Fascinating places to see
Norwegian Sun Cruise Review to South America
Contributor Level:
Purser
Cruises: 1 cruise (first)
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 54
14 Night South America Westbound (Buenos Aires To Santiago)
Sail date: February 02, 2019
Ship: Norwegian Sun
Cabin type: Balcony
Cabin number: 9220
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 5 years ago
Review summary
The overall cruise experience was very good. We enjoyed our stateroom, the dining facilities, and the attention of the excellent crew and staff. The fitness and spa facilities were first-rate. The entertainment options were varied in quality and mostly too loud for our taste. The only group we really enjoyed was the classical Atlantis string trio, and we attended at least a dozen of their performances. The Flamenco and Tango performances were also very good.Embarkation
good; well organized by NCL in Buenos Aires, despite the crowds and the number of cruises embarking at the same time.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Main dining rooms were wonderful, with excellent food and drink and attentive service. The buffets were always very crowded, but the food was excellent and varied. We did not sample the specialty restaurants.
Onboard Activities
One of us used the fitness center and exercise classes, both complimentary and paid. Excellent quality of equipment and instructors. One of us also used the spa, attending complimentary presentations, booking treatments, etc. Everyone there, from medical doctors to spa assistants seemed to be very well trained, professional, friendly, efficient, etc. We tried the so-called hot tubs once, but they were not very hot and therefore of limited use as therapeutic spas.
Entertainment
We saw two large stage shows, a tango show and two flamenco shows. All were excellent, though very loud. We had to wear earplugs to enjoy them. Individual musicians in the various venues were of variable quality but uniformly too loud. The only excellent group was the classical Atlantis string trio, who gave one concert in the main theater, but otherwise were forced to play in noisy environments in various of the ship´s bars, which was distracting for the audience members who cared about classical music and must have been very distracting for the musicians, though they always behaved in an entirely professional manner. Our main complaint was that there was way too much noice throughout the ship, with music, game shows, bar chatter, and other intrusive noise. It was virtually impossible to find a quiet place to read or talk apart from the stateroom.
Children's Programs
no children accompanied us
Service and Staff
The service from virtually all the ships´personnel was superb. The staff was very well trained, attentive, efficient, cheerful, helpful, etc., even under difficult circumstances, such as our morning of hurrican-force winds and high seas.
Ship Quality
The ship was exceptionally clean, and all aboard were reminded and even required to wash our hands often and use hand sanitizers. For example, upon entering every food service venue, there were hand sanitizers available and staff who squirted sanitizer on your hands. Perhaps all cruise ships do this these days, but we are not regular cruisers, so it seemed impressive to us. Also, we were told that the staff sanitized all the public areas every night. As for the layout of the ship, it was confusing to get around. Evidently, the NCL Sun is known for its difficult design. For example, the most direct way to get to the main dining rooms forced you to walk through bars, casinos, more bars, photography studios, etc. So, we would rate the cleanliness 5 stars and the layout 3
Cabin / Stateroom
The stateroom was comfortable and very efficiently designed. Because we had a balcony, the interior space was not overly spacious, but we loved the balcony, so that was an OK compromise. The bathroom, though small, was also very well organized, and we both loved the round shower compartment. Everything was very clean and well maintained.
Ship tip
Be aware that there will be lots of noise and distraction. This is not a ship for those who want a tranquil experience at sea.
Thumbs up
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Ports of call
The port is fine. We took a hop-on-hop off bus excursion, which allowed us to see the whole city and decide where to spend more time. The only downside was the 3 km tunnel for truck traffic that they are building and that is disrupting the main part of the historic center.
Montevideo is not very impressive, as far as we could tell from the pier. We took an excursion our into the countryside to visit a historic town (Colonia del Sacramento) and that was very interesting and well run.
The port is a major resort, with high rise condos, nice beaches, lots of shopping and eating venues, and a feeling of safety when walking around, which is how we spent our time.
The town itself is nothing special, though we enjoyed the historical museum. We felt safe in our walks around the center, and the port facilities were well organized to host the ship.
Stanley is interesting, and the people seem proud to be able to survive such a difficult environment. We took an excursion to see the Rockhopper Penguins, and that was very well organized in Range Rovers over very difficult terrain.
Ushuaia, Tierra Del Fuego, Argentina
The city is in a stunning setting, and it has a very interesting history. We learned about it on the bus to and from the dock for our excursion to see the Magellanic Penguins on Magdalena Island. We also saw lots of sea lions and sea birds. Great experience all around.
This was one of the highlights of the cruise, as we saw glaciers, impressive mountains, sea birds, seals, etc.
This was not as impressive as Ushuaia, because the setting is much less dramatic. We took an excursion by catamaran and bus to Tierra del Fuego National Park, which was interesting and well run.
As I recall, this was the day when we had hurricane force winds. The ship handled well, but it was rough
The town is nothing special, but our excursion to Petrohue falls, the many volcanoes, and the resort town of Frutillar were all top-notch.
The port town is shabby and obviously a working port. It only recently became the destination port, after a strike of port workers in Valparaíso persuaded NCL and other lines to move to San Antonio. Local tour guides are just getting well set up to take cruisers from the port on tour that will eliver them to Santiago or to the Santiago airport. The trip takes more than an hour, and there is virtually no public transport, so booking some sort of transport from the dock is essential. NCL did not handle this well. When we tried to book, they only had transport to the airport, so we booked with another company to get to our Santiago hotel. NCL added a transport option to a central place in Santiago later, but the daily newsletter on the ship didn´t mention it until the final instructions arrived for disembarking. Even so, it would not have taken us to our hotel. The tour we booked through Cruises only turned out to be excellent, with a tour of central Santiago and drop-off at our hotel. Others on the tour were taken to the airport. In any case, NCL needs to get its act together if San Antonio remains the disembarkation port.
Disembarkation
well organized on the ship and at the port, though it was a bit of a madhouse with two large ships disembarking and embarking the same morning