Around the Horn advice

[Marseydotes]

I'm looking for information on the ports for our March 2017 cruise. Having a much harder time than usual! I guess there just isn't as much out there, but I know the best sources are my fellow O cruisers.

Advice on the cruise itself or ports would be appreciated!

[Mura]

Although we have done a BA-Valpo cruise (not on O, we aren't sure what ports yhou are talking about. A little more info about the ports would help us answer your question. We had great weather but that isn't always the case.

 

Mura

[bitob]

Have you gone to the ports of call section of cc?

[Hawaiidan]

For the most part except of Ushuea, the ports are really not much to talk about....pretty devoid of real interest. I have been once and never again it was highly disappointing to say the least Seeing penguins that live in holes in the dirt was about the only thing The cruise through the fjords however was interesting... but the towns..... no

[ellbon]

Loved the Falklands and my great time with the Penguins . Also the tiny town was fun with some shops and a busy bar. We had sun thst day. I did all private tours that cruise.

 

Could you please tell us what ports.. You might get help in the ports of call boards. Also look up private tours . One port at a time.

[2552phxcrzr]

We did an Around the Horn itinerary in December 2014 -- back to back from Miami to Valparaiso, and Valpo to Buenos Aires. Different cruise line and ship, but you can check out my blog write ups for excursion ideas for any ports that might match with yours. The blog URL is: 2totravel.blogspot.com; posts are in the 2014 Dec and 2015 Jan archives in the right-hand sidebar.

[PaulMCO]

You should really address this question in the roll call question for your particular cruise.

 

There is a South America ports section where a similar thread is currently near the top of the board.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=76

[Marseydotes]

I appreciate your posts, and wanted a general "feel" for the cruise, as well as any great suggestions for ports.

Hawaiidan--love your posts and learn from them. Thank you!

Ports we will hit: BA, Montevido, Punte del Este, Port Stanley, Ushuaia, Punte Arenas, Puerto Chacabuco, Puerto MONTT, Valparaiso, COQUIMBO, IQUIQUE, PISCO/NAZCA Lines, Lima.

I know many of the small towns have little to see or do right there, and that language difficulties may make private excursions iffy. We have the Ultimate O Life package, so can choose 5 smaller treks.

Bottom line--anywhere you would strongly suggest we do?

[Mura]

Your itinerary is close to the one we did back in January 2002 although you have a couple of extras.

 

Because we booked only a month before departure (this was right after 9/11) any official tours we took were ship's tours, which in general were very good. For the record we were on NCL's DREAM (no longer in their fleet). We particularly enjoyed the Falklands, Montevideo and Valpo. (We stayed on a few days in Santiago which I would highly recommend you doing if you have the time.)

 

Puerto Chacabuco is probably as large as it was when we were there -- about 100 people. We took a ship's tour out of town which was very enjoyable, especially when the bus broke down. While we waited for a replacement, the little wine shop we were visiting kept the wine flowing and the hors d'oeuvres coming. It took about 90 minutes for the second bus to get there.

 

Unlike Dan, we DID enjoy this itinerary. In Ushuaia I recommend your going into the national park if you can. (We used a ship's tour there.)

 

It was this cruise that taught me that I really do enjoy sea days because we had a lot of them!

 

Mura

[Pearl64]

We did this cruise last March but on another line. In Ushuaia we went with Pira Tours. Someone organized this tour and it was wonderful. We were the only tour that was allowed on the island with the Penguins. We saw Magellean, Empire, and another type whose name is not coming at the moment. The other tours including the ship's tours could only go to the water's edge. We had to pay before the tour. In Valparaiso we used Donde Augusto and went to Santiago which was fantastic. Buenos Aires can be done on ones own. Taxis are plentiful and reasonable. We went to the Eva Peron museum as was suggested by our B and B hostess. She said that would give us the history behind her. Recoleta Cemetery was very interesting. Make certain you have beef in BA. But beware that the serving size is huge. My husband and I split one steak and even then that was almost too much. In Lima we took a Lima a Gourmet Company tour. This was one of the best tours ever. Again this one needed to be paid ahead of time. We literally ate our way through the day. We learned how to make cerviche and Pisco sours, the Peruvian drink. We went to the market which was super clean and ended up at the Inca ruins for lunch. Absolutely fantastic.

 

Every port was very different and felt we got a sampling of South America. Unfortunately we did not get to see much of the Chilean fjords due to very thick fog.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

 

Pearl

[Tansy Mews]

In Ushuaia, we did a tour to see the Penguins with Pira. Fabulous. Bring warm clothing. In late December, we had sleet towards the end of our walk among the roosting penguins.

