Why would Ponant make us come to Santiago, Chile first?

[Sitti]

Happy New Year. Hope everybody is having great holidays.

 

I'm starting to get worried with my upcoming cruise having to go through Chile's requirement. My cruise is The Ross Sea departs on Feb 15th on Le Commandant Charcot

 

I have been reading posts of people have had scary experiences in Chile mainly due to positive covid test results and glitches in their online vaccination validation process. This is what I'm really afraid of the most. To be honest, I felt I didn't want to go to Chile when I found out about its strict policies. But it was too lake to change because that was after I've had booked my cruise and paid deposit. Ship doesn't even actually departs from Chile, it departs of Ushuaia, Argentina. First day of itinerary begins with having passengers gathered in Santiago first, and then we get on a charter flight to Ushuaia the next day. I don't understand why Ponant didn't make to have us come to Buenos Aires instead of Santiago and added extra layer of complications. I have to go through Chile's processes and added risks of something goes wrong just for staying in Chile for 1 day to catch our charter flight and later having to deal with Argentina's entry requirements. Why not start from Buenos Aires and skip going through Chile's covid requirements?

 

Can anyone here guess why would Ponant make us come to Santiago first? As far as I know there is no restriction that prevent us from flying to Buenos Aires and then fly Ushuaia.

[parischris]

The departure city is the choice of the company operating and its contractual arrangements with hotels and airlines. Covid has made it more difficult as the travel bubble is enforced. I've departed for Antarctica, FI, SG and the Chilean fjords from Santiago, Buenos Aires, Punta Arenas and Ushuaia, depending on the arrangements.

 

It also depends on the charter airline. Departing out of Santiago, you are almost certaining on a LATAM charter. Out of Buenos Aires, Aerolineas, maybe LATAM or the low cost Aerolineas offshoot. 

 

The upside of being on the charter flight from Santiago is that if delayed, the ship will wait. Traveling independently to Ushuaia usually means arriving at least the day before, and if you're delayed for any reason, the ship will not wait for you. 

 

Santiago is a great city, it will be a shame if you don't get to see much of it. 

 

P.S. Entry to Argentina from Ushuaia via Santiago is no big deal. 

Edited December 31, 2021 by parischris

[schnapperin]

It was a long time unclear if Argentina would open up in time - and there are often more flights to Santiago den BA. 

 

Santiago was often a hub (like BA) for Antartica cruises aswell in the past. 

 

If I do remember correctly you didn‘t booked until November and then it was clear that Chile was used as starting point - it’s always good to check what sort of requirements are needed to be able to enter (even more in COVID times) 

 

also the risk of testing positive at the boarder is always an option at the moment- but currently Chile is not requiring a PCR test at the boarder if you got the Booster shot - maybe that’s an option? (Also highly recommended these days after 3-4 months) 

 

don‘t forget to apply in time for the needed mobility pass for entry into Chile

 

 

Edited January 1, 2022 by schnapperin

[cboyle]

On 12/31/2021 at 2:57 PM, Sitti said:

Happy New Year. Hope everybody is having great holidays.

 

I'm starting to get worried with my upcoming cruise having to go through Chile's requirement. My cruise is The Ross Sea departs on Feb 15th on Le Commandant Charcot

 

I have been reading posts of people have had scary experiences in Chile mainly due to positive covid test results and glitches in their online vaccination validation process. This is what I'm really afraid of the most. To be honest, I felt I didn't want to go to Chile when I found out about its strict policies. But it was too lake to change because that was after I've had booked my cruise and paid deposit. Ship doesn't even actually departs from Chile, it departs of Ushuaia, Argentina. First day of itinerary begins with having passengers gathered in Santiago first, and then we get on a charter flight to Ushuaia the next day. I don't understand why Ponant didn't make to have us come to Buenos Aires instead of Santiago and added extra layer of complications. I have to go through Chile's processes and added risks of something goes wrong just for staying in Chile for 1 day to catch our charter flight and later having to deal with Argentina's entry requirements. Why not start from Buenos Aires and skip going through Chile's covid requirements?

 

Can anyone here guess why would Ponant make us come to Santiago first? As far as I know there is no restriction that prevent us from flying to Buenos Aires and then fly Ushuaia.

 

I am also booked on this cruise. Apparently Le Commandant Charcot is now sailing round-trip from Punta Arenas, Chile.

https://fr.calameo.com/read/000132423cf461dcaf716?authid=BIZNrwBnxZY5

[Sitti]

5 hours ago, cboyle said:

 

I am also booked on this cruise. Apparently Le Commandant Charcot is now sailing round-trip from Punta Arenas, Chile.

https://fr.calameo.com/read/000132423cf461dcaf716?authid=BIZNrwBnxZY5

 

Thank you very much for this info!! I totally wasn't aware of it. Sailing from Punta Arenas would make much more sense. One less thing to worry about.

 

 

[Sitti]

I just checked the trip detail on ponant app, departure port indeed has changed to Punta Arena

[cboyle]

@Sitti, we received our travel documents by email from Ponant today. I hope you get yours soon!

[Sitti]

9 hours ago, cboyle said:

@Sitti, we received our travel documents by email from Ponant today. I hope you get yours soon!

Thank you @cboyle, I just received mine from TA😄

[cboyle]

Hurray! I just got an email from FedEx saying that the hard copy of our documents will arrive by tomorrow at noon! How about you, @Sitti?

 

John looked at the routes from Bangkok to Santiago and you seem to have a lot of bad options. He did see one that included a Atlanta-Santiago leg on Delta on February 14. We are on that one, so maybe you'll see us at the gate!

[Sitti]

1 hour ago, cboyle said:

Hurray! I just got an email from FedEx saying that the hard copy of our documents will arrive by tomorrow at noon! How about you, @Sitti?

 

Nice!! Thank you for letting me know. So far nothing about hard copy yet, only an email with attachments. My reservation is made with Ponant Australia. Maybe they are not sending it internationally. Even if they've just sent it, I don't think it would arrive by this week.

 

1 hour ago, cboyle said:

John looked at the routes from Bangkok to Santiago and you seem to have a lot of bad options. He did see one that included a Atlanta-Santiago leg on Delta on February 14. We are on that one, so maybe you'll see us at the gate!

 

Yes, there weren't any ideal options departing from here. I chose Emirates: Bankgkok > Dubai > São Paulo > Santiago (last leg on Latam). I wanted to avoid catching a connecting flight in the US, because I'd have to go through custom/immigration, collecting baggage, re-check in, and TSA. Looks like I'll see you in Santiago.

Edited February 8, 2022 by Sitti

[cboyle]

1 hour ago, Sitti said:

Yes, there weren't any ideal options departing from here. I chose Emirates: Bankgkok > Dubai > São Paulo > Santiago (last leg on Latam). I wanted to avoid catching a connecting flight in the US, because I'd have to go through custom/immigration, collecting baggage, re-check in, and TSA. Looks like I'll see you in Santiago.

 

Ouch! We are a lot luckier with Delta: RDU (Raleigh-Durham) > ATL (Atlanta) > SCL (Santiago). On the way back, it is United through Houston.

 

Also, we don't have much of a time change: Santiago is only 2 hours ahead of us.

 

At least you will be able to get some rest in quarantine at the hotel while we're all waiting for the Chilean PCR test results. We had wanted to go in early and do some independent touring (like we did in 2011), but with all the COVID-19 regulations we decided it was better just to follow the Ponant program.

 

We are very familiar with the collect/recheck dance in the US. We do have Global Entry, which helps a lot.

 

Safe travels and maybe we will see you in Santiago or on the ship!

Edited February 8, 2022 by cboyle