Christmas in Antarctica on the Silver Cloud Dec 21-Jan5

[taxatty]

The Silver Cloud anchored today off of Carcass Island in the Falklands. Two excellent stops for scenery and wildlife today here and at Saunders Island. These were our last stops instead of beginning in the Falkland Islands as was originally scheduled.

[taxatty]

The cruise is over--we miss the Cloud already. I don't want to get into other details as I'll leave those for the OP, but the funniest thing was after the cruise when the SS charter flight from Punta Arenas arrived in Santiago, watching everyone try to figure out which of the fifty or so SS parkas and backpacks put in the overhead bins were theirs.

[TLCOhio]

19 hours ago, taxatty said:

The cruise is over--we miss the Cloud already. I don't want to get into other details as I'll leave those for the OP, but the funniest thing was after the cruise when the SS charter flight from Punta Arenas arrived in Santiago, watching everyone try to figure out which of the fifty or so SS parkas and backpacks put in the overhead bins were theirs.

 

Appreciate these great details, comments and follow-ups.  Cute sharing about the challenge in sorting our the fifty or so SS parkas, backpacks from the overhead bins..  

 

As Antarctica is at the top of our future to-do list, do look forward to any and all added details, thoughts and tips to consider about this adventure trip.  Keep it coming!  Look forward to learning more about the top, most-loved highlights, suggestions on what to know, avoid, do, etc.  Let us know any added secrets, insights, etc.  

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

AFRICA?!!?: Fun, interesting visuals, plus travel details from this early 2016 live/blog. At 52,079 views. Featuring Cape Town, South Africa’s coast, Mozambique, Victoria Falls/Zambia and Botswana's famed Okavango Delta.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2310337

[sherylc]

Have really enjoyed following along! We are doing this trip next year and wonder if there is any advantage to booking international air through Silversea vs on our own to Santiago. Sounds like the charter flight is included either way.

[taxatty]

2 hours ago, sherylc said:

Have really enjoyed following along! We are doing this trip next year and wonder if there is any advantage to booking international air through Silversea vs on our own to Santiago. Sounds like the charter flight is included either way.

At least for our AA MIA-SCL-MIA flights, the cost of Economy seats purchased directly from AA exceeded the SS credit amount. No Business seats were available when we booked, and SS won't book Premium Economy. Fortunately for us, once our tickets were issued, we submitted AA miles/cash Business upgrade requests and eventually got them both ways--nice for two long redeye 787-8 flights.

 

The all Economy LATAM A321 charter flights to and from Santiago and Punta Arenas are included in the SS package. 

Edited January 7, 2022 by taxatty

[rkacruiser]

6 hours ago, TLCOhio said:

As Antarctica is at the top of our future to-do list,

 

It's a cruise that you will never forget.  Take an extra fully charged battery for your camera along because the photo opportunities are plentiful.  

[cruiseej]

7 hours ago, sherylc said:

We are doing this trip next year and wonder if there is any advantage to booking international air through Silversea vs on our own to Santiago.

 

Who knows that the world will be like by next winter, but if you look at the craziness we're living through now, it's hard not to book the air through the cruise line so any and all complications which may arise are their problem and not yours. For instance, some of the Silversea Antarctica cruises this year were supposed to go and come via Buenos Aires, but they switched to Santiago because they could get a deal with Chile but not Argentina. Imagine if you have purchased your own business class seats to and from Buenos Aires, versus having Silversea handle that change for you.

 

We're hoping to be on the Cloud holiday cruise in December (after having had our cruise canceled in 2020 and again in 2021), and I wouldn't think of booking the air for this on our own. In "normal" times, sure -- compare flights and prices booking on your own versus the cruise line and choose whichever works best. But in these times, nope. Let the cruise line shoulder any risk and responsibility for any changes which may arise.

[rkacruiser]

24 minutes ago, cruiseej said:

Let the cruise line shoulder any risk and responsibility for any changes which may arise.

 

I agree.  Doing so makes good sense to me.  Having cruised involving the ports for Buenos Aires and Santiago, Santiago's was a winner.  Buenos Aires:  I have no plans on returning.  

[sherylc]

For us, it's a significant decrease in cost and far less if we use miles. I looked up Santiago to Buenos Aires just in case and they run 5 times per day at $200 round trip per person if we had to alter location at last minute. 

[SailinC2C]

Thank you for your post. We are sailing on silver wind on Jan 5th. I sure hope Covid is under control next winter. We would hate to cancel Antarctica. 

Enjoyed your profiles of the staff. 

I'm glad you told us about the process to get into Chile. Just something we have to be ready for. 

I think you or someone else said you have to show proof of $36k in medical insurance on the application. Did you buy insurance from Silver Seas or have another plan?

[WesW]

Hi SailingC2C; like your cruise critic avatar.

 

Glad you enjoyed the crew profiles, had one left and done except for photos--The Engine Wiper.  Will share on next Silversea cruise.

 

At the link below are the Chilean entry requirements (e.g., $30,000 medical insurance)
 

https://cl.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/security-and-travel-information/covid-19-information/

 

We use The Trip Insurance store  (www.tripinsurancestore.com) for our travel insurance on cruises and land travel.  The owner Steve recommended IMG LX plan (includes Covid protection and about $500,000 in medical coverage)

 

You will love antarctica--a home run, but the Grand Slam is a visit to South Georgia islands.

 

[ronrick1943]

Thanks so much, I’m enjoy the story and the photos.  Looks cold but fun.