Best itinerary in South America?

[dbh62ark]

We were looking at your photos last night, and you ROCK! And I love your philosophy about the boards and couldn't agree more.

 

My best to you and Virginia (that's also my mother's name).

 

:)

Donna

[petlover]

We're doing the entire 62 day cruise on Radisson Mariner (January 10, 2006 to March 13, 2006) but we have friends who are just doing 1 or 2 segments (it's broken into 4 segments) and this would work for your time frame from work.

 

You may want to look on the http://www.rssc.com website for the breakdown and exact itinerary. This will be the first time we've cruised South America so I'm afraid I'm no help with chosing the "best" itinerary. I will add what others have already mentioned....act quickly! I think some of the segments on our cruise are already waitlisted as this is such a popular cruise destination.

[dbh62ark]

That is a cute board name! It sound like you are going on an awesome trip, and we hope to be able to do that one day.

 

I've been reading some great things about Radisson and appreciate your personal recommendation, so we'll look at the Radisson itineraries for sure.

 

Thanks for the info,

Donna

[dileep]

We signed up for the 22 Jan 2006 sailing - starboard Concierge Class Balcony.

 

This will be our 2nd time on Infinity and 3rd on Celebrity.

 

Picked 22 Jan over 8 Jan because it has Cape Horn on the itinerary (apparently easier going east to west).

 

Vist our Roll Call if you want to share any advice/suggestions.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=172186

[dbh62ark]

Thank you for your input. I remember your name from the Baltics boards, and we're definitely looking at the Infinity. It sounds like you have a great trip planned.

 

:)

Donna

[dileep]

I've been reading some great things about Radisson and appreciate your personal recommendation, so we'll look at the Radisson itineraries for sure.

 

Thanks for the info,

Donna

 

Our first cruise was on the Radisson Diamond. They are an outstanding cruise company but a bit pricey. We tried Celebrity in Alaska because we had hear that it was a good value and it sure is! We went to the Baltics with them last month and now have booked SA for January.

 

If I win the lottery tonight, I will go right back to Radisson in a minute!

 

We have heard others talk highly of Princess, but we have not tried them.

[dileep]

Thank you for your input. I remember your name from the Baltics boards, and we're definitely looking at the Infinity. It sounds like you have a great trip planned.

 

:)

Donna

 

The January Infinity sailings are filling up fast! We will be on Deck 8 on the starboard side on the Jan 22 sailing.

[dbh62ark]

Thanks, Dileep. :)

[clem&donna]

Donna, We sailed on the Amsterdam for a 33 days from Rio to San Diego. Loved Rio,BA, Monteivideo, the Falklands the tour to Buff Cave good but nothing else but a very small quaint town. Cruising Cape Horn was wonderful. We had wonderful weather the whole time. The only rough seas were around the cape, would have been disapointed if it was not. We thought Ushuaia one of the most beautiful ports with the snow covered mts. We cruised Romanche Glacier, Cockburn and Beagle channel. The weather great and the captain got very close to everything of intrest. WE liked Punta Arenas. Cruised Straits of Magellan,Canal Sarmiento,Darwin Channel,and the Chilean Fjords. All I can say is all of it was Breataking. We liked Valparaiso and Lima. We went to 5 other ports that I am glad I saw but would never go back to, very poor,dry and dirtyand smelly. We would go again from Rio to Valpaiso in a minute. It was a trip of a life time. We went to Iguassu Falls which loved. If we had known what we do now we would not have done the last half of trip and gone to Machu Picchu. We wanted to see how we liked a long cruise and we did like it . We splurged and got a suite which was wonderful. We could lay on the bed and see everything. I did like the large verandah. I hope I have been helpful to you .

Donna and Clem

[Goldryder]

I am off on the NCL Crown Christmas/New Year Cruise this year, starting from Valparaiso to Buenos Aires, with two nights at Santiago prior to boarding and two nights prior to flying home. I chose the trip cos of the Chilean Fjords, Patagonic Channel, Beagle Channel and the Antartic flyover excursion. Only booked to go last week and was amazed to find places still available.

itinerary 15 dec cruise.txt

[dbh62ark]

Thank you all for the great information that you left.

