reviews of cruises around the Cape

Hi

I am planning a trip to South America in 2005. I have been scanning this site looking for information about people's experiences. So if anyone has posted a review or just a portrait of their cruise experience, I would love to read it. Please give me a link or where to search. We are currently, contemplating booking the HAL Rotterdam VI leaving Rio on November 20, 2005. I have never cruised HAL, but I like the way they go from Rio instead of BA. I would like to visit both, so it is a plus. I am interested in all lines as far as your reviews or experiences. A little about me, I am 45 and married. We have cruised to Hawaii and we cruised from New Zealand to Tahiti and Hawaii last year. I have cruised the Med and of course the caribbean. We are doing a land vacation to Europe this fall, and I am contemplating a trip to Austrailia in 2006 for our 25th anniversary. I really like to read about your experiences so please feel free to relate away!

Thanks, to all of you for your help in planning my trip.

jc

Legend of the Seas RCI 3/03 New Zealand, Tahiti, Hawaii, Adventure of the Seas RCI 2/02 Southern Caribbean, Radiance of the Seas RCI 10/01 Vancouver to Hawaii, Millennium Celebrity 10/00 Eastern Mediterranean, Galaxy Celebrity 12/99 Southern Caribbean, Sensation Carnival 4/98 Eastern Caribbean, Majesty of the Seas RCI 1/96 Western Caribbean

email me at xpcdoojk@yahoo.com

We did the Amtserdam this past March Santiago To Buenis Airies,It was so fantastic the scenery you cannot believe,I notice the cruise line youve been on has been the RCCL.Your will find HAL a little more upscale.If you are leaving from Rio Be sure you book a Starboard outside varandah ,This way you always see land and the coast line from your cabin.If you are traveling the reverse make sure its a port side Cabin.

Thanks for the tip, Acrusa. I have also cruised Celebrity, and my brother is a double digit HAL cruiser, so I think I have a good idea about the atmosphere on HAL, but you are correct that it is a little more formal than RCI. Although, I have done several non-caribbean long cruises and those tend to have a much more mature crowd. On the last cruise I think there were only about 10 people under the age of 18. We are comfortable in formal wear on formal night.

How was the weather, on your cruise? Was there a significant amount of rough seas? Did you do any must do tours?

thanks

jc

We left Valparaiso Chile at 5 PM 80 degrees.that night very rough seas,and the next day.Captain canceled formal night and the show,told the ladies not to wear heels.After that first night it was like sailing on a lake all around the horn and into Buenis Aires.The Falklands where no problem 65 degrees and sunny,Ushuaia 85 degress and hot.The must see is Puerto Montt Chile the lakes and volcanos in my oppinion.If you are over nighting in Buenis Aires you must have lunch on afternoon at the Alvea Palace Hotel Fantastic buffet for $18.00 pp.We stayed at the hotel for 3 nites Fantastic place.

Thanks again Acrusa. I have to get on the rest of my group, starting with my wife this weekend and get this trip booked!

Anyone else reading this want to relate your stories and direct me to reviews you may have made for you trip?

Acrusa, I am now going to visit tripadvisor.com and see what they say about Alvea Palace Hotel. Thanks so much for the tip! Keep em coming!

thanks

jc

Just a reminder when you book your cabin,Make sure you are on the porper

side of the ship always facing land,So when you travel thru the Chilean Fjord and the Glacers, you could be relaxing on your Verandah and have a full view without leaving your cabin.

Book early you can always cancel and all those cabins are booked up first.

jc: we did the SA/Antarctica cruise on the Amsterdam from Dec 18-Jan 8 and were blessed with great weather and smooth seas for the vast majority of the 21 day cruise. We had low clouds and rain the one day in the Chilean fjords and Pius glacier and one rough night in the Pacific after we left Puerto Montt, going south. The morning we sailed around Cape Horn brought us broken clouds and flat seas (kind of disappointing in a fashion). Temperatures in Valpo and Puerto Montt were in the 70s and then it got cooler as we progressed south-on Christmas day in Ushuaia it was in the 50s and the same in the Falklands on New Years Eve. Buenos Aires and Montivideo were each in high 70s/low 80s, but Rio it was very warm and humid, in the high 80s. I think the sea state is just the luck of the draw for the most part, for a SA cruise. Our itinerary was from Valpo to Rio, by way of Antarctica. Hope this helps you.

