Sunday - March 8, 2026 Embarkation on MS Oosterdam
We got up at 8:30 am, and went down to breakfast. After breakfast we went back to our room to finish packing our carry on bags. We checked out at 9:20 am and took the shuttle provided by Holland America to the cruise terminal. We got to the terminal by 10:15 am and were on the ship by 11:30 am. This terminal was different than any other we had been at. After getting checked in we had to ride a shuttle from the terminal to the ship.
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| Shuttle from terminal to ship |
Once on board our room wasn't ready yet, but the stewards let us drop our carry on bags in the room, and we were able to get our keys. We went to the Lido for lunch. After lunch we walked around the ship and were able to get in our room by 1:00 pm.
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| Atrium of MS Oosterdam |
I was still not feeling well, so we rested in our room until dinner time. At 5:00 pm we got pre-dinner drinks at the Pinnacle Bar since it was the only one open. After drinks we ate dinner in the main dining room. Mike got Caesar salad, Peruvian chicken, and chocolate brownie cheesecake. I got mozzarella, tomato, basil salad, Peruvian chicken, and lemon torte. It was all very good, except for the tomato, basil, mozzarella salad. After dinner we went to the Billboard on Board bar for drinks and to listen to the singer/piano player. His name was Jonathon and he was really good. He was the best at interacting with the audience and playing whatever songs they wanted to hear. We both got a couple of Bombay tonics and listened to two sets before going to our room at 11:00 pm. This was a good start to our cruise.
Monday - March 9, 2026 Buenos Aires, Argentina
The ship didn't depart from Buenos Aires until 6:00 pm this evening. Mike and I had originally planned to get off the ship this morning and visit a few more places. However, since I wasn't feeling very well and due to having to take a shuttle to the terminal building, we decided to just stay onboard. I got up at 8:30 am and went to the Crow's Nest to get a cafe latte. One of my favorite things from having a drink package is that speciality coffees are included. After Mike woke up we both went to the Lido for breakfast. When we got there I discovered that there was a coffee bar in the Lido so I didn't have to go all the way to the Crow's Nest for my morning coffee. Mike and I got a spinach, tomato, mushroom, and onion omelette to share and it was really good. We walked some inside the ship then went back to our room. At 1:00 pm we went to the Lido for lunch. At 4:00 pm they had a mandatory full muster drill. Usually we just have to check in at our muster station and watch a safety video on the TV. The muster was pretty easy and the weather was nice so it wasn't too bad. After that we got dressed for dinner in the MDR. We had our pre-dinner drinks at the Billboard bar. We enjoyed visiting with the bartenders and wait staff there and they were good to have the beer and wine we like. For dinner I had seafood deviled eggs, shrimp and spaghetti, and strawberry creme and sponge cake. Mike had the Caesar salad, shrimp and spaghetti, and double chocolate torte. It was all very good. After dinner we went back to the Billboard piano bar and listened to Jonathon perform 2 1/2 sets. At 11:00 pm we headed to our room for the night. I was still not feeling very well and had developed a cough, but we still had a good day.
Tuesday - March 10, 2026 Montevideo, Uruguay
We got up at 8:30 am and went to the Lido for breakfast where we shared an omelette. We got off the ship at 10:00 am. We didn't do an excursion because the old town of Montevideo was less than 1/2 mile from the cruise terminal. I had researched before our trip and had planned a walking tour for us to do. We started by walking to Plaza Zabala. When we left Plaza Zabala we walked up Sarandi Street, which is a pedestrian only street, until we got to the Montevideo Metropolitan Cathedral. We went inside the cathedral and walked around for a while.
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| A street in old town Montevideo |
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| Statue in Zabala Plaza |
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| Sarandi Street |
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| An interesting building on Sarandi Street |
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| Inside the Metropolitan Cathedral |
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| A tomb inside the cathedran |
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| A secondary chapel in the cathedral |
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| Another tomb |
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| And a third tomb in the cathedral |
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| Outside of the Montevideo Metropolitan Cathedral |
When we left the cathedral we kept walking on Sarandi Street until we got to Constitution Plaza. While we were at the plaza there was a military parade with marching and a band playing. We watched this for a few minutes then continued walking to Independence Plaza, keeping on Sarandi Street the entire time. When we were at Independence Plaza looking at the statue and mausoleum for Uruguayan revolutionary José Artigas the band and military parade came up from Constitution Plaza. There were men in camoflauge giving speeches. I later found out that this was the weekly, formal changing of the guard for the mausoleum where a regiment in traditional uniform and with a band perform. We just happened to be there at the right time.
