It was our second time with MSC. The first one was with MSC Fantasy and was very good. To start, embarkation lasted three hours, very stressful. We had to buy soap at the first port we arrived because the soap dispenser did not work. The menu at buffet and restaurants did not have many options, specially if you do not want to eat meat. They take a lot of time to refill food and coffee, when they do. Napkins at the buffet were dark blue fabric, dirty and smelly as well as the plastic glasses to drink water. Dining tables at the buffet were usually dirty, they did not remove the dirty dishes and stuff very fast. No enough tables at the buffet, it takes some time to find a place to seat. No shows at the theater for several days, even at sea days. However, one night there was the best show we ever enjoyed at cruises, with an Argentinian singer, Guillermo Guido. Great show. Instructions to connect to the Internet were not given to the rooms. After some time, we finally found the instructions on a blackboard near the Reception office. We wasted a lot of time with long lines everywhere because there were just a few officers to help you. It seems that they did not have bilingual crew. The library was very limited, not only the quantity of books available but also its schedule. The person in charge of the library did not speak or understand basic Spanish, in spite of most of the passengers were Argentinian. The crew looked very tense and did not smile at any moment, they just did the minimum required with a tired face. Finally, they charged for water and everything, even for the only scale they had at the gym, $9!!! Read Less

Tried to put new adventure into the cruise life but the main reason was to sail Cspe Horn and see Ushuaua. And..... weather canceled so we went to some backwater ports of little interstate not history. Sad. Do not let yourselves get booked into cabin 1964. A loud, smelly place really unfit for habitation. Ship was nice for relaxing, cards, stage shows. Happy hours were really necessary to keep the spirits up. Food was amply provided and the variety made for good sets. Guest services was helpful when our room issue was unbearable. Made many acquaintances on the cruise which helped us deal with missing the 2 key planned highlights. Room 1833 was available and a much better quality than that other nightmare. Lots of people caught the a/c hack and remained for the whole cruise. This critique is more or less to ensure that I save someone from the misery called 1964 Read Less

I wanted to write this review because I saw a number of poor ratings for Holland America and since we had a good experience, I thought it would be fair to write a good one. This was our first cruise with HAL and we were on the Zaandam. This is a beautiful ship with a musical theme. We liked the baroque organ. We ran into two storms on the Pacific Ocean with 6.5 meter waves and the Captain changed our port of call from Ushuaia to Castro and also gave us the beautiful Brujo glacier. We were good with the decision since it was a bit of a rough ride that day. We had booked mostly private excursions since we like the smaller groups. Except for the tendering ports, all the ports of call on our cruise were well managed. We have travelled with at least 4 other cruise lines and we found the food selection to be good better than some of the others. We liked having less choices but better quality. Cabin crew were good. Enrichment activities were good. Entertainment were okay. Embarkation and Disembarkation were spot on. All in all, we liked Holland America and have already booked another cruise with them on the Westerdam. Hoping to be able to have the same level of service or better. Read Less

We chose this cruise for the itinerary, which was Argentina, Uruguay and Chile, including sailing around Cape Horn and Straits of Magellan. It was a 14-night cruise. The Eclipse is a beautiful ship that is elegantly furnished. The staff provided outstanding service, especially our room attendant and wait staff in the main dining room. We were really disappointed in the quality of the food in the main dining room and in the Oceanview Cafe. The presentation of the food was always very appealing, but flavor and options were severely lacking. In addition the Oceanview Cafe was extremely crowded. Twice, we were unable to find a seat and had to go elsewhere to eat! After about the 4th day, they started putting extra tables and chairs in the walkway through the cafe. The quality of entertainment in the Eclipse Theater was not what we've been accustomed to having on a cruise ship. We went to the theater nearly every night, but left early everytime with one exception. The talent just was not there. The one night we stayed all the way through the program was when they had a trio called, "Shades of Buble." They sang songs recorded by Michael Buble. They were talented, and we enjoyed them. We had 4 excursions scheduled. The one in Puerto Madryn was cancelled due to the rain the night before that has washed out the roads. I was really disappointed because we were going to see penguins, which I was looking forward to. The other excursions were all very good. We had one in Buenos Aries which was a tour of the City, a visit to San Telmo Market and a fabulous steak dinner in a restaurant. We also did an excursion in Montevideo, Uruguay which was a tour of the City and a visit to a ranch where we were treated to a hay ride, bar-b-que (not too good) and all the wine, beer or water we wanted to drink. We had an excursion in Santiago that was very nice. It took us to a nice historical plaza and a tour through the City, a lapis luzili shop and finally to a lovely park on San Cristobal Hill. After this tour, we were taken to the airport to pick up our luggage that had been transferred there and catch our flight. That process was well coordinated by the ship and the tour company and worked very smoothly! Read Less

My wife and I have become fans of Celebrity and Royal Caribbean for quite some time. >The service is excellent!! The staff on the ship are friendly and very helpful. My wife has a hard time getting around, the excursion team did an excellent job of helping us get to the excursions buses. Our dining room staff couldn't be anymore helpful. >Food is excellent, in all restaurants, buffet, etc. >Cabin was clean and comfortable. The steward was very helpful and took of room very well. We were at the very aft end of the ship.. WHAT A VIEW. We could see 180 degrees and going through the Chilean Fjords was amazing.. >We had a fun time at the Captain's Club events. >The ports were very interesting and unique. >We used Choice Air.. What a great idea that was. We did not have to worry about our luggage getting to the ship, Celebrity took care of that. I am now looking at using Choice air when we travel on Celebrity and Air to Sea on Royal Caribbean whenever we cruise. Read Less

