Live From!: South America - Rio to Santiago

[Sox Fan Cruiser]

Okay, so here it goes. After reading many “Live From”s, I thought I would give it a try. I’m not much of a writer but hopefully you will enjoy this and get some benefit from it.

 

We are a married couple in our late 40’s (one may already be past 50 but we’ll say we are both late 40s-ish). My husband is “5:00 Somewhere” on this board. This is our 23rd cruise with Princess mostly sailing in the Caribbean. We have also sailed in Alaska, French Polynesia and the Panama Canal. We would be what you could consider “bar people”. We like to visit the different bar around the ship both before dinner and after. Our favorite spot is the Wheelehouse, having a martini while listening to the band play and watching the passengers dance. Sorry, no dancing for us. We don’t attend the shows and will only catch a comedian or game show from time to time. We have started to venture away from the ships excursions while in port choosing instead to hire a private tour guide or walking around on our own. This cruise, we are doing a little of both.

 

On to the cruise: We are doing the 14 day South American Around the Horn cruise on the Golden Princess. We chose this itinerary as there are only two sailings that hit Rio de Janeiro whereas most stop at Beunas Aires. We arrived in Rio on January 1st having spent New Year’s Eve on the plane. I know that most people would want to see the festivities of Rio for New Year’s but we decided that we aren’t that kind of people anymore as we are usually in bed long before the ball drops in NYC!

I won’t spend too much time in Rio since not many cruises stop here, but I’ll give the basics. One thing I can say about Rio is it’s Hot, Hot, Hot! And I’m not talking about that song you hear ad nausea on any Caribbean cruise!! I was sweating from the time we landed until the ship started moving 2 days later. But I had a lot of fun and it was great to check that off my bucket list.

Edited January 4, 2015 by Sox Fan Cruiser

[Sox Fan Cruiser]

What is important to know is the embarkation process. It’s not very organized as they don’t do it very often and the signage is lacking but if you just relax and patiently wait in line things go pretty smoothly. When you get to the port there are two long read buildings. One is for the luggage retrieval and one is for checking in. Again, since there are no signs it’s a little confusing at first. But basically line up along the one building and give them your luggage when you get to the end. It’s a very small tent set up to take your luggage so that could have gone quicker if they had a bigger area. But again patience and sparking up a conversation with your new best friends waiting in line with you makes the time go smoothly. Once inside the other terminal it can be chaotic. But once we found the Preferred Check In line, it was again an exercise in patient line-waiting and conversation.

 

Once onboard, we explored the ship a little but mostly just got our obligatory beer and pizza that we have every time we get on a ship. No need to explore too much as we’ve sailed on Grand Class ships many times. Whereas I thought that with this being a 14 day cruise we would be on the “younger” side of the demographics of the passengers, it was not the case. There are a lot of families from South America on this ship. In fact, there was a special muster drill done in Portuguese held about an hour before the main one. And the main muster drill was done in both English and Spanish. For a natural born eaves-dropper like myself (my husband always catches me “paying attention” to another conversation) it was actually nice to turn that off. English is definitely the least of the languages spoken by the passengers.

 

Sail away was delayed by 30 minutes or so which was the perfect time to get in nap #1 out on deck. They say that cruising out of Rio is one of the most beautiful sail aways and I have to agree. You pass so many beautiful parts of the city. But partly because of the delay, it was already getting dark by the time we sailed past Copacabana so we heading inside before we passed Ipanema. Everything was late® that night as evident by people still entering the dining room at 9pm. The ship does not seem that full and we pick up more passengers in Buenas Aires.

 

I was pretty disappointed that they didn’t show the NFL playoff games on MUTS on Saturday (nor on Sunday) but luckily we ran into bartender of the cigar bar (Players) and he was showing them. I had a talk with Sammi, the cruise director (the US one, not the British one) about this as I saw her in the hallway and the conversation went right over her head. She barely knew what I was talking about when I mentioned the football games. I thought being from the US she would understand my frustration. I understand that there are a lot of non-Americans onboard but they showed Moonraker instead of one the games on Sunday. How old is that movie?!? I am going to a make a formal request to see my beloved Patriots next weekend and see if that helps.

