We left Montreal Jan 2 to head out to Santiago Chile before our cruise on STAR PRINCESS from Jan 5 to 17 .As per our agreement MICHAEL THE GERMAN PIRATE from MY Valparaiso met us .Getting out of the airport took 2 hours of lines to pay entrance fee,customs and agriculture and to retrieve bags .Michael waited patiently . DO BEWARE NO FOOD ENTERS CHILE . THey are VERY strict and will fine you even if you were not aware of the rules .ALL BAGS ARE XRAYED UPON ENTRY Michael was the best .We went to wine country and country side .It was very nice .Bought great wine ,enjoyed empanadas in country and visit to unique Artist's home by the sea. WOW what a magnificent view and such an interesting old man Really enjoyed this visit .Michael promised special visits and did deliver I highly recommend him The next day he picked us up at the BEST WESTERN VINA DEL MAR for our walking tour of VALPARAISO .This hotel was very nice ,nice staff ,nice breakfast ...just a tad noisy .Be advised VINA is MUCH cooler then Santiago dress accordingly Had dinner at LA FLOR DE CHILE ....charming Our walking tour was VERY interesting .Michael provides before and after pictures to display changes over time .He is organized and well informed .I would never venture into Valpo without a guide and glad we were in a big group of 12 .SAFETY IN NUMBERS WE walked for hours but did see the whole city Very interesting I would NEVER have done it alone It is dangerous so do be careful. Michael advised us our ship was arriving late ....6 hours late and that became the PERPETUAL theme of our cruise ...DELAY OOPS SORRY >>DELAY ...OOPS SORRY >>DELAY ....OOPS SORRY
We went to the Terminal around 6 pm to a total chaotic mess We were told to leave our luggage by a wall ./I chose to stay with it to make sure it was safe.Only after meeting with Princess staff did I feel confident in leaving it Some people never got theirs The terminal was a madhouse!!!!We avoided long lines because I was Platinium ...apparently membership does have its privileges!!!! A bus took us to embarcation and we soon found our aft Caribe balcony ...totally covered ..very convenient on cold days .I did use our balcony a lot inspite of cold because we were sheltered BUT we did ROCK AND ROLL IN the back of the ship a...lot a...lot a... lot ....almost continuously for 12 days .THANK YOU GRAVOL for making my tummy safe !!!! The ship itself is nice,clean , good food good shows good service
nOw for the cruise ...WHAT CRUISE???? What we had was a sea voyage WE sorta kinda missed the first port with a long delay a ridiculous tender system and 2 hours to visit LEARN>>>>GET YOUR TENDER TICKETS EARLY ...I waited ...OH bIG MISTAKE ...only had 2 hours to shop in first port went the wrong way ....bought NOTHING SEcond port Princess excursion on Magdalena island to see penguins .Well organized .Expensive but only place we got to see them ...so glad I did this Shopping here was fine People quite nice Next port RAIN RAIN RAIN POURING in USHUAIA .Did Beagle Channel INteresting Saw seals ..LOTS of RAin .TENDERING HERE WAS LUDICROUS Argentinian authorities blamed Princess ,Princess blamed authorities ,,\.....do the Math ...someone is a PINOCCHIO!!!!