Sun...Buenos Aires to Valparaiso

[forevertravel]

Has anyone done this cruise? We are booked on April 2017 and this will be our first time on the Sun. We booked a penthouse suite. I was wondering about the ship, cabin, food, service, tours, ports, etc. Any information will be appreciated

[Clay Clayton]

Yes, did this cruise in 2010, it (and Sun) remain our favorite. I'd suggest you check out cruise reviews and the roll calls for the cruises this year to get some ideas. Sun left Valparaiso headed to San Francisco on Saturday with some friends from CruiseCritic on board so there won't be any more reports until next year.

 

Sun is an older smaller ship without all the bells and whistles of the newer ships but her crew is the best IMHO. Brian Walters the hotel director is accessible and goes out of his way to make sure his customers are a happy lot. Since you are in a penthouse you will have access to Il Adiago...ahem, La Cuchina for breakfast and lunch. It is probably Norwegians prettiest restaurant....we loved our French press coffee at the HUGE windows every morning watching the waves go by.

 

I suspect Donna will be by shortly to add her two cents since Sun is her favorite also.

 

Once you have specific questions, feel free to post them.

[sjbdtz]

We did the reverse of this cruise, 2 weeks ago.

 

The Sun is just about to go into dry dock, so she'll be rejuvenated by the time you're on her.

 

We had an Aft Penthouse, and it was a great cabin. Really nice soundproofing in the bedroom. We'd keep the bathroom door (including the pocket door) closed, and could barely hear when somebody came in the front door.

 

The trip was awesome. Everything about it. Except the part where I got sick (still can't shake the cough). And the part where the casino took more than I was willing to give. And we got stranded for 7 hours on a ferryboat when our shore excursion vendor couldn't reverse off Magdalena Island.

 

On the other hand, NCL bent over backwards to offset that experience.

 

 

All in all it was a really good trip.

 

 

 

Stephen

 

 

.

[herdingdogmom]

The trip was awesome. Everything about it. Except the part where I got sick (still can't shake the cough). And we got stranded for 7 hours on a ferryboat when our shore excursion vendor couldn't reverse off Magdalena Island. Stephen.

 

To the OP - We did this cruise in early February and loved it. There are several member reviews here on cruise critic from this season.

 

To Stephen, sorry to hear you got sick. Tell me more about the ferry boat ordeal. That is one old ferry and very slow. Did NCL or the vendor send speed boats to pick you up? Beverly

[DMH15]

Hello, Clay and others. YES! Love the Sun and this remains my most favorite cruise ever! We started in Chile and ended in Argentina though.

 

I agree about "Il La Cucina Adagio" haha. Love that place for the suite breakfast and lunch.

 

I did the Antarctic Landing excursion. One of the best days of my life.

 

Uruguay and Argentina were outstanding. Loved the food and shopping. Puerto Montt in Chile was quaint and interesting.

 

I just love the Sun. Cruised on her twice. Hoping for a third.

 

Best ship + Best Itinerary = Best Cruise Ever!!!

 

p.s. Do NOT bring nuts, even in sealed bags into Chile. Some were fined $200 or more.

Edited April 12, 2016 by DMH15

[kathybelcher2433]

I am following carefully as we are on the Sun from Rio to buenos Aires next February!

[armwinder]

We did the reverse of this cruise, 2 weeks ago.

 

The Sun is just about to go into dry dock, so she'll be rejuvenated by the time you're on her.

 

We had an Aft Penthouse, and it was a great cabin. Really nice soundproofing in the bedroom. We'd keep the bathroom door (including the pocket door) closed, and could barely hear when somebody came in the front door.

 

The trip was awesome. Everything about it. Except the part where I got sick (still can't shake the cough). And the part where the casino took more than I was willing to give. And we got stranded for 7 hours on a ferryboat when our shore excursion vendor couldn't reverse off Magdalena Island.

 

On the other hand, NCL bent over backwards to offset that experience.

 

 

All in all it was a really good trip.

 

 

 

Stephen

 

 

On the other hand, NCL bent over backwards to offset that experience.

.

 

We were also "stranded" on the island and know a lot of the penguins by name, it was a very long day. I agree entirely that NCL did all they could for us.They were very generous, and it really was not their fault.

 

We really enjoyed the cruise and met a few new friends. Do you remember the Mississippi tug boat Captain on our tour? He suggest we all move to stern of the ferry or get off while they tried to get the ferry re floated. It would have worked in the beginning but as it was a falling tide and time was of the essence. We were all very happy to see the NCL Sun had waited for us. I am happy it was not a private tour.

[sjbdtz]

To the OP - We did this cruise in early February and loved it. There are several member reviews here on cruise critic from this season.

