Trip review - Celebrity Infinity Buenos Aires to Valparaiso January 5, 2014

[herbanrenewal]

PRE-TRIP

Snow and ice were forecast for thursday and friday, with up to 12 inches expected in our connecting city, NYC. So we changed our flight to one leaving from DC to Miami on saturday morning. Around midnight i was awaken by a phone call telling me that our flight would have a 3 hour delay - enough to make us miss the connection to BA, so i spent several more hours getting switched to a flight that got us to Miami 40 minutes before our flight to BA...we made it!

Flight to BA was great - business class in a 777 is a wonderful experience, and got us settled into a relaxed vacation mood after the stress of trying to make it to South America.

Advice- watch the weather. If major storm is forecast for day of departure contact airline BEFORE the event. They will usually change your reservation without change fees. Sign up for delay alerts. The phone call I got saved us from missing the connection, and possibly missing the start of our cruise. For major storms it may take a couple days before you can be rescheduled for a flight - even a planned day or two pre.- cruise arrival may not be enough.

 

Saturday january 5

We had booked a room near San Martin for the night, next morning left our bags there, and took the ColoniaExpress dot com ferry to Colonia, Uruguay. We had purchased the tickets online which saved us money.

This world heritage site is has historical buildings, and a series of small museums - all museums cost a total of 5$ for both of us.

We greatly enjoyed the morning walking around town. Its such a difference from the hustle and bustle of a major city like BA...few cars, friendly people, relaxed atmosphere....but by early afternoon we were done exploring and spent several hours reading our ebooks waiting at the visitor center for time to board the ferry back to BA.

In retrospect, i think our day may have been better spent elsewhere, but again with a horrible heat wave in BA we may not have done too much more there. 100 degrees with 90% humidity is not best suited to walking around a city like BA

Returning around 8:15pm we took a taxi back to the hotel to get our bags then to the port to check in. We had a very different experience from everyone who showed up early or as scheduled to board- we heard from various people that it was a nightmare. When we arrived we were the only pasengers there, so it was a friendly easy checkin, though we were fingerprinted/ passport checked and stamped for the 4th time in 24 hours by immigration (airport, Argentina to Uruguay ferry, Uruguay to Argentona ferry, then boarding the Infinity.) I knew we would have to bring our luggage to the room ourselves with late check-in, but was a bit disappointed that the crew members told us to carry them up the long gangway steps. It wasn't easy getting to the top.Then a woman said "do you need help?" at the TOP of the stairs after watching us struggle to get up.

We went over to security for our luggage to be scanned. There were about 6 crew members standing around. We were told to put our bags on the scanner. We did it, but I commented that the level of service was less than ideal if 6 young crew members were going to watch 2 older ladies lifting their bags themselves. After that they did lift the bags back down for us and we were on our way to the cabin, then a late dinner. Many people seemed to be dining late, it took over 30 minutes just to get a menu, and then the entire meal was well over 2 hours, and we were more than ready for some sleep after this very busy day.

 

Monday January 6

We were going to do a free walking tour but decided to do a self guided one instead. The downtown section of BA is easily navigated. After a shuttle ride into town we walked the pedestrian shopping street, Florida Street. The continuing heat wave made us limit our explorations, but we did see Evita's porch on the beautiful and famous Casa Rosada. The Argenitinian version of our White House is the office of the president but not her residence. We did not opt to go into the museum. Next we saw the Metropolitan Cathedral, the mother church of the Archdiocese of BA. Its an 18th century neo-baroque building with 19th century neo-renaissance towers. The location has been occupied by a Catholic church since 1605, so lots of New World history.

We wanted to see the Teatro Colon, and enjoyed the exterior, and the ticket nave, but to see the interior cost as much as to see a show production. We decided to pass on the experience and the expense, despite having been told this is a beautiful place to tour. By this time in early afternoon the heat was getting to us so after a quick stop in a wine store to get some Argentine malbec and a white we returned to the ship.

