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Live from South America On Board the NCL Sun

wiselindag

By wiselindag,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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On2CDWrld

On2CDWrld

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:)Linda, Thank you very much for the timely news of your passage around the far reaches of South America. We would appreciate it if you would share Anne's in country phone number. Also like Gubby, we await news of the adventure with Michael the German Pirate.

 

Many will benefit from your sharing, les

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arlenez

arlenez

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Hi Arlene

 

We are booked with Anne on the Puerto Chacabuco trip. Has it been decided where and when we will all meet on the day of the excursion?

 

Thank you

Anne

 

Anne will be inside the port waiting in the area that all passengers pass through after coming ashore.

 

Regards,

Arlene

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DMAB

DMAB

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Thanks for all the great information. My husband and I will be on the March 14th cruise and are trying to put together as much info as possible. SM

 

Be ready for rougher seas than people are reporting now. That's about the end of the season for trips around the Horn

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wiselindag

wiselindag

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I am typing on a Chilean keyboard in an internet place so bear with me. I wish I could send you a photograph of Vina del Mar today ... it is absolutely gorgeous. I love it here. All is well and tomorrow we have to get a cab to the airport in the early morning for our 12 oclock flight home through Panama. I will be back in touch by the end of the week. Thanks for your comments. I am sure we had the smoothest sailing ever of this cruise and cannot imagine it getting any better as far as seas are concerned, so yes, most likely you will have rougher seas than we did, but if you are preparing for this trip, get ready for a fabulous time.

 

Talk to you soon and then I will post the final trip report and the port reports including information on Valparaiso and Vina.

 

Linda

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arlenez

arlenez

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I am typing on a Chilean keyboard in an internet place so bear with me. I wish I could send you a photograph of Vina del Mar today ... it is absolutely gorgeous. I love it here. All is well and tomorrow we have to get a cab to the airport in the early morning for our 12 oclock flight home through Panama. I will be back in touch by the end of the week. Thanks for your comments. I am sure we had the smoothest sailing ever of this cruise and cannot imagine it getting any better as far as seas are concerned, so yes, most likely you will have rougher seas than we did, but if you are preparing for this trip, get ready for a fabulous time.

 

Talk to you soon and then I will post the final trip report and the port reports including information on Valparaiso and Vina.

 

Linda

 

Thanks Linda. I look forward to your final trip report, and once again want to thank you for taking the time to post such valuable information. We leave next week for the same cruise and I can't tell you how much I appreciate everything you posted.

Regards,

arlene

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gubby

gubby

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Thank you so much for taking the time to share these experiences with future cruisers. Although I am sure we were all eagerly awaiting our own cruises, you have made the anticipation all the more real! To take the time out from what was for you, seems to have been an awesome experience, to share your excitement and impressions is so much appreciated by everyone who has been following your posts and eagerly awaiting the next installment. You are a perfect example of what Cruise Critic is all about. Thanks a million!

 

Nikki

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bluesea777

bluesea777

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Thanks for your great report. We will be sailing the reverse cruise starting Feb.14th.

 

Linda did a great review, however, I did mine also. If you haven't read my review, here is the link http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1118168

 

We did the reverse - Valpa to BA - we were on the cruise immediately before Linda's. Our cruise was a holiday one - full ship.

 

We both saw some places and visited ports at different times, so I think you'll get some idea from my review as what to expect. (Examples are: Montevideo - Linda visited it in the morning, we visited in the afternoon, Glaciers and Cape Horn - we saw them in early morning, Linda saw them in the evening, and so on).

 

We went with the flow and like Linda, had a great time. She picked Seven Seas but we picked Four Seasons. Both restaurants have same menus daily.

 

Linda had private tours but we used NCL tour in every port.

 

Anyway I thought Linda and I each posted good reviews for everyone who are about to cruise on the SUN - so they can choose whatever they want to do.

 

You choose!! Happy cruising!!

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gubby

gubby

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Linda did a great review, however, I did mine also. If you haven't read my review, here is the link http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1118168

 

Anyway I thought Linda and I each posted good reviews for everyone who are about to cruise on the SUN - so they can choose whatever they want to do.

 

You choose!! Happy cruising!!

 

bluesea777, I read your review this morning and thoroughly enjoyed it. Your descriptions made me even more exited to get on the ship now and not have to wait until Feb 28. Thanks for a great job.

 

Nikki

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DMAB

DMAB

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Linda did a great review, however, I did mine also. If you haven't read my review, here is the link http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1118168

 

 

Your and Lina's reviews were good reads, informative and made me even more eager to go on the Jan 31st BA to Valpraiso cruise. i feel like I'm lucky is I get one good recent review of a cruise before I go, this time I got two great ones. Thank you, both of you.

