LIVE from the Star Princess Penguins - 17 January - around the Cape from Buenos Aires

[Crown Prince]

Buenos Dias from Buenos Aires,

I have been here since last Sunday and it is about 100 degrees F. most of the time. Hot all night long.

Some of us just returned from Igauzu Falls. What a wonderful bit of nature. My favourite trip was the 2-hour jeep safari into the jungle. I liked the 1-inch long black Tiger Ants. Also high up there is the jetboat ride under the falls. The cowboy captains driving the jetboat make sure that everyone and everything is completely drenched - what fun!

It is true that these are some of the best in the world:

Argentine Beef

Ice Cream

Portenos

Last night, it only took about 10 minutes at the Marriott Hotel to check in for the Star Princess. It is now 5 AM and we shall board in a few hours.

Our first port is tomorrow, Sunday, in Montevideo, Uruguay.

My bags are packed and my taxi will arrive in about 7 hours to take me to the Pier.

More to come from ON BOARD.

 

:cool:;):D;):cool:

[Tallcruiser]

Looking forward to your posts!:D

[DougH]

I´ve also been down here for a couple of days but spent all of my time in BA. Beef is great and the women are gorgeous. Can´t wait to board the Star in a couple of hours.

[Samcorl]

Hi, I do believe we will be boarding the Star as you disembark in Valparaiso. Is it really 100 degrees? Would be interested in knowing how much the temperature changes as you round Cape Horn. Packing becomes such a challenge when you have drastically different temps. We are arriving several days early in Santiago, and then spending several days at the end in Buenos Aires. We are looking forward to the wonderful seafood in Chile, as well as the beef and tango in Argentina. By the way, where did you purchase Argentine Pesos? Can't get them in the US. Looking forward to following your adventure. Sam

[Coral]

Looking forward to the live reports!

 

Doug - Have a blast!

[Druke I]

Enjoy the trip.

 

We did it Mar 06, on Regal Princess, and had a geat time.

[NH Cruisers]

Please tell us about the ship and crew too, if you find the time.

Thank you.

 

Jon

[jimpod]

We sailed on the Star last January roundtrip from Buenos Aires. Temperature was similar to what people are reporting just now. Sailing round Cape Horn was wonderful - the seas were extremely calm and the weather was fine so the views were great. We found that wearing a jacket on deck while rounding the Horn was sufficient. Think we were lucky with the weather as we had no rain only a slight snow flurry while in Antarctica and the winds were light. We stayed at the Intercontinental in BA and had difficulty obtaining local currency. Apparently some of the banks don't do exchange and some only at certain times of the day. We eventually changed some dollars at the hotel reception and got a good rate there. Enjoy your cruise and your time in BA - lots to see and do if you can stand the heat!!!! Prices are low - or they were last year. We ate one night in the hotel- 3 courses, bottle of wine, coffees. The bill including 6 drinks earlier in the day was around $70. Beef is excellent and although we did not do the Goucho tour, anyone who did highly recommended it.

[tequilasunrise]

I'm sooooo jealous. I'd love to take this trip. Thanks for letting us live vicariously though you!!:D

 

Look forward to the posts.

[elaineh27]

We have just done this cruise (Christmas & New Year)and really enjoyed it. The Star is a nice ship and the crew on our trip were great. Highlight of the trip for us was the Falkand Islands, did a (private) tour of the battlefields and San Carlos cemetery, this and the 2 para memorial is a must see for any Brits who fought or remember the conflict. BA tango show was really good as was the railway at Ushuaia. The piazza on the ship (used to be the atrium ) works really well the little cafe on deck 5 is good, Only thing onboard we were dissapointed with was the horizon buffet:( this didn't seem as good as it has been on previous Princess ships. Our Captain Bob Oliver and the tour guide Joe May were both excellent.:)

 

Stayed 2 days pre cruise in Rio at the Sheraton where we saw a shooting from our balcony the police shot 2 people dead in the favella in full view from our balcony. Dangerous place Rio. View from this hotel, slums one side beach the other.

