Review: Valparaiso to Miami

[seashells]

This is also an old review. I hope that people will come back and post their reviews.

 

Norwegian Dream

South America

March 17, 2002

NCL Dream Southern Discovery - 3/17/02

 

 

Sunday March 17th was sunny with the temps in the mid 70's. We were up early to prepare for our move to another cabin 10 doors away. Honeymooners had occupied cabin 8270 and we rarely saw them. The do not disturb sign was on the cabin door for most of the cruise. They were among the last to leave. I joked with Bernard that we would need a new bed. On a turnaround day the stewards have help from the staff below deck. It was not until 10:00 that Bernard and his helper could clean our cabin and help us. The move was completed in less than 15 minutes and we were back to normal a short time later. We had been told that our steward would move everything and we would not have to be there but I wanted to be there.

 

I was a little shocked at our cabin. The couch was on the same side as the TV and the balcony had an angled steel beam causing a loss of a 1/3 of the view. Oh well I thought, I'll think about it later as we wanted to go off to explore Valparaiso so more on this later. We had been instructed to use the crews exit while in port.

 

Earlier we watched as they offloaded the luggage and passengers and put them on waiting busses. All was quiet now and a few people were putting up their displays under the big white tent. They were stocking the ship with loads of fruit and vegetables, washing the windows and refilling the gas tank. We had to take a bus provided by the port, as the gate was more than a mile away. We did not sign up for a tour offered by the ship because we didn't know how long we would take to move. There were taxis at the gate and one entrepreneur who had a large tour bus offering tours of the city for $7.00.Because it was Sunday most everything in the area was closed. An Internet café was 2 blocks from the pier gate across from the pharmacy. A vehicular elevator was located 3 blocks to the right of the pier gate at a bright red house. This elevator takes you up to a spectacular view of the harbor and city. There are craft vendors with nice things and you can walk some of the streets in the neighborhood. When we returned to the lower street we noticed a gate into the port and walked through it. A guard asked us to wait for the port bus, which we did and it took us back to the ship.

 

Boarding in Valparaiso has primitive conditions, as all the ports in South America are industrial. NCL had a nice tent set up with juice and a few souvenir stands and also a Chile wine stand. From what I observed they bussed the departing passengers to Santiago and then picked up the new passengers and brought them to the ship. This seems to cause a backup for boarding so be prepared. With the new passengers on board we sailed with the sun shining. The ship was decorated for St. Patrick's Day.

 

Monday March 18th Coquimbo, Chile. Cloudy and cool then sunny and warmer, mid 70's. 120,000 people between the 2 towns. Cabs and small tour operators are available at the pier and just outside the pier. We hopped a city bus for 50 cents to La Serena. I never saw so much graffiti. They have wonderful statues lined around a park and every one of them was spray-painted. Stores, walls and buildings were painted. On the return bus we got off at a large mall (opens at 11:00) they had a nice business center with one of the best and fastest Internet connections $1.50 for 1 hour. At the bus stop a cab came by and picked up someone and asked us where we were going. For 75 cents pp he took us to Coquimbo square. Later we walked back to the ship along the shore through a craft area and a fish market. We sailed at 5:00pm.

 

Tuesday March 19th was a day at sea with the usual shipboard activities. The optional formal dinner was tonight. The seas were calm and we spotted some seals. We met some friends for dinner. There were more people dressed up on this cruise.

 

Wednesday March 20th Iquique, Chile. 140,000 people sunny and warm. We docked at a fish food refinery. Lets just say that the odor was not pleasant. 30% of the world's fish food is processed here using sardines and anchovies also 35% of Chiles fish is caught here. The city backs up to what looks like the foothills of North Dakota. A very dry and desert like area. A long walk to the city, about a mile or more. Cabs are at the dock and at the end of the pier. You can make a deal to take tours. This port has one of the largest free trade zones I have ever seen. It looked like a huge shopping mall. It's a $3.00 cab ride back to the pier. There are several Internet cafes in town $1.00 an hour.We saw quite a few sea lions both on shore and playing in the sea. They were waiting for the fishing fleet to return. The boats sidle up to the pier starting at 3:30 and a large vacuum hose suctions the sardines out of their hold and into the refinery. When some of the sardines and or anchovies fall out, the sea lions have their dinner. We sailed with a send off from the children of the city singing. The Pacific was calm and flat. It got chilly and I needed a sweater.

