Star Princess - Valparaiso to Buenos Aires - Jan 5 to 17, 2010 - Comments
I always read what others say about a tour/cruise/timeshare, etc. before offering my own comments. I have to agree with previous reviewers about the sad state of affairs regarding the tendering to shore in Puerto Monte and especially in Ushuaia. More tenders could have been used in Puerto Monte, given the distance they had to travel between the ship and the dock. Since there was a Celebrity ship on the deep side of the pier in Ushuaia and the other side of the pier was too shallow for the Star, tendering was the only option. Apparently only one landing dock was available, thus a line up of tenders waiting to off load and load passengers. Obviously the port lacks the facilities to handle more than one ship.
The solution is simple. When the city of Juneau informed the cruise lines they would be assessing a per passenger landing fee, the cruise lines told the city fathers the cruise ships would by-pass Juneau. Guess what. The landing fee proposal died. One would hope that Princess, together with other cruise lines visiting Ushuaia, would let the city fathers know they need to install additional landing docks/floats or the ships won't stop there. If the Star, carrying 2,500+ spending passengers, by passes Ushuaia, local business owners are not going to be happy. One has to believe additional landing facilities would be installed quickly.
Nothing to add as the cabin (category BA) was a typical balcony cabin BUT those on the Caribe deck have the largest balcony area on the ship (excl. suites). As such it has four chairs, two foot stools and a round table, making entertaining easier than doing so on the typical shallow balcony.