Have you done a cruise from Buenos Aires to Santiago?

[LizzGo]

We would love to take a cruise that would would go around the southern tip of S America and include the Chilean fjords. We are looking at a Celebrity cruise right now, but we are open to other cruise lines. We would  like about a 14 day cruise.

 

Our questions: If you have taken this cruise, did you love it? Recommend it? What cruise line? What were the demographics of other cruise passengers? Please feel free to add any other info you would like to share. Thanks all!

[Lunenburg]

18 minutes ago, LizzGo said:

We would love to take a cruise that would would go around the southern tip of S America and include the Chilean fjords. We are looking at a Celebrity cruise right now, but we are open to other cruise lines. We would  like about a 14 day cruise.

 

Our questions: If you have taken this cruise, did you love it? Recommend it? What cruise line? What were the demographics of other cruise passengers? Please feel free to add any other info you would like to share. Thanks all!

We did this on the Norwegian Sun in 2016. Most of the passengers were older, only a handful of children. Many were from the UK, Australia, NZ and some N. Americans. A few from S. America.

It was one of our favourite cruises. There was a very informative guide onboard who gave talks on the ports coming up with a slideshow. He also made himself available early in the morning up on deck to identify birds, sea creatures etc. 

The ports were interesting, we especially liked the Falklands  - not all ships stop there and at times the seas are too rough to tender in. 

We learned a lot and saw beautiful scenery. We were hoping for rough seas around the Horn but it was very calm.

[Roger88]

Norwegian Sun in 2016. My wife was there before we got married. Never really asked her about it but based on the photos from there it some nice trip. The landscapes were incredible. I also heard that most of people there were elderly people. I dont even know really if there are “student-only” Cruisers around. 
Falklands were very nice btw 

[PurpleTraveller]

In March 2018 I cruised on Emerald Princess for 14 days from Buenos Aires to Santiago. I had a lovely cruise and saw wonderful scenery. The Falkland Islands was a highlight as I did a fantastic tour with Estancia Excursions to Volunteer Point to see the penguins.

 

 

The Chilean fjords were great to cruise through and we also went to the Amalia Glacier which was impressive. We sailed completely around Cape Horn which was a great experience. 

 

Most passengers were older, well travelled cruisers, with very few children on board. There were mostly North Americans as the cruise was the last of the season and continued on to Los Angeles, with a good number of Australians and a number of British. We had an Enrichment Lecturer on board who did a number of lectures on the areas we were sailing in. 

 

It was a most enjoyable cruise visiting a wonderful part of the world with beautiful scenery. I did a review of my cruise.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com.au/topic/2525793-south-america-cape-horn-on-emerald-princess-february-28-2018/

 

 

Edited March 2, 2020 by PurpleTraveller

[TeeRick]

We just did this cruise (in opposite direction) Santiago to BA in January on Celebrity Eclipse for 14 days.  There are a lot of folks here on these boards that have done this type of cruise.  If you are looking for more info and reviews look at the recent Reviews on Celebrity Eclipse (Dec, Jan, Feb).  I reviewed our cruise there too.  Next  cruising season (winter of 2020-21) the Silhouette replaces Eclipse on this route but pretty much exactly the same ship but just completely renovated.

[realtysandy]

On 3/2/2020 at 3:39 PM, LizzGo said:

We would love to take a cruise that would would go around the southern tip of S America and include the Chilean fjords. We are looking at a Celebrity cruise right now, but we are open to other cruise lines. We would  like about a 14 day cruise.

 

Our questions: If you have taken this cruise, did you love it? Recommend it? What cruise line? What were the demographics of other cruise passengers? Please feel free to add any other info you would like to share. Thanks all!

We originally were booked for South America/Antarctic Celebrity for Jan 2021 but switched to Princess with their last sale...Princess offered same perks as Celebrity (tips/drinks/OBC), additional 2 day longer cruise, and the price difference more than paid for our flights from Halifax.....looking forward to this one!!! 

[matamanoa]

We got home yesterday from a Princess cruise from Buenos Aires to Santiago.  We enjoyed the ship (Coral) and there were mainly adults on this cruise, hardly any children but there were a few young adults.  We had no health problems while on the ship and the crew were very dilligent about cleaning public spaces.  There were hand washing stations at the Horizon Court and you couldn't get in unless you washed your hands.  Hand sanitizer was available at the entrances to the main dining rooms and other food outlets.  We enjoyed our ports of call and were able to get into all of them.  The only bump in the road was the route around Cape Horn.  The weather was not suitable to get around and so we ending up turning back and took an inland waterway to get to Ushuaia.  Other than that, all excursions went as planned.  The day we did scenic cruising at the Amalia Glacier was quite wet and grey but we had good views from the ship.  Our cruise ended in San Antonio port (Santiago).  We had a transfer tour booked independently and went to Valparaiso, which was very interesting.  Santiago was a bit disappointing as with the ongoing protests there, the city is an ugly mess.  Every inch of it is defaced with graffiti, traffic is in gridlock due to the subways not running and the traffic lights not operational due to being taken out by the protestors, some hotels were not open and boarded up due to the violence and we were advised to stay in our hotel at night as there are demonstrations ongoing.  We stayed downtown and that is where most of the action was.  We did two city tours and they were not worth the money as the gridlock was so widespread that we spent a good deal of time sitting in traffic in the car.  We did a tour to the Andes which is outside of the city and it was a wonderful day.