We got a cab back, found out the time and place for the Elite Cocktail Hour, showered, and went to enjoy this event before dinner. We were able to carry our wine into the restaurant. ( no vouchers on this cruise, but throughout the cruise we were openly permitted to leave the elite cocktail hour with unfinished drinks)

Dinner - The food was excellent and the service at the early seating time is much better than the late seating was last night. We had 2 lovely couples to dine with, a young couple from Korea, and a couple from Canada. We very much enjoyed the evening. .

 

Tuesady January 7 Montevideo

This was our first Cruise Critic tour arranged with SouthExcursions dot com. We met in the library 30 minutes before we were to meet the guide, and walked off the ship together. We had an excellent group of 10.

Our guide seemed a bit new to the tour guide business, and referred to notes frequently, but was very personable and friendly.

We toured the old city in the rain, stopping at monuments and the cathedral, and walkng around a bit...then we enjoyed the highlight of this tour, a trip to a local winery. The Berretta winery. It was a lovely winery, with a personable owner-vintner who explained everything from the history of the family winery (4 generations) to how to taste test wines, and to identify different characteristics of each wine.

I really enjoyed this experience, including the enpenadas we had to clear our pallet between wines. I felt kind of bad that no one bought any of the excellent wines, but all of us had either free cocktail hour or a drinks package, so wouldnt be drinking it on the cruise, and can't get it easily back home in our luggage after the cruise.

 

Wednesday January 8. Punta del Este

I had read this port reviewed as an upscale "beach day" with not much worth seeing on tour, so I had planned to pick up a free map for a walking tour. It was a very pleasant surprise. A very beautiful beach town. I liked the fact that you could easily walk around the peninsula, and the commercial district was on the main road in the center. So exploring the beaches and enjoying the sights was beautiful, with no bars, shops, distractions.

The side where the tender docks is the calm beach, with lots of families enjoying the gentle surf. We rounded the point passing a marina with lots of nice yachts including a few from Delaware !?

On the other side of the penisula, the black rocks, millions of mussel shells, rougher waves were reminiscent of some of our Northern Atlantic beaches like in Maine. This is where the waves drew surfers. There are some nice sites along the walk including the lighthouse, the old and still active parish church, a sculpture of mermaids, a small shrine on the rocks, and the most famous one, which we missed, the hand rising from the sand.

Back on board the evening show was a hypnotist...not my favorite type of entertainment so we didnt stay til the end. Other than this we enjoyed the entertainment, both the main show and the lounge music. A surprise to me is how good the band is. Especially the sax player in the band...terrific jazz quality sound. I wish she was playing in one of the lounges.

 

Thursday January 9 at sea

Today is both cruise critic party and captains club party. It was great to meet the faces we have been communicating with for months. It also gave us time to formalize arrangements for the rest of the port tours. The Celebrity host was the cruise director, Alejandro. He is really an animated guy, entertaining and runs things well. When i told him how much i loved the sax player's music and wished she was in one of the lounges he told me that usually she was, but the trumpet player/band leader was ill in BA and didnt make the cruise. The band has been practicing extra hours and werent able to play in the lounges. He promised to send my thanks to the talented musicians. I wrote up an Attention to Detail card for the sax player since I don't think band members get the recognition they deserve. Celebrity should know how good she is!

We spent the rest of the afternoon just swimming and relaxing. Its noticibly cooler today, so i think the Southern travels are starting to have impact on the weather.

First formal night tonight so we got ready for dinner.

Throughout the cruise we started early, then retired early..probably because we are each used to starting the day around 5am, and going to bed early, so this review will not have evening activities highlighted.

 

To be continued

[herbanrenewal]

Friday, January 10

Nievemar Tours Puerto Madryn

Our tour to Peninsula Valdes from Puerto Madryn, began with a long gravel road trip, which wasn't as bumpy as I had expected. Our great guide provided a lot of information as we traveled to the Interpretative Bureau of Isthmus Ameghinus at the entrance of Peninsula. Although the vender's website did not mention a visit to penguins, our first experience with Magellan penguins was our first stop. Then we continued to the elephant seals reserve of Caleta Valdes, the town of Puerto Piramide was our lunch stop, and then on to the sea lions`colony in Puerto Piramide. During the journey we saw the natural inhabitants of the Peninsula Valdes: ñandues (American ostriches), guanacos, maras (Patagonian hares), piches (armadillos), and various sea birds.

