South America Cruises - Questions

[RetiredandTravel]

We are considering the attached South American cruises on Regent and have a few questions.  Although we have had a great experience on the Voyager we are leaning towards the Splendor because we have the impression that Regent sends top employees to the newer ships.  Additional lunch options at specialty restaurants also helps given the number of days at sea.  We've never been on the Splendor or Explorer.

 

Splendor - Holiday Cruise -  Lima => Buenos Aires 21 days

 

https://www.rssc.com/cruises/SPL231220/summary?source=CruiseSearch&r=LATAM&m=2023-12_2024-1_2024-2_2024-3

 

Voyager - includes Antarctica -  Santiago => Buenos Aires 19 days

 

https://www.rssc.com/cruises/VOY240219/summary?source=CruiseSearch&r=LATAM&m=2023-12_2024-1_2024-2_2024-3&pageNumber=1

 

Questions

 

1) Experienced peoples impressions of the itineraries.  Any safety concerns?

 

2) Is the Voyager Antarctica component worth the trip or would we be better served with an Expedition cruise at a later date?  If the ships were equal which itinerary would you pick?

 

3) Superior Room or Concierge vs Veranda on the Splendor correct?

 

4) Port side?

 

5) I should know this but on a 21 day cruise do we still get just one specialty reservation per restaurant?

 

Many Thanks
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PSU]

We are on the South American cruise including Antarctica in January 2023.  I think the ports are more important than the ship. The Voyager is great.

[1982CruzStart]

We are also on the January 2023 Voyager cruise and agree with PSU that the ports are more important than the ship. As we are not in the position physically or financially to do an expedition cruise, we figure this is the next best thing. 

From everything i have read if you really want to see Antartica both by water and on land, expedition ships are the way to go. 

Good luck making your decision. 

[briar14]

For your Antarctica question—if you want to put feet on the ground, walk with penguins, get up close and personal with whales, seals, etc., an expedition cruise is the way to go. On Voyager you will see the beautiful scenery but miss the excitement of the Zodiac excursions and an experienced expedition staff. It all depends on what you prefer to do.

I would choose the cruise that had the most appealing itinerary for my interests. Good luck! 

[RetiredandTravel]

Thanks.  I agree that the ports are most important.  In this case I'm wondering if the Antarctica portion is worthwhile vs Peru, would certainty be cool to see.  We're not super adventurous either these days on vacations, we would have to up our game for an expedition to Antarctica.  

 

 

[Jimmcdaniel]

We did a very similar itinerary Lima to BA on the Mariner in late 2019 (no Antarctica).

 

1. Even though at that time there had been some recent unrest in Chile, we never felt unsafe on Regent excursions in any of the countries visited. 

2. If you think you are up to an expedition cruise, I would definitely go that route. We have done one and we plan to do another while we are still physically able. If you think this Regent cruise may your only chance to see Antarctica--well,  you need to see it. I am sure for a "cruise-by" (no landing) type cruise, Regent is the best. For me, I would go with the longer cruise on the Splendor that doesn't include Antarctica. Also remember your chances of being able to land in the Falklands is about 50/50 due to weather (we didn't make it).

3. We love the Superior suites on the Splendor. For the money they are a great value. Especially like the dual sinks in the bathroom. Much more space than a Veranda on Voyager.

4. Most of the scenery is when you are coming in and out of ports. You are usually too far at sea to see much of the mainland when between ports. I'm not sure it makes much difference. 

5. If the cruise is being sold as one segment, my understanding is one advance reservation per segment. However, we are on an 18-day Baltic cruise on the Splendor this July (which to my knowledge is only one segment) and we were allowed 2 advance reservations per restaurant. So?? Maybe call Regent on that one. 

[RetiredandTravel]

Just realized the Splendor is in Santiago on Christmas day.  Strange.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

17 hours ago, RetiredandTravel said:

Just realized the Splendor is in Santiago on Christmas day.  Strange.

Why strange?

[RetiredandTravel]

Well Santiago is a key city on the trip.  I doubt there will be many excursions operating on Christmas and if they are most everything else will probably be closed.  Not sure we would want to go on an excursion on Christmas anyway.  This would be our first holiday cruise I guess this is the downside.  Would have thought Christmas and New Years would be sea days, but we have no experience.

 

We like the looks of this cruise but this is a big negative.

