January 7th NCL Star cruise to Antarctica , Argentina and Chile with a 10 day stay photo travelogue

[scubacruiserx2]

1 hour ago, CruisnHallelujahs said:

Stunningly beautiful. Ditto what dcguy said.  How would you compare this to an Alaska cruise?  Your pics make it look a million times more impressive than the Alaska reviews. 

 

If you would like to see our cruise to Alaska you can find it here on another cruise line . It was our longest cruise at 6 weeks !

 

 

 

[CruisnHallelujahs]

1 hour ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

 

  Thank you @CruisnHallelujahs .We have been to Alaska twice and South America 4 times , the first with NCL in 2007 . Antarctica twice , the first time after our first Alaska visit . We are glad that we went to Alaska first as we did enjoy it , a lot . But to us we would have been disappointed had we been to Antarctica first . It's on a different level as we have gone to Patagonia as an add on both times . I don't usually answer so quickly but I was working on a Dinner at Cagneys photos , coming up next .

I figured you must have been to Alaska!  Thanks for posting your Alaska review.  Will read through tomorrow.  After seeing your Antarctica photos, if I had to choose just one, I think I know what it would be…the flight to the ship might kill me though.  

[scubacruiserx2]

7 hours ago, CruisnHallelujahs said:

I figured you must have been to Alaska!  Thanks for posting your Alaska review.  Will read through tomorrow.  After seeing your Antarctica photos, if I had to choose just one, I think I know what it would be…the flight to the ship might kill me though.  

 

 Perhaps , but we have found that if we do big trips all at once that it overwhelms us . So we break it up into smaller bite size pieces , a day at a time and frequent stops . I used to be a hare when I was young but we are more like a Tortoise now .

[scubacruiserx2]

 I noticed that the Star is currently in Punta Arenas today and that they may tender in . We didn't make it in because of high winds . Today looks much better with current winds WNW of 11 mph and gust to 27 mph . These are much more favorable for a landing .

https://www.cruisemapper.com/?imo=9195157

 

We have been there 4 times including a trip to the penquin Island which is very bumpy and long . We also flew to Puerto Natales , Chile to bus to Torres Del Paine . This cost more but it was by far the best cruise excursion that we have ever done ! !

 If the option is available we would recommend that you take it and the weather there is very favorable there currently unlike the 62 mph that we had when we drove over after our cruise . A drive took all day and required a double - double passport control on land which was a beast and a time killer .

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Dinner for breakfast ? 

 

Appetizers hers

 

 

 

And his

 

 

Soup

 

 

Mains

Double wide lamp chops ( sorry Sheri Lewis )

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shari_Lewis

 

 

Small Filet cooked properly

 

 

Veggies

 

 

Always room for the 7 layer cake

 

 

And after a dinner like this it was a good thing that we would have the Drake lake on the way to the Falklands .

Edited February 9 by scubacruiserx2

[DCGuy64]

13 hours ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

 

Thank you again @DCGuy64 . It's a fun hobby that I enjoy doing since retirement and reliving it through the cameras eye . Plus it has a lot more memory than we do . I did have a concise journal that I did misplace in transit , so I'm using the photos as a memory aid .

You make a very good point: sometimes when I'm on vacation, I'm too lazy to take pictures, and then later I forget the beautiful things I saw. Maybe I should force myself to take the photos so I can remember the places better afterwards. Thank you again, you are quite the photographer!

[scubacruiserx2]

 Would we make the Falkland Islands ?

We had already missed Punta Arenas because of tenders .

 

 

 We were up at 0430 which was the time that I had to leave home for work in Miami at 0700 . I did this for over 20 years so this was nothing new . The disappointment for us was that the suite breakfast didn't start until the 1st tender was due to leave . We went to O'Sheehan's which is open 24 hours in hope of a corned beef hash and eggs to start the long day . We were seated by the window at about 05:15 but received no service . People in the first row away from the window received service and when we asked if we could order we were told that we were not in his row .We asked him to please send our server so that we could order breakfast . He told us that breakfast would not be served until 0600 . The guy across from us had a smirk as he received his order . The buffet looked like a Rugby Strum so we opted for fiber bars and bagged nuts to go for breakfast from our stash . The tenders were in the water by now .

 

 

 The concierge , Monica was waiting for us at Gatsby's and took us down to the first tender . Fortunately , J and M our traveling companions , were also on the 1st tender and we were off for the 20 minute ride .

 

 

We met with our driver and guide , Neil , and we were off in our 4x4 .

 

 

 

 

 

 I was riding shotgun and requested a photo shot out of the window when showed us some helicopter wreckage from an Archie helicopter shot down during the War in 1982 .