We spent 31 days going around Sout America and the ship and staff were outstanding. The Antartic ocean was very cold and we did not take enough warm cloths. Birds and animals were outstanding. Met some super friends. The entertainment on the ship was a let down. Haw many times can one sit and watch the ship dancers. They need more professional entertainers. The meals were excellent. We visited the Michael's club every evening and wow - what a great staff in that room. The internet was down several times, but that was most likely because of the ship's location. My wife requested a special wine before we saiked and Celebrity did their best to make her happy - thank you Celebrity. I would remind anyone who reserves a room under the Lido deck to beware - you will hear foot traffic starting around 6 am. Thanks again Celebrity for a wonderful cruise. Read Less

Booked this cruise as a means to achieving a long held curiosity to see South America. By sailing this cruise from Buenos Aires to Santiago and following that up with the Santiago to Miami leg we were able to see a great deal if not the full monty. Not much space to do justice to 30great days but I’ll try! The Sun is a small ship and did suffer because of this at times on the first leg on sea days. This was especially true of the buffet where spaces were frequently at a premium. Size also meant that the options for light dining at lunchtime were very limited. Sandwiches were limited to filled croissants and there were few cold meat options. By contrast I found the range of choice in the main dining room to be excellent. In 30 nights I never duplicated a main course choice and was never disappointed. Of the speciality restaurants if found La Cucina and Los Lobos to be very underwhelming, but Le Bistro was excellent. We thoroughly enjoyed the entertainment in the Windjammer, especially Kiefer Wiley, who always kept the party going. A young pianist, Walisson, had joined the ship’s crew at Buenos Aires so it was early days for him but he settled well and was well worth a pre dinner listen. We caught a performance by the ship’s singers in Bliss one evening. Backed simply by electric piano, they were superb and distinctly better than in the over amplified main theatre. The show and produced a similar quality performance at each of the Jazz Brunches we attended. Old adage if you’re good enough you don’t need to be loud. We didn’t use any of the ship’s excursions, joining fellow Cruise Critic members on a series of excellent trips. Not once were we in danger of missing departure and one of the early questions we were always asked was when does the ship leave? I’ll probably give a thorough review of each excursion on a post under South America Ports of Call. Special stand out mentions now however for Dennis Purtov at Puerto Montt and Patricia at Trujillo. We also had great experiences at Valparaiso, Coquimbo and Puerto Chacabuco. I have to say that embarkation at Buenos Aires was excellent. A clean, comfortable waiting hall, a speedy transition through check in and a good transfer by bus to the ship was a really good quality service. Compare that to the sloppy positioning of colour tag luggage, muddled exit pathways and haphazard progress through security at Miami and it was like being in two different worlds... and it wasn’t the third world country that was shown up! Just an extra point of minority interest. It was so nice to be able to run on the Promenade deck and not feel guilty. Runners don’t have to feel compelled to run on treadmills in a humid gym or up on an exposed top deck. We made so many new friends on this trip and hope to meet up again some time. A lot of that was down to a really active Cruise Critic Roll Call, so thanks for making it all such a great trip! Read Less

One of our best cruises ever. We have been on 4 cruises with Celebrity, twice on Reflection and now twice on Eclipse. ANd this cruise was just amazing. The ship was perfect, the crew fantastic, great entertainment and from the top (Captain Leo and CD Gioseppe) to our cabin attendant etc. was top top noch. Food was great in Luminae and BLU and spec. restaurants. To all the hardworking people in the Martini Bar, Luminae, Michaels Club, Guests relation, FUTURE cruises, Murano, Qsine (Le petit chef), pool area, pool bar, entertainment, orchestra Ocean View Cafe, El Bacio Security people, THANK you so much for your hard work. You are the reason that we will continue to book Celebrity cruises. And to see RIO during carnival was fantastic - you really cant imagine how big it is, until you are there and discover it yourself. Think we might be back one day. Read Less

It is inexplicable why Azamara, when they drydocked the new to them Pursuit, did not add a pool heater. Although the pools on all the Old Renaissance ships are small and oddly shaped with their two whirlpools “pinching” the pool in the middle, Oceania made sure to add pool heaters, Azamara apparently cheaper out leaving the pool only functional for most when it is in the tropics. When we were quite surprised and commented to the in service staff we got shrugs and told that is how all the Azamara ships are. So if swimming is important to you as it is to us, beware you probably should choose a different cruise line Having said this, the staff are generally good, the staff/guest ratio and cabins fine (although like all R class ships on the small side. ,. Although I have heard from others that the food on Oceania ships are better, having been on both, I would rate them about the same with the exception of the smaller specialty restaurants on Oceania are free whereas the specialty restaurants on Azamara cost $30 each.3 for $70. On the other hand they have one free outing on shore which Oceania lacks....so on balance....unless you are a swimmer, or like the more frequent activities scheduled regularly on Oceania cruises or simply want to stretch out in a properly heated pool I would rate the two lines about the same...at least in their R class ships...with an edge to Oceania’s slightly larger Marina/Riviera and an edge to them if you are on a longer voyage as the costs of specialty dining in Azamara would more than offset one night’s activity. Read Less

