Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Cruise with Bill & Mary Ann on the Prinsendam's Grand So. America & Antarctica Voyage

WCB

By WCB,
in Holland America Line

Recommended Posts

WCB "Live from...." Rare

WCB

Posted
Posted

Report # 1 January 6, 2010 Wednesday

 

Well, here we are once again, preparing to embark on another adventure.......this time with a complete 70 day circumnavigation around South America! Even though we accomplished this trip with Radisson (now Regent) in 2003, this cruise will include an exciting visit to Antarctica and a 1000 mile jaunt up the mighty Amazon River.

 

But, let's backtrack a bit. While on the 2009 world cruise, we decided to switch to the Prinsendam's South America voyage mainly because of its appealing itinerary. And besides, the Amsterdam's 2010 world cruise was, in our humble opinion, going in the wrong direction.....eastbound. That results in losing an hour every couple of days. No, that's not for us this time.

 

With the deposits and balance of the trip paid, our next hurdle was to obtain our Brazilian visas, the only one we needed. For some unknown reason, Brazil just did not seem to welcome most foreign travelers with open arms in November. We were informed that the consulate was limiting visa processing, which inturn, backed things up. So, to add insult to injury, they requested more money to speed up the visas by sending them to Amsterdam, Holland. Go figure! Long story short, ours were issued in San Francisco, the original plan, and no, we were not refunded a dime. This is what we call RECIPROCITY. One good thing, however, is the fact that our visas are good for five years.

 

Booking tours was way easier and more enjoyable. Since we have visited some of these ports numerous times in the past, we decided to hike through the towns, and taste some of the local cuisine and beer. We figured there are about 12 of these ports. Then we booked some HAL tours, and the rest with our travel agency's group. We will have super hosts, Henk and Lucia, who are a ton of fun. Between the three venues, we're really looking forward to seeing South America in style!

 

With the whirlwind of the holidays behind us, reality hit when we packed our four very large duffel bags to the brim. What was really nice was the fact that our luggage had no size or weight limit. Good deal! They were picked up by the Fed Ex girl yesterday, January 5th, exactly at the 2 pm requested time. She was quite happy to have some help with lifting those bags! We tracked the numbers on the duffels, and they are waiting to be flown out of Oakland, California, tomorrow to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Once there, they will be stored until the start of the cruise on January 13th. If we are lucky, the next time we see the duffels will be in our cabin on the ship.

 

Oh yes, we have adopted a new job.....we are going to be the leaders of the Cruise Critic group for this trip. At the time our friends Dorothy and George told us they had to postpone their cruise until 2011, the group consisted of 20 members. It has since grown to a whopping 42!! So we should have some exciting meetings and lunches for sure.

 

All that's left now, is to wrap up things at home, cross the T's and dot the I's, and voila, we are free to go, which is January 12. We have a non-stop flight from San Francisco to Miami, which we hope will be a "pain-free" flight, and an overnite in "freezing" Ft. Lauderdale, Florida!

 

To be continued...............

 

Bill and Mary Ann

Link to comment
Share on other sites
cccole

cccole

Posted
Posted

Can't wait for this year's adventure. Thank you for taking us along. I know you may not have time to respond to this question until your return, but I am wondering how you choose your cabin for such a long cruise. Do you just take what is available or do you select a particular cabin or area of the ship? Bon Voyage!!! Cherie

Link to comment
Share on other sites
WCB "Live from...." Rare

WCB

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Hi Cherie,

 

Yes, we do pick our cabin. On a longer cruise such as this one, we book over a year in advance.

We chose the location for the most stabilized sailing, which is generally the bottom deck, center ship. That is what we picked for this South America cruise, because the seas can be quite rough around the Cape.

 

On a world cruise, we usually pick a veranda cabin because of the warmer weather. So it really depends on where you are going as to where you choose a cabin.

 

However, the "upgrade fairy" may have a better choice for us towards the beginning of the trip, since we leave ourselves open for a free upgrade. You never know......

 

Bill & Mary Ann

Link to comment
Share on other sites
CruisFran

CruisFran

Posted
Posted

Another great adventure!! Really loved reading about your world cruise last year. It's something I know I will never do, but truly feel you, let us all, live it, vicariously, through you!

 

Thanks so much for sharing!! Safe journey!!

 

Enjoy!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
cccole

cccole

Posted
Posted

Hi, Thank you for the reply. I always like the aft balconies so that I can watch the wake and moon at night. As you mentioned, this location could be an issue when cruising in rough seas. You are probably already in Florida (maybe making a trip to Total Wine?!) and I hope everything goes great for your departure. Looking forward to the adventures!!!!! Cherie

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • ANNOUNCEMENT: Set Sail Beyond the Ordinary with Oceania Cruises
      • ANNOUNCEMENT: The Widest View in the Whole Wide World
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...