Bill S

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Hi JC,

Go to www.cruisereviews.com and www.cruisemates.com and you will find reviewsand photos of S.A. cruises this year and the past two years. I'll post some more sites when I recheck them for you. We did Valparaiso to Buenos Aires February 1, 2004 on the Infinity and had wonderful weather and calm seas. We all took heavy clothes and seasickness meds and didn't need them. We met people on this board and it made the cruise even more enjoyable. We had over 65 people at our Cruise Critic party.

Thanks Bill S and shoshona2. I am busy checking out the links you posted, I haven't visited the cruisereviews site for years, and I haven't posted at cruisemates in a long time, either.

jc

I have learned a lot about my future Austrailia cruise because of this thread. thank you Ann!

But I still want and need more information about SA cruises. So let me know about your hard work writing a report on your past trips!

jc

We did the Cape route on the Celebrity Zenith and loved it!!!! She's a perfect size and the food and service was great!

narob

Thanks, for the information. I would like to take Celebrity, but they do the Valparaiso to Buenos Aires, and HAL does it to inclued Rio de Janeiro too. I would like to see Rio since I am going all of this way. That is a huge advantage that HAL seems to be unique in offering.

Keep your stories coming!

thanks to all

jc

We too are looking into cruising to South America in November, 2005, and have been looking into the Rotterdam. Would love to hear more about people's experiences on the ship or on this route.

Hi Ponstad

We booked this cruise this week. I have started a roll call on the HAL roll call forum. I hope you can join us. I have, also, discovered from reading a travel guide book on SA, that the right whale season is from June to December, and that this is the best cruise for seeing the whales. Just a little bonus.

Keep linking us to reviews of your experiences!

thanks everyone

jc

PS note my updated sig!!!!!

Upcoming cruise HAL Rotterdam VI 11/2005 South America

Legend of the Seas RCI 3/03 New Zealand, Tahiti, Hawaii, Adventure of the Seas RCI 2/02 Southern Caribbean, Radiance of the Seas RCI 10/01 Vancouver to Hawaii, Millennium Celebrity 10/00 Eastern Mediterranean, Galaxy Celebrity 12/99 Southern Caribbean, Sensation Carnival 4/98 Eastern Caribbean, Majesty of the Seas RCI 1/96 Western Caribbean

email me at xpcdoojk@yahoo.com

I did the South America cruise on the NCL Dream. Different line than what you're doing but maybe some of the same ports. Here's parts of my review from that trip. We went BA to Santiago in March 2002.

The Buenos Aires airport isn’t one of the better examples of efficiency and customer friendliness. The customs and immigration line is congested and confusing. The baggage claim isn’t very easy to maneuver. You have to wait in another line to have your baggage x rayed before you can leave the baggage claim area. Once I got out of the secure area I was confronted with masses of people holding up signs for this party or that party. There are no defined areas for people waiting for people. It’s a free for all. I did find the cruise line rep and handed my luggage off to the porters to take it to the ship. After being awake all night, I could have done without the hectic nature of the Buenos Aires airport. The group of us that arrived on my flight got on the bus for the trip to the pier. On the way we got some information about Buenos Aires.

When we got to the pier, it was still pretty early and they had just started letting people get on board. This is funny...I just went through customs to enter Argentina but as I was getting on the ship I had to go through customs again in order to leave Argentina. You wouldn’t normally have to do that if the first port of call was Argentina but the first port was in Uruguay so we had to go through customs and immigration. I got several Argentinean stamps in my passport.

This was the fourth time I had been on the Dream. On March 4 we were in Montevideo, Uruguay. Montevideo is the capital of Uruguay and the country’s commercial, industrial and cultural center. That morning it was rainy and icky. I didn’t have a tour planned. I got off the ship and took the shuttle to a local leather factory. From there I went to a sweater factory and bought some souvenirs. I didn’t see any of the surrounding areas and from what I heard from people that did, I didn’t miss anything. On March 5 we were at sea.