 

Not much else to report on the first day as it was mostly spend docked at the pier. It was a quiet ship at night as a lot of people came in that day. I think it’s going to be a lot livelier as these South Americans catch up on their sleep!

 

See you tomorrow? Any questions welcome.

[Pam in CA]

Thanks for the "Live from." Don't think you're missing too much in Boston other than it's snowing again. :)

 

When I took a cruise from Rio, I arrived New Year's Eve. Had a great dinner with a group from our cruise (not planned, just ran into each other in the hotel bar) and went to bed. Slept through all of the fireworks and noise.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[BabySarge]

Thanks much for posting your "live from..". We are doing the 49 day Ruby SA cruise at the end of this month and I look forward to reading about your trip on the Golden as we go to some of the same places. Patriots had a "buy" this weekend in the playoffs but will play Baltimore Ravens next as Ravens beat Steelers last night. Indianapolis beat the Bengals today and right now Detriot is beating Dallas at 14 to 0. Enjoy your cruise.

[ezstreet]

We are considering booking this cruise leaving from Buenas Aires in late February. Since I have read mixed reviews on this ship, I look forward to getting your impressions of the ship and the rest of the cruise. I hope you have a fantastic time, and that we have something special to look forward to!

[AE_Collector]

Looking forward to following you as well since we will probably be on the 49 day Ruby Princess Fort Lauderdale to Los Angeles "all the way around" cruise as well.

 

Quite possibly the problem with showing football games onboard is they need the Satellite bandwidth to do it as well as the rights to show it which probably is expensive. Showing movies is easy as they have the recording on the ship. We would get on a ship during hockey playoffs and all they would show was an occasional basketball game! Drove us nuts.

 

We got on Island Princess in Vancouver once while the Vancouver Canucks were playing in a playoff game. They were showing the game on MUTS while we were docked but is was all snowy like they had rabbit ears up on the top of the funnel to receive it over the air!

 

Terry

Edited January 4, 2015 by AE_Collector

[sunsetbeachgal]

I love your writing style and am enjoying sailing along with you and 5;00 Somewhere! ;)

[Bimmer09]

Off to a great start. I will be following your reports.

 

Bar people? Nothing wrong with that!! I've been known to belly-up to a few.

 

Norris

[azbirdmom]

Santiago to Rio was one of the best cruises we've ever taken. Looking forward to reliving our experiences through your posts. Hope you like penguins!

[Pam in CA]

Bar people? Nothing wrong with that!! I've been known to belly-up to a few.

It was strange yet not so strange. My friend and I had booked a pre-cruise to Iguazu Falls and everyone on the tour were booked into the hotel in Rio the night before flying to Iguazu Falls. Somehow, we all started talking to each other in the bar and about 20 of us wound up going to dinner together. It was the start of a GREAT tour and cruise (on HAL.) There were a total of 40 on the tour and we really bonded. As a matter of fact, at the hotel in Iguazu Falls, they tried to seat us at separate tables but we insisted on sitting together. We had get-togethers during the cruise. Many of us are still in touch. :)

 

FYI, people keep forgetting that it's summer now in the southern hemisphere and cruises to/from BA/Rio and Santiago are often filled with Brazilians and Argentinians. It's not unusual for them to be the majority on this itinerary.

Edited January 5, 2015 by Pam in CA

[Colo Cruiser]

Have a blast guys and thanks for the live!!

 

Bon Voyage! :D

[Sox Fan Cruiser]

Our first sea day was an absolutely gorgeous one. When I first woke up it was pretty cloudy out but still warm. After some coffee and breakfast in the international café, we decided to head topside. Since we are on vacation and nothing says laziness like a sea day we slept until 9:00. With no dogs to wake us up at 5am (even on the weekends), it was a nice break! We headed back as the aft pool is my favorite spot any Princess ship. Not too crowded and we had the choice of sitting in the sun or the shade. Oh, did I mention that by the time we got up there the clouds were burning off and it was a beautiful blue sky. I had downloaded the Sunday Boston Globe so spent a good hour or two catching up on the goings on in the world and at home. Margaritas and sun were the words of the day. It was a very relaxing and wonderful day. Highs were in the mid 80s.

