Just returned from South America on the Sun

Have just returned from 15 days in South America on the Sun (sailed from Valparaiso on 15 Feb) and we had a ball. Any questions, please ask away. The following is a bit of a review.

“We” are me and my sister, both in our late thirties. We’re Australian and this was our first ever cruise. Our travelling companions were mostly Americans – probably 50/50 from the USA and South America and a handful of other nations. We felt quite young on the cruise and didn’t really have anyone our age to mix with. The only people in our age group were those with young families (mostly South Americas who were still on school holidays). Having said that, there were not many children/teens on board that we could see.

Food

Overall, the food was very good (and we were a bit worried after surfing the boards for a few months before hand).

The buffet was a buffet. Anyone who complains about the quality is expecting too much. It’s a buffet. It’s not overly flash, but it is good enough to get a satisfactory meal. Our main complaints about the buffet were the table hogs who would sit for hours on end without eating, leaving no tables for people who wanted to eat; and also the rude South Americans who don’t understand the concept of waiting their turn.

We usually ate in one of the main dining rooms and although the food often arrived lukewarm, it was still good. We only ate in one of the pay restaurants (the steakhouse) and it may have been the most average meal we had on the trip. The steak in the main dining room was better than the one we got here. It was okay, but not worth the extra charge. If you feel like a steak, get it in the main dining room. They have steak on their every day menu.

Entertainment

Entertainment was okay – some shows were really good, others not so much. Most of the performers are good but they are lacking that spark that you get in a Broadway performance. The Jean Ryan Dancers were good without being great (although the two ballet dancers were brilliant). The singing was high quality but the dancing needed a bit of work. The ballroom dancers were good as was the male gymnast. The highlight was the opera singer (she was brilliant) and the low light was the tango dancers. They seemed to forget that the tango is a sensual dance and looked they were just going through the motions that they had done a hundred times before.

Ports

Definitely the highlight. We decided to stuff the cost and booked them all from the ship. We did one in each port. In no particular order:

Montevideo

Did a half day city tour. In hindsite, didn’t really need to book this one. The ship docked here and you could easily walk around on your own (which we did for the second half of the day). Really beautiful city.

Puerto Chacabuco

The only place where you really can’t walk around on your own because there is nothing to do and nothing really on offer at the dock either. We did Patagonian Nature in Depth which was a lovely, easy 2 hour walk through the nature park. BBQ lamb lunch was great too.

Puerto Madryn

We had already done penguins and nature hikes by this time so we decided on a half day tour. Can’t remember the name of the tour but we went to the dinosaur museum and to a Welsh tea house. Then we headed off to see sea lions. The port itself was a bit boring and you had a walk a bit to get to the touristy areas. Sea lions were quite far away. A nice day without being too flash.

Puerto Montt

Did Nature at its Best tour which a journey through nature to waterfalls (a bit disappointing), volcanoes (great) and lakes (very nice).

Punta Arenas

Did the Magdalena Island Penguin Reserve tour. Had a great day, heaps of penguins. A bit of a long ferry ride to get there but well worth the journey if you are a penguin fan. Had a shocking experience on the tender on the way back to the ship (nearly went over when a storm hit) and spend an hour floating in the tender while the ship was moved so we could actually dock. Very scary when the tender slammed into the side of the ship – 3 times.

Stanley

Best day of the entire cruise. Had a couple of hours to walk around this beautiful town in the morning (very British) and did the Lagoon Bluff in the afternoon. Huge number of penguins, up close and personal. This tour sold out because numbers are limited but well worth the expense.

Ushuaia

Beagle Channel & National Park tour – national park was great, beagle channel was a bit dull. The catamaran (more like a ferry) drove you around for 2 hours, stopped at the odd rock to look at sea lions and various other birds and kept on going. Got some nice photos, but a bit disappointing. Would have been nice to have some time to wander around town.

Overall, we had a great time and would definitely cruise again. If cruising from Santiago, you want a portside cabin and vice versa sailing the other way. We had a starboard balcony cabin and although we had lots of great scenery, all of the glacier action was on the other side.

Happy to answer any specific questions. But be patient waiting for a reply, we do have a time zone difference.;)

Congratulations on your first cruise! I'm glad that you had such a good time -- it is so relaxing!

Thank you for the review!! It was very helpful as we'll be (HOPEFULLY) going on the same cruise and route (Santiago to BA) at the end of this year. Luckily we booked a port-side balcony cabin.

When I booked the cruise and paid the deposit, I immediately booked the 10:00ish Falkland's Bluff Lagoon penguins excusrion!! We will decide on excursions at other ports later, and your review really helped a lot.

One question: what time did you round the Cape Horn?

