J-D

We stopped at the Orly Hotel in Santiago in Dec 2011. The elevator was broken. Just hope it doesn't happen to you. We didn't stay at Orly.

It was fine in March 2013. However, there is just one elevator, so there is a bit of a risk. -- John

Both the Valparaiso / Vina del Mar area and Santiago are interesting and colourful places, but very different in size, characteristics, and terrain. Santiago is far larger, more diverse, and flatter. The wine region is more-or-less between Valpo and Santiago. To make best use of your time and to avoid any "backtracking", I suggest booking a tour of the Valpo/Vina area for your arrival day, staying in that area for the first night. Then book a transfer/winery tour from Valpo to Santiago for the 2nd day, stopping at a couple of wineries along the way, and spend the 2nd night in Santiago. You would then have the evening of day two plus day 3 in Santiago, with your Santiago hotel holding your luggage until it is time to go to the airport.

Given the OP's problems with stairs and extended walking, it would seem best to book local tours for both day 1 in Valpo/Vina and day 3 in Santiago. I believe that various tour providers offer similar tours, but we used "About Chile" for such tours in both cities, and also for the transfers between the two (on one transfer with winery tour), and we were happy with them. In both Valpo and Santiago, for very modest prices, they provided a small van with both driver and English-speaking guide. When we wanted to walk, the driver would take the van to an agreed meeting point so we could walk with the guide one-way, e.g., in Valpo, drive to the top of one of the steep hill, walk downhill, meet the van at the bottom. In Santiago, drive to one side of the most congested downtown / historic area, walk with the guide for a few blocks through that area, meet the van and driver on the other side. In Santiago, there is a good subway system that we used extensively during our several days there, but I do not recall any alternative to using stairs in the subway stations, so in the OP's case a local tour may be a better bet. I understand there is also a HoHo bus in Santiago, but we did not use that.

In Santiago, we stayed at the Orly Hotel in the Providencia district. It is a smaller, very comfortable but non-ostentatious place popular with cruise passengers. There is a (small) elevator to the upper floors. Good breakfast included. Very helpful English-speaking front-desk staff. Located in safe, walkable district with many restaurants (and close to subway, if that is practical for you). The Orly Hotel and About Chile tour provider work closely together, though no doubt other tour companies would also pick up or drop off at the Orly.

For two of the several related previous threads, see

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2055660

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1874608

However you decide to allocate your time, enjoy your stay in these interesting places.

John

The B.A. Hilton is in the Puerto Madero area, a couple of miles south of the port and close to the historic Plaza de Mayo. A good place to stay, but definitely too far to walk to the port, especially with luggage. Also, the neighbourhood just outside the port is (in my view) not a good area to be walking. It will be just a short and relatively inexpensive taxi ride from the Hilton to the port.

John

Princess will offer driving tours going around the circumference of the island on Bora Bora and Raiatea; those tours are both are very scenic and need not be very strenuous. When we did such a tour around Raiatea, lunch at a seaside venue was included. A 4-wheel drive excursion somewhat into the interior of Bora Bora is also interesting and scenic, but parts of the trip are quite rough and potentially hard on the back. Similar excursions but with notably smaller groups can likely be arranged privately -- check the previous related threads on this Board, and on the Paul Gaugin Board, as well as the roll call for your cruise

The ship will no doubt also offer driving excursions around Moorea. However, as FlightMedic said, Moorea would be a good place to rent a car and circumnavigate the island on your own (with a side trip inland to the Belvedere).

At Rangiroa (and also Bora Bora), glass-bottom boat trips are offered. Even for those not overly inclined toward marine activities, it should be very interesting to get a glimpse of the colourful fish and corals through the glass bottom. At Rangiroa, there is also a free shuttle bus (or there used to be) to a store selling black pearl jewelry -- interesting to see even if you do not want to buy. They also give a short presentation on pearl farming practices.

When we did your itinerary a few years ago, Princess brought a local dance group aboard when the ship was at the dock in Papeete the first night and again during the early evening of the Raiatea day. The Raiatea performances include children as well as adult dancers. I believe these colourful dance performances at both Papeete and Raiatea are standard practice on this Princess itinerary. If you sit in or near the front row, be prepared to become part of the show!

The islands are spectacular, both offshore and onshore, and the small Princess ships are small enough that the influx of passengers does not overwhelm these small islands. You and your parents should all have a great time.

John

It would have to be the saddest country I have ever visited. You pass street after street with big gaps where the bombs obliterated the houses. There are only young children and old people to be seen. The old people look away or hang their heads. The children smile , like children anywhere , as they have no idea of what went on.

We took a ships tour and visited a school , a rural village , a market and a very newly rebuilt temple . The tour finished up at a Resort Hotel where they are trying to build up a tourist industry .

 

We did much the same tour as Kiwi Kruzer a few years ago, and had some of the same impressions. The visit was sobering but also interesting. It was not the typical upbeat experience that cruise lines and local tourism authorities strive for at most ports. However, it was good to see this small part of Cambodia, and to see the efforts being made by the local inhabitants to improve their situation. As for most places we visit, no matter how much we read up on an area and its history before arriving, seeing the "real thing" is very enlightening and worthwhile.