 

I would mention that they were not enforcing the aft pool as adults only as there were a few families there with their kids. But there was no sign up stating that it was adults only so I couldn’t blame the passengers. Normally I would speak to someone but I was so relaxed and they mostly well behaved that I decided not to care. I did see a couple of passengers have “words” with a deck attendant here or there but couldn’t hear the conversation (remember the eaves dropping comments from yesterday?). But then I realized why. I got a little hungry so I ventured forward to grab a burger and fries from the main pool grill. BOTH the main pool and covered pool were empty with the netting over them. Basically this aft pool (never checked the spa pool) was the only pool that anyone could swim in!! So then I’m thinking, this pool should be WAY more crowded than this if it’s the only one.

 

Overall, this ship doesn’t seem very crowded. I heard the official count is 2,381 (We’ve become friends with some of the staff) so it should be more crowded than it seems.

 

At 4:00 we headed to the cigar bar again to watch the NFL game (again, NOT showing on MUTS) after a quick stop to change out of our bathing suits. OUCH! I got a lot more sun than I anticipated. That is going to hurt later! I am usually very careful about that. But I’ll be fine.

 

So again we are sitting in the dark smokey bar watching the playoffs. Many passengers came in asking where else it was being shown only to find out that this was the only place. You couldn’t even get it in your room. Most didn’t want to stay because of the smoke and were very frustrated. I keep telling them to complain to passenger services in the hopes that they show next week’s game on the big screen or at least in a lounge somewhere. I packed my Pats jersey for just such an occasion!!

 

After the first game it was back to the room to change. It was formal night but the hubby and I decided a long time ago that we were done with getting that dressed up. So we went with business casual and had dinner at The Crown Grill. But of course we had to stop at The Wheelhouse for a pre dinner martini first. As with the night before (not sure if I mentioned it) there was a band called Tango Sur playing all South American music. I really enjoyed it and got me in the mood for the ports ahead. A few folks were dancing and it was a nice time.

 

Crown Grill was again a wonderful meal but like everywhere else on the ship it was pretty empty. I would say there were not more than 6-10 tables occupied. Still unsure where everyone is. Since the waiters have to go to the cigar bar for drinks I had them check on the score on the late game from time to time. (Don’t worry, the NFL games are over for this week so I won’t be fixated on them again until next weekend!) I was very proud of myself at dinner. We both had a nice meal and were full by the end of the entrée so we passed on dessert. While not a diet on this cruise I am trying to listen to my stomach and stop when I am full and not eat so much I’m uncomfortable.

Other things worth mentioning:

 

• The sea looked very calm but the ship was rockin’ and rolling’. I guess there were more swells that we could see cause the ship to bob up and down.

• It didn’t get dark until around 9:00. It was very different for us to be sitting in the Wheelhouse and it being bright and sunny outside.

• Pizza and burgers are very good as always. The Grill does turn into the BBQ stand at night like on the Royal/Regal so I’ll be checking that out on this cruise. The pulled pork on the Regal was so good!

• Outriggers bar (by the aft pool) has a Mexican theme with special margaritas and “regional bites” (as described in the Patter) but I am not sure what those bites are. I’ll find out for you all.

• I don’t eat at the buffet if I can help it so I won’t be any help there.

 

Internet has slowed way down (on 2nd sea day as I type this) so I’ll be delayed in answering questions. I type this offline and copy it in. I’ll then grab the questions and answer them on the next day.

 

I hope people are finding this beneficial. We aren’t the normal cruisers I guess as we don’t go to shows, eat the buffet or sit by the main pool. My main goal is to help those folks on future SA cruises get an idea of the weather and ports to help them with what they need to pack. From what the crew is saying, you’ll need more long pants than shorts. The Chile side is on the chilly side and doesn’t get back to the hot days of Brazil. Tomorrow it’s already starting to cool off with highs in the high 70s.

 

Now where’s my sun screen!?! Time to go up top again!

