PAII Antarctic: Buenos Aires info

[Skeezics]

My husband and I are booked on the PAII for the 17 day Dec. 19th cruise to Antarctica. Starting to work on hotel reservations, etc. Nothing on the website yet regarding transfers and hotels. Thought I had read somewhere that Silversea used the Park Hyatt. Does anyone know for sure? Appreciate info on transfers etc. Unfortunately Amx Platinum Card Fine Hotels & Resorts does not have an affiliation with the Hyatt. I have used The Four Seasons before in Buenos Aires and would like to do so again...did anyone find that it was necessary to use the Silversea transfer from the city to the airport for the charter flight to Ushuaia? Thanks

[tupper10]

I can't help you with your hotel question - we stayed at the Hilton which was fine. We had no trouble not using the Silversea transfers. We had a car service pick us up at the airport, drive us to our hotel and take us to and from the local airport in B.A. We paid in advance so it was hassle free and our driver also brought us pesos so we could exchange money (at the good bank rate) without having to wait in any lines. Other people we knew just took taxis. By the way one thing you should do is the free walking tours in BA they are terrific.

[Skeezics]

Thanks for the feedback, Tupper10. So does the charter fly out of a different airport than the international? Plan to do the free walking tours. Everyone on Trip Advisor was raving about the guides.

[jpalbny]

So does the charter fly out of a different airport than the international? Plan to do the free walking tours. Everyone on Trip Advisor was raving about the guides.

 

SS Used the Park Tower (attached to the Sheraton) when we were on PAII last December. The hotel was quite nice and we'd happily stay there again. The location was convenient for sightseeing and for wandering down to the Puerto Madero region.

 

We used SS transfers from and to the airport, which were very smooth. From the airport to the hotel, we were the only ones in a large van with a guide who accompanied us and gave us a minitour on the way. From the hotel to the airport, it was a standard touring bus.

 

The charter could fly out of EITHER airport. Ours happened to depart from the international airport, but I don't think that is always the case. Our charter after the cruise returned to the domestic airport and we had to shuttle to the international airport for our flight home. The particulars regarding the charter flight were included in our final documents; you may not be able to find out much in advance of that. For us, it was a LAN flight that SS had chartered for our group, and most LAN flights to Ushuaia use the domestic airport.

 

Whatever you do, enjoy Antarctica! It's spectacular! BA was not bad, but maybe it was a victim of too much hype, as everyone told us how fantastic it was, the "Paris of the South" and all... It was nice, but not as impressive as we expected.

[wripro]

Skeezics,

 

Are you sure Amex Platinum FHR does not have an affiliation with the Park Hyatt Palacio Duhau? I used it there about two years ago twice. Unless they've dropped it.

[pke-atlanta]

We did this trip in January and absolutely loved it! Take advantage of every moment you have on the continent. It is spectacular.

 

We stayed at The Four Seasons and were perfectly happy. We arranged a car through the hotel to pick us up at the international airport on arrival and also used the hotel for a car to head to the domestic airport for the flight to Ushuaia a few days later. If you've already been to BA, you might consider doing the Silversea pre-cruise excursion to Iquazu Falls. One couple on our ship did it - and they ended up being the only couple on the trip. They effectively had a private tour of the falls and were very complimentary of the experience.

 

The only Silversea transfer we used was for getting from the domestic airport to the international airport for the flight home, and we booked it once on board PAII. The transfer on our Friday afternoon trip took about an hour, so figure that in when you book your international flight home (if not booking through Silversea).

 

Hope we have a great trip. I can't wait to do it again - it really is that amazing.

[tupper10]

We were told when we booked our trip that we would be flying out of the domestic airport for the flight to Ushuaia. I would ask Silverseas since they charter the plane and it is only the people on your cruise who will be on this flight. We arrived early in BA and we wished we had more time there. It was nice having warm weather for a change. If we had the time we would have stayed after our trip but we had to get back to work. If you can stay I would do so. It is truly the trip of a lifetime and we loved the PAII. Enjoy the walking tours as well - we used trip advisor for our recommendations but we were not impressed by the restaurants they recommended - I would post on the boards for South America to get some good suggestions.

[Lirio]

We stayed at Tryp Buenos Aires and used regular taxi to and from international airport as well to the domestic one. We go frequently to BA, so we are very familiar with the city. It is a very good city to spend three to four days to go for restaurants, museums and modern tango (not for tourist place, but for locals place).

[RachelG]

Do you think it is ok to just take a regular taxi from the international airport to hotel (Hilton) then to the domestic airport the next day? This is what I planned doing, but then I read about people reserving cars through the hotel for transfers, and it made me nervous.

I do speak some Spanish--definitely enough to get around, and my husband has been to Buenos Aires once before but it was a long time ago.

[writer100]

My husband and I are booked on the PAII for the 17 day Dec. 19th cruise to Antarctica. Starting to work on hotel reservations, etc. Nothing on the website yet regarding transfers and hotels. Thought I had read somewhere that Silversea used the Park Hyatt. Does anyone know for sure? Appreciate info on transfers etc. Unfortunately Amx Platinum Card Fine Hotels & Resorts does not have an affiliation with the Hyatt. I have used The Four Seasons before in Buenos Aires and would like to do so again...did anyone find that it was necessary to use the Silversea transfer from the city to the airport for the charter flight to Ushuaia? Thanks

 

Have not taken the transfer you query. But having stayed at the FS for 5 consecutive years, I can assure you that they can arrange virtually anything. May I suggest you contact them at: concierge.buenosaires@fourseason.com. A

[Skeezics]

Thanks, everyone, for your replies. We have been to BA before. So am familar with the city. Have a total of 6 days this time (3 before and after, FFM). Booked the hotel on recommendations from Trip Advisor. No Four Seasons this time.....don't want to face a huge hotel bill at the end. Yes, Park Hyatt is on Amx, but not Park Tower.

