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Greetings from sunny Lynnwood, Washington.
We’ve had several days of hot weather but today is a bit cooler. I’ve been busy the last several weekends, on both Saturday and Sunday, loading buses for all of our Alaska land and see cruise/tours…. Right now we have over 500 Travel With Alan travelers in Alaska!
Today I am very pleased to tell you that we have been able to get more space on the trip that everyone’s been asking for…….a trip to South America and Antarctica. This year’s journey will be made on one of Holland America Line’s “Vista Class” ships, the ms Oosterdam! Many of you have heard from your friends about their South America and Antarctica cruises for the past few years and are waiting to go yourself. This year, not only did we get an incredible rate, but we have a ton of perks thrown in AND the trip is over Christmas and New Year. We’ve all been cooped up at home for the last year, so now is the time to start making plans for a big celebration for the holidays!
Join our group on December 19th, as we fly from cities all-across the U.S. and Canada to Buenos Aires, Argentina. You will arrive in Buenos Aires on the morning of December 20th. We have planned a short, panoramic Buenos Aires city tour upon arrival before going to the pier and boarding the ms Oosterdam. You will then remain in Buenos Aires for the rest of the day and night and the whole next day. You will have time to explore Buenos Aires, take a tour, or even see a tango show! Then, on the evening of December 21st, you will set sail to see the best of South America, going around Cape Horn and up to San Antonio, Chile. Look at all of these great ports of call:
Buenos Aires, Argentina (overnight onboard)
· Montevideo, Uruguay
· Punta Del Este, Uruguay
· Puerto Madryn, Argentina
· Stanley / Falkland Islands / Isla Malvinas
· Antarctic Experience (4 full days)
· Cruising Drake Passage & Cape Horn
· Daylight cruising Glacier & Beagle Channel
· Punta Arenas, Chile
· Cruising Strait of Magellan
· Cruising Sarminto Channel & Amalia or Brujo Glacier
· Cruising Chilean Fjords
· Puerto Chacabuco, Chile
· Puerto Montt, Chile
· San Antonio (Santiago), Chile
As you can see, in the middle of the cruise, you have a 4-day Antarctic Experience. I have been to all of the ports on this cruise many times, but I have never been to Antarctica. I am told that visiting Antarctica is a life-changing experience. Every day is more glaciers, penguins, whales and more! On Holland America, you will also have lectures about Antarctica and expert narration as you are doing the scenic cruising. And, imagine waking up on Christmas in Antarctica! Even though the larger cruise ships cannot do landing in Antarctica, our past Holland America Antarctica cruisers report seeing spectacular sights that they thought they’d never see in their lifetimes.
Holland America really knows how to celebrate the holidays. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are always special, from festive dinners, special shows, eggnog socials and sing-a-longs, and even a visit from Santa himself (even though it’s a very long way from the North Pole to Antarctica!).
New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day are equally special, with music all over the ship and parties until the wee hours! On New Year’s day, you will be gently cruising through the spectacular Chilean Fjords.
On January 11th, your cruise will end in the port of San Antonio, Chile. Upon leaving the Oosterdam, after more than three weeks aboard, you will have a scenic tour through Chile’s wine region. Along the way, you will tour a Chilean winery with a wine tasting and some empanadas (beef pies). You will then proceed to the capital city of Santiago, where you will check-in at a first-class hotel. After some free time, you will transfer to a popular restaurant for a great Chilean dinner (with more Chilean wine!) and a folkloric show, where you will experience the music, dance, and costumes from Chile’s many regions.
The next day you will have a big breakfast, included at the hotel and a free morning. In the afternoon you will have a Santiago city tour, visiting many of the most popular sites in the city. After the tour, you will have another great Chilean dinner before heading to the airport for your late-night flight home. You should arrive in your home city around mid-day the next day. What an adventure! After all of this time stuck at home, you will have treated yourself to a very special reward.
As usual, the best part about this trip is the price….. $6980 per person, based on double occupancy, for the complete package. Government taxes, fees, and port expenses of $505 are additional. This price includes round-trip air from most many major airports in the U.S. and Canada. Air from some smaller cities may incur a surcharge. The price also includes the tour and transfer, upon arrival in Buenos Aires, the 22-day cruise aboard the ms Oosterdam, an upgrade to a verandah (balcony) stateroom the 1-night/2-day post cruise tour in Chile and more.
For this cruise, we have also included some very special amenities onboard the ship. For your cruise, you will have your standard onboard tips prepaid! Also, everyone in our group will have a $500 per person beverage credit to enjoy during the cruise. This can be used for specialty coffees and smoothies to wine, beer and cocktails. Each stateroom will also have a complimentary “Surf” internet package, giving you access onboard to e-mail and social media. Also, everyone in our group will have complimentary valet laundry service, so you can send out all of the laundry you like. It will be washed, dried, and hung or folded and delivered to your room the next day. This is a great service, especially on a longer cruise. As I said, everyone in our group will have an automatic upgrade to a verandah stateroom, with a private balcony.
You can further upgrade to one of the better verandah staterooms (Category VC or above, at Holland America’s discretion) for an additional $190 per person. You can also upgrade to a very spacious “Signature Suite” for an additional $2250 per person, or to one of the ship’s “Neptune Suites”, with access to the exclusive “Neptune Lounge” for an additional $5650 per person. All prices are based on double occupancy. Please call for the current single and triple rates. This is a great price for this trip at any time (especially with all of the “extras” that are thrown in), but for over the holidays, this price is beyond incredible.
If you would like to spend the holidays in an incredible part of the world, give us a call at:
1-855-885-9252
OR
For faster service, you may now click on the sign-up link below to use our new online Travel With Alan Booking Form:
Travel With Alan Booking Form
If you prefer to call our office, please have the following information available for EACH guest:
· Full legal name, (first, middle and last), exactly as it appears on your passport
· Home mailing address (address where you receive your credit card statement).
· Two phone numbers, per stateroom booked
· Your e-mail address (where you would like to receive correspondence for this tour)
· Date of birth
· Credit card number, expiration date, and security code
If you are a past passenger on Holland America Line, you will want to add your Mariner Society number, please have that ready for our agent. This way we can assure that you get your credit for this cruise. Also, If you have any Holland America or Travel with Alan credits that you would like to apply to this booking, please notify us at the time of booking either on the phone or on the digital booking form.
If you want to go on this trip, call us, or go online to reserve your spot …. space is limited. Full payment is due at the time of booking and all payments are non-refundable. Travel insurance is available. Then, before you know it, you’ll be off to spend the holidays in some of the world’s most spectacular scenery and enjoying all of the beautiful culture of South America.
Have a great week and enjoy the summer. I’ll be back next week with more!
Alan
Alan Schiller
Group Coordinator
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