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| Plaza Matriz (Constitution Square) |
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| Military Parade |
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| Librería Más Puro Verso bookstore |
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| Inside the bookstore |
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| Another shot inside the bookstore |
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Changing of the guard ceremony at the mausoleum of
General José Artigas, the founder of Uruguay |
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| Mausoleum of General José Artigas, the founder of Uruguay |
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| Gateway to the Citadel |
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| Beautiful Sunset |
After watching the changing of the guard for several minutes we walked back to Sarandi Street going through the Gateway of the Citadel. While we were on Sarandi Street I bought a magnet from a street vendor. We retraced our path back to the cruise terminal and got back on board the ship at 1:00 pm. The weather was perfect and we ended up walking 3 miles on our self-guided tour. We went to the Lido for lunch then rested in our room until time for dinner. We had our normal pre-dinner drinks then went to the MDR. I had salmon meatballs with avocado sauce, eggplant cannelloni with asparagus risotto, and blueberry pie. Mike had bacon and cabbage soup, spaghetti and meatballs, and opera cake. It was all really good, except for Mike's spaghetti and meatballs. The meatballs had so much sage in them that Mike couldn't eat them. After dinner we went to the Billboard piano bar and listened to a couple of sets of 1970's music. Mike had a Bombay tonic and I had a Tuscan lemon drop without the sugar rim. We went back to our room at 11:00 pm and called it a night. This was another fun day. We really enjoy it when we can just get off the ship and do our own touring.
Wednesday - March 11, 2026 Sea Day #1
I got up at 7:15 am, got coffee at the Crow's Nest, and sat on the verandah enjoying the sunrise. It was getting cooler as we went further south. After I finished my coffee I went to the Lido and had a waffle with strawberry compote for breakfast. The strawberry compote had a weird texture and wasn't very good. When I finished my breakfast I got Mike a coffee and chocolate filled pastries and took them to him in the room. When we had finished breakfast we took our passports to be turned in. Chile and the Falkland Islands require to be able to view passports of visitors going ashore. We will pick them back up after we visit Puerto Montt. We walked around on the ship some for exercise then sat in the Ocean Bar reading until lunch time. We went to the Lido for lunch then back to our room for the afternoon. We rested until 2:20 pm when we had an appointment with the cruise specialist. We booked a cruise out of Rotterdam, Netherlands for May, 2027 that goes around the British Isles. I thought we could use our onboard credits for the deposit, but I was wrong. That's okay. We did find out how to get onboard credit because I am a retired teacher and because we are members of AARP. We will have $700 onboard credit on the cruise we booked. I'll wait to book some of our excursions when we get on board for the cruise so we can use these credits. After our appointment we went back to our room until dinner time.
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| Another beautiful sunset |
We went to the Billboard Bar for beer and wine the to the Canaletto specialty restaurant for dinner. I had grilled tiger shrimp, mussel, scallop, and calamari trenette, and lemon ricotta cheesecake. It was all good, but the cheesecake wasn't very lemony. Mike had the grilled tiger shrimp, shrimp and clam spaghetti, and chocolate torte. Also all good. We only one drink and only listened to 1/2 set at the Billboard Bar before going to our room. I was tired and still not completely well from whatever I had.Thursday - March 12, 2026 Sea Day #2
I got up at 8:00 am and went to the Lido where I got coffee and an omelette. When I had finished my breakfast, I got a coffee and omelette to take to the room for Mike. After breakfast we went walking inside the ship. When it was cold out we would walk the length of the ship on one deck, walk down the stairs to the next lower deck, and walk the length of the ship, reqeating this until we got to deck 2. Doing this would get us a male of walking. On deck 3 we went through the shops and I got a ring to wear on the finger where I wear Moms wedding ring. Since I can't get Mom's ring resized, this is a way to prevent it falling off. After walking we went to the room a while and read then went to the Lido for lunch. We shared a cheeseburger and fries from the Dive In Bar. It was good and one was enough for us. After lunch we spent the afternoon in our room resting and reading. At 5:00 pm we went to the Billboard Bar for drinks then to the MDR for dinner. I had tomato basil soup, herb roasted chicken, and coconut pie. Mike had a Caesar salad, herb roasted chicen, and a chocolate torte. It was all very good. After dinner we went to the Billboard Bar where Mike had a Manhattan and I had a Tuscan lemon drop. Both drinks were really good. We listened to two sets at the piano bar and went to our room for the night at 10:00 pm.