It was jolly good that you enjoyed your first cruise on the SUN. May I suggest Jade's Mediterranean as your next cruise? We had at least triple wow time.

Thanks so much for the tips--I went straight to ncl.com and booked the Lagoon Bluff excursion based on your review...I should be there in about a year!

We cruised the horn at about 9:30am, two hours later than we were due to. We were behind because of delays in tendering in Punta Arenas the day before. They did a commentary over the PA so you knew which glacier was which. Took about 2 hours to cover all of the glaciers.

Can't wait to do another cruise!:)

Hi sylvabell35

Thanks for your lovely report. We'll be doing the 29 Mar Buenos Aires to Valparaiso itinerary. Just wonder if the recent eruptions of Chaiten Volcanoe have any effects on any part of your cruise? http://volcanism.wordpress.com/category/volcanoes/chaiten/

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Celebrity Infinity, Aug 01, Alaska

Regal Princess, Dec 01, Australia/New Zealand

Superstar Virgo, Sep 02, Straits of Malacca/Singapore

Pacific Princess, Jan 03, S Pacific

Celebrity Infinity, May 03, Hawaii

Celebrity Infinity, June 03, Alaska

Star Princess, Jan 04, Australia/New Zealand

Pacific Princess, Jan 05, S Pacific

Norwegian Wind, Dec 05, Hawaii

Diamond Princess, Jan 06, Australia/New Zealand

Norwegian Star, Nov 06, Mexican Riviera

Norwegian Jewel, Nov 06, Eastern Caribbean

Sun Princess, Apr 08, Australia

Dawn Princess, Nov 08, S Pacific/Fiji

Diamond Princess, Dec 08, Australia/New Zealand

Will be sailing on Norwegian Sun, Mar 29 and Apr 12, S America

Thanks for posting your review. SOMEDAY I hope to take a very similar cruise, South America sounds so fascinating!:)

Hi, thanks for the nice review of the Sun. I have never been on the Sun and wonder about the difference between Seven Seas and the Four Seasons? Is one more casual and are the menus different? Are both open for lunch and breakfast? My wife and I are going to sail on the April 12 repositioning cruise out of Santiago.

Thanks, Howard

did you see lesley and des also from australia a lovel;y couple

dave

Great review!

I'm so jealous. I'd love to do this cruise. Guess I'll just have to live vicariously through my parents, who are booking this cruise later this afternoon (for December)!!!!

It will be their first NCL cruise (first cruise altogether for my dad, but my mom went on Sitmar -- now Princess -- in the 80s), and I know they'll be hooked.

I have two questions about the sun,

1. do they have an "great outdoors" outside buffet like the NCL Pearl does? Do they have any outside dining areas?

2. I know NCL has a universal 7 day rotation for dinner menus for their main dining rooms. On the Sun for a 2 week cruise, did they have 14 different menus or did they repeat them.

The volcano eruptions had no effect on the cruise at all, at least not that we could tell.

Seven Seas and the Four Seasons had the same menu every night. By the same, I mean that the two restaurants were always serving the same food, the actual menu did change every night but you couldn't get anything different between restaurants. They did repeat the menu in the second week but they varied the dishes so you didn't feel like you had no new choices.

Four Seasons was more formal and had the "no jeans after 5pm rule" and although I never saw them turn anyone away, everyone was always nicely dressed, some quite formal, others just neat and tidy. There were people in "nice" jeans.

Now I am stretching my memory on which was which, but only one of the two main dining rooms was open for breakfast (Seven Seas I think). We were happy with the buffet for breakfast, even though it was a bit busy in the Garden Cafe. We actually found that the Great Outdoor Cafe was a good place for breakfast. It was always less busy and you could usually get a seat because it was a bit chilly outside the further South you got. There were less food options but it is just around the corner from the Garden Cafe so you could get your food from there and sit outside. A tip for breakfast is to head to Pacific Heights. They have a waffle station and not much else but it was always the quietest place and the easiest to get a seat. Because it is on the same floor as the Garden and Outdoor Cafes, you could bring food between them quite easily. A couple of times, we brought breakfast from the buffet back to our room.

For lunch, we actually didn't go to the main dining rooms so I can't tell you if one was open. Our favourite spot for lunch was Pacific Heights which did pasta and pizza everyday. The menu was the same everyday (same pasta choices, same pizza choices) but we enjoyed a nice bowl of pasta for lunch on most sea days. You could also pop out to the Garden and Outdoor Cafes and add hot dog or salad etc to your meal. They also did soup and sandwiches for lunch at Las Ramblas (no charge) which good too.

The only outdoor eating place is the Outdoor Cafe although you could eat out by the pool. It served food for all meals but the choice was limited. because it is a small space. It was always the least busy of all the restaraunts and the easiest place to get a seat because people didn't want to sit outside. The cold never bothered us. We just added an extra layer of clothing.

