Carnival SPLENDOR- 12N South America/Cape Horn

Embarkation: I was boarding (in Valparaiso) on the second leg of a 40+ day voyage so it was not the normal mass confusion – even with the computers down, processing moved quickly. Now the UGLY: once you finish the check-in, you board a bus to take you to the ship - the bus had NO A/C and it was hot. Once we arrived at the ship pier, the lines were very long due to both embarkation and returning ship passengers, and we were standing in the hot sun. Carnival had one security machine going which made the boarding of passengers a snail’s pace; what I could not understand is why we went through a security check before boarding the bus and then repeated the security check boarding the ship.

Cabins: Booked an inside cabin and was happy with the space. The room was nicely decorated and through the TV you can order pay per view TV movies, check your ship charges, view different dining menus, plus order room service.  The bathroom had nice soap and shampoo stocked dispensers as well as some nice complimentary toiletries. Dining/Food: Superb; I am not a big breakfast person so I used room service, stopped at the Lido buffet and went to the dining room for a brunch. All were good but it now gets better: I am not crazy about buffet lunch but the Lido offerings for lunch were nice; besides the usual normal fare there is an Indian buffet station that was yummy and an excellent made to order sandwich (corned beef/specialties) station on the opposite side. These two stations were my hangouts. The pizza station was also good but it even gets better. I was sailing on a 13Night cruise and was planning on eating at the steakhouse a few nights, but I saved my money - dinner in the main dining room was superb! Every night it featured a different menu (one side is the daily fare), and the choices were excellent to superb; I think I was only disappointed on one occasion. The appetizers were yummy to include 3 nights of different escargot offerings; in addition, our service was outstanding. I chose “Anytime Dining” and it worked well but could use a few improvements.       

Public Rooms: Very nicely done! The ship features a lot of pink but is not overdone, the 4th and 5th decks serve as the main hub of activity; i.e. with shops, casino, lounges, photo, and library – main traffic area. A HUGE TV screen is on deck #10 overlooking the pool. This screen displayed various scenes of aquatic life during the day, but evening showings included movies with popcorn if you could eat another bite.     Entertainment: You will find music playing at several locations throughout the ship. There is a piano bar, variety music in the lounges, and Karaoke is featured nightly. The Atrium features music (different bands on the ship rotate) and plays till midnight. During the afternoon the Atrium is alive with live music and I noticed many folks dancing away in the afternoon. The disco played a good selection but was empty on most evenings and the casino Texas Holdem table always had a wait list. I was disappointed in the shows offered which consisted mainly of dancing. A fun night was the final “Legends Night” where some ‘wannabee’ Karaoke passengers performed and had a ball.  There were numerous comedy shows which I did not attend.

Ports/Excursions: My biggest issue with this sailing: the ship was late at every port even though we arrived at least an hour prior to scheduled time. We were late in clearing or something; didn’t always know what but this impacted all the excursion times. In addition, at both tender ports there were not enough tenders which caused more delays and impacted two of my excursions. I could rant and rave but Carnival needs to take a hard look at its procedures and how it communicates to its passengers. I did my own adventurous excursions that are not for everyone.
Activities: The variety of usual ship activities (trivia, bean bag toss, etc.) are offered, but not much in terms of athletic activities except for the daily ping pong tournament. Bingo is promoted at different times so there is more than enough to occupy you, and you can always attend the art auction and drink free champagne or window shop in the mall/shops area.
Disembarkation: A disaster. You get a number to place on your bags which indicates what time you can disembark; however as per norm on this ship by now, disembarkation started late, and to make matters worse, passengers needed to board buses to another terminal which was too small to handle the numbers of passengers, and it got worse - enough said!
Overall: Very nice ship, terrific itinerary, great service, and wonderful staff - what more can be said. Carnival seems to be working hard trying to come up with new and innovative ideas; had it not been for the above mentioned issues, it would have been a perfect cruise. I was told that the average age on the ship was 70+ so I think there was less than the normal Carnival energy level; however, the cruise staff was superb and did everything possible to keep passengers happy. Cruising the Straits was a once in a lifetime experience; I think everybody needs to consider this ship and its itinerary.

