SignorinaPinguina

Anyone who's been on the ground within the last couple of weeks, how are things on the streets of Buenos Aires? News has been indicating that there has been some unrest. Going down next month to board Sapphire Princess, so interested in others' experiences. Thanks in advance for any first-hand reports!

I was on Sapphire this past December, from San Antonio to Buenos Aires. We were supposed to call at Punta Arenas but ultimately could not due to weather. We did travel some inside channels on the way, and there was scenery, but it was also foggy, so not easy to see. There may have been glaciers, but we couldn't see them. The first two sea days were all ocean, if I remember correctly, with the third day being in the channels, close to land.

All that to say, it will probably be up to the weather and the captain's discretion what you end up seeing. Sorry, I know that's not the most helpful answer, but I think it's the most accurate I can give.

Here are a few examples of the views. Somewhat similar vibe to Inside Passage in Alaska.

On 10/15/2022 at 7:21 AM, frantic36 said:

 

Sadly I checked their website today and they are closed for now with no indication when they will restart.

Hi, just happened to see this thread and wanted to let you know I Love Chile tours appears to be back up. The "not operating" notice no longer comes up on their website.

(I, too, was sad when I saw the notice on their website as I had bookmarked them at the beginning of my Santiago research. I took a chance and used the contact form on their website anyway, and they worked with me to make reservations for a Valpo tour and port transfer in December.)

Just stumbled on this thread, and may I say thank you @HaveDogWillTravelfor making me smile on a rough week!!! LOVE IT. Keep 'em coming! 🐻

The latest official government update can be found here: https://www.falklands.gov.fk/covid-19/public-updates/352-06-april-2022-covid-19-update. More info is scheduled to come out on 4 May.

They are starting to relax their restrictions, but there is not yet any mention specifically of lifting the large-ship ban, unless I missed it.

I've been stalking the FIG website for news. Noticed that there was a line about arrivals via sea in one of their latest updates, at the very bottom:

"Quarantine measures for people arriving in the Falkland Islands by sea remain the same, although these are currently under review."

Probably irrelevant to whether they ultimately allow large ships this season, but I thought it interesting that they chose to include it at all. 🤷‍♀️🤞

(Source is here: https://www.fig.gov.fk/covid-19/public-updates/275-15-july-2021-exco-approves-further-change-to-quarantine-measures-on-arrival-in-the-falkland-islands.)

Good news, thank you!

This article from today also seems a bit hopeful:

https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/ports-destinations/argentina-uruguay-chile-continue-regional-cruise-alliance

The Falklands tourism account (@ilovethefalklands) was doing a Q&A on Instagram yesterday, and I asked if there was any chance of ships with >1000 pax being allowed to call this season. They gave a noncommittal answer. Better than an outright "no" at least.

The way I look at it, the current guidelines are their gov's first step toward loosening restrictions. They may decide to further loosen them as the tourism season draws closer. I'm not giving up hope yet for my Dec sailing on the Diamond. 🤞

Paid for Dec 18 to Antarctica on Coral but have significant doubts it will be sailing. May cancel at the 30-day mark in a couple of weeks.

21 hours ago, Bowm54 said:

18 December Coral from Buenos Aires, final payment expected next week.

Princess adamant is proceeding!

I'm booked on this one, too! Just today spoke with a Princess rep who said she did not have any definite information about whether this sailing will happen. 😔 Guess it depends on who you speak with. I think Princess wants and intends to proceed, yes -- but (and a big but) I have doubts about whether Argentina and Chile's borders will be open. Both are closed to foreign nationals and their COVID rates are not improving.

23 hours ago, voljeep said:

will Princess "allow" these final payments to be made holding out hope that 

the cruises will actually happen ?

At this point, I'm expecting them to "allow" the final payments. (Not looking forward to making the decision whether or not to pay, though!) In my opinion, if they were not intending to try to do these December sailings, then they would have cancelled them at the beginning of this month, after the extension of the no-sail order. But who knows! I hate all the uncertainty.