 

Donna and Clem, that was very helpful, and I very much appreciate hearing what you did and didn’t like because we don’t know very many people who have sailed this area of the world. I’m really glad you were able to comment on the Darwin Channel, Canal Sarmiento, Cockburn Channel, and Romanche Glacier because I hadn’t received a lot of information on that to date from past passengers probably due to the fact that Holland has a little different routing than the other cruise lines. Thank you for reading my requests for information so carefully.

 

Goldryder, you have quite a trip planned, and I know you will have a fabulous time. We are still coordinating 4 work schedules and having difficulty making that work out, but we hope to have it pinned down in the next few weeks. I’m glad you were able to find availability for your preferred sailing.

 

Happy travels to all of you,

Donna

[thunder road]

Hello Donna. I don't know if you are still looking to book your SA trip but we went through Beagle Channel and some of those glaciers you mentioned in March. Very very pretty. Just like Alaska if you've been there. If you can better to start trip in Rio. Not to be missed city. If you have any further questions I'll be glad to answer about itinerary. Kevin

[dbh62ark]

Thank you for the information on Beagle Channel and Rio. Yes, we loved Alaska, and that's one of the reasons why we'd love to go to the Chiliean fjord area. We are still looking and haven't booked yet. I noted in your history that you cruised in February, and we would like to go somewhere in that window too. One of the 4 in our party is a doctor with a standalone practice, and she's having a hard time lining up resources for the timeframe that we are considering. We have some tough decisions to make on itinerary because we can't do it all in one trip and since we're all in our early to mid-40s with vacation time issues, we will be able to do quite a bit in 23-24 days but will need to plan to return in the future to be able to cover more ground. But it beats waiting 20 or so years, right? :) Since we're prioritizing our wish list for this area, I appreciate the information and your time in answering the post.

 

Have a great next trip,

Donna

[2greyhounds]

Hello Donna, I am new to this board, but I am hoping that you can help me. I saw that you know of a travel agent with available spots on South America cruises. I am trying really hard to get on the 11/20 Rotterdam sailing - are you able to share the travel agent information with me? I would appreciate it so very much - I think I have done a great deal of research on the ports/excursions etc and just now need to get on the actual ship. This appears to be an incredible experience all the way around. Please let me know...many thanks..Heather

[dbh62ark]

Welcome to the boards. We're not allowed to post travel agent information on the boards (sorry!), but I will be glad to answer any and all questions you have if you want to e-mail me at dahillark@yahoo.com.

 

:)

Donna

[Blackrobe]

The question was raised as to the preference for Rio or Buenos Aires. A thread in this section gives several first person accounts of Rio problems. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=183132

[xpcdoojk]

Hello Donna, I am new to this board, but I am hoping that you can help me. I saw that you know of a travel agent with available spots on South America cruises. I am trying really hard to get on the 11/20 Rotterdam sailing - are you able to share the travel agent information with me? I would appreciate it so very much - I think I have done a great deal of research on the ports/excursions etc and just now need to get on the actual ship. This appears to be an incredible experience all the way around. Please let me know...many thanks..Heather

 

Hi Heather, welcome to cruise critic. We are on the 11/20 sailing of the Rotterdam. I was at the HAL site a few weeks ago, and it was showing 100% booked. It is of course, possible that some TA has some cabins booked that will be cancelled at the time of final payment. Which I think is September 6, 2005. So at that point it is possible you will see some cabins free up. If you are really determined to book this particular cruise you might want to contact as many of the big agents as possible and see if they have a cabin that they are holding as part of a group. If you are successful in getting on the trip, please join our roll call. Here is a link.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=25405

 

jc

[dbh62ark]

The question was raised as to the preference for Rio or Buenos Aires. A thread in this section gives several first person accounts of Rio problems. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=183132

Thank you, Balckrobe. That was a very unfortunate incident, and I'm glad the OP shared it with us. It is always best to be forewarned of these incidents so that precautions can be taken. I appreciate the info.