 

Thursday March 21st Arica, Chile 78*. 140,000 people we sailed into port at 7:30 with hazy skies that turned sunny and warm as the day wore on. A long walk from the ship, about a mile. They have local craft tents and Chile wine at the pier. A band greeted us. Cabs are at the pier and at the gate along with small tour buses. We hooked up with a student at the gate who took the day off from school because the ship was in port and set us up with a cab for $20.00 for both of us for ½ day tour. She came along and practiced her English. We had a delightful time with her as she guided the cab to take us out to Luta Valley and the museum. They grow olives here. We went through the city and then the side streets, past her home then up to Morro Point for a bird's eye view of the city and harbor. We asked her to take us to the supermarket and then drop us off downtown. We waved good by and set off for liquid libations. The town has many ally way stores besides the downtown area. I stopped at the Pharmacy and bought local hand cream (Crema Lechuga) WONDERFUL! This was a very clean city. There are several Internet cafes downtown $1.00 to $2.00 an hour along with phone shops 60 cents a minute to the States. We hurriedly spent the last of our local currency at the pier $7.00 for sweaters and bought Chile's National drink Pisco sour as this was the last of 7 ports in Chile that we have visited. Chile is a very long country 3300 miles long. We set sail at 6:00 with the band playing. Ahhhhhh life is sweet.

 

Friday March 22nd is a day at sea. Sunny and warm temps in the 70's. I am looking forward to seeing Peru but alas the Captain has told us that we will not be docking. Seems that there have been several car bombings due to President Bush visiting the city of Lima. We are informed that we will anchor and the tender will go into port to pick up the people who flew to Machu Pucchu. About 150 passengers had left the ship in Arica for a 3-day tour $1550.00 pp.

 

Saturday March 23rd Hundreds and I mean hundreds of dolphins are in the sea when I awoke. From 6:15am to 7:00am we are delighted to see them play along the ship. We drop anchor at 8:30am and sat still in the water for most of the day. Several sea otters played in the ocean. Due to security in the city it took longer than expected for the passengers to return. At noon the first tender arrived, with the 2nd at 1:00 and the 3rd at 2:00. We watched Air Force One land and pulled up anchor at 3:00pm.

 

Sunday March 24th is a day at sea. There was a mass for Palm Sunday. We have a Priest, Rabbi and other clergy on board. There are 28 children on board and they have a children's program.

[seashells]

Monday March 25th Manta, Ecuador. Cloudy skies.125,000 people. They had been having terrible storms for a week that had even been reported on CNN. This was a poorer city than we had been visiting. They only allow a few cabs at a time at the pier. More cabs are at the end of the pier again a very long walk. We took a cab $30.00 for 4 of us to Montecristi a very poor and run down town. We went here to buy the famous Panama hats that are made here but were sold in Panama thus the name. Our cab took us through the city of Manta and past the pretty countryside then into the town. He left us off at the exact same area that the busses came. I can only say that I wish that I had bought more hats than I did. We bought 6 and did not allow them to roll them up instead stacking them one on top of the other and taking the empty boxes with us. Everyone at home wanted one. There are many different styles and prices are $5.00 to $50.00 depending on the fineness of the weave and the bargaining power that you have. I should have done my homework and checked on the Internet "BEFORE" we came here as I found out that the true Panama hats back home can cost in the hundreds of dollars. These hats are light as a feather.

 

We asked the driver to take us to the supermarket back in Manta where they had very cheap prices for liquor and beer. The rains came and we had him take us back to the ship. The cab was not allowed to enter the pier area and many kids surrounded us when we got out of the cab so watch out for your personal possessions. Keep your wits about you before you get out of the cab. There were a few kids that had the audacity to say give me a dollar, give me a dollar. One entrepreneur was selling the lesser quality panama hats at the ship and he was doing a booming business. We had a late lunch and decided to return to the city. I wrote "INTERNET" on a piece of paper and held it up for the cab drivers. They had not understood the word when I spoke it but when I wrote it they knew exactly where I wanted to go. $3.00 to go there. $1.00 for an hour on the Internet. We walked around town and checked out the small shops and the main square as the rain had subsided a little. A cab ride back was $2.00 after bargaining down from the outrageous price of $10.00. The kid was still selling his hats right up to the time we sailed at 6:00pm.

