Valparaiso to Buenos Aires - semi live 1/17-31

[satxdiver]

Day 6 Thursday Amalia Glacier

High 57 Low 52 Sunrise 6:07 AM Sunset 9:47 PM (information from Patter)

 

Early in the day while we were sailing to the glacier and after leaving we were in an inland waterway and the seas were less than 1.5 feet, we had a calm ship. However the ship had to leave the inland waterway into the Pacific. When we did the seas went to 7 feet and a headwind of 50 knots. The ship was pitching and yawing to the extent that the pools were all closed and many pax most likely reached for their Dramamine including my partner. Finally the ship was able to enter another inland waterway on its way to Punta Arenas and the pitching and yawing stopped. Seas are now laid down to less than 4 feet and the ship is once again steady.

 

Julio Delgado provided commentary on the glacier starting at 7:00 AM and it was broadcast on the room TVs. We arrived at the glacier about 7 AM and spent the next 20 minutes viewing it before leaving. The captain turned the ship around giving both port and starboard sides a good view of the glacier. While it was interesting, I have seen much bigger glaciers in Alaska not including the granddaddy of them all, Glacier Bay. We watched from our balcony like many of our fellow pax. The temperature was 57 with no wind.

 

Delgado once again provided the port lecture on Ushuaia which was well attended and very informative. I would recommend it to all. The port talk is given in English and later in Spanish. Next we attended the Culinary Demonstration was presented in the Vista Lounge which was a bit lame and not up to the par of previous cruises. We finally made it to day 2 of the Spanish classes. The assistant CD who is from Argentina and speaks perfect English is teaching it. He was very good. He said there would be the next class when we sailed around the horn.

 

We decided to eat lunch in the MDR today only to find a line at 1:00 out to the guest services desk! We finally were seated at 1:30 only because there was only two of us. There was a large German group in front of us. It was like dinner time in the MDR with the large crowd. Due to the ship rocking we decided to retreat to our stateroom and take a nap. After dinner in the MDR we listened to the piano player before going to Skywalkers for happy hour. Tonight was C&W night in Explorer’s Lounge which we do not like. We arrive tomorrow at Punta Arenas, a tender port, at 6:00 AM so early to bed.

 

We ran into more international pax this time Aussies, Swiss and Danes. We did see some children today but less than 30 so far.

 

Activities:

Morning MUTS: Seven Year Itch

Evening MUTS: Alexander and The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Vista Lounge: Words & Music production show

Theater: Multi-Instrumentalist KUBA

Happy Hour 3 – 4 PM Wheelhouse Bar and 10 – 11 PM Skywalkers

 

We were given a sheet to fill out for de-embarkation plans. This is only day 6!

We were warned in the Patter that WiFi and TV reception this far south may be poor quality or interrupted. We have lost signal several times during the afternoon.

More to follow

[Woobstr112G]

Day 6 Thursday Amalia Glacier

High 57 Low 52 Sunrise 6:07 AM Sunset 9:47 PM (information from Patter)

 

Early in the day while we were sailing to the glacier and after leaving we were in an inland waterway and the seas were less than 1.5 feet, we had a calm ship. However the ship had to leave the inland waterway into the Pacific. When we did the seas went to 7 feet and a headwind of 50 knots. The ship was pitching and yawing to the extent that the pools were all closed and many pax most likely reached for their Dramamine including my partner. Finally the ship was able to enter another inland waterway on its way to Punta Arenas and the pitching and yawing stopped. Seas are now laid down to less than 4 feet and the ship is once again steady.

 

Julio Delgado provided commentary on the glacier starting at 7:00 AM and it was broadcast on the room TVs. We arrived at the glacier about 7 AM and spent the next 20 minutes viewing it before leaving. The captain turned the ship around giving both port and starboard sides a good view of the glacier. While it was interesting, I have seen much bigger glaciers in Alaska not including the granddaddy of them all, Glacier Bay. We watched from our balcony like many of our fellow pax. The temperature was 57 with no wind.

