Zaandam 21 day South America & Antarctic Explorer cruise log/review

For some reason my log/review will not post on the review website. As cruise critic members are so helpful to us in our cruise planning, and sometimes getting information, especially on Antarctica is challenging, I will post my log here. For most days I will post each day's events into a single posting.

Overall this was a fantastic cruise and like many I have talked with over the years, I don't see how any other cruise can have more breathtaking scenery than what we enjoyed over this three week cruise and especially the four days we ended up in Antarctic waters!

We sailed on the December 20, 2015 sailing from Valparasio ending on Jan 10, 2016 in Buenos Aires. I will do my best to answer questions but if anyone is on the fence about booking this cruise for next season, my answer is very simple: "GO!"

Here is the pre-cruise entry:

We left our Pennsylvania home at 7:50 AM for the drive to New York JFK airport. With two stops in route, we arrived at the off-site parking facility at 10:45. That was 90 minutes faster than our last trip to JFK, as we ran into virtually no back-ups. We checked our luggage at American for our flight to Miami and then Santiago, Chile. I had a guest pass for the Admiral’s club and we used that as we had quite a bit of time before our flight.

The flight boarded and left the gate on time but it took about 25 minutes before we took off and then we flew a longer route due to area storms. Even though, we hit some of the roughest turbulence I’ve experienced. By the time we reached the gate at Miami we were 30 minutes behind schedule and we needed to transfer to LAN airlines as far from our gate as you can possibly be. An electric cart took us part of the way, and we did make it okay; especially as the flight was delayed boarding for 50 minutes.

The flight from Miami to Santiago is overnight and is 7 hrs. 35 minutes. We both managed to sleep just a little. We had preordered “Low salt” meals and they were actually pretty good. We were on the curb of the Santiago airport at 7:02 AM, having just missed the 7:00 bus. By the time the 7:20 bus came there was quite a line of people waiting. We certainly had the most luggage with one large case each and one carry-on size case each. We followed the instructions on cruise critic and got off at the Pajaritos station. A bus from one of the companies was boarding for Valparaiso so I bought two tickets for that bus. All four of our cases were checked and stored below. At 9:10 we got off the bus in Valparaiso, found a taxi that confirmed he uses the meter, and we were at the Hotel Ibis by 9:20. The taxi fare was about Five USD (paid in pesos of course).

The Hotel Ibis is interesting. On the plus side, you can’t beat the price. With early reservations, the cost was less than USD 50 a night for two people including breakfast the next morning. The other plus is that they were able to give us a room right away (well – it took nearly 30 minutes to get to the check in desk…). The hotel is ‘bare bones.’ There were just two towels in the bath, one tiny soap bar, one tiny shampoo bottle, and almost no furniture in the room besides the bed and one chair. There is a built-in desk and sitting chair also. I was able to get more towels and toiletries.

We wondered the nearby town a bit but found ourselves in an area that seemed desolate. We found out why later. We eventually tried a small café for lunch. The food was good, but different (despite the English translation on the menu). What they call a “Crab cake” is more like a crab stew with cheese on top. Still, they treated us right and the bill was reasonable.

We returned to our room to rest up a bit before our 3:00 reservation with “Tours for tips.” We were given a very good walking tour, and truly enjoyed it. Valparaiso is built on “45 hills” and while going up was pretty easy using the funicular (from 1902), once on top there were a lot of ups and downs sometimes with stairs. As my dear wife (DW) is recovering from knee replacement surgery just three months ago, this proved to be a bit much. Still, she is a trooper and until we needed to walk down an incredible amount of steps due to a funicular being closed for repair we really enjoyed the tour.

After the descent, we bid our farewell to the tour guide and headed back to the Ibis. We found that there is a ‘food court’ above the train station that is part of the same building the Ibis occupies. A burger each took the hunger away. There is also a supermarket in the building and that proved a great place to buy two very large water bottles at supermarket pricing. After that we called it a day and crashed as we had little sleep the night before.

Overall Valparasio as a place to visit is a 5 out of 10, based on our limited experience. It’s actually pretty dirty a city and did not live up to the National Geographic recommendation that led us to forgo Santiago today.

More to follow!

Next installment:

Give the Ibis a little more credit as we slept like rocks from 8:00 PM until 7:30 AM. The bed and pillows were very comfortable. We had breakfast at the Ibis buffet. It was just okay. The typical Hampton is better. After breakfast I walked to the nearby supermarket for a small package of antiseptic wipes as DW wanted to wife down her cane once we got to the ship. We also used them to wipe down the hard surfaces in the cabin.

At 10:25 I called to check out and we headed to the taxi stand. A waiting taxi was happy to load our luggage and take us to the port terminal. Well, kind of. On the plus side, the meter was just 5000 pesos (about $7) but after stopping “In front of” but not at the cruise terminal the driver (thru another driver that spoke English) said “Just across these tracks is the terminal, there is too much of a line to get in.”

That is great except that I had to drag 125 lbs. of luggage “Across the tracks” and then about another block to actually reach the terminal. DW did not wear “Walking shoes” as we did not expect to do any walking. That was very wrong as even after quickly checking in (maybe a five minute wait) we were told “Walk down to the other end and the bus will take you to the ship.” What looked like the ‘other end’ was a good 100 yards away. But that wasn’t the end. Then we walked past the Seaborne and Celebrity check in areas, and then there was a long line for a single security checkpoint.

After security, it was just a short walk further where guests were directed to the proper bus for their ship. By now DW was really hurting. The bus ride through the port seemed to take a very long time. We reached the Zaandam at last at about 11:25. The boarding ramp was long and steep, but we made it! Due to the early embarkation we were told rooms were not quite ready. We rested a little on the lido deck enjoying coffee and a Diet Coke. At 11:50 an announcement was made that rooms were ready.

