South America Cruise Reviews

The cruise started out nicely from Valparaiso Chile but started going downhill after the first few days as we had a captain from hell.  We were supposed to enter the channel to see glaciers at 7:30 but the captain entered at 6:00 and it was all over by 7:30. We arrived at another port and the captain said that the waters were too rough for our boat trip to the island to see the penguins.  The waters around the ship were calm for most of the day and a little turbulent for only about 30 minutes.  Apparently it was safe enough for us to use tenders to and from shore.  We were then supposed to see cape horn from the south but the captain steered the ship far to the east of the cape even though other smaller ships behind us were able to get as close as they wanted.  The captain then continued to the Falkland Islands where once again he said that the winds ans seas were to rough to stop so we just went around them and continued back to the mainland.   Here again the smaller ships got in.  The ship itself is in desperate need of a face-lift.  The best part of the trip was getting off the ship.

Had a great cruise..Was made Honorary Captain during staff sing a long...

Met some great people onboard.The weather in that part of the world can be very unpredictable...We had some great sunny days and a few cool and windy days   but overall it was a great experience seeing all the fjords and glaciers.

Been cruising mostly bigger ships as of late.the Norwegian Sun is a smaller ship.

Got to know alot more people on board and also the crew..The crew was very very warm and helpful.The staff was really first class and always available around the ship,,,,,very very memorable cruise!!!!

The itinerary was excellent.   The lectures were superb.   Unfortunately there was a ship health issue which seemed to dominate the crew's time and attention.   Missed the social activities of cooking demonstration, gatherings for captain's party, party for frequent Oceania travelers, afternoon tea served in Horizons etc.   We will check number of sea days on future trips.   This cruise had too many for us particularly with the extra day when we couldn't land in the Falklands.

Oceana Marketing Department missed opportunities that would have elevated sailors satisfaction substantially. Cruise Director was given no leeway in doing anything special, e.g., hiring a local Argentina couple as one evening's entertainment to demonstrate dancing the Tango. This was easy to do and would have cost minimal.

we booked this cruise based on our very nice experience on Star in Alaska 8 months ago. unfortunately it was not as good and will affect our future booking

"Since the 2011 refurbish, much has changed for the ship.  Infinity's most visible alterations focus on the Decks 4 and 5 social hub, which forms a two-floor, shiplong link between the main dining room (aft) and theater (forward). The focus is on casual food and drink options. The old Martini Bar has been replaced with a new version, with a shaved ice-topped bar and juggling bartenders. Cellar Masters, a wine venue has replaced the original Champagne Bar. Bistro on Five, a for-fee creperie that was a surprise hit on Solstice-class ships, has been added to Deck 5. Infinity's old coffee bar has been redone, and the line has added a gelateria. Despite these alterations, the ship still retains much of what has made it a fan favorite, stylistically, for more than a decade. The whimsical art, use of natural woods and lots of glass, especially in the stunning Solarium, have always lent Celebrity Infinity and its sisters an elegant, contemporary air. Those touches remain. So too does the high passenger-to-crew ratio, which has earned the line high marks for service. It's a ship for people who like to linger over dinner, sip a drink in a comfy lounge while listening to music (or doing a bit of ballroom dancing), take in a show or lounge by a pool; high-octane partying and crazy outdoor activities (waterslides, surfing, ropes courses) are not Infinity's hallmarks. At 2,170 passengers -- compared with 2,850 on the Solstice-class vessels -- those looking for a more intimate Celebrity experience will do well to consider the "mid-sized" Millennium Class. While you give up the Lawn Club area and slightly larger cabins and public areas, you're also not overwhelmed with a dizzying array of extra-fee restaurants (six on Silhouette to Infinity's three). And with Infinity's port-intensive itineraries, sometimes it's nice to have a ship that complements, rather than competes with, the destination" (Cruise Critic, 2016)

We skipped three ports due to weather and a breakdown in one of the ship's engines.  Will Regent refund what it saved in port fees, etc?

