South America Cruise Reviews

We started the cruise with a 2 night pre-cruise stay in Santiago at the Sheraton.  Everything was wonderful at the hote, and we felt very comfortable in the neighborhood and around the city.  We used the subway, did a lot of walking, and used the "hop on - hop off" bus.  Santiago was a great place to explore.

Our transportation to Valparaiso was delayed as we were told that the Infinity was being sanitized due to illnesses on the past cruise.  Celebrity arranged for guests to remain at the hotel until early afternoon and provided a buffet lunch that included wine.  The food and service were excellent.

When we arrived at the terminal in Valparaiso, the line stretched from the counter to the entry doors.  We waited in line for 2 1/2 hours to embark.  This was unacceptable!  Celebrity Ty's had their power to have guests arrive at the terminal. They should have scheduled buses to arrive at different times.  Considering the guests were seniors, they should have had better planning to embarkation. 

We were in a balcony cabin, and all was fine. However,the stateroom in getting to look a bit tired, and there was mildew in the shower.  

Celebrity was careful about sanitation.  Staff was constantly going cleaning surfaces where guests would make hand contact, and announcements were made about how to keep healthy.  The buffet was not self serve for 3/4 of the cruise.  Everything was served by the staff.

The shore excursions were expensive, and most were very good.  One excursion was a disappointment.  Shore time was limited when an excursion was booked.  

The food, for the most part, was excellent.  We were disappointed with the seafood in the main dining room.

The constant selling of upgrades was a bit obnoxious.  

The entertainment was good good but not great.  It was mostly singers.  

All in all, we enjoyed the cruise.

We lucked out with near perfect weather. We really enjoyed the beauty on the Andes Mountains, glaciers, and fjords -- scenery like we have not seen before. Celebrity gave us a great cruise experience with very good food, service, and entertainment. We were so pleased we booked two more Celebrity cruises while on board.

Dialy excursions to individual islands.  Naturalists were most informative and easy to understand.  All questions were answered without hesitation.  All seemed to have a strong appreciation for their job. 

The cruise itself was the highlight of our trip.  However, ports of call not very appealing because there was not really anything interesting to see or do in some of them (e.g. Punta Arenas).

I enjoyed everything about this trip. Every excursion that I went on far exceeded my expectations. South America is very interesting. I really love the Argentine people. I like the size of the princess ship... not too big. I would highly recommend this cruise.

This ship needs updating, the buffet area is a mess, there are not enough tables and we had to spend 10 to 15 minutes walking around to find a table to sit down. 

One mornin we sat by the pool because there were no tables inside, it was so windy and cold, our breakfast actually flew off our table.

the dining room was much better, but the schedule for breakfast was only until 9 am.

The food was fair, there were days it was great and others awful.

the service also leaves a lot to be desired.  Not a good experience.

The cruise ship needs a new chef and some new recipes.  The food was very up and down.  The Horizon buffet was terrible.  Had a hard time getting a seat for breakfast and lunches.  The food at Sabatini's was very good, and even the food in the Bottacelli dining room was only fare for breakfast.  Cold food that should have been hot was a regular occurrence.  And none of the dining rooms or buffet could make a decent omelet or scramble eggs.  The beds were lumpy and sagging even when I ordered a mattress topper. 

The trip was fine until the day we departed.  We got to the airport around 9am and found out we needed a Visa for our connecting flight in Brazil. Neither Regent or you advised us ahead of time.  I tried to buy tickets for a direct flight but it was leaving the next day at a cost of $1500 per person.

So we decided to go back to the ship and get things sorted out.  3 hours later we got back to the ship around 12.  The executive concierge, William Gomez, said 30 minutes to sort it out.  5 hours later we finally had arrangements for a direct flight to Miami the next day.  It was finalized about an hour before the ship was departing!  We were transported to a hotel 30 minutes from the airport when we could've stayed at the Wyndham next to the airport.

The next morning (4:30am) we were told a taxi wasn't available.  We had to fight with a Regent rep, who was taking other Regent passengers to the airport, to give us a ride.  He finally agreed.