We chose this 30 day cruise to see South and Central America. We embarked in Buenos Aires, sailed around South America, up the west coast to Los Angeles. We visited 7 countries in all. Embarkation was delayed 5 hours so the cruise did not start out well. We then skipped our first port visit in Argentina due to high winds. The rest of the cruise happened as planned. The ship was nice and the staff was pleasant and helpful. The food was very good and well presented. There was always a large selection to chose from. We ate most dinners at anytime dining in the Symphony Dining Room. We ate breakfast and lunch in the buffets on deck 16. We did not participate in formal dinning. We enjoyed most of the entertainment in the Theater. They had a wide variety, but did repeat due to the cruise was divided into 3 segments. We did not participate in other activities. We used the fitness center. It was large and had new equipment, very pleasant. They offered many fitness classes as well, but did not participate in them. There were only 2 swimming pools and a wading pool. I would not consider this ship if you like to spend a lot of time by the pool. Also, due to the length of this cruise, the age group was mainly 60 plus. We had a balcony room which had adequate space. For this length of cruise, I'd recommend a min-suite. Our room was mid ship, close to the elevator on deck 12. Great location. The beds were comfortable but the pillows were too large and stiff for our liking. The sliding door to the balcony was difficult to open. We went on ship sponsored excursions in every port. We were disappointed by some of the excursions, mostly due to what we didn't see as expected. We felt some were overpriced for what we experienced. Machu Picchu itself was outstanding, but the first day was totally wasted on long lines at the airport and late transportation to Cusco. The hotel in the Sacred Valley was superb! It was the highlight of our cruise and highly recommend it for others. The tour was well paced, so was manageable for most seniors. Walking sticks were very helpful in navigating the steps. Disembarkation in Los Angeles went fairly smooth and quickly. We asked to be moved up to an earlier departure which helped expedite matters. Luggage was difficult to find in the terminal however. Overall the cruise was very enjoyable and pleasant. We would recommend this cruise for anyone looking to discover South America, but we would not repeat it again. Read Less

We flew from LA to Buenos Aires 12 hours direct, arriving at airport 7:20 am, tired and long line at immigration (1.5 hours), Anticipating check-in around 11 am, lunch at noon, nap right after; but it did not turn out that way Embarkation: Major delay by Princess arriving after 2 pm, check-in 5:30 pm. Main reason: few passengers without proper documents having issues with Argentina immigration, delay led to late queuing to the port. Princess staffs at the port did not offer water or snacks during the wait after repeated requests by passengers until 4:30 pm, poor communication among Princess Disembarkation was smooth in Los Angeles Ship (built in 2013) is nice with about 3500 passengers with all amenities Cabin is average compared to other cruise lines, flat TV mounted on the wall to save space, TV menu or guide is easy to navigate Dining: Prefer buffet because it takes up to 2 hours to sit to be served, more Asian food and couple of days with lavish sea food at buffet (lobster, oyster ....), fried noodle available daily. Issue with fruits: Banana often needs to be requested, qiwi was almost as hard as stone Entertainment: Love Princess Production Show even have seen from other ships, some guest performers were excellent, some were average, Princess singers are not up the par to perform as guest performers, sorry Service is very good Excursions: Good Best: Fortunate to see 3 kinds of penguins at Stanley, Falklands Islands, day before and after were not able to due to bad weather Bad: Only one tender dock at Punta Arenas, Chile and not informed by the ship captain, it took 45-90 minutes one way between ship & port, had we been told, some of us would not have gone ashore to ease tender traffic. Worst: Princess does not credit or compensate delay, mistake by Princess check-in process to allow passengers without proper document to get on the ship Advice: Weather was unpredictable in February-March, if you want to see penguins, make sure you book several shore excursions to see penguins as you may not dock at that port if weather is bad Overall rating: 6/10 (Embarkation problem and weather) Read Less

Booked a Vista Suite on the Navigation Deck (#7046) and soon discovered after embankment that it sat directly beneath the Lido kitchen area. Needless to say the noise from above our cabin ceiling was unbearable and went well into the night and then began again at around 3:30 a.m. There was no remedy for the problem and guest services did not follow up after we complained. We were on a 15 day South American cruise and got very little undisturbed sleep throughout the voyage. This was the major problem we encountered on this particular cruise but there were also many minor to medium issues on the ship which is well past it's prime. We have cruised with Holland three times previous to this 4th cruise but it will most likely be our last. There should have been some sort of disclosure regarding this particular cabin and the related noise problems in the initial booking information. We did not eat in the dining room but had all meals in the Lido Cafe. The food was good and the Lido service people friendly and attentive. The new hand washing stations were barely used and the majority of the people entering the Lido walked right by them on their way to dine. We don't do the shows so cannot comment on the entertainment. The shore excursions left something to be desired and we missed two ports due to bad weather. The future cruise consultant had a slight attitude and acted like she could care less about questions we asked her. The customer service desk was also average and the people manning it were not consistent regarding DVD rentals. The shipboard talks regarding ports we would visit were full of bad information and twice one seating was about two separate ports combined which was confusing to say the least. Overall I would say that the cruise was not up to the normal standards that we have seen from Holland in the past. Our next two cruises will be with Viking which has a newer fleet of ships and offers features that Holland is now lacking. Read Less