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| Lots of pretty sunsets |
Friday - March 13, 2026 Stanley, Falkland IslandsWe got up at 6:30 am and had breakfast delivered to our room. We had an excursion so had to have an early start. We had to meet in the World Stage at 7:50 am to get our ticket and wait our turn to get on a tender. Our tender left at 8:15 am and took about 15 minutes to get to the dock where we got on the double decker bus for our excursion: Stanley Heritage and Gypsy Cove. Mike and I were lucky and got two front seats on the top of the tour bus so we had good, clear views of everything. The tour took us through Stanley and the guide told us about some history and current information about Stanley. Stanley is a small town with not much in it.
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| Beautiful Sunrise |
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| A row of houses in Stanley |
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| The Stanley school |
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| 982 Liberation Monument |
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| 1914 Battle Memorial |
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| One of several shipwrecks |
After driving through the town we stopped by an old ship wreck then went on to Gypsy Cove. At Gypsy Cove we walked a one mile loop next to the cove then around on a hill back to the bus. We saw 4 Magellanic penguins and several dolphins. Most penguins had already left the nesting area for the season.
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| shipwreck of the Lady Elizabeth, located in Whalebone Cove |
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| In front of the shipwreck |
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| A fern by the trail |
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| A pretty plant by the trail |
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| Magellanic penguin pair on the beach |
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| Magellanic penguin on its nest |
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| Penguin #4 |
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| An old gun next to the trail |
When we got back on the bus we went back into town and the excursion ended at a museum. We walked about 1/2 mile back to the tender port. On the way we stopped at a shop so that I could buy a magnet. We also went into the small Catholic church and the larger Christ Church. It was a beautiful day weather wise.
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| Totem of signs for distant towns |
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| Catholic church |
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| Inside the Catholic church |
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| Whalebone arch made to 2 whale jawbones |
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| Mike with whalebone arch |
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| Inside Christ Church |
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| Stained glass windows in Christ Church |
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| Altar area in Christ Church |
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| Pipe organ in the church |
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| Chrish Church |
We got back on board at 12:00 pm, dropped our bags off in our room, and went to the Lido for lunch. After lunch we went back to our room to nap and read. We had to get up too early this morning! At 5:00 pm we went to the Billboard Bar for drinks then to the MDR for dinner. I had a shrimp taco, ravioli, and flan and Mike had black bean soup, veal parmesean, and chocolate cake. As usual everything was good. After dinner we went back to the Billboard Bar, had drinks, and sat through 2 1/2 sets of Jonathon singing and playing. He was so entertaining. We went back to our room at 10:30 pm and called it a day. This was a really good day from start to finish.
Saturday - March 14, 2026 Sea Day #3
I got up at 8:00 am and went to the Lido for breakfast where I got fruit, yogurt, a croissant, and coffee. After I was finished eating I ordered a coffee and omelette to take to Mike in the room. Later we walked around inside the ship because it was cool and windy outside. Later it got so windy that all outside decks were closed and people were told to not use their balcony. We ate lunch in the Lido then went to our room to read and watch the views. The ship was cruising past Cape Horn to make to way around the tip of South America. We went for pre-dinner drinks then dinner in the MDR. I had a Caesar salad, lasagna, and dulce de leche cheesecake. The lasagna was not very good so I didn't eat much of it. I also didn't like the cheesecake. This was the only meal for dinner that I didn't like. Mike had a Caesar salad, pork tenderloin, and chocolate turtle cake. His dinner was good. After dinner we went back to our room for a while. We were allowed back on our balcony and were able to go out and watch the transit past Cape Horn. I had read that the transit around Cape Horn could be rough, but for us it was just mainly windy. The ship rocked a bit, but not enough to bother either of us.