[Budget Queen]

On 3/9/2020 at 1:55 PM, matamanoa said:

  The only bump in the road was the route around Cape Horn.  The weather was not suitable to get around and so we ending up turning back and took an inland waterway to get to Ushuaia.  

 

 

This is not a "bump"   ships ALWAYS view from the Atlantic and never route around the Horn.    It may be possible for ships to go around the tip of the horn for passengers to view,   but they ALWAYS  head back north on the Atlantic and continue the cruise through the Beagle Channel  .   

[Budget Queen]

On 3/2/2020 at 2:39 PM, LizzGo said:

We would love to take a cruise that would would go around the southern tip of S America and include the Chilean fjords. We are looking at a Celebrity cruise right now, but we are open to other cruise lines. We would  like about a 14 day cruise.

 

Our questions: If you have taken this cruise, did you love it? Recommend it? What cruise line? What were the demographics of other cruise passengers? Please feel free to add any other info you would like to share. Thanks all!

 

I have sailed this itinerary multiple times and just again was able to grab the last sailing of the NCL Star 2-29.    Of course I think it's excellent and so glad not to miss it this season.    The Demographics you will find not the numbers of North Americans you typically find on board cruise ships.     South Americans have greatly increased in numbers the last few years.     

 

The ports are all excellent and have multiple touring options to consider.   They are each very different from the other so, I'd suggest carefully considering a comprehensive look first.   I've seen too many times-  CC roll call "groups" organized  by people who'd never been there,  and some people "following along".    Choose the touring based on the details and your interests.  🙂   

[matamanoa]

Budget Queen - you seem to be an expert on cruising as I have gleaned from your answers to so many other posts, so I will stand corrected on my reference to a "bump in the road" Cape Horn viewing and I hope that you take great satisfaction in being "right" all of the time.

[LizzGo]

1 hour ago, Budget Queen said:

 

I have sailed this itinerary multiple times and just again was able to grab the last sailing of the NCL Star 2-29.    Of course I think it's excellent and so glad not to miss it this season.    The Demographics you will find not the numbers of North Americans you typically find on board cruise ships.     South Americans have greatly increased in numbers the last few years.     

 

The ports are all excellent and have multiple touring options to consider.   They are each very different from the other so, I'd suggest carefully considering a comprehensive look first.   I've seen too many times-  CC roll call "groups" organized  by people who'd never been there,  and some people "following along".    Choose the touring based on the details and your interests.  🙂   

 Thanks for the reply. I’m hoping for 2022.🤞🏻 

[iancal]

We did.  Enjoyed it very much.  Added three weeks of land travel for pre and post.

 

We followed pricing of three ships, three different cruise lines, but almost identical itineraries.  We would have been happy with any one of the ships/cruise lines.

 

Princess won.  They had a Canadian money at par sale for a day.  They were overall 30 less expensive than the next on the day we booked. Great cruise, wonderful weather.  We were so fortunate weather wise.  It can be a real gamble not just on the weather but actually getting into some port stops.

[cruisetimeusa]

For those of you who have sailed from Buenos Aires to San Antonio/Santiago, is it better to be on the starboard or port side for the best views.

 

Thanks.

[d9704011]

Personally, I don’t think there is any difference.  Last time we did it, we were on port side and had good views although we spent about 99.5% of our viewing time on deck.  If memory serves me correctly, situation would have been the same for a starboard side cabin.

[Budget Queen]

7 hours ago, cruisetimeusa said:

For those of you who have sailed from Buenos Aires to San Antonio/Santiago, is it better to be on the starboard or port side for the best views.

 

Thanks.

If you are ONLY going to do viewing from your room-   You’ll want starboard side.    It doesn’t matter if you’re going to use open decks.  
 

Me,   I’m always on the move.  🤩

[cruisetimeusa]

Thank you for your replies.  Seems like it doesn't matter as most of our viewing will be on the upper decks.

 

Thanks for your help.

[roscoe39]

On 4/11/2020 at 4:18 AM, Budget Queen said:

 

 

This is not a "bump"   ships ALWAYS view from the Atlantic and never route around the Horn.    It may be possible for ships to go around the tip of the horn for passengers to view,   but they ALWAYS  head back north on the Atlantic and continue the cruise through the Beagle Channel  .   

I disagree Budget Queen, Ive sailed around the horn twice now, both times we did full circumnavigations of the island, and both times it was a magnificent experience..