Sailing to and from the same port of call is a great advantage to me. This time from beautiful and cosmopolitan Buenos Aires is a plus to this cruise. I live there! The celebrity Eclipse is a luxury ship with plenty is amenities for all tastes: fitness center spacious with many elements and sea view from all corners, live music all the day long in different locations, matinee shows on sea days and evening shows every night with international artists, indoor and outdoor pools and whirl pools, spa and Lersian garden to relax. Food is fantastic in all restaurants, main one Moonlight Sonata is huge. We had access to Blu the exclusive restaurant for Aqua Class passengers which was cozy and well attended by Nelly and all Blu staff. Buy sailing along Paradise Bay in Antarctica is the most fantastic experience I have had in my entire life! Put it in your bucket list!! The views are outstanding with a few huge whales and tiny penguins swimming along the ship. Ports of call are also worth visiting Ushuaia southern most city in the world, Falkland/Malvinas Islands, Puerto Madryn , Montevideo and Buenos Aires. Each has it beauty and charm. Read Less

We were keen to visit Antarctica but did not cherish the idea of being tossed around in the Drake passage aboard a small vessel. We therefore chose HAL Zaandam although it did mean no setting foot on Antarctica. It was the best decision that we made and right from the word go, the cruise was just great. The sights, especially during the 4 days in Antarctica were unforgettable. Living on board for 22 days was every bit comfortable with great food, service and stateroom no 3365. Talks by expedition team leaders were highly informative. Other entertainment activities were also good but perhaps not great.. Getting off the ship for shore excursions was very well managed with no one getting rushed even at the tender ports. Disembarkation and luggage handling was efficient. Only somewhat unsatisfactory experience was the late embarkation process at Buenos Aires. The HAL transfer person simply left us at the kerb outside the port building. We had to ask around for directions to get to the ship, carrying our bags and it was some distance away. Overall, it was a memorable holiday trip Read Less

This was a long planned bucket list trip to see South America and especially Patagonia. The on-board service was absolutely excellent with HAL's customary exemplary service in the bar, restaurants and cabin, and with the sea going and port tender management. Although we were in gale or storm force winds for much of the open water sections of the voyage trip, the Zaandam is extremely sea kindly and the motion was never uncomfortable. We splurged on a Neptune Cabin and concierge service which was well worth the premium with just nothing to fault it. The Zaandam is a newer R class ship and although similar to the older S Class Ryndam, Veendam and Maasdam upon which we have made previous cruises, is generally much "sharper" and more salubrious. Unfortunately however the Carnival "cheapscate" ownership of HAL once again reared its ugly presence, as previously for us with an Alaska trip which included an on-shore hotel component, with a truly dreadful hotel - this time after a bait and switch where a reasonable four star hotel originally scheduled for our trip at time of booking was substituted by HAL with a truly lousy three star - in Buenos Aires. To add insult to injury my wife's designer sunglasses and costume jewelry were stolen from our room when we were taking our bags downstairs for delivery to the ship (an action necessitated by the failure of the hotel to do this job). These are my general comments; insofar as the specifics of this cruise are concerned, the following provide some summary thoughts: In addition to the lousy hotel, the BA trip was marred by the prevalence of "Argentine Time" - 45 minutes to more than an hour at least late for everything - and generally sloppy management in BA. The best part was the Delta Cruise and Tango dinner which would probably have been excellent if we had started on time. As it was we were so late that the cruise through the delta islands was in pitch darkness. Montevideo was also marred by an inadequate guide and bus service, although others on board who did not use the HAL tour enjoyed it. After a rough two days at sea the on shore components started getting much better with the stop at the Falklands - a really well managed tender experience. The shorter penguin tours - they are adorable - was more than sufficient and the quaint town and environment were most interesting. Punta Arenas was our first stop in Chile, when the different attitude between the Chileans and Argentinians became obvious, and not just because the clocks worked! We had an emergency tender operation at Punta Arenas due to a dock conflict that the ships crew managed really well. The cruising through the Magellan Straits and Beagle Passage were delightful with awesome scenery before our next stop to Ushuaia and a visit to the southermost tip of South America. After more gorgeous Patagonia cruising we had a brilliantly managed rounding of The Horn before more Fjords and a delightful stop at Puerto Montt, where the German restauranteur and market trip was brilliant. Disembarkation at San Antonio was excellent, after which we made our own, very successful independent arrangements for driver, Santiago tour and hotel - a lesson learned! Overall, an excellent cruise which, as with our Alaska trip some years ago, started out really badly by HAL's failure to provide an on-shore experience that is anywhere remotely comparable to their on ship board experience, but ended real well. Read Less

