LIVE! HAL Oosterdam 1/7-1/29 South America & Antarctica—Let’s Cruise!

[TravelBluebird]

My bags are (finally) packed, and I’m ready for the adventure of a lifetime!  After 11 years away from HAL, I’m off to take the 22 Day South America & Antarctica itinerary from Santiago (San Antonio), Chile to Buenos Aires, Argentina.  With Antarctica, I will have now visited (and cruised to!) all 7 continents! 

 

If you haven’t followed any of my LIVE! Blogs, this is my 8th one here on Cruise Critic, and its always a joy to take my cruise critic readers along with me!  

 

I’m Dee, traveling with my dear hubby Russ. I adore cruising, and have done a ton of it.  Lines we’ve cruised on include Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Regent Seven Seas, Celebrity, Viking (Ocean and River), Norwegian and many smaller lines. 

 

I always like to let readers know my blogging/review style before I start.  I’ll tell it like it is, good and bad, but that said, I’ve never been on a totally bad cruise! I’m generally upbeat and I don’t let a few things that are not perfect ruin my good time. You can see that through my prior LIVE blogs!  

 

I have a cruising channel on YouTube, Cruising With Dee. You can completely enjoy this LIVE! without visiting my channel, but if you want to visit my channel, I won’t complain!  I write my blog (prose) here with lots of photos, and the videos and live streams go on the Channel.  Link to my channel is always in my signature, and I’ll include links for any videos I upload during and right after the trip.

 

I am taking this cruise thanks to a free room offered by HAL. Which, of course, by the time I upgraded to a balcony cabin and paid for a bunch of excursions, airfare, etc, the trip is anything BUT free, but a free/lowered cruise fare certainly helps!  

 

If you’ve been following  @NorbertsNiece  blog, this is the same cruise, but in reverse (she went Buenos Aires to Santiago).  

 

It’s 11pm and I’ve got to get some sleep! I have a long flying day tomorrow, and I’ll continue the blog then.  Thanks in advance for reading along and joining in! I don’t like my LIVE!s to be soliloquies; so please comment, suggest, ask questions! I’ll try my best to answer any questions I can while I’m on the ship.

 

Let’s Cruise! 

 

 

[oakridger]

Bon Voyage and I will definitely be reading!  I am following @NorbertsNiece as well.  I think I'm going to take this itinerary after a couple of already planned trips.

 

Thanks, and get a good rest tonight.

 

~Nancy

[TravelBluebird]

Having morning coffee before heading to the airport. In that phase of —have I forgotten something? Have I told the house / pet sitter everything?  My cats are glaring at me, as they know all too well what the suitcases near the front door mean!

 

Weather here is 32 degrees and overcast—perfect practice weather for the trip!

[Sea42]

Have a great travel day(s).

Safe travels!

[TravelBluebird]

9 hours ago, oakridger said:

Bon Voyage and I will definitely be reading!  I am following @NorbertsNiece as well.  I think I'm going to take this itinerary after a couple of already planned trips.

 

Thanks, and get a good rest tonight.

 

~Nancy

Thank you @oakridger!  I hope you enjoy the blog! 

[TravelBluebird]

29 minutes ago, Sea42 said:

Have a great travel day(s).

Safe travels!

Thank you @Sea42!

[TravelBluebird]

At the gate!

 

LOVE our small airport.  Five minutes from curb to gate.  Although at 4am this morning when we dropped our daughter off for her trip home to Japan, the airport was packed!  Lots of early flights since all flights from here connect SOMEWHERE, plus all the Dollywood workers were returning home after the holiday season!

 

We actually stopped to get some cash at the airport ATM—with its annoying. $3.50 extra fee for only $200!—so many errands to run yesterday, we never got to the bank.  We already have our “crisp, unmarked” bills for an independent tour and our transportation to the port.  
 

Everything showing on time so far!
 

 

At the airport ATM

Edited January 4 by TravelBluebird

[TravelBluebird]

Our journey today will involve 3 planes. Normally, we would have taken just 2, with a direct from Atlanta to Santiago.

 

Unfortunately, we booked this trip and our flights late, so we couldn’t get any sort of foot rest or lie flat from Atlanta (premium economy, etc.).  However, we were able to get a very good fare for Delta One from Atlanta to Lima, Peru,  and then continuing on Delta’s partner airline LATAM from Lima to Santiago (in economy).  As much as we hate adding an extra stop because more things can go awry, (missed connections, lost baggage) I have Rheumatoid Arthritis, and with my legs bent for 9 hours, I’d be in lots of pain and off to a slow start on the trip, so we are taking our chances with an extra stop.

