Question for Stanley, Antarctica and more

[BPCooper]

Hello, I am new to this website. I am cruising South America this winter (Norw. Dream; Val. to Buenos Aires). I have read up on as much as I can and have come across some revelations that I would like insight on from those who know or have done it if possible.

 

How often is Stanley really canceled? I have read "fifty percent of the time" and I have read "the ship before me" or "the ship after me" couldn't dock. Yet most people writing say they went successfully. Does anyone have a real estimate? :-)

 

Second, I am asking the same question of the one-day Antarctic landing by plane from Puerto Arenas. Just how often is this one canceled?

 

Of the other ports (Montt, Chacbuco, Arenas, Ushuaia, Madryn, Montivideo), are there any regular worries to be aware of? I read one account that Porto Madryn is canceled sometimes too, but only this one site mentioned that.

 

Any tips or advice are helpful. Thank you!

[Aussie Gal]

We were one of the unfortunate ones whose trip to the Falklands was cancelled. We happened to strike a day when the winds were ferocious and therefore could not tender into the port. One of the reasons we had booked our particular cruise besides going to Antarctica was to visit Stanley but it wasn't to be.

 

We were lucky though as once we did get to Antarctica after going through a horrendous day and night of Force 11 gales was beautiful sunny weather with hardly any wind. So you make up for the bad with the good somewhere along the way.

 

We also missed Puerto Madryn a few days earlier, again because of winds. It was a beautiful sunny day but apparently the forecast was for high winds in the afternoon when we would be leaving the port. There are no tugs at that port, so the ship would have had to leave the port under her own steam and our Captain wasn't prepared to risk the ship with the high winds. We were all disappointed, especially as a couple of days later we missed Stanley. We ended up being at sea for 11 days straight until we reached Ushuaia.

 

The plane flight down to Anatarctica from Puerto Arenas was also cancelled on our trip My sister was on another ship a year earlier and paid for that excursion. They actually flew for a couple of hours before the pilot decided it was too risky to go any further so they had to turn back.

 

We also missed Chacabuco on that cruise as well, again due to winds in the Pacific that slowed our ship down. We didn't mind missing this port as we were given an extra day cruising the Chilean Fjords which were wonderful.

 

We were cruising in early January and my sister was cruising in late December/early January. It is pure luck what sort of weather you will encounter down there, sometimes you can be lucky other times not so. It is still a magical place to visit.

 

Jennie

[BPCooper]

Thanks for your reply and details. So on your cruise, three ports were canceled but Antarctica was a success? Was this with Norwegian?

 

I'm going to wager that having three canceled is unusual. I hope so.

 

Also curious as to how many people were on your Antarctic excursion, and whether it was to the Frei Base/Ardley Island by zodiac? Any input on what to expect there, assuming a success, would help. Also out of curiosity, was your sister's excursion refunded at all in that situation (was that Norw. too)? I know they give all but 10% back if it is canceled beforehand, but half way there in flight?

 

Thanks!

[Keith1010]

We have cruised in South America multiple times and most recently cruise around South America earlier this year which included stops in Port Stanley and and an excursion to Antarctica and a few days crusiing off of Antarctica.

 

First off, weather will range by cruise.

 

This time when we sailed around Cape Horn the seas were quite nice whereas the last time the seas were quite rough. The odds say they will be choppy.

 

This last time we could not tender into Punta Arenas whereas last time that was a piece of cake. In fact, that is where the charter to Antarctica was to leave from so it was canceled but they were able to get it rescheduled from another port and it did take off. I would say there is a high chance that the flight to Antarctic can be canceled. Probably one out of every three are canceled.

 

We had a wonderful day in the Faulkland Islands and no problem tendering in. But, yes, this is a place from time to time that you can't tender to.

 

So, really all of this varies from cruise to cruise.

 

South America is beautiful with so much to see. So, if something gets canceled don't worry as there will be so much else to see. And, if something gets canceled it is for safety reasons which in the end is quite important.

 

It is a wonderful cruise.

 

Keith

[greatam]

Thanks for your reply and details. So on your cruise, three ports were canceled but Antarctica was a success? Was this with Norwegian?

 

I'm going to wager that having three canceled is unusual. I hope so.

 

Also curious as to how many people were on your Antarctic excursion, and whether it was to the Frei Base/Ardley Island by zodiac? Any input on what to expect there, assuming a success, would help. Also out of curiosity, was your sister's excursion refunded at all in that situation (was that Norw. too)? I know they give all but 10% back if it is canceled beforehand, but half way there in flight?

 

Thanks!

 

Reading the fine print on the NCL website, it appears that if you cannot make it to Antarctica, you will go to Torre de Paine- "In the event of inclement weather, tour will run as "Torres del Paine National Park and price will be adjusted or is subject to a 10% cancellation penalty."

 

I read that to mean if you don't want to go to Torre de Paine, you get stuck with a 10% cancellation penalty and will go nowhere.

