South America cruises

[pfrankenberger]

Please give advice as to which ship better serves South America? Princes Celebrity Oceanicia for 2 adults and one child age 12 from the Us? I would like to find one that has excursions to Iguazu falls ? Don't know if that's possible , just starting my search .

phylica

[Keith1010]

I don't think there is anyone who has taken all three lines in South America. Also, there are different itineraries.

 

When are you looking to go and what itinerary are you looking at?

 

In general you will find more children on Celebrity and Princess than Oceania.

 

If you can copy and past the itineraries you are looking at we can give you opinions on them.

 

Keith

[Artemis]

Hi, pfrankenberger,

 

I can't be 100% sure, but I think cruise-sponsored excursions to Iguazu Falls are offered only out of Buenos Aires. The one-day excursion takes about 12 hours (flight time from BA to the falls is about 2-1/2 hours each way) and costs over $1,000 pp. We saw the falls independently pre-cruise. It is a pretty easy trip to plan on your own flying from Rio, Sao Paulo or Buenos Aires (and you can do it for a whole lot less than what the cruise line charges). Take a look at a map and you'll get a better understanding. The falls straddle Brazil and Argentina, and you visit by going into national parks on one or both sides. So there is not much to planning the trip--flights, hotel and transfers. No guiding is needed.

 

There are many different kinds of South American cruises, but to summarize some of the most common, there's the popular long one (maybe 10-14 nights?) that goes around the horn from Santiago to Buenos Aires or vice versa. I'm pretty sure all three of those lines--Princess, Celebrity and Oceania--do that one, as well as others. There are also Amazon cruises and Galapagos cruises. And then there are "immersion" cruises catering primarily to Brazilians that are usually 3-7 day coastal and/or sightseeing cruises. I think Royal might be the only US-based line in that market. We did a 7-night RT out of Sao Paulo with stops in Punta del Este, Montevideo and Buenos Aires (overnight to allow 2 days exploring BA). We had a fabulous time on that cruise (as well as visiting Rio and the falls pre-cruise), but the immersion cruise experience is not for everyone. Here's a link to my website with more info: https://sites.google.com/site/splendourbrazil/

 

You can use any of the major online cruise search engines and just designate South America to get an overview of what's on offer and what other lines are available to you. Because the seasons are reversed, the majority of cruises are offered in our fall to spring seasons, which could be tough if your son's in school (but Galapagos is year-round, I think, and certainly a kid-pleaser). Mock up some flights from your home airport to get an idea of how much time you need to allow--for Americans, it's usually an overnight down and back. A cost some don't expect is visas, which are required of American citizens to visit some SA countries.

 

Hope this helps you get started. Happy researching!

[boulders]

Have a look at Holland America too. In addition to the round the Horn cruises, they have cruises that leave from San Diego or Fort Launderdale and do a return a trip to South America.

[MarkBearSF]

Just booked Celebrity Buenos Aires - Valparaiso/Santiago. 14 nights (Overnight in Buenos Aires). This is one of the most popular itineraries (including the reverse). HAL probably has the most sailings. Princess also has a few. You mentioned Oceania. Smaller ships, more upscale (and expensive). They get great reviews.

 

There are also similar Antarctica cruises (Celebrity's are split between the "around the horn" cruises and these). Some smaller, adventure & excursion itineraries and ships also visit Antarctica.

 

There are Amazon cruises. Personally, I've heard that it's mostly an immensely wide, commercial waterway and not as beautiful as you might think. And of course cruises back and forth between S. America and the US.

 

For us, it basically came down to the line and the ship. (Your mileage will likely vary)

We love HAL, but one of the ships (Maasdam?) was their oldest "S" class. However, the other (Zaandam) is a sister to the Amsterdam, which we enjoyed.

We've always felt "meh" about Princess and had sailed a sister ship (Star Princess) and also know that class ships have a very bad reputation to being susceptible to winds, so they quickly wound up #3 for us.

That left Celebrity, which we've sailed and truly enjoyed, but various circumstances have kept us from cruising with them for 15 years, so we were eager to reacquaint ourselves with the line.

 

Other considerations on the Around the Horn itinerary details besides access to Antarctica is whether you want to visit the Falklands (Maldives).

 

A good Travel Agent would answer your questions.