We quickly found our cabin, #3314 an obstructed view outside on the Lower Promenade deck. We stopped in, unloaded the carry on, and headed to the dining room to try to make dining arrangements and lunch. We spoke with a dining room host and arranged for dinner reservations for the evening and were put on the hopeful list for fixed dining. However, there was no dining room lunch. Back to the lido where DW enjoyed some Salmon and Thai noodles. I tried some of the “Buttermilk chicken” but it was overcooked and not enjoyable. The Dive-In did a great job on a hamburger and hot dog as ordered.

The pool was now open so we quickly changed into swimwear and became the first guests of the cruise to enjoy the pool and hot tub. We were in the hot tub until after 2:00 when the Hal Cats played at the pool. After drying off at our shady table, we met another guest who was traveling by himself. We had a very nice talk and enjoyed sharing traveling tales. Getting back to the cabin at about 3:00 we heard an announcement that the muster drill was being postponed until 4:45 due to late arriving guests. We used the time to unpack and store everything and get ready for the evening.

The muster drill did take place at 4:45 but there were still many guests not on board. It turns out that there is a domestic airline strike today in Chile and many guests were therefore delayed. Another reason to not fly in the day a cruise is starting; you just never know! I am writing this at 9:20 and we are still docked as the Bunker fuel delivery began four hours late. The captain just told us we should depart by 10:00 and he assured us that will not affect timely arrival in Puerto Montt on Tuesday.

We went to the dining room for our 5:30 reservation and were seated immediately at a table for six at the back windows. We enjoyed our tablemates and finished dinner in time to head right to the Atrium for the Christmas tree lighting. Hot cider, hot chocolate, and eggnog were offered along with Christmas cookies. There was Christmas Caroling and then a family from Australia was introduced and the two young girls pressed the button to light the tree. All in all, very nice.

We spent some time in the Ocean Bar listening to the Neptunes. We went to the showroom for the 9:30 welcome aboard show. For a welcome aboard show we thought it was pretty good. The lead singer of the HalCats is very good. After the show we visited the Lido for tea and found they were just opening the ‘late night snack.’ A few small desserts were enjoyed.

Our 7:00 – 7:30 room service order was delivered at 7:15. Everything on the order was correct. DW was hurting too much to attempt the pool. No rush today so we went to the dining room for breakfast at about 9:00. Before breakfast I stopped at the front desk to reconfirm our cruise critic meet and greet and also to let them know we think the cabin is too warm. At breakfast we were seated at a table of six and had a nice breakfast with good service.

We stopped at the dining room entrance to check our evening dining situation and make reservations if needed for tonight. They were happy to tell us we had been assigned to the 5:45 dining at table 62, a six-top, for the remainder of the cruise. During breakfast we noticed quite a few birds following the ship.

DW wanted to peruse the shops and I went out on the Promenade deck to check out the birds. The ships wildlife expert “Mr. Penguin” was just finishing up an hour of pointing out birds that could be seen. I took several sequences of “Burst” photos and have yet to see if any good shots were obtained. I met DW at the shops and found several different Holland America items that were interesting. We will wait to see if they show up in one of the ‘sale’ promotions.

Soon it was time for our cruise critic meet and greet. Since the 11:00 timeframe conflicted with the first talk on Antarctica, I expected a weak turnout. I was wrong, we had a huge turnout! Thank you roll call members! I believe I met everyone we would be touring with on tours I arranged and most folks on other tours that we joined. We agreed on a strategy to obtain tender tickets for Puerto Montt (tomorrow) and that worked out well. Kudos to everyone who showed up early to get in line for the tickets!

I attended the 2:30 “Ports of call” talk on our first three ports. It was pretty well done but with the lights down was finding it hard to stay awake. After the talk it was time to head to the cabin for a brief nap before the gala night events.

On the way to dinner we stopped and took some gala night photos by a few Christmas displays. Dinner was very good. I enjoyed the pepper tenderloin with shrimp (double shrimp) very much. We left the dining room by 7:30 and headed to the showroom for the captain’s welcome toast. This was nice as they offered fresh Orange Juice as an option for the toast. The show was Pianist Paul Pappas, who we had seen on the Statendam in August. Paul is superb and his show was very fresh as he mixed in a number of Christmas tunes. His movie medley is extremely enjoyable.

After the show we called it a night as we have an early start tomorrow. A comment card was left in the room and I filled it out to report that our room remains too warm. I also complimented the dining staff.

Thank you so much for the beginning of a great adventure!

I enjoy reading and following your trip!

So now I will get another cup of coffee!

Denise:)

Our 6:30 – 7:00 coffee and tea delivery arrived at 6:26. I will say the tea water was HOT! I ordered an extra Darjeeling tea bag as there are none in the lido. We got ready for the day and enjoyed breakfast in the lido, dropping off the comment card on the way. We each had a made to order omelet and they were excellent. I also had two waffles and I thought they were exceptional.

We met our tour group in the atrium at 8:50 for our hoped for 9:00 tender call. We were called at 8:51. The tender ride was uneventful and we quickly found our tour guide, Paula from puertomontt-excursiones. We were the first private tour to leave the parking lot and we were on our way. Paula was excellent and gave us a lot of information on the founding of the region, volcanic activity and how that affects the region (the last eruption being in April, 2015 and there was still volcanic ash like a coarse black sand everywhere).

