Star Princess Review
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THE PRE CRUISE
2/28 Arrived in Santiago today after a 14 hr flight from SFO. Many children on the flight from Miami. Later found out this was the last week of vacation ("holiday") for the children, as they start school first week in March. Flew right through the fees, immigration and customs at the SCL airport. $32 for a cab to Ah Hotel. Nothing fancy, very plain room, sparse furniture. A little kitchen. 5 th floor no elevator. Helpful staff speaks English. Wi-fi exists but only successful once in logging on, and even then very slow, so didn't bother. Walked around the corner and found a nice Peruvian restaurant. Janet had salmon, I had a rice and calamari dish. Both very good. salad had a hard to identify veggie in it, but I figured it out to be huge kernels of corn, thumb nail size. Walked around the shopping district earlier, many,many small shops selling everything.
2/29 Chilean Journey gave us a tour of Santiago today. Trip included shopping, government bldgs., drive thru wealthy areas, embassy, San Cristobal M,t 1000' high. In the afternoon went toa lapis store and lunch before the winery tour. Good prices on silver/lapis. Lunch at nice restaurant, La Vaquita Echa. Good food but way too much. Some special meat dish for two, meats on a mini BBQ in front of you at your table included filet, chicken (dry), pork chop, chorizo (rough texture, not spicy) and potatoes. Also tried a traditional corn pie, much like a tamale pie in a clay pot and a little sweeter masa. Tried the national drink pisco, wine n lemon drink that tastes like a rum drink. Off to the winery, Concha y Toro. Largest winery in Chile. English speaking tour. Bought 2 bottles. Returned back at the hotel at 6. Nap and went to eat at 8:30, an early dinner time for Chileans. Went down to an area of town that has quite a bit of food and bar places clustered together. Very popular destination. Again made the mistake of ordering the dish for two, a huge meat plate like lunch but much more meat! Took a cab back to the hotel as recommended by our tour guide. Safer. Back by 10:30.
Cabin Review
Balcony
C703
Ample size room with a small balcony. The TV was there but not many stations to keep you entertained. The beds were warn out and the so were the pillow. Big enough for us both to move comfortably. Typical bathroom, with the tiny shower and clinging curtain. Couldn't seem to figure out hot or very cold on the sink's faucet, warm all the time. The room temperature was good, but the air dries out my sinuses. Refrigerator in the room ample, but they wouldn't take out those sodas that belonged to Princess. Room steward was good. One thing I did notice during rough seas, there is something in the walls, in two places, that clanged and clicked all night long.