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wiselindag

wiselindag

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Dear Friends,

 

Sorry it took so long to post the last entry. We had a long, but uneventful day of travel on Wednesday (first from Santiago to Panama City and then from Panama City to JFK with two on-time flights on Copa). Getting home in the middle of the night (close to 5 a.m. on Thursday morning and then getting back into our lives and all that entails, took a few days.

 

Here is the end of the cruise. Feel free to ask questions. I'll post the Buenos Aires and the Vina/Valparaiso reports on the Ports section later today. I just need to finish the end of the trip before posting that.

 

Installment $6

January 16 - At Sea (Continued)

 

Now we’re doing some more packing before going up to the deck for some lovely sunshine at sea, and, of course, some more time on the computer. Although it was a nice day, the wind made it just a little too cool to sit out on deck. I walked around for a while and enjoyed the sea breeze, but then headed for the comfort of indoors. After a long internet session, I went back downstairs and collected DH for our last lunch in the Seven Seas. In the process of packing, I’ve lost my notes on what I ate, but I couldn’t forget this lunch and I know DH and our table companions all had Pork Ribs, which they all enjoyed. These companions were a funny surprise. We asked for sharing and along with us came a Brazilian couple with no English who spoke only Portuguese and a little Spanish. Forced to converse in Spanish, I labored to understand his version of Spanish (no doubt with some Portuguese mixed in) as he worked to understand my Spanish. It was one of those strange shipboard conversations – a little about the ship, the ports, the weather, the food, and our hometowns. Somehow we kept on chatting and at the end, as sometimes happens, we had made a connection. He asked to take our photographs and we exchanged cards so perhaps someday we’ll continue the conversation.

 

After lunch DS and DH went to a juggling class with Hilby while I went to the final bingo session. The experience confirmed my wisdom in skipping all the other sessions. I wish NCL had not ruined bingo by offering the bingo machines. The pricing can go all the way up to $95 for the full deal (t shirt, bag, instant winner strips which used to be called Krackits, the maximum 72 games on the machine plus a sheet of 6 games you play by hand). When people are playing 72 games and I’m play six games (real bingo with a sheet of paper), the chances of winning are significantly decreased. I don’t like the machines. All you do is look at it and the computer figures out if you have a winner. Anyway, very few people were there for the final Bingo so I guess I’m not alone in my thinking. The prize was only slightly more than $1000 (I have been on ships where the final prize was over $8,000, so very paltry pickings.) The guys enjoyed their juggling class and had a good time, so the afternoon was not a total loss.

 

We finished packing and set off for the final CC party in the Observation Lounge. Much of the group turned up and had a drink while taking photographs and exchanging email addresses. I took all the addresses and will make up a directory to send out to everyone who was present. Then it was time for dinner and the three of us went to the Seven Seas where we enjoyed our dinner. Served by a waitress we had not met before named Clarita. As is true with all of the servers in the Seven Seas, she was excellent. In addition, once again we were served our drinks without asking (all correct) by a bar server we barely knew (all I remember is that his name began with an “S.” Sorry about that – same page of notes misplaced in the packing process.

 

The last show was a combination of the Gaucho de la Plata and Hilby. The Gaucho did his boleadoras act (two ropes with a hard plastic ball on the end) and drumming and then Hilby did another very funny routine. At one point he juggled two swords over the head of a “senior citizen,” who happened to be DH (Hilby should probably try to avoid attorneys when he does this portion of his act, but how was he to know?) Later DS bought Hilby’s CD (all the performers relentlessly sell CD’s) and got it autographed. He’s a really nice guy with a very funny act.

 

Then it was time for the last packing before we put the bags in the hall. DS went out to party until around 4 in the morning. One of his friends ended up breaking her ankle on the dance floor and went home in a wheelchair the next morning, but he emerged sleepy, but unscathed from a last night of fun with his shipboard friends from various countries including Brazil, South Africa, Argentina, and the U.S.

 

We planned to get up around 8 n the last morning and breakfast about 8:45 before our scheduled departure about 9:45 (according to the Disembarkation Sheet).