We visited Llanquihue Lake, the third largest natural lake in South America. Next we went to Vicente Perez Rosales NP to see the Petrohue Rapids or "Falls." DW purchased a few Alpaca wool items at the craft market near the falls. We also drove 6 KM on a gravel road to see Todos los Santos (Emerald) Lake. We made a quick stop to see and photograph a few lamas and also the Osorno volcano. Finally we toured the very pretty town of Puerto Varas. We had nearly 90 minutes to wander the town, see the craft market, have a snack or lunch as people preferred. We enjoyed Puerto Varas. It is also called the city of Roses as the wet climate combined with very fertile soil is perfect for growing Roses.

Finally we headed back to Puerto Montt, paid our guide and wished them a very Merry Christmas. We had a short wait for a tender and were back onboard the Zaandam at 3:50. The security person scanned our cards and said we had changed. Apparently our photos were reversed. He asked that we stop at the front desk to get that corrected. We did so, and the front desk told us that they had engineering looking into our room temperature. Next, DW had a salad from the lido and I enjoyed a hot dog from the Dive-In. To our pleasant surprise the HalCats were playing at the pool! The upbeat music was just what was needed to keep us going. Our laundry had been returned while we were out so we took care of putting that away and got ready for dinner.

Upon arrival in the dining room our waiters Rooney and Bam Barn thanked us profusely for the positive comments on the comment card. I told them they were most welcome. No others showed up at our table tonight. The dining room manager stopped by and said that both other couples had switched to open dining. He offered to move us to another table and I asked if we would have the same waiters. He came back a few minutes later and offered us table 36, a six-top at the aft windows. We could see that two other couples were there. Beginning tomorrow we will be at table 36.

We listened to the Neptunes in the Ocean Bar until it was time for the show. The show tonight was “Classique” by the production staff. It was okay. The Piano bar had a “Christmas sign along” tonight. We were there a bit early (good thing as it quickly became standing room only) and they had song sheets prepared with over twenty Christmas songs. We sat with folks we met at the meet and greet and had a wonderful time.

With no hurry to get off the ship this morning we thought we would do an early pool morning. That worked out fine as it did allow DW to do her aqua therapy but on the Zaandam, for some reason, the hot tubs are not opened until 9:00. This resulted in being unable to warm up after the cooler pool and will not allow an early morning pool routine for the rest of this cruise.

After getting ready for the day and hearing the “Very early” tender calls, we visited the dining room for breakfast. We enjoyed breakfast sitting with two ladies from Belgium and a couple from California who missed the boat due to the Chilean air strike last Saturday afternoon and Sunday. They ended up spending two nights in two different hotels and a fourteen hour bus ride to Puerto Montt to catch up with the ship. To us, this is one more reminder to always fly in at least one day before the cruise! We have also learned that a significant number of passengers have never received their luggage from the airline. A reason to be thankful that our luggage came through with our plane! Apparently the strike action began with the luggage handlers, just hours after we left the airport.

Even though we had tender tickets they were not needed as open tendering began at about 9:30. We boarded a tender at about 10:00 and were quickly ashore in Castro. There was no tourism official at the pier handing out maps but a posted map showed the way to the town square. We walked up a steep hill and made a wrong turn. Eventually we found the main town square and the historic church. The single person in the tourism office spoke no English. We toured the church and the inside is very pretty. The roof reminded us of the “Stave” churches in Norway as the ceiling looked a lot like an overturned ship’s hull.

We found the bus station as we had intended to take a bus to the nearby town of Dalcahue. After seeing the size and crowding of the local buses, we decided to forgo this option (although it may have been perfectly fine). We walked towards the houses built on stilts over the water. Navigating down the hill was challenging as it had been raining on and off and the sidewalks were slippery and not far removed from a major road with speeding traffic. We did reach the homes and began walking the waterfront towards the port. We found a café, the “Café Montt,” right on the waterfront (on stilts). We stopped in and found other Zaandam and Seaborne travelers. We enjoyed a coffee and tea.

After our needed break we continued along the waterfront and came to “Tren Park.” (Tren is Train). A few old train engines and accessories were on display. The opening of a rail line from Puerto Montt opened this region in the early 1900’s. After Tren Park we were ready to head back and boarded a tender. Sounds like the end of the story? Not quite.

The last people to get on the tender as we left the dock sat next to us. One woman had a number of bulging bags. We asked where she found shopping as other than normal ‘retail’ shops we didn’t see much. She told us “That building in Blue and Green is a big market with Fish, Produce, and handicrafts.” We ended up staying on the tender and went back to Castro. This was a good move.

DW found two Alpaca sweaters at attractive prices. We are running low on Pesos but the vendors are happy to take US$ at the current exchange rate. We also bought a few other items that will be gifts for folks back home. Do we need to buy another suitcase when we reach Buenos Aires?

Back to the ship with our treasures and time a quick lunch at the Dive-In. The Dive-In on Zaandam does not have gluten free bread (the smaller Statendam did). DW had a burger less the bread. I was third in line for tender tickets for tomorrow in Puerto Chacabuco. Our group of seven all has very early (B, C, or D) tickets. I hope the two couples we do not know are just as prompt.

We joined our new table tonight. Two nice couples, one Canadian from Ottawa and one British from northeast Great Britain. We were the second to last table to leave the dining room, but only because we were talking and sharing tales.

In between we had a great sail away viewed from the Crow’s nest and the dining room. This is just the beginning of a lot of picturesque sailing on this cruise.

With a very busy and early day tomorrow, and a planned attempt to stay up late for Christmas Eve, we called it an early night tonight. The entertainment is a comedian who we believe we have seen before and less than stellar, so we skipped it. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and a major tour planned. The forecast is WET.