Hope I've answered all of the questions.:)

There may have been some language issues, but I was given to understand on the Jewel that they are not permitted to serve any burgers that are not well done. Fear of lawsuit or something.

Last good burger I had on a cruise was on the Ecstasy.

Not true had a great med rare burger on the Dawn in Jan. at the Blue lagoon

Hello,

My husband and I are thinking of taking this cruise in January 2010. I understand that the Valpariso is very far from Santiago and the airport, can you tell me how do we get to the port either from Santiago city or the airport and what is the cost, I'll greatly appreciate that.

Thanks,

kluang

Great review OP, thanks so much!

A quick question. Did anyone on the ship that you were aware of take the very expensive optional trip to Antarctica? If so, did you hear any feedback?

Hi sylvabel35,

Thanks for the information. My husband and I are thinking of taking the same cruise, starting from Valparaiso in Jan. 2010. We intend to spend 1 night in Santiago before the cruise, I wonder if you help us with tips on transport from Santiago to the port as it's quite a distance from the city.

Thank you very much,

Joan

Hi sylvabel35,

Thanks for the information. My husband and I are thinking of taking the same cruise, starting from Valparaiso in Jan. 2010. We intend to spend 1 night in Santiago before the cruise, I wonder if you help us with tips on transport from Santiago to the port as it's quite a distance from the city.

Thank you very much,

Joan

We took a prepaid cab from the airport to Vina del Mar (a resort suburb of Valparaiso). It was $116 for 2 persons and can be paid by credit card within the airport at a transportation counter there. We stayed one night at the Best Western ($108/nite) and took a short cab ride to the cruise terminal at around noon. This worked well for us and was relaxing after a long flight from the US. If you stay in Vina, be sure to see Museo Fonck where they have an Easter Is. Mohai and interesting exhibits about the island. Well worth the $3 admission.

Smooth sailing, Howard

I am SO jealous!

We had booked this cruise out of Santiago for last Xmas/NY but changed our minds to spend it on the Jade in the Med with friends. Also our littlest is just too young still to appreciate it--and it's a VERY long flight to Chile.

Still, I hope to take it in the next couple of years. There is SO much of the world we have yet to see....

Hello,

Thanks for the information. We'll be joining the Jan.31 2010 cruise starting from BA. Did you take the excursions from the ship or join other operators, if you did, could you please let us know the names?

Thank you very much,

Joan

OP- Thanks for the review! Sounds like you had a great time. I keep kicking myself for not waiting longer to book a cruise this year to go to South America because it turns out I could have done it with NCL! I wanted to do the Antarctica Landing tour. I see you went to see the penguins instead at that stop. Sounds like a fantastic time. I've sailed on the Sun before so I know the product there. Glad you had a wonderful experience with NCL (minus that one tendering incident). :)

~J

OP- Thanks for the review! Sounds like you had a great time. I keep kicking myself for not waiting longer to book a cruise this year to go to South America because it turns out I could have done it with NCL! I wanted to do the Antarctica Landing tour. I see you went to see the penguins instead at that stop. Sounds like a fantastic time. I've sailed on the Sun before so I know the product there. Glad you had a wonderful experience with NCL (minus that one tendering incident). :)

 

~J

My voyage on the Sun to South America ranks as one of my favorite trips of all time. I've had only 7 cruises, but I have travelled all over the world, Hawaii, Asia, Australia, etc. I just loved this trip, the Sun and my Antarctic Landing excursion that actually happened. The AC aft penthouse just made it perfect.

I was very sad to see NCL discontinue their SA route. I would hate for NCL enthusiasts to miss it.

Happy cruising!

Hi, thanks for the nice review of the Sun. I have never been on the Sun and wonder about the difference between Seven Seas and the Four Seasons? Is one more casual and are the menus different? Are both open for lunch and breakfast? My wife and I are going to sail on the April 12 repositioning cruise out of Santiago.

 

Thanks, Howard

We were on the Sun in October. Both the Seven Seas and the Four Seasons have the same dinner menus and I could not tell the difference between the two. In fact the one they called casual seemed more formal to me. One restaurant is open for breakfast and lunch unless you are in the balcony rooms or higher and then there is one restaurant open just for you for breakfast. My folks had a balcony and ate there. They had the same menu to order from and they also had a buffet for breakfast.

Carolyn

Hello: I received an email from Paul stating that he is taking a Valparaiso to Santiago tour with you. My wife and I are interested in such a tour: Dock in Valparaiso to Hotel Orly in Santiago. Can we join your tour?

Ajaxk (Allen & Evelyn) ajkwawer@ca.rr.com