Background: The two of us love to travel. We try to take two nice trips per year. One is usually a land tour and one is usually a cruise. We're 49 and 42, professionals, no children. February, 2006, we sailed Holland America's Rotterdam from Valparaiso to Rio de Janeiro. It was my 15th cruise and one of the best cruise experiences I have ever had.

Pre-Cruise: We booked a 3 night Santiago, Chile pre-cruise through Holland America. We stayed at the Marriott. The hotel was clean, the rooms large, the beds comfortable, and the service above average. We were in walking distance to Plaza deArmas, Bellavista, and some of the other attractions. We took a guided city tour one day, and explored on our own on day two. Day three we were escorted from Santiago to Valparaiso. Our bus had good leg room and good air-conditioning. We had a driver and an agent. The agent gave commentary on our drive through Valparaiso.

Boarding: The boarding process went quickly. The line looked really long, but it moved quickly and we were on board within 15 minutes of our arrival at the terminal. Read more