 

To Stephen, sorry to hear you got sick. Tell me more about the ferry boat ordeal. That is one old ferry and very slow. Did NCL or the vendor send speed boats to pick you up? Beverly

 

 

Hi Beverly,

 

We were there for about 7 hours... unfortunately they only expected us to be stuck for 3 hours - so no rescue was sent until about 15 minutes before we got ourselves free. It was interesting watching the ferry crew trying different things, including using the hydraulic lift to try & push against the ocean floor to lift us off the ground.

 

 

We were also "stranded" on the island and know a lot of the penguins by name, it was a very long day. I agree entirely that NCL did all they could for us.They were very generous, and it really was not their fault.

 

We really enjoyed the cruise and met a few new friends. Do you remember the Mississippi tug boat Captain on our tour? He suggest we all move to stern of the ferry or get off while they tried to get the ferry re floated. It would have worked in the beginning but as it was a falling tide and time was of the essence. We were all very happy to see the NCL Sun had waited for us. I am happy it was not a private tour.

 

 

Did we meet on the ferry? I don't recall hearing that there was a tug captain, but I wasn't feeling so hot that day (coughing a lot).

 

I think that would have worked, at first....but agree as time went on, we were more 'stranded' than originally.

 

I thought it was laughable that one of the excuses the ferry captain gave, was that they didn't expect us back so soon and so he didn't have time to move the ferry back a few feet.

 

 

 

Stephen

 

.

[OzCanuck]

Has anyone done this cruise? We are booked on April 2017 and this will be our first time on the Sun. We booked a penthouse suite. I was wondering about the ship, cabin, food, service, tours, ports, etc. Any information will be appreciated

 

We did this the first two weeks of January. We had a forward penthouse and loved it. Lots of highlites.

 

Here is a westbound time lapse video just after we left Ushuaia, heading into the Beagle Channel and glacier alley.

 

[YOUTUBE]TNvb00E324Q[/YOUTUBE]

[armwinder]

Hi Beverly,

 

We were there for about 7 hours... unfortunately they only expected us to be stuck for 3 hours - so no rescue was sent until about 15 minutes before we got ourselves free. It was interesting watching the ferry crew trying different things, including using the hydraulic lift to try & push against the ocean floor to lift us off the ground.

 

 

 

 

 

Did we meet on the ferry? I don't recall hearing that there was a tug captain, but I wasn't feeling so hot that day (coughing a lot).

 

I think that would have worked, at first....but agree as time went on, we were more 'stranded' than originally.

 

I thought it was laughable that one of the excuses the ferry captain gave, was that they didn't expect us back so soon and so he didn't have time to move the ferry back a few feet.

 

 

 

Stephen

 

.

 

There was also a retired deep sea Captain we were all sat upstairs starboard side just under the tv monitor. There were some lame excuses, one was the "tide was slow that day" It would have been nice to walk around on land only it was so cold, and who knows if the ferry had become unglued we could have been left. Notice how much vibration there was on the way back?

 

We met at the meet & greet, my wife handed out the gifts for the gift exchange.

 

Bryan

Edited April 13, 2016 by armwinder

[cdnsteelman]

Has anyone done this cruise? We are booked on April 2017 and this will be our first time on the Sun. We booked a penthouse suite. I was wondering about the ship, cabin, food, service, tours, ports, etc. Any information will be appreciated

 

We did this in Feb 2010 in the old category AB (now SE I believe) Sun Suite 8003. Standing on that spectacular fore balcony, teeth in the breeze, hand-in-hand with my amazing wife, sailing the channels out of Puerto Chacbuco remains one of my most vivid and cherished memories.

 

Some highlights included (among a hundred others) the breathtaking Patagonian ruggedness of Peninsula Valdes, spending the afternoon with those Rockhoppers on the Falklands, rounding Cape Horn with a red wine a cigar in hand (again on that balcony), a private, guided tour of Tierra del Fuego with Canal Fun out of Ushuaia, sailing the Beagle Channel, zip-lining in the shadows of Volcan Osorno from Puerto Montt (then falling in love with the town of Puerto Varas (Chile's city of roses), all rounded out by a 10 hour private transfer tour (courtesy of Christian the Van Man - actually his brother) of Valparaiso, Viña del Mar, Emiliana winery in the Casablanca Valley (amazing organic red wine and wonderful olive oil), lunch at a typical country restaurant called Los Hornitos de Curacavi and a full Santiago city tour before being dropped at the airport.

 

BEST. CRUISE. EVER.

 

And the Sun is our favourite ship.

 

csm

[polySeraph]

As others have said. . . . it was the BEST cruise ever!!! We sailed around the Horn from Buenos Aires to Valparaiso in Feb-Mar 2010 aboard the Sun. All these years later, it still ranks as our all-time favorite cruise.

