South America/ Norwegian Sun tips from my trip!

My husband and I were on the Norwegian Sun “Around the Horn” cruise, embarkation December 19th. We had an amazing time. Here are some helpful things we learned, and a few opinions.

Embarkation in Valparaiso: The cruise terminal is in one location, while the ship is 2 miles away. You check in and then take a bus to the ship. No one told us this would be the case. Earlier in the day, while exploring Valparaiso, we were stunned to see the ship not where we were expecting it. I was worried because we didn’t have cell service – what if something was wrong with the ship or terminal? Luckily we found a tour guide on the street who helped us out. This would have been good info to have!

Helpful tip: Don’t assume you will see the “scenic cruising” from your balcony, or that you will hear announcements when it starts. In the Beagle Channel announcements were only made in lounges, not in the hallways. Several people missed the Channel (it was at about 7am). The front desk was also very uninformed about when we would see the scenic cruising and which side of the ship things would be on.

What we did right: Rented a car in Puerto Montt -- It was easy, affordable, and freeing. In Punta Arenas, we booked a tour to Isla Magdelena through Solo Expeditions – awesome tour and half the price of the ship. In Ushuaia, we discovered that Tierra Del Fuego national park is beautiful from the trails, but ugly from the road. We hiked for 3.5 hours and loved the park. People who did a car/bus tour hated it. In Falklands, we did a ship’s excursion to see the King Penguins and it was worth the exorbitant price. It sold out, so I’m so glad we booked way in advance. Also, they let us use our on board credit for the tour! In Puerto Madryn we hired a private guide from a tour operator in town to go to Peninsula Valdes, which was much nicer than expected. Our guide only spoke Spanish but it was fine for us, and it was much cheaper than a taxi or larger tour.

Opinion of Norwegian Sun: We really liked the Sun. We liked the size – it made it a familial atmosphere. The staff was also great. Everyone was really nice and worked hard to make it feel like a community for our 2 weeks on board. The ship does need a refurbishment. The décor is dated and old. The buffet area is way too small for the amount of people, yet the specialty restaurants are way too large. One tip – we had breakfast in Moderno instead of the main buffet which was very pleasant and still had lots of choices, including fresh omelets and waffles. We had a bunch of problems with our room, (ex: our balcony door didn’t fully close) but they fixed them and offered us a night in specialty dining for compensation. Our main complaint was that the staff was uninformed about the scenic cruising and ports.

Food: I’ve never sailed Norwegian before, and I’ve only been on Celebrity. On Norwegian Sun, there was a big difference in quality between MDR and specialty dining. I especially liked Le Bistro, where we ended up eating 3 times. In the MDR, there were some things we liked, but a lot of things that were really not so good. Also, there were only 2 lunch menus that rotated in the MDR. For a 14 day cruise, it was pretty crazy and unacceptable. Food is much better in Celebrity’s MDR. However, I did like having more “casual” food – things like quesadillas and swordfish teriyaki, which we would never see on Celebrity.

Thank you very much for taking the time to post your tips. I will be doing this itinerary in 2017 and am taking notes. We will likely be doing all private excursions. Can you expand more on the ones you took? Did you book with others from the roll call? Were you able to personalize the day? Approximate costs?

Thanks again,

Rochelle

I'm considering booking this for next year, so it was great to read your thoughts. I see you did book one excursion through NCL. Is there a reason you booked through the cruise line? I don't usually do that unless there's a concern about getting back to the ship on time (either the excursion takes up almost all the time we're in port or it's a long distance from the port).

thanks!

Thank you for the tips, I will be taking this cruise on Feb. 13th. Been on NCL Jewel before and quite enjoyed it.

Any tips on clothing to bring for the various weather differences?

I'm considering booking this for next year, so it was great to read your thoughts. I see you did book one excursion through NCL. Is there a reason you booked through the cruise line? I don't usually do that unless there's a concern about getting back to the ship on time (either the excursion takes up almost all the time we're in port or it's a long distance from the port).

 

thanks!

It sounds like they booked Volunteer Point with the cruise lines. I'll offer, it's around half price booking independent, which I have done 3 times with the same reputable vendor.

It sounds like they booked Volunteer Point with the cruise lines. I'll offer, it's around half price booking independent, which I have done 3 times with the same reputable vendor.

Thank you, BQ. :D That's one of the things I'd really love to do if I take this cruise so I'm happy to hear there are reliable independent operators available.

Could you tell us who you booked with please, the ship does not do Volunteer point and I have had a quote of $190pp?

Thank you for the information, we are going the other way in March/April.

Mike

To answer your questions:

- In the Falklands, there were 2 other ships in port at the same time. My husband emailed everyone he could find and all non-cruise excursions were booked up. The ship did NOT go to Volunteer Point. I don't remember the name of the excursion we did, but it was the one that said it has Kings and Gentoos. It was on private property and they only do tours through the ship. It cost $204pp I believe. It was worth it to me to see the Kings. We typically do not use the ship's excursions. We didn't book with the roll call. Our roll call was not that active.

