Trip Report - Star Princess Mar 30

[HubbieO]

Very long.

 

My wife and I just returned from a South America cruise (Buenos Aires – Valparaiso) on the Star Princess. I got so much useful information from the forum that helped me plan, I just wanted to give a little back. So, here goes…

 

Flew on American through DFW to Buenos Aires. Left DFW about an hour late. Ten and half hours is a long time to be on a plane. Expected lousy dinner. Only one movie. Wasn’t interested, so I read and slept. Arrived EZE around 0900 and luggage arrived intact. Cleared immigration and customs pretty quickly. Changed dollars at the Banco Nacional right before you leave the customs area. Definitely a much better rate than the booth in baggage claim. Right outside customs are the car booths.. There was a line at the Manual Tienda Leon desk, so I used VIP. $37.50 USD for a car to the Hilton in Puerto Madero. After I paid, a guy led us to a nice clean recent model small SUV. Drive into the city was uneventful. Arrived at the Hilton around 1030. Checked in. Very nice clean modern hotel in the Puerto Madero area. Probably 5 star. Large rooms. Included a nice breakfast buffet. Had a 1200 private city tour scheduled, so we cleaned up a bit and went to meet our tour guide in the lobby.

 

Before the trip, and based on some references here, I arranged a Buenos Aires city tour, a visit to an Estancia, a Tango dinner show, and a Valparaiso/Vina del Mar/Santiago tour/transfer with Turismo Nuevo Mundo ( http://www.turismonuevomundo.com/Ingles/01Home.htm ). Although many seem to feel that paying in advance for tours is not a good idea, I didn’t have a problem with it. I could find no negative comments on TNM (e.g. tour guide not showing up), and my research showed that TNM is a pretty big operation that works with many of the cruise lines, and even has offices in the U.S., so it wasn’t a small “amateurish” one or two person business. They were very professional and very responsive to my questions and wishes. I realize I paid a bit more than some bargain tour outfits, but I didn’t want to take any chances to save a few $’s. I think I did the right thing. Our guides were always prompt, spoke English well, and were very friendly and professional. Our guide in Buenos Aires was a very nice young lady who was a history major who had also traveled and worked in Europe. She even shared "mate" with us. The cars were clean and modern. We were well taken care of.

 

As I said, our guide was waiting for us in the lobby. I recognized her by her shirt with the company logo on it, and the car and driver were waiting. The tour lasted about 7 hours and included lunch at a very nice Argentinean buffet. I think we hit all the highlights (e.g. cathedrals, parks, the big square with the "Pink House”, Boca, Recoleta, etc.). Wanted to check out the purported deals on leather. Went to several “factory” stores. Pretty disappointing. They tried to sell us “cashmere” sweaters. Didn’t feel like cashmere. After some questioning, they admitted it was wool with rabbit hair. Didn’t buy anything. Got dropped off back at the Hilton. Asked the concierge where to go for dinner, and he recommended Cabana las Lilas. Mistake. It’s only a short walk from the Hilton, and the area is heavily patrolled by Naval prefectura, so it’s quite safe. The restaurant is quite large, but was very crowded around 8:30p. Had to wait for about 30 minutes. There is an equally nice looking parrilla restaurant next to it that was virtually empty at the time. In retrospect, we probably should have eaten there. I would rate Cabana las Lilas as an expensive disappointment.

 

The next day, we were taken by our guide to Estancia Santa Susanna. Nice place about a hour or so from the Hilton. Rode a horse for about 15 minutes. Ate a BBQ lunch. During lunch, there was some folk music, as exhibition of gaucho dances and some Tango. Nice. Afterwards, there was an exhibition of horse riding/herding skills and a lot of trying to pull a ring from a hanging strap while riding fast. All in all, a good time. Stopped by the PanAmericano to do the cruise pre-check in. Took about 15 minutes.

 

That evening, was the tango show. TNM had recommended the Esquina Carlos Gardel. Driver picked us up promptly and drove us there. Dinner was quite good. The show was outstanding. My wife enjoyed it so much she made me buy the DVD.

 

A lot of people have raved about Argentinean beef. It certainly wasn't my experience. The beef has a different taste due to it generally being free range grass fed, it is fairly lean, but it is not very tender. I never did have any beef that I could cut with a fork, and I tried several different cuts.

 

Next day, we stored our luggage at the bell desk and checked out. During our stay, we noticed a lot of air crews staying at the Hilton. Took a taxi by ourselves to San Telmo to look at the antiques and handcrafts. Bought a mate cup and straw. Returned to the Hilton and took a taxi to the pier where the Star Princess was. About 15 pesos, or $5. As others have said, make sure you get dropped off at the right entrance. Since we had done the pre-check in, we boarded with very little waiting. The regular check-in line was very long and slow.

 

The Star Princess is a very nice ship. I only have one previous cruise experience (Holland America Ryndam to Alaska several years ago) so I don’t have much to compare it too, but I doubt anyone would have much to complain about. We had a balcony room on the Caribe deck port side. Starboard would have been better as we were cruising East to West. Plenty of hanging and storage space. The mattress was a bit hard for my taste, with depressions where some very large people must have slept.

