Montevideo, Uruguay
February 10th, 2026
We pulled into port in Montevideo Uruguay this morning. Montevideo is the capitol and largest city of Uruguay. We had signed up for a shore excursion with Princess to tour the city and go to a winery. Unfortunately, a lot of people signed up. There were three busses of people on this tour! (not a fan).
View of Montevideo from our ship.
Our bus tour guide took us to Plaza Independencia . It is the most important city square in Montevideo. It was laid out in the 19th century in the area occupied by the Citadel of Montevideo. The Gateway to the Citadel is all that is left of the wall that surrounded the original city. It was a draw bridge that went over a moat that surrounded the walled city. In the center is a monument to national hero José Gervasio Artigas. He is considered the father of Uruguayan nationhood. Below it is his mausoleum.
All the buildings surrounding the plaza have historical importance as well. The Palaci Salvo was the tallest building in Latin America for a brief period, at its completion it was the tallest reinforced concrete structure in the world. Most people in Montevideo hated it and thought it was ugly, but now it is revered.
Palacio Salvo
The Executive Tower is also here. It is the official work place of the President of Uruguay. We were allowed into the lobby of the Executive Tower to view some sculptures. First we saw La Carreta by Mexican sculpture Sergio Pereza. It is made from mixed materials of metal and drift wood to depict an ox cart caravan of the trade and cultural exchange in the region. We also got to sit with an interactive iron sculpture of three men playing cards.
After leaving the plaza, the tour took us to the Legislative Palace of Uruguay. The palace is a Greco-Roman-styled building whose facades, interior walls, vaults and columns are covered with different marbles from Uruguay. This is where the legislative branch meets.
Legislative Palace of Uruguay
We had about an hour drive into the countryside to the Spinoglio Winery. This is an old winery founded in 1898 by Luigi Spinoglio who emigrated from Casale Monferrato in Italy's Piedmont region to Uruguay. This winery is still in the family to this day.
Our tour included a short walk to the vineyards were we tasted different grapes. Then we were shown the original pressed and equipment used. (They have since modernized the process).
Then we were led to the underground wine cellar. The underground cellar is surrounded by stone walls that naturally regulate temperature and humidity which is perfect for conserving the wine. It was also perfect for entertaining. This space is often used for wedding receptions and celebrations. Tables were set up for our tour for us to have a nice lunch and taste the wines.
Underground cellar
We were immediately served a charcuterie plate and basket of bread, served with a wine made from the Albarino grape. It is similar to a Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio. It was a crisp white wine that paired well with the charcuterie.
The next tasting featured a Rosé made from the Tannat grape. Tannat is a red wine grape, historically grown in France and is now one of the most prominent grapes in Uruguay, where it is considered the "national grape". This also paired well with our charcuterie. Then to our surprise, we were treated a Tango Show!. The dancers were amazing and so in sync. I am always amazed by tango dancers.
Next they brought out the main course. Lots of meat! The Uruguayans pride themselves on their meat as much as the Argentinians. They did not disapoint. We were treated to some wonderful Asado (beef), Choripan (sausages) and a chicken roulade. This was served with a wonderful Merlot/Tannat blend.
Meat platter
We were treated to another round of tango dancing between dinner and dessert. It was till just as memorizing.
For dessert, we were served a rice pudding with Dolch de Leche. I have found that people in Argentina and Uruguay LOVE Dolche De Leche. It is a caramelized milk made with sugar. It is sweet and delicious. It went very well with the rice pudding. They also served a Tannat wine that paired fantastically with the dessert.
The busses took us back to the ship, but there was not time to go into town and do any shopping. We were not worried as we have plans to visit Colonia De Sacramento (in Uruguay) on our own after the cruise. We also needed time to pack up our things as we needed to have our bags packed and outside our cabin door by 10:00pm. This is typical cruise procedures.
After packing, we headed to our favorite bar on the ship and enjoyed out last night. The ship was supposed to leave port by 5:30pm (which is why we had not time to shop in Montevideo), but according to the captain there were delays in the paperwork needed to leave the port. Our departure time kept changing. Unfortunately this also affected our arrival in Buenos Aries the next day. We are supposed to arrive at 7:00am tomorrow, but now it had changed to 10:00am. This is not a problem for us as we do not have any planes to catch, but there are many others on the ship at are affected. Lots of drama an the ship!