 

Delgado once again provided the port lecture on Ushuaia which was well attended and very informative. I would recommend it to all. The port talk is given in English and later in Spanish. Next we attended the Culinary Demonstration was presented in the Vista Lounge which was a bit lame and not up to the par of previous cruises. We finally made it to day 2 of the Spanish classes. The assistant CD who is from Argentina and speaks perfect English is teaching it. He was very good. He said there would be the next class when we sailed around the horn.

 

We decided to eat lunch in the MDR today only to find a line at 1:00 out to the guest services desk! We finally were seated at 1:30 only because there was only two of us. There was a large German group in front of us. It was like dinner time in the MDR with the large crowd. Due to the ship rocking we decided to retreat to our stateroom and take a nap. After dinner in the MDR we listened to the piano player before going to Skywalkers for happy hour. Tonight was C&W night in Explorer’s Lounge which we do not like. We arrive tomorrow at Punta Arenas, a tender port, at 6:00 AM so early to bed.

 

We ran into more international pax this time Aussies, Swiss and Danes. We did see some children today but less than 30 so far.

 

Activities:

Morning MUTS: Seven Year Itch

Evening MUTS: Alexander and The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Vista Lounge: Words & Music production show

Theater: Multi-Instrumentalist KUBA

Happy Hour 3 – 4 PM Wheelhouse Bar and 10 – 11 PM Skywalkers

 

We were given a sheet to fill out for de-embarkation plans. This is only day 6!

We were warned in the Patter that WiFi and TV reception this far south may be poor quality or interrupted. We have lost signal several times during the afternoon.

More to follow

 

Sounds like another great day. Thanks for the continued reports.....:):):)

 

Bob

[DistinguishedCruiser]

... Julio Delgado provided commentary ...

You are lucky to have Julio on board. We've had him on the Mediterranean cruises in 2013 and 2014 and he was excellent. I wish we could have him on the Ruby next week. Could you send him up to Ft Lauderdale for us Saturday? Or maybe to Rio and he could meet us there on the 17th?

 

Thanks for posting your commentaries on the cruise.

[GoldieJ]

For those of you who have/has had experience on the South American cruise on Golden: Is Princess offering the "fill-the-bag" laundry special? Also do the washing machines use quarters, tokens or our cruise card?

 

Thank you very much for all the information posted about this cruise.

[satxdiver]

Day 7 Friday Punta Arenas – Tender Port

High 64 Low 55 Sunrise 5:55 AM Sunset 9:52 PM

Scheduled arrival 6:00 AM scheduled last tender 6:15 PM

 

The ship had entered the inland waterway so that the waves were at a minimum (<4 feet) and we had a smooth ride. We are still in the inland waterway after leaving the last port of call, so it has been really nice. Temperature was in the 60’s under a clear blue sky. In the evening though it became heavily overcast.

 

We did the ship Otway Sound Penguin Colony which sold out soon after we boarded the ship. We met in the theater and they took us to the tender. We were aboard the bus by 7:30 and started the 75 minute drive to the colony. After a walk of about 1 mile on mostly level gravel walkway we arrived at the Penguin site. There were maybe 50 or more Penguins in the area including several swimming in the ocean. After a 75 minute return trip they allowed us to leave the bus at the Plaza de Armas where we walked around before walking the short distance back to the terminal. The trip was worth it. There were taxi drivers at the terminal offering to take pax for $140/taxi plus pax had to pay the entrance fee. After returning to the ship, we saw pax sunning themselves around both lido pools with a few pax in the enclosed pool. Pool temps for all three pools (lido and aft pools) has been in the low 70’s and mostly 72F.

 

Tonight was the tribute to the Beatles so we chose again to eat in the HC where it was Indian night. I discovered I do not care much for Indian cooking. After the show, we wandered for around the piazza before returning to our room for an early bedtime. We had gotten up at 5:30 AM to get breakfast and meet our tour in the theater at 7 AM so we were tired.