This was not a top of the line cruise for many, many reasons:

1. Cabins are outdated and lacking true TV connectivity. 

2. In training staff for their new ship, they have many new hires onboard. Though, I understand the reason, they are not knowledgeable about their jobs and many speak insufficient English and give inappropriate canned answers to questions they don't understand. All are unfailingly polite and overly deferential.

3. Food ranged from good to Excellent, but was not uniformly gourmet quality.

4. Regent allowed a two-year-old to run wild on a cruise with no other children aboard. He ran under the feet of waiters and passengers with no interference from his parents or guidance by the staff to the parents.

5. The quality of tours was wildly disappointing. More than half of the guides spoke English so poorly that they were difficult to understand. Very few of the guides understood the basics of guiding a group. They would answer questions for those walking near them, but never think to gather the group to offer the information. Many tours consisted of pointing out highlights (this statue, that street, that animal) without any elucidation. Even the knowledgeable guides need to be taught guiding techniques.  In trying to provide individual attention, they often ignored the rest of the group. One allowed one passenger to delay the bus for a half hour while she took a horseback ride she missed before lunch.

6. Entertainment on the ship was spotty. One act (2 evenings of Gauchos) was awful. Several others were adequate to good ( guitarists, comedian and magician). Two were excellent (Nicole Sasser and Opera Singer). The troupe onboard was very personable and had some ability but their shows seemed geared to the Carnival crowd: They were uniformly loud and over-amplified with excess reverberation. The material was often relatively current pop, not geared to the 50-90 year old age group. And aerobics substituted for what they thought was choreography.

7. Smithsonian lecturers were not good. Topics for poorly chosen and they were clearly stretching their material to fill the requisite number of lectures. On a South Amterican cruise, with all the new things to which we were exposed, I don't need lectures on old films and White House Etiquette.

8. Lectures by Terry Breen were the highlight of the trip, as always. She's brilliant and a terrific speaker.

Mind you, I was not suffering onboard. It a four star experience for a six star price.

This is an old ship.  The deluxe stateroom is very small including the veranda.  The refrigerator is filled to capacity with items for sale, no room for customers use.  The tile grout in the bathroom is filthy.  The molding around the shower door appears to be wads of chewed bubble gum.  The face bowl showed cracks and abrasions from excess use.  The corners in the bathroom had existing hair and evidence of poor cleaning.  Toilet bowl had accumulations of black content, which showed improvement with daily cleaning which we had to insist upon.  Carpeted areas attached to the wall was coming apart. Closets small and compacted, unable to place luggage under bed, let alone place in closet.  Therefore luggage had to be left out and take up space in the already tiny room.

Entertainment was sparse and not at all up beat for this cruise.  There were only two Night club Venues.  There were two production shows worth seeing, The Instrumentalist and the Acrobats, both were very good.  Everything close down around 12mn.  There were five days where all shops and the casino was closed, and not replaced with any other activities or entertainment. 

We are not Novice Cruiser, well seasoned with over 40 cruises between us.  This

is by far the worst one that I have encountered yet in many years of cruising.  My

first sailing with Celebrity and the last. The wait staff made the trip, if not for their professionalism, courtesy and upbeat I would rate one (1).

This cruise has something for everyone about the same number of days at sea and in port. The ports we visited were interesting and wonderful places to visit. Be aware that the ports in Chile (except Valparaiso) and Stanley, Falkland Islands require tendering with Stanley being the longest. Visiting South America was experience I'll remember always.

Great cruise---good itinerary.  We had a great cabin steward and ate mostly at the buffet.  The nightly entertainment was not as much as we have had on Princess.

