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

[TravelBluebird]

12 minutes ago, ECCruise said:

Thanks for so many great pictures.  We will be on Oosterdam in Ushuaia February 27 and on Quest starting March 6.

The Quest looks lovely—we are right beside her!  

[Andi Land]

Looks like a fantastic itinerary so far! 
 

As a suggestion, if there are still rooms available, you can see if they have one that doesn’t have obstructed views. I know I’m a little late to the party here and it may be more hassle than it’s worth to move. 

[bosswench]

3 hours ago, TravelBluebird said:

At the end of the white things is a mobility disabled room

Thank you Dee for this wonderful blog and sharing your adventure. Your pictures are incredible.

 

Since you mentioned the accessible cabin, have you noticed if there are many scooter or wheelchair users on board?  Do you know if they have been able to use the tenders and get off the ship at the ports? My husband and I are booked on this cruise in December 24, and he has mobility limitations.

[FLCruiser97]

3 hours ago, TravelBluebird said:

 

@FLCruiser97 5 cabins aft of me should be fine!—it’s the next 3 cabins that have the white metal things in view—4125, 4127 and 4129.  Here are 2 views for you.

 

At the end of the white things is a mobility disabled room (I have an acquaintance that is staying there so she showed me the room) which has views from 2 sides-ish so is totally fine, and the next room is clear of them.

 

That's a perfect view of what I needed to know. Thanks for this info.

[Torquer]

6 hours ago, TravelBluebird said:

5.  If you have an afternoon excursion and try to get back to the ship, there is a LONG line at the terminal to get on to the pier.  Do NOT wait in that line; that is for embarking passengers on the ships leaving today. If you wave your ship card inside the terminal, they will wave you right through. Phew!

Thanks.  That will likely to come in very handy for our cruise next month when there are 5 ships in port with us.

 

A general tip for everyone...if there is a long line for anything, don't just get on the line unless you know there is no better option.  We always have one person in our party get in the line to hold our spot, while the other members go scouting to the front, sides, etc. to see if there is another entrance or another way around the line.  Don't be a lemming! There are often other options.

[TravelBluebird]

43 minutes ago, Torquer said:

A general tip for everyone...if there is a long line for anything, don't just get on the line unless you know there is no better option.  We always have one person in our party get in the line to hold our spot, while the other members go scouting to the front, sides, etc. to see if there is another entrance or another way around the line.  Don't be a lemming! There are often other options.

 

That is exactly what we do, and it is good advice!

[TravelBluebird]

3 hours ago, bosswench said:

Since you mentioned the accessible cabin, have you noticed if there are many scooter or wheelchair users on board?  Do you know if they have been able to use the tenders and get off the ship at the ports? My husband and I are booked on this cruise in December 24, and he has mobility limitations.

 

There are very few mobility scooters and wheelchairs on board, although I have seen both.

 

I do not know if they can use the tenders or not; I will try to find out for you.

[TravelBluebird]

5 hours ago, Andi Land said:

Looks like a fantastic itinerary so far! 
 

As a suggestion, if there are still rooms available, you can see if they have one that doesn’t have obstructed views. I know I’m a little late to the party here and it may be more hassle than it’s worth to move. 

 

It’s OK; we are settled in now and just roam around to find view spots on the ship.  

[Hlitner]

45 minutes ago, Torquer said:

Thanks.  That will likely to come in very handy for our cruise next month when there are 5 ships in port with us.

 

A general tip for everyone...if there is a long line for anything, don't just get on the line unless you know there is no better option.  We always have one person in our party get in the line to hold our spot, while the other members go scouting to the front, sides, etc. to see if there is another entrance or another way around the line.  Don't be a lemming! There are often other options.

LOL, you are speaking our language.  Ok, we accept this is not for everyone but here we go!  DW and I practice what I call "queue avoidance strategy."  A lifetime of extensive travel/cruising has taught me that many folks just love queues/lines.  They are happy to spend hours, every day, waiting in lines for just about anything...even when it is absolutely not necessary.  We are just the opposite and look for ways to avoid waiting in lines.  On HAL we simply dine later (after 7:30) when there is usually no line.  If there is a free wine tasting, and folks line up to get in the venue, we simply come back later when the line is gone (does it matter where we sit in a wine tasting?).  At airports there might be a long security line, but if you walk 10 feet there will be a much shorter line.  On HAL there will often be a queue to get into the Lido when it opens for lunch.  Folks will line up, 15-20 minutes in advance because they want to be first.  Why?  Come back an hour later and the line is gone.  I know, there are some folks that just need to be the first to do everything.'

