"Maybe" Live from the Star (Valparaiso to Buenos Aires) Feb 15th

[DougH]

In 60+ cruises Volunteer Point is my all time favorite excursion (I went with Patrick Watts)

I also had a fantastic day with the penguins. This is one tour that is not to be missed.

Glad you had the experience also :)

[seamwoman]

Love reliving our South American cruise! I agree with Doug H - after cruises all over the world the Falklands with Patrick is the most memorable! Karen

[KYteach]

Love reliving our South American cruise! I agree with Doug H - after cruises all over the world the Falklands with Patrick is the most memorable! Karen

 

I would agree! We loved the Falklands with Patrick Watts!!!!!

[Bruinboy]

Where are you? What have you done to the Star? Will it be in good shape for those of us boarding in BA? Remember we are going to high five one another as you get off and we get on!!

Edited February 27, 2016 by Bruinboy

[ckfajf]

Day 9,10,11

So I have been slacking off a bit on my reporting, Hubby and I are definitely into the relaxing part of vacation! Yesterday was a sea day and formal day. Although the trip had been advertised to have three formal nights there were only two. We enjoyed a lovely dinner and listened Derek Floyd in Crooners. If he offers the show the Lionel Ritchie experience in the main theater it is not to be missed. Absolutely outstanding evening.

Thursday we visited Puerto Madryn. A lovely seaside town. If you close your eyes you could imagine Fort Lauderdale in the 50’s. We did the Punta Norte, Peninsula Valdes, Estancia Experience. It was really great. I am running out of superlatives for our excursions. We boarded a bus and traveled about an hour out of town to a visitor’s center. Then the bus rolled onto dirt/gravel roads for another hour. It was definitely a rattler on your back so beware if you have back or neck problems. Our first stop was the sea lion colony. We had to stay on the cliffs above the sea lions but they were close enough to have a great view including a lonely bachelor who had no harem of his own. Great time at the sea and the weather was beautiful. High in the high 80’s. From there we drove to the penguins. What an experience. These were all Magellenic Penguins who live in burrows by the sea. The colony is 40,000 strong and we saw at least 2,000 of them. They were within inches of the marked path that we walked and it was amazing seeing them in this habitat. From there we drove to Estancia San Lorenzo for lunch. It was a true Argentinian experience with sausage, cheese, bread to start then salad and lamb cooked over an open fire. We finished with flan. The Malbec they served was incredible and you could buy it there. After that we drove back to the ship. The return trip feels much longer than the trip out but all good!

For those who choose not to do an excursion in Puerto Madryn, the beach is right at the pier and it is wide and lovely. The difference between high and low tide is 15 meters so if it is low tide you will have a long walk to the ocean. Plenty of people were out enjoying it. The pier is very long but there is bus service to take you to the end if you choose not to walk.

As with all cruises I have heard a lot of complaining on board. The one complaint I hear a lot is about the lack of shopping. This cruise is more about sightseeing than shopping. There are not a lot of shops near the piers as all the piers are working piers not cruise ship piers as they are in the Caribbean. Just FYI.

Today we are off to Montevideo to the Winery. It is another lovely day although they had been predicting rain. Happy to see the clear blue skies!

I should mention the ship is in GREAT shape. We have enjoyed every minute of walking her and haven't seen a thing out of place!

Edited February 27, 2016 by ckfajf

[Bruinboy]

Thanks for the update and info about Puerto Madryn. We arrived today in BA. Nice and warm here. I hear it's going to be upper 80's tomorrow for out walking tour of the city. Sunscreen here we come. Having spent winter in Nebraska we are looking a bit pasty!!!

[DoulaAnn]

If you run into a Head Waiter named Paulo, say hi from Larry & Ginger :)

 

Wish I had seen this before we disembarked. Paulo was fantastic! He was working the Capri dining room on our cruise. He was always so friendly and would be there to say good bye to us when we were leaving the dining room (of course, we frequently closed the place down).

 

If anyone has the opportunity to have him as your assistant maitre'd -- go for it. You won't be sorry.

 

Ann

[cruisequeen4ever]

This cruise is a dream of mine! DH realllllly wants to do Antarctica, but I didn't see any excursions offered by Princess. What is the Antarctica excursion you were supposed to do?

 

 

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[lovetosew]

DH and I were also on the same cruise and disappointed that we missed Punta Arenas penguins. We did the Battlefield tour in Stanley just because DH is a battlefield geek. I would have rather have seen the penguins. (I am the only woman who missed her first look at the Palace of Versailles because she was following her DH around the French Army Museum, but that is a whole different thread!) We took advantage of some acupuncture therapy; me for my restless feet when I am trying to get to sleep and DH has a back muscle that bothers him. Dr. Martina Sturm was very good. My disappointment was in the fact that the Sanctuary was closed on our last full port day in Buenos Aires so we could not use the heated therapy beds or the sauna and steam. Even the other part was not working either. Other than that, the cruise was wonderful; came home feeling too full and too well taken care of. By the way, don't feel too sorry for me, I got in the Palace of Versailles on another cruise! By the way for those of us who checked in at the AA counter in Buenos Aires on the 29th for the trip home, WAS THAT NOT A ZOO!

[oskidunker]

Buy a few bottles if Montes Alpha chardonnay at the pier. Great wine. Comparable to Calif wine at twice the price. Look for their table right after you check in

[bcnvcanada]

This is a great cruise to see the Southern end of South America. If you are really interested in Antarctica suggest you fly to Ushuaia, where you can take a cruise out of there to Antarctica , with zodiac landing easy to arrange, as we did a Russia trawler . We have also done this South America cruise 5 times plus the last two in 2010, and 2011 on Princess that went to Antarctica. It is a wonderful place. Very magical. Loved reading this review as it brings back so many great memories of special places. Also another vote for Patrick, what a hoot.

[cruisequeen4ever]

bcnvcanada, DH is much more adventurous than me and would love your idea out of Ushuaia, but I really want a mainstream cruise line experience the whole way. We had a Celebrity Antarctica cruise booked for 2017, but we had to cancel it because I will be teaching. Holland America has offered one over Christmas, but the dates have been off by 1 day, preventing me from being able to take it (contract rules for holiday travel). Some day it will work!

 

 

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[Mackenzie1]

Hi CK. We missed the Punta Arenas Paine National Park tour, too, because high winds kept us late leaving from Ushuaia. Sigh. Everything is relative, though, since I met a traveler at the Santiago airport who was on another cruise line that missed Ushuaia and sailing around the Cape Horn because of high winds. We got to enjoy both.

[ckfajf]

So sorry you missed Paine National Park! I hope you enjoyed the cruise. My husband and I in retrospect are sorry we missed out on Antarctica but overall really loved the cruise and would highly recommend it, with the caveat that there are real risks as to whether you will make all the ports. It is not for someone who cannot roll with the punches.

 

We enjoyed it so much we booked another long cruise, not until 2017 mind you but half the fun is the planning!

 

Thanks for updating me, I was wondering how the final South America sailing made out!

 

Best

CKF

[Mackenzie1]

Thanks, CK. We had a wonderful time, too. The Volunteer Point penguins were so interesting, and each of the ports that were fascinating. You are right about being realistic about whether each port can be made, though. For our cruise, the Falklands weather was great, but the seas were very rough in the same place that it was rough for you-sailing in and out of Punta Arenas. Luckily, we had good weather to view the Osorno volcano and the falls in Puerto Montt, which was a wonderful excursion. Thank you so much for all of your updates, and enjoy looking forward to your cruise in 2017.

Edited March 16, 2016 by Mackenzie1