Around the Horn South American cruise on NCL Sun - pictorial review

[tammyjw305]

relaxatsea -- I hope you enjoyed Philadelphia!

 

buggins0402 -- During the daytime, we only had rough seas one full day and half of another, so you can hang out at the mid-ship coffee shop, if needed. And take meds!

 

The rock again

Boardwalk for part of the hike

 

Beautiful lake view; someone noted there was penguins (pretty far away). Though with binoculars, we did not see anything.

Snow covered mountains

[tammyjw305]

The very photographed sign; it is hard to get a turn at the sign.

Lake view from the other side

Waterfall and kayakers

[tammyjw305]

We hiked to the beaver dams. We could see the dams but did not find any beaver. We thought we found some further away, but with the binoculars, they were just ducks.

 

[tammyjw305]

After the hike, we drove to the end of the world post office. It is back toward the beginning of the park and was a turn off to the right when heading back.

Look -- we are here!

We got family March birthday cards, one for our babysitter's house, and one to ours (to know if they arrive). Our group patiently waiting while we addressed each. I also got my passport stamped (3 USD, I believe). I'll take a picture of it to share later. With 6 postcards, stamps to the USA, and the passport stamp, it was about $25. A little pricy, but fun for people to receive. They did not seem to give the best exchange rate, so if you have Argentinian Pesos, you should be better off. Mailing them.

The end of the world post office

View from the drive back

 

[tammyjw305]

Passport stamp. That is the post master; he looks like that and gives you a sticker with his picture :)

After visiting the post office, we headed back into town. We had to fill up the rental car. There was a line, and it was full service only. The gas cap was on the wrong side of the car to the side we were entering. We thought; doh, they will be upset. When it was our turn, they were able to get the hose to reach. It did not take much to fill it up, and we were on our way. When we got back to the rental car agency. They were not open yet; when they said return it at 4pm, they met "and not before". We visited while waiting. One person came back and asked us something; it sounded like he would call the owner. A little later the owner came.

We headed back to the port to find the same ATM. It was now locked; something came down to block one from putting the card in. It much have run out of money. We read this could be an issue. Here there was only one machine. We broke off from the rest of the group to look for another ATM. We got into a neat area with shopping. I saw this Hard Rock that I thought looked very really cool. I have a Hard Rock shot glass collection; that I honestly have not been adding to lately. So, I had to snap this picture.

Continuing the hunt with no luck, we darted into this store that I have no idea what their business was. It had partitioned desk areas, but no computers. Maybe an internet cafe where you bring your own device??? The guy working there was very helpful and pointed us toward a mall. Success; we got enough to pay back the loan and for the rest of our time in Argentina.

After, we headed back to the ship.

 

More shots from the ship before we sailed away.

 

 

Ushuaia was very beautiful and friendly. I would definitively go back. (Though, I read an Antartica review preparing for this trip -- hey, they had Antartica and S. Amer combo; what could I do but read both -- and that is on my list now with Ushuaia as a common departure town.)

[tammyjw305]

We also tried the wi-fi at this port with no luck.

Back on the ship at 4pm; we had lunch in the form of cookies and ice cream. Then we got ready for dinner at 7pm at Cagneys. Our attempt at a selfie.

 

I had the Mexican Casear, and husband the shrimp cocktail and iceberg wedge salad. For the main, I had the Filet mignon with gorgonzola crust (though it was on the side), mac and cheese (it was very cheesy), and Cagney fries. Husband tried out the Bison steak, broccoli, and gratin potatoes. For dessert, chocolate brownie and apple crisp. I really like the Filet mignon; however, Le Bistro may be better.

We were so stuffed, so went for a walk on the promenade.

 

Towel animal #3 (we will see if I was wrong, and we actually had more than 3 or 4)

[tammyjw305]

One more backtracking note before continuing. Before Punta Arenas, there is an oppty to see glaciers. They were early, not mentioned in the daily newsletter (Freestyle Daily), and not narrated like in Alaska. If you want to see them, ask when you will be passing by. We did not get up. Later we saw pictures in the photo shop of people with glaciers. It was still dark for some of the pictures and others it was starting to get lighter.