When we got there we realized our tickets were not business class but economy.  We squeezed into our seats (me in the middle) for a 5 1/2 hour flight.  It was a nightmare!!!

We are requesting reimbursement for our business class tickets and compensation for the undue stress we had to endure.  I was seriously concerned about a nervous breakdown.

Please get back to me ASAP.

The wildlife and nature staff were amazing.  They did an excellent job teaching us and keeping us safe. Service was good but not as good as the regular Silver Sea cruises we have been on.  The food at lunch and breakfast was excellent but the service in the evening was very poor as was the selection.  

This was a magnificent cruise indeed. Great food and wonderful service as we have come to expect from HA. My favorite part was the Antarctic landing excursion and the beauty of the Chilean fiords. Argentinian Patagonia looked like hills east of San Diego.

As two star mariners and approaching three stars we had hoped to be offered a suite upgrade to a Neptune Suite and never were. We met people on the ship who were offered that upgrade with no Mariner status at all and for a few thousand dollars more...

The most disappointing (and annoying part) of the cruise was that our Vista stateroom, 7069 was directly below the Lido Deck smoking area. It was not the smoke that was the problem, but the constant scraping of the deck chairs literaly above our bed in the stateroom. We had a hard time sleeping in the morning and in the end wore ear plugs. The acoustics of the stateroom and the metal chairs on a steel deck were surprising loud. We asked the concierge several time to consider moving the area to the port side which had the same chair setup, but no one ever sat there- the smokers were always moving chairs except when sea conditions were bad. So the noise only stopped after midnight. We were disappointed that the staff did not address our concerns. We were placated with apologies, but no action...

Beautiful weather and ports.  Falkland was great site to see penguins. Three perfect days cruising Antarctica, saw whalea, dolpains, seals, ice and Icebergs.   They have four Antarctica experts aboard ship that gave great informational  briefs so we knew what we were seeing.  Drake passage a little rocky. Last three Chilean stops could have been better.  Overall, a once in a lifetime experiencr.

The trip exceeded our expectations.  The views in Antarctica segment had spectacular views of mountians, glaciers and ice bergs.  The seas were smooth and the skies were sunny.

The ship was comfortable, food was great and service excellent.

The shows were fantastic and the daily movies usually were chosen to have something to do with where we were cruising.  For instance:  Evita, and Dance of the Penguins.

It was a very nice cruise, but getting to and from it required very long flights.

The beverages on Celebrity are far superior to other cruise lines that I have used in the past. But, there is still a weakness in the program. The nicer wines seem to be available in The Luminae Restaurant, but it is at best hit and miss in other lounges around the ship. Michaels Club never has the upscale wines. Get those inline and you have 5 stars!

Expert guided hikes and snorkeling, then return to pampered luxury on board Xpedition. All staff were delightful and helpful. Their only wish was for you to learn and enjoy every minute of the tour. 

The best part of the itinerary was far south, Cape Horn and Beagle Channel although we enjyed the warm weather earlier and at the end. Great ship with some very good food, best ever shows and excellent bands and orchestra.

Shore excursions were disappointing. We had to pay twice for one excursion.

Yes recommended.

The cruise and service were very good.

Only the Machupicchu excursion was great, all the others were disappointing.  The sites visited were uninteresting and the guides only okay.

A lot of things happened on this cruise, most of them not good. The poor captain had to deliver a lot of bad news throughout. The Staff seemed to resent the passengers, it was definitely not the same experience that I've had on other Princess Cruises.

Embarking in Rio was costly and very hot and delayed.  Multiple issues caused us to miss being in ports on planned days and even missing one port entirely, Falkland Islands.

Crown Princess was a good Princess Cruise experience as usual.

The Antarctic 4 days was the best part of the cruise, followed by the Amazon. I highly recommend this cruise. The ports of call are varied and the excursions offered are quite varied and there is one to suit everyone's taste.

we had a wonderful cruise.  The one thing that really sets Celebrity apart is how well trained was the staff.  Without exception every staff member we encountered really tried to accommodate our every need.  The maid and butler (Pamala and John) were absolutely committed to make us happy for all 16 days.