 

In Puerto Chacabuco, we enjoyed a tour and lunch at a farm with EnPatagonia.

 

Frances

[2552phxcrzr]

As others have said, BA can easily be done on your own.

 

We were unable to get into Punta del Este due to sea/wind conditions, so had an extra day in Montevideo ... did a private tour that took us to some of the highlight areas around the city, followed by wine tasting at a family-owned vineyard outside the city.

 

The most popular tour in Port Stanley seems to be Volunteer Point to see King Penguins. We were there in 2007 on an expedition vessel, so my personal zodiac landing experience won't apply.

 

I agree with others that the Pira Tour in Ushuaia to Isla Martillo is a great one, and the only one that has permits allowing you to walk amongst the penguins (mostly magellanics, some gentoo, and three/four kings ... no emperors). However, the regular tour times (twice a day) don't usually work with cruiseline schedules so someone may have to arrange this privately and form a group. I wrote about our experience extensively in this blog post and the following post. The National Park is also great, but I have no write-up as we went there in 2007, so skipped it last year. Alternatively, you can stay in town and wander around and visit some of the museums, and go on a Beagle Channel small boat trip. The Jan 2015 blog archive has plenty of write ups.

 

Punta Arenas ... we did a private tour to see the penguins at Seno Otway.

 

Puerto Montt ... we did a private tour that took us to Puerto Varas, Frutillar, Petrohue Falls, etc. ... it's a typical itinerary offered to cruise ship passengers.

 

Valparaiso ... we hired a tips for tours guide in advance to take us around the city on a walking tour that included the use of public transportation to get us around.

 

Lima ... we arranged for a private tour that was a combination of the Colonial City Center, with short stops in Miraflores and Barranco, followed by a cooking demo by our guide's mother and lunch at their home.

 

If any of these interest you, you can read up more from the blog posts in the Dec 2014 Jan 2015 archives as mentioned in my first response.

 

As others mentioned, your roll call on CC is a good resource for getting to know fellow-passengers and organize private tours ... if you are lucky enough to have an active roll call. The South America forum board is also a great research source ... use the search feature to filter the threads.

[ellbon]

I appreciate your posts, and wanted a general "feel" for the cruise, as well as any great suggestions for ports.

Hawaiidan--love your posts and learn from them. Thank you!

Ports we will hit: BA, Montevido, Punte del Este, Port Stanley, Ushuaia, Punte Arenas, Puerto Chacabuco, Puerto MONTT, Valparaiso, COQUIMBO, IQUIQUE, PISCO/NAZCA Lines, Lima.

I know many of the small towns have little to see or do right there, and that language difficulties may make private excursions iffy. We have the Ultimate O Life package, so can choose 5 smaller treks.

Bottom line--anywhere you would strongly suggest we do?

 

If you like wine please look up wines tours for Montevido. Last name is White. He also works out of PuntevdelnEste.. Love thst port.. Museums..need guide or taxi each way.. The hand in the sand etc, Falklands you can get a private guide for the king penguins.. He takes you to the king ones.. Saw no ships people just vans.b PuertonMontt was interesting to walk around and places to eat. Huge fish market..smells but interesting. Other ports have not been to yet.inBA is endless with things to do there.

Edited August 13, 2016 by ellbon

[ellbon]

We did this cruise last March but on another line. In Ushuaia we went with Pira Tours. Someone organized this tour and it was wonderful. We were the only tour that was allowed on the island with the Penguins. We saw Magellean, Empire, and another type whose name is not coming at the moment. The other tours including the ship's tours could only go to the water's edge. We had to pay before the tour. In Valparaiso we used Donde Augusto and went to Santiago which was fantastic. Buenos Aires can be done on ones own. Taxis are plentiful and reasonable. We went to the Eva Peron museum as was suggested by our B and B hostess. She said that would give us the history behind her. Recoleta Cemetery was very interesting. Make certain you have beef in BA. But beware that the serving size is huge. My husband and I split one steak and even then that was almost too much. In Lima we took a Lima a Gourmet Company tour. This was one of the best tours ever. Again this one needed to be paid ahead of time. We literally ate our way through the day. We learned how to make cerviche and Pisco sours, the Peruvian drink. We went to the market which was super clean and ended up at the Inca ruins for lunch. Absolutely fantastic.

 

Every port was very different and felt we got a sampling of South America. Unfortunately we did not get to see much of the Chilean fjords due to very thick fog.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

 

Pearl

Thanks for the names as I am going to write them down for 2018. I have friends who just did the gourmet class and I loved the pictures,