[tammyjw305]

March 17, 2017 -- Cape Horn

 

We heard that Cape Horn arrival would be early, so we set our alarm for 7:15 and turned on the TV. Soon after the cruise director started announcing the Horn arrival. We briefly saw it out the window and then lost it. We quickly got dressed and bundled up. Then he announced that it was visible on the starboard; doh -- after picking the port side. We went outside to the promenade deck and took pictures.

Chilean Navel Station on the left and the albatross sculpture on the right. The albatross sculpture is two metal panels that look like an albatross when viewing at the correct angle. We also saw the lighthouse.

 

 

 

[tammyjw305]

The little hill in the front is the Southernmost point of Cape Horn

We are now back to the Atlanta, and our blue or turquoise wake is back.

It was also St. Patrick's Day; the ship was already decorated with festive, though cheesy, decorations.

 

We were lucky and had a very calm Cape Horn visit.

[tammyjw305]

A few more Horn pictures

[OldBoot]

Really enjoying your photos and trip report. You look so happy in them.

 

Sent from my K00L using Tapatalk

[relaxatsea]

Hello Tammy

 

Thanks for your good wishes for Philadelphia! We are back after attending the World Open Chess Tournament where my husband played in a group of over 1000 chess players over a five day period. It was fun!

 

Now I am catching up on your wonderful pictures, they are all just amazing! On our cruise, we felt that Ushuaia and Cape Horn were our favorite places to see, but it was all fantastic.

[relaxatsea]

Hello Lila (OldBoot),

 

Now that I am back, I am going to start a new thread to answer your questions about what we did in the various ports on our cruise from Buenos Aires to Valparaiso in March, 2016 (similar to the one you will be doing). This way, I won't be interrupting Tammy's excellent review.

 

I will not be posting any pictures, but I will put in as much information as I can remember. I will call my thread "Around the Horn B.A. to Valpo Port Information". We did not take any shore excursions either from the ship or through a private operator. We did take taxis a couple of times, and we do speak Spanish, so that helped a lot!

 

 

Barbara and Orlando

[tammyjw305]

No problem -- I don't mind conversation in my thread; whatever is easiest for you.

 

Wow -- 1000 chess games in 5 days. Kudos to your husband; I think my head would explode!

[tammyjw305]

After visiting the Horn, we went back to the room to properly get ready and then to breakfast. I did not note where we had breakfast, so moving to generalizations. We frequently went to Moderno for breakfast. It did not have as large of a selection as the main buffet, but it was a lot less crowded/crazy. They have a waffle and omelet station and would toast bagels, english muffins, and bread on demand. Though sometimes the same person juggling multiple tasks. They had a couple of hot buffet servers (not sure the name for these big silver things with a tea light below) with eggs, bacon, and sausage. They did not have the sand dollar size hash browns that I like on the ship. Occasionally, I would sneak over to the main buffet to grab a few and bring back to Moderno. Lastly, they had a cold cuts and cheese buffet where the Moderno salad bar is served. My normal became a toasted bagel with cream cheese.

 

We went to the Sun Fair. They had signage advertising it at all the restaurants around the ship, so the night before at Cagney's I had asked what it was. It was around 11am and in the Four Seasons MDR. I was impressed with it. Each ship dept had a booth. Maybe this is the replacement for the Chocoholic Buffet -- which also had cool chocolate and ice sculptures?

 

 

 

 

 

 

[tammyjw305]

The Sun Fair continued.

Some depts were also selling their wares.

Behind, there was a video showing how not to clean the oven where it exploded into a fire ball.

 

Side note, on this cruise, the ship had multiple half price sales, maybe since it was almost the end of the S. American season. I got a t-shirt in the gift shop toward the beginning of the cruise for half off. Then later got another t-shirt and penguin mug in the atrium sale. These sales could be crazy crowded, but they also worked late into the night (late for us -- until at least 10pm) when not many people were stopping by.

[tammyjw305]

Last of the Sun Fair

 

[tammyjw305]

Next, we were off to lunch in the MDR. Today was the good menu. I had the calami, fish and chips, and peanut butter cup cheesecake. Yum! Husband had the crab salad, a big salad, and oranges with sherbet. While we were eating, an albatross and later joined by another was flying around, following our wake, all through lunch. The couple we rode with in Ushuaia was at a table near. Since she was disappointed at not seeing beaver, I went over to be sure she got to see the albatross. An albatross -- soooo "Cape Horn" :).

