mdod

We did this tour last week and it was the worst excursion we've ever had.  I sent an email to see if they picked up from the dock and it took 10 days for a response. By then I was looking elsewhere. I looked into Reef Runners but I didn't want to spend $80 pp for just 2 hrs and their all day tour was $150 pp so I looked into going to Cade's Reef and Nelson's Dockyard on our own. I decided that was too complicated to coordinate on a short port visit so I decided to get a taxi to Nelson's Dockyard and snorkel at nearby Galleon Beach and hike up to Shirley Heights, not necessarily in that order. But I kept reading that Cade's reef had much better snorkeling than elsewhere on the island and Reef Riders was booked by then so, after reading these comments, I went  back to South Coast Horizons and booked their all day tour for $100pp.

They were supposed to pick us up at the dock at 9. At 9:15 we tipped a local taxi driver for use of his cell phone.  They said the driver had a problem but was on his way and would be there in 15-20 min. A women finally showed up at 9:40. She was nice and gave us information about the island as we drove to the hotel to join a group that was preparing to go on the kayak/snorkel. Our guides were pleasant enough and kayaking through the mangroves was nice but it was 10 min max and we took a short boat rise to the reef. It was decent snorkeling but  we only snorkeled for 30 min before returning to the beach.  Then we waited at least 45 min for lunch to arrive. There were many trees for shade and picnic tables to sit at but the beach was more like pebbles than sand. We were somewhat entertained by a mongoose running around the picnic area.  When lunch finally arrive it was a BBQ chicken leg quarter (that looked more like a Cornish hen), some lettuce with tomato, rice and some other veg I can't remember. After lunch we kayaked back through the mangroves and started our "island tour". 

We drove around in a "safari" jeep with plastic "windows" that were folded in half instead of being rolled up out of the way so you had to duck down or lift them up to see clearly. The cushions for the seats were several inches smaller than the seat frame in length and width so they weren't very comfortable to sit on and they slid around. There was a speaker in the back where we sat but the driver didn't talk the entire time other than to announce that we were at Betty's Hope, Devil's Bridge and that we were driving through the rain forest (Fig Drive).  That's all we saw before heading back to the ship. The tour was also supposed to go by Nelson's Dockyard and Half Moon Bay and, silly me, thought we might get to see nearby Shirley Heights since it's so close to Nelson Dockyard.

A couple that was staying on the island did the kayak/snorkel and "island tour" with us and they seemed to be very happy with the tour but I thought $100 pp was way overpriced for what we received. More importantly, the tour wasn't as described.

11 hours ago, Katomerikaf said:

Around 40/45 mins but I guess that would depend on the traffic that day.

Thanks!

How long was the bus ride there?

4 minutes ago, Stinger-pr said:

For example, the rugs on the cabin hallways all have this bunch of fish on them. The detail is that they’re all swimming (or facing) towards the front. That’s all of them except the red one. The red fish is the only one facing towards the rear of the ship.

Yes, I loved the fish in the carpet when we were on the Dawn several years ago.  So clever and simple. Unfortunately, I didn't notice until about half way through the cruise!

32 minutes ago, Stinger-pr said:

Puerto Rico is in Atlantic Standard Time and does not observe daylight savings time. All the islands you'll visit are within that same time zone so just set your watch to PR time and you'll be in sync with the ship everywhere.

Great. Thanks!  Hope you're felling better.

On 12/31/2018 at 6:42 AM, Stinger-pr said:

Well, it is possible but really, why would you? At least your stuck in traffic in AC which beats walking on the pavement on a hot morning and arriving at the ship all sweaty...haha. But, no. There are no sidewalks along the pier access road.

LOL... it's good exercise and we just can't stand sitting in traffic. I was actually considering walking from our hotel, El Canario by the Lagoon.  Google Maps said it was 2.4 mi, which is not bad, but it doesn't look like it would be pedestrian friendly.  Since the ship doesn't sail until 9, we will probably be boarding later in the afternoon so, hopefully, traffic won't be too bad. 