 

I loved this tour, but Danny felt all the animals were too far away to enjoy. I had a telephoto lens that made the animals closer for me...I would strongly recommend use of a decent pair of binoculars to really appreciate Peninsula Valdes.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report, we will be on the Infinity in a few days.

[herbanrenewal]

Sunday January 12

Cape Horn

 

Cape Horn is located at the southern end of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago at north edge of the Drake Passage, the strait between South America and Antarctica.

 

Cape Horn is known as one of the most hazardous shipping routes in the world. The winds are hazardous - rounding Cape Horn requires ships to press well into the zone of fiercest winds. These winds are exacerbated at the Horn by the funneling effect of the Andes and Antarctica.

 

The Chilean Navy maintains a station on Hoorn Island, consisting of a residence, utility building, chapel, and lighthouse. A short distance from the main station is a memorial, including a large sculpture made by Chilean sculptor Jose Balcells featuring the silhouette of an albatross, in honor of the sailors who died while attempting to "round the Horn".

 

We were blessed with good weather and a smooth trip around the Horn (then we returned to the Magellan Strait to enjoy the Chilean Fjords). Don't confuse good weather with smooth transit - the winds are an experience in and of themselves, and it is amazing to note the difference once you round into the Pacific - this is the reason the Pacific Ocean was named Pacific...the Portugese explorers noted the abrupt tranquility of the winds here.

 

Monday January 13

Uhsuaia

 

We decided to use On Board Credit that we received when booking for the Beagel Channel and National Park tour with Celebrity. It was a great excursion, though I did find that the 40+ passengers on the bus to the Tierra del Fuego National Park, along with the multiple other excursion buses all arriving to the same points at the same time, did affect the crowdedness of the sites. However, nothing could detract from the natural beauty of the place.

 

We cruised the Beagle Channel and to Sea Wolves Island Nature Reserve onboard a catamaran on the open deck space through the waterways of the Beagle Channel, passing the Isla de los Pajaros (Bird Island) where many species of birds congregate, including a large colony of cormorants. Further along you will cruise around Isla de los Lobos (Sea Wolves Island). You will also view the Faro del Fin del Mundo "Les Eclaireures" the Light House at the End of the World. Arriving at Lapataia Bay, we boarded the bus and continued through Tierra del Fuego National Park.

 

At the pier you could easily have walked to where each of these tours could be independently booked. I did not price them since I did the tours was using OBC, but I think it would be easy enough to do independently if you wanted to.

 

Tuesday January 14

Punta Arenas, Chile

Punta Arenas saw our South Excursions group of ten board a minibus and head along the Strait of Magellan to Otway Sound. Finally we arrived at the penguinera, the nesting ground, of the Magellan penguin. Thousands of birds, which are disrespectfully called “******* penguins” due to the donkey-like braying sounds they make, come ashore in the spring to breed.

Having seen penguins and been able to walk beside their nests I didn’t have high expectations since others have talked about the viewing areas that keep you from the nests. I, however, found this an enchanting encounter, watching them march along their trails to the water, and you couldn’t help but laugh at them enjoying the water!

Before returning to the ship we had a stop at the city main square. Danny found a place to exchange for some Chilean pesos. And of course we enjoyed the photo ops at the market.

A visit to Punta Arenas wouldn't be complete without stopping at the Memorial to Ferdinand Magellan and rubbing the foot on the statue, which ensures that you will visit again (sort of a local South American version of Trevi Fountain).

[t60]

 

Tuesday January 14

Punta Arenas, Chile snip....

A visit to Punta Arenas wouldn't be complete without stopping at the Memorial to Ferdinand Magellan and rubbing the foot on the statue, which ensures that you will visit again (sort of a local South American version of Trevi Fountain).

 

It works, we kissed the statue 2 years ago on a visit and we´re going back to PA in March this year... last time we were there, there was a middle aged chap singing to backing tracks in the park. He waor a fedora and a long mac, his voice wasn´t too bad and we debated if we should get one of his cds, we didn´t but wished we had, so this year perhaps if he´s still there. Did you see or hear him at all?

