Moche1

If you dock at the cruise terminal near the main square, taxis are usually just outside the cruise terminal, or if not, on the main street a few hundred feet from the terminal building. Better yet, use Uber -- that's what I do in Chile, Argentina, Peru, etc. Usually about the same price as a taxi, but safer and payment is made via your Uber account, not in cash to driver.

Much much to do there other than the Boi Bumba show. There are a couple of craft markets but local handicrafts are nothing special. The town is on an island with limited facilities.

I had the same experience disembarking from Regent Mariner in early January. I waited in the taxi line until I got to the front and heard $20 for a taxi to my hotel. I laughed (had never paid more than a third of that in the past) and walked a short distance away. Tried to order an Uber without luck so hailed a taxi -- he quoted 1200 pesos (less than $4 US) so I said "let's go" -- gave the driver a $5 bill and he was very happy. The $20 price at the head of the line is pure rip-off!

Another possible tour is one that I have done a couple of times (most recently a year ago). It involves about an hour's drive south (on a four lane divided highway) along the coast to the Ovalle area to visit an interesting archaeological site and a local winery. Very worthwhile.

Depending on time of day, it can be anywhere from 40 minutes to an hour and a half to/from EZE from downtown Buenos Aires. I late January I paid 7280 Argentine pesos (less than fifteen dollars at the Blue Rate), including a hefty tip, for an Uber from my hotel to EZE. I usually pay about $20 US cash for a taxi from the airport to my downtown hotel. Incidentally, when I got off Oceania Marina in January, after getting my luggage i joined a line for taxis outside the cruise terminal. At the head of the line, there was a woman guiding passengers to the next available taxi. She asked where I was going and I gave her the name of my hotel. She said (in English) that it would be $20 US (and I heard her say $40 to EZE). I laughed and walked away down the sidewalk. I then called for an Uber. However, after about 20 minutes no Ubers were available. So I hailed a taxi (away from the terminal entrance) -- I asked the first guy who stopped -- he said it would probably be about 1200 pesos (less than four dollars). I said let's go ... I ended up giving him a $5 bill and he was happy.

I've been to Punta Arenas more than a dozen times -- a couple of times flying to/from for visits to Torres del Paine National Park, lots of times via cruise ship. There are actually two possible docks that cruise ships use, plus anchorage for tendering. The normal cruise terminal is the one GeorgeCharlie has noted in the post above. It's a temporary building that is about three blocks from the main downtown square (check out the Magellan statue in the center of the square -- plus there are usually some tourist stands set up there on days when cruise ships arrive). The other dock is about two miles away in the commercial port area. If you use that one, shuttle buses to the city center are usually provided. Since Punta Arenas is located on the Straits of Magellan, not open ocean, high waves are usually not a problem. However, the place does experience very high winds occasionally. One time I was there on the Norwegian Sun, using the commercial dock. Winds were high and the Sun had difficulty approaching the pier. With the aid of two tugs, the ship began to tie up. The tugs backed off -- and a big gust of winds broke the ropes -- the ship was almost instantly several hundred yards off shore. The captain announced that we would stand off for a while and see if the wind died down. An hour or so later the captain announced that we had just experienced a 100 knot wind gust and that we were moving away and would have a sea day instead of seeing Punta Arenas.

No -- I'm on Marina from Miami to Buenos Aires, then home for about a month, then back on board in Buenos Aires for "Around the Horn" to Lima and through the Panama Canal back to Miami. Boarding Regent Seven Seas Mariner on Monday for three LA-Mexico-LA cruises followed by LA to Lima. Home on November 21st -- so about four weeks at home before boarding Marina in Miami in December.

On several post-Covid cruises on Oceania, crew were not able to get off the ship in various ports -- thus no "snack runs." I've asked my room steward what's their favorite snack and made sure to stop at a grocery or mini-mart before returning from a shore excursion -- with a several bags of "Flaming Hot Cheetos" or similar. (See attached photo -- you can't see the big smile on his face!) One cruise director that I had worked with previously even emailed me with a list of his favorite snacks....

You're right --I fly to Miami on the 17th, board on the 18th.

Anyone know if Dominic will be back on Marina (and if so, when). I'm on board from December 17 to January 8 and then again from late February until it returns to Miami. Dominic is great to work with....