[Commodore]

My DW wants to know if there is on the Star Princess casino the game Denver Duck???:confused:

[Sherry84]

Will be on the ship in May, any info you can provide is much appreciated :)

[doggie girl]

Hi, we just got home yesterday from our Star Princess trip from Santiago to BA. It was the best trip we have done ever but the reason was seeing all the penguins in their natural habitat. Santiago was hot, their subway is excellent and easy if you look at the map. The seafood and pizza was excellent.

We had wonderful weather on our entire trip, even around the horn it was calm and sunny. It was very windy and cold at Magdalena Island in Punta Arenas, this is where there is thousands of magellanic penguins with lots of babies. You do need a jacket that is warm, I didn't have the right amount of clothing on so I was cold. I did buy a Columbia bugaloo jacket in Ushuaia since I we were going to do the Volunteer Point excursion. I was really glad I did since it was windy and cold but didn't feel it with the jacket. I would recommend doing the Volunteer Point with Patrick Watts instead of the ship tour. The price is almost half and it was the highlight of the trip with all the king penguins and their babies. There are three kinds of penguins at Volunteer Point. The people that did the bluff tour said their were 6 king penguins with the rock hoppers.

We loved Buenos Aires they have the best beef and good wine. The prices are very cheap compared to the states. We had a bottle of wine, two big steaks, great salad and grilled vegetables for $60.00. A great restaurant tha the locals go to is Mirasol on Posada and Cerrito right by the Four Seasons. We went to Cabrera in Palermo but was disappointed on the steak after eating at Mirasol. It was really hot when we arrived on Jan 17 but it sprinked that night, which brought the temperatures down to being cool. The next day it was very pleasant even chilly at times but it did start to get hot again on Jan 20. We stayed in an apartment in Recoleta and it was really nice to be able to walk around and not feel uncomfortable with our surroundings. There are change offices that will change money or you can use your atm card to get pesos. Most places would take dollars or credit cards but the taxis should be paid in pesos. We hired a transfer service from the ship to the apartment and we were able to pay in dollars plus the agent did talk english. We used private tours which was cheaper than most transfer co. on the internet.

Website: www.privatetours.com.ar

E-mail : info@privatetours.com.ar

We also did a walking city tour Alan from Buenos Tours it was excellent. Don't miss the San Telmo fair it was fun and lots of crafts on Sunday. there is also a fair in Recoleta on Saturday that was very nice.

 

Enjoy your trip!

Pauline

[cruiseri]

We did the same itinerary last winter on the Star Princess, the entire cruise was great. Highlight was the journey to Volunteer Point (Falkland Islands) with Patrick and his helpers. Never thought I'd be seeing penguins in their native habitat let alone having them walk up and inspect me. It was cold and windy on the Falklands (at least at Volunteer Point), we brought sweaters, sweat shirts, and jackets. The ride out to the point takes about 2 1/2 hours across the peat (so very bumpy). Patrick organizes a convoy of 4-wheel drive vehicles which each hold 5 or 6 people. Once you get to Volunteer Point the drivers don safety vests and become the park wardens, making sure no one does anything harmful to the penguins. There were hundreds of penguins. The journey out there is WELL WORTH IT.

 

Going around Cape Horn and then past the Fjords was chilly, at least for those of us standing outside and taking pictures.

 

Enjoy-what a great trip.

 

SAS

[JohnLauben]

We made it to ELEPHANT ISLAND about 1.5 hours late this morning. ELEPHANT ISLAND is our first Antarctic sighting for the trip. However, it is quite hazy and cloudy outside, with temperatures just above the freezing point, and rough seas.

 

Last night, we were experiencing hurricane force winds and high seas:eek:. The captain (Bob Oliver) slowed us down to accomodate. One of the glass doors on the LIDO deck (under the MUTS screen, entering the central elevator lobby) was smashed.

 

Overall, food has been great (except if you are a pineapple lover:().

 

More to come from the others .....

[spingal]

Star Princess cruisers,

 

Can anyone possibily find out if they have begun serving breakfast fot suite passengers in Sabatini's? This is a new perk that Princess rolled out on the Ruby Princess. The perk is supposed to roll fleetwide but I am not sure when it will begin on the Star.

 

I hope you have a GREAT cruise. :D:D This itinerary is on my list of cruise I want to do.

