Our South America Cruise - 22 Jan 2006

[Suzy Q]

dileep-

Thank you for all your information. Questions: Was the Sheraton Iguazu torn up, i.e. remodeling? Saw that on another forum. In Ushuaia, you caught a catamaram at the pier? For Beagle Channel? That's what we hope to do.

 

Thank you in advance,

SQ

[2Fltravelers]

Dileep, Your review was excellent and the info was a great help for my trip Dec. 3 on the Infinity. A question, please: We will be 4 couples, 2 couples are in Concierge Class and 2 couples have only balcony cabins. You indicated that Concierge has passes to get on the tenders early. Will Celebrity permit the non Concierge to go with them in order to meet a private tour operator at the pier?

 

Hi Jean-

 

I was also on the Millennium with Dileep and can tell you that priority disembarkation passengers receive passes in their staterooms the night before and must present them to go ashore early. Without the passes, you must wait on shore for the later passengers who do not have priority. This only applies to tender ports since you can leave the ship at any time once it is cleared for disembarkation at ports where the ship is docked. You might be able to check with guest relations the night before a tender port for some accommodation but that would mean that many more people than they can handle will be wanting to leave the ship early. We were in a suite and only used our passes once for the Falklands where a tender was used and we did not have a ship excursion. :)

[2Fltravelers]

We arrived in Buenos Aires (BA) on Friday morning, 1/20 after an overnight flight from Miami. We spent 2 nights at the Melia Boutique Hotel on Reconquista 945 in the Microcentro area of BA. The hotel was booked as part of a pre-cruise package through Online Vacation Center (OVC). It was a lovely hotel with an indoor pool and massage/spa in the basement which we were too busy to use. The hotel arranged for remises (radio taxis) which were the only form of transportation we used (other than by foot) in BA. We were warned not to use any other type of taxi because of rip-offs. We found the taxi drivers to be very honest, polite and willing to assist. Our transfer to the hotel from the airport (about 40 minutes) and from the hotel to the pier was pre-arranged by OVC as well. Our guide, Gabriela, was fluent in English and very helpful. At her suggestion, the group decided to go to a tango show at Esquina Carlos Gardel on Saturday evening at 7:30 (more about that later).

 

After checking into the Melia (which we were pleased they allowed us to do at noon instead of 3 as they had the rooms ready), we had the hotel call a radio taxi for a trip near Florida Street which was only a 3 minute ride away. We met a business associate of my husband's at his office for an hour and then, upon his advice, took a radio taxi to the Recoleta Cemetery. He recommended that we have lunch at the Cafe Victoria just outside the front entrance to the cemetery. Again, it was another short ride. Taxis are quite reasonable with an exchange rate of 3 Argentinean pesos to the dollar. It is important to have small bills if you want to use dollars which we did quite often without any problem. One time we were actually short pesos and only had large bills so the driver was most kind and accepted less in pesos. We were pleasantly surprised about this but we found the portenos (residents) to be very friendly and kind to tourists.

 

We sat outside at Cafe Victoria and had a lovely lunch under the trees in full view of the entrance to the cemetery. They had a wonderful prix fixe lunch that was about $4 each for 3 courses. We could have sat there all afternoon enjoying the beautiful surroundings but walked across the lawn to the cemetery. We were hoping for a free English tour but arrived too late. Instead, we used a map we obtained at the entrance and meandered all around the alleys and wide walkways where, at every turn, there was a mausoleum more architecturally interesting than the last. My husband said that it reminded him of a city of miniature churches with ornate metal work and statuary. We saw Eva Peron's family tomb which is out of the way and not easily found without a map for reasons we were told had to do with fears that her body might be snatched. Whether or not that's true remains a mystery but it was part of the myth surrounding her. By now, jet lag had set in and we returned by radio taxi to the hotel. A word to the wise-there are taxis marked radio taxis but make sure they have a number on them and a telephone number and a meter- we were told that some say radio taxi but are not! We had the desk reserve a table at El Mirasol restaurant in Puerto Madero for dinner at 8:30 since we could not get a reservation for La Cabana any later than 8 PM. El Mirasol has 2 locations and my husband's business associate told us the one in Puerto Madero was excellent. He was so right. The food was wonderful, the wine even better and excellent service. We spent 2 wonderful hours eating along the waterfront and our entire meal, with the most incredible rib eye steak that we shared (8" long and 2" thick) was less than $60 for wine, service and 4 courses that were huge!

