Cruising South America Wasn’t What I Expected (Or Planned)

most passengers were really fretting about cruising around Cape Horn at the base of South America it's where the Pacific and Atlantic smashed together and is renowned for being one of the roughest most treacherous parts of the world to cruise in I was apprehensive too as on my last trip there it was really rough although this time as we arrived the wind suddenly died down the sea calmed and the sun came out this was typical of so many aspects of my cruise around South America this constant unpredictability threw up so many things that I had neither expected nor prepared for as you will find out if you're new here welcome aboard I'm Gary bembridge now I had booked myself on a two-week cruise from valparaisio Chile around the Cape Horn ending in Buenos Aires via the Falkland Islands on Holland America Amsterdam and that in itself caused the first big kind of misunderstanding because the trip was with a mainstream Cruise Line Hull in America and on the ship type that usually sells in popular cruising regions like the Caribbean Alaska and the Mediterranean I approached the trip initially as if it was just a regular trip to a busy popular Cruise region but it is not it was different and it needed a unique approach one that was closer to an expedition rather than a regular Ocean Cruise as I came to appreciate and you will see I knew it would be a long and tricky Journey flying from the UK to join the cruise but once there I found the ports were not as slick resourced convenient nor run as smoothly as in the big cruising regions like the Caribbean Mediterranean Alaska from Santiago where I flew into to Valparaiso the embarkation Port was a good hour and a half away now the cruise Passenger Terminal for check-in was really hard to find because the ship stock some distance away deep within the freight area and my transfer there really struggled to find where we had to check in now once there it was chaotic they were not really used to dealing with cruise ships regularly the port agents seemed ill-prepared luggage Handover was messy they were late opening the check-in and they didn't organize it properly it really was a mess now talking to other people that I know who selled other other South American ports they've always had the same experience so be ready now during the trip I found the ports were mixed inability to deal with us and those we could dock in were working container ports including in the big cities of Montevideo and even Buenos Aires in other ports we had to Tender in and in some literally was just a shed like Porto chambuco for example another thing anyone thinking of doing this itinerary needs to appreciate is while my cruise was 14 days it was only scheduled to call into seven ports so roughly half of the days are sea days now on this trip my ports were due to be Porter Mont Puerto chabuka Punta Arenas in Chile Port Stanley Montevideo and Juanes Aries however as I learned successfully calling into all ports every trip is unpredictable we were the only cruise out of the seven operated in that season by Holland America that got into all scheduled ports this is largely due to Wind and Sea conditions with both Stanley in the Falkland Islands having one of the highest risks of all the day before and after us for example other cruise ships could not get in now I'll come to see days later as there are some specific quirks to understand here too but more about the ports first now those passengers used to the Caribbean Mediterranean or Alaska cruises had assumed that self-touring and exploring was going to be easy appealing and the thing to do like in those regions but it was not and I saw many people miss out on several fronts me included now first except for the big cities of Montevideo and Buenos Aires the best and musty sites are not close by the ports so not only did an Excursion get me to those but it also removed the stress of traveling independently an hour or two hours away from a foreign Port where I didn't speak the language and therefore was constantly having to worry about getting back in time for departure it removed that stress my best support experiences were where I went on the Cruise Line tours for example the tour in Porto Mont Chile Lake todos Los Santos with a beautiful Lake Cruise overlooked by a snow-capped volcano and a Petra Hawaii Falls and Rapids in ushire as the town itself is not particularly interesting taking the train to the end of the world to tour deep into the Tierra del Fuego National Park amazing and in Port Stanley in the Falklands the tour that took me well over an hour out of the small town to roam at the bluff Cove penguin reserve and hear all about the war that had been fought in the lands around it again amazing however in Porto chabuko I decided to self-explore bad choice it was a tiny little town with the only attraction actually being some tents with local handicrafts I missed out on the beautiful Patagonian scenery the Aiken Del Sur private Park kayaking horseback riding all a few hours away in puta Arenas a big city with varied architecture if you didn't go to tournament exploring some small museums like the Naval Museum the magdalenus museum now while those people on tours were out seeing penguins that were tracking through beautiful landscapes for example in Monteverde on Buenos Aires it was absolutely easier and rewarding to self-explore in Montevideo literally across the road was the carnival Museum there was a beautiful Food Hall A 25-minute Walk To Independence Square in Buenos Aires I got the Hop On Hop of bus right from the port I got off to visit ever perron's tomb in the massive Recoleta Cemetery got to see the column theater The Enormous Obelisk at Plaza del Maya I wandered around the remarkable florianus Gloriana much easier and simpler but mostly more than any other region I've cruised in I felt excursions were key to getting the most of this itinerary if you don't like Cruise Line ones make sure instead you pre-book Alternatives there is limited capacity in most ports and I had very wisely booked excursions way ahead now those who waited until they're on board found most of them were actually sold out I met many people who were really disappointed because they did not get to see what they've actually come on the trip to see be it the best penguin colonies in the Falklands or that volcano I mentioned near Porto Mont and in most ports there were not any or many independent options Dockside as an Alternatives unlike the Caribbean Mediterranean Alaska they were not a stream of independent tour operators right there at the port with lots of options it was mostly taxi drivers who would offer some sort of deal to take you around the site I also found probably due to less infrastructure and options the excursions were expensive I totted up a bill of just over one thousand two hundred dollars for the excursions that I went on and as I mentioned I didn't go in every single port way more per tour than other regions I found many people on board were shocked by how much they had to spend on those chores I guess another factor in the price is many excursions are longer than in other regions and involve multiple forms of Transport for example coming back to the Puerto Mont Lake enforce store I mentioned it was a seminar Excursion because it was an hour and a half to get there an hour and a half back at a boat trip it had lunch included so it's longer and just so much more cost involved the tours also by the way