NCL back to South America

[clojacks]

This is starting to get unacceptable. I just got off the phone with a NCL representative, and the best she could tell me was SA will be available "later this year". Are you kidding me? That's the best info they have?

 

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[herdingdogmom]

This is starting to get unacceptable. I just got off the phone with a NCL representative, and the best she could tell me was SA will be available "later this year". Are you kidding me? That's the best info they have?

 

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Thanks for posting. I'm going to stop looking for these itineraries for now - too stressful. It is better that Norwegian makes decisions about dry dock schedules before releasing itineraries. Cancelling causes havoc. My local TA was told last month that it would be mid June at the earliest. I'm not in a hurry to book this 2016 cruise, but if I were, I would go with Celebrity.

Edited May 2, 2014 by herdingdogmom

[polySeraph]

This is starting to get unacceptable. I just got off the phone with a NCL representative, and the best she could tell me was SA will be available "later this year". Are you kidding me? That's the best info they have?

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Forums mobile app

 

 

We're booked on the Celebrity Infinity's Valparaiso-Fort Lauderdale itinerary. Originally we were intending to wait until NCL's winter itineraries for 2015-2016 were released before making a decision, but in early January we decided to go ahead and book Celebrity. We checked with our travel agent to make sure that we could pull the plug on Celebrity (with no financial penalty) if we saw something we liked better when NCL's itineraries were finally released. In retrospect, we're glad we did it this way because the prices on our Celebrity sailing have really gone up and we're really getting excited about the itinerary.

 

We are in a different situation than you, though, since you are (possibly) looking to go around the Horn and we specifically wanted a repositioning cruise that departed Valparaiso and transited the Panama Canal.

Edited May 2, 2014 by polySeraph

[pex]

Wow, the Sun is really quite a beautiful ship. I've gotten used to seeing the the three youngest ugly stepsisters. I had forgotten how elegant a ship could look.

 

Following up on kjquilts' post above, here's a photo of the Sun showing the bow (and observation area) almost full on.

 

 

(NCL Sun in Ponta Delgada, photo by turtles06)

[crizzlyhug]

We're booked on the Celebrity Infinity's Valparaiso-Fort Lauderdale itinerary.

 

In the following Link you'll find some pictures from my trip on the "Celebrity Infinity" the other way round.

http://hurtigruten.bplaced.net/2012.12/index5.html

Even I love NCL and especially there crew, but you'll like the Infinity, belive me.

[url=http://hurtigruten.bplaced.net/2012.12/index5.html][/url]

Edited May 2, 2014 by crizzlyhug

[polySeraph]

In the following Link you'll find some pictures from my trip on the "Celebrity Infinity" the other way round.

http://hurtigruten.bplaced.net/2012.12/index5.html

Even I love NCL and especially there crew, but you'll like the Infinity, belive me.

[url=http://hurtigruten.bplaced.net/2012.12/index5.html][/url]

 

Thanks for posting the link to your photos. It's been hard for me to find information on some of these ports so it was good to see your pictures.

[karoo]

When is the dry dock occurring? I have been waiting to book, but I won't book until I know for sure. Incidentally-just off off the POA and we really missed the observation lounge that was there 5 years ago on our previous sailing. We did have a balcony, but on the side that didn't sail past the Napali Coast. The weather was fine so we just viewed it from the decks, however by taking out another public area we found there were less options for entertainment at night and the area they did use was much more crowded. I so want to do a South American cruise, but not without a good observation viewing area. Balconies are only good if you happen to be on the side with the best view. Plus if you stay inside your cabin this also cuts down the view. An inside observation lounge is extremely important for cold weather sailings.

[polySeraph]

The prices and embarkation dates are out for the new South American itineraries.

[hpecorari]

delete

Edited May 6, 2014 by hpecorari

[deschoolie]

The prices and embarkation dates are out for the new South American itineraries.

Now if we could only get the definitive answer about the extent of the drydock (and changes) to the Sun....

[Linda the Book Lover]

The prices and embarkation dates are out for the new South American itineraries.

 

I took a peek. yippee!

Edited May 6, 2014 by Linda the Book Lover

[deschoolie]

I took a peek and only saw a November, 17 day from San Diego. They are moving along so hopefully the Buenos Aires to Santiago will be posted soon. Thanks for keeping an eye out!

they are postd through March 2016, look again. Also shows the return trip back to San Francisco.

[Linda the Book Lover]

they are postd through March 2016, look again. Also shows the return trip back to San Francisco.

 

LOL too funny as I looked a different way I saw the dates and must have been editing while you typed. Two ships passing through the night. Thanks!!