This sailing was a repositioning from South America to the Mediterranean. Embarkation in BA was well organised taking only one and half hours from arrival at the cruise terminal to reach our cabin. One case was already there and the other arrived a couple of hours later. Neither was damaged. Correct protocols were followed for the emergency drill and the exercise was more professional than experienced on our previous MSC cruise. The ship was stunning; impressive in the quality of fittings, use of colour, design and ongoing meticulous maintenance. This was a transatlantic crossing but sailing was a pleasure with little sea movement. We were, perhaps, fortunate not to experience severe weather conditions. Our cabin was well presented, roomy with adequate storage facilities. It was cleaned daily and towels replaced following each use. Pool towels (one per passenger) were available in the cabin. Staff throughout the ship were friendly, smiling and willing to interact and be involved. Bar staff made the effort to remember faces and even orders from day to day. Reception staff were particularly genuine in their assistance even when under heavy guest pressure. Dining rooms (2 on the Poesia) were attractively presented with many smaller rather than larger passenger groupings. Staff were all smartly dressed with name badges and dinner menus were offered in correct languages. Restaurant management did make the effort to seat the same language groups together other than for the lunch and breakfast sittings in Le Fontein; those meals were offered both plated and buffet but the room was consistently crowded and noisy. Our preference was to use the top deck cafeteria. We did not use the speciality sushi restaurant. Due to the large Argentinian passenger component, both dinner sittings were later than normal. Dinner food quality deteriorated through the duration of the cruise. Compliments abounded as we sailed in South American waters but as the transatlantic segment started, it was almost like a change in chef. Food was dry, some undercooked and generally tasteless and bland. Vegetables were consistently overcooked and the selection of desserts pathetic. Our waiter confided that preparation was aimed at the Argentinians who were recognised as not wishing upmarket dishes so the balance of passengers had to endure downgraded meals. At times, the buffet/cafeteria dishes were an improvement on the MDR but were not consistent in terms of heat and succulence. Breakfasts were disappointing offering little variation in the selection and presentation. Selection of wines from pre purchased drinks packages seemed to present a problem with differing views as to which selection was available under which package; our waiter needed to refer us to a much folded grubby piece of paper from her pocket to validate selection - not particularly professional. The availability of wines (and other premium drinks) disappeared through the cruise as MSC were clearly not restocking. Entertainment was boring and conducted mainly in Spanish. Theatre shows varied in quality and, again, dialogue tended to be Spanish. Much of the music in bars was latino themed as were dance lessons and practice. Excursion enhancement talks were provided before each port but the presenter/guide was readily distracted by her personal interest areas and could have added greater practical value, particularly for independent travellers not using ship excursions. Her ability to respond to questions was not good. The organisation of ship excursions left much to be desired with the excursion staff struggling to get the large number of noisy clamouring passengers segregated into correct groupings and off the ship. There were frequent mix ups between designated excursions and passengers generally disembarking. Although an international cruise, by far the majority of passengers were Spanish Argentinians and little effort was made by the Cruise Director (an Argentinian) and the entertainment team to address other language groups. Indeed we found the preponderance of Spanish somewhat overwhelming which would deter us from considering other repositioning cruises. Read Less

We chose this cruise having never been to South America before. The itinerary suited us i.e. Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil together also the dates. This was our 7th cruise and first time with MSC. Despite reading some poor reviews because of the above we decided to book. We flew via Heathrow to Buenos Aires on an 18 year old 777 with British Airways BRUTAL It took 2 hours to clear B.A. airport as all the flights from Europe and many from North America arrive around 8 in the morning. Spent one night in a small boutique type hotel in BA which was very good. As we had to check out of our hotel at 11.00am we went straight to the port as embarkation was due to begin at 12.00 only to find around 2000 people had arrived before us. 2.5 hours later we finally got on board. Initial impressions of the ship were good. Cabin nice and clean and general appearance of the ship was very good. We had a balcony cabin on deck 7.Buffet lunch that day comprised hot dogs, Pizza and burgers. A sign of future meals to come! The biggest let down on this cruise was the food. This was true in both the self service cafeteria and dinner in the MDR. Service in the MDR was good but the food was very poor. We had the inclusive drinks package and wine was good and plentiful when dining. The ship looked as if it was pretty full but together with 1 German couple,1 French couple and a single woman from South Africa everyone else was from Argentina. During the whole cruise we only heard 3 announcements in English although this did not really bother us. The entertainment was very much geared towards the Argentinians for obvious reasons but was still very enjoyable. The live bands at night were excellent playing a few international songs but mainly Argentinian. Everyone up dancing even people in their 80s. One thing we did notice was that most Argentinians do not drink. Bar service was therefor very quick. Overall the crew were excellent but if you are looking for them to say hello every time they see you then forget it. Again not an issue for us. On the first day we had to visit guest relations to clarify a few things. The girl on the desk was very helpful and gave us complimentary passes for the VIP sun-deck and also for priority boarding of the tenders when they were used to visit some of the smaller ports where we could not dock.This was a great asset as the queues to disembark looked horrendous. As a rule we do not normally do organised ships excursions preferring to do our own thing. We did however go on the Rio de Janeiro trip which was very good although due to low cloud at Christ the Redeemer that part was very disappointing. Disembarkation in Buenos Aires was terrible although not MSC's fault. We were off the ship and picked up our luggage in 30 mins. Once outside the port gates thousands of passengers were standing like penguins in Antarctica.. There seemed to be no real taxi queuing system. Cabs would appear and drop people off but no-one seemed to be getting in one. After about 20 mins we crossed the main road with 3 suit cases, turned left walked for about 300 yds, turned right and stopped by chance outside a government building where there was a taxi marshal. Within 2 minutes he had hailed us a cab and we were on our way. I think most of the other passengers are still probably at the port gates. Would we book MSC again? It would not be our first choice as we prefer smaller ships like Azamara. ( Just back from the Azamara Quest last week) Different class but you only get what you pay for. Overall we had a great time but please MSC get a grip on the food situation both in terms of choice and quality. Read Less

