January 7th NCL Star cruise to Antarctica , Argentina and Chile with a 10 day stay photo travelogue

[scubacruiserx2]

 The first ship out of BA that day was the MSC Armonia . It was created on the same year as the Star snd about the same size only a little smaller . 1950 - 2340 passengers for the MSC and 1936 - 2523 for the Star . About half of the passengers were Spanish or Brazilian , Chinese was next and the minority was US and European . Anouncements were English first , Spanish next and Portuguese last . 

 It reminded us of our only MSC cruise where they spoke 5 different languages !

 

 

 

[stonepebble]

46 minutes ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

 

When and who are you going with to Antarctica , if we may ask ? We hope and pray that you feel better soon . 🙏

My husband & I.

Our 40th Anniversary is 2/25. We had booked a great anniversary trip to Israel & Egypt. Obviously had to cancel that!  

We had been talking about going to Antartica and I have wanted to go to Iguazu Falls forever...so my husband found the trip! We'll be sailing the Drake Passage on our Anniversary & dining at Le Bistro that night!

We'll be on the Star sailing 2/18! We're doing Iguazu Falls beforehand.

We're very excited! And I'm sure we'll be well be then...And hopefully have superpower immunity!

Chris                 

                                                                                                                                         

[scubacruiserx2]

Dinner has arrived at the in door dining table !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And we are underway 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 31 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

51 minutes ago, stonepebble said:

My husband & I.

Our 40th Anniversary is 2/25. We had booked a great anniversary trip to Israel & Egypt. Obviously had to cancel that!  

We had been talking about going to Antartica and I have wanted to go to Iguazu Falls forever...so my husband found the trip! We'll be sailing the Drake Passage on our Anniversary & dining at Le Bistro that night!

We'll be on the Star sailing 2/18! We're doing Iguazu Falls beforehand.

We're very excited! And I'm sure we'll be well be then...And hopefully have superpower immunity!

Chris                 

                                                                                                                                         

 

 Congratulations on your 40th and upcoming cruise . It's rare that couples can survive and thrive that long in this day and age . We haven't been to Iguazu Falls yet . Because we live in a warm to hot place most of the year we tend to go to cooler places to escape the heat and humity of South Florida . We did enjoy Le Bistro several times in person ( instead of delivery ) and really liked the Sommelier . He formally worked for HAL which has been our most cruised line for a while . My tech skills aren't that sharp that I will be done before you leave and we have thousands of photos to cull and edit down . I kinda like to leave some suspence while writing but if you have and questions that we can answer without changing the narrative you can use our G mail , scubacruiserx2@gmail.com 

[stonepebble]

Oh Thank you! 

I may have questions.

Chris

[scubacruiserx2]

 The first breakfast before the Port of Montevideo . We ordered Eggs Benedict as a homage to our oldest grandson , who loves them . He is more like a son and we may be closer to him that the 3 kids as they all have their own families .

 

 

 

 

And of course we picked thru the buffet !

 

 

 

Edited January 31 by scubacruiserx2

[MicCanberra]

Make sure you do both sides of the falls, IMO the Brazilian side is best as you are lower and under them so to speak while the Argentinian side is up on top. I know it costs a bit for a Brazilian visa but considering what you are likely to be paying to get to the falls, it is worth it even for just a day visit.

[scubacruiserx2]

2 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

Make sure you do both sides of the falls, IMO the Brazilian side is best as you are lower and under them so to speak while the Argentinian side is up on top. I know it costs a bit for a Brazilian visa but considering what you are likely to be paying to get to the falls, it is worth it even for just a day visit.

 

 Thanks Mic . Have a great day in Montevideo . We loved Veronica's Cafe in the Mercado del Puerto near the port .

[MicCanberra]

We have been ashore already and are back aboard. We had been to Montevideo previously so just did a self tour around the the old city and to the Cathedral  and square, they had markets and such so a very pleasant morning.

[scubacruiserx2]

3 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

We have been ashore already and are back aboard. We had been to Montevideo previously so just did a self tour around the the old city and to the Cathedral  and square, they had markets and such so a very pleasant morning.

 

Excellent , and how was the weather ?

[milolii]

@scubacruiserx2 I am following as well.  We are booked for 2/2/25. We've sailed on the Star twice   We usually book one of the two br. on deck 11. Wishing you both a specify recovery.  I wondered what had happened to you two, but I guess I forgot you were spending a few days post cruise in Patagonia. 
 

Thank you for the thread as it gives us( and others) an opportunity to learn from your experience.

 

Did I understand correctly that the starboard side is better than the port side?  
 

ty 
 

 

 

[MicCanberra]

36 minutes ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

 

Excellent , and how was the weather ?

Due to the forecast, we got off early before it got too hot. Had a bit of a thunder storm with some rain when we were out but it didn't last long. We had shelter in a Cafe, so all good.