On March 6 we were in Puerto Madryn, Argentina. The big thing to do in Puerto Madryn is to go to the Punta Tombo Penguin Reserve. It sounds simple enough but it was a journey. Instead of doing the ship’s tour, Shary, Barbara and I hired a car with an English speaking guide and we went on our own. Punta Tombo is about 3 hours away by car. We made it in two hours. Raoul, our driver, drove 160 km an hour on the paved road. We were on the paved road for about 40 minutes. Then you turn onto a dirt and gravel road where we did 100 km an hour for an hour and twenty minutes. It was wild. We were in the middle of nowhere on a makeshift road in a foreign country. FINALLY we made it to Punta Tombo. There are approximately 750,000 Magellanic penguins at this reserve. They’re everywhere and they’re accustomed to humans so it was easy to walk among them. You couldn’t walk two steps without running into a penguin. They were molting when we were there so you could see them scratching away to shed their feathers. Before leaving the reserve we stopped at the little gift shop/cafe and bought souvenirs and ate lambs meat empanadas. After we left there, we went to the town of Trelew and to the Paleontology Museum to see the dinosaur bones recovered from the area. Then we went to Puerto Madryn and got a tour of the city. After that, we asked our guide if we could do a little shopping, go to the post office and go to a grocery store to buy sodas and water to bring back to the ship. We had a wonderful day. The guide we had spoke excellent English and we saw everything there was to see. On March 7 we were at sea again.

On March 8 we anchored in Port Stanley, Falkland Islands. It was a magnificent day. The weather was spectacular. It’s such a huge deal that the weather was good because leading up to Port Stanley, the captain was preparing us for terrible weather and the good possibility that we wouldn’t get to stop at all. As a matter of fact, during the whole season that the ship was doing South America, the ship had only been able to stop at the Falklands once. So to have the most beautiful day was like a gift from the weather gods. The captain even commented that evening that in his five years of cruising South America he had never had weather as good as we had that day. We anchored instead of docked because there isn’t a dock area perse in Port Stanley. I took the tender over at around noon. Because the ship could never guarantee that it would stop in the Falklands there were no ship organized tours. Once on the small pier area you could take tours offered but I didn’t. It was such a glorious day that I just wanted to walk around the island. Port Stanley is really a nice quaint town. All the buildings are painted in bright colors. When you look at the buildings along the waterfront you see a kaleidoscope of colors. I walked, I shopped and I went to the post office. I mailed myself a postcard so I would have a Falkland Island postmark. I really enjoyed this day.

On March 9 we cruised around Cape Horn. The feeling of cruising around the very tip of a continent and being in a place traveled by so many explorers was special to me. I felt like I was initiated into a private club that not everyone gets to be a part of. It was a picturesque day even though the seas did get rough and it did rain off and on.

On March 10 we were in Ushuaia, Argentina. Snowcapped peaks, crystalline rivers, white-ribbon waterfalls and dense woodlands are the backdrop for this southernmost town in the world and the closest city to Cape Horn. It was very cold and windy. I didn’t do a tour. Instead I got off the ship and walked around the whole town. It was a nice place. The mountains that backdrop the city are breathtaking. I did some shopping at a local market and then stopped into a cafe for a coffee as it started to lightly snow. It was peaceful. After leaving Ushuaia, we passed through the Beagle Channel and saw six different glaciers. It reminded me of Alaska only more scenic.

On March 11 we were in Punta Arenas, Chile, our first stop in Chile. It was a little cold and unbelievably windy. I spent the day with Jahaira. We walked around the town and went to a few markets. Then we went to Sotito’s Bar for lunch. I heard from someone that Sotito’s had the best king crab in Chile. Believe me...it was. We both had huge lump crab meat in a bowl with a little cream to keep it moist and then covered with cheese and baked. It was an amazing meal. We both hated it to end. Sotito’s does have the best king crab in Chile and dare I say anywhere else. On Tuesday, March 12 we passed through the Strait of Magellan and saw the impressive Amalie Glacier. The captain got us up close and personal with the glacier and they even lowered a rescue boat into the water and retrieved some glacier ice.

