der110

We had a safari we had planned get cancelled due to illness.  We are looking for a cruise from Capetown, preferably to Europe, that would include on opportunity for a safari before the cruise.  We found some on Oceania and Cunard (the latter did not seem to have land excursions of this type).  Any other suggestions?

Thanks for the feedback.

Just to follow up, we are currently leaning to the Holiday Inn Express, though the Hilton is still in the running. This is partly driven by risk-averseness and partly by a desire to accumulate and/or use points. I have points with both. Puerto Madero also looked like a good place to stay. Are minds are still open, however. We will be in BA 12/18-12/20.

My girlfriend and I are going on Seabourn in December, Buenos Aires to Santiago. Anyone who has gone with Seabourn, we would be grateful for any Seabourn-specific tips. I imagine clothing is going to be a challenge. It will be hot in BA, where we plan to spend a few days, but presumably less so in Antarctica. I have not checked yet what clothing Seabourn supplies for going ashore, but any tips in this regard would be appreciated. I am sure this has been asked a million times, but these forums tend to have terrible search engines.

Many thanks. What is 1-2-1?

Thanks, Russ. We will definitely arrive early to be safe. We have not yet figured out how early. Work issues is squeezing us on both sides of the cruise. But arriving on the 18th seems like a good idea.

Thanks. I think I found an answer to my seat question at seatguru.com, apparently part of Trip Advisor.

We are going with Seabourn, which leaves on 12/20. We likely will fly into Buenos Aires on 12/19 to be safe. Maybe even a little earlier so we can see some of the city. It looks like we will fly out of Miami. We will fly at least business class. Is there any way to know on what planes the seats lay flat? I have a bad back, so it is a big deal to me. Our plan is to probably fly into Miami in the morning, get a day room at the hotel, and then take the night flight out.

Seabourn apparently only works with hyper-expensive hotels in Buenos Aires, as in around $900 per night. Can anyone recommend a good, safe hotel say in the $250 range per night?

Thanks.

I don't know if that post was encouraging or discouraging. I have never used nurofen sticks, but bring a heating pad with me. I have a Therastem machine, sort of a massage machine, but have never tried Tens machines much. What kind do you use? We ended up booking on Seabourn. It was a mix of price, timing of the trip, bigger stateroom, and the ability to see more of Chile which offsets somewhat less time ashore in Antarctica. I found a German expedition ship that has a trip at the right time, but the trip is conducted in German, which I speak, but my girlfriend does not. Also, quite expensive.

Well, my girl friend vetoed the tiny rooms on Ponant, so it looks like we are going with Seabourn. As Chairsin said and Seabourn confirmed, we will only get to go ashore once a day for about an hour. But Seabourn spends about 6 days in Antarctica, so hopefully we will get our fill. Seabourn is also about $6000 cheaper for the two of us for more time on the boat and a 40% bigger room. Also, Ponant requires a 25% nonrefundable deposit, while Seabourn is 12%, fully refundable up to around 100 days before the trip starts. We will miss the Falklands, but will get to see the Chilean Fjords and the Straight of Magellan. Either line probably gives you a great trip.

Carefully research Ponant. We were set on booking with them until we saw some scathing reviews re food, service, and ambiance.

I did on CruiseCritic. Both Ponant and Seabourn have vastly more excellent and very good ratings than those lower than that. Specifically for Antarctica, Ponant was even better. As I recall, there were 15, almost all excellent. There were only two for Seabourn on Antarctica, but at least there were strong. That said, when I read the negative reviews, they mostly seemed reasonable, i.e. people seemed to have fair objections and were not just being whiny. I have only been on one cruise, but my sense is that all of these outfits blow it once and a while. We have to hope it does not happen while we are cruising. We can't expect any cruise line to only get perfect scores. Still, I can understand why the reviews made your nervous. When I researched Ponant, they seemed to get more complaints for non-Antarctica cruises, FWIW.

Thanks, Chairsin. How much time did you get ashore? Larger number of passangers an issue in this regard?

Via trip advisor, I found some fairly cryptic info on these two lines. Both are luxurious. Seabourn is the bigger boat, probably a bit more comfortable when underway. Ponant is smaller, can perhaps get in closer, perhaps more time ashore. Also, more expensive. Ponant goes to the Falkland islands, Seabourn does not but cruises some Chilean waterways. Both apparently have massage therapists, a bid deal for me. More airplane time with Ponant, more boat time with Seabourn. Any words of wisdom?