[scubacruiserx2]

A quite night and a smooth ride in the ugly brown river leading us to Montevideo and later the cleaner and clearer Atlantic Ocean . Entering Montevideo and the naval shipyard . In port 0830 - 1630 . We missed the English version so we thought that you might enjoy the Spanish instead .

 

 

 

 

 

A view from the pool deck

 

 

A pano shot of the empty pool deck

 

 

The view from the side balcony . Follow the green line to the city .

 

 

Forward balcony and the rear view of the others .

 

 

This was our 3rd trip here so we let the others go wear themselves out while we walked an empty ship . We knew what we wanted Asado .

 

 

The ground view of the Star

 

 

 

The others aka the Azamara Quest in the photo spot . Tail shot instead of a head shot . Bass Akwards in Naval speak . 

 

Edited January 31 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

1 hour ago, milolii said:

@scubacruiserx2 I am following as well.  We are booked for 2/2/25. We've sailed on the Star twice   We usually book one of the two br. on deck 11. Wishing you both a specify recovery.  I wondered what had happened to you two, but I guess I forgot you were spending a few days post cruise in Patagonia. 
 

Thank you for the thread as it gives us( and others) an opportunity to learn from your experience.

 

Did I understand correctly that the starboard side is better than the port side?  
 

ty 
 

 

 

 

  Hi Ty , that's our granson's nickname for Tyler . There was a sick lady on our glacier cruise in Patagonia in a small space and we think that may the source . We carry masks in our camera bags but don't wear them all of the time . She slept alot on the cruise and wanted the door closed in a warm room . Everone else wanted it open so she finally put on a mask and covered up and we kept the door open to cool room . 

 The port side saw more land than we did on the second day in Antarctica which was overcast . We were in the Starboard and forward facing cabin 9006 .

[scubacruiserx2]

 Boots on the ground in Montevideo for lunch and a coffee mug . The view entering or leaving the ship terminal .

 

 

The Mercado entrance for an early lunch

 

 

Grill envy

 

 

Our choice for lunch

 

 

Where we sat in the rear is quiter and cooler ( note the A/C near the ceiling fan )

 

 

A return from the washroom , about a block to walk

 

 

Bread with an unknown spread

 

 

Fried provolone we love this stuff  !

 

 

Main course for me was Lomo ( Filet mignon request rare to get it medium rare ) . 

 

 

 

Patty had a little lamb  ( about 6 chops but smaller than last time ) . Nice walk back to the ship and a $ 5 Montevideo mug to put my shaving soap in .

 

At the ship our butler , Vonn , had brought us a map of the ship that we had requested .

 

 

 

A radical move in the ship to head back to the river . It looked like we were going to scrape the embankment .

 

 

 

A graveyard of dead ships near a modern highrise .

 

 

 

Edited February 1 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

  In post # 218 we showed photos of the bedroom and asked if anyone noticed anything weird . Here's a photo of what we thought was strange . I left my face and the camera out of the photo .

 

 We have only used photos from my pocket camera and I just uploaded 2 ,000 photos from my telephoto camera . I can't find them but hope to as  they are the best photos that we took . 

 

 

[benel204]

What a wonderful trip report -- thank you for posting so many impressions and photos. Really has inspired us to seriously consider a South America cruise + Antarctica.

 

I see that some ship itineraries include 2-4 days docked (?) at Antarctica peninsula. Are there several excursions one can do from there?  That wasn't clear in reading through your posts.

Or perhaps others know.

 

We are looking at HAL or possibly NCL Star.  Just starting the research for a cruise in Dec or January.

[scubacruiserx2]

Good morning . Day 4 of Covid and observing the old protocols of the epidemic . Both of our daughters had it and survived - but they are not in their 70's and 60's as we are . We feel like a ship in a storm with only one engine working . Still moving but half slow and half fast . Halfast as they used to say in the Navy .

 Our grandson who picked us up Sunday after our flight from BA to Miami ,  and the train ride to Palm Beach , started a new job . It's with the Big Smile company and yesterday was his first solo day driving and delivery . We were not covered up and we hoped that he didn't get infected . His mom , our first daughter , is a nurse and his new step dad is an x - ray tech who swabed us and gave us the bad news so they know what to do . We hope that his new employer will understand if he becomes infected and that he dosen't infect others .

 More bad news ( sorry ) . According to Cruisemapper , the NCL Sun missed the Falklands yesterday . And it appears that the NCL Star has passed them and will miss today . Major Bummer for them . Strangely the Sapphire Princess and Azmara Quest are in port there . You can see the map here and zoom in .

 

 https://www.cruisemapper.com/?imo=9195157

[scubacruiserx2]

4 hours ago, benel204 said:

What a wonderful trip report -- thank you for posting so many impressions and photos. Really has inspired us to seriously consider a South America cruise + Antarctica.