 

Sunday, January 17, 2010 – Valparaiso, Chile

 

The ship was in port early (definitely by 6 when I woke up and checked), but we didn’t get up until our scheduled time. As always, even on this last morning it was quiet in the cabin and in the corridor. We got our hand baggage and headed for the Seven Seas by 8:55, one of the last parties to enter the dining room. It was pretty empty so most people left early or ate upstairs. We had a big breakfast with all our favorites and then headed up to Deck 6 to wait for our luggage tag color to be called. Ours was white, and although they were running about 20 minutes behind on the color code schedule, they caught up and we were called within five minutes of the time indicated. We chatted with some of our new friends while waiting and were quickly off the ship and on to shuttle buses. In the terminal, we were lined up and asked to put all hand baggage out on a carpet for inspection. We also had to produce our Chilean Agricultural forms. A dog went down the carpet and sniffed all the bags, taking no interest in ours, but becoming fascinated by one of the bags put down by the guy behind me (who had not managed to bring his form with him and needed to fill out a new one). When last seen, he was being led somewhere for a bag search. We then walked towards exit doors wondering where the luggage was. It turned out that NCL trucks it from the ship to the

area outside the terminal. I don’t know what they do on a rainy day.

 

We quickly found our bags and started looking for taxicab. I asked one of the people working there and he pointed to a parking area. We started walking there and at the entrance a guy asked if we needed a cab. He quoted a price for Vina which was too much, but I told him we needed a metered cab and that is what we got. The cab driver himself, was very nice and drove us without a problem to Vina. He called the B and B to figure out where it was located and missed the street (necessitating a ride around the block), but was otherwise fine.

 

Our three days in Vina del Mar and Valparaiso were great. The weather was terrific and while we enjoyed our day in Valparaiso (to be honest I enjoyed the day and DH and DS tolerated one more long walk around a city). Most of all, I loved being in Vina del Mar and will write about that in the Port Report (coming up).

 

To sum up, this was a wonderful cruise. The few little problems here and there were easily taken care of, and the staff and crew on the Sun did a terrific job. I really enjoyed being with them for two weeks. I also loved the group with which we cruised... terrific people and interesting stories everywhere. The Sun can't compare with bigger, newer ships with nicer facilities, but the people who work on this ship are excellent, the itinerary was amazing, and we were extremely lucky with the weather and the sea conditions we experienced. I hope those of you going on this cruise later this year will enjoy it as much as I did.

 

Linda

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ComputerTravelGuy

ComputerTravelGuy

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To sum up, this was a wonderful cruise. The few little problems here and there were easily taken care of, and the staff and crew on the Sun did a terrific job. I really enjoyed being with them for two weeks. I also loved the group with which we cruised... terrific people and interesting stories everywhere. The Sun can't compare with bigger, newer ships with nicer facilities, but the people who work on this ship are excellent, the itinerary was amazing, and we were extremely lucky with the weather and the sea conditions we experienced. I hope those of you going on this cruise later this year will enjoy it as much as I did.

 

Wise Linda,

 

Thank you for your posts. It's been an absolute pleasure reading them and learning more about the places I'll be visiting next month.

 

What I think I appreciated most, however, was hearing how you treated the staff. Looking them in the eye, treating them with kindness, and remembering their names are such simple things to do and yet they make such a big difference. I'm not surprised that you received gold-plated service in return.

 

Best wishes to a very wise lady. Fair winds and following seas.

 

Ann

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  • 3 weeks later...
wiselindag

wiselindag

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Thank you to everyone who took the time to comment. You make the effort worthwhile.

 

Nolemini - I wasn't sure I'd enjoy this trip as much as some of our other cruises, but really loved it, so I hope you do go ahead and take the trip. If you or any other poster would like to be in touch, feel free to contact me at wiselindag@optonline.net.

 

I'm still working on my photograph collection (so very many photographs!), but hope to get those up soon. I'll let you know the link when they are ready so you can get some idea of how beautiful the scenery was on this trip.

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Elcruzer

Elcruzer

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Thank you to everyone who took the time to comment. You make the effort worthwhile.

 

Nolemini - I wasn't sure I'd enjoy this trip as much as some of our other cruises, but really loved it, so I hope you do go ahead and take the trip. If you or any other poster would like to be in touch, feel free to contact me at wiselindag@optonline.net.

 

I'm still working on my photograph collection (so very many photographs!), but hope to get those up soon. I'll let you know the link when they are ready so you can get some idea of how beautiful the scenery was on this trip.

We were on the Sun in Nov. for the repro to S.A. and loved the ship. We will be on her again in Apr for the transatlantic. The crew was fabulous at that time and hope that many are still remaining. Who is the cruise director now? Did they still have the mystery dinner at no charge?

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wiselindag

wiselindag

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The Cruise Director in January was Jill Tasker... no idea if she will be on the T.A.

 

I never saw a listing for the Mystery Dinner... could have missed it. We did one some years ago on the Spirit and thought it was fun. Then the next time we looked for it, they had the same script and we already knew the murderer, so we didn't participate.

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