 

(I'll pay attention to the quality of the ship and report back. So far the ship seems in good quality. Doesn't seem too tired. I do miss the grand class ships as we've been on the Royal/Regal for some time. Our huge Caribe deck balcony has been missed. I do love it so.)

Edited January 5, 2015 by Sox Fan Cruiser

[5:00_Somewhere]

As many of you know, I'm SoxFanCruiser's hubby. I've got to catch up on his reports, but wanted to comment on the question about the condition of the ship. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised about the condition of the Golden Princess, especially given her age (she was actually the second cruise ship we ever sailed on, back when she was only a couple years old.) Yes, there may be a little rust in some of the corners and some worn carpeting here and there, but I'm not seeing much of either, and not a lot of obvious signs of extreme wear anywhere. And, thus far, we have found the crew to be very friendly and attentive to both the passengers and the maintenance of the ship.

 

On a somewhat related note, I have to say that as much as we have enjoyed aspects of the Royal and Regal, as well as the Ruby and Crown (on which we have sailed many, many times in recent years), I am truly loving being back on one of the original Grand Class ships. I love our HUGE Caribe deck balcony, and the aft Terrace Pool, and am really noticing the absence of the additional 500 +/- passengers that the Riviera Deck brought to the later builds.

 

All in all, I would sail on the Golden (and her virtual twin sister, the Star) again in a heartbeat.

 

Hope that's helpful.

[flamomo]

We'll be on the Ruby from FLL to Santiago in a couple of weeks, so this is going to be quite helpful. I have posted the link to this thread on the roll call.

 

Thanks for the warnings about the heat and the sun! I will definitely be packing some summer clothes AND my sunscreen, since we will have 5 ports in the Caribbean before starting down the SoAm coast!!

 

I'll be looking for info about the weather and temps for the "Around the Horn" portion when you get to that part of your cruise!

[ezstreet]

That is so good to hear! Now we can really start getting excited and book our cruise. The comments about the theater smelling like sewage by someone else was a bit off-putting, to say the least. We will continue to follow your journey and pray it stays a wonderful experience! This will be our 4th Princess cruise, although we cruised for two years in the Caribbean on our sailboat! We are at a point in our lives where having someone else do the cooking and the cleaning is a very good thing! And where the libations are close at hand! We look forward to your updates.

 

ezstreet

 

"I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised about the condition of the Golden Princess, especially given her age (she was actually the second cruise ship we ever sailed on, back when she was only a couple years old.) Yes, there may be a little rust in some of the corners and some worn carpeting here and there, but I'm not seeing much of either, and not a lot of obvious signs of extreme wear anywhere. And, thus far, we have found the crew to be very friendly and attentive to both the passengers and the maintenance of the ship.

 

...

 

All in all, I would sail on the Golden (and her virtual twin sister, the Star) again in a heartbeat.

 

Hope that's helpful."

[bonship]

Contrary to what you said, you ARE a writer SoxFanCruiser. Your "live" is a delightful read. We are on the Golden in four weeks so I am really appreciating your posts. I assured my DH last night that the Super Bowl would be on MUTS, but am now wondering if I'm spinning a lie. Keep the posts coming.

[Colo Cruiser]

[High C's]

Thank you for doing this Live thread. Love your writing style, and look forward to hearing about the ports/experiences. South America is on our bucket list! :)

[azbirdmom]

Packing for that trip was one of the more interesting experiences. You'll go from sizzling hot to cold back to hot again by the time you hit Valparaiso. Enjoy!

[Bruinboy]

Sox, thanks for taking time to post about your cruise. We do a South America cruise in 2016. I have been to Rio before ... great city, so we are skipping that and heading out of Buenos Aires. I look forward to hearing about your experience in different ports. Thanks for doing this. It is much appreciated.

 

Pats-Ravens this coming weekend, right? Don't know why Flacco plays so well in the playoffs. Thankfully, you have them at home!

 

I like your bar routine ... before and after dinner. I'll have to tell Mrs. Bruinboy about your routine. It may become ours.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[TracieABD]

Thank you for your live from. We did BA to Santiago two years ago, and I am pretty sure it is my favorite cruise. I hope you have a lovely time.