TANGO man

Arrived at Buenos Aires in the morning and was taken aback by the heavy traffic and dirty air quality, but I guess that is to be expected as this capital city of Argentina is where 40% of the population lives. For my stay I chose the funky and somewhat unusual Ayres Portenos Tango Suites (see my review on trip advisor). Day 1, I spent with Jonathan whom I had contacted to help guide my group for an extensive 7 hour walking tour of the city using local transport; the highlight was a visit to the Recoleta Cemetary where I faced death at every step, plus a stop at “La Boca” where I wish I had spent more time. Day 2 came quickly and I opted to get out of the city and booked a bike tour with “Bike It”; this was a terrific way to see the outskirts of  BA,  ride the local train dragging our bikes on the train with us (a hoot), and canoe on the Tigre River. On my final day I stumbled onto the Fort/Customs House which is FREE admission and lies directly behind the Casa Rosada (Pink House); it is a museum/exhibit and gives you a chance to experience Argentine history and how the country evolved - make this a must stop if you are ever in BA. Argentina was fun visiting but be prepared for sticker shock - HIGH prices for almost everything except public transportation and cheap street food.

Chili anyone???

Traveled to Santiago, Chili for 2 nights prior to boarding a cruise ship to sail around Cape Horn.  Arriving Santiago will cost US passport holders a steep reciprocity fee of $160 PP with the only saving grace is that you can charge it. Customs at the Santiago Airport are very strict as not to allow any non-originally still sealed food items into the country; the storm troopers were confiscating galore. My challenge at the arrival terminal was finding an ATM that dispenses cash. Following an extensive search, I discovered only six(6) ATMs at the arrival terminal and only one(1) dispensed cash. For transportation, I chose the highly reliable “Vanman” (www.thevanmanadventures.com) and shared the cost with friends. Santiago Airport is about 20 minutes from downtown, and I bunked at Casa Bonita B & B (www.casabonita.com) - decent prices. Took the metro which was easy to navigate, clean and cheap,  to “La Bicicleta Verda” where I biked the parks and politics tour. The tour gives you an interesting city perspective, but many venues were closed to include the museum of art. Following the biking, my small group walked over to Cerro San Cristobal only to find that the funicular to the top of the hill was down for repairs (it will be closed for a year), and the shuttle bus stops operating at 5pm, so we walked about 1/3 of the way up to a nice vantage point. As you walk towards San Cristobal Hill there are numerous eating establishments, but they all seemed somewhat touristy. On day 2, I spent the day at Casca de las Animas (www.cascada.net).  This is a lovely place on the river where you can relax and enjoy the outdoors away from the city; also a number of activities are offered, so I selected whitewater rafting (class 3 rapids) and did a canopy ride/jump. It takes about 1 hr using private transportation (once again the “Vanman” was available) to get to the resort. On my final day, I visited the lovely Emiliana Winery which is the only certified organic winery in Chili. I could have easily spent many hours walking the grounds, but I was on my way to Valparaiso so an hour was all I could afford. As for Valparaiso, I was not very impressed; it is a coastal city, crowded with narrow streets - this place is definitely not on my return list.

