Suggestions requested on Cape Horn Andes Cruise -Princess Cruises

[gymswim]

We are sailing on the Star January 5th with stops in:

Santiago (Valparaiso), Chile

1/7/2009 Puerto Montt, Chile

1/10/2009 Punta Arenas, Chile

1/11/2009 Ushuaia, Argentina

1/12/2009 Cape Horn, Chile

1/13/2009 Port Stanley, Falkland Islands

1/16/2009 Montevideo, Uruguay

1/17/2009 Buenos Aires, Argentina

We would appreciate any suggestions about shore excursions and what clothes to pack.

[Quacker]

Hi we did that cruse in the middle of Match in 2003 except going the other way. We started warm and ended warm with cold in the middle. Was cold in the Falklands, Ushuaia, around the cape and through in Chilian Fjords.

We did mostly private tours with a company called PortCompass. South America is their thing. Some of got togather from our Cruise Critic Roll Call. Cost was half of what Princess Tours were and went more places. In the Falklands we went into the Visitors Center near the dock and ask if anyone did tours. There were two locals with Land Rovers that took us everywhere. Was a fantastic day and they only charged us $20pp but we gave them a big tip.

Our cruise was the last and we stayed onboard for 17 days trough the Panama Canel and ended in Fort Lauderdale. Thirty one days - with all that food - got on as passangers and off as cargo. Don

[Kapsgirl]

too funny - yes I fear the "cargo" effect:eek: Thanks for the tour info, am researching tours thru Princess, but will research your info too.

[Pam in CA]

For clothes, pack layers so that you can use a T-shirt with a shirt jacket or sweater, etc. While you're on the Star Princess, I'll be on the HAL Amsterdam and am planning to pack clothes that layer plus a couple of fleece tops and a coat with a button-out lining. I'm also bringing a hat, scarf and gloves.

 

Puerto Montt will be when it starts to get a bit cooler. We took the Petrohue River and Lake Esmeralda tour and it was excellent. As an FYI, if you're not nimble, getting on and off the boat for the lake tour can be a challenge.

 

When I went to Punta Arenas, I took the Magdalena Island Penguin tour. It was fantastic and we got to see a lot of penguins. It was VERY cold and windy there even though it wasn't that cold in Punta Arenas. I was glad I had my hat, scarf and gloves. On our January cruise, we're doing the Otway Sound Penguin Colony.

 

For Ushuaia, the Beagle Channel Wildlife tour is excellent. When I was there two years ago, I took the scenic railroad and it was a huge disappointment. Yes, it was scenic but the day we went, it was foggy, rainy and you couldn't see out the windows. My sister took the Beagle Channel Wildlife tour and loved it; saw lots of wildlife.

 

Cape Horn is not a port but is scenic viewing. Make sure you see the Chilean fjords as they are incredible -- better than anything I've seen in Alaska or Norway. As you're going from Santiago to B.A., the best viewing will be on the port side.

 

For Stanley, make sure you pre-book an excursion. Do not leave it until you tender to shore as you'll probably be SOOL. On our cruise (the Golden a couple of years ago), about 2/3 of the passengers were not only upset but extremely angry that the tours were sold out by the time they boarded and they couldn't find anyone on shore to take them anywhere. The Bluff Cove tour is great; on our cruise, we've booked a private tour to Volunteer Point with Patrick Watts, Adventure Falklands, (pwatts@horizon.co.fk) for about $185. The cruiselines charge $339 for the same tour.

 

Even though Montevideo is just a couple of hours away from B.A., it's not as hot and a lot dryer. There isn't a whole lot to see and do here; we took a city tour the last time I was here and it was insanely boring. Their "mansions" are more like middle-class homes in Miami.

 

For Buenos Aires, you don't want to miss La Recoleta Cemetary where Eva Peron is buried. It'll probably be very hot in Buenos Aires and it's pretty humid there as well. (It's going to be in the 90s this weekend, for instance.)

 

Enjoy your cruise! I know I'll love mine. :) FYI, we're going in the opposite direction, from Rio to Santiago and will be in Stanley the day before you are so we'll probably pass you at some point.

[Pam in CA]

too funny - yes I fear the "cargo" effect:eek:

Don't worry. As long as you eat as you normally would, you'll be fine. The people who get off as "cargo" are the two-fisted eaters who eat everything in sight just because it's there. I'm somewhat "fluffy" and have never gained weight on a cruise; I usually lose some or a lot, depending on the length of the cruise. I don't exercise like mad and I don't deny myself but I also don't eat as though there's no tomorrow.

