South America Cruise Reviews

The ship was enorumous , food was Greta , show were very good and the sky walk pretty unique !unfortunTtly they don't let you go in walk arround in the fron of the ship , princess should emphasize ILetting passenger enjoy every circumference of the ship! Since saw is a sister ship of golden princess which I am about to board tomorrow with friends  from Rio to Valpo.

Nice ship but entertainment program was much poorer than the one we experienced last year.

We had cruised with the Infinity before. Our first cruise with Infinity was when it went through the Panama Canal for the second time. The experience then was wonderful. This time the experience was the complete opposite. The service, food, and entertainment were second rate. We can't decide if it was because it was a "relocation" cruise and we were "just along for the ride" or if the changes have been caused by the downturn of the world economy.

Good cruise

If you are a non-smoker- this is your boat. If you enjoy a cigar or a cigarette, save yourself the agony and book on a ship that accomodates both passengers. We will go back to Crystal.

We sailed the Norwegian Dream on feb. 17, 2008. The advertisement, 'eat when you want, wherever you want' is false advertising.The first day at 2:15PM we were told that the two sit down restaurants were closed.Go to the Buffet. What is 'dine where you want' mean? To me it means sit down and dine whereever you want as advertised. We met with the hotel director of the ship and he told us room service is available 24 hours a day. That is not what is advertised. In addition, on the walking/jogging deck there was an exhaust pipe that spilled out a stinky odor. You had to try to hold your breath when passingthis area. Many people complained of this.My wife got an omlet from room service with a big hair in it. We complained of an odor outside our room and they put an air purifier there on the floor for two weeks.The theater's seating layout is a fire hazzard. Fixed location couches and tables with movable chairs squeezed all around causing you to climb over people and chairs to get a seat.I received a phone call, while sleeping, at 10:15PM asking for a signature on a $5:00 casino beer charge. This charge could have been taken care of the next day at a reasonable time. The entire trip was a Norwegian Nightmare

We sailed with the Splendour of the Seas just recently. Evenso this was our 4th cruise it was the first one with Royal Caribbean, and I'm sorry to say we were very disappointed. It started with the check-in process, which was very unorganized and a mess. We had to wait for over 2 hrs in line, standing all the time, no place to sit down. Our suite was just as disappointed, the furniture were old and scratched up badly. The bottom of some of the drawers were falling out. The bathroom was tiny and the sink was cracked all over, shower curtain rings were missing and the curtains in front of the balcony sliding doors were very, very dirty. Dining in the Windjammer cafe was impossible,we could never find a place to sit down. If you were as so lucky to find two empty chairs, you could never get up again, because the tables were placed so close together that you could not move your chair back. The food was OK.

The ship is old and lacking amenities. It is more a sea bus than a cruise liner. The presentation of the food is very good, but the quality of the food is very low. Things like steak, lobster, shrimp did not show up on the menu. Deserts, my favorite normally, were mostly puddings that lacked taste or appeal. The gym is the size of a family living room, for 1700 people. The only thing they were interested in were venues that created revenue. They was a dearth of speakers to tell you about the ports, but half the ports were eliminated due to a crash with a barge that cut four days off the cruise, and stranded us in Ureguay. The company refunded a small portion of the cost of the trip, but I was very unhappy as were at least 800 other passengers who sent letters of complaint to NCL in Miami.

We just came back from the Buenos Aires to Santiago cruise on the Infinity and we had a very good time. There were a lot of non US people on board and it made for very interesting conversations. The itinerary is wonderful with all the ports of call interesting except for Montevideo which could have been skipped. We were disappointed that the biologist on board was not allowed to announce overhead the siteing of whales, glaciers, etc. and the captain choose to sail past the Chilian fiords at night so we did not see them. The wait staff in the dining room was fantastic as well as the stateroom staff. All staff was friendly and always helpful. Food was OK but we have had better on Royal Caribbean. There is no other resturants to eat dinner at unless you want to pay for a very rich meal or have pasta or shushi in the cafe. The ship is kept very clean in all areas and hand wipes are encouraged to be used at every meal. I saw staff cleaning the handrails of the stairs and the elevators everyday. Lots of things to do on sail days but some really fun things overlapped in time.

The ship was clean and comfortable for this trip. New captain trying desperately to make necessary improvements in personnel. Azamara trying to be an Oceania wannabe but is falling way short.

