South America:  Sailing Around Cape Horn

Buenos Aires, Argentina--Cape Horn--Santiago de Chile

            30 November-18 December 2018           

Holland America ms Zaandam

Our next cruise is fast approaching--this time on Holland America's ms Zaandam as she sails around the southernmost point of South America.  We leave Tucson on 30 November--only 11 days away-- and fly to Buenos Aires, via Houston.  We spend two nights in a hotel in BA, gifted to us by the cruise line, before joining the 14-day cruise from BA to San Antonio/Santiago de Chile, from where we fly home on 17 December, arriving in Tucson on the morning of 18 December.

This is Will's first visit to South America and my third.  In fact, this cruise will complete my circumnavigation of the continent (except for a small piece of the Brazil coast from Ilhabela to the Rio Plata), having sailed from Santiago de Chile to Ft Lauderdale (via the Panama Canal) in April 2013 on HAL's ms Veendam, and from Ft Lauderdale to Rio in February-March 2014 on HAL's ms Maasdam.

DAILY ITINERARY

Fri 30 Nov 
  3:16pm  Lv Tucson (TUS) / UA 6310 / 11C,D / 2 h 23 m flight / Embraer Jet RJ145
  6:39pm  Av Houston (IAH) / 3h 41m layover / terminal change
10:20pm  Lv Houston / UA 819 / 03A,B / Polaris Business Class / 10h flight / Boeing 777-200

Sat 1 Dec 
11:20am Av Buenos Aires (EZE) / free transfer                                                                                                                                                 Mostly sunny 76/65 slight afternoon rain
                     Cyan Hotel de Las Americas (2 free nights) / 1020 Libertad St. / Recoleta, Buenos Aires

Sun 2 Dec   Buenos Aires
                    Excursion:  Tigre River Cruise and Dinner                                                                                                                                       Mostly sunny 77/62

Mon 3 Dec
12:00nn        Free transfer to and embark ms Zaandam / Vista Suite 7041 / Navigation Deck
                     Overnight in Buenos Aires                                                                                                                                                               Mostly cloudy 76/65  

Tue 4 Dec     Buenos Aires                                                                                                                                                                                    Partly sunny 81/67    
  8:30am        Shore Excursion:  Buenos Aires Highlights & Cafe Tortoni (5 hours)
  6:00pm  Lv Buenos Aires    

Wed 5 Dec 
  7:00am  Av Montevideo, Uruguay                                                                                                                                                                     Increasing clouds 76/66 humid
  tba               Shore excursion or Viator program
  6:00pm  Lv Montevideo

Thu 6 Dec   Day at Sea

Fri 7 Dec     Day at Sea

Sat 8 Dec 
  8:00am  Av Stanley, Falkland Islands / tender required                                                                                                                                     Clouds and sun 55/47  
  8:30am        Shore Excursion:  Bluff Cove Penguin Rookery (3 hours)
  6:00pm  Lv Stanley    

Sun 9 Dec    Scenic Cruising:  Strait of Magellan     

Mon 10 Dec
  6:00am  Av Punta Arenas, Chile                                                                                                                                                                       Mostly sunny 55/46 am showers  
  6:30am        Shore Excursion:  Off the Beaten Track--Magdalen Penguin Reserve (5 1/2 hours)
  5:00pm  Lv Punta Arenas
                      Daylight Cruising:  Cockburn Channel, Beagle Channel, Glacier Alley

Tue 11 Dec   
12:00nn  Av  Ushuaia, Argentina                                                                                                                                                                          Mostly cloudy 53/39 touch of rain 
 1:30pm         Shore Excursion:  Beagle Channel Wildlife (3 1/2 hours)
 8:00pm  Lv  Ushuaia

Wed 12 Dec  Scenic Cruising:  Cape Horn

Thu 13 Dec   Scenic Cruising:  Canal Sarmiento

Fri 14 Dec     Scenic Cruising:  Chilean Fjords

Sat 15 Dec 
  8:00am  Av Puerto Montt, Chile                                                                                                                                                                        Sun and clouds 59/46                                                              
  8:30am       Shore Excursion:  Petrohue Falls, Lake Cruise and Chilean Countryside (7 1/2 hours)     
  5:00pm  Lv Puerto Montt

Sun 16 Dec   Day at Sea 

Mon 17 Dec   
  7:00am  Av San Antonio, Chile--Disembarkation                                                                                                                                             Sunny 72/58      
  8:45am        Valparaiso World Heritage Route with Airport Transfer (6 1/2 hours)    Sunny 67/57
11:20pm  Lv Santiago de Chile (SCL)  UA 846 / 06A,B / Polaris Business Class / 9h 40m flight / Boeing 767-300                                        Sunny 89/50
  
Tue 18 Dec 
  6:00am  Av Houston (IAH) / 3h 45m layover / terminal change        
  9:45am  Lv Houston / UA 6292 / 11C,D / 2h 48m / Embraer RJ145
11:30am  Av Tucson (TUS) 

Holland America Lines ms Zaandam 

Gross Tonnage:  61,396 

Length:  663 ft 

Beam (width): 105 feet

Maximum Speed:  23 knots

Passenger Decks:  10

Cabins:  716

Passengers:  1,432-1,718  

Crew:  615 

Built:  2000, Fincantieri (Marghara, Italy)

Refurbished:  2015

Will and I have sailed on the Zaandam once before, on a 15-day round-trip San Diego-Hawaii cruise, in November 2007.

I hope to keep LFLat Sea going during the entire trip, but wifi at sea is often very slow and sometimes impossible to use.  Unlike Oceania Cruises (the ships I have been sailing on five recent cruises), which offer free, unlimited wifi, Holland America continues to charge wifi users by the minute.  This can become very expensive, since photographs often take very lengthy times to upload on board ship.  I may have to wait until I return to Tucson to post many pictures (as I did on the cruise to Rio de Janeiro in 2014).  I will, however, continue to post text about the trip on as many days as possible, with as many photos as I can squeeze in quickly.

Please continue to check back at www.LFLatSea.blogspot.com for further updates as the 30 November departure date approaches.  After that, I will try to send out email notices each time I post a new blog entry.

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