ComputerTravelGuy

I don't think any reference books are extremely necessary when you're traveling with a knowledgeable expedition staff. Also, most expedition ships have a well-stocked library if there's something you want to look up. However, if you do want to peruse some things in advance...

 

I got a copy of this one on my first trip and found it extremely useful:

https://smile.amazon.com/Antarctica-Cruising-Guide-Antarctic-Peninsula/dp/1927249252

Since I'm not a birder or marine mammal expert, I appreciated having the color photos to help me with wildlife ID during my trips.

 

I also bought the Lonely Planet book before my first trip, but the standard Lonely Planet format doesn't work particularly well in a place without towns or infrastructure. I still chose to bring it along on my second trip, though, because it was nice to read about the next landing site, and it sometimes contained minor interesting details that weren't covered in the landing briefing. I also learned a lot from reading the history overview. Since you don't really need the normal help planning an itinerary or deciding where to go, a good option is to just buy a couple of the digital chapters to take along on a Kindle or smartphone. The "Southern Ocean" and "Antarctic Peninsula" cover everywhere you'll visit, and if you just want the background info, you can buy just the "Understanding Antarctica" chapter.

Excellent references but IMHO, I always think it’s a good idea to read and prepare before any trip. The more you learn ahead of time, the more you can absorb from the knowledgeable excursion or expedition staff. Besides, researching the history, culture, and environment of a destination is part of the fun of travel.

But again, great references and thoughts on Lonely Planet resources.

Russ

I’d recommend Lansing’s book called Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage. It’s offered in book, kindle, and audiobook format. It’s detailed and instructive on sailing to Antarctica.

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Are there ATMs in Grytviken, South Georgia? I heard there isn’t in the Falklands and we are supposed to pay cash for an excursion in Port Stanley. Grytviken is our stop before Port Stanley.

 

 

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You’ll need to bring either US$ or British Pounds to pay for excursions and buy local trinkets, food, or beer.

Yes, cash for the Falklands. When we landed, we had all sorts of private citizens who took people around the island in private mini-vans for $20 USD. Fun day ending up at a packed British pub with wonderful English and Irish beer.

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Has anyone done a one-day ship's excursion from Punta Areana, flying into Puerto Natales, and visiting the Torres del Paine National Park? If so, I would appreciate any comments you might offer about the value of the excursion and whether you would recommend it. Many thanks!

Torres Del Paine NP is a long distance from Punta Arenas and there's a better excursion. I'd recommend seeing Magdalena Island via high speed boat or ferry. Depending on your time of year, you'll see thousands of Penguins (Feb/March timeframe) raising their young. We used the high speed boat via private charter and arrived 45 minutes before the ferry that the cruise line uses. Also, our van load of folks paid half the rate of the ship plus extra time on the island. We also had time to visit Punta Arenas and get a few trinkets. Check Trip Advisor and CC for tour guides - as our trip was 2010 so couldn't recommend a tour guide for 2016/2017 cruise.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magdalena_Island,_Magallanes_Region

I would also suggest the use of packing cubes to help pack more stuff into a smaller space, as well as help you stay organized. My personal favorite is the Eagle Creek (original) brand. They have a lot of variety size wise, but I find the most used sizes are the half cube (small size used for small women's tshirts, shorts, pajamas etc), medium cube (used for pretty much every other size of clothing and pants). The quarter cube is good for underwear, the tube cube is great for socks, undershirts or men's boxers, and even swimsuits (and bikini tops that you don't want to fold in half, or bras).

 

ebags and Amazon basics also sell good

My wife & I travel often professionally and need durable bags. We both bring an eBag large bag; one eBag backpack; and one small eBag bag for under the seat. Durable bags that are pricey but very functional with strong zippers

Get a small, medium, and large cube as suggested above to help keep your clothes organized, easy to unpack, and unwrinkled.

Russ

We use eBag luggage from computer bags to carry-on to large luggage. I'm a business traveler and a heavy user of these sturdy, well-designed, and long-lasting bags.

As previously asked (but not yet answered), is getting a chair at the beach or by the pool cost $$? Thanks in advance!

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I am platinum with NCL and have many happy memories on the Sun, Pearl and Jade from 2008 - 2011. But NCL's push for mega ships and boring itineraries (same old routes) have forced us to leave NCL for other cruise lines. I did recommend in February 2015 to a friend with elementary school kids (new to cruising) to go on an NCL cruise. However, based on the problems mentioned in this and other threads, I'll recommend a more family-oriented cruise line. Very sad since we liked NCL's approach to cruising from 2008 - 2011.

