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Some South America cruise and Veendam info needed please

496and706

By 496and706,
in Holland America Line

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496and706

496and706

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It's official, unless we have to cancel. Dh and I are booked on the Dec. 3 South America cruise on the Veendam.

 

We have a Cat BB guaranteed double verandah suite.

 

Any suggestions for excursions, etc would be helpful. Dh and I have never been to South America before and never considered going there, so we don't have any idea of what to expect.

 

Thanks.

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RuthC

RuthC

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I've been down there twice, with my third trip coming up. If you list out your ports, and what you like to do/limitations on what you can do, I'll be happy to tell you what I can.

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496and706

496and706

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Starts in Valparaiso, Chile.

Puerto Montt, Chile

Puerto Chacabuco, Chile

Punta Arenas, Chile

Ushuaia, Argentina

Cape Horn (2 hours)

Puerto Madryn, Argentina

Montevideo, Uruguay

Buenos Aires, Argentina (overnight)

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

 

No mobility problems at this time. We like history/religion/art.

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PathfinderEss

PathfinderEss

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It's official, unless we have to cancel. Dh and I are booked on the Dec. 3 South America cruise on the Veendam.

 

We have a Cat BB guaranteed double verandah suite.

 

Any suggestions for excursions, etc would be helpful. Dh and I have never been to South America before and never considered going there, so we don't have any idea of what to expect.

 

Thanks.

 

Here is the link to your cruise's roll call. All of what you ask will probably be discussed on this forum.

Dec. 3-20, 2012 Valparaiso to Rio - Cruise Critic Message Boards

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496and706

496and706

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The roll call isn't too lively yet. I was over there earlier.

 

I was looking for info from this board because there is more action here and there are posters here that may have the knowledge I was looking for even if they aren't going to South America on the same date.

 

Thanks.

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surfsidemary

surfsidemary

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Starts in Valparaiso, Chile.

Puerto Montt, Chile

Puerto Chacabuco, Chile

Punta Arenas, Chile

Ushuaia, Argentina

Cape Horn (2 hours)

Puerto Madryn, Argentina

Montevideo, Uruguay

Buenos Aires, Argentina (overnight)

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

 

No mobility problems at this time. We like history/religion/art.

 

Did the grand voyage this year.

 

Valparaiso - Santiago is well worth the long drive. Ship's tour had very nice, well-equipped buses (leather seats and all).

 

Montevideo - an easy DIY. Dock right in the city, safe and easy walking.

 

BA - we missed a day because the Argentinian authorities were playing games (we had been to the Falkland Islands). I very much enjoyed the ship's tour to Estancia Susanna. Beautiful day to just "be" in Argentina on a horse ranch without a lot of tramping around behind a guide.

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RuthC

RuthC

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I haven't been to all those ports yet, so I will only mention the ones I'm familiar with:

Puerto Montt has some picturesque places out in the Lakes District. Do plan to stop at The City of Roses. There's a lovely little park, with roses, of course, and some interesting shopping across the street (normally, I hate shopping, but like it here.)

Punta Arenas has a neat outdoor museum. It was cold (as in "frigid") when I was there, but worth it. There is also an interesting cemetary, reminiscent of Ricoletta in Buenos Aires. There is also a good museum in town.

In Ushuaia, all I have ever done is take the catamaran out into the channel to see the wildlife. The second time, there was also a land tour that took us out to the wilderness, and drove through town. Scenery is gorgeous there.

Every tour in Montevideo will take you to the capitol. It's an interesting building, and worth going through. The city tour took us out of town, and gave a thorough overview of the area. I also took the Jewish Heritage tour, which included an art gallery of interest.

Give me several overnights in Buenos Aires, and I still won't be able to see it all! The first time there I took a tour of Ricoletta Cemetery that approached it from the point of view of the mausoleums as works of art. That was impressive, as every mark on the mausoleums has meanings.

A boat ride down the Tigre River delta shows an entirely different way of life than the big city.

A tango show is almost mandatory! There are some indoors, and others out on the sidewalks. You can have a nice meal while watching.

I have not been out to see the gauchos yet, and need to see their way of life.

You need to take a ride through, and around, town to get a good overview of the city. It is impressive. Take a look at the wide-wide-wide boulevard.

Or, there's the option of going out to Iguazzu Falls.

You cannot do it all there. There just isn't time.

In Rio, there is Corcovado and Sugarloaf that are required visits. Stop at the Catholic Cathedral for a different interpretation of what a church looks like.

Ride along the beaches, and check out the sidewalks with the inlaid mosaics.

Oh, and lunch! There are "buffets" that will fill you with so much good meat, then bring more, and more, and .... There are other foods, too.

Sorry, the memory dims. I will be going back to refresh them!

Hope this gives you a jump-start on your research of what to do.

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janmcn

janmcn

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Punta Arenas do the Penguin trip to Otway Bay, a lovely place to see the Magellanic Penguins.

 

See our link in our signature for photos from this year's trip to Antarctica which was virtually the same, except we had 4 days cruising around Antarctica islands. Highlights were Punta Arenas and the Falklands (which you won't go to.) We did enjoy seeing Montevideo, a beautiful city. (Took the city highlight trip which was excellent.)

We missed Ushuaia due to an impending storm, so headed across the Drake Channel without stopping. Sorry to have missed it.

 

IF you are interested, consider extending your trip by a few days and fly from Buenos Aires to Iguazu and see the falls…they are amazing. That was the other highlight of our trip. You are so close (1 1/2 hours by air) when in BA that it is nice to see it too.

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RuthC

RuthC

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Punta Arenas do the Penguin trip to Otway Bay, a lovely place to see the Magellanic Penguins.

Otway Bay! :eek: How could I forget to mention Otway Bay??? :o

Do not miss a stop there! Penguins everywhere! There's a boardwalk over the land, with penguins all along the pathway. And then, you get to the beach. Thousands of them! There's a pavillion on which you can stand and look down to see penguins all over the beach. And swimming in the water. You'll have your fill of penguins, oh my.

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kazu "Live from...." Rare

kazu

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Thanks to everyone for your replies. Dh changed his mind and we will now be doing the 21 day collector on the Noordam in November in the Carribean.

 

Have a great cruise:D:D

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