Within a couple of hours we were in our cabin and our bags showed up shortly after. The balcony cabin was very clean and stayed that way throughout the cruise. Our cabin steward was excellent; looking after our every need. The ports of call were good choices, from the Penguin colony on the Falkland Islands, to Ushuaia, Punta Arenas. the Beagle Channel with the glaciers and fjords, and other destinations in Chile. Everywhere we went, the local folks were very friendly. The guides and drivers were very knowledgeable. Besides seeing the sites , we also learned quite a bit about the history of Argentina and Chile. Some thing that NCL should look into is their selection of on board entertainment. There were 2 bar/lounge acts that were not very good, based on that which we've experienced on the many cruises we have been on. These entertainers tried to imitate others singers/groups and failed. We tried to give them more than one attempt to listen to them. But, after a few minutes each time, we left. NCL did have a group called the BRAZILIAN BEATLES and they were very entertaining and did a good job as a tribute band. The ship's entertainment groups also did a good job with their nightly shows. The one thing, as seniors, that will change is that we will no longer fly economy on flights over 4 hours. Arriving at our far destinations not twisted like a pretzel, will be worth the increase in air fare. We were fortunate that we booked this trip more than a year in advance, because Norwegian Cruise Line offered us a BOGO, which we couldn't refuse. Read Less

Last thing on our bucket list after travelling for 49 years.. First time to do Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Peru and Nicaragua. Unfortunately on this cruise we had too many things on board that we have become accustomed to on our previous 30 day cruises that have now been removed or declined in quality. I certainly hope that Princess will read and react to my post cruise survey, where I tried to tell them what had gone wrong and also what they had done right.. On the positive side, all of the staff did an excellent job in everything before the cruise and on embarkation. 99.9% of the ship staff, from the Captain to Maintenance, did an excellent job and I laud them for their efforts and performance. However, on the negative side, Princess has removed their "happy hour" at 4:00 pm and 10:00 pm, you must get into the Princess Theatre at least 45 minutes prior to early show time to get a seat together, the dinner menu repeats after the first 15 day segment of the cruise, food flavour and taste in the anytime dining room has deteriorated, at dinner we were presented with Cornish hen when we had ordered pheasant (when they thought we would not know the difference), I did not receive a call back from the Cruise Director after a written complaint regarding an insulting entertainer that I had presented to the desk, guest entertainers ranged from spectacular to terrible. To add to this poor experience some stupid, selfish souls came on board with coughs and colds, and despite several hints from the staff regarding hygiene, by the time the cruise was over I would say 50% of the ship was sick. Most coughing and sneezing. We were both sick so we had to miss out on playing bridge on sea days and could not share a table at dinner so as not to spread the virus any more. No, I there was not any talk about Norwalk. To cap it all off, US Immigration at Los Angeles was terrible. We were scheduled off the ship at 8:15 am. We finally cleared immigration at 10:45 am. Fortunately we did not have anearly flight to catch or we would likely have missed it - Note NOT Princess fault. Read Less

We love Celebrity. Had an amazing back to back trip to Rio then Antarctica. We were so lucky with the weather going to Cape Horn, Antarctica and Falkland Islands. It was warmer than Scotland. The whole crew were just brilliant and the captain was very visible and charming. He did a great job getting us to these places. We miss Hari making up our room and all the lovely staff who served us in Blu. Infinity is a great sized ship to be on. Great having the inside thermal pool when weather was cooler. Entertainment was great especially the ships showtime, loved the music, costumes and singing and dancing, beat we’ve seen on any ship. Infinity orchestra was superb, wouldn’t be the same without them. Worth every penny and more! Mickeylive was entertaining and informative always busy in the theatre. Guest artists also very good, variety from magic, instrumental and singing and comedy. We went every night. Waiters in Blu were so polite and attentive. Especially Edurdo, my husband says he’s the nicest waiter he’s ever come across . Rosibel greeting us always knew our name and cabin number, Igor in cellars bar was great at bar showmanship and made great cocktails. Cape Horn on catamaran and National Park was really interesting cruising Antarctica was amazing with mickeylive doing commentary about wild life. Even a rainbow. And luckily we got into Falkland Islands to the Battlefield tour. Very good guide then got shuttle to Gypsy Cove to see penguins.great day. Montevideo city tour was interesting as was our Tygre river cruise then to airport. We didn’t have to bother with cases till airport which was very convenient. Lovely guide Andriana? Have booked another cruise on The Edge which looks exciting for next year. Can’t wait. Read Less