An early morning began today with a 6:26 coffee and tea delivery. Once ready we headed to the Lido for breakfast. We ran into some of our touring friends in the lido. A lot of people are on early tours today as the lido is very busy. We met our group, all booked on Puerto Chacabuco Tours.com at 8:00. At 8:10 tender letters B & C were called. We got on the tender but those on our tour with “D” tickets were made to wait. Our tender was actually the fourth one to shore so they had to wait about ten minutes for the first tender to return.

In the terminal building we met Angelika and her husband. Angelika encouraged everyone to use the facilities as “There are no facilities on the tour.” In turned out she wasn’t kidding! It was raining (and rained steady all day) in Puerto Chacabuco. Angelika assured us that we would leave the rain behind, and she was mostly right on that score.

We headed out of town and through the old port town of Puerto Aisen. A good ways out from Puerto Aisen we left the main road and after a short drive stopped at an Alpaca farm. It was still raining (but like a heavy drizzle) as we watched and photographed the Alpaca and the waterfall cascading down the mountainside behind them. We continued on and rejoined the main road.

After passing through a tunnel we pulled over and were treated to spectacular views of the gorge below with a double rainbow! Many photos were taken and off we go “On the road again.” We drove past the main town in the area, Colhaique. Just past the town we stopped at a viewpoint where we had another view of the gorge as well as the snow covered Andes in the background. Group photos were taken here.

Next we drove on and again left the main road. We next drove a long distance on gravel roads, through beautiful farm country. Many sheep, cattle, and other farms were seen. We stopped at a large waterfall for photos. We saw six lagoons and an incredible number of wildflowers. The sun was out most of the time in this area. We drove to a remote Lake where we had lunch sandwiches and beverages were offered.

From the lake, we headed back to the main road where we stopped at yet another waterfall, a double cascade. We began the drive back to the port making several more stops along the way. All in all, a very good tour with the only negative being the amount of time spent in the van. We returned to the port at about 3:25 and needed to wait 15 minutes for a tender. At this point it was raining very hard.

Back on Zaandam at about 4:00 and we got ready for Christmas Eve dinner. No gala night tonight but a great holiday menu was offered in the Rotterdam dining room. I ordered the “English prime rib” with double meat. What a huge plate that was! The Yule log I enjoyed for dessert was also very good.

The show tonight was Moya Angela, a Broadway actress who gave a very enjoyable show. Before the show we enjoyed the Neptunes in the Ocean bar. After the show we caught the last 20 minutes of the Don at the Piano bar with “Holiday favorites” and then returned to the Ocean bar to wait for the 11:00 “Sounds of Christmas concert” put on by the crew. This was a real highlight as the three Zaandam choirs gave it their all. After the concert there were “Food of the World” at various stations around the atrium on decks 4 & 5. Midnight services were held in the showroom and the theater.

Just as Sounds of Christmas ended the Zaandam re-entered the open Pacific Ocean. This made an interesting time juggling plates of treats as we were in 12 – 16 foot seas. Once we were in bed it made for great sleeping!

Enjoying your review and looking forward to more! Thanks for taking the time to share it with us. m--

This was certainly an unusual Christmas day! We even had a bit of snow to top it all off! Santa surely needed Rudolph’s nose to find the Zaandam and any good children along the southern coast of Chile on Christmas morning! Due to the very late night last night, we ordered a full breakfast to be delivered at 8:00. It was delivered right on time. The only “Oops” in the order was my Ham only omelet had cheese. I ordered enough other items that this was fine; I just didn’t eat the omelet.

We walked into the showroom right at 9:00 for the “Christmas carol” sing. At 9:15 we were notified by the bridge officer of the watch of a ‘radar blip.’ The radar blip eventually was recognized as a sleigh pulled by eight reindeer. The large video screen showed Santa arriving and visiting crew members with gifts. He had his list of naughty and nice. He visited the captain and showed that he was on the naughty list. It was a very fun time.

Santa arrived at the showroom and about 30 of the 60 ‘children’ on board came to the stage to see Santa. Santa had gifts for each child. Younger children apparently received a stuffed Christmas bear. We saw several clutching them throughout the day today. After the children the ‘older children’ were invited to visit Santa. At this point we left the showroom to visit the exploration team on aft deck 3 to see if they found any Christmas wildlife other than reindeer this morning.

The fog was quite thick limiting visibility to less than a half mile by my estimate. Regretfully it stayed that was nearly the entire day. The glimpses of the fjords we managed to get indicated that in better weather this would have been an outstanding scenic cruising day. We did see a few local birds near the ship and caught a few photos.

At 11:00 I attended “Antarctic Ice 101.” This was a good presentation and explained why we sail to where we sail and not the other side of the Antarctic Peninsula. The other side has a massive ice shelf that is almost permanent. After this there was a mini-organ concert in the atrium. Yes, the center sculpture in the atrium is an organ. And the little figures on the organ move with the music! Next we enjoyed lunch in the dining room.

As we were finishing our dessert the captain announced that we were approaching the wreck of the “Captain Leonidas.” (Look that up on Google) The Zaandam slowed and we spun around to give everyone a good look from two hundred yards or so away from the wreck. After the viewing of the wreck we headed back North for a short distance to another fjord which began to bring us back to the Pacific, which we re-entered for a time in the evening.

This is a gala night so we got ready for the night’s activities. We visited the Mix to listen to solo guitarist John. He is really good. We felt kind of bad as it was just us and one other couple listening to him for most of the 45 minutes we were there; guess everyone was still getting ready for the evening.

Dinner was outstanding tonight. My filet was perfect, especially with the added white meat turkey requested. The chocolate mousse dessert was also perfect. We have an 8:00 visit to the Brujo Glacier tomorrow morning so we skipped the singers and dancers show tonight to get things ready for an early morning!