-Solo Exp in Punta Arenas was around $85pp and I think our Puerto Madryn private tour was $90pp. In Puerto Madryn there was a kiosk selling bus tours to Valdes for about $100pp with an English guide - much cheaper than the ship. The kiosk was immediately outside the ship. They sold out within an hour of docking. Unfortunately we decided to explore our options before booking with them and then we were too late. There were no better options in town. In retrospect the private Spanish guide we ended up with may have been better because it was private and he was very nice, but only my husband speaks Spanish so that was interesting....

- The weather is extremely variable, from what I have read. The previous sailing did not make it to the Falklands due to wind and had snow in Ushuaia! I did not even need a jacket hiking in Ushuaia... although I had 3 layers on including an athletic turtle neck top. Bring various athletic layers, scarf, hat, and gloves. I only wore my warm coat once - in Punta Arenas. But you really never know. I never once got to wear my bathing suit as none of the days at sea were warm enough for me. A "day at sea" in the ocean is not the same as a day at sea in the Caribbean! I found the ship very warm when we were in the cold weather ports, and cold when we were in the warm weather ports. Montevideo was sweltering. Bring a poncho and umbrella for rain. We had bad rain in Puerto Montt.

- One more thing: Chocobuco sucks. Pardon my language. Chocobuco will forever be a private joke between me and my husband. We did the public bus from the ship to Coyhuique which was scenic, but I'm very glad we did not spend good money in this port. Honestly, it was by luck that we found the public bus - I'm not sure I can tell you how to do it!

This trip was truly wonderful. Good luck everyone! This was our 4th "sightseeing cruise" together (we've also done Scandinavia, Greece&Turkey, and Balkans, and my husband has done Alaska) and it was a real treat!!!

Seriously useful stuff here.

Thank you.

May I ask how long the ship took to cruise the Beagle Channel?

I think the Beagle Channel took an hour or so. It was early in the morning for us, and then we docked in Ushuaia at noon. We could see scenery outside our balcony, so we thought we were in the clear, but the glaciers were on the other side! Luckily I decided to go to the Observation Deck or we would have missed it completely. We only saw 2 of 3 glaciers. For the other scenic cruising, any side of the ship was fine. The captain went twice around Cape Horn so you can see it from all angles. We did not leave our room for Cape Horn. From what I understand, he does NOT always do this - it is time permitting.

To answer your questions:

- In the Falklands, there were 2 other ships in port at the same time. My husband emailed everyone he could find and all non-cruise excursions were booked up. The ship did NOT go to Volunteer Point. I don't remember the name of the excursion we did, but it was the one that said it has Kings and Gentoos. It was on private property and they only do tours through the ship. It cost $204pp I believe. It was worth it to me to see the Kings. We typically do not use the ship's excursions. We didn't book with the roll call. Our roll call was not that active.

 

-

Lagoon Bluff? It's TripAdvisor's #2 rated excursion after Volunteer Point.

.

Could you tell us who you booked with please, the ship does not do Volunteer point and I have had a quote of $190pp?

http://estancia-excursions.com/tour/volunteer-point/

the Falklands are also the only place to see the Rockhoppers which are my second choice in this area

Volunteer Point has hundreds of Kings, Gentoo and Magellanic penguins.

There is also a cheap shuttle bus, that will take you for a look at penguins from near the port, I think in the $20 range? Good opportunity if you just want to see some.

Thank you, for that, I have actually emailed them a few days ago, no reply so far! I hope we get to see penguins somewhere ! [emoji3]

My husband and I were on the Norwegian Sun “Around the Horn” cruise, embarkation December 19th. We had an amazing time. Here are some helpful things we learned, and a few opinions.

 

Embarkation in Valparaiso: The cruise terminal is in one location, while the ship is 2 miles away. You check in and then take a bus to the ship. No one told us this would be the case. Earlier in the day, while exploring Valparaiso, we were stunned to see the ship not where we were expecting it. I was worried because we didn’t have cell service – what if something was wrong with the ship or terminal? Luckily we found a tour guide on the street who helped us out. This would have been good info to have!

 

Helpful tip: Don’t assume you will see the “scenic cruising” from your balcony, or that you will hear announcements when it starts. In the Beagle Channel announcements were only made in lounges, not in the hallways. Several people missed the Channel (it was at about 7am). The front desk was also very uninformed about when we would see the scenic cruising and which side of the ship things would be on.

