Valparaiso to Rio Jan 06

We are thinking of booking the Pride Valparaiso to Rio de Janeiro cruise next year and would appreciate comments from anyone who has been on this cruise.

thanks

I just returned from that cruise aboard the Seabourn Pride. I posted a thread titled Seabourn about my comments regarding cruising on Seabourn.

Let me add some thoughts about the itinerary. It was wonderful! We thought that the scenery was breath-taking. It got better and better each day. We enjoyed many of the ports that we visited and had a wonderful time on the tours. One of the highlights was seeing the Penguins.

The weather is interesting. We started off in Vaparaiso with weather around 85F and as we worked our way south it gets cooler. The day we saw the Penguins towards the south of Chile we needed sweaters, heavy jackets, gloves and a hat. Then after you go around the horn and start to cruise North it begins to get warmer and when you are in Buenos Aires the day-time temperatures will likely be 85F+

We knew about the changes in weather so we were well prepared. Some passengers had not realized that thinking that it would be warm for the entire cruise.

The glaciers and fjords that we saw were breath-taking.

It was a wonderful cruise.

Keith

The chill in the far south of this cruise is due not only to the latitude, but also to the glaciers. Any time you are cruising close in below a glacier you will have a real chill--that's a huge block of ice up there and the chilled air sinks and flows toward the water, right across your ears! This is true in Alaska, Norway and Patagonia.

But it is gorgeous--nothing else quite like it...

bgood

We've gone 'round the horn twice, both ways in fact.....this year on Crystal, from Valparaiso, with 4 days Antarctica cruising, and, last year on HAL's Amsterdam, Rio to Valparaiso.....we enjoyed them both!

Sailed Seabourn last February, B.A. to Rio, and Rio to Manaus, a b-2-b; Seabourn is fabulous! If you don't know, but, by doing a back-to-back, you'll receive 50% off both fares.....Seabourn considers back to backs totaling 18 days or more as a "grand voyage"!

Yes, Aaannnthny is correct. Several people on this year Valparaiso to Buenos Aires 18 day cruise also added the seven day Buenos Aires to Rio cruise. Since that provided 50% savings for each segment, the additional 7 day cruise added very little to the overall fare.

Again, we thought the cruise on Seabourn was outstanding and really enjoyed the itinerary as well.

Keith

The more days on Seabourn, the better! We have actually had guests question us about being on board for as little as 28 days! (Won't you be bored?, etc.) Unfortunately, our longest Seabourn cruise thus far has been an extremely brief 31 days and, believe us, it simply flew by! Cannot wait until we can be onboard for hundreds of days at a time! Seabourn--BE WARE--it is totally addictive!

Thanks for all the good information.

Are the sea conditions a problem artound the Cape?

Unfortunately, the answer is yes and no....we've experienced both.

Last year on HAL's Amsterdam, it was like glass; this year on the Crystal Symphony we had a clear sailing south cruising to Antarctica, but, our return to the Cape was aborted because of severe storms.

We thought that we would make it to Cape Horn and it was looking good that morning. But as the afternoon arrived, the weather started to turn so we couldn't make it there. We could see it from the ship but we had to leave the area. Later that night and then for the next 12 hours or so we had choppy seas but by afternoon the next day we had smooth sailing. I understand that they make it to Cape Horn once every three years.

A few days prior to the day we were going to go to Cape Horn they had a sign up sheet for those who wanted to land on cape horn. They could only take 18. Then the day before they drew 18 names since many more people had volunteered.

I can't say enough how wonderful the ports, glaciers and fjords were. While I think Alaska is beautiful, this area of the world far eclipsed what I've seen in Alaska.

Keith

Thanks for all of the great information. We have signed up for the cruise and now have a year to research and plan. Any shore excursions you highly recommend?

We certainly appreciate all your responses.

Absolutely!!!

In Puerto Arenas, Chile the Otway Sound and Penguin Reserve. Opportunity to see a substantial number of penguins.

In Ushuaia, Argentina, the Teirra Mayor Natual Reserve Trek. The scenery was absolutely beautiful.

Puerto Natales, Chile, the Torres Del Paine National Park. We didn't take this excursion but those who did had an outstanding time. It is nine hours in length but there was evidently much to see.

Laguna San Rafael, Chile the Exclusiverly Seabourn Laguna Rafael Experience. The catamaran pulls right up to the Seabourn Pride and takes you on a wonderful 3.5 hour tour where you get very close to a glacier. What a wonderful afternoon we spent on the catamaran.

Buenos Aires, Argentina. Many of us did two tours. In the morning we did the Buenos Aires Highlights tour which provided a nice overview of Buenos Aires. The highlight in the evening was the Tango show. They offer two excursions. Each one includes a tango show and one of the two includes dinner. The tango show was outstanding. It not only included dancing, but singing and great instrumentals. A must see tour. Since this was our last night on the ship, we did not do the dinner as we wanted to eat back on the ship plus we were staying over in Buenos Aires after we disembarked the ship.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you need more information.

Keith