Round the Horn or Buenos Aires Round Trip

I am thinking of a South American Cruise but I honestly cannot decide what itinerary i should consider. My husband (75) and I (mid 60's) love to explore new cities and we enjoy some nature explorations -but hiking or other strenuous excursions are getting more and more difficult for my husband. An ideal day would be strolling around a city, stopping at lots of cafes, seeing a museum or two, and maybe some shopping. I first thought of the Buenos Aires - Santiago trips on Celebrity or Oceana, but it seemed that they were very heavy into exploring nature - glaciers, waterfalls, penguins etc. I tun looked at the Buenos Aires round trip which visits Rio, Monetevideo, Punte del Este, as well as Santos, Ilhabela and Buzios.

We are not beach people so i am worried that Ilhabela and Buzios would be just beach stops.

Can anyone who has taken either or both of these cruises share their insights about the relative merits of each itinerary, especially given our physical constraints and personal interests.

Thanks so much'

We have not taken the Brazil option, but did do the Around the Horn from Buenos Aires to Valparaiso.

The Brazil option requires obtaining Brazilian visas, which are expensive and can be a royal pain in the butt.

Around the Horn takes to you cities, as well as sites with wonderful nature and wildlife.

You can take tours or excursions that require modest walking.

Around the Horn one of our favorite cruises. We did it on Celebrity Infinity.

Here is my review.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=248878

Hi, kgmoran, we did a Santos roundtrip with BA, Montevideo and Punta del Este plus pre-cruise in Rio and loved the experience. Note that like Ilhabela and Buzios, Punta is primarily a beach resort--there is an artist's home/studio that folks talk about, but I can't recall much more of a non-beach, non-wildlife orientation. If you do a keyword search of this forum inputting the port name, you will retrieve more information about each. Be aware, also, that the itinerary you describe will be considered an "immersion cruise," i.e., one that is marketed to the locals, so there will be some modifications to cuisine, dining times and entertainment to cater to local custom, non-Argentine and -Brazilian pax will be in the minority and English will probably be the third language in ship announcements, although staff and crew will certainly speak English and provide all the support you may require. I didn't think securing a Brazilian visa was an issue--it simply requires attention to detail and advance planning + patience, as some of the US consulates have been notoriously slow.

Have you and your husband exhausted the various European itineraries? It sounds like they might be better fits for your tastes and desire to keep the physical aspect low-impact. I, too, enjoy urban rambles and the cafe scene! But it can be more challenging to identify those options if you are looking for a trip in the North American/European winter months. Perhaps a Danube cruise during the Christmas market season?

Best wishes on your research and planning, wherever you go!

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We´ve done the round the horn Itinerary twice, Valparaiso to BA and Rio to San Francisco (although some people got off in Valparaiso) nd con thoroughly recommend them. One was with Princess aand the other with HAL on the Zandaam. As far as I recall everything was in English. Next year we are doing a T/A strting in Rio and going up the coast of Brazil before setting out across the Atlantic to Tererife, Lanzarote, Malaga and Genoa with MSC. We expect this cruise not to have many English speakers

Sandy in Spain

You'd hit cities you could explore on either cruise. We took the B.A.-Valparaiso cruise on Princess about 5 years ago (I think the cruise now starts in Rio). Explored B.A. and Montevideo, and Valparaiso. There were no mandatory shore excursions, so you don't have to hike anywhere. The ship may or may not go around Cape Horn itself (it's up to the captain, based on conditions that day).

I'd look in depth at the stops you'd make, and the things you'd pass by, with either option. B.A. is a great place to visit. Montevideo much smaller. The other stops on the Brazil cruise, other than Rio, are smaller towns/tourist locations. Possibility of rough seas is probably greater on the Cape Horn option, but in our case the roughest seas we hit were as we entered the Pacific out of Puntas Arenas (due to a storm). If cities are important to you, you might check the possibility of taking Princess from Rio to Valparaiso (or vice vesa), via Buenos Aires.

Or, if you're city people, not beach people, and if you're not so interested in the natural scenery on the Cape Horn cruise, have you considered a cruise in Europe? Even a river cruise?

I have cruised (on Princess) around the Horn from Rio to Valparaiso, but have also spent time in Buenos Aires on a previous non-cruise trip. Going around Cape Horn, you will see spectacular scenery in Patagonia. Most of this can be seen from the ship.

Having said this, I also feel Buenos Aires is worth a visit and more than the one day usually afforded by cruise ships. You could take a day visit out to an estancia (working ranch) on the Pampas. Another relaxing day would be to take a local train to Tigre fora a boat ride on the Tigre River Delta. There are many things to do in BA that are not strenuous. Don't forget the great steaks either!