Opinions on NCL Sun - South American Cruise

My wife and I would like to do the South American Cruise (BA to Valpo) in January / February 2016. I know I may be getting into this a little late, but I would like to take advantage of an open window we have. We have sailed with Princess and Holland America previously and I see that NCL is returning to South America next year. Pricing / dates and balcony availability with NCL work out well for us, but not having sailed NCL before I am a little concerned. Is there a big difference between NCL and the lines we have previously used? Also since NCL is just returning to SA, will the other cruise lines have priority in ports etc.? In other words are there issues I should consider before booking with NCL? Thanks in advance for any comments and your assistance.

My wife and I would like to do the South American Cruise (BA to Valpo) in January / February 2016. I know I may be getting into this a little late, but I would like to take advantage of an open window we have. We have sailed with Princess and Holland America previously and I see that NCL is returning to South America next year. Pricing / dates and balcony availability with NCL work out well for us, but not having sailed NCL before I am a little concerned. Is there a big difference between NCL and the lines we have previously used? Also since NCL is just returning to SA, will the other cruise lines have priority in ports etc.? In other words are there issues I should consider before booking with NCL? Thanks in advance for any comments and your assistance.

We cruise both NCL and Celebrity and like both lines.

We prefer Celebrity, but itinerary and price are major factors

We did Around the Horn with Celebrity and loved it.

Here are my reviews of both our SA cruises

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

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=94024

As far as comparing NCL with the other cruise lines, Celebrity has better food, but NCL has many good specialty restaurants (extra cost).

NCL has excellent entertainment.

NCL's freestyle approach is more casual than Celebrity, which many prefer.

Around the Horn is one of our favorite cruises.

My wife and I would like to do the South American Cruise (BA to Valpo) in January / February 2016. I know I may be getting into this a little late, but I would like to take advantage of an open window we have. We have sailed with Princess and Holland America previously and I see that NCL is returning to South America next year. Pricing / dates and balcony availability with NCL work out well for us, but not having sailed NCL before I am a little concerned. Is there a big difference between NCL and the lines we have previously used? Also since NCL is just returning to SA, will the other cruise lines have priority in ports etc.? In other words are there issues I should consider before booking with NCL? Thanks in advance for any comments and your assistance.

My husband and I love NCL! We have taken 7 cruises in less than 3 years with them on the Star (4times), Dawn, Jewel and Getaway. We are doing SA Santiago-Buenos Aires on the "Sun" Dec. 19th. If possible, I would recommend booking a suite. The larger room and perks are well worth the extra cost if within your budget. Happy Sailing! :)

My husband and I love NCL! We have taken 7 cruises in less than 3 years with them on the Star (4times), Dawn, Jewel and Getaway. We are doing SA Santiago-Buenos Aires on the "Sun" Dec. 19th. If possible, I would recommend booking a suite. The larger room and perks are well worth the extra cost if within your budget. Happy Sailing! :)

Ditto - we have done seven cruises on NCL, all in suites, all with our < 4 yr old son. We are sailing the Sun on Jan 2nd out of BA.

We have been very happy with NCL product; being in a suite is very important for that happiness though - it makes a huge difference at least for us.

Been on the Getaway, Pearl, Jade, Jewel, Dawn and Star x 2. We like the smaller ships better, and we're hoping the Sun is a good fit too.

Thanks for the responses and links to the reviews. My wife and I are booked on the NCL Sun.

We divide our cruising among NCL, Celebrity, and Princess. We make our decisions according to itinerary and price. While we enjoy all three, we probably think of Princess as our favorite for some fuzzy combination of factors, mostly an accumulation of small things. That said, we do like NCL very much and wish that the other two lines would adopt NCL's casual atmosphere. Because we do not pack formal clothes (having had our fill of formal occasions when we worked), on Princess and Celebrity we are forced to go to alternative restaurants on formal nights. On NCL that is never an issue, although the selection of such dining locations is much more varied on NCL anyway. I think you will enjoy your cruise.

I booked for November of 2016 and wonder if I made the right choice for weather and penguin sighting.