Which were your 3 favorite Holland America cruises and why ? Please post photos .

[scubacruiserx2]

On 5/8/2023 at 5:24 PM, ottahand7 said:

Torres del Paine was sold out so quickly that I never had a chance.   Thanks for sharing your photo.  We have a very active Volendam 74 day group on FB but I don't think anyone was one of the few that got to visit.  N 

 

  We're sorry that you didn't get the 1st cut on the Torres trip . Have you wait listed ? We went there twice on the Zaandam . First in 2013 from Punta Arenas on a tiny airplane with about 12 people through HAL . I sat up front and we couldn't see a thing in the rain for almost an hour flying by instruments only .

 

 

 

 From there we boarded a bus and toured the park havving a very nice lunch on the lake near the Torres ( towers and the Horns - the black spots on top ) . It was expensive abot $ 1200 each back then . Here's a family gathering in the early Spring .

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

  We just went around Cape Horn the first time - No Antarctica . In 2018 -2019 we went for 9 days to Patagonia on our own and stayed in El Chalen first .

 

 

The next morning the light was better

 

 

If you like to drink try the Pisco Sour - very strong 

 

 

We bought this brand in the bottle in a supermarket or a liquor store and drank it in our cabin . You just shake it and the froth ( egg white magically appears ) .

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

We then went to El Calefate where we spent a week . The Glacier was one day , the glacier cruise another day and the drive to Torres del Paine  Chile we left at 0700 and didn't get back until midnight a couple of days later .

 Perito Moreno Glacier near El Calafate and the view of the lake from our hotel

 

 

 

 

Edited May 9, 2023 by scubacruiserx2

[ottahand7]

@sciencewonk I am sure we will repeat the GSA as it was the perfect length for the long winter getaway we need.  When we rebook first thing I will ask our PCC to do is book me on that excursion.  We missed a lot on that trip.  I talked to several people that were doing it for second and third times.  

 

Thanks for your videos.  Your flight to Torres del Paine reminds me of my first helicopter tour in Maui.  We were going in and out of clouds and with the mountains so near it was rather scary.   

[scubacruiserx2]

9 hours ago, ottahand7 said:

@sciencewonk I am sure we will repeat the GSA as it was the perfect length for the long winter getaway we need.  When we rebook first thing I will ask our PCC to do is book me on that excursion.  We missed a lot on that trip.  I talked to several people that were doing it for second and third times.  

 

Thanks for your videos.  Your flight to Torres del Paine reminds me of my first helicopter tour in Maui.  We were going in and out of clouds and with the mountains so near it was rather scary.   

 

  You are welcome . Yes it can be scary with the size and speed of the helicopters . We were in one in Kauai last month with the doors off hanging near the clouds when one appeared below us fairly close coming out of the clouds . It was quite beautiful though .

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ottahand7]

@scubacruiserx2 Never thought I would make it back there but we are getting there by the Konigsdam RT San Diego in February 2025.   

[scubacruiserx2]

9 hours ago, ottahand7 said:

@scubacruiserx2 Never thought I would make it back there but we are getting there by the Konigsdam RT San Diego in February 2025.   

 

 Outstanding ! We loved all of Hawaii and San Diego by cruise and to visit there . Will you stay in either place ? We found a very nice place to stay in San Diego post cruise in Coronado , plenty to see and do at a very good price . Much better than the vacation that my Uncle Sam gave me there in 72 and 73 in the USN🦑 .

[ottahand7]

@scubacruiserx2  We love San Diego.  We have a plan to try to book Panama Canal crossing from Fort Lauderdale prior and a SD Panama Canal crossing so that we can drive to FL go on our three cruises, return to FL and drive home.   I hate flying so I hope we can work it out.  Otherwise we will probably fly to Sacramento after the cruise and spend time in Sonoma.   No matter how this scheme works out I have hundreds of thousands of Marriott points (thank you Covid)  so I will finally be able to use them in a state I love to visit.   

[scubacruiserx2]

2 hours ago, ottahand7 said:

@scubacruiserx2  We love San Diego.  We have a plan to try to book Panama Canal crossing from Fort Lauderdale prior and a SD Panama Canal crossing so that we can drive to FL go on our three cruises, return to FL and drive home.   I hate flying so I hope we can work it out.  Otherwise we will probably fly to Sacramento after the cruise and spend time in Sonoma.   No matter how this scheme works out I have hundreds of thousands of Marriott points (thank you Covid)  so I will finally be able to use them in a state I love to visit.   

 

 Sounds like a great plan . We did the Ft. Lauderdale to SD canal crossing on the NA in Spring of 22 . 

 

 

 

We enjoyed it so much that we did the reverse cruise in the Fall that began with the last Alaska cruise on the NA . It was 6 weeks total and was our #  3 favorite cruise .

 

 

 

 We funded our trips using Covid cash that we saved monthly until it was time to restart again . My DW is a native Michigander and we met at Central Michigan in 76 . I'm a native of Miami , Florida so we are a Bipeninsular family . But after the birth of our 3rd native child , we confered honorary native status on her but her birth certificate still says Saginaw . 

 

Edited May 12, 2023 by scubacruiserx2