 

Scheduled Events:

MUTS evening: Dolphin Tale 2

Vista Lounge movie: Grudge Match

Theater: Greg Schlotthauer – A tribute to the Beatles and Latin American rock

Explorer’s Lounge: Passenger Feud (bi-lingual)

Skywalkers: Latin Beats with DJ Pedro

 

The captain came on the PA about 7 PM and announced that we would be skipping the next port, Ushuaia, Argentina. We were scheduled to arrive at noon and there would have been low tide at the time. The low tide has been lower than normal preventing the ship from using the pier. In addition they are predicting high winds tomorrow afternoon making tender operations too risky so the captain has decided to skip the port and instead sail by the Chilean Glaciers. The ship will stop in Puerto Williams to allow Chilean immigration officials to board and clear the ship for the transit. More on this to come I hope (like some compensation!).

 

We had boarded the ship on Saturday. Monday it was announced that both the midship MDR would be ATD on this cruise. Therefore the only TD is in the aft MDR on deck 6.

More to come

[satxdiver]

For those of you who have/has had experience on the South American cruise on Golden: Is Princess offering the "fill-the-bag" laundry special? Also do the washing machines use quarters, tokens or our cruise card?

 

Thank you very much for all the information posted about this cruise.

 

No offer as yet for a "fill the bag" offer. The machines take quarters.

[colibri93]

Thank you so much for taking the time to write about your experiences of this cruise and the excursions. We are thinking about taking this one and your information is very helpful to us. Can you tell us, what airline did you take to Valparaiso? Did you use Princess' eZAIR for ticketing?

 

Hendrika

 

 

Great memories

 

1980 Lindblad Expeditions – Galapagos

1981 Island (old) Princess – Alaska

1988 Lindblad Expeditions – Sea of Cortez

1988 Society Expeditions – Canada/New England

1989 Lindblad Expeditions – Sea of Cortez

1989 Society Expeditions – Alaska

1995 Cruise West – Alaska

1996 Kangaroo Explorer - Great Barrier Reef

1997 Reef Endeavour - Great Barrier Reef

1998 Reef Endeavour- Great Barrier Reef

2010 Sun Princess – Australia/New Zealand

2011 Sapphire Princess – 7-day Mexico Riviera

2011 HAL Rotterdam – Baltic

2011 HAL Rotterdam – Norwegian Fjords

2011 Sapphire Princess – 7-day California Coastal

2012 Ruby Princess – Grand Mediterranean. Barcelona to Venice

2012 Ruby Princess – Grand Mediterranean. Venice to Barcelona

2012 Golden Princess – Alaska. RT San Francisco

2012 Golden Princess – Hawaii. RT Los Angeles

2013 Sapphire Princess – 7-day Mexico Riviera

2013 Sapphire Princess – 7-day California Coastal

2013 Grand Princess – Alaska. RT San Francisco

2013 Sun Princess – Australia/New Zealand

2014 Star Princess – Alaska RT San Francisco

2014 Dawn Princess – Australia/New Zealand

2014 Grand Princess – Hawaii

 

coming up

 

03/28/15 Crown Princess – 7 day California Coastal

04/04/15 Crown Princess – 7 day Mexico Riviera

05/22/15 Golden Princess – Alaska RT San Francisco

10/03/15 Emerald Princess – West bound Trans-Atlantic

12/05/15 Island Princess – 15 day Panama Canal

[Julia’s Journey’s]

Enjoying your live from as this is on my long bucket list ;)

[DistinguishedCruiser]

reply to: Day 7 Friday Punta Arenas

 

... Plaza de Armas where we walked around before walking the short distance back to the terminal. The trip was worth it. There were taxi drivers at the terminal offering to take pax for $140/taxi plus pax had to pay the entrance fee. ...

From where and to where was the taxi driver offering to take you for $140?

 

Thanks again for all the information.

 

T minus 7 now!

[flamomo]

Sorry to hear you had to miss Ushuaia because of sea conditions and weather, even thought we know "ship happens"! Hope you enjoyed the glacier viewing.

 

We'll hope for better conditions when we get there in a few weeks.