Do you know how ship time compared to local time?  We're booking our own excursions and there's always concern about conflicts between the 2.

Thanks for the review!

Is it possible to get dropped off near the pier in SJ and walk the rest of the way to avoid sitting in traffic?  We only have carryon but from your description it sounds like there aren't any sidewalks.

Great! Thanks for your help.

Thanks so much for the response. Did you go snorkeling on your own from the beach or were theses with tour groups?

I recently booked our first Southern Carribean cruise for mid Feb and I need to get going on excursions.  We 'll be going to Bridgetown, Barbados; St John's Antigua, Basseerre, St Kitts; Phillipsburg, St Maarten and St Thomas, US Virgin Islands. We like hiking, snorkeling or some type of activity.  We don't do lying on the beach or shopping.  I looked up the top places to snorkel and, of the ports on our cruise, only Barbados and Antigua were listed.  I read that St Kitts wasn't great for snorkeling but then I saw great reviews for Thenford Grey's Multi-Beach Snorkel Tour.  So...of the islands we're going to, any ideas as to which would be the best to do a snorkel excursion and which would we be better off doing some other activity?

Correction, I think we only stopped a couple of times on the way back from Coyhaique. I was basing the stops on my pics but I took several through the window of the taxi.

We could find very little information about getting a taxi at the port at Puerto Chacabuco so here's what we found last week. The cruise lecturer said he had seen anywhere from 22 -30 taxis at the port that were quickly gobbled up so he recommended getting off on the first couple of tenders if you want to find one.

We were in port from 7-2 and got in line at 6 AM for the first tender ticket. We made it to the top of the hill where the taxis are at 7:10. The couple we were going with got off the tender first and were greeted by what I call the taxi **** up by the dome tents. There were several drivers lined up next to him. He spoke good English and had a card with tour info. He closed the deal ($150 for 4 hours) and assigned the driver. We were then whisked off to a marked taxi and headed out so we didn't have a chance to see what else was available.

Our driver didn't speak much English but they have a standard route that they stick to so it's not really needed. I asked if we could go to Cascada de Leon near Aysen and she said "no" but they did go to Cascada de la Virgen.

We drove to Aysen and she pointed out the bridge. Our first stop for photos was at Cascada de al Virgen just before 8:00. We stopped a couple more times before and stopped at a lookout above Coyhaique just past a tunnel at 8:45.

She parked near the artesan booths in Coyhaique and got us into the pay toilets then she asked if we wanted "more shopping or natural". We said natural so she said showed us where everything was and said she'd meet us back at the car in 30 min. We made a quick pass down the main road and then back to the artesan section for some souvenirs. We made several stops on the way back including a narrow suspension bridge that we thought was just for pedestrians until she started driving across it. I was waiting for her to pull in the mirrors so we'd fit. We stopped a couple more places for pics and made it back to the dock just before noon.

It was a beautiful day and a beautiful drive.

FYI, We just finished a Buenos Aires to Santiago cruise on the Sun with 6 days in Argentina at the front end to see Iguazu Falls and Buenos Aires. Thankfully we brought enough cash to pay for everything because we had a terrible time getting money from an ATM. Using two different bank cards we were only able to get money one time and all we could get was 2000 pesos (with an 82 peso fee). The walking tour guide said they can't keep money in the ATMs because the peso has devalued so much and they have no large denomination bills so the machines don't hold much money. We had to have pesos for the Iguazu Falls entrance fee but everything else, their shops, restaurants and boat rides did take credit cards. Fortunately, our hotel in Iguazu had change for $150 so we could get in the second day. We exchanged some more at the AEP airport when we flew back from Iguazu at 14.30 pesos/$

We were in Punta Arenas on a Sunday. The cruise lecturer said the banks would be closed but the ATMs would still be available but we tried 5 different banks after we returned from our excursion at 5 andall were locked. Luckily everyone accepted US during the cruise and our guide for a walking tour in Valparaiso took us to an exchange place when we got enough for the day and the (very nice) bus to Santiago and the airport.