 

I see that some ship itineraries include 2-4 days docked (?) at Antarctica peninsula. Are there several excursions one can do from there?  That wasn't clear in reading through your posts.

Or perhaps others know.

 

We are looking at HAL or possibly NCL Star.  Just starting the research for a cruise in Dec or January.

 

 Thank you for writing in and welome aboard . No large ships make port in Antarctica . We 1st went to big A on the HAL Zaandam and they did offer a landing on the continent by a large plane from Punta Arenas and a trip to Torres del Paine . We think that it was almost 3 K to the big A p.p. and if it didn't go you went to Torres anyway . Not sure if the difference was refunded or credited . The Torres trip was about a K or a K and a half p.p.

 HAL does 4 days cruising the big A and NCL only 2 . HAL was Santiago to BA 22 days or the reverse . NCL was 14 days BA to BA but about half the price .

 We have some friends Mic and Rosie on the HAL Oosterdam doing the trip now and it appears that they may have missed a port today or the Cruisemapper schedule for them is wrong . You can follow their " live " here but the further South they go , the live will slow or stop on the internet .

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

  A little reprise of the pre cruise from some telephoto shots from a different camera . The ship shots are from our room the night before we boarded the Star , Saturday January 6th .

 

Celebrity Eclipse , one of our favorites that we took a cruise on a TA from Miami to London . The thread had over 380 K views , our most popular . It also took us and our oldest grandson to the Baltic including Russia , where we all had Visas .

 

 

The next out was the Serenade of the Seas

 

 

Both of them

 

 

The MSC Musica

 

 

The view of the English Tower from the lounge of the Sheraton . You can see the train station on the right and the colorful cheap flats seperated by the other side of the tracks . The Bus Station is on the left 

 

 

Before dawn , here comes our shining Star 

 

 

Followed bt the Azmara Quest

 

 

After we sailed and turned we saw this huge , smoky fuel tank fire . It made me glad that I have retired from being a Firefighter /Paramedic . The photo almost looks like and old black and white photo . I wonder why the river water is so brown ?

 

Edited February 1 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

The last thing that we saw leaving Montvideo was people fishing in the brown water and waving to us . Our guide in BA told us that the water is ok to drink and eat the fish from it - if you're use to it . We're not so I'll stick to bottled water .

 

 

On Monday , January 8 th , we looked very close to the land at Mar del Plata before breakfast and I told my wife that it's probally a medivac as I've done many . Sure enough , one to go .

 

 

As we headed out to sea you can see where the brown Rio de la Plata ends and the blue Atlantic Ocean begins .

 

 

We are more used to an aft view like this from Spice H2O

 

 

A first look at O ' Sheenan's and the Atrium

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Huntingdon1701]

Thanks for all the updates. Hope you both feel much better soon. 

[cruisingrandy]

On 1/30/2024 at 9:44 PM, scubacruiserx2 said:

  We were in a suite and were escorted to Cagneys for lunch . The Menu didn't change if we ate lunch there .

 

 

 A look at the cruise 

 

 

And the Owners suite ( aka the deuce suite )

 

 

 

 

 

 

2 bath rooms

 

 

Master bath and walk in closet

 

 

 

2 washing areas

 

 

 

 

2 views of the bedroom . Notice anything weird ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Azamara to the Port

 

Looka Like an amazing cabin to see Anartica in.  Hope you guys get well fast

 

[benel204]

6 hours ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

HAL does 4 days cruising the big A and NCL only 2 . HAL was Santiago to BA 22 days or the reverse . NCL was 14 days BA to BA but about half the price .

Thanks for your reply.  Forgive my ignorance, but what does the ship "do" during the 4 days or 2 days they are "cruising the big A"?  Are they cruising back and forth in a particular spot?  What can you see or experience from the ship, assuming no one is getting off?

[scubacruiserx2]

3 hours ago, Huntingdon1701 said:

Thanks for all the updates. Hope you both feel much better soon. 

 

3 hours ago, cruisingrandy said:

Looka Like an amazing cabin to see Anartica in.  Hope you guys get well fast

 

 

 Thank you for your care and concern . We are doing a bit better . But we do miss having other folks shop , prepare , cook , clean and do the mounds of delicious dishes that we consumed . Especially now as our energy level is down , but not out .. 🙂😊

 @cruisingrandy do you currently reside in Peru ? Our DIL is from Lima and our son and 3rd grandson were there for Christmas . They were still there when we first arrived in BA . Same Continent but different countries . The next planned cruise is a family cruise with our son and 2 daughters and their spouses and 3 grandsons set for Thanksgiving when 2 of the grandsons are out of school for the holiday .

Edited February 1 by scubacruiserx2