[Timeflies]

re Antarctica, I would prefer an expedition ship any time for a closer and more personal experience.  Unless the IAATO rules have changed on any ship more than 500 passengers you can only do a sail by.  Less than 150 you can get off via Zodiac and go on land etc.  We did Silversea expedition for Antactica and it was excellent and a comparable standard to Regent.  Lots of eminent scientists onboard to talk about bird/marine/mammal life etc etc.  Absolutelty fabulous.  There is no real comparison if you have the option to go expedition.

 

Re Port or Starboard, the only time you see land  around SOuth America is entering / leaving port, most of the time you are too far away from land to see the shore line.  What I personally think is more important is the dominant line of travel and if you want evening sun - port side going southwards, or moorning sun - starboard side if going south.

 

No safety concerns, other than common sense straying too far away from major areas on excursions etc!

 

re speciality dining - one pre- cruise booking per leg, but we never found any problem booking onboard as and when we wanted to into any speciality restaurant.  Quite often we could get in on the night, if we were prepared to wait a while at the bar, which isn't too much of a hardship.

 

Hope that helps!

[rallydave]

1 hour ago, Timeflies said:

Less than 150 you can get off via Zodiac and go on land etc

Not true.  The rule is that no more than 100 people can be on land at any given time.  We went to Antarctica and had landings on 6 consecutive days on a 450 passenger ship.   Just had to wait our time to go ashore and return.  True the smaller number of people onboard would allow more time on land but, we had plenty of time with the rotation the cruise line did.

[Timeflies]

Its still true that vessels with more than 500 passengers shall not make landings in Antarctica. I think that therefore includes Regent ships!

[RetiredandTravel]

1 hour ago, Timeflies said:

re Antarctica, I would prefer an expedition ship any time for a closer and more personal experience.  Unless the IAATO rules have changed on any ship more than 500 passengers you can only do a sail by.  Less than 150 you can get off via Zodiac and go on land etc.  We did Silversea expedition for Antactica and it was excellent and a comparable standard to Regent.  Lots of eminent scientists onboard to talk about bird/marine/mammal life etc etc.  Absolutelty fabulous.  There is no real comparison if you have the option to go expedition.

 

Re Port or Starboard, the only time you see land  around SOuth America is entering / leaving port, most of the time you are too far away from land to see the shore line.  What I personally think is more important is the dominant line of travel and if you want evening sun - port side going southwards, or moorning sun - starboard side if going south.

 

No safety concerns, other than common sense straying too far away from major areas on excursions etc!

 

re speciality dining - one pre- cruise booking per leg, but we never found any problem booking onboard as and when we wanted to into any speciality restaurant.  Quite often we could get in on the night, if we were prepared to wait a while at the bar, which isn't too much of a hardship.

 

Hope that helps!

 

Thank you.  My wife has some minor (arthritis) mobility issues, what type of fitness is necessary for the Antarctic expeditions?

 

Its my understanding that Seabourn has historically offered a 1/2 ocean 1/2 expedition cruise on the Quest.  Its more expensive than an ocean voyage.  Its not available in 2023 and Seabourn hasn't advertised 2024 yet.  I think the one for this year was cancelled but not sure.

 

We really liked JimmcDaniel's recommendation for the Splendor cruise, as mentioned above the holiday timing of the excursions isn't the best. 

 

You've peaked our interest I'm going to look into the SS & Seabourn expeditions a little more.   SS also has a Lima to Buenos Aries ocean cruise on the new Nova.  The Regent cruise visits more ports, so its preferred.

 

https://www.silversea.com/destinations/south-america-cruise/lima-callao-to-buenos-aires-sn240116020.html

 

Many thanks again everyone your experience and knowledge is invaluable. 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 21, 2022 by RetiredandTravel

[Timeflies]

I can only speak from personal experience, and I would expect all expedition cruise ships will operate in similar ways.  On Silversea access to the RIBs (Rigid Inflatable Boat) is down some steps from one of the lower decks onto a platform outside the hull, and then step into the RIB.  You sit down on the side and shuffle along towards the back.  Generally 6 or 8 people to each RIB.  Safety getting on and off was excellent with helping hands at all times.

 

Some excursions you stay in the the RIB and see the scenery and wildlife, and on others the RIB will land on the shore side.  You then shuffle back towards the front and hop off and wade ashore - which is why gumboots are required.  The time on land is entirely up to you and how much walking you do is likewise - each to their own.  We had some people with considerable mobility issues and the excellent crew and staff helped them at all times. 