 

The cruise ship flights to Antarctica are one the THE MOST canceled excursions in all of cruisedom.

 

IMHO, for the money they want for a single days flight, you can book a cruise from Ushuaia and ACTUALLY land in Antarctica. The "classic Antarctica" expedition cruises run about $4000.00pp for 11-13 days. The cruise ship cruises which merely cruise Antarctica are cheaper. if you have the time, you may want to look at this option. Intra South America flights to Ushuaia are relatively inexpensive.

 

Please don't count on flying to Antarctica. You may get lucky, but you may be very disappointed.

[BPCooper]

Oh I know, Antarctica has been on my list of trips for a while and I may yet still take an all our trip there. But not this year as time doesn't permit. To me it is worth it to risk the 10%, that's not so bad in the scheme of the trip.

 

I am doing an actual five day land visit to Torres del Paine before the cruise as that is the highlight to see on my list, so I would take the 10% penalty.

 

Thanks for the advice guys I appreciate it. From what I've been reading the last day, Falklands cancellations are not quite as high as some say, certainly not quite half of the ships. It's all luck with the weather which I know can change rapidly down there.

[Aussie Gal]

Thanks for your reply and details. So on your cruise, three ports were canceled but Antarctica was a success? Was this with Norwegian?

 

I'm going to wager that having three canceled is unusual. I hope so.

 

Also curious as to how many people were on your Antarctic excursion, and whether it was to the Frei Base/Ardley Island by zodiac? Any input on what to expect there, assuming a success, would help. Also out of curiosity, was your sister's excursion refunded at all in that situation (was that Norw. too)? I know they give all but 10% back if it is canceled beforehand, but half way there in flight?

 

Thanks!

 

We were on the Regal Princess and my sister was on HAL's Rotterdam. I am not sure if she received any of her excursion refunded. We did receive two lots of port charges back, though of course Stanley is a tender port and there was no compensation for missing that.

 

As I mentioned, down there you take the good with the bad and we were compensated for the missing ports by having four days of fantastic weather in Antarctica, great weather in Ushuaia, brilliant sunshine when cruisng the Chilean Fjords and our day in Puerto Montt which was one of the highlights of the cruise.

 

Jennie

[Tarheelbelle]

Thanks for your reply and details. So on your cruise, three ports were canceled but Antarctica was a success? Was this with Norwegian?

 

I'm going to wager that having three canceled is unusual. I hope so.

 

Also curious as to how many people were on your Antarctic excursion, and whether it was to the Frei Base/Ardley Island by zodiac? Any input on what to expect there, assuming a success, would help. Also out of curiosity, was your sister's excursion refunded at all in that situation (was that Norw. too)? I know they give all but 10% back if it is canceled beforehand, but half way there in flight?

 

Thanks!

In my research, I learned that there are no zodiac landings from any of the larger cruiseships that go to Antarctica. This would include Princess, HAL, NCL, Celebrity/Azamara.

[Aussie Gal]

The only landings are from the smaller ships such as Marco Polo, the Akademik Ioffe/Peregrine Mariner and, her sister ship, the Akademik Sergey Vavilov/Peregrine Voyager, Explorer 11, Ms Fram etc. They all hold less than 400 passengers.

 

There is a limit to how many people can land at one time, I think it is 100 maximum. There is no way that the larger ships could tender everyone ashore over the course of a day. Many would miss out.

 

Of course, it all depends on weather and I know of people who have gone down there in the smaller ships and haven't been able to land which would be devastating. As I mentioned in a previous post, we had fantastic weather, we saw a huge amount and I am not sorry we went in a larger ship as I would have hated to be tossed around in a small one in the Force 11 gale we were subject to for 24 hours.

 

You are at the mercy of the sea and there is no-one around who could come and rescue you if you got into difficulty. We realized that when we were down there.

 

Jennie

[victoria with a secret]

Be aware that there are only 44 seats for paying passengers on the flight, so if you want to go, book early.

[victoria with a secret]

Be aware that there are only 44 seats for paying passengers on the flight, so if you want to go, book early.

 

The scientist who travelled with us, told us that one year she came to the airport for 30 days running to try to get to her research station in Antarctica and only go out on the 31st day. Since the pilots make their decision at the last minute, the passengers still have to be at the airport at 6-6:30am. We were blessed and had fantastic weather and an absolutely wonderful experience. Good luck to you if you decide to go.

 

Heather

[BPCooper]

Thanks for your reply. Glad to hear. I have also read that they need 30 people to sign up for the flight to go forward. However it seems that this usually happens, being there are 2000 people onboard.

 

I am already signed up and confirmed for it. So I'm crossing my fingers now.

 

I found the company that runs the tours and it says on their site that they need 30 people per flight. Although, I am not sure, maybe the cruise line has one chartered for their excursion.

 

Did you go to the same stations, Frei, and manage to get to Ardley? (was it with Norwegian)? Can you describe your experience? I would like to hear. :-)