John

We are another couple who miss the San Juan round trips, and hope that Princess resumes them. From Ontario, flights to SJU are not that much longer than those to FLL. It is also very nice to spend extra pre- or post-cruise days touring around Puerto Rico by car. Driving in San Juan itself is (IMHO) best avoided, but once away from the city, driving is not problem.

John

Another vote for a quicker and comfortable train to London, as long as your destination is London and not one of the airports. It is a short taxi ride from the dock to the Southampton central train station.

John

The Langham is a very nice hotel -- we stayed there on 3 occasions when it was the Sheraton Auckland. However, on a more recent trip we wanted to be closer to the CBD (and docks). The Langham is not within walking distance from the docks, at least with luggage. It is at least a mile, and distinctly uphill. There are numerous other hotels (most of them more economical, if that matters) closer to the docks.

John

Though Laughing Kookaburras are kingfishers, they do not concentrate along watercourses to nearly the extent that "regular" kingfishers do in both North America and Australia. Look and listen for kookaburras in parks and woodland when ashore anywhere in eastern Australia (or in the southwest) -- they do not occur across a broad area of central Australia. Their unmistakable calls are audible for a long distance.

If you stop in central or northern Queensland, or in the Top End, there is a separate species there -- the Blue-winged Kookaburra, which has much more blue in its plumage.

John

Yes, and as of the first of 2014, Royal Caribbean (and Celebrity) went to no smoking on the balcony too. We were lucky on our last HAL cruise that smoke curling onto our balcony wasn't an issue, but judging from the many smoking threads on HAL, it is a growing problem. Think you may be right!

Unfortunate, as HAL has some very attractive itineraries. Admittedly, our troubles with nearby smokers on Volendam verandahs were to some extent our own fault. We had purposefully booked an oceanview rather than verandah, anticipating the smoke problem. However, we then succumbed to a last-minute low-priced upsell-to-verandah offer from HAL, with the predictable outcome... For us, if there is a "next time" on HAL, we will more vigorously resist any temptation to upgrade!

John

You will see mountains and glaciers along your route around the Horn, through the Beagle Channel, into the Chilean Fjords, and inland from Puerto Montt. However, the only port on your B.A. to Valpo route that is actually in a mountainous district is Ushuaia.

The standard tours from Ushuaia that stay near the shore of the Beagle Channel will not be on mountainous roads. However, some tours do go inland (north) into the mountainous interior of Tierra del Fuego -- we have not been on those so cannot comment on the roads. I recommend one of the wildlife cruises on a catamaran on the Beagle Channel -- have done that twice: scenery plus many seabirds and S. American sea lions at very close distances.

Punta Arenas, and most tours from Punta Arenas, are in lowland areas. However, the expensive fly-in tour to Torres del Paine is to a distant, spectacular mountainous area. Whether the tour actually goes on precipitous roads, I do not know. (If your ship goes to the Amalia Glacier in the Chilean Fjords, and if it is a clear day, you can see the peaks of Torres del Paine from the ship.)

From Puerto Montt, many of the popular tours travel inland to the very scenic volcanic district. Most of those tours stay on lowland roads -- the one we took did so. However, I understand that some tours do climb up to some degree--you may want to check carefully about the actual route of any tour into the volcanic area.

Most of Valparaiso is built on hills, some quite steep, but they are not very high. As I recall, the roads up and down the hills are largely surrounded by buildings, not drop-offs. There are several still-functioning funiculars that are used by pedestrians to get up and down the hills.

If you are staying for a few days in Santiago after disembarking (recommended -- a very interesting city, on the lowland), you will want to avoid the tours that go inland from Santiago up into the Andes. These are promoted as going up (and down) a road with a large number of switchbacks.

Buenos Aires, Montevideo and Puerto Madryn are on lowlands, and I assume the same is true of Punta del Este (but have not been there).

Hope this helps a bit.

John

Quick question: Has the fact that HAL allows smoking on balconies impacted your balcony use? It is our main reason for not looking at HAL itineraries.

Our balcony/verandah use during a 14-day trip on HAL's Volendam was definitely curtailed because of smoke from nearby verandahs. We cruise mostly on Princess, in part because of the rule (since January 2012) against smoking on Princess' balconies. Others have different views, but for us the smoking situation on the Volendam was an issue. Otherwise, we were as happy on the Volendam as we usually are on Princess.

John

Not the "penguin tours" that we've been on -- at Puerto Madryn (to Peninsula Valdez), in the Falklands (from Port Stanley to Bluff Cove), or at Punta Arenas (to Otway Sound).

John

Here is a previous discussion on this same topic:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1874608

John

Santiago is a much larger city, with many attractions -- easily enough to occupy an inquisitive person for quite a few days. There is, in our view, far too much of interest in Santiago to see in a single day, let alone the few hours available during a port stop at Valparaiso -- allowing 3-4 hours for the round-trip from Valpo to Santiago and return by road.

