Oceania does not disappoint.

We had a wonderful time on the Buenos Aires to Valparaiso cruise. Oceania does a great job of providing a spacious cabin, we had a verandah, delicious food, all the specialty restaurants are excellent and we had some memorable meals in the main dining room, and most shows were good. I love the barista, visited there often for excellent coffees.

We had been in Buenos Aires for 3 nights and there were no other passengers embarking at time we arrived. The biggest complaint would be the tender experiences. When you were not on an Oceania excursion it was not easy to get an early tender. Mostly it made some of our independent tour arrangements difficult. We also missed a stand by chance on an independent tour because we had to wait 1 hour and 30 minutes in the theater before our number was called. We also had a very difficult time docking at the ship one day. No warning was given and we slammed into the ship three times. It would have helped if we had known to brace. I actually was seated beneath the pilot and there is a metal post forward of the bench. I hit my shoulder and head. We also tried docking on the opposite side of the ship and again slammed into the ship three times. I know the crew was trying super hard to get us docked. It was a rather harrowing experience. Not one I would like to repeat.

All the specialty restaurants are excellent for food and service. Although I did not think we had good service in Jacques. The main dining room does have some issues with the service and the staff understanding some of our requests. We did have some excellent food and especially desserts in the main. I will say one night my steak was not the way I ordered it and after 3 tries I finally just accepted the steak they served. I do not like buffets and I did tire of using the buffet although the choices were good but service could vary. The waves is a nice option and service was always good.

We celebrated over the Christmas holidays and New Years on Oceania previously and booked this cruise for the holiday experience again. Oceania did not disappoint. I loved the Gaucho tour in Buenos Aires. I had researched a private tour company and Oceania was actually a lower price. The gauchos were great, enjoyed their riding. There were two dancers who were fantastic and an accordion player. We were served sausage, beef, chicken and four different salads. Also wine, gigantic bottles of beer, sodas and water. The food kept coming and it was all you could eat. Everything was very good and the dining room very attractive.

I would not recommend the Ushuaia four wheel drive tour. We drove the four wheeler to see beaver dams. Not worth a four wheel drive . The forest walkabout was good and I enjoyed the stop for a snack. It was in a cabin with dog sled kennels. The city tour out of Puerto Montt was enjoyable with stops in Varas and Frutillar. Not enough time though for either site. We had glorious weather. So fortunate. Sailing the Chilean fjords is gorgeous with the Andes in view. We booked our own transfer to Santiago with a short visit in Valparaiso and a stop at a winery and a ride to the Santa Lucia park in Santiago. The constitution hill area with street art should not be missed in Valparaiso. It was so impressive. We also enjoyed a lunch of abalone empanadas at the beach there. We have reserved two more cruises on Oceania this year . It is one of our favorite cruise lines.