Then, it was on to the Cape Horn "holy" water ceremony. The tradition is that sailors who successfully crossed Cape Horn had the Horn water poured over their head. Our ship collected this water earlier, and now people are lined up to get wet.

My husband opted to wear his raincoat, so the Cruise Director decided to pour the full bowl over him. It was supposed to be one ladle full instead. This is supposed to be a video of him being covered in Horn water, but from the preview, it does not look like it will work (my first video). It works if you click on it:

[relaxatsea]

The Sun Fair looks interesting, something I haven't seen before. Wow, peanut butter cup cheesecake at lunch in the MDR! I can't wait till February!

[tammyjw305]

It was delicious!

[tammyjw305]

To conclude our Cape Horn day, we had dinner in the Four Seasons MDR. I had teriyaki chicken skewers (which I recall being very good), sirloin chimichurri (I do not think that I liked this as well), and my usual volcano cake. Husband had spinach soup, turkey, and blueberry pavlova (he said the dessert was very good, and pavlova is like a meringue. I wrote the name down but did not remember what it actually was).

After dinner, we walked the promenade deck. When we was dark (sunset was scheduled for 8:21 pm), we went up to the very top, front deck. We had printed Southern Hemisphere star maps and installed a skymap app before arriving. This was the first clear day. We found Jupiter, Orion, and the Southern Cross. It was very windy up there, and I found it a little scary :). Though good for viewing stars.

[tammyjw305]

March 18, 2017 -- Stanley, Falkland Islands

 

We were in port from 9am to 8pm; this was our last tender port. We had read a long tender (~20-30 mins). The weather was still beautiful and seas calm. We caught the tender. Husband felt the long tender needed entertainment, and I felt that we needed to watch the scenery in an area that we have not been and will not come back to. He worked on a crossword puzzle on his phone. On the subject of crossword puzzles, this trip the crew did good at keeping the daily crossword puzzle changed and no dups. We get the daily crossword puzzle and trivia and work them together. In Alaska, they had trouble changing it.

We arrived; the visitor center was right at the tender port. We had planned to take the shuttle to Gypsy Cove to see penguins. The shuttles are just through the visitor center and to the left. Someone was taking money and giving tickets. I should remember the price since we read different things. I think it was $20 pp for roundtrip. We have notes of OR 15 GBP pp roundtrip though did not confirm. These shuttles are 2-aisle-1 seating where another seat folds down into the aisle, leaving no aisle.

 

Drive to Gypsy Cove

 

 

 

[tammyjw305]

They dropped us off at the parking lot that I believe that a type of chemical toilet restrooms. The shuttles continually brought more people and took those that were ready to go back. Sometimes there was a line to go back. There also seemed to be different shuttles because they noted one person had the other shuttle but then let them ride anyway.

 

The first penguins we saw were further away in the grassy area off the beach.

 

These guys were right off the trail. The bigger one is the child; it looks bigger because it is molting feathers.

The surf was pretty on the beach

and the sign that others have posted pictures of too. One cannot go on the beach since it may not be completely clear of land mines from the Argentina-Falklands War. Luckily, penguins are too light to set off land mines.

[tammyjw305]

Penguins with some geese and other birds

[relaxatsea]

To conclude our Cape Horn day, we had dinner in the Four Seasons MDR. I had teriyaki chicken skewers (which I recall being very good), sirloin chimichurri (I do not think that I liked this as well), and my usual volcano cake. Husband had spinach soup, turkey, and blueberry pavlova (he said the dessert was very good, and pavlova is like a meringue. I wrote the name down but did not remember what it actually was).

 

 

 

After dinner, we walked the promenade deck. When we was dark (sunset was scheduled for 8:21 pm), we went up to the very top, front deck. We had printed Southern Hemisphere star maps and installed a skymap app before arriving. This was the first clear day. We found Jupiter, Orion, and the Southern Cross. It was very windy up there, and I found it a little scary :). Though good for viewing stars.

 

 

That is so cool that you did that!