 

After dinner we walked all along the waterfront, crossed the river and had an after dinner drink in the Hilton lounge before taking a radio taxi back to the hotel at 12:30 AM.

 

The next morning at 8AM we had a mediocre breakfast in the hotel (included) and then took a radio taxi to 25 de Mayo Plaza (pronounced Masho- double "ll's" and "y's" in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay are pronouced as "sh" unlike in other spanish speaking countries). We met our American expat guide, Robert Wright, who has resided in BA for 6 years and conducts walking tours all over the city. Robert took us all over the Microcentro area and told us all about the history, architecture, etc. He was wonderful and conducts other types of walking tours, too. We stopped for cafe con leche and medialunas (a local pastry smaller than a croissant) at famous Cafe Tortoni during our 3.5 hour tour.

 

After the tour, he directed us to Avenida Santa Fe where the locals shop. We were disappointed in the choices available on that street since we later found out that Florida Street, although very touristy, had all the leather shops. Oh, well. We did, however, find Rossi & Caruso on Santa Fe, purportedly having the best leather in BA and we bought 2 beautiful handbags for a total of $55. They were a bargain for the quality. Regarding Florida Street- BE CAREFUL! A passenger we met recounted how she was knocked to the ground as a thief on a motor bike (there were 2 of them) tried to separate her from her purse. She kept the purse but injured her ankle and lost her expensive watch from her wrist. Make sure you keep your valuables in the hotel safe and not on you.

 

We walked up and down Santa Fe for 2 hours and had lunch at a pizza type restaurant where we had a very interesting conversation with an older porteno couple in Spanish and English. We walked to the Alvear Palace Hotel just to see it (it was beautiful) and then took a radio taxi back to our hotel to get ready for the tango show. We were picked up in front of our hotel at 7:15 by bus and taken to Esquina Carlos Gardel (the famous tango dancer in BA in the 30's). It was a beautiful venue filled with about 300 people eating dinner and drinking. The show was very professional and entertaining and we enjoyed it very much. The food was so-so but it was a fun evening which cost $70 p/p (including unlimited wine and 3 courses). The bus took us back to our hotel at about 11PM. Would we do it again? Maybe. It was touristy, no doubt, and certainly not cheap but not to see tango in BA seems a sacrilege. We then took a radio taxi to a milonga, which is a real tango club where the locals go to dance all night. We opted for Ideal which Robert Wright recommended as did other BA guidebooks we read in preparation for our trip. We later learned that parts of the movie, Evita, had been filmed there and it was easy to see why-nothing had changed inside since the 40's. We paid a $5 admission and walked up the stairs (it is a famous bakery downstairs during the day). There were 20+ tables surrounding a rectangular dance floor 20' x 40' and you can buy wine, beer, soft drinks, snacks, etc. The early evening music is recorded with a DJ playing and portenos (and some tourists) of ALL ages tango, sometimes changing partners throughout the evening which is common. Tango lessons are also available at times. At 12:30 a band started to perform which consisted of 3 accordian players, 2 violinists, a bass player and a singer (average age 85), all in dark suits with lavender shirts and ties. We tangoed, too, and when we left at 1:30 it was just getting started. It is open till 4 AM.

 

The next morning we slept in and then had breakfast in the hotel. We were picked up again by Gabriela and brought by bus to the pier at about 1 PM (20 minute ride). Check-in was relatively easy and we were brought to our cabin quickly. As Dileep indicated in his earlier post, our passports were retained until the day before the cruise ended. There seemed to be quite a bit of red tape among the Chilean, Argentinean and Falklands authorities. There were many forms required to be filled in and delivered to Guest Relations throughout the cruise, some of which you were asked to keep. Also, be advised that anyone arriving in Chile by plane is required to pay $100 upon entry in cash or credit card (check the Chilean Embassy web site for the most current info). This DOES NOT apply if you arrive in Chile other than by plane (cruise passengers) and is not applicable to departures. Many passengers were given conflicting info on this by Guest Relations. I went to the internet cafe and actually printed out the info from the website and gave Guest Relations a copy of it. Apparently passengers arriving into Santiago for the first cruise on 1/8 did not know in advance about this charge and berated the cruise line for not providing this info. As a result, Guest Relations assumed that all passengers had to pay it, no matter how they arrived or departed-WRONG! What you also need to know is that the Casino is completely closed while in Chilean waters! So, if you frequent the Casino, plan to do it during the first 3 days or the last 5 days or so and check the announcement board outside the Casino.

