Before embarking our tour company had arranged for two days and 3 nights in Santiago beforehand and we will not discuss this here as the airline lost our luggage and this is nothing to do with NCL or our tour operator. However, Santiago is nice and we very much enjoyed walking around and seeing the sights, our hotel was Kennedy Avenue and was near a mall and supermarket so we were easily able to get lost essentials without being ripped off. I can also confirm that we felt safe throughout and the main areas had a number of police visible at all times. I would also recommend a visit to La Piojera, basic but filling food and a great drink, the 'Terremoto', to enjoy watching a football with tourists and locals alike. Getting to the airport from Santiago city centre was not cheap and so it would be worth seeing what offers the cruise line offer or trying to arrange a group transfer with people in advance.

Embarkation was poor but this was due to a strike at the port and again cannot be blamed on the cruise company. However, once it began it proceeded smoothly given the subsequent issues we were informed about by the captain.

The ship is clearly not the newest but we enjoyed the relaxed ambience and definitely preferred the design to the MSC Magnifica. I also felt that the layout of the bars and restaurants made the best use of spaces rather than creating long corridors that ran the entire length with bars and eateries to the sides of them. Read more