Review: Golden Princess: Feb1- Feb 15, BA to Santiago

[AZ Ocean Lover]

Such an interesting and different review. It's great to hear about cruises that are more off the beaten path. My sister just got off a cruise in the same area that went to Antarctia and she said that they saw some of the most amazing wildlife. It rivaled Africa according to her. She too was fascinated with the penguins. Thank you so much for taking the time to write the review of both the ship and the excursions.

[CraigRDR1]

Ushuaia:

 

The next day we docked in Ushuaia. It was a beautiful day but quite cool. Ushuaia reminds me of Alaska...snow capped mountains and a small port town. Here we chose the Terra Major Nature Reserve hike via the ships tours. We met our guide at the dock and drove about 20 minutes to into

Andes. Breath taking views! At the small loge they gave us knee high boots and instructions about walking the trail. It was a 3+ hour hike into the foothills of Andes through peat bogs, streams, mud and forest. It was absolutely amazing. It was also a lot of fun. You had to up for it though. It was strenuous and could get messy if you fell into a peat bog, which happened to few people. Lots of folks came back covered in mud. We had 3 guides to pull you out if you got sucked in, plus we all helped each other during the climb. Lots of fun if its your thing. This was my favorite tour of the trip. I was proud of my wife who didn't fall in, get dirty or quit halfway. The guide gives you the option to go back at the halfway if you felt you couldn't make it. No one quit and we all made it back. The views were amazing, air clean and the exercise welcomed. Upon retiring from the hike we got rid of the muddy boots and had sandwiches, tea, coffee and dessert. I had matte which to my surprise was very good. We returned to town with more than enough time to walk around and shop. My wife bought jewelry here, I guess she deserved it after climbing up the mountain. This was our last stop in Argentina and probably my favorite.

 

 

 

 

Amalia Glacier:

 

The next day about 4 pm the ship sail through the Chilean fjords..or Glacier alley toward Amalia Glacier... Port side cabin got the first look at the glaciers, but in the end everyone got a great view. We didn't get as close as we did in Alaska..but the view was great in any case.

 

 

 

[CraigRDR1]

Punta Arenas:

 

After another sea day, we reached Punta Arenas. Our first stop in Chile. They are very serious about you bringing food, fruit or any kind on shore so don't do it. They will also give you a form to carry with. Hang on to it as you will need in Valparsio. This was another tender port. The wind was whipping and Captain suspended tender operations for about an hour. There was some question if we would make this port at all.. But, after an hour or so the winds calmed and we were able to tender ashore. We chose a ship tour to see the Otoway Sound penguins. This was just ok. After having penguins come right up to us at our two other stops this one was a disappointment. Viewing platforms were so far from the penguins it was silly. I think closest we got to a penguin was about 20 feet. But, it was a short tour, 3 hrs max and we did see some foxes and condors. If you we able to see penguins in Puerto Madryn and the Falklands...skip this tour. We returned to Punta Arenas with plenty of time to see the town. I recommend attending the port lectures prior to docking, you will get some nice tips on where everything is located. We visited the handicraft market and the town square market. Punta Arenas is nice little town and easily walkable. We were able to withdraw some Chilean Pesos from the local bank (ScotiaBank has instructions in English). We were hungry and found a lovely place to eat. We had a local dish of grilled lamb and potatoes. It was excellent and inexpensive. After eating it was back on the tender and off to Amalia Glacier and Puerto Montt, Chile.

 

 

 

 

 

 

By the way, I messed up the order here...we went to Amalia Glacier after Punta Arenas on the way to Puerto Montt, and NOT after Ushuaia. Just in case anyone got confused.

[CraigRDR1]

Puerto Montt:

 

 

Puerto Montt is not really an interesting port. The ship docks pretty far from the center of town so your best bet here is a tour to Puerto Varas, Osorno Volcano and Petrohue Falls. This is the tour we chose via the ship. This was another tender port. Once again we found our guide at the dock and drove to Petrohue falls. From here we drove to the top of Osorno Volcano. After this stop we headed to an Estancia for a nice local lunch consisting of salmon (locally grown and fished), visco sour (local drink, similar to limoncello), homemade cake for dessert. After petting a few llamas we headed to Puerto Varas, a lovely little lake side resort for some shopping. I think I'll just let the stunning pictures do the talking here.

