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| 14 night Patagonia Holiday aboard Celebrity Eclipse: Part 5, Buenos Aires | Page: 1 2 3 4 5 |
Finally after 13 nights on board, we have arrived to Buenos Aires, Argentina. As noted in the intro, the ship was originally supposed to head to Montevideo first, but we instead ended up with an overnight stay at our final port. I suspect this had to do with some traffic control (although one decided over a year in advance), since the captain made a big deal of needing to leave Punta del Este at the specified hour in order to enter the Rio de la Plata channel by certain time. A neat highlight of arriving to this port was seeing the Royal Caribbean Serenade of the Seas docked here. This ship was now about half-way around the world on its Ultimate World Cruise voyage. We have been following several YouTubers, including BZ Travel whose channel I first came across when researching more about Bulgaria, who were on this voyage so it was a treat to see the ship live. Another highlight was listening to the musical chimes of the massive cranes moving about.
Here we booked a private guide to drive us around. The recommendation actually came from a former colleague of mine from NASA days into whom we ran into, randomly, during the voyage (he actually recognized me first). The driver first took us to the Floralis Generica flower statue. This metal flower is supposed to open and close and the beginning and end of each day, like a real flower, but on our visit it was early into a recovery from a recent (about a week prior) wind-storm that broke off two of its petals. Another wind storm some few weeks later did more damage, which then required some massive repair operation later that year. It is not clear as I write this in October 2024 whether it is operational again. Hugo got to practice his tango here. We next drove over to the San Isidro Cathedral. On the way there I spotted the Slovak Embassy.
Our next stop was the town of Tigre at the Paraná river delta. This river is the second longest in South America after the better known Amazon. At its mouth it merges with the Paraguay River and Uruguay River to form the massive Rio de la Plata. From a map, one may think that Buenos Aires and Montevideo sit along the shores of a gulf of the Atlantic Ocean, but in reality, they are located along the banks of a giant river emptying into the sea. Upstream of this gulf is the massive delta, containing many tributaries that are a popular water sport destination. We started by stopping for empenadas in Tigre while waiting for our excursion boat departure time. We then went on a roughly two hour long boat trip through the channels. It was very interesting seeing this very different side of Buenos Aires. I felt like being in the swamps of Mississippi. We saw a multitude of shacks built on stills, and our boat soon had an entourage of various smaller boats following along. Various groups of teenagers were jumping off platforms into the brown water. Somebody was water skiing.
The following stop on our sightseeing trip was the early 19th century cemetery in the Recoleta neighborhood where many notable people, including the former Argentinian first lady and activist, Eva Perón, are buried. This cemetery is spectacular. In fact, it is recognized as one of the most beautiful cemetaries in the world.
From Recoleta, we traveled to the Caminito street famous for its colorful traditional houses and outdoor tango shows. It is located in the less wealthy La Boca neighborhood, famous for its Boca Juniors football (soccer) club. Its main rival, River Plate, is also originally from here. The football roots are very much on display, with a twist on the Michalengeo's The Creation of Adam mural in one of the stores (and much larger than what one finds in the Sistine Chapel), and a statue of Lionel Messi commemorating Argentina's 2022 World Cup victory.
That night we were treated to a nice tango and traditional dance show in the Celebrity Eclipse theater. Many guests opted for the dinner and show event at Senor Tango, but it felt unnecessary to spend money on something that was provided for free. The show was excellent and we got to see a whole bunch of different dance styles and outfits, as the pictures below illustrate.
The next morning was time to disembark and leave our home of the past 14 nights. But our visit of Buenos Aires did not end there. We had two more nights on "dry land", which we spent at the Buenos Aires Park Hyatt, also known as Palacio Duhau. Park Hyatt's are the top of the line hotels of the Hyatt brand and can be quite expensive. However, thanks to accumulated Hyatt points, the stay ended up being free. We disembarked shortly after breakfast, only to encounter a pandemonium of people waiting for taxis outside. The slow progress was due to a traffic jam exacerbated by the constant streaming of heavy trucks arriving at the port. Apparently there was some holiday or a strike over the past several days leading to a backup of cargo to be unloaded. I, probably because of my European upbringing, patiently waited in the extremely slow-moving line. Sandra, with the Colombian go-go-go attitude, instead ended up looking for and finding a taxi in a park across the street. We were to our hotel probably before we would even have a car had we we just stood in line.