On March 13 we were at sea and you could feel that we were at sea every minute of the day. It was terrible. You couldn’t walk two feet without falling into a wall or bumping into something. Apparently, at this time of year in South America where they’re switching from fall to winter, you get these rough seas.

On March 14 we anchored in Puerto Chacabuco. It’s generous for me to say that this is a port or even a city. Puerto Chacabuco is an entry point to the Aysen region. It lies in the eastern end of a very narrow fjord and has replaced Puerto Aysen as the main shipping port and ferry terminal to the area. The best thing I can say about this port is that you’re surrounded by the Andes Mountains. It was rainy all day. There were very few tours to do. I took the tender to the pier just to say I had been there. I walked a block up the pier and back, had my picture taken by the sign for the port, and then went back to the ship. That was it.

On March 15 we were in Puerto Montt, Chile. Puerto Montt serves as the principal port for this region and it a gateway for cruising into Chile’s fjords. I decided to go with Shary and Barbara and hire a car. This trip wasn’t as good as what we had in Puerto Madryn but we did see some great things. First we headed to the Vicente Perez Rosales National Park. We went to the Petrohue Falls. The water plunges over hard volcanic rocks to form gushing cascades. From this spot you can also see the enormous Mt. Orsorno. Mt. Orsorno is the perfectly shaped and incredibly impressive snowcapped volcano. From there we went to Frutillar, founded in 1856 by German settlers, it’s noted for its Alpine and traditional German style architecture. Back in Puerto Montt we went to the local crafts market and did some souvenir shopping. It started to rain cats and dogs and we were soaked when we got back to the ship. That night, as we headed back out into the Pacific we experienced 30 foot swells. The ship was rocking and rolling and you could hear things crashing to the floor all over the ship. They even had to cancel that nights show for the dancer’s safety. It was difficult to sleep and many people were sick. I don’t get sea sick but it was annoying to try and do anything with the ship moving as it was.

March 16 was the last full day of the cruise. We were at sea. It was rough but not as rough as the night before. I packed and spent as much time as I could with the new friends I had made. On March 17 I disembarked. My flight wasn’t until 9 PM that night so I did the ship’s day tour to keep me busy. We traveled through Chile surrounded by the Andes getting commentary on the wine production in the area. We stopped once for empanadas and wine. Then we got to the city. We got a city tour that covered the President’s Palace, the National Cathedral and the race track that’s in the center of town. We were dropped off at the airport at around 5:30 PM.

I really enjoyed this trip more than I thought I would because of the scenery and the weather. For anyone that loves nature, this is the cruise for you.

Cecilia

*****@aol.com

My Wedding!

Now that is what I am talking about. Thanks Host Cecilia!

Keep those great memories coming! I have lots of time to anticipate and I love reading about your experiences. I find them to be very enlightening.

jc

Now that we know what you really want, here goes:

We flew to Santiago and stayed at the Hyatt Regency for one night-a wonderful hotel. We took a private half-day tour of the city and just had a quiet evening at the hotel to recuperate from the red eye. The following morning we took a transfer/tour with Port Compass guide and one other fun couple, from Santiago to Valparaiso. We asked our guide to focus on the destination, which she did. We saw a lot of Vina Del Mar and Valparaiso, including an outdoor lunch overlooking the city and port. We were able to ride a funicular and were on board the ship by 4pm. Embarkation was hassle-free.

I was ill for our first stop, Puerto Montt, but it looked great from the ship, with Mt Orsano in the distance.

At Puerto Chacabuco, well-described above, we took the all-day excursion to Lake Elizalde. It was a major disappointment-not much to see there but a scenic but very, very long bus ride, with a good portion on unimproved and bumpy road.

Our day in the Chilean fjords was overcast and rainy, so we did not get to see the full majesty of the fjords and Pius glacier. It was still a relaxing day.

The next port of call was Punta Arenas---we did the all day excursion to St Magdalena Island via bus and ferry. We thought it was great! There was an estimated 100,000-plus Magellenic penguins on the island and it has an old lighthouse in which you can climb up to the top. The ferry ride is about 90 minutes long and is very spartan-you can either walk around the ferry or stay on the bus or both. Upon return from the island, we were taken downtown for a short tour and allowed to remain and to return to the ship on our own or return to the ship via the excursion bus.