 

I chuckled to myself as I thought of the old comic book series with Veronica and Jughead . I also remember the old song Sugar , sugar sung by the Archies .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar,_Sugar

 

 And after about 2 hours of doing the bump and grind we had made it .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 We knew that we were the first one's there as we had the pleasure of opening and walking across the red sea foot bath before we could walk among the penguins .

 

 

 

Edited February 9 by scubacruiserx2

[CruisnHallelujahs]

Loving your review.  Enjoy seeing people live their best life! You mentioned Monica…wonder if she was on Spirit in 2017?  That was our first NCL cruise and we absolutely loved her.  

[scubacruiserx2]

1 hour ago, CruisnHallelujahs said:

Loving your review.  Enjoy seeing people live their best life! You mentioned Monica…wonder if she was on Spirit in 2017?  That was our first NCL cruise and we absolutely loved her.  

 

 We don't know and we did not take a photo of her . But we believe that she is from Eastern Europe perhaps Slovenia or Slovakia .

[scubacruiserx2]

The 2 rules were don't cross the white rock circle and don't impede or harass the penguins

 

 Will walk for food

 

 

Mister and Mrs. Upland Geese

 

 

 

Synchronized sleeping

 

 

Living in my parents shadow

 

 

 

Breakfast is served

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

7 hours ago, DCGuy64 said:

You make a very good point: sometimes when I'm on vacation, I'm too lazy to take pictures, and then later I forget the beautiful things I saw. Maybe I should force myself to take the photos so I can remember the places better afterwards. Thank you again, you are quite the photographer!

 

 Unfortunately I may take too many photos and forget to just take it all in sometimes . Stop and smell the roses ( or fertilizer ) as the case may be . Thank you I do enjoy taking photos of the Lord's creation as it keeps me in Awe of Him .

 

Edited February 9 by scubacruiserx2

[Huntingdon1701]

On 2/4/2024 at 3:39 PM, scubacruiserx2 said:

 

I don't see that cruise listed . That is the one we did last time on the HAL Zandam . It had 4 days in Antarctica . Perhaps as you are leaving from Santiago the route is different so your side may be different .

 

It disappeared from the website for a week, which was slightly worrying, but is back now. https://www.ncl.com/uk/en/cruises/14-day-south-america-from-santiago-to-buenos-aires-argentina-and-chile-FLYCRUISESTAR14SAIPMCCHBPUQUSHPSYPMYMVDBUE?sailMonths=4294949408&ships=4294949403&numberOfGuests=4294949462&sortBy=closer_to_me&autoPopulate=f&from=resultpage&itineraryCode=FLYCRUISESTAR14SAIPMCCHBPUQUSHPSYPMYMVDBUE 

 

Really enjoying the photos. I assume the red bath is some kind of anti-infection thing? 

 

Edited February 9 by Huntingdon1701

[scubacruiserx2]

6 minutes ago, Huntingdon1701 said:

 

It disappeared from the website for a week, which was slightly worrying, but is back now. https://www.ncl.com/uk/en/cruises/14-day-south-america-from-santiago-to-buenos-aires-argentina-and-chile-FLYCRUISESTAR14SAIPMCCHBPUQUSHPSYPMYMVDBUE?sailMonths=4294949408&ships=4294949403&numberOfGuests=4294949462&sortBy=closer_to_me&autoPopulate=f&from=resultpage&itineraryCode=FLYCRUISESTAR14SAIPMCCHBPUQUSHPSYPMYMVDBUE 

 

 

 

 Thank you for sharing that site . It's a well done and much better site than I have found stateside . We saw some King eggs this time at the Falkland Islands so you may see some fuzzy King chicks at that date .

 We did notice that the Torres del Paine trip is included at 1024 BPS . That's $ 1293 American . We would pounce on that if you can  afford it .

Would you mind if we hijack our thread to show that trip ? It was on another cruise line but we believe that it would be the same or a similar trip .

[Huntingdon1701]

2 minutes ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

 

 

Would you mind if we hijack our thread to show that trip ? It was on another cruise line but we believe that it would be the same or a similar trip .

Go ahead! I have been very tempted by the Torres Del Paine trip but it's marginally outside my budget and too early a start - I'm doing the Iguazu Falls trip so that's taken a large chunk of extra budget. I expect to come back to the region at some point to do the antarctic parts you've done, so I may be able to do it then. 

[DCGuy64]

27 minutes ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

 

 Unfortunately I may take too many photos and forget to just take it all in sometimes . Stop and smell the roses ( or fertilizer ) as the case may be . Thank you I do enjoy taking photos of the Lord's creation as it keeps me in Awe of Him .