 

 

 

 

 

[EightFurryPaws]

Thank you so much for your review. Boarding the Golden on March 1 in BA and going to LA. You have answered many questions regarding the tours.

 

Did you and your wife feel unsafe walking around BA, even being cautious?

Were you able to clean your shoes before boarding the ship after visiting the penguins?

Was it very hot and humid in BA?

 

Thanks again.

[CraigRDR1]

Thank you so much for your review. Boarding the Golden on March 1 in BA and going to LA. You have answered many questions regarding the tours.

 

Did you and your wife feel unsafe walking around BA, even being cautious?

Were you able to clean your shoes before boarding the ship after visiting the penguins?

Was it very hot and humid in BA?

 

Thanks again.

 

We are from NYC, so we have a good sixth sense about where we should be. We never felt unsafe in BA but you need to be careful of pickpockets in BA. Dress down, no jewelry... Don't be a target and you'll be fine. BA is kinda dirty and falling apart but not unsafe. They have a lot of protests daily. Army and police will show up out of the blue to block protestors, especially near the Pink House ( their White House) and Congress. Stay out of La Boca area after dark...it can get dangerous from what I was told. We didn't make it there because my wife was ill that day. Also, be prepared to be harassed by the money changers on Calle Florida. The word CAMBIO will burned into your brain. Santiago is much nicer city.. Much safer feel...nicer people

 

There are lots of thick shrubs you have to walk over and back from the penguins. It gets most of junk off your shoes. There was some dried poop stuck in our shoes but a few good whacks on the balcony floor and it was all good.

 

BA was very hot and humid.. Be prepared to sweat.

[gelo7]

Loving your review.

[Paparam]

I truly appreciate the time taken to post this review. The pics are beautiful. Do have a question, since we are doing the BA to Santiago leg later this month. Which 3 were the formal nights? It would be helpful for my wife who wants to book a facial and spa treatment on one of the days

[CraigRDR1]

I truly appreciate the time taken to post this review. The pics are beautiful. Do have a question, since we are doing the BA to Santiago leg later this month. Which 3 were the formal nights? It would be helpful for my wife who wants to book a facial and spa treatment on one of the days

 

We had only 2 formal nights, sea day between Montevideo and Puerto Madryn, sea day before Puerto Montt

[Paparam]

We had only 2 formal nights, sea day between Montevideo and Puerto Madryn, sea day before Puerto Montt

 

Thank you for the response. Our Mar 1 sailing description states there will be 3 formal nights, I wonder if it is a typo. I have already packed for 3 nights which for me means two additional dressy shirts and tie added to the suit from the first formal night.

[CraigRDR1]

Valparaiso, Santiago and Final Comments:

 

 

Disembarkation was pretty smooth. We had a nice breakfast in the MD at about 7am. We had pre booked a tour of Valparaiso, followed by a transfer to Santiago and had a pick up at 9:15. They gave us a disembarkation time of 8:50 am. We were called to disembark right on time. After clearing the cruise card check out we hopped on the shuttle bus. The terminal in Valparaiso is very far from where the ship docks so it's a 5-10 minute ride to the terminal. It was pretty organized. Make sure to have your Chilean immigration form ready as they collect it first thing. Then you have pass through an Xray scan of your bags and have cute dogs sniff them for any food or fruit. They went through my and my wife's bag until they were satisfied we weren't packing any radical produce.

 

We found our bags quickly and met our guide Jorge right outside the terminal. He escorted us to the van and we met our driver also named Jorge. Off we went to see Valparaiso. If you are going to see this city I suggest a guide and car. It's tough city to get around on your own. Apart from the port area which are about a few blocks square, the city is nest of small, hilly, winding streets making very easy to get lost if you have no idea where you are going. You need a guide to show you all the hidden gems. If you take a wrong turn you could get in stuck in some really poor and scary neighborhoods. Don't be scared of all the stray dogs here in Chile or Valparaiso. They are mostly very friendly and seem to be well taken care of. I was told that the local governments provide care for them and the locals feed them.