We arrived in Beagle Channel on Christmas Day-it is stunningly beautiful and as was the backdrop to Ushuaia. Most stores were closed due to the holiday, but it is still a charming town. We also did a wildlife catamaran cruise up Beagle Channel to the east, around the famous lighthouse. Wildife abounds there and the scenery is beautiful.

We rounded Cape Horn the next morning on flat seas and broken clouds, which gave way to major sunshine-great conditions!

We then spent the next several days going to and sailing around the Antarctic Peninsula: truly an experience of a lifetime. We were blessed with excellent sea, ice and weather conditions, so much so, that our Captain made a spur-of-the-moment decision to bolt to Antarctic Circle-a first for a Holland America ship.

Our next port was Stanley, Falkland Islands, where our good luck held to allow us to tender in just fine. In the morning we took a city tour-lots of fun and then had a couple of hours to shop and check out the local supermarket. In the afternoon we took the Long Island Sheep Ranch excursion-it was a lot of fun as well. It was a 30-mile drive out to a working sheep ranch and we got to see the real deal, including shoveling peat and watching sheep herding dogs and shearing of sheep. The weather was broken to overcast clouds and by mid afternoon the winds had picked up but not to the point where tendering was in danger.

Following Stanley, we went to Buenos Aires, which we only saw from the expressway going out to the pampas. It was about a 2.5 hour drive out in the country for a visit to an estancia where we were treated to horseback and carriage rides, gaucho skill demonstrations, a barbeque of Argentinian beef and a folklore singing and dancing show. We passed on the tango shows.

Afer an overnight sail back down the River Plate, we docked in Urugauy and took a city tour and a day trip to Punta del Este, the jet set resort at the mouth of the River Plate. It is a stark contrast to the rest of Uruguay - lots of money there. I liked Montivideo.

Our final stop was in Rio. It is worth being up early and watchcng the approach to Rio! On the port side we could see Sugar Loaf and Corcovado very easily. The first day we took a full day tour of the city to visit Sugar Loaf and Corcovado and to see the famous beaches and pavillion for the Mardi Gras. We had a nice lunch, as well. The second and final day, we took the day long excursion to Petropolis, the location of the summer palace for the Portugese royal family, when they ruled Brazil. It is up in the mountains and was very comfortable, temperature wise. We had what was easily our best excursion lunch up there at a very nice resaurant-varied main courses and side dishes, all very flavorful and ample servings. From there, it was to the Rio International airport for our long flight home via Sao Paulo.

It was definitely a great cruise-our best yet. I hope this helps and that you also have a wonderful time on your forthcoming cruise.

Bill S

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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by xpcdoojk:

Now that is what I am talking about. Thanks Host Cecilia! Keep those great memories coming! I have lots of time to anticipate and I love reading about your experiences. I find them to be very enlightening.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Thanks. Also, check out http://www.du.edu/~chardey/ It's a web site I made about some of the cruises I've done that includes some pictures.

Thanks again! I am glad that you found this to be a rewarding trip, Bill. I had to do a little salesmanship to convince my wife, fortunately, she likes adventure!

Cecilia, I will check out your site after lunch. I am looking forward to it!

I have been in Canada fishing since last week, and I appreciate the time you guys took to share your experiences!

jc

Thanks again Cecilia!

jc

I am running out of cruise review reading! Anyone else have a review or a link to a review for all to read?

thanks

jc

Fwiw, we have a review on our Homepage from Jan.2003 on Celebrity Zenith, Valparaiso - Buenos Aires

Very nice website. I enjoyed looking at it and will visit it again.

I would highly recommend everyone to visit this website.

thanks StephenJohnson

jc:cool:

Stephen,

I did enjoy reading about your cruises. One thing we have in common and that is we have also sailed on the Empress of Canada alias Mardi Gras. We cruised on her in 1995 when she was renamed Olympic or Olympus for the Esporotiki line which is now Royal Olympic. We had a great 7 day cruise doing the Greek Islands and we were in one of her suites.

Jennie

Bill - thanks for your Cape review. Did you do your tours through the ship or on your own? We're going in February and can't wait.