Rather boring, mostly because of a poor cruise director. Poor entertainment. Food was outstanding as was Chanel in the dining room and the three people at the reception desk. The youngest person aboard, on a full ship, was 39 years old. The bathrooms were exceptionally small. The larger "older" women called them "quarter" baths.

The first think I would like to say is that I have been on 18 cruises mostly Celebrity or Royal Carribean. This is for all purposes a non smoking ship. So don't smoke in your stateroom or on your balcony because the smoke police are on full alert. I am not kidding they go up and down the halls sniffing. Most of the other guests were really old not uncommon for a 18 day cruise but this crowd was like the living dead. The ships entertainment was really bad but if you like harp music then you might think you have entered the pearly gates. If it wasn't for the 3 couple we met I think I would have jumped overboard. The Captain was an idiot and missed a port because he never left anywhere on time. Plus he kept referring to the lines as ropes which drove my husband crazy. What captain says drop the ropes??? He had his wife and son on board but she looked as miserable as we were waling around with a big frown on but his son was adorable. I shouldn't forget the casino, no smoking it was so small I think they had 15 slots and 3 tables. The bartender/waitress was expected to walk around and serve drinks plus service the people at the bar. ridiculous. To sum it up unless you just have to go where this ship is going find another way it is small, boring and not a 5 star ship. I was very disappointed.

We looked forward to this cruise for a long time. We booked a veranda cabin for $3000 each about three months before sailing. At the time of sailing these were on sale at $1000 all over the internet. That was a bad start. The advertising promised an experience not unlike that you would have on Crystal at half the cost. It turned out to be a Costa cruise at treble the cost. All on board add ons were far higher than the general market. $9 drinks at the bar, $25 corkage for your own wine, Coffee at the specialty bar $5 . All tours were expensive and not any better than you could get at the end of the gangway. And it went on and on......No cinema so on TV movies were $12.50 with 4 sea days real oversight. TV had Cartoon Network ...I only saw one child and that was the Captains son !!!

Great trip for young and old. 4 generations went and all had a good time from the snorkelling to the iguanas litterally at our feet. Spring break saw 12 pre teens on the ship and they all had fun together. Plenty of family groups and older couples. The guides were fantastic and offered 3 different levels of excursions in the am and pm. Crew was great and someone always there to help. EVERYTHING included in the price even the alcohol so NO bill at the end!! I would not take anyone younger the 10 due to the trips and walking and the smallness of the ship which does not offer any child care as it is an expedition not a cruise. Beware of staying in Quito as it is high and afew of us suffered altitude sickness. Celebrity coul not have improved this trip.

Yes, I would recommend the ship but with reservations! Don't go on expecting the same amenities you will find on the larger ships. The entertainment is not nearly as glitzy as the larger ships. The food is okay, but pales in comparison. The staterooms are smaller than those on the larger ships. On the upside, the service is fantastic, and because of the size, you can actually get to know your fellow cruisers. The staff do a very good job of letting you know about the ports you will be visiting before you get there and there is not a big "pre-selling job" of on shore shops that often seems to be present on the larger ships.

This was a wonderful trip. The ship is nicely maintained, the staff very friendly and helpful, the organization of activites well planned including the safety drill, the type of shampoo and conditioner was wonderful eucalyptus smell, the assorted dining choices, bed was very comfortable.