We looked into this cruise awhile back prior to our WC in 2017. We love the Zandam been on her 3 cruises and looks like we might book this one in 2018!

Had my 2nd cup of coffee and ready for more reading!

What a pleasure this is!

Denise:)

We woke to a dry day. Our coffee & tea delivery was right on time at 7:00. I turned on the bridge cam and found we were in a beautiful fjord. We dressed as quickly as possible and were out on the bow by 7:15. Stepping through the door to the bow we were treated to a majestic sight. The mountain in front of, and on both sides of the Zaandam was a mixture of green evergreen and freshly fallen white snow. The views were like a perfect postcard. We stayed on the bow as we made our way towards the Brujo glacier. A right turn and then a left and there it was, sitting quietly on the slope in front of us until it ended at the bay water. On the way a porpoise entertained us as well as numerous birds of various types.

We stayed on the bow until the Zaandam began to turn (in a very tight area – even a slightly larger ship could not visit here!) to exit. We headed to the dining room for breakfast and one of our touring friends were in line behind us so we shared a four-top. Breakfast was great and we were finished just before 10:00. It was a pretty sail out but not as majestic as on the way in as the snow had begun to melt. I attended the 10:00 Antarctica talk on the Antarctic Peninsula.

The captain announced several times when we were about to pass significant turns or a shipwreck that could be seen in the channel. We walked around the ship a lot today taking in various sights as the day became increasingly nice. We sat out on the aft lido deck several times taking in the views. A little after 3:00 we went to the Indonesian tea. This event is not as nice as it was a few years ago and unless you really want the tea (we did, after being outside so much!) it may not be worth the effort to attend.

Getting ready for dinner was a challenge as we passed a wreck at 5:00 followed by a sharp turn around the Paso shoal. I was out on the bow for this. We did make it to dinner and again tonight dinner was very good. I enjoyed my Argentina style roast beef and also the Mahi-Mahi. We really are having a nice time at our dining table. The show was a variety show with both Paul Pappas and Moya Angela. We were happy that Paul came on first and after a couple of Moya’s numbers we left and called it a long day.

Zaandam is docked in Punta Arenas from before 6:00 AM until 7:30 in the evening. Two very long (and costly) shore outings are offered here; one to an Antarctic landing (by plane) and the other to Torres des Paines National Park (also by plane, and then a 1.5 hour bus ride each way). We had booked with a bunch of cruise critic friends a full day outing to the Otway sound Penguin colony followed by a city tour. Due to increasing mining activity scaring the Penguins away, they are no longer at the observation park. Before the cruise, we were offered an alternate of a trip to Fort Bulnes followed by the city tour.

Everyone met promptly and on time. We met our guide Xavier right at the gangway and were quickly on our way to the Fort. Xavier told us a lot about the Puerto Arenas area and pointed out the ranches on the landward side of the very modern road as well as items of interest in the sea. As we were approaching the Fort Xavier, told us that we would first stop at the visitor’s center. This brand new facility just opened on December 13. Some exhibits are incomplete but this is a very nice and informative museum. The wall of window glass facing the straights of Magellan is certainly a highlight.

We had a few minutes to peruse the gift shop and DW found a long sleeve T-shirt that she liked. We also bought some postcards to mail tomorrow from the ‘end of the world’ in Ushuaia. Next we traveled the remaining 2 KM to the restored fort. This is a very nice restoration, informative, and with some incredible views of the surrounding waters and mountains. We had a very nice time at the fort and this was certainly the highlight of the tour.

Back in the van we traveled a short distance and stopped at a monument for the claimed “Geographical center” of Chile. Of course, it’s not. Chile is counting their Antarctica claim to determine this location and per the Antarctic treaty no country owns any part of Antarctica. Still, it made a great chance for a group photo!

We drove back to Punta Arenas and at one point the driver pulled over and said to look at the sea. There were several dolphins “Playing” and jumping out of the water just a few yards off shore. I managed to get a photo of one. The views seemed quite different driving back towards town, I guess it’s all a matter of perspective. Xavier took us around the main square and told us to meet back there at 1:55, giving us 90 minutes of free time for lunch. He suggested several restaurants just a couple blocks from the square. Most all retail shops are closed today as it is Sunday.

Breaking one of my own shore visit rules, we decided to have lunch as King Crab was too great a temptation. We ate at Café Luna. DW had a seafood soup that she said was quite good. When I finally received my king crab it was actually very good; it just took too long. We left the restaurant at 1:35 giving us just 20 minutes to walk to the square and peruse the vendors set up selling mementos of our visit.

We did not find anything that required a purchase and met up with the group. We walked around the square seeing the three historic homes of the three main founders of Punta Arenas. Major government buildings were pointed out. This was very nice. Several asked about stopping at a supermarket to buy water. Xavier said the few that are open would be very busy and suggested stopping at a local liquor store instead. This just took too long. I thought a 2 – 5 minute stop but it took over 15 minutes. With the pretty sunshine, the van was just too hot to sit in and wait.

Finally we were all back and off to the town cemetery. There was a very wealthy lady who bequeathed the land for the town cemetery with the provision that after her body passed through the ‘main entrance’ that entrance be closed forever. The town has complied with this request since her death in 1919. The cemetery is very pretty especially the shaped trees. From the cemetery we headed back to the Zaandam taking the boulevard through town rather than the coastal road. We passed monuments to petroleum workers, gauchos, Serbian immigrants, and others.

We were dropped off right at the gangway and were soon back on the ship. It was after 4:00 so after dropping off our Chilean forms, we visited the front desk to obtain Argentinian postage stamps to mail our postcards from the “End of the World” post office tomorrow. Then we prepared for dinner.