 

Go Sox!

[Sox Fan Cruiser]

Another gorgeous day at sea! Bright sunny skies and a comfortable 78 degrees. But thank you for the shade of Skywalkers. We got too much sun the first day so spent the entire day out of the sun. We always stay at the aft pool and like the option of sun or shade with the shopping cart handle. We even got the prime real estate between the aft pool and the railing. No one between us and the view of the wake!

 

Oh and I forgot to mention that after leaving the cigar bar at 11:30 (after the late game) we passed both Explorers Lounge AND The Wheelhouse and they were both still hopping! Lots of people dancing in both places. Very nice to see as the carpet is usually rolled up on Princess when we head to bed.

And I do have to apologize to anyone from our roll call reading this (Please add your comments!) but we missed the meet and greet. The Hubby was doing a little ironing and I was reading on our deck and the time just went by. Again, my apologies especially after I was the one that started the roll call!

 

And about the time; with the extended sunlight it is throwing off our schedule. Last night it was bright and sunny well past 9pm. We ended up staying at the pool until 6pm! We never stay that long in the Caribbean. It’s nice to have so much daylight. And it’s just going to get better and we continue to head south.

 

Pub lunch was today as well but we were just so comfortable doing absolutely nothing by the pool that we decided to wait for another sea day. It was again pizza and a hot dog for lunch. Heck if we didn’t do that we wouldn’t even see any other part of the topside of the ship! They did open the main pool today but the covered pool was still empty. They continued to allow kids in the aft pool and for some strange reason it really didn’t bother me. I guess all these sea days have mellowed me out! Well, that was until the kids club got out at 5. Then we were infested with teenagers who completely took over the pool. But again, I let it go… For now…

 

We got invited to the most travelers passenger lunch! That has never happened before. We didn’t make the dinner but I guess the lunch is nice too. I’ll let you know.

 

The island part was also tonight but again we didn’t go. We ran into two bartenders that we had met on other ships and so we had to visit them. Luckily one works at The Wheelhouse where we spend a lot of our time!  It is so amazing when they remember us. Of course we remember them. We have pictures at home and we had a great time on the cruise. But they see thousands of people every week. I am always so honored that they remember us, months or years later.

 

Not much else to report on this sea day. Although I do want to say that the deck party was tonight and we didn’t go. I would tell everyone to go and check it out on future cruises! We were on our deck and could hear the music from South America that they were playing. This wasn’t the same old deck party in the Caribbean with the same music you can hear at home. It was music from the places we are visiting specifically on this cruise. When trying to immerse yourself in this culture we really should be trying everything. The only regret on the cruise so far.

 

One part of the culture that I am trying to ignore are all the speedos. YIKES! I’m so glad that that didn’t catch on the US. But to each his own!

 

On to Buenos Aires tomorrow! (Now that I have the patter I even spell it right!) We have an 8 hour private tour guide that is meeting us. It’s supposed to be 88 and sunny. Until next time.

[Sox Fan Cruiser]

I am requesting that they show the Pats game on MUTS. Now that I have met Sammi and informed her of our friendship with another cruise director maybe she'll fulfill my request.

 

I will also ask her about the Super Bowl. She mentioned that she will be showing the college championship game so I would assume that she would show the Super Bowl too. Princess makes a big deal about the Super Bowl, it should be here too. We were getting the feed in the cigar bar so I don't know why that same feed can't be shown on MUTS.

 

But enough of football until Saturday. I'm off to see Evita's balcony and grave! I've been singing the cast recording for days now! :D

[flamomo]

Thanks for the mention of the So American music. Hope that is also played on the Ruby, once we get far enough south to be past the Caribbean, though I do enjoy steel drum music while in the Caribbean.

 

I DO hope that, on the Ruby, the Terrace pool is an adults only place. I like to spend some time hanging out in that pool because there's no splashing or shrieking!! JMHO, of course.

[Grammyluvs]

Really enjoying your review; thanks for taking the time to keep us informed. I would be hyperventilating if I couldn’t see the playoffs or NC game. I am a football fanatic. Hopefully, Sammie will come thru for you.