I enjoyed all of my port tours, I think I chose wisely. All passengers did not tell me the same. I do not have the list in front of me so am speaking from memory. The first was Photo Safari, really good, forest hike, snow capped volcano with lake, nice lunch and location. Then Fort Bulnes, wonderful with old historical buildings, beautiful walk through forest to bay (I framed for my two offices a picture I took of the prior volcano and this forest-bay), Port Famine, and a home tour with folk dancing. And we saw a nice glacier--my husband and I valued the container we bought with hot chocolate but mine disappeared from the cabin?? When the ship had 33 foot waves for dinner, my husband slid into the window sill--staff were very efficient with dinner, replacing broken glasses and dishes but my vegetarian meals were not as good as on 10 other cruise trips on varied lines. The Beagle Channel catamaran trip was so nice until the light house with sudden storm and I was scared and sick. Then my husband's staff wanted him back. Ship staff were very helpful for him to have special arrangement to fly back from Ushuauia sp?. Then I went on to Falkland Islands and enjoyed the farm tour and a penguin cove tour. The Gentoo penguins wanted to eat my shoes!ha ha Back to Argentina, the Welch choir was very good and interesting Southern sea lions by cliffs. All guides on all my tours were helpful. (apparently better than some that others reported to me) Then Uruguay farm tour with lunch and dancing. I enjoyed riding a horse drawn buggy and a hay wagon. The sheep shearing and cow milking were interesting. Iguazu Falls was the highlight but should have been three days. Though scared, I rode the zodiac and am glad I bought the film--my husband says "there you are". I also framed for my offices an Iguazu picture I took and all my patients love the three new pictures. The cute coatimundi animals too wanted to chew my shoes! I also enjoyed the 4x and train rides. At the end of the day after train and hike by river they nicely took me back to Sheraton Hotel in a gulf cart. Many of us thought we would be back for six PM dinner as the tour was called a 12 hour tour but was 17 hours with flight and all..We did not get to say goodbye to our dinner table. And, some had not packed, and we got back after 10 PM! I got around three hours of sleep. I appreciated some food being brought to my room. Then, rather than stay cramped on ship, I started another 17 hour time period until home--the Tygre River cruise--beautiful--ate at nice Goto Blanka restaurant. They took us to the airport, the airport was not open for us, we were "babysat" for five hours standing mostly still for those five hours. I fortunately had a cane with a seat. I finally got to a check in counter. I saw a large older man falling about five feet away--people saying he's "awful sick".I suspected a possible massive coronary. There were TWO security check ins--at last they found a wheel chair for me and I was put on the plane without the second security the others had In Atlanta, a small girl had to push two wheel chairs. The other lady and I were left sitting on an elevator, she, also from the ship had high fever from flu. Four days later I too had flu but fortunately not as ill as she. Thus. I have given the overall--wonderful tours that I chose but the ending was depleting of why I went--to get a good rest from a heavy pace. My husband liked the night programs--I mostly wrote cards, worked on my filming and got a little more rest in my cabin--no midnight chocolate feast. I would have liked one port in Antarctica and one in Brazil. Had a good massage with Julie and four good acupuncture treatments, a first for me. I appreciated the photo staff's photo opportunities. We have not yet received the Iguazu Falls card I sent home to my husband. (returned Feb. 12).

I will always recommend the Oceania ships as I believe they are the finest "small ships" in the industry, but our recent trip was a terrible disappointment. We did South America in January -- thought it was summer in the southern hemisphere. The cruise line did not at all prepare us for the freezing weather and the very rough seas. We were on the ship for 18 days and only able to go into ports six times due to the conditions of the seas. I wrote to Oceania when we arrived home with some suggestions for this particular itenarary ~ First, aside from the weather and rough seas, our major disappointment was that there were virtually no Chilean or Argentinean wines on board. We were in the wine country of South America and could not even buy the wines from that region to sample. I suggested two things to Oceania -- either make this cruise a Food & Wine Trip, stopping in Chile and Argentina cities to visit the vineyards and have gourmet chefs on board for a major culinary experience, OR make this trip a true Nature Trip -- telling passengers in advance that they will be around glaciers and see penguins -- obviously, that would indicate COLD WEATHER -- we did not anticipate freezing temps. Let people know that the seas may prevent docking at some of the ports of call and that the weather is going to be very cold so be prepared to do things on board that do not include being outside on the decks. Also, passengers should be told in advance that the casino on board will be closed for 3/4 of the trip since you are not allow to gamble in Chilean waters -- we were do disappointed that we could only visit the casino like four or five days out of the 18 days of the trip.

The ships embarkation employees were very efficient, then came your stewarts service. When we asked them where a somthing was aboard ship they not only took time to explain but took us there themselves. The menus were even better than last year, we were glad we asked our friends to come with us to adventure Coasta Rica and Panama. We hope your ship will return to Galveston in the future; the need for an upper scale ship is needed at this port.

It is a classic cruise ship. She has beautiful lines and is easy to negotiate as compared to our experiences on the larger ships. The staff is wonderful, the meals are delightful with every attention to detail. The shore excursions are well planned and there is always something different. We have traveled on 4 other cruise lines and have now spent almost 100 days on Marco Polo - Mediterranean (all), North Africa, Europe (including the British Isles), the Baltic, South America (including the Amazon and southern Caribbean). We have only good things to say!!