NCL Crown 11-29 to 12-17-06 Review

[cruisingrandy]

We flew to Buenos Aires a day early so we could see a few things there. We flew from Lima Peru so it was only a 4 hour flight. We were met at airport by a prearranged guide and taken to Hotel Carolinas Suites. We made the hotel reservation on the internet ahead of time and I thought it was a very good value for the price of $62 including tax and breakfast. It is located in the midst of everything only 2 blocks from Florida St. That night we went to Tango Show Esquina Carlos Gardel and it was very good and took a city tour the next day

We boarded on Nov. 29 in Buenos Aires and it went fairly smoothly only took about 30 minutes or so. We only booked 3 weeks before sailing and bought a inside guarantee but we ended up with room 3001 which is an outside cabin that is bigger because it is on the end of the hall. This was my 20th cruise and this room is the biggest I have ever had.

 

We booked no tours from the ship but did make several tour reservations ahead of time with some other guests sailing with us. In Most ports you could get a taxi and spend much less than what the ship charges. We have one big advantage though as my wife speaks fluent Spanish.In Puerto Chacabuco, Talchauno, Valdivia, and Coquimbo there were few if any natives who speak any english. But most of these are only ports for the 18 night cruise.The penguins in Puerto Madryn are well worth the long drive out to see them and early December is right after most have had there babies. We really also thought Punta Del Este was one of the prettiest cities we have ever seen. We had a great time in all ports though except for Puerto Chacabuco which is a total waste of time as there is nothing to see or do except use the Internet.

 

I would rate the dining as good to very good in both the restaurant and the buffet but the buffet did get a little old after so many days on board. We never waited for a table in the dining room more than 5 minutes or so and the only time you saw a line was around 8:30

 

There were passengers on the ship from over 30 different countries and my guess is 30 % were spanish speaking only. Also it seemed that there were many really older people who never got off of the ship

 

The shows were mostly good and the German comedian was great in both the shows he did. Also the Ventriloquist-comedian was good. A woman comedian named Debbie Kramer was the worst act I have ever seen on a cruise line and hope NCL reads this and never uses her again. The Jean Ryan dancers were very good and had good shows. the early show was always standing room only but the late show was never very crowded.

 

Alive star in the Crown Club and Trio Cruz Del Sur in the Casino bar both played very good music. A note to gamblers, the casino was closed for one whole week as we were to close to Chile.

 

We will definitely cruise again on NCL

[S&B]

Thanks for the review of the Crown in SA. We are going next February on the Dream to SA. Did you post pictures also? Last night I was looking at some photos of SA on the Crown and now today I have searched and cannot find them again. I have searched twice.

 

Did you go to an Estancia show? We are going to go to BA a couple of days early so we could do that but someone said that Montevideo was the best place to take that kind of tour. Did you see an Estancia show at any place? I do want to see a tango show in BA, also.

 

Again, thanks for the review and so glad you had a wonderful time. :) Next year we will be in your shoes so we are trying to learn all we can. Were there any tour companies that you did not like or would suggest not to take? Did you arrange your own air and how did you get from Val. to Santiago. We also want to spend an extra day in Santiago.

 

Thanks again. :)

[cruisingrandy]

Thanks for the review of the Crown in SA. We are going next February on the Dream to SA. Did you post pictures also? Last night I was looking at some photos of SA on the Crown and now today I have searched and cannot find them again. I have searched twice.

 

I have not put any photos on internet yet but will soon

 

 

Did you go to an Estancia show? We are going to go to BA a couple of days early so we could do that but someone said that Montevideo was the best place to take that kind of tour. Did you see an Estancia show at any place? I do want to see a tango show in BA, also.

 

Again, thanks for the review and so glad you had a wonderful time. :) Next year we will be in your shoes so we are trying to learn all we can. Were there any tour companies that you did not like or would suggest not to take? Did you arrange your own air and how did you get from Val. to Santiago. We also want to spend an extra day in Santiago.

 

Thanks again. :)

 

We got off the ship early with the first groups and took taxi to bus sation in Valparaiso. Then took the bus to Santiago. It is about an 1hour 45 minute ride on a nice bus and is only $6 PP. We used the subway and busses in Santiago and just toured on our own, but my wife had been there before

[roddee]

duplicate, sorry

[roddee]

Cruisingrandy

 

Thanks for your review. We will be on the Crown to SA leaving Jan 28, so we are very interested in what kinds of things you did while in port. At this point, we have not decided on any specific excursions, but we usually like to do things independantly. Who did you go with in Puerto Madryn? Any other info you could share in regards to the excursions, etc. would be very much appreciated.

 

Thanks,

Dee

[cruisingrandy]

Cruisingrandy

 

Thanks for your review. We will be on the Crown to SA leaving Jan 28, so we are very interested in what kinds of things you did while in port. At this point, we have not decided on any specific excursions, but we usually like to do things independantly. Who did you go with in Puerto Madryn? Any other info you could share in regards to the excursions, etc. would be very much appreciated.

 

Thanks,

Dee

 

Dee

In Puerto Madryn we used Whales Patagonia here is their email address

cruise@whalespatagonia.com.ar I think there ended up being 10 of us so it made the price $45 each for the Penquin tour or $60 with a city tour thrown in after a stop for lunch. In my opinion I would not do the city tour because it leaves you no time to shop or walk around town.

I think you can get just as good of a deal at the pier with 4 people in a taxi though. But with WhalesPatagonia you get English speaking guide.

For the options we took at other ports, just ask for the specific port as per CC rules on giving out website info.

RAndy

[roddee]

Cruisingrandy,

Thanks so much for the information on Puerto Madryn. We are in the process of getting some firsthand information on Montevideo from a friend born and raised there, but are still trying to decide what to do in the other ports. What did you do in Puerto Chacabuco? What is the port like? I have had difficulty getting information since a lot of the other lines do not stop there.

Thanks, Dee

[cruisingrandy]

Cruisingrandy,

Thanks so much for the information on Puerto Madryn. We are in the process of getting some firsthand information on Montevideo from a friend born and raised there, but are still trying to decide what to do in the other ports. What did you do in Puerto Chacabuco? What is the port like? I have had difficulty getting information since a lot of the other lines do not stop there.

Thanks, Dee

 

 

Dee

Puerto Chacabuco is a total waste of time. There is nothing there to see or do. No one speaks English, but as I said before my wife is fluent in Spanish and the tours they offer don't do much.

Four of us rented a taxi and went to the Water falls(Looks like a small stream of water) very dissapointing and took the city tour but there is nothing in the city. The bigger town is about a 15-20 minute taxi ride.

We got out and went to an internet cafe and then back to port town. By the way there is internet about 10 minute walk from the boat.

In the town they will not take US dollars at any of the stores either.

I didnt talk to anyone that liked the stop here.

Randy

[roddee]

Cruisingrandy,

 

Thanks for the info. I am disappointed that the stop in Puerto Chacabuco is such a waste. I guess we can use that day to email the kids back home.

 

Dee