 

Sandy in Spain

[herbanrenewal]

It works, we kissed the statue 2 years ago on a visit and we´re going back to PA in March this year... last time we were there, there was a middle aged chap singing to backing tracks in the park. He waor a fedora and a long mac, his voice wasn´t too bad and we debated if we should get one of his cds, we didn´t but wished we had, so this year perhaps if he´s still there. Did you see or hear him at all?

 

Sandy in Spain

 

When we were there a group that looked about high school aged was playing drums...not too relaxing or inspiring! did not see anyone else, and doubt I would have heard him!

[herbanrenewal]

Wednesday January 15 and Thursday January 16

The Strait of Magellan and Chilean Fjords

 

The Chilean fjords and glaciers are an amazing place to view towering, blue crystal glaciers as well as magnificent waterfalls. This reminded me of Alaska's Inside Passage, but less calfing of ice, and more waterfalls. Binoculars or telephoto lens helps alot here, so it seemed to me we were not getting nearly as close as in Alaska. All shades of blues, greens and silvery ice are showcased within these amazing glacial fjords.

 

We viewed the glory of the scenery from the comfort of the Solarium, cracking the windows open when we wanted to take a photo.

 

Friday January 17

Puerto Montt and PetrohueFalls

We were able to get one of the first tenders, even before most of the group tours. Our experienced guide (again arranged through South Excursions dot com) started the day by suggesting we reverse the order of the scheduled events so that we would be the first to get to the falls. This strategy was great since the majority of the cruise tours didn't arrive until we were leaving. It also took us to the furthest point first, which made it easier to enjoy the day without worrying about getting back to the ship on time.

 

Along the way there were delays for road reconstruction. Our guide told us this part of Chile has two seasons - winter and road repair.

 

A lakeside drive leads to the impressive Petrohue River Falls, a gleaming succession of azure blue rapids against a back drop of mountains and the emerald green Todos los Santos Lake. We enjoyed breathtaking views of the Osorno Volcano in middle of the exuberant rain forest followed by a short walk around the Laguna Verde.

Puerto Varas, aka "City of Roses," is known for its alpine and traditional German-style architecture. We had free time to explore this attractive lakeside town as well as enjoying lunch in one of the restaurants. There was a vibrant market with native crafts, foods, and music and dancing.

 

Returning to Puerto Montt, we had a brief stop at an overview, looking down at the fishing wharfs and seafood markets.

Edited February 5, 2014 by herbanrenewal

[crusingnut]

Herbanrenewal,

 

Who did you use for transportation from BA airport to your hotel? I've read some reviews about Tienda Leon, Taxi Ezeiza, VIP and WorldCar. Did you reserve your transportation prior to arrival? We will be taking this same cruise in Jan 2015. Thanks for your review it's very helpful.

[sahara1]

Herbanrenewal,

 

Who did you use for transportation from BA airport to your hotel? I've read some reviews about Tienda Leon, Taxi Ezeiza, VIP and WorldCar. Did you reserve your transportation prior to arrival? We will be taking this same cruise in Jan 2015. Thanks for your review it's very helpful.

 

Do you remember the cost of the taxi?

[2ashevillesailors]

Herbanrenewal,

 

Who did you use for transportation from BA airport to your hotel? I've read some reviews about Tienda Leon, Taxi Ezeiza, VIP and WorldCar. Did you reserve your transportation prior to arrival? We will be taking this same cruise in Jan 2015. Thanks for your review it's very helpful.

After going through customs and having luggage you will see a couple of counters together and at one, you can reserve a taxi, you pay them when you tell them your hotel name. The call the driver, he comes up and helps you with your luggage and you walk to the taxi. Very easy, no delays and I think it was around $30 to $35 US dollars.

[Coolcruise02]

Thanks for your review! Very helpful.

[Lobbylin]

wonderful review - thanks for sharing!:)

[sacaine]

You seem to have taken tours each day. Do any of the venues Argentina and Chile...Madryn-Montt ...have interesting places to see and hike around without the tours.

 

 

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