[BobbyG1]

Just finished panama canal last saturday on the pearl. Will the ship tour guy mentioned it on every talk he gave. He named ship, but I forgot, but coming 2015-2016 :):):):)

[bluesea777]

When is the dry dock occurring? I have been waiting to book, but I won't book until I know for sure. Incidentally-just off off the POA and we really missed the observation lounge that was there 5 years ago on our previous sailing. We did have a balcony, but on the side that didn't sail past the Napali Coast. The weather was fine so we just viewed it from the decks, however by taking out another public area we found there were less options for entertainment at night and the area they did use was much more crowded. I so want to do a South American cruise, but not without a good observation viewing area. Balconies are only good if you happen to be on the side with the best view. Plus if you stay inside your cabin this also cuts down the view. An inside observation lounge is extremely important for cold weather sailings.

 

Now if we could only get the definitive answer about the extent of the drydock (and changes) to the Sun....

 

Looks like the dry-dock is not happening - there are no gaps in SUN's itineraries.

[milolii]

The prices and embarkation dates are out for the new South American itineraries.

 

Yes and we booked a cruise thanks to you! Mahalo! January 30, 2016.

 

 

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[Clay Clayton]

Looks like the dry-dock is not happening - there are no gaps in SUN's itineraries.

 

And NCL just posted on another thread that there were no planned dry docks until after Sun finishes her SA season in April 2016. They made no mention of whether suites would be added or not.

[BobbyG1]

When is the dry dock occurring? I have been waiting to book, but I won't book until I know for sure. Incidentally-just off off the POA and we really missed the observation lounge that was there 5 years ago on our previous sailing. We did have a balcony, but on the side that didn't sail past the Napali Coast. The weather was fine so we just viewed it from the decks, however by taking out another public area we found there were less options for entertainment at night and the area they did use was much more crowded. I so want to do a South American cruise, but not without a good observation viewing area. Balconies are only good if you happen to be on the side with the best view. Plus if you stay inside your cabin this also cuts down the view. An inside observation lounge is extremely important for cold weather sailings.

I loved the OB room, Last time on the star I went to look for my favorite reading area.....and it was gone. I've tried to avoid ships without it. Just off the sun last week and enjoyed my favorite place for 22 days. Hope they leave it alone.

[ComputerTravelGuy]

On 11/23/2013 at 8:34 AM, polySeraph said:

Our itinerary had a nice combination of sea days and port calls. During the sea days, our roll call had fallen into the habit of meeting in the Observation Lounge at 4:00 pm. Some days we would have 6 and other days, 20+. We would talk about our shore excursions, sometimes sharing photos. Several of us were reading Dallas Murphy's Rounding the Horn (recommended by a roll call member) and comparing thoughts on the book. Sometimes small groups would form and go to dinner together.

 

Our day in the Falklands was low-key and utterly charming. We spent the day in Stanley with another CC couple. The four of us took a shuttle for $20pp to Gypsy Cove to see the magellanic penguins. We arrived so early that we were practically alone with the penguins, the beautiful vistas, and the signs warning us to stay on the paths due to the danger of landmines. The photo of the Sun that I posted earlier in this thread was taken at Gypsy Cove.

 

http://i1352.photobucket.com/albums/q651/polyseraph/South%20America/04Stanley02_4x6_zpsdc0384e9.jpg

 

http://i1352.photobucket.com/albums/q651/polyseraph/South%20America/04Stanley04_4x6_zps65a0174e.jpg

 

When we got back to town, we took a free shuttle to the local museum and later walked back to the pier. We stopped at a grocery store and loaded up on soft drinks to take back to the ship and had lunch at a pub. It was good to fill up on fish and chips and (of course) mushy peas. We learned that there was no draft beer for sale anywhere in The Falklands, although the pub's owner did allow that there was probably draft beer being made in basements all over the island. We checked our email for a modest cost and caught the tender back to the ship.

 

http://i1352.photobucket.com/albums/q651/polyseraph/South%20America/04Stanley06_4x6_zps53fe78cd.jpg

 

http://i1352.photobucket.com/albums/q651/polyseraph/South%20America/04Stanley09_4x6_zps3a43cd68.jpg

 

With The Falklands dropping astern, the next highlight was Cape Horn itself. We all knew that some of the worst weather on the planet occurred in the vicinity of the Cape, but the day we were there, it was gloriously calm. The Captain was able to completely circumnavigate the Cape. We all took lots of photos. Of all the photos we took, my favorite was the (slightly grainy) sunset photo ComputerTravelGuy snapped with his iPhone 3G. The photo with the Chilean Coast Guard helicopter was pretty cool too.

 

http://i1352.photobucket.com/albums/q651/polyseraph/South%20America/05CapeHorn01_4x6_zps5aa8d4cf.jpg

 

http://i1352.photobucket.com/albums/q651/polyseraph/South%20America/05CapeHorn04_4x6_zpsce8fe7c2.jpg

Still one of the best reviews of South America cruising. A good reference for future planning.