We just got back from cruising Buenos Aires to Valparaiso on the NCL Sun where we were blessed with unseasonably good weather. Being at sea without light pollution is a great opportunity to see the night sky but we have not found dark spaces on past cruises. A couple of months before the cruise I wrote a letter to NCL asking if the lights could be turned off in an area of the ship for a short period of time to allow those passengers that are interested to get a great view of the stars. Princess has specific star gazing programs where that is done and someone on our cruise said NCL turns out lights near the volcano in Hawaii so it is obviously possible.

I never received a response so I brought it up with the hotel director at the Meet and Greet, mentioning that we would have a new moon while cruising the Magellan Strait. Guest services called 2 days later and said we'd be going through the Magellan Straits from 4AM to 10 AM when it was light. So I guess he took my request a little too literal. I was just pointing out that there was a new moon in the middle of our cruise so conditions were optimal for viewing.

I didn't press the issue any more because by then we had already discovered Deck 13 Forward. It is, by far, the darkest spot I've ever found on any cruise ship. We were able to easily see the Milky Way and the Magellanic Clouds from there.

We were lucky but it's really too bad the cruise lines don't make it easier for people to experience when it is something that so easy to offer and doesn't half to cost them a penny. They just have to turn off the lights in a small area for 10 min on a clear night. But at least on the Sun, there's a great option on Deck 13 Forward.

If I have a rolling suitcase and I want to roll it off myself, can I do that?

FYI, we just disembarked from the Sun in Valparaiso. We just had carry-on bags and they let us walk off whenever we wanted (once the shuttle buses were there). However any bags large enough to check have to be put out the night before. I suspect it's because there's no room for a bunch of luggage on the shuttles.

Can anyone that has recently used this app to make/receive calls from to/home give feedback?

Could you use it reliably? What was the cost?

We will be sailing from Buenos Aires to Valparaiso around the Horn on the Sun Jan 30- Feb 13th and I'm trying to figure out the best way to stay in contact with my office in case of emergencies. The only information I could find on the NCL site said you could make calls through the app for less than the cellular rates but didn't say how much. It only said that you

would be would be notified of the cost before the call went through.

I am envious. I have been to the falls half a dozen times and never managed to be there during a full moon. I have heard this is a wonderful tour.

 

You might want to check the date of the reports about sneaking across the border. It used to be very easy to do via taxi or public bus, but I have not heard of anyone who has done this in several years....and several reports about people not being allowed to cross. I was unable to cross the last two times I was there.

Thanks. I'd pretty much resigned myself to not going to Brazil but that's good to know. Now I can concentrate on maximizing our experience on the Argentine side.

Yes, when I read about the full moon event I immediately checked the phase of the moon and added 4 days to the front end of our trip to catch the last day of the tour. Then I told my husband we had to get to Niagara Falls while we could still appreciate it so we did a last minute trip in July :D. I just hope the full moon tour doesn't get cancelled because we only have the one night to catch it.

Since you've been so many times, can you answer a few more questions? I'm running out of time for research and, hopefully, the answers will help the original poster and others.

Is it true that the boat ride will give us a little bit of the Brazilian type view? We're doing the short boat ride, not the full jungle tour.

Is there any value in walking across the bridge at the border crossing? I don't want to waste my time if there's nothing much to see.

I've seen recs to go early and go straight to Diablo's Throat and I've seen recs to go to the boat to the falls first. We like to hike and we go hard all day. We want to do all the trails, including Macuco, and take the ferry over to San Martin Island. If the flight cooperates, we plan to be there first thing both days so, in theory, we could do one one day and another the next. But sun and timing can also play a big factor in the view. If we have great weather both days, are there any places that have especially good views at a specific time of the day? If sunshine is in short supply, are there any areas that:

• we should give priority to seeing in the sun?
  
• try to avoid in the rain?
  
• are least impacted by the weather?
  

I've read that it takes about 2 hrs each for the upper and lower trail but I assume that doesn't include the ferry over to San Martin Island from the lower trail. Any idea how long to allow for that?