 

Beautifully stated, and I couldn't agree more!

[scubacruiserx2]

 

 

 

 

We had hoped the fly on the larger Otter

 

 

 

But we wound up on the smaller Cessna and I was glad that we had an experienced pilot

 

 

 

I had explained that I was a retired Paramedic and had some experience on Air Rescue . But we use Bell 412 helicopters quite a different animal . Still he wanted me up front so this was my view .

 

 

And my wife's view

 

 

 

We were pleased that the lady on the right foreground was married to a Ship's officer so we hoped that he might arrange the safer flight for her .

 

 The 1 hour flight was raining all the way so it was all IFR .

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

43 minutes ago, Huntingdon1701 said:

Go ahead! I have been very tempted by the Torres Del Paine trip but it's marginally outside my budget and too early a start - I'm doing the Iguazu Falls trip so that's taken a large chunk of extra budget. I expect to come back to the region at some point to do the antarctic parts you've done, so I may be able to do it then. 

 

 

We have not been there yet but our friends Mic and Rosie are currently on the Oosterdam in Antarctica as we speak have . They advised us to do both sides of the falls which involves spending the night and a Brazilian Visa if you can do that . BTW we don't usually put it all on the Card but we did this trip . So we have an interest free loan until the end of this year , so we did over indulge a bit . But we think that this may have been our last trip there .

Edited February 9 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

36 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

Beautifully stated, and I couldn't agree more!

 

 Thank you . Please refresh my memory , any cruises planned ?

[scubacruiserx2]

 We had hoped that maybe we would change planes on the way back .

 

 

This was our ride for the day - about half full . After making a deposit at the airport's wash room we were all ready to go . We did not have to show our passports in Chile since the ship had them . We would recommend that you have copies with you since the ship confiscates them when you board and doesn't return them until just before the cruise ends .

 

 

 

Our first wildlife sighting

 

 

Mr. and Mrs. Condor grounded

 

 

A Caracara

 

 

A Rhea

 

 

Edited February 9 by scubacruiserx2

[MicCanberra]

Iguazzu falls, IMO and also quite a few others, the Brazilian side is the better side.

Argentina's side of the falls have you above them looking down over them. There was a boardwalk across  many parts and although I am not sure if it has been replaced after washing away, there was a section that has you looking down the devil's throat.

Brazilian side has you at the bottom of the falls looking up at them and t here is a boardwalk that takes you to the bottom of the devil's throat. You will get misted on so bag up your cameras like maid of the mist.

There are flights over it and also boat trips that take you under it as well.

[scubacruiserx2]

 

The Torres del Paine means towers of Blue and refer to the 3 towers of granite .

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torres_del_Paine_National_Park

 

Here are the 3 towers

 

 

 

Most of the roads are gravel but they were building concrete roads when we were there last month

 

 

 

The Paine River falls

 

 

 

The tour included lunch here

 

 

 

I excused myself to take some photos while lunch was prepared We had to cross this bridge to get to the hotel

 

 

The beach had volcanic sand 

 

 

 

The view of the Cuernos or Horns

 

 

The salad had hearts of palm like we have here in Florida

 

Edited February 9 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

24 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

Iguazzu falls, IMO and also quite a few others, the Brazilian side is the better side.

Argentina's side of the falls have you above them looking down over them. There was a boardwalk across  many parts and although I am not sure if it has been replaced after washing away, there was a section that has you looking down the devil's throat.

Brazilian side has you at the bottom of the falls looking up at them and t here is a boardwalk that takes you to the bottom of the devil's throat. You will get misted on so bag up your cameras like maid of the mist.

There are flights over it and also boat trips that take you under it as well.

 

Thank you sir . It appears like you are on the way back to South America . How was Antarctica for you and Rosie ? Best wishes for a smooth ride back . Have you tried the Pisco sour ? They repackaged it and you can get it at the store in Chile , just chill and shake .

 

Edited February 10 by scubacruiserx2

[ziggyuk]

6 hours ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

 

 We don't know and we did not take a photo of her . But we believe that she is from Eastern Europe perhaps Slovenia or Slovakia .

 

Monica is from Romania, I'm afraid I don't have a photo either.

[scubacruiserx2]

2 hours ago, ziggyuk said:

 

Monica is from Romania, I'm afraid I don't have a photo either.

 

Thanks guys , any cruise plans in the works ?

[CruisnHallelujahs]

2 hours ago, ziggyuk said:

 

Monica is from Romania, I'm afraid I don't have a photo either.

I believe this is her.  Did she have beautiful long wavy hair? Of course she may have cut it by now. Lol