 

Thanks for continuing to post.

[GoldieJ]

Thank you for all the information.

I'm enjoying your review very much.

It sounds like you're having a lot of fun!

[satxdiver]

Day 8 Saturday At Sea – Chilean Glacier Viewing

High 58 Low 44 Sunrise 5:39 AM Sunset 9:49 PM

 

We spent the entire day in the inland waterway with most of the time in the Beagle Channel. Therefore the waves have been less than 1.5 feet most of the time with times later in the day reaching 4 feet. It was an overcast day and not very pretty. However by evening the sun had come out and the clouds dissipated. Still it was cold. Sometime late tonight we are going out into the Atlantic and I imagine much higher waves.

 

We had room service bring breakfast to our stateroom. We attended the port lecture on Stanley and it was as informative as all the rest that had come before so don’t miss it. Senor Delgado did a great job. He said that he had boarded the ship the first week of January and would be on the ship until March 31. There was not a whole lot of interesting things going on today. We went to the Spanish lesson at noon. The ship passed by the Chilean glaciers about 1:30 this afternoon which was better than the Amalia Glacier we saw earlier. We decided to have lunch at 2 in the HC. It was full of pax with almost no tables available and only one serving side open but both sides was being used to eat. There was a line to enter the food area. We had forgotten how the pax on this ship eat their meals later than normal. Happy hour in the Wheelhouse was very crowded with all the seats taken and very slow bar service. The four waiters were carrying out drinks as fast as they could. After an appearance at trivia where we again learned we do not know that much trivia, we had dinner in the MDR. As I stated before both midship MDR are ATD. The line to get in at 6:30 was not bad but by the time we left after 8 they had a line. We did not attend either of the performances as we were both tired so we retired for the evening.

 

Food quality has been spotty. I had already commented about the so called “BBQ”. I love seafood but it seems the only seafood aboard has been cod and sole. In the MDR the quality is not bad but in the HC it is dried out and chewy.

 

Activities:

Afternoon MUTS – The Philadelphia Story

Evening MUTS – Draft Day

Afternoon Movie in Theater: Dolphin Tale 2

Port Lecture: Stanley – 9:30 AM (English), 10:30 AM (Spanish)

Enrichment Lecture – Old Style Cruising 11:30 AM

Theater: David Austen “A Tribute to Michael Buble” 8:15 and 10:15 PM

Vista Lounge: Hawley Magic “Up Close and Magical” 8:30 and 10:00 PM

Wheelhouse Bar – Orphea 7:30 PM and on

Explorer Lounge – Leal 8:00 PM

Piano Bar (Promenade Lounge) – Lyn Lawrence 9:00 PM

The Yes/No Game Show 9:15 PM

Skywalkers – Best of the 70’s with DJ Pedro 10:00 – 11:00 PM plus happy hour

 

We have an invite to the Captain’s Circle Cocktail Party at 7:00 PM on Sunday. Since it is the second formal night, formal dress is requested.

 

We received a letter from the captain in our stateroom tonight. It said that the city of Puerto Ushuaia had closed the port at 10:40 AM this morning due to winds of 50 knots which was way above their threshold of 25 knots. Even if we had tried we would not have been given permission to visit the city.

[satxdiver]

reply to: Day 7 Friday Punta Arenas

 

From where and to where was the taxi driver offering to take you for $140?

 

Thanks again for all the information.

 

T minus 7 now!

 

From the port to the penguins and return

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to write about your experiences of this cruise and the excursions. We are thinking about taking this one and your information is very helpful to us. Can you tell us, what airline did you take to Valparaiso? Did you use Princess' eZAIR for ticketing?

 

Hendrika

 

eZair from home to Mexico City and then to Santiago. Valparaiso is 70 miles or so from Santiago. We took public bus for small amount. Taxi to bus station and then taxi in Valparaiso to hotel. eZAIR was by far the cheapest. I just keep checking until I got a good price. The airline was AeroMexico. We were on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner from Mexico City to Santiago. Really nice airplane.