What's the deal on walking the green trail vs taking the train in the beginning? I read that the train only comes every 30 min and doesn't start until 8:30 and the walk isn't that bad. So does it make sense to just walk it if we're trying to get there as early as possible?

Time permitting, I've also got the Guira Oga- wildlife rehab center

http://www.guiraoga.com.ar/refugio_visitenos.php

the Jardin de los Picaflores https://www.facebook.com

/jardindelospicafloresiguazu and a view of the Three Rivers Frontier (border of Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina) on my to do list.

Thanks for any advice you can offer!

We're going in 2 1/2 weeks. We're flying to Aerolinas there because they have a 5:45 AM flight to IGR (the Argentina side) and LAN back the next evening at 7:45. Most flights are out of AEP (near downtown Buenos Aires) but Aerolinas does have a few flights out of EZE if you are wanting to go directly to Iguazu after arriving in Buenos Aires on an international flight.

From what I've read, there are a lot more trails and interactions on the Argentine side but you get a panoramic view of the falls from the Brazilian side (kind of like the American vs Canadian sides of Niagara Falls). There is a boat ride under the falls from either side but it's cheaper from the Argentine side.

I hope I don't regret it but I decided not to get a Brazilian visa, as much for the aggravation as the expense. I know someone that got a taxi driver to take her to the Brazilian side without a visa and I've read reports of that too. I was thinking about seeing if we could do that the second day but then I read a recent comment that someone waited hours to get back into Argentina so that's a concern.

I'm not sure when I'd arrange it anyway. We're planning to go straight to the park from the airport and, weather permitting, we're doing the full moon tour that evening http://www.iguazuargentina.com/en/luna-llena/ so we may just stay there all day.

I read that you get somewhat of panoramic view from the boat ride so I'm hoping that will work. If not, we might see if we can get over to the Brazil side the next morning.

Does anyone know what you can see from the bridge to Brazil? I read that you can walk all the way across up to their customs office without a visa.

I will let you know how things turn out.

We're doing a bike tour in Montevideo with Bike Tours Montevideo (Uruguay Bike Tours). They do small groups up to 10 people and have great reviews on TA. Communication has been excellent and they don't require a deposit in advance. I thought about doing a walking tour on my own but it's always nice to have a local guide, especially when you only have a few hours to explore a place. I figured we could cover a lot more ground with the bikes and get some exercise without killing my feet walking on concrete.

It's a 3 1/2 hr tour that starts at the Ministry of Tourism right next to the port. It goes through the old city and out to the Lighthouse then returns along the coast via the Rambla in time for the a highly recommended lunch at the Mercado del Puerto. She said the tour could be extended another hour to see more of the east coast if the entire group agreed but it's not safe to go farther than that.

She said they don't have time to go inside most of the buildings but they do go inside the cathedral and they explain the history and have plenty of time for photos and breaks. We'll be there on a Sunday so I'm not sure what will be open anyway but I figured we could always walk or take a cab back to town after lunch if there was something we wanted to revisit.

Lari,

Thanks for the Tango show info. I had decided against seeing a show at $100+ pp. You mentioned getting the 1/2 price tickets that day. Do you think there is much risk of them being sold out by doing that?

Great information. Thanks!

freestyle disembarkation is not possible and you have to put out your luggage the night before.

Hi Michael,

We typically travel with carry-on only so would we have to put that out the night before too?

I found it on NCL's website. They do cash travelers checks at the Guest Services Desk.

https://www.ncl.com/faq#currency

Well...My sister is going on an NCL next weekend and she just called NCL. She was told they do NOT cash travelers checks onboard. So who do you believe?

I found it on NCL's website. They do cash travelers checks at the Guest Services Desk.

https://www.ncl.com/faq#currency

Since cruise ships are one of the few places which accept traveler's checks we actually purchased traveler's checks before we left and cashed them in on the ship.

I read that cruise ships this cash traveler's checks on a post from several years ago but wasn't sure if that was still the case. Have you cashed them recently?