 

A few years after the cruise, I posted a mini photo-review about that cruise here on the NCL forum. It is embedded in a much longer thread discussing whether NCL would ever return to South America. (I guess we all know the answer to that one!) To access that review, click here and navigate to post #41.

 

In 2015 ComputerTravelGuy (my DH) and I returned to Valparaiso for our second South American cruise aboard the Celebrity Infinity. We embarked in Valparaiso and disembarked in Fort Lauderdale. You can find the photo review of that cruise by clicking here. We wanted to combine a second South American cruise with a Panama Canal transit and the itinerary fit the bill.

 

(And we're not done yet. . . . We're looking at South American itineraries with stops in Brazil, the Galapagos Islands, and Antarctic expeditions that start in South American ports before heading South.)

 

The Sun is a great small ship and the itinerary is fantastic. And who knows? You just might see me aboard. Maybe I can convince ComputerTravelGuy that once is not enough.

Edited April 14, 2016 by polySeraph

[forevertravel]

Thank you all. I appreciate all the comments. Now I'm very excited about the cruise. We are in cabin 8002 which I think has nice balcony. Someone posted about a great transfer (someone the van) from Valpo to Santiago which included visit to a winery and lunch. Could I have a link to contact that person? We will need transportation to Santiago and plan to stay in Santiago for a couple of days before flying home. I'll check roll call and the reviews of the cruise. Nice to hear Sun is going into drydock prior to our cruise. My only regret is I didn't book the cruise for February or March. We are traveling in April and I understand the penguins will be gone from Magdalena Island. My bad. Nice to hear there is a restaurant we can use for breakfast. Thank you again.

Forevertravel:o

[cdnsteelman]

Thank you all. I appreciate all the comments. Now I'm very excited about the cruise. We are in cabin 8002 which I think has nice balcony. Someone posted about a great transfer (someone the van) from Valpo to Santiago which included visit to a winery and lunch. Could I have a link to contact that person? We will need transportation to Santiago and plan to stay in Santiago for a couple of days before flying home. I'll check roll call and the reviews of the cruise. Nice to hear Sun is going into drydock prior to our cruise. My only regret is I didn't book the cruise for February or March. We are traveling in April and I understand the penguins will be gone from Magdalena Island. My bad. Nice to hear there is a restaurant we can use for breakfast. Thank you again.

Forevertravel:o

 

Google search Christian the Van Man in Valparaiso / Santiago. Keep in mind my reference was from 2010 so I have no idea if he's still in business but the tour was outstanding and very customizable (is that even a word?). As I recall we paid $90 US each with the Santiago City tour add on and it was just the two of us in a private, air-conditioned car.

[brynmarie]

Thank you all. I appreciate all the comments. Now I'm very excited about the cruise. We are in cabin 8002 which I think has nice balcony. Someone posted about a great transfer (someone the van) from Valpo to Santiago which included visit to a winery and lunch. Could I have a link to contact that person? We will need transportation to Santiago and plan to stay in Santiago for a couple of days before flying home. I'll check roll call and the reviews of the cruise. Nice to hear Sun is going into drydock prior to our cruise. My only regret is I didn't book the cruise for February or March. We are traveling in April and I understand the penguins will be gone from Magdalena Island. My bad. Nice to hear there is a restaurant we can use for breakfast. Thank you again.

Forevertravel:o

 

We stayed in 8002 on 3/12-3/26 and the balcony was huge but the weather only permitted short stays; it was wonderful for picture taking!

[crayola1932]

Google search Christian the Van Man in Valparaiso / Santiago. Keep in mind my reference was from 2010 so I have no idea if he's still in business but the tour was outstanding and very customizable (is that even a word?). As I recall we paid $90 US each with the Santiago City tour add on and it was just the two of us in a private, air-conditioned car.

Yes he is in business: info@rutavalparaiso.cl

http://www.rutavalparaiso.cl

I believe for 6 of us it was about $100 per person. You can do some customizing: in my opinion the best part was the tour of Valparaiso, especially the old town. The winery we chose was a big tourist attraction and very crowded and rushed; I believe it was Casas del Bosque. There are other wineries you could go to. We chose a quick empanada lunch over a more leisurely meal later in the afternoon. They got some of us to the airport (on time) and the rest to hotels in Santiago.

[Charlot11]

We were also "stranded" on the island and know a lot of the penguins by name, it was a very long day. I agree entirely that NCL did all they could for us.They were very generous, and it really was not their fault.

 

We really enjoyed the cruise and met a few new friends. Do you remember the Mississippi tug boat Captain on our tour? He suggest we all move to stern of the ferry or get off while they tried to get the ferry re floated. It would have worked in the beginning but as it was a falling tide and time was of the essence. We were all very happy to see the NCL Sun had waited for us. I am happy it was not a private tour.

 

-------------------------------

 

Which port do you talk about?

