New to Norwegian, considering a South America cruise

Totally new to Ocean cruises. I've had some people tell me that doing a South American cruise with possible rough seas is not the way to learn about ocean cruising. Are they right?

 

So I'm looking at Norwegian's schedule. They are quite a bit cheaper than Holland, Princess etc but maybe they are not as good? I'm coming from Viking river cruises which have nice ships and not many people.

 

I looked at room layouts for a Balcony cabin, only 221 sq ft, Deck 9,10. Would this be a good choice for a quiet room?

We sailed with Oceania on our SA trip, but since no one has answered your post, I'l give you my two cents. Not sure when you were thinking of sailing, but rough seas can happen any time and it depends on where in SA. We sailed from Buenos Aires to Rio, so we avoided the Cape Horn which is known for being rough. In fact, we had such smooth sailing that we were often not sure we were moving. Our sail date was in March.

 

As for NCL vs Holland and Princess...you'll get a different opinion from everyone. We sailed on all of those lines - Holland only in Europe, NCL only in the Caribbean and Hawaii, and Princess in both. Holland attracts an older crowd and tends to be more formal, especially in the dining room. Princess still has formal night and NCL's is optional. You didn't say which NCL ship either. When we looked at SA, we did see an NCL but it was 7 days unstead of the 12 we sailed and even when comparing their 7 days to other 7 day sailings, NCL had fewer ports. That may be the difference you see in price. Holland and Princess tend to be more expensive than NCL, but not always. All of those are considered mass market ships and I think are similar, each with their own weaknesses and strengths. Coming from Viking river cruising, this will be different. Not worse, just different.

 

I would focus on ports and time in ports. If you're only in ports from 8-noon, I don't think that's equal to 8-5. Also see if they are the ports you really want to visit and have good airport access in out. If you need a long transfer to and from the ship, that also adds cost.

 

Not sure if this helps. Good luck.

Like travelhound said, there's a chance of rough seas no matter where you cruise. We did South America in January on NCL & would do it again in a heartbeat! Yes, we had some rough water, but the ports were so worth it. We had an aft penthouse which was perfect for this cruise. The Sun is small & the crew is fabulous! Plan to stay a few days in Buenos Aires if you choose that route. Great city to visit!

The ocean is an unpredictable place. No matter when or where you cruise you can encounter rough seas or smooth seas. Classic example is the roughest seas we have ever encountered was a Mexican Riviera cruise on Carnival, years ago. Thing were crashing off the shelves int he duty free shop. Some of the smoothest seas were while going around Cape Horn! This was on a 31 day San Diego to Buenas Aires cruise on NCL in October of 2015.

 

It is best to be prepared with seasickness remedies. I get seasick in rough seas and have the Trans Derm Scop patches that work for me. I use them rarely but I am prepared.

 

I would make your decision about ocean cruising based on where you want to go and what you want to see and experience. We use cruising to sample locations to determine if we want to do land based travel in that country or area.

 

We have only done one river cruise, also on Royal Viking, so understand that you will be rubbing elbows with a lot more people but the ocean cruise ships are such larger too. Given that you have done Royal Viking cruises you could probably afford a more premium cruise line than NCL. Going this route may take some of the mass market feel out of your experience. We avoid the mega ships that attempt to be a destination in and of themselves.

 

We like NCL for the price, casual atmosphere, and lots of on board activities. We also like their loyalty program and the perks it offers.

 

I say jump into ocean cruising, but do your research on the line and ship you choose and be prepared for the possibility of rough water.

 

Enjoy!

I have sailed around the horn 8 times, yep can be very rough, I really like the itinerary and ports. I sail for what is off the ship, and price, my priority.. No comparison to the above post who sailed Buenos Aries/ Rio, which I have also done 4 times. VERY different sailing and ports.

 

I would suggest you take a close look at the ports and determine your activities of priority, since there are different itineraries.

OK thanks for all the responses. Yes I will do more research. And I worked with a TA on my last two river cruises. I think I will ask my TA's opinion also.

OK thanks for all the responses. Yes I will do more research. And I worked with a TA on my last two river cruises. I think I will ask my TA's opinion also.

Verify the TA has actually done a horn cruise and been there a FEW times. Even one time hardly offers much for trends.

We did Buenos Aires to San Francisco on an NCL re-positioning cruise in 2016 and it was brilliant. Great ports and shorex and we even got into Stanley!! There was a "rough" day but nothing untoward but the sea can change in a few minutes!!

No one has mentioned, but I believe Visas are a real challenge for travel in general in South America and no special allowances for short cruise port stops.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I think you will find that Brazil is the pain for visas these days. Argentina and Chile USED to have reciprocity fees but most of those have disappeared now.

If you are from the USA look at:-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_requirements_for_United_States_citizens

 

If you are not put in your country for United_States.

No one has mentioned, but I believe Visas are a real challenge for travel in general in South America and no special allowances for short cruise port stops.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That is true. Ours wasn't a challenge, but it was expensive. We paid at the airport in Buenos Aires. Some people didn't know about it ahead of time and it was $250+ for the two of us, if I remember correctly.

 

That was the only port we needed a visa but that was in 2011 and only on the east coast.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

OK thanks for all the responses. Yes I will do more research. And I worked with a TA on my last two river cruises. I think I will ask my TA's opinion also.

 

We were very fortunate on our around the horn cruise with Celebrity. Seas were calm the whole time. NCL was not doing that itinerary at the time. The Sun is not a "wow" ship but the difference in cost would have had me booking the NCL cruise. Ocean cruising is very different from river cruising...much more to do on the ships but some sea days mixed in with the ports, unlike river crusiing. I think you will like the ocean cruising (check out all the line that do this and compare itinerary and price).