make for a long and tiring day because they are long tours but what was the surprise is the sea days were tiring too as I mentioned roughly half the trip was C days now if you do one that includes Antarctic Scenic cruising that will mean even more sea days now this threw up some challenges of its own first while I was comfortable with the line I'd Chosen and I knew what to expect I spoke to others not used to you know on America they wanted much more entertainment on sea days there were much more going on the evenings than Holland America as a line office Holland America and looking at the other lines doing these itineraries they actually focus on two key things immersing guests into the region and Scenic cruising on sea days it's not about programs packed with other activities even on sea days there are very few lines that do this itinerary and it seems to mostly be the more classic premium luxury lines like Holland America princess and Viking they're catering for adults they're on ships without lots of bells and whistles that they send down there the focus is very much on the destination it's not about varied onboard activities and you need to bear that in mind that's why on all the sea days the main activity were really detailed poor talks given by Kevin the cruise and travel director he was an Argentinian he knew the region Imports in depth they were amazing really detailed talks packed out the other activity was actually just taking in and watching the incredible scenery you might be in the crow's nest out on the deck and even on some days we're allowed onto the bow of the ship it was open for sightseeing it also by the way meant that many of the sea days were early starts there weren't days to relax and lie and slowly get up I was up between 6am and 7 00 am on most sea days to see things like the beautiful Amalia Glacier in the Sacramento Channel Chile at the five glaciers in Glacier alley in the Beagle Channel but it was also the case even when cruising through the Chilean fjords itself you know looking at the sights the mountains looking for dolphins or whales that popped up at various times and of course again as I mentioned we had that Cape Horn sea day viewing so the sea day experience is a key part of the trip now if you want a cruise to be entertained and lots of activities on sea days this is not what this region is about it's about immersion and it's about spending time out looking at the sites it was overall a tiring trip versus other regions I've been on because in addition to the early sea day starts many excursions were early starts too I had for example one meeting at 6 15 a.m in the morning the other thing that threw me and other guests way more than I expected and was at times a challenge was the weather it was unpredictable colder and wetter than I had thought it would be even though I'd actually checked all the temperatures and weather before I went now while cruising here happens in their summer the volatility impacted the trip in a couple of ways now as it was summer you know I think of South America as being really hot in summer now before I went for example many people asked me if I booked the retreat this is that paid for area on America small Cabanas Sun lounges you lay about in the sun you have lunch there now I'd done that on my Mexican Christmas cruise but I didn't book The Retreat because I looked at the way that I knew was going to be cold for periods of the trip it was going to be like five degrees Celsius 41 degrees Fahrenheit many days in fact what I found is the retreat was totally closed the lounges and the tables were securely lashed down because the winds would have literally swept them away though despite that chilliness it was actually then 30 degrees Celsius 86 degrees Fahrenheit in San Diego when I flew in and Montevideo and Buenos Aires at the end of the trip were up to 35 degrees Celsius 95 degrees Fahrenheit so that huge range of temperatures means a big suitcase in fact what's close to do with rain cold and incredibly hot days you need to be ready for the variety but what I hadn't preempted nor had many people was the impact of the wind the wind created swells and for much of the trip the sea was much rougher than I expected now people were expecting Cape Horn as I mentioned to be bumpy but it was bumpy from the minute we left Valparaiso and it stayed bumpy for most of the trip the open decks were frequently closed due to the wind including even on Cape Horn Scenic cruising day that now that bumpiness of the sea the swells meant that Production shows were even canceled on two of the nights winds also impacted excursions in Punta Arenas I'd booked actually a boat Excursion to Magdalena Island to see a very famous penguin Colony now we arrived actually at the boat to find the Harbor Master had abruptly closed all scholarship activity going out to things like the islands due to the wind now as I mentioned wind and weather did not stop us getting into any ports but in some we were warned to listen out for the ship's horn calling us back before scheduled all the board time now the captain actually did this in Port Stanley because the wind was Rising it was making tendering rough and more difficult and we actually left over an hour before schedule it did rain much more than I expected both on the sea days and when we were out on tours I was really glad I packed a good raincoat another thing that threw some was currency and money partly as we went to three different countries Chile the Falkland Islands and Argentina and of course all have their own currencies and the US dollar which I'm used to being easily accepted in many places the Caribbean even parts of Asia was not accepted widely here now most stall holders shops taxis and so on expected to be paid in local currency and quite a few surprisingly didn't take kind of credit or debit cards now I hadn't wanted to take varying currencies and have some left over so I arrived with none planning to get some on the ship but I found once on the ship while they did change the Chilean currency not at very good rates they didn't do Argentinian currency because that's very complicated it's all different exchange rates as I discovered and they didn't do the Falkland pound so with hindsight what I wish I'd thought through more is in each board what I would need money for so I was better prepared with currency and brought that along but now thinking about and taking everything into account am I actually glad that I went on this trip the history Landscapes glaciers volcanoes Penguins the culture in those big cities will stay with me for years and years and years so absolutely yes this was an amazing trip now will I do this itinerary again probably not it was definitely a once in a lifetime experience so if you're going like me make sure you make the most of it as it is incredible now if you want to know about other incredible cruises I think you should do watch this video of the best 11 I have done around the world see you over there

Channel: Tips For Travellers

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Keywords: cruise tips, tips for travellers, Gary Bembridge tips for travellers, Gary Bembridge, Cruise Tips For Travellers, south america, south america cruise, cruise tips and tricks, cruise tips for travellers, south america cruise tips, south america cruise ports, south america cruise reviews, south america cruise lines, south america cruises

Id: ATeZzV3Dfko

Length: 14min 50sec (890 seconds)

Published: Sat Apr 22 2023