 

Jorge took us to some really cool spots, took us on the funicular (which was really cool, but don't push your luck those things are old), gave us a tour of the port area and found us a very nice place to eat lunch. After lunch Jorge and Jorge drove us to Santiago. It's about a 90 minute ride barring traffic through wine country which is very pretty.

 

After saying our goodbyes to both Jorges, we checked into our current hotel. We booked The Ritz-Carlton club level which we have done in the past. If you can pay few extra bucks and stay on the club level. Continuos food and drink in the club lounge really saves money. Plus great free internet which allowed me to post this review.

 

Santiago is a large, modern city. It's much cleaner and nicer than BA in my opinion. Much more stable and calmer than BA. Has a wonderful and clean subway that can take anywhere in town for about 680 pesos (about 1.40 US). Chileans are also a bit nicer. Yesterday we walked toward downtown it took about an hour both ways. We wanted to see how it was. As it was Sunday almost everything was closed apart from certain tourist sports (patio bellvista was open). Today we booked a private tour through the hotel. Fernando our guide was great and showed all the important spots in town. He dropped us at Los Dominocos (an artesian handicraft center in town). Here my wife did more shopping and we had a nice lunch of empanadas. Afterwards we rode the subway back to the hotel. Tomorrow we head home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Santiago:

 

 

 

 

 

[CraigRDR1]

Thank you for the response. Our Mar 1 sailing description states there will be 3 formal nights, I wonder if it is a typo. I have already packed for 3 nights which for me means two additional dressy shirts and tie added to the suit from the first formal night.

 

Ours also said 3 formal nights...

[CraigRDR1]

Final Comments:

 

Overall it's been a great trip. Great scenery, people, food and of course wine.

 

The cruise itself was very nice. This was our 9th cruise with Princess and they didn't disappoint. Relaxing fun time..great ports...

 

Crew: great service, happy crew ( I've been on some cruises where the crew is miserable and it shows), Rey our steward was outstanding. All the waiters were great and the crew director staff was lots of fun ( especially Matt and Fab.. Both totally nuts). Wasn't a huge fan of the cruise director Billy Hygate... A bit cheesy...

 

Food: certainly up to Princess standards, Sabatinis was a cut above, like a good Italian restaurant. We try to stay out of the horizon court whenever possible.

 

Internet: very slow but functional. As platinum members we had 250 free minutes each. So, we didn't pay for bad service.

 

Entertainment: the shows were very average at best. If you have see a production show, see the British Invasion show. We had a magician ( Hector) who was pretty good. We also had a ventriloquist ( Dan Horn) who I found creepy... But that's just me. Dan Riley was a fun comedian. The staff did a great job with trivia and fun game shows. I noticed that all the shows were very short. 30 minutes at most. They used to 45 minutes to an hour. Not sure why.

 

Art auction: in the past we have purchased art from Princess. As of Jan 1 Princess has stopped selling art and has hired an outside company called Park West. All I can say that this was huge downgrade. Park West was selling mostly fancy posters or pushing high end art in bulk. Big sales pitch and hard sell with spotters in the crowd urging you to bid. Very disappointing. We were always able to buy original oils for a few hundred dollars. Not anymore. Park West is also deceptive on what it's selling as they quickly describe the item in way that you can easily miss the fact the item is not original. No more wine and cheese for regular buyers, no more personal nice art directors. Only a bit of free champagne.

 

 

 

 

Final words: For those doing this trip you are in for a great time. Pack for all weather situations as you will encounter all types. Most of all enjoy..roll with the punches... It's Vacation!

 

If you have any questions you can email me ( CraigRDR1@aol.com)

[Anniesails]

Great summary Craig and I agree completely. We did a few things differently and thought we would share our thoughts:

 

1) took the PreCruise to Iguazu Falls so this took place out of Rio one week prior to the cruise. It was amazing and well worth the time and money.

 

2) took a privat tour on the Falklands with Estancia Tours for 1/2 the price of the Princess Excursion. We went to Volunteer Point which included a 1 hour OFF ROAD Journey aboard a 4x4. The trip was awesome as were the Penguins !!!

