Feeling overwhelmed by SA cruise choices

I need some help. I have booked a cruise on Celebrity Infinity's 14 day "Chili and Argentina Cruise" for January of 2018. However, I can certainly change it and choose another cruise or cruise line. I think because I know so little about South America, I am at a loss. I am not sure if this is a good itinerary for a first time in South America, or if it is a good time to go, or really much of anything. Cruising guides on South America are non existent. I did purchase an overall book on South America, but it's a Whole Continent, so not specifically helpful. Our itinerary includes Valparaiso, Puerto Montt, Chilean Fjords, Punta Arenas, Ushuaia, Cape Horn, Puerto Madryn, Punta Del Este, Montevideo, and end in Buenos Aires.

We are able to go most any time, so not locked into the January date. I have read many of the boards and still just can't put my finger on when best to go or where best to go. I know I am sounding wishy washy, but would love any feedback. I also like it when cruise lines have a historian or environmentalist that gives talks about the area being visited. Has anyone sailed Celebrity and had this type of information? Not sure who does it best. I am an open book, please help me fill in my pages!

I was told by my cruise planner that December & January are not good choices because it is summer holiday and the ships have lots of children. We have chosen Feb on the Emerald Princess.

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I was told by my cruise planner that December & January are not good choices because it is summer holiday and the ships have lots of children. We have chosen Feb on the Emerald Princess.

We cruised the BA - Valpo route the first two weeks of January (with our 4 yr old), and he was one of about 30 kids on the entire ship. And this was on Norwegian, which is certainly one of the more family-friendly lines. Just my personal observation.

To the OP - I would definitely try and find an itinerary that includes the Falklands. For us, it was a highlite of the cruise. Apart from that most of the lines will follow the same route and hit the same ports (there are a couple exceptions).

I've been to South America six or seven times but this was the first cruise we've done down there. You will not get much feel for the culture of the three countries you are visiting but you will certainly get a taste of the country and maybe can decide if you would like to go back and do a land vacation. (Chile, (not Chili), is my favourite country for many reasons). Taking the cruise allowed us to see some places which we would be able to visit ourselves without a lot of effort - Falklands, cruising the Beagle Channel, etc.

I was told by my cruise planner that December & January are not good choices because it is summer holiday and the ships have lots of children. We have chosen Feb on the Emerald Princess.

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No offense, but your cruise planner needs to become more familiar with cruises longer than 7 days.

The very fact that the trip is more than 7 days makes it unlikely that there will be large numbers of children onboard. This is true in South America, the Caribbean, even Alaska.

We took the Zaandam 14 night from BA to Valparaiso on the cruise just before Xmas (2016) and I doubt that there were 20 children onboard.

To the OP I would second the suggestion about the Falklands. We took the 4X4 excursion to Voluteer Point...1500 breeding pair of King penguins, and gentoos and magellanics....and babies so cute and furry.

No offense, but your cruise planner needs to become more familiar with cruises longer than 7 days.

 

The very fact that the trip is more than 7 days makes it unlikely that there will be large numbers of children onboard. This is true in South America, the Caribbean, even Alaska.

 

We took the Zaandam 14 night from BA to Valparaiso on the cruise just before Xmas (2016) and I doubt that there were 20 children onboard.

 

 

To the OP I would second the suggestion about the Falklands. We took the 4X4 excursion to Voluteer Point...1500 breeding pair of King penguins, and gentoos and magellanics....and babies so cute and furry.

This was from the cruise consultant on our Princess cruise. I would think she would know! If the kids are off on summer vacation, 14 days is no problem!

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You need to realize that it is summer in South America during the relatively short SA cruising season. Guides in Chile, Argentina and Brazil told us that the summer school holidays started a week or so before Christmas and lasted until March so while there may not be many kids from the northern hemisphere, there will be more from the southern hemisphere.

We were on a B2B (LA to Valparaiso, Valparaiso to Rio de Janiero) on the Crown Princess for 31 days from early December to early January. There were many family groups on the cruises, especially the Valparaiso to Rio cruise that included Christmas and New Years but we had no issue with kids at all.

Added: if you are considering a cruise later in the season and are especially interested in seeing baby penquins check to see which will still be around. We saw baby Magellanics in Punta Arenas and baby Kings in the Falklands in December.

Thanks for your replies. I am not as worried about the children. I was a teacher and had to vacation often with them and it never really bothered me. From what I have read, it seems we will see baby penguins at that time. Curious why Falklands? Why is it best to go there? Topography, Penguins, what is it you loved?

This was from the cruise consultant on our Princess cruise. I would think she would know! If the kids are off on summer vacation, 14 days is no problem!

 

 

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I see you are booked for a 30 day cruise beginning the end of February. That should safely assure you that there will be few children on board.

For others concerned about cruising with children: Carpiccio's post is absolutely spot on. The cruise and summer vacation seasons in South America coincide. Summer vacation extends until March about the same time as cruise season is wrapping up.

We are Princess Elite (aka, "Free Laundry") level and love our Princess consultant. However, while Princess consultants can certainly tell you how many children are booked on a given cruise, they are not experts in cruise destinations. In this case she was mistaken about the length of summer school break in South America.

I too have been overwhelmed by the options for South America. I was finally able to narrow it down though based on price/style of cruising and will most likely be going with NCL in January 2019. It's a 40th birthday celebration for myself. I figured Penguins would be a nice birthday present :D. I've done Alaska and really enjoyed it so I am hopeful about South America.

I think any choice you make will be the right one. All the port options look amazing so I don't think you could go wrong.

Thanks for your replies. I am not as worried about the children. I was a teacher and had to vacation often with them and it never really bothered me. From what I have read, it seems we will see baby penguins at that time. Curious why Falklands? Why is it best to go there? Topography, Penguins, what is it you loved?

The Falkland Islands were a highlight for us as well. It was our most adventurous port; we did the 4x4 drive to Volunteer Point and it was just amazing. Tons of penguins; I think they say there are 1500 breeding pairs of Kings. Many Gentoos as well (they are so comical!) and Magellanic Penguins, too. All out in the open; no ropes or anything dividing you and the penguins once they leave their group (we enjoyed following some King Penguins to the beach to see them swim). We saw a lot of baby Kings, too, and baby Gentoos. The chicks are adorable! It was just so amazing to see the penguins out in the open in their natural habitat. Plus because it's such a haul to reach Volunteer Point, there aren't many people there because there are no roads, so buses and vans can't get through (just 4x4s). But even the drive out there was part of the experience. The landscape of the islands is very exotic looking with mountains, beaches, rocks which they believe to be from the Ice Age, and a very fascinating history from the Falklands War in 1982. There are still active land mines there and you can do a tour of the battlefields (we saw some while heading to Volunteer Point). I loved seeing mountains, water/ocean, sheep and penguins all in one place. Also it's really interesting to find this bastion of English in the middle of the Atlantic, down near the tip of the world! You do feel like you're in the U.K. Truly a unique experience. That said, due to the unpredictability of the weather there, some ships don't make the port. We were fortunate to have good weather and not much wind while we were there. We loved it!

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DO ANTARCTICA

We faced a situation similar to yours and I posted on FB. I got a most valuable recommendation: do Antarctica as well. We did on the Zaandam this past Christmas/NYE. A fabulous cruise in an otherworldly part of the world. Very few kids.

Thanks for the help. It has helped me to rethink which SA cruise is best.

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