 

Compared to our experience on the Ryndam and Holland America, I would say that the food on the Ryndam was a bit better. The buffet is really pretty disappointing. We had Anytime dining, and that worked out pretty well for us. Sat alone some, and with others during busier times. Despite the ship being full, we never had to wait to be seated. Tried Sabatini's one night. Very good. But, the entertainment on the Star Princess was MUCH better. Good shows. Good “headliners”. Outstanding naturalist who gave some excellent lectures.

 

First port. Montevideo. Took the ship City Highlights tour. It was okay. Not really that much to see in my opinion.

 

Two days at sea enroute the Falklands. We were lucky we had pretty good weather and relatively smooth seas. Had to tender. The ship had things pretty efficiently organized, and we got off pretty quickly. Took the ship tour to Bluff Cove. 4x4 ride was a new experience. Got to see several hundred Gentoo penguins and 4 King penguins. VERY windy and cold. Bought some souvenirs. Had to wait in line, in the wind and cold, for quite a while to get on a tender back to the ship.

 

Cape Horn was pretty spectacular. Got there in the late afternoon. It was partly cloudy and the seas were not that rough. Got some good pictures and video. The ship did a turn around the Cape so both sides of the ship got a good view.

 

Ushuaia. Nice little town. No tender needed. Took the ship tour “Drive to the end of the World”. Probably should be called something else, like “Drive to the bottom of the World”. The end of the Pan-American Highway is a narrow dirt road. Not what I imagined. The scenery was pretty good though. Did some shopping in town. Bought some Rhodochrosite, a rose colored stone that is found only at one mine in Argentina. Tried the “famous” spider crab. In my opinion, not as good as Alaska King Crab.

 

Punta Arenas. Unfortunately, it was a Sunday, so just about everything was closed. Took the ship tour to Magdalena Island to see the penguin preserve. Bad Bad Bad. Awful “ferry” ride. Given a disgusting “bag” lunch. Got to the island. Only four penguins. No exaggeration. The literature says almost 70,000 nesting pairs can be found here, but it seems they all left a few days before we got there. It was very cold and windy. Some rain. What really upset everyone on the tour was that everybody had been asking if the penguins would still be there since there were reports that they had already started leaving, and the ship distributed a letter to everyone who had signed up for the tour that there were thousands of penguins still on the island. Wrong! Needless to say, there were a lot of complaints. Enough discontent that they refunded 60% of the tour cost. Made us feel a little better.

 

Spent the next 2 days ducking in and out of the Chilean fjords to avoid rough seas. Very pretty.

 

Puerto Montt. Tendered again. Ship tour to Petrohue Falls and the Osorno volcano. The falls are kinda disappointing. Not very high. More like large rapids. The bus took us about halfway up the Osorno Volcano to what is a ski lift facility during ski season. Couldn’t see anything due to a driving wind, hail, and rain. Didn’t want to get off the bus. No time to do much of anything when we got back to town.

 

Biggest disappointment was we didn’t see any glaciers. Due to time of year, it was dark when we passed them. I also think the itinerary is more favorable to seeing them going from Valparaiso to Buenos Aires.

 

Valparaiso. Disembarking was slow, but seemed reasonably well organized. Chile is really serious about bringing any kind of food or agricultural products off the ship. They had dogs sniffing everything. We had a private tour arranged. Note there are two exits to the terminal. Of course, our tour guide was at the other exit. She spoke very good English since she was a high school exchange student and spent a year in New Mexico. Nice city. Kind of reminds you of San Francisco. Vina del Mar is like Palm Beach. After touring both cities, we took off for Santiago, stopping at Vina Indomita for a tour and lunch. Very good restaurant at the winery. Tour is pretty short. Arrived at the Hyatt around 5:30p.

 

The Hyatt is definitely 5 star. Very nice with very large rooms and outstanding views, but the restaurants are very expensive. Breakfast was included, which is a good thing because the “full” American buffet breakfast is over $30. There is a big mall about 2 blocks away that has lots of restaurants, but they aren’t that cheap either. Chile is definitely not the bargain that Argentina is. But the city is clean, modern, and feels safe. The police are professional, seemingly everywhere, and not corrupt. Tried the crab again at El Galeon in the Mercado Central. Cost over $100 USD. They shell the whole crab at your table. Better than what we had a Ushuaia, but Alaska King is still better. The Los Domenicos handicraft market is definitely worth going to.

 

The airport is quite modern, although check in is pretty slow. One thing to note. Their security system is a bit different from the US. They hand check everything again right before boarding and confiscate all liquids. So, the bottles of water I bought at a store by the gate after clearing security and immigration got confiscated.

 

Well, that’s about it. All in all, a good time, but it could have been better. New Zealand is next.

 

Happy cruising! :)

[scrapycruiser]

Thanks for reporting ! We're cruising on the Star next March so I really was interested in what you had to say ! What would you have done differently in Punta Arenas ? Were many people seasick on your sailing ? When do you go to New Zealand ? Are you cruising and if so , which ship ?

[auntdot]

Thanks, hubbieo! We read your detailed review with interest as we will be on Infinity next February doing a similar itinerary.