 

So glad you enjoyed your trip. We did not get motion sickness but Unfortunately, being an adventurous eater I picked up a vapid case of Travellers Diarrhea while in Rio. Thankfully cleared up with course of Cipro prior to the Cruise part of the vacation. ;)

[CraigRDR1]

Great summary Craig and I agree completely. We did a few things differently and thought we would share our thoughts:

 

1) took the PreCruise to Iguazu Falls so this took place out of Rio one week prior to the cruise. It was amazing and well worth the time and money.

 

2) took a privat tour on the Falklands with Estancia Tours for 1/2 the price of the Princess Excursion. We went to Volunteer Point which included a 1 hour OFF ROAD Journey aboard a 4x4. The trip was awesome as were the Penguins !!!

 

So glad you enjoyed your trip. We did not get motion sickness but Unfortunately, being an adventurous eater I picked up a vapid case of Travellers Diarrhea while in Rio. Thankfully cleared up with course of Cipro prior to the Cruise part of the vacation. ;)

 

 

 

Lots of folks did pre and post travels... We just couldn't give up more time otherwise I think Machu Pichu would have been in for us.

 

Princess can be a bit more expensive but the thing we like about it is that you know they won't leave without you. In Puerto Montt the the last tender was supposed to be at 4:15, our tour didn't get back till 5:15...North Pond tour was in a 4x4 start to finish... With about 30 minutes totally off road.

 

All that matters is that you had fun... It's vacation... I know we did...

 

 

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[TrashySue]

Thanks so much for this, you have answered all my questions. We were supposed to be on this trip so I followed it closely. We are re-booked for next year, only 346 more days to go! Thanks again!

[TrashySue]

Great summary Craig and I agree completely. We did a few things differently and thought we would share our thoughts:

 

1) took the PreCruise to Iguazu Falls so this took place out of Rio one week prior to the cruise. It was amazing and well worth the time and money.

 

2) took a privat tour on the Falklands with Estancia Tours for 1/2 the price of the Princess Excursion. We went to Volunteer Point which included a 1 hour OFF ROAD Journey aboard a 4x4. The trip was awesome as were the Penguins !!!

 

So glad you enjoyed your trip. We did not get motion sickness but Unfortunately, being an adventurous eater I picked up a vapid case of Travellers Diarrhea while in Rio. Thankfully cleared up with course of Cipro prior to the Cruise part of the vacation. ;)

We are considering going to Iguazu Falls pre-cruise on our own as the ship tour is full (and expensive). What hotel did you stay in and do you think it would be easy to find our way to the falls from Puerto Iguazu? I understand they have many shuttles from town.

[as19111]

Craig, this is a very nice review. We were on the sailing that disembarked in BA on 2/1...your boarding date.

 

Some things were different on our sailing. For example, the Amalia Glacier and Cape Horn sailings were early morning calls. It was interesting to see the different lightings of both, as the sun rose. It was cold and blustery as we rounded the Horn, but the winds dropped considerably as we approached the back side.

 

Puerto Madryn: our sailing never made this port. As you mentioned, protests are extremely common in Argentina. At 10 pm the previous evening, our captain made a public announcement that we were skipping the port. He said there was a fisherman strike and while the strikers would allow us to disembark, they could not assure that we would be able to get back on the ship. So, passenger safety being the priority, he called a sea day, and we arrived in Montevideo at noon the following day and stayed overnight leaving at 5 pm the day after that.

 

Buenos Aires: We had a private tour of BA and she was extremely informative at Recolleta. She said her family was buried there. She told us some great stories about quite a few of the monuments. One that was particularly intriguing was of the 15 year old girl who fell into a coma and her family thought her dead. She was buried alive. The determined this by the condition of her body upon opening the grave. There was evidence of clawing. She said it is common to creamate the bodies after many years of burial to make space for new family members. The monument was on a corner and it had a carving of a young girl in a doorway. Believe it or not, that's her story. It was very hot and humid in BA and that affected our enjoyment of the port. Also, the ship was docked quite a distance from the port entry and we needed to take a shuttle bus, which seemed even further than the shuttle in Valparaiso.

 

Falkland Islands: We did the Volunteer Point tour with Patrick Watts. It was a wonderful experience. The off roading you mentioned was 4+ hours to/from Volunteer Point. It was true off roading! It was not crowded. There were Private Tours and ship tours and each group of 4x4s traveled as a caravan. I would guess that no more than 150 people total were there and it was wide open observation of King, Gentoo and Magellanic penguins. We got to see some of the battle fields of the war en route. We enjoyed the quality time with our driver.