The buffet had chair hogs -are you sure ?

 

 

 

If I go for breakfast I usually grab a coffee and find a suitable table . We leave our stuff on the seats whilst we go and get our food, but with one person sitting at the table. Dont wish to walk around with a plate of food going cold whilst seeking a table.

 

 

 

Is that what you mean ?

This seems fine to me IMHO. A quick run to breakfast and returning to the pool with food means you're still somewhat actively using the chair. But leaving for 40 minutes to sit and eat in the Buffet while still reserving a pool chair wouldn't be nice to the other passengers.

One cruise enforced a 30-minute rule for empty chairs starting with a warning card with a time on it. This is best for passengers who don't like a potential for an unpleasant confrontations.

I recently completed cruises on both the Celebrity Equinox and them the RCCL Allure of the Seas.

 

 

 

To my surprise I found that on Celebrity, many people were downright arrogant, reserving large number of seats at the pool, for their husbands and friends, who would take up to one hour to appear. Many of the seats were also covered with a towel, or a paperback novel to show that an individual had "reserved this."

 

 

 

Chair Hogs were also in operation at the buffet ....

 

 

 

On the Allure, to our surprise, we did not find this to be a problem. I think that RCCL was more effective in monitoring the problem of Chair Hogs.

I agree. On a recent repositioning cruise with Celebrity, both the Buffet and Pool areas had significant chair hog issues. I also agree that Celebrity chair hogs are very arrogant and quite entitled. While chair hogs frequent all cruise lines, HAL and NCL do a better job of policing.

I love what you did. We do the same. Maybe it's the Philly girl in me' date=' but if I see chairs hoarded for an hour or more, I take it upon myself to gather their belongings and set them aside close by. .... After all, it doesn't have their name on it!!![/quote']

 

 

I removed towels after an hour on a cruise in 2013 and was later called horrible names. It was in an unfamiliar language (used by the offending family) but I'm reasonable sure I was being called horrible names. :-)

 

But regardless of the nationality, it's amazing how entitled some people are. But I'm actually okay with Suite guests being given reserved theater seats (as long as they're freed up 10 minutes prior). I've never cruised in a Suite but understand the business reasons to cater to higher paying passengers.

On a recent cruise from Valparaiso to Ft Lauderdale, there was a family group of ten who saved 10 chairs by the pool in the sun AND 11 chairs in the shade (and then went off to the buffet). A group of us consolidated their towels and books (opening up 11 chairs). They were upset when they returned but it's hard to complain when you have a chair (and not two each). :-)

The lodges are open to anyone. but are over run with buses coming and going with the cruise tour groups. They can also be some of the more costly options.

Agree with Budget Queen. BTW, the nickname for the cluster of lodges and fast food places across the street is Glitter Gulch. :-(

I'm looking at booking a land/sea cruise to Alaska in May 2016. I have decided to do one of the 12 day Denali Explorer tours. My choices are flying into Fairbanks and sailing on the Island Princess after the land tour or flying into Anchorage and sailing on the Star Princess after the land tour. Any recommandations on these 2 choices would be greatly appreciated.

My DW and I did a one-way cruise from Vancouver to Whittier in the May timeframe and enjoyed it. I'd recommend NCL, HAL or Princess who go to Glacier Bay (a highlight) versus other cruise ships. We added one additional week for a land vacation that included a full 3-days in Denali Nat'l Park. We took the train from Whittier to Anchorage (beautiful). But we opted NOT to use the train between Anchorage and Denali so we could take our time seeing the sites and stay in a B&B near that park. Many rest stops, scenic views and a long stay in Talkeetna on that drive north to Denali.

While you cannot get into the full park in late May, most of the park is open, the mosquitoes haven't arrived quite yet and we had three clear days / views of Mt McKinley. When you take the train, you're limited to the cruise ship lodges versus staying at great B&Bs in the area and trying several fun restaurants. The drive is easy, well marked and you see wildlife along the drive. Have fun!

... .

 

I've of course read the McCullough book -- read it as soon as we booked the cruise. Never heard the names "Gorgas", "Goethals," or "Bunau-Varilla" from Keene. Maybe heard the name Roosevelt. Once.

 

Princess needs to hire presenters who can present. ...... We loved our cruise.

