Merlinite

Not real recent, but we hired a taxi to tour the city and had a great day. up to the cross, the fort and Johnny Weismullers hotel, finishing at Miguels seafood downtown.

I believe Princess goes from Fort Lauderdale to Los Angeles, around the horn

Taxis are readily available. probably around 6,000 pesos (US$10)

We took both but found them already available where ever we stayed.

She will get a coupon in your stateroom. Take it to the casino and they will give her the cash.

From the BsAs Herald:

‘Blue’ falls 9 cents, gap with official rate moves from 48% to 3%

After the currency controls lifting announced yesterday by Macri’s economic team, the “blue” dollar is still trading although with low demand.

Through the so called “arbolitos” in the city, the parallel exchange rate was offered nine cents lower than Wednesday’s closing price at 14.48 pesos, virtually eliminating the gap with the official rate which narrowed from 48 percent yesterday to 3.4 percent today.

The difference between both exchange rates was attractive for savers who bought greenbacks at the official price and sold them at a higher price in the informal market.

The benefit of full transit, which takes about 9 hours, is that you go to some very interesting Central American ports. The coffee plantation in Guatemala being one... and Costa Rica is the Jewel. We finished in Acapulco and spent 3 days decompressing :)

Where do we find to rollout schedule. we're on the Crown in September. Hoping for a "Luxury Bed" :rolleyes:

We took the bus at a cost of about US$7- each. Plenty of room under for luggage and very convenient, leaving Valpo every 15 minutes. You will have to go to the Alameda station and taxi from there to the airport, around US$15- and about 45 minutes. If you are able, Santiago is well worth a few days.

Are signature margaritas included in drink package?

any drink up to $10-, so at $8.95 i'd guess yes :cool:

Assuming you arrive around 7 a.m. and head straight to Valpo, you will be there around 10. giving an hour at the airport to deal with customs, immigration and luggage. If All Aboard is at 3 you won't have much time to site-see, so plan well. I think a guided tour from Santiago taking in Valpo and skipping the wine and Vina del Mar. That way your luggage is with you until you check in.

I don't know about your stamina level, but we were pretty beat up after 24 hours of travel to get there... so walking around the hills of Valpo wouldn't be for us :)

lots of seafood (primarily Mahi Mahi, Red Snapper and shrimp),

 

Hank

never seen mahi mahi in Mexico... plenty of Dorado though :rolleyes:

smoked blue marlin tostados at Los Cabos in Viejo Vallarta. yum!

The Love Boat has it's own channel. 24/7 seems like :)

Once on the ship you are pretty much stuck. The terminal is a lengthy bus ride and you won't want to go back. see Valpo before boarding, a day ahead at least

The Ibis is nice

Turbus is a cheap and easy way from Santiago to Valpo. there are several bus lines to chose from.

they dock at the carnival facility, which is really quite nice.

go to Gumbalima and play with the monkeys

using blue dollars we bought some decent wines for under US$2-

it goes up from there, so for US$5+, you get better wine, or so they say, i wouldn't know ;)

I would love to go round the Horn

unforgettable trip!! some days before and after in South America, and 14 days on the ship... JUST DO IT! :D

We are on the Crown next year with the Sip & Sail promotion. it will be fun to sample all this with the bar bill paid :D

 

What other activities are recommended?

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having a Mount McKinley margarita at Salmon Bake

 

Do you think we'll have a problem getting a taxi on New Year's Eve as our flight doesn't arrive at EZE until 7:40pm. :confused: ?? Can we pay for our taxi with a credit card, USD, or should we hit the ATM at the EZE airport?

you can pay either way at the taxi desk at the arrivals terminal. you will have no problem getting one. EZE is very busy. I think we paid US$27- cash for Recoleta. I hesitate to use the ATM in Argentina. Wait till you can get to a blu cambio. Dollars work in the meantime.

BsAs is a large city, I would expect most places to be open New Years Day. restaurants especially.

I have a big birthday and a wedding anniversary on the same day. Hope they have lots of balloons :p. The trip has been planned around this day and is a bucket list cruise to Alaska - will be in Glacier Bay for the actual day. Took me some time to find out where to add the details.

 

I am always the organiser so I wont be disappointed if there are no balloons. Wouldn't occur to my partner to say anything.

why not do them on different days? celebrate twice.... just for fun :D

As stated above...yes, you can check your carry-on.

Should you? Absolutely not.

It doesn't happen very often, but on occasion suitcases get lost/misplaced and once in awhile when they are loading the cages that hold the suitcases get dropped into the harbor!!!

That happened to us! It was a MESS.

 

 

i get goose bumps just thinking about it. space bags rule!!!

we carry a copy of the passport. the real one stays in the safe. as long as you have your cruise card, you're good.

hasta

You don't have to go straight to your stateroom if you drop off luggage. You can go straight to roaming the ship, find the food, do the scavenger hunt.

that's what I said, except I substituted margaritas for the scavenger hunt ;)

Merlinite, can you provide details for the reverse? We are coming into Santiago and going to the port in Valparaiso. Should we stay in Santiago a day and Valparaiso for another day before the trip? Suggestions on hotels and sights to see.

sure, just reverse the process. get to the bus terminal Alameda, enjoy a nice bus ride to Valpo.

absolutely spend some days in both. Vina del Mar is not worth the time and effort, IMO. in Santiago there are many hotels, of course. try to get close to downtown. in Valpo for 1 nite, the Ibis.

keep in mind it's a long travel day to get there, and you will be tired. Most flights arrive early morning, so make sure you can check in early. we had good luck with airbnb. Santiago is a really nice city! have some Patagonian Wild Boar