 

this was the first time, 2014.

 

http://roscoesseafever.blogspot.com/2014/02/parque-nacional-de-cabo-de-hornos_1.html

[roscoe39]

On 6/11/2020 at 10:44 AM, cruisetimeusa said:

Thank you for your replies.  Seems like it doesn't matter as most of our viewing will be on the upper decks.

 

Thanks for your help.

 

just if you are interested, here is the first blog I wrote on our first trip around the horn, the series after this first post  starts in Rio and finishes in Santiago in 2014, it gives you an idea of the ports and our experiences there, also of our circumnavigation of Hornos Island, (Cape Horn)

 

http://roscoesseafever.blogspot.com/2014/01/rio-de-janeiro-city-of-contrasts.html

 

Can thoroughly recommend it its a terrific experience.

oh...and just my two cents,  I like  Starboard as you can see the land, which especially after Montevideo is really interesting, thought if you want to be on the island side to circumnavigate Hornos Island in my experience we have always gone anti clockwise, so you would want to be port, in addition..... through the chilean fjords, we found more glaciers on the starboard side.... Hope you do it, report back and let us know.

Edited July 6, 2020 by roscoe39

[cruisetimeusa]

9 hours ago, roscoe39 said:

 

just if you are interested, here is the first blog I wrote on our first trip around the horn, the series after this first post  starts in Rio and finishes in Santiago in 2014, it gives you an idea of the ports and our experiences there, also of our circumnavigation of Hornos Island, (Cape Horn)

 

http://roscoesseafever.blogspot.com/2014/01/rio-de-janeiro-city-of-contrasts.html

 

Can thoroughly recommend it its a terrific experience.

oh...and just my two cents,  I like  Starboard as you can see the land, which especially after Montevideo is really interesting, thought if you want to be on the island side to circumnavigate Hornos Island in my experience we have always gone anti clockwise, so you would want to be port, in addition..... through the chilean fjords, we found more glaciers on the starboard side.... Hope you do it, report back and let us know.

Thank you Roscoe39 for your thoughts.  Will certainly read your blog and report back to everyone.  Cancelled our Dec. '20 cruise for the Dec.'21 cruise so still a long way off.

 

 

[Budget Queen]

On 7/6/2020 at 1:27 AM, roscoe39 said:

I disagree Budget Queen, Ive sailed around the horn twice now, both times we did full circumnavigations of the island, and both times it was a magnificent experience..

 

this was the first time, 2014.

 

http://roscoesseafever.blogspot.com/2014/02/parque-nacional-de-cabo-de-hornos_1.html

what cruise line?   

[roscoe39]

3 hours ago, Budget Queen said:

what cruise line?   

cunard

[Budget Queen]

13 hours ago, roscoe39 said:

cunard

Were they doing this same route last season?   Completely around Cape Horne?      

 

It doesn't appear,  NCL or HAL -  lines I've used,  are known doing this.   I've been sailing this route every year for the past 10 years,   some years, up to 3 trips.    

 

There aren't anything but, remote small hanging glaciers on the port side going westbound in the fjords.   And all the commentary is about the starboard side.   

 

 

[PurpleTraveller]

21 hours ago, Budget Queen said:

what cruise line?   

 

In 2018 on my Princess cruise we also did a full circumnavigation (anti-clockwise) of the island. At first our captain didn't think we would able to but when the wind died down, around we went. A great experience!

 

[Traveling Library]

We did the BA to Santiago cruise on Celebrity Infinity. We loved it. We had exceptionally (and unusually) calm seas around Cape Horn.  It was like glass.  If you have a chance spend a few days in BA first. It's a great city with lots to do and see.  We also stayed overnight in Santiago. The port is several hours away and you go thru wine country to get to Santiago.  Our flight home was at night the next day so we had well over a full day to tour.  We liked the cruise through the Chilean fjords so much we booked a cruise through the Norwegian fjords for 3 months later. When we got on the ship we realized we knew the dancers from our BA cruise.  They took me to the Captain so I could confirm how smooth our Cape Horn trip was. He didn't believe them!

[Budget Queen]

20 hours ago, Traveling Library said:

We did the BA to Santiago cruise on Celebrity Infinity. We loved it. We had exceptionally (and unusually) calm seas around Cape Horn.  It was like glass.  If you have a chance spend a few days in BA first. It's a great city with lots to do and see.  We also stayed overnight in Santiago. The port is several hours away and you go thru wine country to get to Santiago.  Our flight home was at night the next day so we had well over a full day to tour.  We liked the cruise through the Chilean fjords so much we booked a cruise through the Norwegian fjords for 3 months later. When we got on the ship we realized we knew the dancers from our BA cruise.  They took me to the Captain so I could confirm how smooth our Cape Horn trip was. He didn't believe them!

It sounds like you are referring to Valparaiso-   with your "wine" country mention in Chile???    They haven't used that port in several years.