McCullough's book "Pathway between the Seas" is the definitive history on the Panama Canal with a great deal on the engineering challenges along the way. Kindle, Book or Audiobook options will help you understand and the most out of your canal experience. Enjoy!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B002FK3U4Q?ie=UTF8&redirectFromSS=1&pc_redir=T1&noEncodingTag=1&fp=1

I agree with Richard. I have always enjoyed the live music & entertainment on HAL. I am impressed that the house band only has a 30/40 minute rehearsal with guest entertainers & then it's showtime. Not easy. Music too loud for some? Why blame the musicians? Acoustics & sound technicians could be the problem. If you are looking for top notch entertainment, go to Vegas. For all the complainers, be happy you are on this side of the earth & not the other side. Chill out & enjoy your cruise.

Who is complaining - I'm giving HAL a compliment for trading up from the Hal Cats for the BB King Club band. Fun, experienced performers that rocked the Westerdam in December 2014. Best blues I've heard since my last visit to Beale Street that filled the dance floor. Too loud? Invest in 50 cent ear plugs (problem solved).

I think most of us can grasp the concept that was (fill in the blanks) and the HALCats. Halcats are gone ...

I asked a staff member about the changes and was told that the HALCats entertainment concept was being discontinued on Vista and Signature ships.

We did have "canned" music out by the pool - all types - and there was a steel drummer out by the aft pool ...

 

.... BB King band was in the showroom ...:

The HALCats were still on the Westerdam in December 2014 but were disappointing (off key singers, poor musicians) and just played outdoors by the pool. Quite frankly, I would have preferred canned music. I have had good HALCat bands in the past but this group was sad. HOWEVER, the B.B. King Band was awesome - one of the best Blues bands I've heard outside of Beale Street in Memphis. Cruisers danced to a full crowd ever evening. A clear differentiator for me to cruise with HAL versus other lines.

A word about loud music - this seems to be the norm nowadays but my DW and I bring ear plugs. They're very cheap (a few pennies each) and for us, solve the problem if a band's volume is too loud.

We had them on our Noordam cruise in November. So loud they drowned out the male singer's voice. DH was disappointed it wasn't blues music per se but more current pop tunes jazzed up, ... to !

The Westerdam BB King band on the Nov 28th sailing was the real deal (with two vocalists who were strong singers). Half the band was from Jackson, MS and the other half from Memphis, TN. Again, as good as any Blues Band on Beale Street. HAL needs to develop an appeal across many demographics to succeed (IMHO). I was impressed with HAL's strategy with BB King clubs since the band was a Hit with older and younger cruisers. I could care less about the DWTS emphasis or Foodie classes but they both seemed to be a big hit with old & young as well. And everyone loved shows with professional dancers.

I was really looking forward to hearing the BB King Blues Band on the Nieuw Amsterdam this month. They were immensely talented and put on a great show---what we saw of it. We had to leave because of the volume of the music. It actually hurt our ears. In fact, we left during the performance of one of my favourite songs. It hurt that much.

Blues didn't use to be that loud (e.g., when BB King first started out) but the volume now rivals that of Rock bands. You can always be seated a few rows back but consider an ear plugs (inexpensive). I bring them whenever I go to a rock venue. The plugs should lower the volume by 20-30 decibels. But agreed - the volume should be moderated to not exceed 105 decibels (good suggestion to make on a HAL).

Have never said the Amsterdam "yet" but love blues..............was so hoping???:cool: We have sailed many smaller ships, as small as 18,000 tons. All of them had at least two areas where a band with large crowd could play.

 

That is why I do not understand.

The BB King band on the Westerdam has six musicians and two lead singers. That ship had a large stage and many tables/ chairs with a large dance floor. I would imagine the cost of a quality band and popularity would only justify placing these bands on medium to larger sized HAL ships which has a large venue. We'll see...

As my DW is planning our next cruise in 2016, I keep asking about HAL itineraries (and if the ship will have a BB King band onboard). Believe I'm hooked.

While there are some technology enhancements where HAL lags behind, I think it's great they introduced the 'dive-in' and the BB King Blues club - both which seem to well received by a variety of age groups and interests.....

Agree with this point! There were many older cruisers dancing alongside younger cruisers to the rhythms of the BB King band. This is a great move on HAL's part to help broaden their appeal thru music (without alienating their current base) and be successful in the years to come.

Not exactly like the HAL cats (who are of varying quality) but professionally trained by the BB King organization. The BB King band onboard the Westerdam last week was highly professional and as good as any band performing on Beale Street in Memphis. Exceeded my expectations (typically playing 3 times a night with one night in the large theater).

BB King band just rocked the Westerdam - I booked in part to hear this band. They exceeded my expectations (and I lived in Memphis for many years - as good as any band you'll hear on Beale Street). Awesome week of Blues!