Dinner was again superb. Rooney and Bambino take excellent care of us. Both the beef brisket and the swordfish were noteworthy. Viennese Apple Strudel topped off dessert. The show tonight was Bettine Clemen, with “Love Song for a Planet.” This was a very unusual show but we thoroughly enjoyed it. Tomorrow’s program promises scenic cruising along glacier alley (five glaciers!) beginning at 7:15 AM, so a very early morning. Therefore we called it a night!

It was a 6:30 alarm that woke us this morning, followed a few minutes later by the excellent room service staff knocking on our door with breakfast. The bridge cam showed we were in a very scenic area and I was out on the bow at 7:05. It is hard to describe with words how wonderful the morning of scenic cruising was today. There were clouds that ‘cut off’ the mountain tops but also spots of blue skies and when the sun shone on parts of the mountains and glaciers it was simply majestic. It feels like, when there are no clouds, you can “See forever” down here.

We sailed down the Beagle channel and passed the five glaciers, plus a few that are unnamed, so our location guide Umberto christened the first one “Glacier Umberto.” While the glaciers are the main attraction, we also saw a flock of Penguins on some rocks, dolphins in the water, and lots of birds. The bridge reported a condor soaring overhead but we did not see it.

At 9:15 we completed Glacier alley and headed to the dining room for “Second breakfast.” We went with two touring friends and had a very nice time. All along, we had great aft views from the dining room as the sun became more and more consistent. We passed a few sailboats. We got all our shore needs together and then went to the Explorations lounge and snagged two of the recliner chairs with footstools, as others we leaving as we arrived. We had windows on the port side for the rest of the scenic sail in to Ushuaia.

I brought my PC and cameras and downloaded all the photos to date. I try to do this quite often so that should anything unfortunate happen to a camera I would not lose all the photos on the memory card. Soon enough, that job was done and someone had left the NY time’s synopsis on the table so I looked at that. I was quite surprised to see temperatures back home listed as 65 degrees in Philadelphia! That is 10 – 15 degrees warmer than here and this is summer down here at 55 south latitude.

We docked before 1:00 today but our scheduled time was 2:00. All our tour plans were set for the 2:00 start so we told the tour organizer that we were going to walk around town and would meet at the van in plenty of time. We walked down the pier and found the tour provider, confirmed to them that the group was coming at 2:00 and we would see them before then. We went looking for an ATM, and found several, but with charges of 80 pesos to do a withdrawal we thought we would survive the day without local currency. This proved correct.

We were the first in the van and our tour began as all arrived at 2:08 PM. We took the 4 hour National Park tour from tour guide Ushuaia. For the price we saw a lot. We did go everywhere on the tour description and had a great time. The perfect weather certainly helped. Our guide told us that the clear weather today is not typical here (at all!) and even from our last stop in the National Park at Lapataia Bay, we could see the Andes back in Chile. We were told this only happens a few times a year as normally the low clouds block any view.

We mailed our postcards from the “End of the World” (Fin Del Mundo) and hope they make it to the intended recipients. (Note, as of this posting - January 19 - no postcards have arrived!) We also had our photo taken at the end of the Trans American highway #3, where the sign reads “Alaska 17,848 KM.” Our guide did not know where in Alaska this was, so that is something to Google when back home. (Note - Google and Wikipedia say the highway ends in Prudhoe Ba, Alaska.)

We were dropped off back at the port at 6:08, exactly four hours after we left. We got back on Zaandam and went straight to the dining room. Despite our late arrival, Rooney and Bambang were ready for us and we finished our meal earlier than normal. Just four of us for dinner tonight, with some of the surrounding tables empty. Our dining companions did an “On your own” up to the ski center where they were able to reach a glacier and walk on it. They did say it was a lot of climbing to get there! Our other dining companions were on a longer ships tour.

Just after leaving the dining room the Captain made an announcement changing tomorrow morning’s schedule. We would be sailing through a narrow and scenic channel on the way to Cape Horn at 7:00. He anticipates rounding Cape Horn at about 8:00, rather than 10:00 as printed in “On location.” He also told us that Cape Horn is named after the town Hoorn in Holland, where we have been!

The reason for the earlier schedule is we are going to head at full speed to Antarctica, arriving nearly a day early. He said current weather predictions are that visibility may be reduced on Jan 1 and 2. We will arrive on the afternoon of the 30th rather than morning of the 31st. A revised scenic sailing schedule will be forthcoming. We will not depart Antarctica earlier than the original schedule.

Just a note that signs are up in the Explorations lounge that internet connection may be lost as we sail further south. As tomorrow is now another “Early rise” day, we skipped the single 9:30 PM show and headed off to rest up for another busy day on the Zaandam.

Loving your review.

It has been a while, but every time we sailed on the Zaandam beginning with her inaugural season in 2000, our cabins were always warm.

This is an excellent review, and so many details. Thank you.

Fantastic review, I love the detail. I'm looking forward to more!

Excellent review. Looking forward to the next installments.

Goodmorning!!!

Got my coffee in hand and ready for more reading!

Thought there might be a post!🙁

I will come back later🤗

Denise:)

Thank you all for the kind comments. I will try to get a few day's log posted now!

It was an early rise morning but we were up before the 6:25 alarm. Breakfast was delivered at 6:40, exactly as ordered. We monitored the bridge cam and it seemed like we were still far from the channel until Zaandam made a turn to port and suddenly we were nearly there! I quickly threw on my coat and went outside to the deck 3 wind tunnel. We made it through the pass Mur de Sol (only .6 KM wide) and Cape Horn was directly in front of us.