[J-D]

We received a letter from the captain in our stateroom tonight. It said that the city of Puerto Ushuaia had closed the port at 10:40 AM this morning due to winds of 50 knots which was way above their threshold of 25 knots. Even if we had tried we would not have been given permission to visit the city.

 

Satxdiver, I am enjoying your interesting account of your Golden Princess cruise.

 

When the winds at Ushuaia are very strong, they usually blow from west to east along the Beagle Channel, perpendicular to the dock. On at least one of the occasions when we were there, no tugboats were available to assist with docking or departing. On that occasion, we docked in the morning, but our departure was delayed by about 8 hours after a strong crosswind came up and held us against the dock until well after midnight. That forced us to miss Punta Arenas the next day :(. The captain said that, without tugs, it is difficult or impossible for the Star Princess (sister-ship of the Golden) to leave a dock if there is a direct crosswind exceeding about 20 knots. He indicated that some other ships, in particular those with azipod propulsion, could at times handle somewhat higher crosswinds. Missing Punta Arenas because of the "wind delay" at Ushuaia was one of our reasons for repeating the excellent B.A. to Valpo cruise in a subsequent year...

 

John

Edited January 25, 2015 by J-D

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for the live......

 

 

Edited January 25, 2015 by Colo Cruiser

[Colo Cruiser]

We felt the same way about the nightly "BBQ" & when I saw it being prepared on the Royal they boiled the brisket & ribs, added a dry rub & put it in a broiler. :eek:

 

 

Yum! Comfort food.

[GoldieJ]

Oooooo! Spanish lessons too? Are there classes every day? That sounds like a wonderful cruise!

 

Your review is doing a great job of getting us enthused for our S.A. cruise. We loved it so much 5 years ago, we're doing it again with friends and relatives.

[Cruisingisthebestfun]

eZair from home to Mexico City and then to Santiago. Valparaiso is 70 miles or so from Santiago. We took public bus for small amount. Taxi to bus station and then taxi in Valparaiso to hotel. eZAIR was by far the cheapest. I just keep checking until I got a good price. The airline was AeroMexico. We were on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner from Mexico City to Santiago. Really nice airplane.

 

Thank you again for posting helpful information. I really enjoy reading your review. Sounds like you're having a great time.

 

How was your luggage situation getting on the public bus? Is there a size or quantity limit to get on the public bus?

[satxdiver]

Day 9 – Sunday At Sea Formal Night

High 48 Low 46 Sunrise 5:33 AM Sunset 9:50 PM

 

Seas started out less than 1.5 feet while we were in the inland waterway and then increased to 4 feet once we entered the Atlantic. It has been a really calm day but cold with wind.

 

Early this morning (~8:30 AM) we sailed around Cape Horn, one of the most southerly points of South America and marks the northern boundary of Drake Passage. It is an island and actually a giant rock. Reaching this point was a major milestone for trade ships of the past. The ship stopped in front of the lighthouse for pics and turned the ship so both side got a shot. The rest of the day was spent at sea.

 

This evening was the cocktail party for the returning pax. It was announced that 454 platinum card holders were aboard. They did not indicate the number of elite but I would guess it was small. The most traveled pax had 66 cruises and 630 days at sea. The next two had only a bit over 300 days at sea. We had decided to skip formal night in the MDR and go to the Crown Grill. Since I do not eat beef, I had an excellent Chilean Sea Bass and my partner had the filet mignon. Both were quite good. Afterwards we retired to our stateroom to get ready for tomorrow in the Falklands.

 

The Patter for tomorrow was waiting in our stateroom and the ship is offering to clean a bag of clothes per pax for $20.

 

Events:

Morning MUTS: Moonracker

Evening MUTS: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Late night MUTS (10:00 PM): The 2015 ProBowl

Lecture: A History of Modern Cruising (1965-2015)

British-Style Pub Lunch in Crown Grill

Rum Tasting in the Wheelhouse Bar

Maitre d’ Wine Club – Bernini Dining Room $25/each

Casino no smoking night

Theater: Caribbean Caliente (8:15 and 10:15)

Vista Lounge: Piano Entertainer Lyn Lawrence (8:30 and 10:00)

Skywalkers: 80’s Flashback with DJ Pedro

[satxdiver]

Oooooo! Spanish lessons too? Are there classes every day? That sounds like a wonderful cruise!