Tired, old ship. Underwhelming ports. Average at best food. The only redeeming qualities of this cruise were the weather and the service. Beautiful sunny skies and warm weather throughout (we were told this was a once in a thousand occurrence!) The crew did everything they could to make us happy but they were undone by the terrible shore excursions. Whatever you do: DO NOT book any ship sponsored excursions!!! Virtually nothing to see; basically non-English speaking guides; outrageous prices. Do your homework and go someplace else. Of all the ports only Buenos Aires is worth seeing...

was surprised to find the ship in the condition that it was in especially after I had read that the ship recently went under renovation.  If it was renovated somebody got ripped off, rust, unfinished decks, carpet dirty and old etc.  Excursions were about 50 -50 ranging from a 4x4 tour that was mainly driving up a mud road for a mile turning around and seeing a beaver dam to very pleasant evening with wine and steaks and good company.  I do have to say that the cruise staff was very good and made up for the ship's condition.  Overall, glad i made the trip now off my bucket list but would not go back again.

The Ship experience was wonderful.  

We had anytime dining and enjoyed the flexibility.

Weather was excellent.  We lucked out and had tremendously smooth water around Cpae Horn.

My wife and I flew in one day early and stayed at the Marriott on Presidente Kennedy Ave.

Used the Celebrity Infinity transportation to the port easy and effort free.

Boarded the ship in 10 minutes and room was ready #6099, the cabin was clean,nice fresh flowers and a bottle of champagne in an ice bucket with fruit bowl on the side.

We had our options of eating in the main dining, Blu or Lumaine.

The trip was amazing the crew very nice and helpful. The scenery and weather was what was expected and then some. 

This was a beautiful cruise ship with a wonderful staff, great food, great entertainment, and an exceptional itinerary. Once again, there was little fanfare around the pool - hardly any music or activities, just a bunch of people sleeping. The food was very good with good variety. The lectures were excellent, especially Milos. The crew was fantastic as usual.

The best part was the carnival samba parade in Rio. The unusual natural  beauty of the Amazon. We had good lecturer on the ship who highlighted the history and the geography of the places we visited. Not to mention the Microsoft classes provided useful information about the new Windows 10. On sea days we had to make a decision which function to attend they had quite a few program to choose from.

Most on our cruise were over 60 (not a bad thing), so a relaxed pace and quieter group.  No issue on getting deck chairs or dining room tables.  Although main shows were busy, there were always a few seats for anyone coming in late.   Many did not go to shore at stops in Brazil, so usually no lines - except a 15 min or so wait for tendering. Ship was very clean, always picked up.  Rooms cleaned promptly.   However there were leaks in some of plumbing (not our room), so fans on often.  Food generally very good, although selection a bit skimpy (maybe because it is small ship - Maasdam).

This was a once in a lifetime opportunity. We loved everything about the cruise. It was well organized. The staff were all OUTSTANDING! Meeting our every need. The naturalists on every island landing were all knowledgeable and enthusiastic. They loved sharing about their homeland. Monica, the cruise director, was informative every night about the next day's activities. My suggestion... Go on every panga ride a valuable. Learned so much, saw so many animals, snorkeling was so good. We used the ship's snorkel gear and did use wet suits to prevent sunburn. On and the food.... Great choices, Carlos and staff, could not have been more gracious. Everyone spoke English, but they were so helpful to us learning our Spanish. WONDERFUL cruise, way better than expected. Totally different as everything is paid for up front...drinks, gratuities and snorkel.gear. 

Poor organization and communication with passengers. Embarkation in Rio was and a half hour nightmare. Ship was shabby and in need of refurbishment. We got stranded in Punta Areas for 6 hours and were left standing in the cold, damp terminal for hours without information from Princess. 2 ports of call were cancelled because of weather, which I understand, however no supplementary arrangements were made.  This is an exciting trip but the Star Princess was an unpleasant experience at best.  I am a very experienced cruiser , this was the worst ever.

Enjoyed the majority of our cruise.  We were very disappointed in not being able to see The Penguins in two ports due to weather conditions.  I am a vegetarian, and my diet consist of leafy green vegetables.  They ran out of lettuce after a week at sea, and the fruit was not to our satisfaction. Without lettuce the salad bar was null and void.