 

Sorry to hear about not seeing the glaciers - this is one of the things we are hoping to view. And the penguins! I would have been VERY disappointed too.

 

Thanks for sharing all this useful information!

 

Dot

[greatam]

 

Punta Arenas. Unfortunately, it was a Sunday, so just about everything was closed. Took the ship tour to Magdalena Island to see the penguin preserve. Bad Bad Bad. Awful “ferry” ride. Given a disgusting “bag” lunch. Got to the island. Only four penguins. No exaggeration. The literature says almost 70,000 nesting pairs can be found here, but it seems they all left a few days before we got there. It was very cold and windy. Some rain. What really upset everyone on the tour was that everybody had been asking if the penguins would still be there since there were reports that they had already started leaving, and the ship distributed a letter to everyone who had signed up for the tour that there were thousands of penguins still on the island. Wrong! Needless to say, there were a lot of complaints. Enough discontent that they refunded 60% of the tour cost. Made us feel a little better.

 

 

 

Really a shame that the cruise line still scheduled the Magdalena Island trip so late in the season. The place is REALLY SPECTACULAR up until about the end of February. Penguins, penguins, penguins all around-walking under your legs, totally surrounding you. But the penguins leave almost everyplace by about the first of March. They live about 6 months on land (when they have their babies and prepare them to live on their own) and then spend 6 months at sea. IMHO, penguin trips other than the Falklands (they live there year round) should not be scheduled after March 15. Just too much chance of not seeing a penguin.

[HubbieO]

Thanks for reporting ! We're cruising on the Star next March so I really was interested in what you had to say ! What would you have done differently in Punta Arenas ? Were many people seasick on your sailing ? When do you go to New Zealand ? Are you cruising and if so , which ship ?

 

 

Not sure what I would have differently in Punta Arenas. None of the other tours interested us very much. I guess it depends on whether you're there on a Sunday, and whether the penguins are still at Magdalena Island. If the penguins are there, I think it would be pretty amazing, the horrible ferry ride and "bag" lunch not withstanding.

 

Didn't see anyone seasick, but I did notice a lot of people wearing the patch. My wife, who is susceptible to seasickness, didn't even need the Bonine we had brought along. We only had one day of moderate "stormy" seas, but even that wasn't too bad. Of course, your mileage may vary, but the Captain makes every effort to minimize ship roll.

 

Still in the planning stages for New Zealand, but am targeting 2009 for a cruise with Princess since I made the onboard deposit for a future cruise in order to secure some free credits.

 

Have fun on your cruise!:)

[S&B]

Thanks, HubbieO, for your review.

 

We are crusing from BA to Santiago in February next year. Which day did you pass the glaciers, after which port? Was it real late when you passed them? I thought they came after leaving Ushuaia but now I think I am wrong. We are on NCL and leave Ushuaia at 2 p.m. and I think you left around 5 or 6 p.m. We like to be on top deck when we sail away. Were there any ports that were exceptionally great as you were coming in and leaving? ( I realize we could be very cold, not like other ports)

 

Thanks for your input.

[HubbieO]

Thanks, HubbieO, for your review.

 

We are crusing from BA to Santiago in February next year. Which day did you pass the glaciers, after which port? Was it real late when you passed them? I thought they came after leaving Ushuaia but now I think I am wrong. We are on NCL and leave Ushuaia at 2 p.m. and I think you left around 5 or 6 p.m. We like to be on top deck when we sail away. Were there any ports that were exceptionally great as you were coming in and leaving? ( I realize we could be very cold, not like other ports)

 

Thanks for your input.

 

SB,

 

There are supposedly several glaciers about two hours after leaving Ushuaia. I'm not sure since we didn't see them. You're right that we left Ushuaia around 5pm. It was pretty dark already by 6pm. Some of the passengers said they could kinda make out some glaciers by the moonlight, but they said they think only one was a calving glacier.

 

The Amelia Glacier is somewhere between Punta Arenas and Puerto Montt. We didn't get to see that either.

 

Due to the late sunrises during our cruise, the only port where there was daylight while entering was Port Stanley, and there honestly isn't that much to see there. We left all the ports, except Punta Arenas, while it was still daylight. According to some, the only reason we stayed in Punta Arenas until 8pm was so the people that flew to Antartica could get back. Ushuaia was pretty leaving. The rain and clouds were lifting as we left Puerto Montt, and it was a nice view as well. We could even see the Osorno volcano. Ironic we couldn't see it when we drove up there on the tour. Anyway, you should have more daylight during your cruise.

 

Have fun!

[cookiersmom]

Hi While perusing the boards in prep for my next cruise, I thought I would venture back over here to SA!

 

Read this review with nostalgic memories, and for those who were not on this board back in Feb, thought I would repost my notes from our trip on the STAR back in late January. :

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=702219&page=3

 

We loved our Penguins at Volunteer Point in the Falklands, and saw many glaciers in the Fjords, however, that might have been due to when we were there, and the fact that due to high winds, we were not able to dock or tender in Ushuaia, so we got into the Fjords very early in the day. It was amazing.

 

If you are planning a trip, have a GREAT time. We did.