I will be on the Sun January 2017 BA to Santiago and I prefer private excursion but maybe for this port I will take the ship tour, you make me nervous...

[Shawnino]

Casofilia just did it.

Here's hoping he posts a review.

[cdnsteelman]

-------------------------------

 

Which port do you talk about?

I will be on the Sun January 2017 BA to Santiago and I prefer private excursion but maybe for this port I will take the ship tour, you make me nervous...

 

I assume this would have been the Magdelena Island Penguin Reserve tour out of Punta Arenas. We did it with the ship in 2010 and, while we do most excursions privately, given the relative complexity and distance we thought it was the best choice.

[casofilia]

Casofilia just did it.

Here's hoping he posts a review.

 

Maybe when I am home and have done all my stuff for the end of year accounts (or the accountant will be on my tail).

 

BUT and I think it could be a very big BUT.

 

This year we left BA at the very end of March and generally had decent weather all the way to V except that the water was a little rough for a couple of days (my feelings but not those of a lot of others on the ship!!); we did have a great day in Stanley which is the most testing port on account of the weather (quite a long tender there). There are also a number of other ports to tender.

 

Next year the Sun is leaving BA nearly a month later and we have been watching the weather on the ship's TV from the BBC World Service for South America during the second part of the cruise from V to SF. If the weather next year in the latter part of April is anything like it has been in the last 3 weeks BE PREPARED!!!

 

Mike

[Travel Junkie Judy]

We did the reverse of this cruise, 2 weeks ago.

 

The Sun is just about to go into dry dock, so she'll be rejuvenated by the time you're on her.

 

We had an Aft Penthouse, and it was a great cabin. Really nice soundproofing in the bedroom. We'd keep the bathroom door (including the pocket door) closed, and could barely hear when somebody came in the front door.

 

The trip was awesome. Everything about it. Except the part where I got sick (still can't shake the cough). And the part where the casino took more than I was willing to give. And we got stranded for 7 hours on a ferryboat when our shore excursion vendor couldn't reverse off Magdalena Island.

 

On the other hand, NCL bent over backwards to offset that experience.

 

 

All in all it was a really good trip.

 

 

 

Stephen

 

 

.

 

Hi Stephen,

 

I know this is an older post, but I am looking around for posts about the frw and aft suites.

We are in suite 9201 for B2B South America in November - San Diego to Buenos Aires. (Fwd suite)

Did you find the aft balcony small? Were you able to use the balcony often?

 

Would you have preferred a forward suite?

We've had both & find that the aft are usually smaller.

 

 

Thanks for any information.

 

Judy

[sjbdtz]

Hi Stephen,

 

I know this is an older post, but I am looking around for posts about the frw and aft suites.

We are in suite 9201 for B2B South America in November - San Diego to Buenos Aires. (Fwd suite)

Did you find the aft balcony small? Were you able to use the balcony often?

 

Would you have preferred a forward suite?

We've had both & find that the aft are usually smaller.

 

 

Thanks for any information.

 

Judy

 

Hi Judy,

The aft balcony was really large. I'd say more square footage than the forward Penthouse cabins on a dawn class ship.

 

Oddly, I didn't take any photos of the balcony, but it had two separate sliding doors, one from the bedroom and the other from the living room - with probably 12 feet between them.

 

 

I'd stick with the aft if I were doing it again.

 

Stephen

 

 

.

[DkswartzFamily]

Hello, Clay and others. YES! Love the Sun and this remains my most favorite cruise ever! We started in Chile and ended in Argentina though.

 

I agree about "Il La Cucina Adagio" haha. Love that place for the suite breakfast and lunch.

 

I did the Antarctic Landing excursion. One of the best days of my life.

 

Uruguay and Argentina were outstanding. Loved the food and shopping. Puerto Montt in Chile was quaint and interesting.

 

I just love the Sun. Cruised on her twice. Hoping for a third.

 

Best ship + Best Itinerary = Best Cruise Ever!!!

 

p.s. Do NOT bring nuts, even in sealed bags into Chile. Some were fined $200 or more.

 

 

When did you go? The Antartica excursions are not showing anymore- I am wondering if the no longer do them?

[karoo]

I did it last year in a balcony on the port side. Absolutely loved it- a wonderful itinerary. My cruise was early January.

[Travel Junkie Judy]

Hi Judy,

The aft balcony was really large. I'd say more square footage than the forward Penthouse cabins on a dawn class ship.

 

Oddly, I didn't take any photos of the balcony, but it had two separate sliding doors, one from the bedroom and the other from the living room - with probably 12 feet between them.

 

 

I'd stick with the aft if I were doing it again.

 

Stephen

 

 

.

 

 

Thanks Stephen,

 

I had a feeling that I might wish I were AFT.

 

I'll have to see.....

 

Judy