 

Donna

[dbh62ark]

It is of course, possible that some TA has some cabins booked that will be cancelled at the time of final payment. jc

I've had several similar experiences in the last few years, and some of the cruise lines are taking steps to stop this to prevent the situation that Heather is in where there is space on the ship but it is being held and is not available to all travel agencies. We were interested in a number of sailings for South America that appear to be sold out but found a couple of travel agencies that have reserved the group space that can't be booked by anyone other than them. I sent some information to Heather and would reiterate your advice to others to check around. There are some sailings that are truly sold out, but there is still space on a lot of sailings for the upcoming season in South America. Cabin selection may be more limited booking closer to sailing date, but there are a lot of passengers that can't plan 12-18 months ahead due to work schedules.

 

Happy travels to all,

Donna

[2greyhounds]

Hello Donna, I can't thank you enough for your advice - to say that I have been busy is an understatement. I have contacted numerous TA's and actually called my own (who had me on a priority-waitlist?) and explained to him what I was doing. Lo and behold, he contacted someone that had space, so fingers crossed that it is all going through - we are on!!! Once my feet touch the ground, probably later tonight, I will tackle the air question, whether to take HAL;s or use FF miles or simply buy economy. I am open to all suggestions, and again, send my thanks....I shall join the roll-call very gratefully...Smooth sailing, Heather

[dbh62ark]

I'm so glad that worked out for you. It seems the travel game is constantly changing, and I know it was important to you to get the sailing of your choice that fit your schedule.

 

I hope you have a great trip,

Donna

[xpcdoojk]

Hello Donna, I can't thank you enough for your advice - to say that I have been busy is an understatement. I have contacted numerous TA's and actually called my own (who had me on a priority-waitlist?) and explained to him what I was doing. Lo and behold, he contacted someone that had space, so fingers crossed that it is all going through - we are on!!! Once my feet touch the ground, probably later tonight, I will tackle the air question, whether to take HAL;s or use FF miles or simply buy economy. I am open to all suggestions, and again, send my thanks....I shall join the roll-call very gratefully...Smooth sailing, Heather

 

That is great Heather, group bookings are a curse and a good thing. It is very problematic. If you do end up on our sailing, please join our roll call.

 

jc

[thunder road]

Hi Donna. I just wanted to give you a couple of other things to consider when you are deciding upon which trip to take. I was fortunate enough to take three weeks off in Feb/March and that is why we took the HAL Amsterdam trip. We added the Rio/Iguazu Falls pre cruise trip which I would strongly recommend. We did it through HAL and while it may have been more expensive then doing it privately I believe the convenience was worth the price. (Especially when we were on a plane in Iguazu that had been double booked.)

 

I also suggest going on a cruise that starts in Rio. This way you get to see that beautiful city and most of the time you then get two full days in Buenos Aires. Hope this helps. Kevin

[pkmedical]

Put ourselves on a waiting list with Holland (The Rotterdam) and was cleared within a week. Can't hurt to try.

[dileep]

I've had several similar experiences in the last few years, and some of the cruise lines are taking steps to stop this to prevent the situation that Heather is in where there is space on the ship but it is being held and is not available to all travel agencies. We were interested in a number of sailings for South America that appear to be sold out but found a couple of travel agencies that have reserved the group space that can't be booked by anyone other than them. Donna

 

Our Jan 22 cruise with Celebrity has different availability and different prices ($1000 per person difference) at different TA websites for Balcony rooms. Celebrity is trying to discourage/disallow discounting, but it looks like some old deals still stand. We switched ours fron direct with Celebrity to a discount web agency and saved over $1000 per person. Other web agencies show prices that are same as Celebrity.