Passengers were not allowed to use the Constellation Lounge on sea days and some port days in the daylight hours. It was reserved by Park West to sell paintings. There were no other locations on the boat to sit in front and view the cruise, unless I went to sit on the Rooftop Terrace in the full sun and get a sunburn. The Captains Club Celebration was held in the dark on the Rooftop Terrace because Park West reserved the Constellation Lounge. The handicapped elevator had not been maintained for over 2 years. The elevator broke down when the staff tried to help my wife get down off the Rooftop Terrace. She was forced to use the stairs and injure her leg. This cause us to limit our tours and I was not able to attend the Rio Carnival Tour which was the main reason that I selected this cruise. When the handicapped elevator broke your staff sent for electricians to fix it. My wife asked for me to go to the show and save her a seat. After I was in the theater for 30 minutes I went to the 3rd Floor Customer Relations Desk to see if they could page my wife or call their staff on the Rooftop Terrace. They refused and asked me to fill out a Missing Person Report before they would get Security to look for her. Then they insisted for me to wait in my room with a Security Guard outside my door. After another 15 minutes I left my room and started searching the ship with the Security Guard running after me. We finally found her in the theater where she asked me to meet her. Her leg was giving her a lot of pain and we had to get a wheelchair for the trip. They refused to have the Ship's doctor look at her leg unless we paid for his services. They wanted to sell her pain medication. We have our own medications for most emergencies. Read Less

We have cruised 5 times each year and this was one of the best experiences mainly because of the dramatic vistas floating past our balcony. Gigantic Glaciers, rugged mountain peaks, wildlife(penguins, alpacas, condors,..) and cultural ports in Argentina and Chile. The ship itself was clean and well-maintained with attentive staff everywhere. We would have liked a better quality of shows in contrast to "Burn the Floor" on the Escape. But this was a smaller ship and so it is a matter of economics. Fortunately, the weather was mainly fine and the choppy seas around Cape Horn were mitigated by the ships stabilizers. Our next cruise is on the maiden voyage of NCL "Bliss" to Alaska which is much larger. We expect to see from our balcony, dramatic Glaciers and craggy peaks, but we hope it will not be too boisterous with all the race car tracks, water slides, and other adventure features. Just a nice cozy safe trip is all we are looking forward to experiencing. Read Less

I would like to describe our (my wife and me) cruise experience in some details. I hope it helps people to select, or not, this specific cruise itinerary, cruise ship and even the cruise line for future trips. Just a trip overview, we booked a veranda cabin, deck 8, in the Celebrity Infinity, for the Buenos Aires > Puerto Madryn > Ushuaia > Antartica (Paradise Bay and Elephant Island) > Falkland Island > Montevideo > Buenos Aires itinerary. It was a somewhat expensive itinerary if compared to other cruises in the region, so our expectations were high. We planned this trip for almost a year. The cruise left Buenos Aires on 21th Jan 2018. About a week before the departure date we received an email from Celebrity Cruises informing the Puerto Madryn stop was canceled. Copy and pasting their own email message: "Due to a technical issue with the ship’s propulsion system, as a precaution, we will have to reduce our maximum speed by a few knots. We assure you, there is no safety issue with the vessel; however, due to the speed reduction, we have to modify our itinerary. Some ports of call will have shortened visit times, while some will have more time. We also had to remove our visit to Puerto Madryn, Argentina from the itinerary. Due to the cancellation of this port of call, we are issuing each guest a refund in the amount equal to one day of your vacation." My wife and I planned to dive in Puerto Madryn with the sea lions. All our scuba gear was already packed to go and the dive package reserved at a local PADI agent. You can imagine our frustration... We embarked on the 21th as planned. About Celebrity Infinity, despite some review we read, it is not falling apart. It is indeed an old ship, somewhat worn out. Stained carpets, peeling paint, scratches here and there are visible, but we consider those minor things. I noticed, however, some other not so minor problems, like leaking plumbing in several places (that left wet spots on the carpets), air conditioning failures (that left some friends in internal rooms overheating), external doors hard to open/close, and massive temperature changes in the hot/cold water supplies. There were also some smaller annoyances in our stateroom, like loose tiles in the bathroom floor and leaks in the shower hoses. We usually ignore these small things, but as you see ahead, events stack up. About the food, it was nice and plentiful. All restaurants we went to were nice. Particularly I would say that some dish on the main dining room, Trelis, was somewhat small (especially the ones with expensive ingredients) and with unexpected component mixes, but this is a matter of taste. The buffet on Deck 11 always had food for any taste. About the entertaining, it was ok. Some shows were really nice while some other were somewhere below passable. The daily activities were plenty, somewhat focused on luxury activities (like art auctions, jewelry sales, Fabergé egg showcase and sales, liquor tastings, and so one). It perhaps makes sense for the overall target audience, mostly senior guests. One of the highlights of this cruise was the presentations from the destination experts. The presentations were really interesting and made de experience must more enjoyable and immersive. The presentation themes included wildlife identification and behavior, destination highlights, geographic features, historical events and even a recent rescue mission to Antartica from the Argentinian navy. There was much effort to provide the same presentations in English and Spanish, so most people would benefit and enjoy all given information. It is also important to note the crew was always friendly and eager to help. Our stateroom attendant and some other personnel we had more contact with during the cruise were very professional and cordial. After few days on the sea, we reached Ushuaia. We visited Escondido/Fasano lake and the experience was really memorable. Since we did not stop at Puerto Madryn we were able to stay in Ushuaia for a few more hours. We headed to Antartica, our main and most anticipated destination. The weather was really good during our stay and the visibility was great. We had the luck to get some snow while entering Paradise Bay. It was quite a spectacle. It is really difficult to describe in words the beauty we saw. While it looks a desolated region, it is full of life. We could see whales, penguins, many different types of birds. The icebergs are also a show apart, featuring beautiful shapes, textures, and colors. We also stopped at Elephant Island, the second sightseeing place. After Elephant Island, when heading back to Falkland Island, a major storm formed in our way and the captain had to deviate our corse, missing Falkland port of call. His decision was the correct one due to the bad weather, however, no one was able to explain why the next port of call wasn't changed to Puerto Madryn. Apparently, the route would be even safer than going straight to Montevideo and, we had the time since Falkland stop was completely skipped. It was really strange and until now I got no answer from Celebrity guest relations about this. On the memo we received in our stateroom: "We would like to inform you that our call to Port Stanley, Falkland Islands, has been canceled, due to adverse weather and high winds. (...) Tomorrow, January 31th, the Celebrity Infinity will be at sea, since weather conditions and distance to alternative ports will not allow us to call an alternative port. In an effort to avoid the rough seas, we are traveling directly to Montevideo through an alternative route, as your safety is our top priority. We will be arriving in Montevideo at 6:00 am on February 3rd" We understood the situation and weather changes are a risk involved in all Cruises, however, this port miss and strange deviation from Puerto Madryn just stacked up on our frustration pile. We then faced many days at sea, finally arriving at Montevideo. It was a nice stop, however, I (and many other guests I spoke with) would rather stop in other ports then in Montevideo. Montevideo is really close to Buenos Aires and you can easily go by car, bus or even boat in a couple hours. Puerto Madryn and Falkland Island, on another hand, are much harder and expensive to get to. In the end, the trip left really good memories about Antartica sightseeing experience and a bitter taste for itinerary changes and other smaller annoyances. We felt only half of the trip was actually delivered since we could not stop at Puerto Madryn and Falkland Island. Looking in retrospect, if we could changes things, we would rather flight straight to Ushuaia and book a cruise on a smaller ship just to experience Antartica. Read Less