 

The ceremony for crossing the equator began at 7:00pm at the pool. Those who wanted to be in on the antics are warned to wear old clothes or a bathing suit. The children involved in the ships program were dressed in togas and helped the cruise staff with initiation. I would say that more than ½ the ship watched the King Neptune initiation of making all those who had never crossed the equator become "Shellbacks"

 

Tuesday March 26th is a day at sea as we headed for the Panama Canal. Mostly sunny and warm.

 

Wednesday March 27th this was the day we were to transit the Panama Canal. It was a sunny hot and breezy day. Passover services tonight. A commentator came on board and spoke over the loudspeaker with information on the history and workings of this marvel. We arrived at Miraflores locks on the Pacific side at 8:30 am. We went through the locks side by side with a massive brand new container ship. Its size and 800 containers dwarfed us. In the narrow channel we passed a ship that was damaged in a collision with another ship just a few days before. I wanted to see both sides of the canal but the deck on the stern was packed. I went upstairs and brought a chair down to deck 7 the promenade deck. While waiting to pass through the Gatun locks we saw the Royal Princess waiting to precede us. We had to drop anchor for an hour and wait. We then continued on through the Gatun Locks but again had to anchor until the floating gas station came for a fill up. We did not get underway until 11:30pm.

 

Thursday March 28th Puerto Limon, Cost Rica.75,000 people in the town and countryside. A sunny hot day. More than ½ the tours were cancelled because we were late in arriving after the late fuel stop last night. The port provides a trolley to the gate. Vendors were set up and you could buy their many wood products. An Internet café was on the street across from the vendors with slow connection $3.00 for an hour. This was Holy Thursday and most of the town was closed. You could not buy alcohol because of the holiday. You should take the tours offered here, as there is not much to see. There were some taxis and private tour buses available but our time was limited. Friday March 29th is a day at sea. Mostly sunny with calm seas. Optional formal night. Services for Good Friday. Optional formal. The chocoholic buffet is tonight.

 

Saturday March 30th Grand Cayman. Sunny and warm. A tender port. Grandeur of the Seas and the Royal Princess are in port and later in the day the Wind Star. Georgetown has tenders and along with the ship tenders you can get off quickly. Telephones and the Internet are behind Columbia Jewelers. Tours are available at the pier. You can rent a car to explore the island. We have been here several times and I wanted to make sure I bought some rum cakes. We sailed at 4:00pm for Miami. Sunday March 31st is a sea day. The ship was decorated for Easter and they had an egg hunt for the children. There was mass and 2 other services today. Time to pack up and squeeze everything we bought into the suitcases and put them out in the hall between 11:00 pm and 2:00 am. We had our laundry done on the last cruise spending about $90.00. There is no self-service laundry on the Dream. The ship had 2 gentlemen host dancers. The safe is used with a strip card. We used a non credit card.

 

Monday April 1st Miami The ship arrived in Miami at 4:00 am. We were scheduled for immigration at 7:30am and "ALL" parties "MUST" show up. We stood in line as was expected and the ships staff returned our passports. We then had to continue into the theater to meet with immigration. If you go over your customs allocation ($400.00pp on this cruise) you are required to appear before them.

 

We then went to breakfast in the Four Seasons then returned to our cabin to wait for disembarkation. There were the usual amount of people whose names were called but the wait was longer than any cruise we have been on. The first people were allowed to leave around 10:30am, which is considered late. Because we live in Florida we knew we would be the last to go. I also watched as the Brinks truck drove off with the money I had lost in the casino. I waved a fond farewell. We did not get off the ship until 12:20 pm. We went to collect our luggage and found them with ease because we attached ribbons, but mainly because there was not much luggage left. Getting a porter was difficult due to the fact that many of the new passengers had been arriving for some time. Our luggage was deposited across the street from the terminal in front of the lunch cart where we waited the bus from Enterprise. They picked us up and drove to their office where we rented a car and drove off at 1:30pm. We arrived home at 3:45pm. 30 days of exploring and pampering were gone. Back to reality!

[CAinTO]

:) Thank you for posting this account. I'm going to print it and have it to take with us on our trip. I've created a journal, so that when we come home ,I'll be able to write up a blow by blow account. Might even take my laptop and write on route. So many things to think about, and now that Christmas is over, I'll be getting into "trip" mode. Sooo eager!

[BCHappyGal]

Thank you for the review. We are off on this itinerary in reverse on jan 3rd.