Buenos Aires/Santiago - Princess or NCL?

[blondie1234]

Hi, I am interested in going on the South American cruise to Chile/Argentina and am deciding between NCL and Princess in January. NCL goes to two more ports, Puerto Madryn and Puerto Chacabuco. I don't care as much about the differences between the ships themselves and price is comparable b/w them. I am a Princess Platinum member so I would get extra privileges on Princess so all else being equal I would choose Princess. I am wondering if it would be worth it to go on NCL and go to the two extra ports? Also does any one know any port differences between the two, as in, whether one is more likely to skip ports, skip good glaciers, etc.?

[paul929207]

We dd this cruise on the Star Princess in 2008 and loved it. We did not do the cruise on NCL but have one others. We prefer Princess.

[lindaclaff]

Originally Posted by blondie1234

Hi, I am interested in going on the South American cruise to Chile/Argentina and am deciding between NCL and Princess in January. NCL goes to two more ports, Puerto Madryn and Puerto Chacabuco. I don't care as much about the differences between the ships themselves and price is comparable b/w them. I am a Princess Platinum member so I would get extra privileges on Princess so all else being equal I would choose Princess. I am wondering if it would be worth it to go on NCL and go to the two extra ports? Also does any one know any port differences between the two, as in, whether one is more likely to skip ports, skip good glaciers, etc.?

Hi we will take el Celebrity Ininitive 12/29/09 and my parents will go in the NCL 01/28/10, so we will visit Puerto MAdryn, there we will see a continental colony of penguins in Punta TOmbo ,,,if not you can visit Peninsula Valdes ... visit to know more about it http://penguinsandwhalesinportmadryn.blogspot.com/

we have contacted will Flamenco Tour

about PUerto Chacabuco I have not res nothing,....so i have to ...is ti one stop???

So good luck!!! enjoy the cruise!!

[shipshape sam]

We did Star Princess in 2008 and doing Celebrity Infinity in 2010. Star Princess was in very good shape, crew was excellent and ports of call were great. The onboard naturalist was also excellent. She, on our sailing, was very informative. Actually talked to her and husband on an excursion and learned lots from both of them.

We also like Celebrity so we are trying Infinity with a slight different itinerery.

I do not think you can go wrong with either ship.

[Cruisegent]

Originally Posted by blondie1234

Hi, I am interested in going on the South American cruise to Chile/Argentina and am deciding between NCL and Princess in January. NCL goes to two more ports, Puerto Madryn and Puerto Chacabuco. I don't care as much about the differences between the ships themselves and price is comparable b/w them. I am a Princess Platinum member so I would get extra privileges on Princess so all else being equal I would choose Princess. I am wondering if it would be worth it to go on NCL and go to the two extra ports? Also does any one know any port differences between the two, as in, whether one is more likely to skip ports, skip good glaciers, etc.?

Hello Blondie,and Fellow Princess Platinum.DO NOT go on the Norwegian ! The Food Is SUB PAR, No Dressing up, No Champagne Waterfalls etc.We did Ireland Scotland on Norwegian Jade this summer, Ship is NICE But Service left ALOT to be desired,inexperienced personael. Had to go to specialty trestaurants all the time, and they still did not match even the Princess Buffet !We will not go with NCL again,Overly casual Dress, NO FORMAL, They call it Dress up if you like ! STICK with Princess !! Some of the Personnel were REALLY out there.Hope this helps ! Maybe wait and Try the NEW NCL EPIC in 2010 ! We are on Princess sailing for Rio on the 20th of December !

Regards

Cruise Gent !

[Cruiseorr]

Hello Cruise Gent,
We were also on the Jade just this last May and agree with you that the food was definitely subpar. I ordered a sirloin steak one night in MDR and was brought out this paper thin, completely overcooked (ordered medium rare) piece of meat that was as tough as a shoe sole. The meat was cut so thin, and it was so gristly there's no possible way it could be cooked to any temperature but well done. In our 12 cruises, this was the only time I ever sent food back. The Italian specialty restaurant was just OK. Buffet had a selection of Indian food, so that was nice. Desserts were terrible! We ordered fruit and cheese every night after tasting some awful concoction the first night. Wine prices and drink prices very expensive. The one shining plus is how pretty that ship is. Nice staterooms and good layout.

We also sailed the Pride of America and thought the food was much better on that NCL ship, so it could be that the food quality varies from region to region? Perhaps the ship for the S.A. itinerary has better quality food?

On our first and only Princess cruise on the Island had very good food all around and we enjoyed the unique layout of the Princess stateroom where the dressing area and bath is off the entry hall so you aren't getting dressed right in front of the door to the hallway.

So, when it came time to choose which cruise line for our S.A. cruise, we selected the Star because she has such consistently good reviews for this itinerary and the best price for a balcony stateroom. Princess has so many good things to recommend it, that if it would only change it's policy about allowing smoking in staterooms and balconies to make all staterooms non-smoking, to us it would be just perfect.

[cruzisme]

to OP, have you looked at what Holland America offers? we usually sail with Princess but looking at HAL's itinerary esp. the Santiago--BA in Feb, 2010, I like the overnighter in B. Aires.

if we book, this would be our second time to South America. great fun seeing the penguins esp. at Puerto Madryn! thousands of penguins!

[tracytraveller]

Don't you consider Antarctic cruise as an option? Princess and Constellation do them, i.e. BUE-BUE with stops at Montevideo, Falklands, Punta Arenas and Ushuaya

[sailor38]

GO PRINCESS! Yes, there are two more ports with NCL but at same price there's no comparison with quality. We're going around SA on NCL but got a GREAT deal and have balcony. Not expecting great food but looking forward to the adventure. You can see penguins in Falklands and Punta Arenas so don't need to go to Madryn. We hope to go on either Princess or HAL for our next cruise. Have a great time and STAY WARM!

[Tchai Latte]

We did the SA round the capehorn on NCL last christmas 2008. The food was really lousy. Not all NCL ships are the same when it comes to food. We were on the GEM last Sept and the food was good compared to Star. The extra 2 ports on the NCL SA cruise are not that especial. I will not consider these 2 ports as must see on the SA cruise. The Torre del Paine tour is spectacular and my favorite.

Enjoy your cruise. It's gonna be hot and cold.