This hotel was really nice! The building apparently used to be a school, but it would also be well suited as a palace for a local aristocrat. It actually consists of two separate buildings connected by an underground passage. The area above the passage provides the lush outdoor garden. There are several restaurants, wine cellar, and an art gallery located on the premises, however we patronized mostly the speakeasy-style Oak Bar. This place served not only excellent cocktails, but their food offerings were also of top quality, especially for a bar.
For dinner we ventured to the nearby traditional grill restaurant called Fervor. Being in Argentina, we of course got steak and wine. A curious event took place at the next table over. An older guy, who looked like a regular, ate by himself, and upon finishing, pulled out essentially a suitcase full of cash, which he used to pay for his dinner. We thought this was ridiculous until we found ourselves in a similar situation not long after! Turns out that Argentinian economy has been experiencing massive inflation. However, unlike in other places where such a thing happens, this country has not introduced banknotes of higher denomination. The highest bill you are most likely to encounter is 1,000 pesos which is basically 1 USD. Imagine needing to pay for a steak dinner for three using $1 bills! The highest bill actually in existence is apparently 10,000 or $10. Another difficulty with this is that ATMs are limited to the very tiny (at least in the current inflationary environment) amount of 15,000 pesos (or around). Those $15 won't last you too long. This is why it is recommended to bring US dollars when visiting here, although we found that almost all places took credit cards. There was only one occasion when we needed to pay cash, and that was when paying for breakfast in a restaurant with a (supposedly) broken credit card machine.
The following morning Sandra and I went for a 7 mile jog that took us to the large park by Japanese Garden and the Rose Garden. On the way back we also encountered a really cool massive tree. Unfortunately my forward facing cell phone camera was completely busted by now so I don't have any pictures from this run except for a single selfie (the selfie camera worked fine, but is of much worse quality). Then after breakfast we visited the El Ateneo Grand Splendid bookstore located in a former theater.
From there we headed to the main Avenida de 9. Julio (day of Argentina's Independence) boulevard. This is where various landmarks such as the Obelisco, which reminded me of the Washington, D.C. monument, and Teatro Colon are located. We also visited the Metropolitan Cathedral which houses the mausoleum of General Jose de San Martin who liberated Argentina, Chile and Peru from the Spanish Empire, and then also served as the first president of Argentina. Later we also walked to Casa Rosada, the pink house that serves as the administrative building of Argentinean presidents. Unlike the American White House, their president does not normally live here.
We had tickets for an afternoon sightseeing tour of Teatro Colon. We also got to visit the National Museum of Fine arts, where I particularly enjoyed a 1660s portrait of a dejected mathematician. Being a scientist is not easy! The following, and final, day we made it to the Puerto Madero neighborhood featuring various fancy cocktail lounges lining the Rio Dique channel. One highlight here is the frigate A.R.A. "Presidente Sarmiento", which was the first Argentinean sailing ship built specifically for training purposes. It was built in England, and completed 39 trips around the world. It is now a museum.
We also checked out the Museum of Latin American Art, which was having a special Frida Kahlo exhibit. And then it was time to head to the airport and make our way home. Hugo's flight for Bogota departed first. Buenos Aires is a really neat city, retaining an eclectic mix of European architecture with Latin American lifestyle. I would very much like to come back, but the flight made us really appreciate - or better say realize - just how far we have traveled. It takes almost 11 hours just to get to Houston. From there it's another 3 hours to Los Angeles. That's almost two hours longer than flying to Europe!