Back to SRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIiiii

Made a return journey to lovely Sri Lanka but this time I decided to slow down and enjoy the sun, surf and local eats. Before arriving Sri Lanka I completed the visa on arrival application paid the fee (using a CC) printed the approval letter, it was a breeze on arrival (make sure you arrival card is filled out). As I made my way towards baggage claim I stopped at the duty free stores and stocked up on drinks (alcoholic kind) alcoholic prices in Sri Lanka are quite high except for local beer. The Colombo airport (located 45 minutes from the city) is new and easily to navigate but traffic through the city is at a snail’s pace I was thinking of spending a few days in Colombo but after much research and talking with fellow travelers decided that would have been a bad choice so I decided to forgo the bus and the train adventure and arranged for direct auto transportation to Hikkaduwa town, cost was $70 and if you had a friend to share my cost would have been cut in half. For my visit to Hikkaduwa, once again I stayed at the Drifters (http://www.driftershotel.com) a very nice hotel(read my review on trip advisor). Hikka is a small tourist town with a very nice beach, restaurants, and tourist shops.  There are various clubs scattered along the main road and many facing the ocean but the main attraction is the lovely and gentle waves for wanabe surfers like me. Walking along the beach there is one main small rocky area with some marine life for snorkeling and a few HUGE turtles are usually swimming around, I dropped by the Turtle hatchery which was well worth my time except there were no baby turtles to be released. Besides my miserable efforts at learning how to surf and just hangin out, I took the train to Galle the largest town in the south and walked around the Old Town of Galle and its fortifications. Sri Lanka is a very lovely island prices are reasonable as the island has yet to be discovered, if you are considering this part of the world give this country a look I WILL be BACK!

Revised Cruisinbob’s Tips for Savings & Fun

The more I cruise the more I learn  below are a few of my money saving tips for cruising fun;

-When selecting a cruise do not worry about the cruise-line, select a ship that meets your needs every ship  has it's strong and weak points but the itinerary is the key factor.

-Try and pick a new ship or a ship that has recently been revamped in dry dock, these ships offer; new technologically, more modern amenities, larger rooms and more fun things to do.

-Save BIG by booking the cheapest cabin, you spent little time in your cabin and the savings translate to more cash to spend on fun. If you want to enjoy the ocean view there are plenty of places all over the ship, I have always booked the " inside guarantee" and negotiated numerous free upgrades even to a suite(very very lucky).


-Cruising Europe in not expensive if you PLAN and PLAN well ahead. I select two(2) or three(3) cruises that I WANT to cruise, then wait for the Airfare to go on sale if I see an airfare to Europe on sale I BUY it but I do not book the cruise(see below on how I save more money).

-If you want to save big, book your cruise inside the 60 day sailing window, cruise lines want to sell all the cabins and are willing to do what it takes to get you on board. You might think it is risky but you have yet to pay a dime you might have to pay a tad more but you can save huge sums!

-Never book the cruise airfare book your own flights, check out the flights the ship is offering as they will only list flights that passengers can comfortably make the ship boarding and disembarkation time.

-If you are traveling to your port by air, consider flying to a city that is close vice the port city itself, you might be saving quite a bit of money, once again AIRFARE AIRFARE is key.


-Do NOT over pack, travel light. If you wear the same outfit twice none will care + there are laundromats(washing/dryer machines for a nominal cost) on some newer ship. Some will even offer a very cheap laundry service(per bag) halfway through your cruise.

-Cruising between late May – late August is high season(= high prices) and the ships are filled and to boot kids are everywhere (I raised 4).

-Book a cruise with a least a 40-60 split between sea days and port stops. Too many port stop’s is very stressful and you will miss the relaxing and fun sea days.

-Avoid ship excursions they are highly overpriced and you are treated like cattle. Do a little research, explore on our own and you can save a lot of cash. Remember while on an excursion ALWAYS stay on ship time.

-Dining room food is just as good as the fancy “For a Fee” eating establishments on cruise ships, save your cash not worth it.

-Do your port research before sailing, there are so many fun and cheap things to do. Read the boards; follow your instinct in dealing with vendors on the internet, read my blog.

-Avoid buying the cruise line air and transfers, you can save a lot of money by doing it on your own or posting and having others share the expense and it will be a great way to meet fellow passengers.

-If you are cruise shopping try and pick a new ship, they offer; new technologically, more modern amenities, larger rooms and more fun things to do. Try and avoid the older ships(more than 5 yrs old).

-While cruising, avoid taking ship elevators and use the stairs as much as possible. With so much food to eat and it is hard to fit gym time so why not walk everywhere. Invest in a step counter and you will know the results trust me on this tip it works.

-Make a few notes while on your cruise, the good and the bad, then post for us addicts to read.