 

Your review is doing a great job of getting us enthused for our S.A. cruise. We loved it so much 5 years ago, we're doing it again with friends and relatives.

 

We have had 4 espanol lessons so far on sea days only at noon. The assistant CD who is from Argentina teaches them.

 

eZair from home to Mexico City and then to Santiago. Valparaiso is 70 miles or so from Santiago. We took public bus for small amount. Taxi to bus station and then taxi in Valparaiso to hotel. eZAIR was by far the cheapest. I just keep checking until I got a good price. The airline was AeroMexico. We were on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner from Mexico City to Santiago. Really nice airplane.

 

Thank you again for posting helpful information. I really enjoy reading your review. Sounds like you're having a great time.

 

How was your luggage situation getting on the public bus? Is there a size or quantity limit to get on the public bus?

 

The bus was a commercial bus like a greyhound bus in the US. They put our luggage underneath after marking it and giving us claim tags. They had plenty of room underneath.

[satxdiver]

Monday – Falkland Islands Dress casual

High 54 Low 48 Sunrise 5:15 AM Sunset 8:51 PM

 

Seas were fairly calm as we crossed the Atlantic with waves less than 4 feet. We had a nice smooth ride.

 

We arrived in Port Stanley at 8:00 AM and began tendering operations at 8:30 AM. The last tender to the ship leaves the dock at 5:15 PM. We had set up a tour with Patrick Watts after reading the reports on CC. We were on the first tender to shore and met Patrick at the pier. He was a bit difficult to find so look for the hand held sign. We had to wait for about 30 minutes and three more tenders before we left with him in his 4x4. We first drove over a paved road, then a gravel road and finally cross country. The gravel/paved road took about 1 hour and the cross country took a bit more than 1 hour. We spent an hour and half at Volunteer Point looking at the penguins who were present in very large numbers. We were back in Stanley at 4 PM – plenty of time before the last tender at 5:15. The trip was long, the ride very rough as we went cross country but it was worth it. Warning that Patrick will take $50 and $100 US bills but they have to be in perfect condition. We had one pax who had a $100 bill that had been written on and he would not take it. Check your US bills before leaving the US bank. The weather could not be more perfect unless it was a bit warmer. We had no rain and a light breeze but temps in the low 40’s. Moral is to dress warm in layers with a windbreaker on the outside.

 

We did dinner in the MDR arriving a little after 8 PM and the room was full. We noticed one more time how pax eat late and there were pax entering the MDR up to 9:30 or so. After 10 pm I went through the HC on my way to Skywalkers for the Beatles night and it was full of pax.

 

Schedule:

Evening MUTS: Kate and Leopold

Theater: KUBA (again!!)

Evening game: Are U Smarter than a crew member? - 9:15 PM in Explorer’s Lounge

Australia Day Celebration – 7:15 PM in Explorer’s Lounge

Vista Lounge movie: When the Game Stands Tall

Skywalkers – Best of the Beatles with DJ Pedro

 

We have not made it to the Platinum/Elite lounge held in skywalkers every night as yet.

[satxdiver]

Day 11 Tuesday Day at Sea Casual Dress

High 59 Low 52 Sunrise 5:47 AM Sunset 8:49 PM

 

Seas were calm most of the day with waves less than 4 feet and low wind. However as the afternoon ended the seas had increased to 4.5 to 7 feet and the wind had picked up to 40 knots and better. They closed the pools due to the ship’s movement. The movement did not stop all evening. The sun was out and shining bright but the temperature was in the middle 50’s and the wind was cold.