 

Our first flight lifts off right before 11am, We have about a 2 hour layover in Atlanta which we’ll spend in the Sky Club at the International terminal.  We have a 2 hour layover in Lima which should be enough time to make our connection  (our luggage was checked straight through to Santiago and we don’t have to pick it up in Lima). We arrive in Santiago at the absolutely awful time of 4:30am.

 

Only good thing about that is that I’m a real night owl and usually up till about 2am, so with the time difference, we are landing just a bit after a normal bed time for me. Not great because I do put myself on a WAY earlier schedule for cruising, and this will set that back. Awful for my morning lark of a husband.

[TravelBluebird]

Yay our plane is at the gate!  And here we are AT said gate— if you are on the trip with us, please say hello!

[Hogladyrider]

Very excited to be following along on this cruise....a nice exciting option over Caribbean ports.

 

I am also following Norbets Neice's cruise blog.

 

We set off on our first post Covid cruise January 30th on HAL so this will help pass the time til then.

Susan

[TravelBluebird]

1 hour ago, Hogladyrider said:

Very excited to be following along on this cruise....a nice exciting option over Caribbean ports.

 

I am also following Norbets Neice's cruise blog.

 

We set off on our first post Covid cruise January 30th on HAL so this will help pass the time til then.

Susan

 

So nice to have you along @Hogladyrider!  I’ve followed all of @NorbertsNiece blog, which has been so wonderful to read (especially right before this cruise!).

 

Where will you be heading for with HAL on January 30th?

[Hogladyrider]

5 minutes ago, TravelBluebird said:

 

So nice to have you along @Hogladyrider!  I’ve followed all of @NorbertsNiece blog, which has been so wonderful to read (especially right before this cruise!).

 

Where will you be heading for with HAL on January 30th?

18 days to Hawaii on Koningsdam departing San Diego....we winter in Yuma AZ after living in Florida for 40+ years.

[TravelBluebird]

First plane—on time, smooth, ride, non eventful—just the way I like them!

 

Atlanta airport is relatively empty right now. Zipped right over on the plane train from D Gates to F Gates (International). We are currently in the Delta Sky Club—also quite empty! Might be the timing of our flight, but it is very nice.

 

Charging some electronics, had some coffee, drinks and snacks, and we board in about 45 minutes.

 

Russ is with the gate agent trying to smooth out a little snafu we are having with our LATAM seats, Lima to Santiago.  Turns out that I’m a bit of an idiot, and booked us in the Exit row (for more leg room).  I admit there was lots of fine print to look at online when I did that, BUT we’ve sat in exit rows with many airlines, so I ahem, didn’t really read the fine print.

Well, you need to be UNDER 60 years old for the exit row on this airline. I’m not going to go into age discrimination, etc, but my husband is a former small plane pilot, strong, and one of the best people in an emergency.   Sigh.

 

In any event, I tried to change our seats online and I was not allowed to..  So today LATAM figured out we shouldn’t be in those seats, and we got a bunch of seat changes, which landed us in two middle seats in rows 4 and 20.  

 

Keep your fingers crossed we can change the seats; not the end of the world if we can’t, but it woud e nice to be together.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 4 by TravelBluebird

[TravelBluebird]

7 minutes ago, Hogladyrider said:

18 days to Hawaii on Koningsdam departing San Diego....we winter in Yuma AZ after living in Florida for 40+ years.

 

Ooh—lovely!  18 days is almost as long as this cruise! 💕

 

What international port will you visit to satisfy the Passenger Vessel Services Act?

[Hogladyrider]

Just now, TravelBluebird said:

 

Ooh—lovely!  18 days is almost as long as this cruise! 💕

 

What international port will you visit to satisfy the Passenger Vessel Services Act?

Ensenada Mexico the day before we return to San Diego in February....new port to us we are there from 2-10 pm

[Hogladyrider]

Sorry about your flight seat snafu.....seems like air travel these days is becoming a real pain in the you know what!

[TravelBluebird]

YAY! We are in 7A and 7B on the LATAM flight.

 

That’s one of the great things about the Sky Club—access to great agents and usually no lines.

 

We have lounge access today due to Delta One, but overall we decided to get the American Express Reserve Business Card to maintain Sky Club access whenever we fly on Delta. Includes 15 visits in a year. HEFTY fee at $550, BUT you get a free companion ticket at the end of the year which covers the cost of the card.

 

Tons of other benefits; if anyone is interested, I’m happy to talk more about it—as a long time frequent flyer, I can really yammer on and on about Delta and United.

 

The International  Concourse Sky Club in Atlanta is awesome—great big windows, an outside viewing deck (not today….brrr…it’s 46 degrees!0 and decent food.  Not as nice as United’s Polaris lounges, but I’m not complaining, and it’s better than the regular United Clubs.   