Though much smaller, Valparaiso is also interesting and very colourful, with quite enough to occupy a day (or more). Or one could spend a few hours touring Valpo and then take a quick trip to neighbouring Vina del Mar and/or one of the wineries somewhat inland (but much closer than Santiago).

We very much enjoyed spending several days in Santiago, and it is possible to get a brief introduction to Santiago on a day trip from Valpo. However, I think it makes more sense to spend the limited time ashore in and near Valpo, and to figure out a way to visit Santiago at the start or end of a separate trip.

John

It has been quite a while, but on a Princess port stop in 2008, we took the ship's "Natural Wonders of Isla Margarita" tour (4.5 hours). It visited

• La Restinga National Park, with a small boat tour through winding mangrove-lined channels -- pleasant;
  
• Marine Museum -- small but quite interesting, at least to this biologist; and
  
• something called the "Tropical Labyrinth" (details of which I've forgotten).
  

All told, I believe we were reasonably pleased.

John

I'm one of the foreign visitors who consider Canberra a very interesting, pleasant and important part of Australia to visit. In addition to the natural attractions in the area, the museums, galleries, Parliament, and (especially) War Memorial were of great interest to us. I say this recognizing that there are a vast number of other interesting places in Australia -- we have been to many of them in all the Australian states and the NT over the course of numerous trips. However, our three visits to Canberra were all memorable, and we opted for progressively longer stays in Canberra on each successive visit. We plan to return in future.

John

Vicki:

Being prone to vertigo in certain situations does not necessarily mean that one will have a motion-sickness problem. I get vertigo when I move in certain ways -- a result of a concussion several years ago. However, I have not suffered from motion sickness in ships, boats or aeroplanes either before or after the injury, despite having been in some moderately rough situations. This provides no assurance about your mother's susceptibility, but does suggest that there isn't always a direct link.

John

The Coral by a wide margin -- for many of the reasons mentioned in previous posts, but most notably the better space ratio.

John

We were on Volendam for 14 days in the southwest Pacific two years ago. We enjoyed the smaller ship (compared to most of the Princess ships that we usually frequent). Food, entertainment and service were fine. Our fellow-passengers were mostly congenial, and not all as "mature" as often surmised for HAL. Our only real complaint concerned frequent and obtrusive smoking on nearby balconies (allowed by HAL :( ) and elsewhere.

John

...My DH has never driven on opposite side of road so.... Not sure if that would work although probably ideal. How are the drivers and roads there, easy to drive even if not experienced?...

If you want to get experience driving on the left, a relatively small place like Napier is probably a good place to start. Just be sure to book a car with automatic transmission -- even if you are used to driving a manual in North America, it is a real challenge to cope with a (left-side) manual shifter at the same time as learning to drive in mirror-image fashion.

I expect that everyone is different, but for me, it took a half day to be reasonably comfortable driving on the left when I first did so (in N.Z.) long ago. The next time it took an hour. The third and subsequent times it has taken 5 minutes or less, except when driving at night. It is more challenging to drive at night on the opposite side of the road given the reduced number of visual cues as to where you should be heading.

John

Here are a few of the many Gentoo Penguins at the Bluff Cove colony on East Falkland during a very rainy day in Feb. 2010. Bluff Cove also has a few King Penguins.

John

Unlikely. The Falklands had a referendum March, 2013 and voted 99% in favour of remaining a British overseas territory. Ships also do not go from the Falklands directly to Argentina any more, so Argentina doesn't see Falklands in the log and they don't bother the ship.

Unlikely but still some slight risk, I suspect -- especially when planning a trip a year or more in the future. Ships travelling from the Falklands via Cape Horn (Chile) to Ushuaia (Argentina) have occasionally had difficulties upon reaching Ushuaia despite having most recently been in Chilean waters. Also, Argentina rejects the legitimacy of the 2013 Falklands referendum. Nonetheless, if we were returning to the area, I would not let the slight uncertainty affect a decision about cruise itinerary. Chances are good that, for any one port visit, there will be no problems.

Definitely concur with Keith1010 that anyone interested in penguins should plan to see Magellanic Penguins at a South American port as well as seeing the various species in the Falklands -- important in case a port (especially the Falklands) is missed.

John

I also received a call and follow-up e-mails from a travel agency several months ago within hours after submitting an online request via the PG website for a brochure. The travel agent who called said that they worked closely with PG. However, her e-mail is an agency address, not pgcruises. We subsequently booked a PG cruise, but through our own local travel agent.

John

We did a "Fijian Traditions & Beauty" tour from HAL's Volendam in March 2012. I don't know if your cruise's tour of that name is the same. Ours went to Viseisei village for a traditional dance presentation plus kava ceremony, then to downtown Nadi for shopping, and finally to the Sleeping Giant orchid garden. Our guide gave a fairly interesting commentary on Fijian history, politics, and sights along the road. Overall, the tour was mildly interesting, but not outstanding (unless you are especially interested in orchids).

John