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| Interesting Cliff |
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| Cape Horn |
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| Another view of Cape Horn |
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Going around Cape Horn. We're now members of
the Mossback Club! |
Later we went the the Billboard Bar for drinks, but there was not a show this night. We took our drinks to our room and watched 'A Walk in the Woods'. When the movie was over we called it a night.
Sunday - March 15, 2026 Ushuiah, Argentina
We got up at 7:00 am and had breakfast delivered to our room. We had to be at the World Stage by 8:30 am to get the ticket for our excursion: Drive thru Tierra del Fuego National Park. The excursion started in Ushuiah and then went out of town about 17 miles to the End of the World next to Lapataia Bay. If you walk about 1/2 mile from the parking lot you come to the point where the Pan-American Highway, which begins in Alaska, ends. Since it was pouring down rain when we were there Mike and I decided to not walk to that point, but to just walk a little next to the bay.
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| Scuopture in Ushuia |
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| Old building in Ushuaia |
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| A river in Tierra del Fuego National Park |
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| Sign at the 'End of the World' |
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| It was cold and rainy at the 'End of the World' |
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| Roca Lake |
When we left the bay we went to the Alakush Visitor Center. While there Mike and I walked across the road and next to the Lapataia River. The excursion then took us to Ensenada Zaratiegui Bay next to the Beagle Channel. We walked about 1/2 mile next to the bay. The rain had totally stopped and this was the best stop of the excursion. |
| A lake on our way to the visitor center |
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| On one of our walks |
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| Alakush Visitor Center |
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| Mike at Ensenada Zaratiegui, |
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| Mary at Ensenada Zaratiegui, |
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| Ensenada Zaratiegui, |
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| Ensenada Zaratiegui, |
After this final stop the bus went back to town and let anyone who wanted to walk around in town off at a central stop. Mike and decided to just go back to the ship since we would have only had about 30 minutes in town before onboard time. |
| A local 'rodeo' on the way back to Ushuaia |
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| View on the way to town |
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| Ushuaia sign |
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| Old prison in Ushuaia |
We got back on board at 1:00 pm, went to the Lido for lunch, then to our room to rest. While we were on our balcony looking at the views we saw some humpback whales. At 5:00 pm we went to the Billboard Bar for drinks, then to the MDR for dinner. While we were at the Billboard Bar we saw some more Humpback whales swimming close to the ship. It was really exciting to see the whales. For dinner I had pineapple shrimp, grilled veal with vegetables, and creme brulee. Mike had the same except for dessert he had a chocolate fudge sundae. It was all really good. During dinner the ship cruised by two glaciers. We had a table with a good view, plus every one was getting up to get a better view and take pictures. When we went back to our room to take our medicine, we saw one more glacier and then mountains with lots of snow. We stayed in our room looking at the views for about 1 1/2 hours.
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| Beagle Channel view in area where we saw whales |
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| In the Billboard Bar looking for whales |
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| First glacier we was while at dinner |
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| Second glacier |
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| On balcony with third glacier in background |
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| It was cold out looking at glaciers |
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| The third glacier had a waterfall |
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| Final glacier picture |
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| Mountains in Beagle Channel |
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| More mountains |
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| Sunset |
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| Final mountain view in Beagle Channel |
After sunset we went to the Billboard Bar, got drinks and listened to one set of music. We got another round of drinks and and took them to our room. This was a spectacular day.
Monday -March 16, 2026 Punta Arenas, Chile
I got up at 7:30 am and had breakfast in the Lido. I brought coffee and a chocolate croissant to Mike in the room for his breakfast. We sat around reading until 11:15 am when we went to the Lido for an early lunch. We had to be in the terminal at Punta Arenas by 1:00 pm for our excursion 'Flight of the Condor - an Up Close Encounter'. We boarded the bus just outside the terminal building and had a 1 1/2 hour ride through the Patagonia of Chile to an estacion (sheep farm). On the way to the estacion we saw several caracara birds, four minor rheas, a herd of guanaco, and a lot of sheep. The guide would have the bus driver pull over when it was safe so that we could get a good view of all of the wildlife. At the estacion we had a restroom break then went to an outside area where we were served coffee and cookies.