 

We are showing on time, our luggage is on the plane, and all is great here in Atlanta! 

[TravelBluebird]

7 minutes ago, Hogladyrider said:

Sorry about your flight seat snafu.....seems like air travel these days is becoming a real pain in the you know what!

 

True, but honestly, I caused that myself by NOT reading the fine print when I selected the exit row seats.  Today has been a good flying day overall—not a ton of weather to contend with anywhere. My daughter is on her 2nd flight to Japan as we speak; was also good out of Dallas!

[TravelBluebird]

 

We are on the second plane!

 

Getting ON the plane was one heck of a mess. There was something wrong with the speaker the gate agents were using, so no one could understand a word of the instructions. It seemed that 1/3 of the plane “needed assistance” with boarding.  Finally, Russ just got tired of hanging back as we tend to do, and he weaved his way up front to find out that, indeed, first class was boarding.

 

One fun thing is I met 2 couples waiting to board—one going on Norwegian 14 days Buenos Aires round trip to Antarctica, and another couple taking Silverseas to Antarctica!  Was fun to chat. Also was nice to see I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t arrange the direct flight from Atlanta.

 

Airbus 350-900L.  Comfortable, lie flat seats. little bin for a few things by your feet (yay!).  I pre-ordered a special chef lamb dish (limited amount so you pre-order before flight) and Russ is getting the beef short ribs.  I’m going to try to NOT get the ice cream sundae for desert. I’m going to TRY really hard 😂

 

Couple of photos—adequate amenity kit, slippers, big bag of bedding (I’m going to try a good nap after we eat—wish me luck, napping is not my talent).

 

 

 

 

Edited January 4 by TravelBluebird

[TravelBluebird]

Lunch has been had—nice selection of starters including a truly good cauliflower soup. Hubby enjoyed his beef short ribs and I enjoyed the lamb (which came with lentils, carrots and red onion). Desert is next, and I’m going to get a small cheese plate with grapes instead of the ice cream sundae. Sigh, I miss my metabolism.

 

Besides a post-dinner nap, I’m editing a video (wi fi was $15…I’ve had worse for international flights). Also reading Cabin Fever:  The Harrowing Journey of a Cruise Ship at the Dawn of a Pandemic.  Perhaps an odd choice, but a fascinating read.

 

 

 

 

Edited January 4 by TravelBluebird

[SilvertoGold]

Fantastic posts!  I love this cruise and will enjoy it immensely though your posts and photos!.  Bon Voyage!

[sunviking90]

40 minutes ago, TravelBluebird said:

Lunch has been had—nice selection of starters including a truly good cauliflower soup. Hubby enjoyed his beef short ribs and I enjoyed the lamb (which came with lentils, carrots and red onion). Desert is next, and I’m going to get a small cheese plate with grapes instead of the ice cream sundae. Sigh, I miss my metabolism.

 

Besides a post-dinner nap, I’m editing a video (wi fi was $15…I’ve had worse for international flights). Also reading Cabin Fever:  The Harrowing Journey of a Cruise Ship at the Dawn of a Pandemic.  Perhaps an odd choice, but a fascinating read.

 

 

 

 

I’ll be following along as we are on Oosterdam next fall. She’s the only one of the Vistas we haven’t been on.

Cabin Fever is SO good! One or two incorrect bits (grand staircase to the Lido on the Zaandam??) but very well written overall.

[dcmom]

Very excited to be following along with you. We were supposed to be on the Oosterdam South America voyage this year but life got in the way and we are now booked for 2026…..such a long way away but your vlog will make the wait bearable so thanks for sharing your adventures with us!

[TravelBluebird]

We had no internet once we got to the West coast of South America.  Which was OK by me since I wanted to test.  Very comfortable-and wide—lie flat.  Not one of those where your feet are in a little cubby.

 

we were served breakfast (interesting choice of meal—its 9pm here—It was nice but we had just finished lunch 3 hours before.  Russ declined and I picked at mine.

 

We got in 15 minutes early (yay!) but now just sitting here —no gate (boo)  Will have about 1 hour 45 to lift off once we deplane (hopefully)!

 

Flight attendants were wonderful!  Very attentive.

 

Edited January 5 by TravelBluebird

[TravelBluebird]

1 hour ago, dcmom said:

Very excited to be following along with you. We were supposed to be on the Oosterdam South America voyage this year but life got in the way and we are now booked for 2026…..such a long way away but your vlog will make the wait bearable so thanks for sharing your adventures with us!

Aww bummer you couldn’t’t go this year, but it’s a great trip to look forward too! Thanks for following along! 💕