South America Holland America or Oceania?

[CarlsbadSally]

Considering Valparaiso to Buenos Aires cruise this winter. Have done both Holland and Oceania in the past, and like both for different reasons. Anyone have any recommendations on which would be preferable for this itinerary?

[kuldalai]

IMHO Holland America , more mainstream line medium sized ships, 3 1/2 stars . OCEANIA - more up-market smaller ships , we personally love the R class boats all 8 of them in the fleets of Oceania and Princess . Oceania 4 1/2 stars . Just depends to the larger degree do you like smaller ship cruising or medium sized ship cruising really .

[CarlsbadSally]

What about if you add Seabourn to the mix? Any one of the three stand out?

[Keith1010]

If you have narrowed down the choices to HAL and Oceania I would pick the cruise line you pefer the most unless there is some difference in the ports they stop at or the length of the cruise that make a difference.

 

Keith

[alexandra cruiser]

Seabourn being most expensive, then Oceania,then HAL..having been on all these lines,would pick SB if price is no object,but did South America last year on Oceania and loved it...like smaller ships because less lines,easier to get to ports, less crowded,etc.....esp.nice in the smaller towns,HAL much larger and can overwhelm a port with tourists...just my opinion.....;)

[dileep]

Add Celebrity to the mix :-)

[biker1972]

Itinerary will be about the same for any SA cruise from Valpo to BA unless one of the ships is able to sail close to Antartica (large ships are losing that option soon).Otherwise choose the line you the most .

[dileep]

Itinerary will be about the same for any SA cruise from Valpo to BA unless one of the ships is able to sail close to Antartica (large ships are losing that option soon).Otherwise choose the line you the most .

 

Some cruise lines no longer try and go to the Falkland Islands because the weather often does not allow them to take passengers ashore. I think HAL still does.

[newlondon]

If you are adding SB to the mix; why not look at Silversea which is still offering 60% discounts. The Whisper is doing at least three cruises on your itinerary. We are booked 12/3 Valparaiso to BA.

[comcox]

If smoking is an issue for you that may be a deciding factor. HAL permits smoking in the cabins and on verandahs whereas Oceania and Celebrity do not. We just cancelled our HAL Amazon cruise because the smoke in the cabin areas on our last HAL cruise was awful. We are now booked on Oceania (albeit at a higher rate), but we wanted to be able to breath.

[stella53]

If money is no object then go with Silversea or Seabourn. They are unquestionably more luxurious, but if you don't want to spend $1200/day per couple then you might want to consider Oceania which sells at less than half that price, but which is a considerably higher end product than HAL . It is more expensive than HAL but I would consider it a better value.

[newlondon]

Stella, If you look at apples to apples SS is barely more expensive than Oceania. A standard verandah suite on SS is bigger than OC penthouse 3 and for a 14 day voyage is $2000 less than a 16 day voyage on SS. I would question that a 2-3 day trip to the Falklands is worth it. The seas can get very rough and although the penguin viewing may be spectacular, the rest, while interesting is not the fjords. I strongly maintain that SS is a better value than OC. I will admit if you wish to price down you can do better on OC. I would say, however, you get what you pay for.

[alimerid]

I am going on the Oceania Jan 14,2010 to South America and Antartic. Any suggestions? Tours etc. Was any tour a waste of time. Did you use a private tours.

Thanks,

Alimerid

[volunteer traveler]

I am going on the Oceania Jan 14,2010 to South America and Antartic. Any suggestions? Tours etc. Was any tour a waste of time. Did you use a private tours.

Thanks,

Alimerid

 

 

Have you found the thread on this cruise? - only a few people active so far!

[Keith1010]

Oceania will provide a more luxurious experience than HAL.

 

Keith