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Monument outside terminal that
commemorates the 500th anniversary of
the discovery of the Strait of Magellan |
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Monument to the Schooner Ancud which claimed the
Strait of Magellan for Chile |
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Replica of Magellan's Ship (Nao Victoria) on the right and
replica of HMS Beagle on the left |
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| Field of sheep |
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| Northern Crested Caracara |
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| Darwin's Rheas |
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| Entrance to estacion |
When we left the estacion we had about a 5 minute ride to the parking area for the condor rookery. We walked about 1/2 mile on a dirt road to the viewing area. We had binaculars and saw about a dozen Andean condors on the bluff and flying overhead. There was a telescope set up that one of the guides used to take pictures and videos of some condors using the tourists phones. It was exciting to see so many condors and we had plenty of time to view them without feeling rushed.
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| Rookery bluff |
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| Andean Condor |
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| First Andean Condor through telescope |
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| Second Andean Condor through telescop |
When we were finished at the the rookery viewing area we walked back to the bus for our return to the ship. We had a short bathroom break at the estacion on our way back. We got back to the terminal at Punta Arenas at 5:20 pm and had to hurry back to the ship since all aboard was at 5:30 pm. Mike and I were back on board at 5:28 pm, the closest we've ever been to the last boarding time. Of course, the ship would have waited for us since we were on a Holland Americ excursion. After we were back on board we went to our room and got ready for dinner. At 6:00 pm we went to the Billboard Bar for drinks then to the MDR for dinner. I had squash and vegetable soup, chicken parmesean, and strawberry cheesecake. Mike had cheese dip with chips, chicken parmeasean, and hazelnut chocolate torte. Everything was delicious. After dinner we went to the Billboard Bar for drinks and to listen to the performance. We listened to two sets and went back to our room at 11:00 pm. This was a very good day.
Tuesday - March 17, 2026 Sea Day #4
I got up at 7:30 am and went to the Lido where I got coffee and an omelette. After I finished my breakfast I got Mike a coffee and omelette to take to the room. After finishing our breakfast I went to the lobby on our deck and got our passports back. They had been stamped for Chile and Falkland Islands. For sot raime reason we didn't get a stamp for Argentina. After that we walked and went to the Ocean Bar to sit and watch the views. The views in this area were only okay to look at. It rained most of the day, but because of that there were several beautiful rainbows. We went to the Lido for lunch then back to our room for the afternoon. Our room hadn't been made up, but it didn't matter since we would just be sitting around on the bed all afternoon.
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| Cruising through Strait of Magellan |
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| More scenery |
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| One of the beautiful rainbows |
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| Billboard Piano Bar decorated for St. Patrick's Day |
At 5:00 pm we got ready and went to the Billboard Bar for drinks and then to the MDR for dinner. I had coconut crusted shrimp with mango salsa, cod, and key lime mousse. Mike had ham hock broth vegetable soup, hame, vegetables, and dressing, and black forest sundae for dessert. Everything was really good except for the dressing. Mike said it had too much sage. We sat through one set at the Billboard Bar then went to our room to watch a movie. We called it a night at 11:00 pm.
Wednesday - March 18, 2026 Sea Day #5
I woke up at 7:00 am and woke Mike up at 7:30 am to view the Pio XI Glacier. We started seeing it at 8:00 am and watched until 9:00 am when we went to the Lido for breakfast. We went back to our room and continued watching the glacier for another hour. The captain got the ship really close to the glacier and had the ship just sit there with the front just moving from side to side so that everyone could get a good view.
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| First view of Pio XI Glacier |
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| Chunks of ice from the glacier |
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| Cold out! |
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| Still cold |
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| Better view of the glacier. |
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| Pio XI Glacier |
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| Final glacier view |
After the ship left the glacier, it went through the Paso Del Abismo. While cruising through here we saw several South American Fur Seals chasing fish and some dolphins. We also saw lots of waterfalls.