 

After checking into our stateroom, we left the ship and took a taxi to San Telmo for the famous Sunday flea market. We arrived about 4PM not too long before things started to wind down (at 6 PM). It was packed with tourists and locals and the bars and restaurants had no seating. There were some tango dancers andwe walked around for about an hour and were not impressed-it seemed that people had cleaned out their attics athough there was some nice sterling silver flatware and other pieces for sale. On the side streets were the craft vendors. I am sorry that I did not buy a knitted shawl or scarf which were actaully being knitted right there. They were a bargain! We found La Brigada which unfortunately did not open for dinner until 8 PM. It is one of the few recommended restaurants in San Telmo. We ate outside at a non-descript cafe across the street and had a so-so meal that took forever since we were not interested in the buffet being offered on the ship that first evening. After our meal, we found a radio taxi that took us back to the pier and boarded the ship once again at 7:30 PM.

 

We met our stateroom attendant, Douglas, and our wonderful butler, Antonio, who made us laugh daily. Our suite was lovely-what a treat it was! That evening we familiarized ourselves with the ship and its amenities, saw the show with a great a cappella group, "Sustained", whom we adored and never missed, and crashed in our bed at 1AM.

 

Next stop-Montivideo! :D

[lynn21]

We got back a few hours ago from this great cruise. I can`t believe that Dileep has managed to post his review so quickly and with so much information. As he mentioned we were very lucky with the weather and I was only aware of rough seas during 2 nights. Although I thought I took a good mixture of clothes, there was a week of cool/cold weather and I really needed warmer clothes for the evenings.

 

Three tender ports can be a problem if you are not on a ships tour or in a concierge stateroom or suite. We had private arrangements in Punta Arenas and Puerto Montt and this can be difficult if you cannot get off the ship for at least 2 hours. There are only 4 tenders each holding 120 people and one round trip can take over 30 minutes and that`s only if the weather is good. We were given priority passes by friends who did not need them for Punta Arenas and Brenda (the Captain`s Club representative) grudgingly gave me 6 for the members of our group of 10 who did not qualify. IMO this was the only problem and it probably applies to all cruise lines who have large ships in this area.

 

Another potental problem with this itinerary is the number of visitors arriving at any one port on the same day. Our guide Rod in Punta Arenas told us that there would be 4 cruise ships in town later that week and Jose in Valparaiso was not looking forward to today as the QM2 was arriving along with another ship.

[dileep]

dileep-

Thank you for all your information. Questions: Was the Sheraton Iguazu torn up, i.e. remodeling? Saw that on another forum. In Ushuaia, you caught a catamaram at the pier? For Beagle Channel? That's what we hope to do.

 

Thank you in advance,

SQ

 

The hotel is in fine shape. There is some construction activity outside. Falls view is fantastic.

 

Yesa, there were 3 different compnies at the pier with catamarans.

[dileep]

Welcome home Dileep and Ann. I'm so glad for you that your cruise went better than ours did.

 

We had dinner with the Captain on the first formal night, and he certainly had no plans to leave the ship any time soon. Any idea what happened and who the new Captain is?

 

Thanks,

Linda

 

They quietly changed Captains 2 days before the cruise ended. We would not have known if I had not noticed that the Hotel Manager had changed midway and asked Simon about it. They was no notification of the change.

The noon "captain's" announcements were done by the cruise director on the last 2 days. You will have to ask thecurrent cruisers who the new captain is.

[dileep]

Dileep,

 

Thank you so much for your journal. My wife Sylvia and I will be on the March 5th sailing and plan a similar itinerary to yours. Vali was our stateroom attandant on the Transatlantic last November. She was the best stateroom attendant we have ever had. This will be our seventh trip on Millennium.

