Mercruiser

I have a different viewpoint. I prefer Caribbean cruises that depart from San Juan. I like starting the cruise in the reliably warm part of the Caribbean. I also prefer to NOT have the 2 sea days at the start & end of the cruise going from/to Florida. I like sea days between port stops, not before/after all the port stops.

That makes sense. Another thing to add to your suggestion. HAL and Princess visit Glacier Bay way more than other cruise lines. You will want to cruise through Glacier Bay on one of your Alaska cruises. https://www.nps.gov/glba/index.htm

I agree with everything in your post, except I have a different outlook on the ports. HAL and Princess dock in Whittier. All other cruise lines dock in Seward. Yes, Seward is farther away from Anchorage than Whittier. But Seward has a lot more to see than Whittier. Even if cruising in/out of Whittier, I recommend spending a day or more in Seward. (I'll be spending a week there this summer!) Either way you go, the scenery between Seward, Whittier, and Anchorage is spectacular. The whole Kenai Peninsula is one of the most beautiful places on earth. Here are some of the Seward attractions: Kenai Fjords National Park - Access by Tour Boat. See whales, sea lions, tidewater glaciers https://www.nps.gov/kefj/index.htm Alaska Sea Life Center - aquarium https://www.alaskasealife.org/ Seavey's Sled Dogs - 3 time winner of the Iditarod race https://ididaride.com/ Exit Glacier Trailhead - You can walk to this glacier from the parking lot https://www.nps.gov/kefj/planyourvisit/exit-glacier-area.htm

I am hoping it's a newbuild announcement. Yes, I know that is very unlikely!

I really like your approach of spending 4 - 7 days in Alaska between cruises. Alaska is really easy to see on your own with a rental car. When cruising to/from Alaska, we normally get a one way car rental between Whittier/Seward and Anchorage (flying to/from Anchorage). There is a huge number of things to see on the Kenai Peninsula, including lots of mountains and glaciers. With a rental car, you can pull over any time to watch bears, elk, eagles, etc. In your case, you could probably return the car to the same location in Whittier/Seward. Mixing cruise lines provides the most options, as Visagrunt points out: HAL one way, Princess/Celebrity/etc. the other way. Personally, I'd prefer to mix cruise lines for the variety of food and entertainment. One more suggestion, May might be a bit early, depending on what you want to do in the mountains. A lot of trails would still be snowy/muddy. I'd wait until June. I meet a lot of Texans in Alaska, getting away from the summer heat. Maybe you should come in August - the hottest month in Houston. BTW - We will be spending the whole summer in Alaska camping with the truck and trailer. As part of that trip, we will spend a week at a waterfront camping spot in Seward, watching the ships come and go.

I see in your signature that you have a Santiago to Buenos Aires cruise in 2025. You will have to let us know how the Ushuaia KC compares to Chicken of the Sea. 😁

Chile and Argentina have sizable King Crab fisheries. We had excellent King Crab recently in Puerto Natales Chile and Ushuaia Argentina. Ushuaia is on many South American cruise itineraries. I thought the taste was as good or better than Alaskan KC. They also have local KC in Norway, but the price makes Alaskan KC seem like a bargain.

We stayed at the Park Tower, which shares a building with the Sheraton.. I really liked the location, across from a big park, near the cruise port. If the Park Tower is too pricy, stay at the Sheraton. The two hotels share a big outdoor pool and fitness center. Getting around was easy using Uber, which costs about 1/4 of what we pay at home. We used it multiple time a day to see all the sites on our own.

We recently spent 3 nights in B.A. post-cruise plus another 2 days at Iguazu Falls. We had a great time and its a very enjoyable city. If your time is flexible, I'd suggest having two full days in B.A, followed by your cruise embarkation. Here are a few suggestions: We stayed at the Park Tower (which is in the same building as the Sheraton). I'd recommend either one of these. The location is good and the service level is really high. We took a half-day Viator city tour to get familiar with the top sites, then toured on our own afterwards using Uber to get around. Uber prices are about 1/4 of what they would be in a North American or European city. We used Uber multiple times per day. We spent 6 weeks in South America on this trip. We don't speak Spanish. It was never had a problem that could not be solved using Google Translate. Pay for everything with a credit card. See my post on that:

I ran into the pristine bills issue just a couple of times in a 6 week visit. I am surprised that they care about this. US bills are worth their full face value as long as you have >50% of the bill. Read it here: https://www.bep.gov/services/mutilated-currency-redemption I've lived in the USA all my life and never had anyone refuse bill that had an ink spot, until I was in Argentina, which is especially ironic given that their own currency devalues at great speed.

Note that all three of you can simultaneously share a single internet connection using the Hotspot feature on your Android or iPhone. We do this all the time on cruise ships. The only significant limitation is that you have to be near the phone that has the hotspot feature turned on. You cannot be spread out over the ship when doing this. Your son could share his high-speed connection with you using this method. The iPhone instructions are here: https://support.apple.com/en-us/111785 Android here: https://support.google.com/android/answer/9059108?hl=en This also works for sharing an Airalo Esim internet connection, or a in-flight Internet package.

You will be surrounded by King Penguins at Volunteer Point in the Falklands. There are so many penguins on the move that you have to step out of their way as they waddle between the shore and the rookery. See photos here.

We found a wonderful restaurant in Cusco on the main square: Mistura Grill Cusco. It was so good, we went twice. The prices are about 1/2 to 1/3 what I would expect to pay for a restaurant of this caliber. Our dinner for two was $35! https://maps.app.goo.gl/2wTa6tC9MnsCwKuz7 We got a window table overlooking the square. I've redacted our friends, who are in the Witness Protection Program. (Actually, I have not taken the time to ask if they mind being posted on social media.) We had trout, stuffed chicken, and alpaca pepper steak. All were wonderful. This place is so good, I'd skip a Princess tour meal to go here.

Here was our first view of MP. This was after walking uphill, from the bus stop, for about 20 minutes. It started raining about 20 minutes later and did not stop. We returned the next morning and it was mostly sunny. I wonder how a cruise-line tour does MP, given that many folks on cruise line tours are physically unfit for this kind of walking. This isn't a drive-by bus tour kind of place.

We recently completed a 1-week DIY trip to Cusco and Machu Picchu. I don't know anything specifically about Princess's tour. But here are a couple of things learned about MP and Cusco. MP is NOT a dress-up kind of place. Most people are dressed for hiking and heavy walks. You will not need to dress up at all, anywhere, anytime. Wear practical clothes for walking outdoor in cool and rainy weather. Then the sun comes out and you are warm. Have a backpack where you can keep a rain-jacket and other layers you take off during the sunny times. The weather in Cusco and MP will be very cool. MP is in a cloud forest, which means it can rain at any time. Be prepared for rain which means bring a good rain jacket or buy one of those disposable rain ponchos that are sold by every street vendor. Bring shoes that can get wet and have good traction. Don't be discouraged if it rains - it can be sunny 30 minutes later. The weather changes real fast. Beware of the altitude. Cusco (11,000 to 12,000 feet) is about the same elevation as Leadville, CO. Being from Colorado, you'll be better off than someone who lives near sea-level. We had zero issues with bugs at MP (Iguazu falls is another story!!!).