 

Silversea want you to enjoy the experience and try to accomodate everyone according to their levels of fitness and mobility.  Of all the cruises we have done the Antarctic was the most memorable for us. 

 

If you want to speak more about this let me know!

[briar14]

We love Regent, but they are not in the expedition business. So, our Antarctica expedition cruise was with SS in January 2020 and included South Georgia Island. It was 5 months after a knee replacement. I am a super klutz, have arthritis, and did fine. The staff and crew want you to have a good, safe experience. They cheerfully help you as much as necessary.  I agree with Timeflies, a wonderful, exceptional adventure. I would also be happy to answer any questions.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

If I had to choose, I would prefer the non-Antarctic route, on Splendor.  In fact, we have wanted to do that leg, having already done Miami-Lima and Rio-Miami previously.

 

I long ago decided to forego the Antarctic, for environmental reasons.  Plus the packing would be quite different I expect, and I don't particularly like cold-weather cruising.  And now we're too old anyways, probably, even for the Splendor cruise, alas.

[cwn]

We did the Mariner Circle SA round trip Maimi in 2011 that included 5 days in Antarctica. It was worth every minute. The trip was a sailby but we got close enough to see wildlife and the research stations, the scenery was specular.  We loved the whole trip, felt very safe in the ports and the scenery was spectacular! We would do a cruise to Antarctic with Regent again in a heartbeat. There were guest speakers on board who made the trip even more interesting.

 

Previously we did an expedition cruise in 2008 on the Polar Star (total passenger and crew 150) and went south of the circle and landed on the mainland, also did many landings in the islands. We did up to three landings or zodiac outing a day, without a doubt an expedition ship is the way to go if you are reasonably fit and adventuresome. But the zodiac landings can be hard. The zodiac landings are water landing...not hard to get into the zodiac from the ship or out into the water and wade ashore (the shores are rocky), but getting back in the zodiac you are standing down in the water and getting up and over the zodiac edge. The staff had to  sort of slide me head first up and over the edge to enable me to get back in out of the war, you get the picture...others did too. No problem for the drew. not to graceful for me. But hey I walked (very little as use canes) on continental Antarctica. My husband was reasonably fit and it was his dream trip!!

 

If seeing that beautiful continent appeals to you, the sail by is  good way to go and Regent does a good job. 

 

The only thing different in clothing that we took on Regent's cruise from what we took to Norway was a set of fleece pants and hoodie and a poncho for standing on deck. On the expedition trip we took the fleece set and outer layer of waterproof pants and top for the landings. The ship provided the boots for the landings.

 

Like most are saying, do the Itinerary that appeals the most for what you want to see. We have cruised over and Christmas and New Years several times and have had port days on the holidays, not too unusual.

 

 

Edited April 21, 2022 by cwn

[PhD-iva]

I’m booked on the Voyager 19 FEB 2024 cruise from San Antonio Chile to Buenos Aires, Arg. It loops down as far south as allowed (no landings), but I was expecting to need to wear my heavy duty LLBean coat (good for -30 below

🤔).

 I used to wear it while walking across UCONN’s campus in February!

I guess I won’t need my bikini?

[cwn]

37 minutes ago, PhD-iva said:

I’m booked on the Voyager 19 FEB 2024 cruise from San Antonio Chile to Buenos Aires, Arg. It loops down as far south as allowed (no landings), but I was expecting to need to wear my heavy duty LLBean coat (good for -30 below

🤔).

 I used to wear it while walking across UCONN’s campus in February!

I guess I won’t need my bikini?

No need for a bikini really, though it wasn’t as cold as I thought it would be. In 2008, we went in Feb and it was in the 30’s with lots of sun. But you won’t see anything approaching below 0. Enjoy your cruise!

[mj_holiday]

We did an expedition with Ponant . I was worried about my physical ability and the zodiacs. But the crew made getting on a zodiac very easy. Two strong sailors had hold of you as you got on to the zodiac and off  of  the zodiac. We did carry walking sticks. We made all landings but one. 

[frantic36]

5 hours ago, RetiredandTravel said:

 

Its my understanding that Seabourn has historically offered a 1/2 ocean 1/2 expedition cruise on the Quest.  Its more expensive than an ocean voyage.  Its not available in 2023

 

Seabourn Quest is doing Antartica in 2023 in February as part of a Grand Voyage around South America. I know because I am booked on it. There is an Antarctica segment but it is likely heavily booked if not booked out. The Grand Voyage starts 6 January win Miami.

[RetiredandTravel]

Thank again all, exceptionally helpful.