 

What we did right: Rented a car in Puerto Montt -- It was easy, affordable, and freeing. In Punta Arenas, we booked a tour to Isla Magdelena through Solo Expeditions – awesome tour and half the price of the ship. In Ushuaia, we discovered that Tierra Del Fuego national park is beautiful from the trails, but ugly from the road. We hiked for 3.5 hours and loved the park. People who did a car/bus tour hated it. In Falklands, we did a ship’s excursion to see the King Penguins and it was worth the exorbitant price. It sold out, so I’m so glad we booked way in advance. Also, they let us use our on board credit for the tour! In Puerto Madryn we hired a private guide from a tour operator in town to go to Peninsula Valdes, which was much nicer than expected. Our guide only spoke Spanish but it was fine for us, and it was much cheaper than a taxi or larger tour.

 

Opinion of Norwegian Sun: We really liked the Sun. We liked the size – it made it a familial atmosphere. The staff was also great. Everyone was really nice and worked hard to make it feel like a community for our 2 weeks on board. The ship does need a refurbishment. The décor is dated and old. The buffet area is way too small for the amount of people, yet the specialty restaurants are way too large. One tip – we had breakfast in Moderno instead of the main buffet which was very pleasant and still had lots of choices, including fresh omelets and waffles. We had a bunch of problems with our room, (ex: our balcony door didn’t fully close) but they fixed them and offered us a night in specialty dining for compensation. Our main complaint was that the staff was uninformed about the scenic cruising and ports.

 

Food: I’ve never sailed Norwegian before, and I’ve only been on Celebrity. On Norwegian Sun, there was a big difference in quality between MDR and specialty dining. I especially liked Le Bistro, where we ended up eating 3 times. In the MDR, there were some things we liked, but a lot of things that were really not so good. Also, there were only 2 lunch menus that rotated in the MDR. For a 14 day cruise, it was pretty crazy and unacceptable. Food is much better in Celebrity’s MDR. However, I did like having more “casual” food – things like quesadillas and swordfish teriyaki, which we would never see on Celebrity.

We were also on that same cruise. It was a great cruise! Ill totally agree with you on the buffet. Seriously, who designed that thing? Way too small is an understatement. I told my wife I called it wall street buffet since it reminds me of that zoo you see on tv when the stock traders are all going crazy. ;)

Breakfast buffet tip: eat in moderno. Theres a really nice expanded continental buffet with egg and waffle stations. Its Very light and healthy. Also very few people are in there most days.

Breakfast buffet tip: eat in moderno. Theres a really nice expanded continental buffet with egg and waffle stations. Its Very light and healthy. Also very few people are in there most days.

Is this freely available or only for those in suites?

Thanks

Mike

Moderno is open to anyone, but it seems few people know about it. It was my best find of the trip!

In the MDR, there were some things we liked, but a lot of things that were really not so good. Also, there were only 2 lunch menus that rotated in the MDR. For a 14 day cruise, it was pretty crazy and unacceptable. Food is much better in Celebrity’s MDR. However, I did like having more “casual” food – things like quesadillas and swordfish teriyaki, which we would never see on Celebrity.

Only 2 luncheon menus on a 14 day cruise? :eek: That is terrible! Was there a decent variety in the buffet?

Although we are very light drinkers, we have been looking forward to trying different drinks with our UBP. Now I am seriously wondering if I should change this to the UDP while there is still time.

We normally bring some individual packages of trail mix from Costco to use as a snack while cruising But there are several posts on the internet that are mostly older that state that these types of food may be confiscated when you enter Chile (our cruise starts in Argentina and ends in Chile on Jan 30th). Did you bring any snack food into Chile?where you asked about food? And was there any issues? Thanks

I assume the taxis or Vans are still outside the dock in Valpariso as we always used them to go into SANTIAGO for a few days. Thanks.

We brought snacks to ports, granola bars and stuff like that. It looked like they were only confiscating fresh food like fruit people brought from the buffet.

We brought snacks to ports, granola bars and stuff like that. It looked like they were only confiscating fresh food like fruit people brought from the buffet.

Thanks. Good to hear. Where you asked if you had these snacks? And as long as answered truthfully, there was no issues I assume?

Were you asked if you had these snacks?

If we are doing a shorex with no meal or refreshment and it is only a short one I always carry two or four ship cookies in an NCL napkin in my pack. I have never been asked if I am carrying any food. And I never try to take them back on the boat, if not eaten.

Mike

If we are doing a shorex with no meal or refreshment and it is only a short one I always carry two or four ship cookies in an NCL napkin in my pack. I have never been asked if I am carrying any food. And I never try to take them back on the boat, if not eaten.

 

Mike

Guidelines are sometimes placed in the ship newsletter. But just because you weren't "asked" doesn't mean it was "ok" to take something. So much damage has been done to the environment, I think it's better to be conservative.

If we are doing a shorex with no meal or refreshment and it is only a short one I always carry two or four ship cookies in an NCL napkin in my pack. I have never been asked if I am carrying any food. And I never try to take them back on the boat, if not eaten.

 

Mike

Be careful in Cozumel. When I was there in November, they had a dog sniffing everyone's bags near the end of the pier. I was surprised just how many people had food with then.

Rochelle