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Because of TayanaLorna's recommendation we have a private tour ($500/car) booked with Sentir in January 2024 but without the estancia lunch. Hoping to see everything she did. Looking forward to a great day, Cherie

urqu3 - Did you book direct with HAL or with a TA? I will let our TA know that if this is a problem for us he will be the first to know! So sorry for your experience, Cherie

Thank you Kazu, We board on January 7 and January 8 is a sea day. If we have this problem we will address it as you have encouraged and we will be off the ship with bags in hand on the 9th if they cannot fix it. I'm so looking forward to this cruise and this ship. Your post does make me feel better!!! Cherie

We are on the opposite aft wrap cabin as OP for 22 days in January. If this type of thing is not fixed I will be so upset. I don't know that it has been effecting our cabin but this type of problem should not be tolerated by anyone. I agree with the poster who indicated a full refund is in order. FCC...are you crazy HAL? I like the idea of sailing on an older ship but not if the ship is not in "tip top shape." JMO. Cherie

Try the Park Shore Waikiki. Across the street from the beach, views of Diamond Head, Kapiolani Park, and beach, a great location in Waikiki. Also, Lulu's Waikiki is one of our favorite restaurants, attached to the Park Shore. Cherie

Could you request dinner room service before leaving for you fun day? Totally understand. I'm not sure at what time you can order the MDR menu for room service, but the 24 hour room service may be a possibility.

There was a thread by the granddaughter of a gentleman that died while in Africa. She was requesting info on getting his remains sent home. He apparently was not in great health when beginning the cruise, loved cruising, and wanted to give it a go since the 2020 WC was cut short. Possibly this is the same gentleman. The granddaughter and others on the cruise who knew him said that he died doing something he loved. I can't find the thread. Thinking of your loved one in a hospital in a foreign country by themself is so difficult. Cherie

Cristian's email should have read cristian.rios@saitourchile.cl? Sorry for the typo. I think Cristian is older but not sure. He was recommended on this forum. Cherie

Could it be Cristian at cristiana.rios@saitourchile.cl? He is helping us on our January 2024 trip. Cherie

TayanaLorna - We scheduled a private tour with another couple with Sentir Patagonia for our visit. We decided on a box lunch so that we can see as much wild life and scenery as possible. Do you remember how long the drive was from the port to the entrance to Peninsula Valdes? Really looking forward to this adventure. Diego at Sentir has been so helpful. Thank you for the recommendation and info. Cherie

Hi Copper10-8, We are on the Oosterdam in January 2024 and I hope the Lincoln Stage will be on board. Thank you for this info. Enjoy your summer cruising!!!!! Cherie

Hi, I have been looking at flights from IGU to LAX and there were 2 stops, including GRU. Will keep checking but it did not seem easier or less expensive than IGR. Cherie

If I remember, snacks can be brought on board if they are wrapped like something from Trader Joes. You can have just about anything wrapped like that. I don't think HAL delivers apps like you are describing to your cabin, not even sure they have them. Wish you were on our cruise!!!! Cherie

Bringing your favorite apps and charcuterie would be awesome. Looking forward to how it goes. We will be boarding in Chile and I know I will want to bring savory treats on board. Sometimes you can get food items "packaged" for airline travel and this may be what you need. Let us know, Cherie

Sorry, I do not have an answer but I have been researching the same thing. It seems like the best flights start in BA. We will probably take an afternoon flight back to BA and connect with an overnight to CA. I hope if you find something you will post. Cherie

Thank you Haljo1935 - since we will be in Chile prior to the cruise I will just take a collapsable bag that I can put clothes wrapped bottles of wine in for boarding. crystalspin and Kazu, Thank you. I was thinking that if we pay the corkage we can bring bottles of wine on in ports to consume. We will be visiting vineyards in Chile, Uruguay, and Argentina. Can't wait. Hopefully we will have some bottles left over to bring home. Of course, we should decide that prior to paying a $20 corkage fee!!!! Thank you again for the help, Cherie

Thank you. We are hoping to tour Peninsula Valdes because it is more diverse in what to see. I think the penguins here are a side show. Cherie

Haljo1935, do you bring wine when embarking and in ports? We are on a South America/Antarctica cruise in January and love Chilean and Argentinean wines. Do you pack them in anything special or just bubble wrap or clothes? Thank you, Cherie

If you are not a 4 or 5* Mariner with a discount it may be less expensive to bring bottles of wine on board when you embark or in ports and pay the $20 corkage fee. This is for wines enjoyed in the cabin or a restaurant. I think that's what we will do for some bottles on our 21 day cruise. With the cost of the wines listed in the packages we would rather pay $20 per bottle and bring our own. JMO. Cherie

On my 70th birthday the t-shirt said "corks are for loosers." I always take corks just in case. Cherie

Thank you Nebr.cruiser, If you remember the tour company let me know. I am not a fan of 14 person tours because it seems like there is always 1 or 2 that never seem to be back on the van on time. Is there anything that you particularly liked about your tour? We would like to schedule a private tour with Sentir, $500/car, for 4 persons and are hopeful we can find 2 more. Thank you again for your post, Cherie

Thank you Kazu. For some reason I thought I had read in one or more of the dress code threads that people tended to be less dressy in the Pinnacle on "dressy" nights. I appreciate your post and it does help. Cherie

Thank you for this post. I did more research and realized why the cost was so high for this on Tours by Locals. When I read all of the details it was an 18 hour adventure. And, the ship description did mention a plane. Punta Arenas is a port where I'm not wowed by anything and Torres del Paine looked amazing. Oh well. Thank you again, Cherie

Thank you soooo much. Lunch in the Pinnacle is a great option for the Chilean Fjords. I don't think we are too excited about "dressy" nights so a specialty restaurant would be good for us on sea days, if dress code is not enforced. We are lucky to have an aft corner cabin for this cruise so that we can hopefully enjoy a couple of MDR meals there. Thank you for the help, Cherie

Thank you so much. We do want to enjoy Canaletto also so I am happy to hear it will be a good view. I hadn't really thought about the difference between sea days and scenic cruising days. Thank you, Cherie