Actually I found on my recent trip to Valparaiso some excellent seafood. It was possible to have plates served with vegetables instead of rice or potatoes on request, too! And seasoned! None of if smothered in anything gunky. The restaurant scene there is now very good. I especially liked the congrio at Sabor Color in Cerro Concepcion (Templeton 561). Of course the wines aren't bad, either. There is now a growing craft brewery scene. Hindsight is 20/20, but I wish I had put two more of my extra days into Valparaiso and spent just one night in Buenos Aires. Did you spend much time there?

Chilean empanadas were at least as good as the ones in Buenos Aires (actually the king crab and cheese one near the port in Punta Arenas).

Of course there is no really bad ice cream, is there? I had Nicolo a few times and another one whose name began with Ice..but I don't think Buenos Aires has any lock on good ice cream over Colombia (Crepes n Waffles), or Chile, or Peru (Larizza or 4D) or Ecuador which has the best non dairy fruit ices of all.

We had several great stops on the cruise. Falklands visit to see the King Penguins at Volunteer Point, hiking in Park Ayken del Sur in Puerto Chacabuco (plus Patagonian Lamb), birding Tierra del Fuego National Park...fantastic with a dusting of snow and fall colors starting. Ushuaia has a gorgeous setting, on the Beagle Canal. Even Puerto Tombo was worthwhile, despite an overload of ship passengers amongst the few hundred thousand Magellanic penguins. Excellent bird guide out of Puerto Montt. We had some delicious steak at the Mercado near Montevideo, with characters cooking at the bar. Good shopping there, too.

As far as style, I saw versions of the backpack I bought in Guatemala all over Palermo Soho...you just need to be able to curate your own style instead of relying on someone else's, I guess.

For those who may be interested in the cruise itself, I will post that under "Cruises" forum. The last minute cabins were being heavily discounted on the Norwegian Sun (probably thanks to zika). It was $1300 including port charges and tips for the entire cabin as a single for 14 days. I don't even think you can fly to the Falklands for that amount!

Of course they hope you'll buy drinks and internet and coffee and excursions...but I bought only the one ship's tour and didn't need any 'extras'. The ship's lecturer was excellent (I think he is likely to be on next year's routing). We had dinner with him most nights the last week of the cruise. The Tango shows were also good.

It was fascinating how international the passengers were...nothing at all like the usual Euro/North American mix. Very friendly staff and good service. The food was edible, although variety was limited. Actually the one steak I tried was quite tasty, and we heard they supply beef from Uruguay so it isn't surprising. They had salmon and at least one other fish or seafood item on offer in the MDR for dinner, so I did well there.

What a deal on your cruise! As I recall the best food for me in Chile was the avocados. They were to die for.

I was in Valparaiso 3-4 days & could have stayed longer. I loved it there.

As far as style goes, we are all definitely different. To each is own...

Yes, no problem with that..or preferring one city over another. Different strokes. I'm sure there are many people who don't share my positive feelings for Lima!

I was pleasantly surprised by the food scene in Chile this visit.

Great to hear you had a good time mlgb. That cruise sounds like incredible value. Sound like it is worth considering to find those king crab and cheese empanadas alone!

Sad you didn't take to BA, but hey, wouldn't life be boring if we all liked the same things? I liked Valapraiso a lot and was considering it for our next trip but the route didn't work so maybe another time.