 

Thanks again,

 

Albert & Sylvia

 

Vali got to leave the ship in Valparaiso to gone home after several months at sea.

[dileep]

Dear Dileep

 

Glad to hear you enjoyed your SA adventure.

Happy cruising!

 

Ann

 

Thanks to all the great info you had to share, we were able to make very good excursion arrangements. Ricardo remembers you fondly, including your 80 year old father!

[dileep]

Dileep, Your review was excellent and the info was a great help for my trip Dec. 3 on the Infinity. A question, please: We will be 4 couples, 2 couples are in Concierge Class and 2 couples have only balcony cabins. You indicated that Concierge has passes to get on the tenders early. Will Celebrity permit the non Concierge to go with them in order to meet a private tour operator at the pier?

 

They never asked to see our passes. They figured that we would not know where to meet unless we had passes. We had another couple join us in one port and they did not have passes. We ran into a couple who had a ship excursion and did not need their passes and they gave them to our friends. There were never more than 15 or 20 people waiting for priority. We also heard from someone else that they were asked for their passes.

 

People in CC rooms with ships tours get the priority passes, but they do not need them.

[dileep]

We just got home. Just when we thought that the fun was over, we had a fantastic view of the Andes mountains on our flight from Santiago to Sao Paolo.

 

Fortunately, my movie camera was easily accessible!

 

I will try and post some pictures later today!

[dileep]

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/intowines/album?.dir=/5742

[dileep]

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/intowines/album?.dir=d196&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/intowines/my_photos

[dileep]

About an hour drive from Punta Arenas.

 

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/intowines/album?.dir=30f2

[dileep]

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/intowines/album?.dir=/d878

[RDMOREU]

Your report and pictures are wonderful! Thank you so much for letting us enjoy them.

[AgSg]

Vali got to leave the ship in Valparaiso to gone home after several months at sea.

We are sorry we will not be able to see her but happy that she is getting a well deserved break. She told us she really misses her children.

[2Fltravelers]

Montivideo

 

We took a taxi to meet a business associate of my husband's. he and his sister-in-law are natives and they took us to a wonderful paradilla in the historic market very close to the pier (easy walking distance of 10 minutes). It is a converted train station with many shops and restaurants all hawking their wares. The lunch was delicious but I can't tell you the price since it was their treat. We had Uruguayan wine from the Juanico region which is a tour excursion from the ship. It was quite good. Near the market are many galleries and artesan shops but many were closed. We were told that most of the capital spends January in Punta d'leste, the beach resort about 90 minutes away. They drove us all around Montivideo, up the coast and into the residential neighborhoods. We were quite impressed by the beauty of the area and the seemingly stable and peaceful environment. When I asked where I could buy sterling silver jewelry we were takien to Punta Carretas, a shopping mall in a converted prison (they still have the main gate with the bars as the entrance). I bought some beautiful and unusual pieces for a fraction of the US cost. It was just a $4, 10 minute cab ride back to the port. We found it interesting that there were NO tour companies, etc. at the port, just taxis. This was in sharp contrast to the other ports where you could always pick up a tour, excursion, etc. For this reason, I would advise arranging something in advance at this port. Dileep took a good tour that appears on this thread.

 

We returned to the ship for a late afternoon in the whirlpool and the Persian Garden. The couples pass for the Persian garden was well worth the cost. We spent many a late afternoon relaxing in there before getting ready for our late seating dinner since it was too cold many days to sit outside. We enjoyed late seating because many excursions were 5or more hours and did not return us to the ship until 5 PM. This gave us time for the Persian Garden, getting ready for dinner and a pre-dinner drink. We usually did not leave our table until 10:30, just in time for the late show.