The captain announced that we would circumnavigate the island of Cape Horn and finally linger just off shore of the actual southern cape where we could view the Chilean Coast Guard station and the monument to all the fallen sailors who lost their lives in the surrounding waters. With winds blowing in excess of 50 knots in addition to the ship’s movement, we viewed the island from the back part of the port lido. I could easily and quickly step onto the aft lido deck to take photos and then quickly be back inside the welcoming lido. We sat with a few other couples near the window, and we were all doing the same thing.

When we reached the actual cape DW came outside also for a photo. I was very happy to have my 60x zoom camera to obtain pretty good photos of the base and the monument. The National Geographic ship that left Ushuaia before we did yesterday was anchored off the cape. They were shuttling passengers ashore in Zodiacs to view the monument. They had quite a climb once ashore to reach it! As we were at the cape, a lady jumped into the aft pool (in a bikini). When she quickly came out, she posed for her husband(?) so he could take a photo of her in front of Cape Horn.

Once we left Cape Horn the captain congratulated all the first time passengers on rounding the cape. He went on to tell us that we would be heading towards Antarctica with speed expecting to begin scenic viewing at about 2:00 PM tomorrow.

Our return to our cabin was delayed as we ran into touring friends and sat and talked with them for an hour. We made it to the cabin to drop off our two coats (each). I noticed there was an 11:00 Antarctica talk on “The golden age of exploration” which the speaker considers to be now. After the talk we enjoyed lunch in the dining room where we met a couple from Israel. We had a very nice lunch and the “French dip” sandwich I had was very good.

Today’s movie was “The Martian” and a 2:00 matinee was offered. The Martian won out for our attendance over a presentation on “Whales, Whales, Whales.” We very much enjoyed the movie and recommend it highly. By the time the movie ended, we began to get ready for dinner. There was no live music before 5:30 tonight so we watched the seas slide by from the Explorations lounge windows. The seas became quite calm today and the winds lessened considerably. There was a long period of time during dinner that the seas were a bright blue as the sun shone through!

After dinner we attended the show “Forever Rock” by the singers and dancers. This was an enjoyable show and well above average for the production cast. We attended the first part of the piano bar’s “Elton John” night but the early morning was catching up with us so we called an end to a very enjoyable day on Zaandam.

Returning to our cabin we found our revised Antarctic itinerary and it is exciting. We hope to enter Dallman Bay at about 2:00 tomorrow.

Words cannot describe this day. A “20 out of 10 type of day.” We woke to see icebergs on the bridge cam. Breakfast was delivered at 7:10. We were out and about after the Captain announced Whales could be seen “All around us.” We missed those whales, but saw others later. We found seats in the back of the lido near the rear doors and could quickly get outside to take photos when anything interesting came along. Some of the icebergs were huge – at least as large as Zaandam. Others were very small.

Touring friends and dinner tablemates found us and we all were doing the same thing. We arranged to meet for lunch in the dining room at 12:15 as we were due to arrive at Dallman Bay at 2:00. Mid-morning the captain announced we were ahead of schedule and would arrive by 1:00. It turned out we were even earlier than that!

I attended two computer classes on Windows 10 and learned a few things. In between the classes I went out on the promenade to take photos. After the classes I searched and found DW. A summer clearance sale was in progress on the lido pool deck and a few true bargains were acquired. These treasures were returned to the cabin and we made a quick trip to the bow as we were approaching land and then headed to lunch.

Lunch was a lot of fun and it was a quick trip from the deck 4 dining room to the promenade deck to take photos several times in between courses. After lunch we went to the bow and stayed there for a long time, until our legs couldn’t take standing anymore! At that point we repeated our lido routine. The skies became blue, the sunshine startling, and the water in the passages and bays was as smooth as ice (and not much warmer than ice!), making photos with reflections possible.

We visited Paradise bay, which we were told is not often possible due to ice. In Paradise bay we were told the mountain to our port was a half-mile high. Distances on a clear Antarctic day are deceiving as the air is so clear. A glacier was six miles away but it seemed like we were right next to it. We also traversed the Herrera channel, again, very rarely possible. Scenic viewing extended late into the evening. We went down the 16 mile long, 1.5 mile wide, twisty, Newmeyer channel starting at about 8:15. This was like sailing down a snow and ice covered “Grand canyon” between mountains on either side. By 9:30 we were half way through the channel and I needed to call it a night.

In between, we had a very nice dinner with baked Haddock and short ribs. Again, dinner was excellent. I skipped the show tonight in favor of viewing the Newmeyer channel.

I woke up at 1:00 this morning. We left the TV on the bridge cam and it was still light outside. Sunset was at 12:02 AM and sunrise at 2:12 AM, so 1:00 was about the ‘darkest’ it was going to get. Coffee and tea were delivered at 6:36 and there were already people on the bow. We were approaching Palmer station. At about 7:30 I saw a Zodiac approaching Zaandam. Zaandam had come to a stop. It turns out we picked up the director of the station, whose term had just ended, and we delivered the director whose term was just starting. The cruise director said that Zaandam was providing 'bus service.' Due to ice near the station we could not get as close as the captain would have liked.

Today is cloudy and during breakfast it began to snow. We attended the 9:00 presentation by the Palmer station director. We were on the bow from 10:15 to 11:30 as Zaandam approached the Lemaire Channel. This is another “Grand Canyon” with mountains 3,500 feet high on each side and with a channel 1,500 ft. deep that is a mile from bottom to top! We were able to get right to the entrance of the narrowest part of the channel but that was blocked with ice. It alternately snowed and sleeted the entire time, and keeping the camera dry became a challenge. On the way in we saw (and heard!) a Humpback Whale and many penguins, including a colony of Gentoo penguins with a path in the snow from the water up a mountain.