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| First water fall |
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| Enjoying cruising on our balcony |
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| Cruising through Paso del Abismo |
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| Second Waterfall |
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| Final waterfall |
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| Another shot of the waterfall |
At 1:00 pm we went to the Lido for lunch. After lunch we walked the corridors getting in a mile of walking. We went to our room, rested, napped, and read. At 5:30 pm we went to the Billboard Bar for drinks then to the MDR for dinner. This was the only night that we shared a table with other people; 2 couples from Canada and a couple from New Zealand (wife was originally from Russia and had a lot of interesting things to say). I had the crab salad, shrimp with mashed potatoes, and chocolate cake. I had ordered a different dessert, but it had nuts in it so they brought me the chocolate cake. Mike had split pea soup, shrimp, and chocolate cake. This was a really good dinner. Since we were sharing a table dinner took a long time and we weren't finished eating until 8:00 pm. After dinner we went to the Billboard Bar and listened to two sets of music. We took our second drink to our room and watched part of a movie until 11:00 pm. This was a good day.
Thursday - March 19, 2026 Sea Day #6
I got up at 8:00 am, had breakfast in the Lido, then took a chocolate croissant and coffee to Mike in the room. We walked one lap on the promenade deck then walked inside until we had walked a mile. We went to the Lido for lunch then went to our room while we cruised through the Darwin Channel. There was not much to view in the Darwin Channel.
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| Darwin Channel |
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| Darwin Channel |
At 5:00 pm we got ready and went to the Billboard Bar for drinks then to the MDR for dinner. We both had shrimp with avocado, grilled veal with vegetables, and chocolate lava cake. The dinner was good, but the lava cake was too rich. We went to the Billboard Bar, had drinks, and listened to two sets before heading to our room. We finished the movie from Wednesday. I got a text from Eric that he had a job with the Beaver Lake Watershed. So happy!
Friday - March 20, 2026 Puerto Montt, Chile
We got up at 7:00 am and had breakfast in our room. We went to the World Stage at 7:50 am to get our excursion tickets. There was a long line and we didn't get our tickets until 8:10 am. We got on the tender at 8:30 am and were on shore at 8:45 am for our excursion 'Petrohue Falls and the City of Roses'. We had a 1 1/2 hour ride through Puerto Montt then Puerto Varas (city of roses) until we came to the national park. When we got to the falls area it was raining lightly. We walked 1/2 mile to the Petrohue Falls viewing area. The falls were pretty impressive because it had been raining for several days.
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| City of Roses |
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| Lake in Puerto Varas |
When we got back to the ship at 2:15 pm, we went to our room to rest for the afternoon. At 5:00 pm we went to the Billboard Bar for drinks then to the MDR for dinner. I had Bay shrimp cocktail, shrimp with noodles (an Asian dish of some type), and apple pie. Mike had Bay shrimp, beef tenderloin, and a chocolate tulip cake. It was all very good. After dinner we went to the Billboard Bar for the Orange Party. The Dam Band played with Jonathon. It was really good. We sat through two sets then went to our room and started another movie. At 11:30 pm we turned in for the night.
Saturday - March 21, 2026 Sea Day #7
I got up at 7:45 am and went to the Lido for breakfast. After I finished eating I got a coffee and omelette to take to the room for Mike. When Mike had finished with breakfast we went walking in the corridors of each deck until we got down to deck 3. We went to the Ocean Bar and sat there reading until lunchtime. On our way to the Lido we went to the library so I could check my book back in. We had lunch in the Lido then went to our room to begin packing our large suitcases. We both took showers and got ready for dinner. We had pre-dinner drinks one last time at the Billboard Bar then went to dinner at the Pinnacle Grill. I had shrimp cocktail, petite filet, mashed potatoes, asparagus, and key lime pie. Mike had shrimp cocktail, lamb chops, mashed potatoes, creamed spinach, and chocolate souffle. Everything was really good. After dinner we went to the Billboard Bar and had a drink. There was no show at the piano bar this evening so we took our second drink back to the room and finished watching The Joy Luck Club movie. We finished packing and put our large suitcases out in the hall to be picked up for disembarkation on Sunday. We went to bed and were both asleep by 10:30 pm.
We really enjoyed this cruise, probably our favorite cruise we have taken. We liked all of the ports, and the sea days cruising through different passes and channels were spectacular. Now on to Santiago, Chile
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