neilandjanet

On 1/12/2023 at 10:31 AM, BSinPNS said:

We found the comments on the previous BsAs > San Antonio cruise quite helpful, so I plan to make additional comments as we do the reverse.  After spending three days in Santiago, we travelled via minivan from the DoubleTree to San Antonio.  Scheduled a 0845 departure and got on the road about 0920 for the 1.3 hour drive .  We encountered no traffic jams and arrived at the port only to find the O-dam hadn’t made it in yet.  The port closed due to bad weather conditions and the ship did not dock until around noon.  At the port gate they wanted to briefly (and I mean very briefly) look at our COVID self-test. Completing that meant we got a red sticker permitting us to enter the terminal (large metal shed with a few hundred chairs).  Restrooms were clean and there was limited food and drink for purchase. Apparently the HAL busses were held in Santiago or at a gas station on the way.  The terminal was overwhelmed when the busses began to arrive.  Dubai World Ports (operator) and HAL did a miserable job of keeping us informed.  After the ship arrived, it took about 30 minutes for the first luggage and pax to appear. The PA system was virtually non-existent, so that didn’t help.  A chaotic boarding of suites began about 4:15 followed by five, then four star mariners.  The first general group (#25) began the boarding process about 4:30.  One first got in line to check in where they verified your name was on the passenger manifest. Then another line was formed to take a boarding photo and picture of your passport.  You were then given a receipt for your passport and got in a line for the security screening.  (Bags on a belt for X-ray scanning and walking through the metal detector.)  It didn’t matter if you set off the detector or not, you then proceeded to the bus which took us to the ship.  As you an tell, there was no checking for VeriFLY or whether you had completed the HAL Navigator app.  We were asked to view the safety video on the TV, but the traditional muster drill was held outside under your respective lifeboat at 9:40PM.  The captain spoke briefly  about safety and the crew demonstrated how to put on a life jacket.  Since the ship was late to port, they were not ready to depart before the port closed at midnight meaning our departure was delayed until 6AM on Thursday.  This means we will miss Puerto Montt which is a real shame since it is very interesting.  Instead we may arrive early in Puerto Chambucco where the big thing is the park bench overlooking the area where the ship anchors. 

Hi, haven't seen any posts from you since this one.  Did you forget or are they somewhere else?