[seattlec5]

We did that trip last year and really enjoyed it. When we stopped in Uruguay we drove out to Punta Del Este (about 90 miles east from Montevideo) for the day and I was really impressed with the coutryside in between and the cosmopolitan "summer" crowd in Punta.

 

Be prepared for the wind in the Falklands, it never stops. Hopefully you will have decent weather at the Cape also.

 

Cheers!

[Crown Prince]

Star Princess cruisers,

Can anyone possibily find out if they have begun serving breakfast fot suite passengers in Sabatini's? This is a new perk that Princess rolled out on the Ruby Princess. The perk is supposed to roll fleetwide but I am not sure when it will begin on the Star.

I hope you have a GREAT cruise. :D:D This itinerary is on my list of cruise I want to do.

 

I need to check for you, Jamie.

 

22 Jan., (day before Yesterday) was Kathy's birthday. We had a wonderful celebration and then I had the chef's table with only 7 of us:

Amber, Susan, Jennifer, and Slipper Couple, & Lady to my right (sorry, forgot your name).

Well, it was pretty much like the Ruby.

STANLEY was fabulous. I found the cutest Penguin slippers & wear them all the time and everyone loves them.

Sent postcards from town. I went in a Landrover with 6 other pax with he owner, Lisa Loewe, owner of 10,000 acres with 25,000 head of sheep and 500 cows. Wow, could she drive that thing, over hill and dale, to take us to 4 colonies of gentoo on her property, with a little tea shack, run by her daughter & 2-year-old grandaughter. 5 children of Lisa & Adrian all work in the industry, either as taxi drivers, tour guides, waitress at the limey bar, & one guy is on a sheep farm (one guy still in school).

What a wonderful adventure with this family and all their penguins. Most were the grey babies because Mum & Dad were out fishing. Lisa said that a lot get eaten on their way in and out of the sea. It was beautiful weather & not cold at all, but a stiff breeze.

 

During the hurricane, I was awakened at 1:15 AM by a plate of 6 oranges sliding from my bedside table onto the other side of the bed. Well, the heavy plate clanged and woke me up and we were rolling from side to side so it was hard to go to the bathroom. I did not realize that there were 10-metre waves & hurricane-force winds outside. I was just trying not to fall down. The views are spectacular.

This morning, we drove by Esperanza Station and some large bergs.

Princess really knows how to put on a show. Drinking coffee & eathing breakfast while watching this spectacular is truly the way to live.

[doggie girl]

Hi Kathy's sister (crown prince),

Tell Kathy Happy Birthday from Pauline and Jack, we were her table mates on the last cruise. Sounds like the weather has changed for the worse, I would have been sea sick that whole time the ship was rocking and rolling. I hope the weather gets better for the rest of your trip. Keep us posted.

Pauline:)

[RickEk]

Looks cold and beautiful!!

 

[spingal]

I need to check for you, Jamie.

 

During the hurricane, I was awakened at 1:15 AM by a plate of 6 oranges sliding from my bedside table onto the other side of the bed. Well, the heavy plate clanged and woke me up and we were rolling from side to side so it was hard to go to the bathroom. I did not realize that there were 10-metre waves & hurricane-force winds outside. I was just trying not to fall down.

 

Thank you Crown Prince!!!

 

And WOW -- what an experience in the storm! :eek::eek:

[Lynda90]

Hi Donna! Have a wonderful cruise and I'll be looking forward to reading about all your escapades (sp?). And, knowing you, there will be many. I have wonderful memories of our chef's table on the Ruby. Generoso and Alfredo were so great. Don't know how anything could compete with that one. Ciao! :p:p

[SissyG]

I am really enjoying reading this thread because we think that our next years big trip will be the 31 day Rio to San Francisco on the Star March 16, 2010.

Thanks for taking time during your cruise to post, the information about weather and ports and the ship is really useful to those planning this cruise. We leave on the Emerald for 10 days February 8th and when we return home after March 1st will book this great trip. Sissy

[due2cruise]

:)Can't wait for your next report we are doing the same cruise leaving on 14th february Pippa x

[JustinPlusLauren]

This cruise is definitely on my list as one I would LOVE to do! Can't wait to read more, thanks for posting! :)