Finally, I wanted to leave with some thoughts on the cruise. First of all, the itinerary itself was absolutely amazing. If you have the time and finances to make it down here, come. It's such a wonderful, and not well known, part of the world. Now with that said, my thoughts on Celebrity are mixed. Below is a listing of how much the whole experience cost us:
This came out to $12,836.59 (including the $650.00 on board credit, which went towards paying for the excursions). That is $285.26 per person per day. Prior to this trip, I have only sailed with MSC. For example, the MSC Splendida 10 day Eastern Mediterranean trip I did with my mom came out to $132.95 per person per day. This is 2.14 times less. I may be guilty of having high expectations, but reviewing various cruise review forums, I noticed many cruisers complaining about MSC while raving about Celebrity. I actually very much liked the MSC Splendida journey. So I was thinking, well if MSC is thought to be not so great, then Celebrity, which advertises itself in the premium category with its "Luxury Cruising by Design" slogan, will be really top notch, many steps above what MSC offered. And that just simply was not the case. I would say that in many ways MSC is the better product. The food in the buffet and the main dining room was very comparable on both trips. MSC is also not just cheaper, but they also give out more freebies. There were events every day where one could pop in for a free glass of (not exactly quality) sparkling wine. My status match just from having a Hyatt credit card provided us with free mineral water at dinner. Instead here on Celebrity, I constantly felt being nickel and dimed. Over the 14 days I remember only two events with free sparkling wine: the welcome reception and then the New Years Eve party. Even some of the "get you in the door" events like the art gallery actions which advertised having sparkling wine did not have any when I showed up. Getting to the thermal area would require purchasing an expensive package for the duration of the whole cruise, despite wanting to go just once or twice. But the biggest offender in this category was getting charged for water in our cabin. Upon checking in, we noticed two bottles of water on the desk. There was no indication (i.e. no hanging tags) that these were not complimentary. From all my past hotel stays, I have come to expect complimentary water in the room. So it did not even come to mind that this will be any different. It was only a few days later when our room attendant brought us a bill charging us $8 (with gratuities) per bottle! Seriously, Celebrity? Here you have people leaving on a 14 night trip after paying over $10,000 dollars and you can't even give them free water on embarkation? It may sound silly in the grand scheme of things but this water incident totally turned me off the brand.
My other cranky cruiser complaint has to do with the layout of the ship. Here again, probably due to my naivetee, I was expecting a more sophisticated environment. By sophisticated I mean quiet and subdued, but the ship was very loud. Perhaps this was due to the nature of the holiday sailing, as the ship was packed with families with kids. However, the issue were not so much the other cruisers, it was the open ship layout. The central Grand Foyer is open to the decks above. The various establishments, like the coffee shop where I liked to work, are located along the central opening. So the sound of any music being played in the foyer percolates throughout the ship. This would be perfect if the music was similar to the classical tunes offered on MSC, but instead of a pianist or a violinist, here we usually had some loud recreation of various classic rock hits. All power to him, but I fell that our cruise director Emanuel just tried too hard with the entertainment. If I wanted to be entertained I would have gone on Carnival. It was really hard to escape the noise. For example, while the Splendida did not have an actual library, it had an enclosed room with various sailing memorabilia that was extremely quiet. The library on the Eclipse is fully open to the Foyer, and is located right below a ping pong table, so it was anything but so. Then on the other hand, the Ensemble Lounge, which is where the more chill music was usually played was too dark. It had the vibes of a funeral home. Splendida's "Dim Sum" bar (which actually did not have any dim sum) was the place playing more laid back live music but was still bright. The Sky Observation Lounge was a great place to relax, except that about once every two hours, the cruise director brought some loud activity, like the Charades in there. Why all this was not kept in the Quasar bar or the courtyard outside of it (where many such events were held) is beyond me. For all the Las Vegasy cheesiness, the diamond-crusted staircases on MSC also just look more elegant.
But my biggest gripe has to do with the educational program - or the lack of it. Milos was absolutely great and this comment is not meant to be about him. It is more about the overall scheduling of presentations. Milos is a general naturalist and he talked about various science themes. However, these were all fairly general - for example there was a talk about the cosmos, and another one on fusion energy. I was really excited about this cruise because of what this trip represented: recreating, in a small, and a much more comfortable way, the voyage of the early 16th century explorers of the new continent. And Darwin's wonderful observations about evolution. Besides Milos, there were also lectures given by some criminologist. I mean this is maybe interesting but seriously the cruise line could not find a single person to give a talk about the history of this region or the voyage of HMS Beagle? On top of this, the destination talk presentations were always scheduled for the same time slot as Milos' lectures. Based on the one I went to, these were not even about the current upcoming port of call, but were general sales pitches for other places that Celebrity travels to. I really thought going into this cruise that the night before each port of call, there will be a let's say 30 minute presentation providing us with some historical insight of the place we are about to see along with some overview of local attractions. Doing more research into cruising post this trip, it seems that this kind of programming is typical of Viking, so perhaps that is where you will find me in the future.
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