Recommendation 14 Day Cruise From Buenos Aires To Valparaiso

[pmacay]

We’re considering doing a 14 day cruise from Buenos Aires to Valparaiso, Chile. We see that Celebrity Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Princess Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line and Holland America Line offer cruises. Has anyone done this and have a recommendation? We’ve had good experience with Royal Caribbean cruises out of Miami, but is the quality of the boat/service/food the same in their South American operations?

I also see some 7 night trips to Brazil on MSC Cruise lines. Has anyone had experience with MSC Cruise lines?

Thanks for any feedback!

Pete & Ron

 

[2GuysInPM]

We did the 14 day Celebrity Infinity from BA to Antartica/Falklands last month. It's the same ship that goes to Valparaiso. It was a fun trip and definitely recommend it. It was our first Celebrity trip. The ship was nice. Service was good overall, but we've experienced a bit better with NCL cruises in the past for ships of this size. Overall, we enjoyed it very much, thought I personally prefer shorter cruises, or ones with fewer at-sea days.

In 2010 we also cruised on the Azamara Journey from BA to Rio for Carnaval. It was also a great trip and a nice smaller lux ship. Azamara also included tickets to the Sambadrome for Carnaval (amazing seats, right across from judges) which was a big plus. At the time those tickets alone would cost as much or more than the cost of the cruise.

Celebrity seems to be here every year (Antartica and Valparaiso routes), but Azamara only every few years or so. Both Azamara and Celebrity are on the pricier side, so passengers are mostly from abroad (North America, Europe, Asia) while MSC and Costa mainly target the local market with more affordable fares. But if you are flexible and know a bit of how the system works, you can get very cheap fares even on the pricier ships.

 

[estebandepraga]

There is a page with unbelievable deals called Vacations To Go
hope this helps

 

[pmacay]

Thanks for the suggestions, appreciate it!

 

[Kevin_CG]

I've seen the 14 day Holland America cruise BsAs-Valpo for an amazing price. $700 per person for an inside cabin! The only tricky part may be that is was a last minute deal. I've been on Holland America in the Caribbean and it was superb. Refined cruising, not a party ship like Carnival. This was probably my favorite cruise line I´ve been on, and cannot wait to cruise with them again.

I've also been on MSC and enjoyed it very much. I would put them good ratings in the middle of the pack. There are quiet areas to relax, but plenty of other activities if you want excitement. I would cruise them again.
I've been on Celebrity, as well, and would put them on the same level as MSC. No complaints, a nice mix of activities and spaces.

Azamara better be nice for the price you pay I have not been on them. All the above will be cheaper than Azamara, though not all inclusive (which I believe Azamara is)

I have not done a cruise in S America yet, so I cannot speak to your question of comparison, but cruise lines try to keep it uniform throughout all their sailings. For example, Norwegian distributes food to ALL their ships from a single supplier in the US. I find that incredible and can see why they do it - keep the food all to the same standard of product. My family was recently on an NCL cruise in the Med and noted that they did not like the fact that the breakfast menu and most of the dinner menu was the exact same every day.

Let us know what you choose!!

 

[DMGood]

I worked for Holland America for a number of years and they do a great job, however the guests tend to be...well, older. It depends what you are looking for but I would highly recommend spending the extra money and selecting a 3 week cruise that has Antartcica as part of your voyage. I have been all over the world and there is NOTHING like it, I hope to return soon!!!! Do your homework before you go and determine what you would like to do in each port. The ship's shore excursions are great, they are easy and offer security over going out on your own, but you pay for those factors. No matter what you choose have a great time!!!

 

[Matiasba]

I hate cruises. You just depend on the ship on everything, you dont have the freedom to give a city more time, or less if you dont like it, your time depends always on the ship, you dont have enough time to visit a city, just a couple of days, so your time is 100% managed by the ship. Forget to stay in a city more days of you like it. And once in the ship, rooms with shitty walls where you hear everything, you are enclosed in a consumption prison, with tacky people............ argh, I hate them.

 

[estebandepraga]

I often work as a guide for the passengers on Holland American ships here in BA. Yes, most passengers are older but all are very happy with the cruise and I have been doing their cruises here for the past 6 years or so. While I agree that one is limited on times and ports of call(all of which are known beforehand when one decides to buy the cruise) there are often many ports which don't offer more than a few hours of sights and on the trip from BA to Valparaiso, I think this is the case. It's not a cruise with limited hours in Istanbul, Venice, Barcelona or Sydney.I have lead hundreds of trips over 30 years on cruises from the South Pacific to the Med, from the Indian Ocean to the North Sea. I would say this journey is a good one to do on a ship unles you really want to do Torres del Paine for several days in which case you could disembar at the nearest part and then end the cruise there!