[Marie-Claude]

Hi Gymswim!

 

I was on the same cruise as 'Pam in CA' in February 07... Best piece of advice is to book tours in advance - even if you end up returning the tickets once onboard - many tours were sold out the day of embarkation... so better be safe than sorry!!

 

In Puerto Montt we did a private tour with GV Tours (lots of info on them on the South America board) and we really enjoyed it. It took us to Puerto Varas, Frutillar and Lake Llanquihue, lunch in Ensenada and a llama farm visit, then on to Vicente Rosales National Park to see the Petrohue Falls and finally a tour to Lake Todos los Santos or Emerald Lake. It was a really great all day tour including luch for 65$ pp. Some people got on our tour directly from the pier, but there was limited tour offer from the pier. This is a tender port, and those who werent' on the tender probably had no option if they hadn't booked with Princess.

 

In Punta Arenas, we did a City tour in the morning and went to Otway sound to see the penguins in the afternoon. I had seen penguins in the Falklands, so even if they werent' too many there that day, I enjoyed the mix of seeing how people lived and a bit of wildlife.

 

In Ushuaia, I also did the Beagle Channel Wildlife Catamaran Tour - it was WINDY and cold, but I really enjoyed it. The weather was really crummy that day so visibility wasn't great but we got to see a lot of sea lions and magellanic cormorans. In the afternoon we did the Drive to the End of the World excursion. This was a drive through Tierra del Fuego National Park. Some people were disappointed with this tour, but we enjoyed it very much as we learned a lot about the natives that were found on this land. The nature was beautiful and we made a few stops to take in the views. We also stopped by lake La Roca where there was a small gift shop and restaurant.

 

In Stanley, I did two excursions. In the morning, I did the Falklands Birding Expedition for the morning. Only 15 people were on this walking tour and two guides accompanied us for this fauna and flora exploration. We took a bus that got us out of the city, and started our walk along the shore of the island. We discovered over 15 species of birds, and numerous plants and flowers endemic to this island. After several kilometres along the shore, we ended up at Gypsy Cove where we saw the colony of Magellanic penguins. This was the highlight of the walk. It was amazing to see these little guys surfing the waves, and enjoying the beach, as if they were on vacations. It was great!This was an amazing tour and I would highly recommend it.

 

We returned to the city Centre where I had enough time to see the cathedral - which was closed due to a funeral that day - before setting out for our afternoon excursion to Long Island Farm. This was also an amazing tour. We drove inland about one hour through fields of rocks to get to this small sheep farm. The farm owners Glenda and Neil greeted us personally as we exited the bus. Pat, one of the farm help gave us a demonstration of peat cutting and explained how they use peat for heating. A few passengers were invited to give peat cutting a try - seems a lot easier than it is! Then we walked back to the farm where Glenda talked about her dogs and their role in sheep herding. The group was slit in two and half went into the farm house to have tea and wonderful homemade empenadas, cookies and other delicious treats while the other half went to the shearing house to see Pat shear a sheep in just a few minutes! The tour ended with Neil showing us the different pieces used to saddle their horse. Then back through the fields of rocks to head back to Stanley. Our guide was a young lad, native of the Falklands and gave us a lot of information and details about the way of life of these remote islands inhabitants.

 

In Montevideo, I also did a city tour and it was OK... not much going on there. If I had to go back I would probably head out to Punte del Este.

 

Buenos Aires is a fabulous city - we did a city tour and also a full day tour in the Pampa at a Gaucho Ranch... really loved it!!

 

If you interested, you can read more details in my review:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=521034

 

You'll have a great time!!

MC

[j!m]

all of the above suggestions are great

 

i might emphasize be sure to take layers of clothing it can be quite nasty in ushuaia and round the horn, windy damp cold, mittens and hat are needed gor tex or some form of waterproof outerwear is quite useful, umbrella not so good the wind will destroy it

 

when we were in falklands we were told no more than half the ships arriving put pax ashore due to the poor weather there, we were there in dec and it rained snowed and hailed the day we were there so if you book a pvt excursion make sure any deposit is refundable you may not reach shore

 

also heed the pre-booking advice some of the ports like falklands are quite small and if there are 2or 3 ships are in port local facilities become quite strained

 

 

hava great cruise we really enjoyed it hope you do too