Heading back to the Northeast, Zaandam was able to sail up the Gerlache Strait to visit Cuverville Island, which was blocked by ice on Wednesday. Cuverville Island is the home of the largest rookery of Gentoo Penguins. An expedition ship was there with guests ashore, but they are not allowed into the actual rookery area. We were able to see many penguins in the water and ashore (and up the mountainside!) going about their activities.

After the penguin visit it was time to get ready for New Year’s Eve activities with many men wearing their ‘penguin suits’ and the ladies (especially DW) looking regal. Dinner was excellent with a seafood mélange appetizer (which our entire table ordered) and Surf and Turf (again ordered by the entire table). The Zaandam celebrated New Year’s beginning at 6:00 PM when it was midnight in Moscow. This was followed by 7:00 midnight in Latvia, 8:00 midnight in Europe, 9:00 midnight in London.

During dinner we made a scenic viewing stop at Bararnt Island where there is a wreck. We saw something snow covered in the bay that may have been the wreck, but did not leave our aft window table to run outside in our formal wear!

After dinner we relaxed at a window seat in the ocean bar listening to the music and watching the Antarctic slide by. At 9:00 we moved to the Mix Piano bar where we spent the rest of the evening. Friends from the late seating met us there with a bottle of bubbly sent by their T/A which they wanted to share. There is a gala party in the main showroom but we went at the stated start time and it was standing room only on both deck 4 & 5. We returned to our corner of the mix and stayed there until the midnight call.

At 11:30 a “Resolution buffet” featuring the flavors of the world was set up on decks 4 & 5 in the Atrium. Among the featured items was olley-bollen. I had not had this traditional Dutch New Year’s snack in a number of years and they were very good.

By 12:30 we bid our friends good night and retired for the evening. Tomorrow morning scenic viewing begins before 8:00 as we visit Deception Island. I should not fail to mention that the parties on Zaandam continued to at least 2:00 AM when it was midnight in New York!

Despite the late night we were up early for scenic viewing at Deception Island and the Bainsfield Strait beginning at 7:30 AM. We had low hanging clouds but visibility below the clouds was good. We saw many penguins swimming in the water, many Petrels flying among the cliff faces, and several large penguin colonies on shore. The Zaandam is too large to enter the harbor formed by the caldera, but we were able to get quite close to shore as the ocean depths increase rapidly.

Along the shores of the Bainsfield Strait we saw more penguin colonies. We also saw the tailfin of a whale but was not quick enough to get a photo. We enjoyed breakfast in the lido while running out to take photos when opportunities rose. At 11:00 we approached the McFarlen Strait. Zaandam was able to traverse the strait. We went to the dining room for lunch and were seated at a table for six. Three were already seated. We said our hellos and found ourselves engaged in nice conversation.

The sixth seat was filled, directly across from me, by a lady whose first words were “Pay no mind to my nose, I am not contagious.” She was constantly sniffling, blowing her nose (into exhausted tissues) and I swear I could smell the illness from her. DW went to get the butter bowl and I did not catch her in time. I whispered that she needed to go wash her hands as this lady had already handled the bowl. While DW was washing her hands the lady was continuing to sneeze, cough, and I picked up our coats and left.

The nice couple we were talking with said “Are you leaving?” I told them that DW has a low resistance to illness and we could not take a chance staying there. The dining room host reassigned us to a table for two at the rear of the dining room. The food was good, but the experience was not pleasant. Please, if you are obviously sick as this woman was, be considerate of your fellow passengers and at the least do not sit at a shared table in the dining room!

After lunch we rested a bit until I heard the announcement that Zaandam was approaching Maxwell Bay. DW was exhausted from New Year’s Eve so I went to the bow while she rested. Maxwell is a very nice bay and quite picturesque but the best was saved for last this day. At about 4:45 we were told we were approaching Admiralty Bay. DW was getting ready for dinner but I stayed on the bow until 5:40. This was the coldest I have felt as the winds were strong until we were well into the shelter of the deep bag. The hilltops were all snow covered and it was a smooth and round look as the winds are so strong that they shape the snow. Who knows what the true land looks like under all that snow and ice?

We ventured much further into the bay that I expected, until Zaandam came to a halt less than ½ mile from the Ajax Ice Fall. This is a glacier like formation but is so steep that it moves faster than any glacier; hence the name “Ice fall.” This formation is quite close to an Brazilian Antarctic base. I rushed back to the cabin to quickly change and made it to dinner before Rooney took our orders. We really enjoyed our aft window table as when Zaandam turned we felt like we were right next to the ice fall. During dinner we traveled into a small side bay and were treated to more magnificent views under the blue sky.

A few photos were taken as we left the bay and then we attended the evening show, “That’s Dance” by the production cast. This show started off really nice with some beautiful numbers. When the music changed to disco at about 8:30 we left as we were tired and the Captain announced that scenic viewing would begin at 6:00 AM tomorrow in Hope Bay and the Antarctic Sound.

Thank you so much for your detailed reporting! We are signed up for 2017 :).

Thank you thank you thank you !!!!!!!

We did a National Geographic trip a few years ago in Alaska and in New Zealand

Which was bringing back memories for me with your description in such detail of your trip!

We are now going to do this trip! Very memorable for you guys and because of this fantastic write up it is a no brainer!

The glaciers in Alaska, and our extended trip to Fox Glacier which we climbed in New Zealand gave my husband and I the itch to do this cruise!

No coffee for me right now, but...... Hummmmm.... Wine time!

Have a great day and sooo look forward to more!

Denise:)

I skipped the show tonight in favor of viewing the Newmeyer channel.

Good choice.