 

Our sea days were filled with the many lectures on board. I agree with Dileep that the nauralist was quite good but he could have moderated his voice enough to keep many of us from falling asleep at times. He is very knowledgeable and had wonderful pictures. Maybe a little less on the vast array of birds that we would never get to see. Col. Reid was interesting but after 2 lectures we were tired of hearing "in my book" which he promoted ad nauseum- a little too pompous for me. We did not attend the spa lectures or the art, champagne, wine cigar auctions, many of which were repeats of what we did, saw and heard on other cruises. Instead, we enjoyed the scenery, reading, games, coffee in the Cova Cafe, spa treatments and using the fitness center. At night , we participated in Karaoke, Pepe in the Cova cafe (he was a big draw every day), music in Michael's Club and the Cosmos Disco. We also saw all but 3 shows (all of which were good to excellent except one).

 

At this point, I will comment about the ship, crew, staff and say no more except about the ports themselves:

 

1. The ship is beautiful and the artwork plentiful, interesting and tasteful.

 

2.

[2Fltravelers]

Montivideo

 

We took a taxi to meet a business associate of my husband's. he and his sister-in-law are natives and they took us to a wonderful paradilla in the historic market very close to the pier (easy walking distance of 10 minutes). It is a converted train station with many shops and restaurants all hawking their wares. The lunch was delicious but I can't tell you the price since it was their treat. We had Uruguayan wine from the Juanico region which is a tour excursion from the ship. It was quite good. Near the market are many galleries and artesan shops but many were closed. We were told that most of the capital spends January in Punta d'leste, the beach resort about 90 minutes away. They drove us all around Montivideo, up the coast and into the residential neighborhoods. We were quite impressed by the beauty of the area and the seemingly stable and peaceful environment. When I asked where I could buy sterling silver jewelry we were takien to Punta Carretas, a shopping mall in a converted prison (they still have the main gate with the bars as the entrance). I bought some beautiful and unusual pieces for a fraction of the US cost. It was just a $4, 10 minute cab ride back to the port. We found it interesting that there were NO tour companies, etc. at the port, just taxis. This was in sharp contrast to the other ports where you could always pick up a tour, excursion, etc. For this reason, I would advise arranging something in advance at this port. Dileep took a good tour that appears on this thread.

 

We returned to the ship for a late afternoon in the whirlpool and the Persian Garden. The couples pass for the Persian garden was well worth the cost. We spent many a late afternoon relaxing in there before getting ready for our late seating dinner since it was too cold many days to sit outside. We enjoyed late seating because many excursions were 5or more hours and did not return us to the ship until 5 PM. This gave us time for the Persian Garden, getting ready for dinner and a pre-dinner drink. We usually did not leave our table until 10:30, just in time for the late show.

 

Our sea days were filled with the many lectures on board. I agree with Dileep that the nauralist was quite good but he could have moderated his voice enough to keep many of us from falling asleep at times. He is very knowledgeable and had wonderful pictures. Maybe a little less on the vast array of birds that we would never get to see. Col. Reid was interesting but after 2 lectures we were tired of hearing "in my book" which he promoted ad nauseum- a little too pompous for me. We did not attend the spa lectures or the art, champagne, wine cigar auctions, many of which were repeats of what we did, saw and heard on other cruises. Instead, we enjoyed the scenery, reading, games, coffee in the Cova Cafe, spa treatments and using the fitness center. At night , we participated in Karaoke, Pepe in the Cova cafe (he was a big draw every day), music in Michael's Club and the Cosmos Disco. We also saw all but 3 shows (all of which were good to excellent except one).

 

At this point, I will comment about the ship, crew, staff and say no more except about the ports themselves:

 

1. The ship is beautiful and the artwork plentiful, interesting and tasteful.

 

2.

[dileep]

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/intowines/album?.dir=/cb13

[dileep]

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/intowines/album?.dir=/ddcf

[jeanb]

Thanks Dileep for the information. Your pictures look great. Another question, who did you use for the tour in Montevideo?

 

Also thank you 2FLTRAVELERS for your wonderful infornation.

[dileep]

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/intowines/album?.dir=/3969&.view=t

[dileep]

Thanks Dileep for the information. Your pictures look great. Another question, who did you use for the tour in Montevideo?

quote]

 

marta ***** [msmtaiz@hotmail.com]

 

She works with Pocho who has a van that seats 6 comfortably. She was excellent.

[dileep]

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/intowines/album?.dir=/18cc&.view=t

[dileep]

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/intowines/album?.dir=/cb3b