Rounding Cape Horn is a navigational feat. More than a cruise, it's an adventure which means "stuff" happens. Our "stuff" began upon boarding the ship. Princess sent passengers advance notice to expect delays at the Rio cruise terminal due to pre-Olympics construction. The warning did not prepare us for the chaos that ensued...no order, no communication, no protocol for passengers with special needs. Boarding took us 4 hours--a little less time than many others--only because when we finally made it to the front we found a line for people in wheel chairs. Despite the boarding snafu, the ship left only one hour late. Somehow, the Captain and crew had made lemonade out of lemons--a foreshadowing of things to come.

Onboard, we had a mini-suite cabin on deck 9, spacious and comfortable with one exception. The commode in our full-sized bathroom was darkly stained. Although the toilet bowl had been thoroughly cleaned, it didn't LOOK clean. I couldn't get past the possibility of having to stick my head in there should the going get rough (literally). My concern was satisfactorily addressed while in our first port of Buenos Aires. We returned to our cabin to find a sparkling new toilet and a beautiful flower arrangement for our inconvenience. More lemonade!

The bad news is that, due to adverse weather, Buenos Aires was the ONLY port we made during the entire trip. The one exception was Punta Arenas where we did land. However while in port, the weather deteriorated so severely that the port was closed. Suddenly, instead of getting off the ship, our challenge was to get ON the ship. The Princess team devised an inventive solution: Turn a tugboat into a bridge. The tugboat pulled up to the end of a large cement jetty, connecting the jetty to the ship's tender. Rough seas and high winds made for a somewhat harrowing leap from the tugboat to the tender, but the "rescue mission" was a success. It took until nearly 3 am, but all 1,700 passengers and crew were safely back on board. Nothing could make up for missing those penguins, but the Captain attempted appeasement by altering the course to maximize the scenery. The sight of glaciers, waterfalls and exquisite snow-capped mountains gliding past our balcony softened us up. (Did I mention that Princess also gave every passenger a $100 cabin credit and a future cruise credit worth 50% of the cost of this cruise.) The lemonade was flowing! Read more