 

We have never been super adventurous on or vacations.  Our vacations have included probably 40 Caribbean visits (room>beach>bar>eat repeat), a ton of European urban visits, Hawaii & other US spots and  couple of Regent cruises to Europe & Japan   The closest I've gotten to adventurous is reading "Into Thin Air" on a beach in Kona 🙄.   So an Antarctic expedition may not be for us or it might be exactly the trip we would love.

 

We're trying to get a better understanding of getting off the RIB/Zodiac onto land (rocky?), how cold it is (are your legs wet?), how the excursion works exactly once on shore and the clothing necessary.  I've attached some of the great comments below (sorry mj couldn't get yours attached for some reason). If people could expand that would be phenomenal. 

 

It appears that a 11-12 day Antarctic expedition on Silversea or Seabourn price is about the same as the Regent/SS 21 day ocean cruise Lima>Buenos Aires.  The SS/Seabourn expedition cruises look awesome, completely over the top.  Seabourn is rolling out the Venture & Pursuit , they have a sub for heavens sake.

 

Thanks Frantic.  The Quest component doesn't show in the basic SA search.  Do you think they will bring the traditional Quest SA cruise I mentioned back in 2024?

 

 We tend to be very methodical & somewhat cynical in the process.

 

 

 

16 hours ago, Timeflies said:

 

Some excursions you stay in the the RIB and see the scenery and wildlife, and on others the RIB will land on the shore side.  You then shuffle back towards the front and hop off and wade ashore - which is why gumboots are required.  The time on land is entirely up to you and how much walking you do is likewise - each to their own.  We had some people with considerable mobility issues and the excellent crew and staff helped them at all times. 

 

 

15 hours ago, briar14 said:

We love Regent, but they are not in the expedition business. So, our Antarctica expedition cruise was with SS in January 2020 and included South Georgia Island. It was 5 months after a knee replacement. I am a super klutz, have arthritis, and did fine. The staff and crew want you to have a good, safe experience. They cheerfully help you as much as necessary.  I agree with Timeflies, a wonderful, exceptional adventure. I would also be happy to answer any questions.

 

14 hours ago, cwn said:

 

Previously we did an expedition cruise in 2008 on the Polar Star (total passenger and crew 150) and went south of the circle and landed on the mainland, also did many landings in the islands. We did up to three landings or zodiac outing a day, without a doubt an expedition ship is the way to go if you are reasonably fit and adventuresome. But the zodiac landings can be hard. The zodiac landings are water landing...not hard to get into the zodiac from the ship or out into the water and wade ashore (the shores are rocky), but getting back in the zodiac you are standing down in the water and getting up and over the zodiac edge. The staff had to  sort of slide me head first up and over the edge to enable me to get back in out of the war, you get the picture...others did too. No problem for the drew. not to graceful for me. But hey I walked (very little as use canes) on continental Antarctica. My husband was reasonably fit and it was his dream trip!!

 

 

[RetiredandTravel]

15 hours ago, cwn said:

We did the Mariner Circle SA round trip Maimi in 2011 that included 5 days in Antarctica. It was worth every minute. The trip was a sailby but we got close enough to see wildlife and the research stations, the scenery was specular.  We loved the whole trip, felt very safe in the ports and the scenery was spectacular! We would do a cruise to Antarctic with Regent again in a heartbeat. There were guest speakers on board who made the trip even more interesting.

 

Like most are saying, do the Itinerary that appeals the most for what you want to see. We have cruised over and Christmas and New Years several times and have had port days on the holidays, not too unusual.

 

 

 

 

The main issue is that the cruise visits Santiago on Christmas and Santiago is a key port on the trip.  I tend to doubt many of the excursions will be available and if they are things will be closed.   If there was a trip to a church that would be cool.  There is currently no church excursion listed.

 

What do you think of the above listed cruise w/o Santiago?  We would spend a extra few days in Buenos Aires on the end of the trip.

 

many thanks

[briar14]

R&T, email me with any questions. Address is at bottom of my post.

[Lonedaddy]

15 hours ago, PhD-iva said:

I’m booked on the Voyager 19 FEB 2024 cruise from San Antonio Chile to Buenos Aires, Arg. It loops down as far south as allowed (no landings), but I was expecting to need to wear my heavy duty LLBean coat (good for -30 below

🤔).

 I used to wear it while walking across UCONN’s campus in February!

I guess I won’t need my bikini?

probably not too many chair hogs on that one