First cruise with Celebrity and the last. We have been cruising for the last 35 years and never struck issues like these - even in older ships and much heavier weather. 6 days before we were due to board, the itinerary was changed due to 'technical issues with the propulsion system". The issue had also been present on the previous cruise so why weren't we told earlier ? As a result, the itinerary was changed and one of the ports (Puerto Madryn) was to be skipped. We were told that we would be reimbursed the cost of 1 day - however 4 weeks later we still haven't received it. We now know that the issue won't be repaired until April, but the cruises will go ahead - presumeably with last minute itinerary changes. I know at least 1 person who has just been sold one of the trips - with the original itinerary. We were very late into Ushuaia and finished our land tour in the dark (10.00pm) - despite it being rushed and cut short by 1 hour. We were unable to visit the museum as it was now closed. We were told it was due to tides (?!) and winds - well the winds went heavy enough to worry a boat with an operation propulsion system! We then didn't stop at the Falklands supposedly due to 'bad weather', we were told the evening before. In reality, the visit had been cancelled much earlier in the day, as some passengers had been contacted from shore by 3:00 pm in the afternoon. It seems likely that with slightly heavier weather, it was necessary to bypass Port Stanley in order to get to Montevideo on time. So we missed 2.5 of the scheduled 4 ports. Embarkation procedures in Buenos Aires were a complete shambles with crowds milling around, no structure, no signs, and a large inoperative loud speaker system. Disembarkation at Ushuaia, was held up because of bunkering on the wharf. Initially, we didn't have hot water in our cabin and a light bulb was out. The cover on one of the beds was torn. At Montevideo, we could disembark from about 7:15, we gather, from watching people go off. However, no announcement was made - so you had to guess. The excuse was that they didn't want to wake people up ( However, they can prevent the announcement from being made in the cabins - so this is another piece of deceit). We had several incorrect bar items on our account as did other travellers - so watch your bar bill like a hawk.Two items that the desk had reversed when I queried them, reappeared 2 days later, as new bar items. We were also charged for higher priced drinks than we had ordered, probably to maximise the gratuity. There were 4 of us and we had booked a table of 8 in the second dining in order to meet other people. This was checked with them several times. However, we were put on a table for 4. When we complained, we were dumped on a table of 10, on our own. The second sitting dining usually took 2.5 hours. Eventually, we requested a change to open seating, and the service, etc improved dramatically. The juice and coffee machines in the Ocean Cafe frequently, ran out. Read Less

We bought our tickets in November but most of the other passengers bought theirs far earlier than us. However Celebrity failed to let us know the ship was only sailing with one propeller which slowed down its performance so much that we arrived in Ushuaia seven hours after the scheduled time. All tours were rushed and by the time we finished the tour all shops and museums were closed for the day. It was our intention to visit this far away place thoroughly and experience the life here. Then we were supposed to circle Cape Horn, but the ship just went a little north then turned around. When we got to Elephant Bay the ship was not able to get close to the shore because it did not have enough force. We did not stop in Port Stanley because of the weather and our next stop, Port Madryn, was canceled. We were on board for 12 days out of the 14-day cruise. This ship was working with only one propeller for a long time. Celebrity was well aware of this problem yet it chose not to disclose it so as not give the passengers the right to cancel the trip without penalties. It is still sailing north and back to Antartica without any plans to stop to fix the problem. Read Less