 

Another great cruise line example are tender ports.  Some folks just want to be the first ashore and they rush ashore at 8 am when nothing is open.  We relax onboard, have our Bloody Mary and relax in the Crows Nest.  Around 10 or 11 we head down to the tenders and go ashore..as those who went early are already coming back complaining that "nothing is open!"  The fact that many places do not open until 10 (or even 11) is lost on these folks who rush ashore at 8am to do their shopping.  

 

My favorite tale (it is true) happened years ago on a Princess cruise.  Princess generally has 3 MDRs, and years ago one was dedicated to Fixed Dining.  We would sit at a lounge around 5, to have some cocktails, and see folks lining up for the 5:30 Fixed Dining seating.  Those folks had reserved tables, and nobody was going to get served until all their tablemates had been seated.  And yet, some would line-up (every night) about a half hour early so they could be the first to their table (and then need to wait for their tablemates).  Very strange.

 

Hank

[oakridger]

3 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

"queue avoidance strategy."

 

I'm with you Hank!  On ships or land restaurants I learn when the big rush is and go at a different (usually later) time!!  Another strategy for going to the MDR is to arrive at odd times.  Not at 7:00 but maybe 7:10 or 7:20 instead.  When people are meeting other members of their party it's usually at say 7:00 or 7:15 or 7:30.....rarely do they meet up at 7:10!  🙂

 

Seems to work pretty well for me!

 

~Nancy

[oakridger]

@TravelBluebird your little tips are really helpful and also, I have been watching your YouTube videos for more information.  

 

Enjoy the day tomorrow.

 

~Nancy

[TravelBluebird]

Wow. Finished dinner at nearly 10pm!

 

We shared a table since everyone came back from a ton of excursions at the same time, all around 7 to 7:30pm..

 

Lovely group!  Dinner took forever though.  I think between appetizers and main course it was an hour wait.  First time we’ve had any sort of delay like that on the trip.

 

I had the watermelon and feta salad and  prime rib and my husband had the tuna tartiquo and  rock fish.

 

i had over 14,000 steps today—probably not enough to work off that dinner!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 15 by TravelBluebird

[TravelBluebird]

A couple images from our geologic talk this morning.

 

Then images from our early afternoon walking around Ushuaia:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 15 by TravelBluebird

[TravelBluebird]

Our lunch at Isabel’s.  Empanadas (lamb) and king crab “stew”.  

 

 

 

 

Edited January 15 by TravelBluebird

[TravelBluebird]

Here’s a few from the Train To The End of the World Excursion.

 

We enjoyed it…seeing the Tierra del Fuego National Park was great, as was the stop after at the Post Office at the End of the World. It was closed (Sunday) BUT we did see some crested cara cara birds there!  We also saw a fox and wild horses from the train.

 

We were delayed getting back because one lady fell getting off the train, and broke a bone (ambulance had to be called). It is a steep step down off the train at the end; much steeper than when you get on at the beginning or for the stop in between—just beware of it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 15 by TravelBluebird

[TravelBluebird]

I have a 6am call tomorrow for Cape Horn, so must go to bed.

 

I’ll leave you with my favorite photo of Ushuaia, taken right after we returned from our excursion. I ran up briefly to the place at the front of deck 9–super windy, so I could only stand back near the ship.  It looked a bit stormy and there was a tiny bit of blue sky—the weather was like that all day couldn’t make up it mind!

 

 

[TravelBluebird]

Ouch these 6am early calls are quite difficult for this owl.

 

When we woke up, we couldn’t access the bow camera to see what was going on because a mandatory video and slide show on Antarctica was all you could watch on TV.

So after some room service coffee delivered at 5:50am, I ventured out and found that the bow was closed due to weather (wind and rain), as was Promenade on 3.  The Crow’s Nest was packed. We could hear the commentary on Lido so we settled there in spite of very streaked windows.

 

The ship stops with the lighthouse and most of Cape Horn in front of it for quite awhile..we ventured out to the “secret place” on 9 in front of the gymnasium. WOW the wind!  I didn’t last there long but I got a few shots.  After that Promenade AND the bow opened up, so I spent a bit of time on the bow and then as the wind picked back up there and the bow closed (got so windy I could barely walk to get OFF the bow); I ended up on the Promenade finally as we headed through the channel after the Cape.