Thanks for all of the feedback. I have back issues, hence the massage query.

Not counting Semester at Sea in the 1970s, it was the first cruise for my girl friend and me. We were with two other couples who were experienced cruisers. The two other couples said they would never again go on a Princess cruise. That is probably a little harsh, but there were some issues. The itinerary was quite good. Originally, I thought I would think that the Panama Canal transit was just okay, and that the highlight would be the other ports of call. But it turned out to be just the opposite. The transit was amazing, though I liked the ports we visited and the Princess excursions we did, though the time in each port was quite brief. I thought Mexico at the end would be a bit of a let down. But we liked the ports. The dolphin experience in Mexico was fantastic. The staff on the boat was very friendly. I liked my massage therapist. Apparently, due to American withholding taxes, Princess hires almost no Americans. We did a pricy, but fascinating behind the scenes tour.

It kind of goes downhill from there. The food was just okay in the regular restaurant and the buffet. We ate one meal in a specialty restaurant that was much better. The wine was overpriced. There was a flu outbreak and my girlfriend got quarantined for two days, missing one port. She then got quarantined again for the last day for a noncontagious GI issue which was just irrational. It made one not want to see the doctor, which big-picture would make the health situation worse. There was a regular press to find ways to upcharge us. The cultural programs were few and just okay. The shows were also just okay, though my girlfriend and I are somewhat picky about singers and dancers (I have a good ear for music, and my girlfriend was once a professional ballet dancer.) And the internet was abysmal, but still expensive. It did not work at all about 1/4 of the time, and the rest of the time was very slow. Experienced cruisers told us that the internet is much better and more economical on other lines. We probably will not go on Princess again because of the internet. Our work situations require better access than we had.

But we would strongly encourage people to do a Panama Canal transit.

I hear that. I went to the Seabourn section of this site. People were mostly very positive.

Thanks, Keith. That is what I found on one site, but I wondered how reliable it was. Is there a place on this site where cruise lines are generally rated?

We want to do a cruise where we can fly 1st class to departure point, and probably prefer Buenos Aires to Santiago or vice versa. We also would like a December to January trip. We were thinking in terms of Seabourne but saw that it had mixed reviews. Perhaps unfair? A massage person on board is a must. We are old enough to want a fair amount of luxury, but are not super fussy either. Suggestions?

:)I live in LA. It’s been rather cold and windy lately (despite fires). It is relative though. Cold for us here is 60 degrees F. If you think that’s cold, I would say it can be cold your last day or two as you get closer to LA.

I am originally from San Diego and thought that once. As an east coaster, I now think 60 is balmy.

On Princess, my girl friend and I are going on our first cruise (not counting World Campus Afloat in 1972) on December 20, leaving from Fort Lauderdale and ending up two weeks later in LA. We assume the weather will be pretty warm, but would appreciate any words of wisdom on clothing it would be appropriate to bring. Any other tips related to this cruise also would be gratefully received.

Sorry but there are many cruises from Santiago to Antarctica with shore landings. We were on Seabourn in Dec/Jan 24 days with five days (landings in Antarctica) and three days of landings in South Georgia Island and ending in Buenos Aires.

 

 

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Thanks! When I checked, that did not seem to be the case. I must have looked in the wrong places.

Just a thought, if you are not able to make a 3.5 hour flight in a coach seat, would you be able to get the medical clearance questionnaire document needed from your health care provider that the ship's require for Antarctica expeditions?

Good question. Probably. The problem is being stuck in a small coach seat where I can barely move for hours. That problem would not exist on the ship. I wonder a bit, though, about bouncing around on an inflatable to go ashore. I might be better off taking a cruise line from Santiago that goes through Antarctica, even though it will pain me not to be able to go ashore.

It is that charter flight that is the problem. That is all coach, right? And I could not find commercial flights down there with first class.

I have chronic back trouble which pretty much requires me to fly first class. As best as I can tell, if you want to go ashore in Antarctica, you need to take a ship from the southern tip. But no planes fly there that have first class. Am I missing anything?

Thanks for the feedback. I think I was imagining AA to be a big block of ice. NG may be a little adventurous for my girlfriend. I don't think she gets seasick, but she has rarely been on a boat, and never in rough waters. I, on the other hand, have been in 25 ft seas on a 40' sailboat. How long, typically, are the Zodiac rides? Is the charter flight all coach?