Don't expect to see penguins or anything else you expected to see

Norwegian Sun Cruise Review to South America

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 2
Helpful Votes: 110

Overall rating:

2 out of 5
Verified Review
Norwegian Sun

14 Night South America Eastbound (Santiago To Buenos Aires)

Sail date: February 13, 2016

Ship: Norwegian Sun

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 0043

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

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.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Entertainment

1 out of 5

Children's Programs

3 out of 5

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

Ship Quality

1 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

1 out of 5
Cabin was in a great location on the port side of the ship. AC did not provide enough cooling except when the weather outside was cold. When checked, the dust on the AC filter was an inch thick.

Ship tip

We ate in specialty restaurants every night. People who ate at Moderno said it was terrible. Tepanyaki was not as good as on other NCL ships. Le Bistro was good and so was Cagney's on most nights. La Cuchina was hit and miss. The ship itself had a nice layout.

Ports of call

Valparaiso (Santiago), Chile

3 out of 5

Puerto Montt, Chile

5 out of 5

Puerto Chacabuco, Chile

5 out of 5

Cruise Patagonic Channel

5 out of 5

Cruise Chilean Fjords

3 out of 5
Nice scenic cruising

Cruise Strait Of Magellan

3 out of 5

Punta Arenas, Chile

1 out of 5
Trip to see majestic penguins was cancelled. Not too much else to see here other than the cemetery and the center of town for 11 hours

Cruise Beagle Channel

1 out of 5
Start looking an hour and a half before you are supposed to be there

Ushuaia, Tierra Del Fuego, Argentina

1 out of 5
Not too much to see on an expensive bus ride

Cruise Cape Horn

1 out of 5
Don't count on really seeing it

Port Stanley, Falkland Islands

1 out of 5
Captain went around and did not stop at port

Puerto Madryn, Argentina

5 out of 5
Our only chance to see penguins (the smallest ones)

Montevideo, Uruguay

3 out of 5

Buenos Aires, Argentina

5 out of 5
Plan on spending a few nights post or pre-cruise.
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