…

 

The main stage perfomance tonight is a one man band. I do think that Holland America could up their entertainment offerings a bit. 

Yes, the entertainment is noticeably different (and leaner) than Carnival's.

[caneable]

Realised that I was telling porkies when I said that we’d never missed a cruise stop.  I completely forgot the here comes COVID cruise in March 19. Dubai to Cape Town. Set off to Abu Dhabi, Fujairah and Oman with no trouble at all. But then we were refused entry at the Seychelles, Reunion, Mauritius and three South African ports, Richards Bay, Durban and Port Elizabeth. Ended up anchored off Cape Town about halfway to Robbin Island for three days! 17 days drifting round the Indian Ocean.

That said it did open up a new travel list, places I’ve seen but not visited. I already had a few to put in including Albania, Myanmar and Paraguay. Flying over doesn’t count. That said I’m going to claim Antarctica when we get there.

In addition, that cruise convinced me that I could do a Transatlantic cruise without doing my head in as I finally proved just before Christmas.