 

There was not a lot going on today due to being a sea day. We again had breakfast served in the stateroom and then took another chance at Trivia with similar results. Maybe someday we will catch on or stop going. Senior Delgado gave his port presentation on Madryn and it was good as usual. He will be giving another port presentation on Thursday before we call on Montevideo. We went to espanol class again and learned some verb conjugation. Lunch in the MDR was not as hectic or crowded as it has been in the past on sea days. I went up to the lido deck several times after lunch and there were pax in both lido pools, more than I have seen in the past days, and many out sunning themselves on both the lido deck and sun deck. Dinner in the MDR was Italian night and was good but I noticed a decrease in pax. Perhaps the ship’s movement has taken its toll.

 

Activities:

Morning MUTS: The Princess Bride

Afternoon MUTS: Mutiny on the Bounty

Evening MUTS: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Port Lecture: Madryn, Argentina

Spanish Lesson #5

The Great Egg Drop Challenge in Piaza

Enrichment Lecture: Great Traditions of Sea Travel

Theater: Greg Schotthauer “Tribute to Elton John and Latin Pop” – 8:15 PM and 10:15 PM

Explorer’s Lounge – That 70’s Party – 9:15 PM

Skywalkers – 70’s Grooeve Party with DJ Pedro

[satxdiver]

Day 12 Wednesday Puerto Madryn Casual dress.

High 68 Low 63 Sunrise 6:17 AM Sunset 8:48 PM

Scheduled arrival: 7:00 AM All aboard 4:30 PM ship tied up to pier

 

Seas were rough and the ship was rocking as we crossed the Atlantic early in the morning before reaching the area of the continent. By 4 AM we had reached calmer water and the ship settled down for the rest of the trip with seas about 4 feet and some wind. After leaving Puerto Madryn we proceeded up the coast in relatively calm sailing.

 

After breakfast in the stateroom again we met our ship’s tour, Valdes Peninsula, in the theater at 7:30. By 8:00 we were in the bus and headed for the Valdes peninsula. We were one of at least 7 tour busses on the same tour. The buses picked us up on the pier a few feet from the gangplank. We made four stops on this tour: visitor center, penguin viewing, seal viewing and sea lion viewing. Most of the time we spent in the bus driving down gravel roads and breathing a lot of dust. It seldom rains in this area making it desert like. We returned to the ship at 4:20 PM, minutes before the ship was scheduled to leave. However on our last stop the bus had developed problems and had to be replaced.. The bus barely got us to our last stop. While we were viewing the sea lions, a new bus appeared to take us back to the ship. Since it was a ship tour, I was not worried.

 

We had our usual bottle of wine while we watched the ship drop its lines from the pier and sailaway. It was a beautiful warm day with the sun out and no clouds. When we got back to the ship, both lido pools were very busy and many pax were out sunning themselves in the loungers. After a quick dinner in the HC we watched some music for a while before retiring for the evening. We had spent all but an hour and half viewing riding in the bus. After seeing penguins at the Falklands, it really was not worth it.

 

Activities:

Evening MUTS: The LEGO Movie

Sailaway celebration with Leal band on lido deck

Theater: Vocalist Chris Riggins - 7:00 PM and 8:30 PM

Theater: International Crew Talent Show 10:00 PM

Skywalker’s: 50’s & 60’s Mix with DJ Pedro

 

We received a notice in the Patter that our passports and paid reciprocity fee will be returned on Thursday morning by our stateroom steward. It indicated that some pax will be leaving the ship early in Montevideo.

 

The ship’s clock will be set one hour forward at 2:00 AM early Thursday morning.

 

When I returned to the ship this afternoon, I looked and there was no alcohol collection table. Other port days I had also looked and there did not appear to be any alcohol table either. I did not see anyone trying to carry any aboard however.

[dmwnc1959]

I am really enjoying your day-to-day adventure on Golden Princess. Thank you for taking the time to share your experiences. Having never sailed around 'The Horn' unfortunately leaves me as an 'armchair tourist', but your Live report more than makes up for it. Looking forward to any pictures you can post once you've returned.

 

:D

[PathfinderEss]

Enjoying your live report, sounds like your having a good time.