1st time cruiser needs advice on cruises to south america.
 

dh and i are interested in going on a 10 day cruise to south america - argentina, brazil, chile....
dh is not into the ginormous ships with dressing up for formal dinners etc.
we have heard of smaller cruise lines - about 200 passengers that do not have any formal nights.
never having been on a cruise, what would you recommend?

You don't have to attend the formal night if you don't choose to do so. That is mainly for folks for have seating in dinning rooms and even then you can just opt out that night, that's what we do. If you do the buffet some dress some do not. The best deals for that trip are on the larger ships. Be aware Chile has a hefty tax on US folks due to some political payback. You need US dollars to pay it, stamp is good for one year.

thanks joanne.
is there any particular cruise line that you have experienced and would recommend?
there seems to be so much to choose from.....

Take a look at Oceania, ships are 680 passengers. I am not sure I would do SO. AM on a 200 psgr ship going around Cape Horn. On our trip around the Horn on a 1200 psgr Princess ship, we hit 40 ft waves in a big storm one night. If you ever read books about the clipper ships and whalers traveling those waters 150 years or so ago, you would know that big storms are not unusual. I wouldn't care to be on a really small ship of 200 passengers, personally. It is a wonderful cruise and I would do it again in a minute. Loved Chile and the beautiful mountains and fjords.

I'd look at Silversea, Regent Seven Seas, and Oceania. These are all luxury lines, but they have smaller ships and give you a different kind of experience, and most of them offer South America every other year (I believe that next year is a South America year for at least a couple of them). Of the three, Oceania is usually the cheapest. If Azamara is doing South America next year, that would also be a possibility ... a smaller-ship line that is not much more than a traditional cruise, just a small premium for almost-luxury service.

Patagonia cruises are generally on smaller ships, but they stay in that general area and are usually pretty expensive. Amazon river cruises are on very small ships but will be limited to a specific stretch of the river in Peru or Brazil in most cases.

The big ocean-going ships that are capable of hitting Brazil, Argentina, and Chile in ten days are usually limited to large ships. I can't think of many other alternatives right off the top of my head.

Princess, Holland America, Celebrity are larger ships hence cheaper. The others suggested are good and smaller, all are good at what they do. I did it on a Princess and it was fine, they use a mid size ship on that route. It just depends on what you want out of the trip. If it’s a great price then choose one of the large lines, if its more lux and less crowded then go with the others suggested.

I agree that Oceania would probably be a good choice, however, there relatively short cruise from Buenos Aires to Valparaiso is 13 days (no Brazil). To see all of those countries, you'd need their 19-day cruise. My understanding is that for 2010, there is only one 13-day cruise, and it is sold out, and the 19-day cruise which has sailings in both directions has some (but not a lot of) availability. The only other choice I know of would be Silversea, and the cruises are 15 or 16-day cruises and would not include both Brazil and Chile, and they would be more expensive.

I haven't done this particular trip but I have been on several cruises with princess and really enjoyed them. as has been said above you can just skip formal night and eat in the buffet (thats what we do) :) Enjoy

thanks for all the great advice.

charli, you raised a very good point about how the smaller ships can be affected by the storms. since i am already prone to being sea sick, it does not sound like fun at all.

joanne and andy,
i do like the idea of skipping the formal night. we did not realize this was an option.

doug and dreps,
oceania had piqued my interest. it seemed to have a lot of what we were looking for.
although, i'm not sure i would want the 19 day cruise.
so now, i will check out all the different cruise lines you guys have all suggested.

thanks again.