South America cruise

[Love*my*hols]

Thanks for this-I would be grateful for the details of your guide . Did you do excursions at every port or did you just "wander" at some of them ?Any excursions you could recommend and did you do them independently or through the ship ? I am sure I'll have loads of questions as this is completely different to our usual cruises-we usually go for the ship rather than the itinerary .Any help would be gratefully received

[Omega1]

I'll do a detailed response in the next couple of days. We're currently in New York and all the info is at home!

[Love*my*hols]

Great...thank you .

[Omega1]

I've just been looking back through my notes for our South America cruise back in 2012.
We didn't do any ship tours (we find them overpriced and we don't like being herded round in large groups) we either did our own excursions or joined a small group tour organised by people on the same cruise that they put on the roll call section on Cruisecritic.com.
If you are not familiar with Cruisecritic, it's worth having a look through for the roll call for your cruise and for recommendations for tours on the ports of call section. There's loads of information there and over the years we've done dozens of tours ourselves and never had a problem or been disappointed. Just a thought, but it might be a bit early for a roll call for this cruise.
In Montevideo we did a small group tour organised by someone from Cruisecritic. It was a city tour followed by a visit to a winery (with food and wine). We paid $65pp.
In Stanley, I organised a 4x4 tour for 4 people with Tony Smith discoveryfalklands As I said previously we did a wildlife and battlefield tour.
He will customise tours to suit your interests. We paid £45pp and it was probably the best trip we've done in about 35 cruises. There are lots of options in Stanley - some people simply got the local shuttle for a 10 minute ride to a penguin colony.
Ushuaia - we arranged for a local taxi to pick us up (4 pax) and take us around for the day (Tierra del Fuego NP). Unfortunately, our ship (along with a P&O ship) was denied entry by the Argentinian authorities because we had been to the Falklands. It was at the time when tensions were running high and Prince William was based at Mount Pleasant military base at the time.
Punta Arenas - we had a day visit to Otway penguin colony and Fitzroy Estancia. This is a remote and very beautiful part of the world, the pisco sours and freshly barbecued lamb was to die for. We finished with a look around the town.
Chilean Fjords - incredibly beautiful with a backdrop of the Torres del Paine NP.
Valparaiso - we did a city tour and wine tasting (bit of a theme here!). Valparaiso is a very interesting and picturesque city. This again was organised by someone from Cruisecritic.
Hope this helps.

[Love*my*hols]

This is great,it gives me somewhere to start.I have already got loads of information from cruise critic,we just need to make a decision now and book it ! Still dithering over inside or outside cabins !

[dee slack]

Originally Posted by Love*my*hols

This is great,it gives me somewhere to start.I have already got loads of information from cruise critic,we just need to make a decision now and book it ! Still dithering over inside or outside cabins !

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looking at South America for next year and wondered if you booked this?

[Love*my*hols]

Yes we did..just waiting for flights to be confirmed.

[dee slack]

we're not going until Nov 2019 and he's already booked up

Anyone have any other recommendations for excursions on the Falkland Islands, please?

Originally Posted by Omega1

Back in 2012 we did a 30 day cruise from Rio to San Francisco (on The Star Princess) taking in most of the ports that the Zaandam is doing. It is one of our favourite itineraries - the highlight for me was the Falkland Islands (I can put you in touch with an excellent guide - he took us to a deserted beach to meet the penguins and then off road through the mountains to the battlefields. He will customise any tour).
We didn't do side trips to Iguazu or Macchu Pichu, but those that did said they were amazing. We plan on going there as a specific holiday.
We've also sailed Holland America several times and really like them - let me know if you'd like any further info.

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Originally Posted by Omega1

I've just been looking back through my notes for our South America cruise back in 2012.
We didn't do any ship tours (we find them overpriced and we don't like being herded round in large groups) we either did our own excursions or joined a small group tour organised by people on the same cruise that they put on the roll call section on Cruisecritic.com.
If you are not familiar with Cruisecritic, it's worth having a look through for the roll call for your cruise and for recommendations for tours on the ports of call section. There's loads of information there and over the years we've done dozens of tours ourselves and never had a problem or been disappointed. Just a thought, but it might be a bit early for a roll call for this cruise.
In Montevideo we did a small group tour organised by someone from Cruisecritic. It was a city tour followed by a visit to a winery (with food and wine). We paid $65pp.
In Stanley, I organised a 4x4 tour for 4 people with Tony Smith discoveryfalklands As I said previously we did a wildlife and battlefield tour.
He will customise tours to suit your interests. We paid £45pp and it was probably the best trip we've done in about 35 cruises. There are lots of options in Stanley - some people simply got the local shuttle for a 10 minute ride to a penguin colony.
Ushuaia - we arranged for a local taxi to pick us up (4 pax) and take us around for the day (Tierra del Fuego NP). Unfortunately, our ship (along with a P&O ship) was denied entry by the Argentinian authorities because we had been to the Falklands. It was at the time when tensions were running high and Prince William was based at Mount Pleasant military base at the time.
Punta Arenas - we had a day visit to Otway penguin colony and Fitzroy Estancia. This is a remote and very beautiful part of the world, the pisco sours and freshly barbecued lamb was to die for. We finished with a look around the town.
Chilean Fjords - incredibly beautiful with a backdrop of the Torres del Paine NP.
Valparaiso - we did a city tour and wine tasting (bit of a theme here!). Valparaiso is a very interesting and picturesque city. This again was organised by someone from Cruisecritic.
Hope this helps.

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[Omega1]

Originally Posted by dee slack

we're not going until Nov 2019 and he's already booked up

Anyone have any other recommendations for excursions on the Falkland Islands, please?

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My brother is going in Feb next year - he was having difficulties finding a guide, but has found someone. I’ll ask him when he gets back from his cruise!

[dee slack]

Originally Posted by Omega1

My brother is going in Feb next year - he was having difficulties finding a guide, but has found someone. I’ll ask him when he gets back from his cruise!

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thanks. we were quite surprised when he came back and said he was already fully booked as it's still over 16 months away!