For any town or city in Argentina, just ask at your hotel for the best steak place nearby -- I've never had a bad meal any place in Argentina, and some of the best have been in little hole-in-the-wall places in small towns. (Can't say the same about Chile -- Chilean food in the 1980s and 1990s was terrible -- much better now.) In Puerto Montt (and also Punta Arenas) you'll probably be on some sort of shore excursion that perhaps includes a snack or lunch -- so you won't have much choice. If you go to Fruitilar or Puerto Varas out of PM, you'll definitely get to sample at least some German dishes. If you are on your own in either place, again just ask around for the best local restaurant. In Ushuaia, my go-to place is a small restaurant on the main street -- which runs parallel to the water about two or three blocks up the hill from the pier. Turn right and go almost to the end -- look for "La Cantina de Freddy" (I may not have the name exactly right -- look for the tank of King Crab in the window.) Three years ago I went there with another ship's lecturer and his wife plus two of the cast dancers -- the girls shared a King Crab whereas I had the seafood stew. Photos attached. Jim

I've never done a flight over the Nazca Lines as a cruise ship shore excursion, but I've talked to people on board who did it, and can give my thoughts based on my knowledge of the lines. I first flew over the lines in 1977 (actually did it twice that year -- at a cost of about $25), flying from the small airport in the town of Nazca at the south end of the pampa where the lines are located. I did it from Nazca many more times in the 1980s through to around 2005 (I was last in the town a few months prior to Covid, but didn't bother to fly -- cost by then around $150 per person). In the late 1990s and in the first decade of the 21st century I flew several times from the small airport at Ica, about fifty miles north of the lines. These flights were part of Archaeological Institute of America or private tours that I led -- we used a company called AeroCondor, with ten or twelve passengers on each plane. Cost then was probably over a hundred U.S., but I don't really remember because the cost was built into the overall tour price (which I obviously didn't pay). Those were pretty good flights -- longer and safer than the small planes from the Nazca airport. Also, after the 80s I was aware that flights were possible from Lima, but never tried from there. Five or six years ago I toured the passenger terminal at Pisco (near the cruise port of San Martin). At that time the new terminal was not quite finished but two companies were offering overflights of the lines from Pisco, using a portable office building as their terminal. That airport was for many years been a major Peruvian Air Force base, with no real passenger facilities, although it was always the preferred alternate airport when Jorge Chavez in Lima had to close. I've never flown from Pisco but people have told me that flights from there are good (albeit a bit longer than from either Ica or Nazca, the two closest airports to the lines). I don't know anything about the companies that currently fly from Pisco. That being said, I strongly suggest that, unless you plan a multi-day ground excursion south from Lima after (or before) your cruise, consider flying from Pisco. Conceivably you could do it from Ica -- about sixty miles south of the San Martin cruise port. But it would be long drives to and from in order to gain a few extra minutes over the lines. Also, it would be impossible to get to the town of Nazca and fly from there in one day from the cruise port. Finally, I do need to say that if you do have a stop in San Martin on your cruise, and if you don't want to fly over the lines, there are plenty of other things to do there -- a boat ride out to the Islas Ballestras to see wildlife (birds, seals, penguins), or interesting nearby archaeology (there's a neat Inca site about an hour up the Pisco Valley, or an important pre-Inca museum very close to the cruise port) , or desert scenery on the Paracas Peninsula (national reserve), or visit a winery.

Yes -- I'm on from BA to Lima to Miami -- so Miami to BA, home for a month, then BA to Miami And I'm still looking for another couple to join me on a very private tour to Cape Bougainville (Rock Hopper penguins) in the Falklands....

I lecture on cruise ships and have gone "around the Horn" four times on Marina, once on one of the R class ships, plus twice on Norwegian Sun, twice on Celebrity, and once on Princess -- with upcoming on Marina in March 2023 and twice on Viking at the end of 2023. One of my favorite cruises (right up there with Panama Canal transits). Weather can be iffy, especially around Tierra del Fuego, the Falkland Islands, and the Beagle Channel. Possible to have four seasons in one hour.... Sometimes rainy on the Chilean side of Patagonia, and hot (mid-summer) in Santiago and Buenos Aires at both ends of the cruise. This is a great trip if you are interested in wildlife -- several ports with penguin tours, marine mammals, birds, etc. Early in the season you might see whales, late in season no. Scenery in Chilean Fjords and Beagle Channel is spectacular. Local food is great -- Argentine steaks in Buenos Aires, King Crab in Ushuaia, German food in Puerto Montt, plus local wines everywhere.

I work on ships as a destination lecturer -- of late, mainly on Oceania and Regent, plus a couple of Viking cruises. I've been on two of the "R" class ships (Regatta and Sirena) and many times on the larger Marina. For me, the big difference is where I work -- the "R" class have only a lounge, whereas Marina has a full size theater. The R lounges do not have one big screen; rather they have three small screens around the room. The first time I was on Regatta, I did not know that, and came prepared with my usual laser device to point out something on the screen -- but you can't do that when people are watching three different screens. After that I always added "fly-in" arrows to my powerpoints so that everyone would see what I was trying to emphasize. I much prefer the theaters on Marina. And don't ask me about the size of the bathroom in the "restricted view" cabins that I was assigned on Regatta and Sirena.... Suffice it to say that it is possible to shower, use the toilet, and brush teeth at the same time....