 

Puerto Montt: Mt. Orsorno was behind the clouds the entire day! I envy the pictures you have of this beautiful sight.

 

Formal Days: As with you, the advance information says three formal days, but there were only 2.

 

 

We did the Machu Picchu land tour before the cruise. It was the crown jewel of the trip.

[CraigRDR1]

Craig, this is a very nice review. We were on the sailing that disembarked in BA on 2/1...your boarding date.

 

Some things were different on our sailing. For example, the Amalia Glacier and Cape Horn sailings were early morning calls. It was interesting to see the different lightings of both, as the sun rose. It was cold and blustery as we rounded the Horn, but the winds dropped considerably as we approached the back side.

 

Puerto Madryn: our sailing never made this port. As you mentioned, protests are extremely common in Argentina. At 10 pm the previous evening, our captain made a public announcement that we were skipping the port. He said there was a fisherman strike and while the strikers would allow us to disembark, they could not assure that we would be able to get back on the ship. So, passenger safety being the priority, he called a sea day, and we arrived in Montevideo at noon the following day and stayed overnight leaving at 5 pm the day after that.

 

Buenos Aires: We had a private tour of BA and she was extremely informative at Recolleta. She said her family was buried there. She told us some great stories about quite a few of the monuments. One that was particularly intriguing was of the 15 year old girl who fell into a coma and her family thought her dead. She was buried alive. The determined this by the condition of her body upon opening the grave. There was evidence of clawing. She said it is common to creamate the bodies after many years of burial to make space for new family members. The monument was on a corner and it had a carving of a young girl in a doorway. Believe it or not, that's her story. It was very hot and humid in BA and that affected our enjoyment of the port. Also, the ship was docked quite a distance from the port entry and we needed to take a shuttle bus, which seemed even further than the shuttle in Valparaiso.

 

Falkland Islands: We did the Volunteer Point tour with Patrick Watts. It was a wonderful experience. The off roading you mentioned was 4+ hours to/from Volunteer Point. It was true off roading! It was not crowded. There were Private Tours and ship tours and each group of 4x4s traveled as a caravan. I would guess that no more than 150 people total were there and it was wide open observation of King, Gentoo and Magellanic penguins. We got to see some of the battle fields of the war en route. We enjoyed the quality time with our driver.

 

Puerto Montt: Mt. Orsorno was behind the clouds the entire day! I envy the pictures you have of this beautiful sight.

 

Formal Days: As with you, the advance information says three formal days, but there were only 2.

 

 

We did the Machu Picchu land tour before the cruise. It was the crown jewel of the trip.

 

 

 

 

Our guide Maggie of the free walking tour also told us the story of 15 year old girl buried alive. That how the tour ended in front of the cemetery with stories of so of the people there and Evitas body...

 

We were pretty lucky as we hit every port and had decent weather

 

 

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[CraigRDR1]

Thanks so much for this, you have answered all my questions. We were supposed to be on this trip so I followed it closely. We are re-booked for next year, only 346 more days to go! Thanks again!

 

 

 

We had a wonderful time and I'm sure you will too..

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[Anniesails]

You do not need to take an organized tour of the Iguazu Falls, there are many shuttles which take you there from the POrt and it is easily walked on your own. We stayed in the CATARACAS Hotel which is inside the falls on the Brazilian side. The beauty of this hotel, aside from being a beautifully appointed hotel, is that since it is inside the park you can visit the falls after the park closes as it is right across the street. Highly recommend this hotel. They have a lovely buffet for breakfast and dinner. :o

[TrashySue]

You do not need to take an organized tour of the Iguazu Falls, there are many shuttles which take you there from the POrt and it is easily walked on your own. We stayed in the CATARACAS Hotel which is inside the falls on the Brazilian side. The beauty of this hotel, aside from being a beautifully appointed hotel, is that since it is inside the park you can visit the falls after the park closes as it is right across the street. Highly recommend this hotel. They have a lovely buffet for breakfast and dinner. :o

Thanks so much for the info. We are so looking forward to this! Glad you enjoyed your trip.