 

Got a quick Lido breakfast, and then a lovey warm shower. My coat is holding up well so far; my hands though were quite cold as was my face.

 

Then our lecture about ice, which was excellent.   Back in the room typing this and about to take a nap after the noon captain’s announcement. Next lecture is about the Shackleton voyage (Graeme Ayres).

 

 

First are the early morning photos:

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 15 by TravelBluebird

[TravelBluebird]

Next up are Cape Horn including the lighthouse.  Sun was out for a VERY brief amount of time when I was outside.  Then it started to rain again!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 15 by TravelBluebird

[TravelBluebird]

Last couple of photos as we left Cape Horn area—you can see how conditions for photography (and people) deteriorated.

 

That said, ship very steady so far. In Ushuaia, someone in town told me that for 4 days prior to us, several ships had to delay passage due to difficult seas; looking MUCH better for our Drake Passage crossing.

 

Couple of slides from the ice lecture as well.

 

The Chilean pilot also departed the ship this morning (he came on board around 10pm last night(.

 

Ok, going to close my eyes for a bit!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 15 by TravelBluebird

[Ken the cruiser]

Great pictures! FWIW I use Windy to check out the weather forecast, up to 10 days out, when we're on a cruise. There are various forecast options on the right-hand side of the screen. All you need to do is put a location in the upper left-hand corner (e.g., Falkland Islands, Ushuaia, etc.) for it to provide the various forecasts. In the below example, I put in Drake Passage, then clicked on the Waves option.

 

Windy: Wave action in Drake Passage

 

Hope this is useful for you.

 

If you want the forecast for the Antarctica Peninsula, put in "The Stars Town".

 

Edited January 15 by Ken the cruiser

[TravelBluebird]

4 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Great pictures! FWIW I use Windy to check out the weather forecast, up to 10 days out, when we're on a cruise. There are various forecast options on the right-hand side of the screen. All you need to do is put a location in the upper left-hand corner (e.g., Falkland Islands, Ushuaia, etc.) for it to provide the various forecasts. In the below example, I put in Drake Passage, then clicked on the Waves option.

 

Windy: Wave action in Drake Passage

 

Hope this is useful for you.

 

If you want the forecast for the Antarctica Peninsula, put in "The Stars Town".

 

@Ken the cruiser That is excellent info—thank you, we are going to use that on this cruise! 

[TravelBluebird]

We skipped lunch and are eating in Canaletto’s agin tonight—they have rack of lamb special we want to try, and service is just so e tea there.

 

we both napped.  For the Shackleton lecture, I went down at 1:30om for the 2pm lecture and it was no use-place already PACKED and none of the people were goi g to move.  Got 1 seat behind a post. Good thing DH napped during entire lecture!

 

We then went to Afternoon Tea.  Great service and yummy finger sandwiches and sweet treats.  Not crowded at all.

 

 Currently have. Window seat in Ocean Bar—my $5 aperitif Martini choices were espresso. Chocolate and Black ever.  Hard choice but picked the Chocolate.  YUM.  Perfectly chilled too!

 

Snow photo is from back home from my house sitter.  OMG colder and snowpack home!  It’s like we are traveling to Antarctica to get warm 😂

 

 

 

Edited January 15 by TravelBluebird

[TravelBluebird]

Captain made  an announcement 1/2 hour ago.  
 

He has plotted a course through 2 low pressure systems.  9 foot swells and gale force winds—8 on the Beaufort Scale today, and 7 tomorrow.  9 foot swells, which, as he said, is a “good day in Drake Passage”. 
 

works for me!  I’ve done 9 foot swells on several cruises.  A bit crooked walking down the halls.  Does this qualify as the Drake Lake?

[AryMay]

1 hour ago, TravelBluebird said:

 

 

At first glance I thought perhaps that was a water spout that you caught on the photo above. Now I'm wondering if it is just a streak on the window. 🙂

Edited January 15 by AryMay

[TravelBluebird]

1 hour ago, AryMay said:

 

At first glance I thought perhaps that was a water spout that you caught on the photo above. Now I'm wondering if it is just a streak on the window. 🙂

 

Definitely taken through the window at the Ocean Bar, so I’m guessing streak on window!

 

I did get the splash of a whale from our boat to Isla Magdalena; missed the fin by a millisecond