 

Last time we went to the booth in the airport and got a transfer into BA, no problem. Had the hotel get us a car for the return to airport. Probably do the same this time.

 

Now, a new question. What was the dress on board for the evening? And what are musts for the days on land? Going to buy their basic package and will add from there.

[tupper10]

We read the boards and followed the recommendations given - the package is not really necessary though it is certainly easy and I know some people did it -the problem is if it does not fit you are stuck and that can be a problem. We wanted to make sure everything fit and since you dress in layers it is not like you are taking bulky winter coats. I did buy the hat from the package but for me it was not warm enough. I liked the visor but I wore a small fleece hat underneath it. Using the boards on cruise critic we ended up getting most of our things from LL Bean or Lands End except for our waterproof gloves which we got on a closeout from backcountry.com. In addition to hat and gloves you will need long underwear - two pairs, silk sock liners and boot liners (the boot liners were from LL Bean and made for Wellingtons) and then just warm socks - my husband wore wool, I wore fleece. You need a warm hat to cover your ears, sunglasses - don't forget them and the things that hold them on so you don't lose them. You need waterproof pants - we bought the cheap ones from LL Bean and they worked great. You need fleece as well - I had an old ski bib that I wore over my long underwear and then I put on my LL Bean rain pants - but then I am always freezing - most people wore long underwear, pants and then rain pants. You do need fleece to wear under the Silversea jacket. You also should have a neck gaiter not a scarf since you don't want anything that can get caught. The ship has plenty of boots so you don't need to bring them, they also have poles for you as well which I did use. You should bring some clips to hold your hat and gloves to your jacket since the changing room can get quite crowded. The Silversea jacket is all you need for a warm jacket with your layers underneath. The backpack you get is fine and you don't need anything else. For night time you will need two nice outfits but you don't have to get very dressed up. I brought a long black travel dress and it worked fine for both nights. My husband brought his black travel smith sport jacket - which worked for formal nights with black pants and casual nights as well. During the day most people wear jeans etc and dress very casually since you really are going on the zodiacs so you need to be getting dressed and 'undressed' two times a day. The other dinners are all casual so anything goes. Some of our excursions came back right before dinner so we didn't really have time to clean up and change and other times you actually went on excursions after dinner so you are dressed so you can easily put on your clothes for the zodiac. This is a trip where you are out and about all day so no one really cared what anyone was wearing - we were all too busy looking at the incredible scenery and wildlife. Enjoy.

[RachelG]

Thanks for the detailed clothing explanation. I am always cold too, so your info applies to me.

I have good sunglasses, but have heard that some people wear ski goggles instead. Any thoughts on which would be better?

[tupper10]

I wear glasses and I wore the flip up type of sunglasses since sometimes I needed the sunglasses and sometimes I didn't and I didn't want to have to change my glasses on the zodiac. You really don't want to have to take things on or off in the zodiacs so I think sunglasses would be fine for you - that is what most people wore and as long as you bring the holders for them you can take them off if you need to. I debated this too but decided against bringing my goggles and the sunglasses worked fine for me. Also don't forget the suntan lotion for your face - the ship staff remind you all the time to put it on since you can get badly burned.

[RachelG]

Thanks for the sun screen reminder!

[pke-atlanta]

RachelG, on our trip I did do the Ship to Shore basic package, and it worked beautifully. They are very helpful, and if you're concerned about sizes (as we were with the boots), they shipped them to our home free for us to try on to be sure they were the right size, then let us ship them back (again free). Cannot speak highly enough about their products and their service. And they ship directly to the PAII, so we didn't have to pack any of it. (As an aside, I bought an extra set of base layers and socks - turns out they really were not necessary).

 

I wore sunglasses, but forgot ski goggles. There were definitely days of blowing snow and 40 mph winds that I wish I had had the goggles for. Other days were sunny, warm (mid-30s F) and no wind. But on those days of blowing snow, I definitely would have preferred goggles. If you have them, take them.

 

Only other advice I would give is to take advantage of every moment you have to be on land or in the zodiacs. It's a wonderful experience.

[RachelG]

Thanks for the advice. I will take goggles too.

I don't think we will buy the package because we have most of the stuff in it already due to many previous cold weather trips. We hiked in Patagonia last year, have kayaked in Glacier Bay in May, have done a lot of high elevation hiking in the Canadian rockies, sking in Colorado, etc. I am going to get rubber boots for my husband, but I wear size 7 so don't plan to buy for myself.

[Skeezics]

pke-atlanta: How did you contact the ship to shore....have been on the order site. Do sizes run pretty true...if you are a medium, these are medium? We will be utilizing this service; saves a lot of time and effort. Do not have much left from my skiing days...but do have prescription googles and non...few hats. Have full suits but no pants. Have to go digging. Did you need any other pants besides what is in the package? Thanks, Barb

[pke-atlanta]

Barb, I found their info on the Silversea website. If you select the "Silversea Expeditions" link, you will find an option for "Expedition Gear Shop". From there, there is a "Contact Us" link which can be used to send them an e-mail. Alternatively, I've copied and pasted their Customer Service number below:

 

Customer Service Telephone:

1-877-284-0406 or 1-206-284-0406

 

I initiated contact with them through e-mail, and they were pretty quick to follow up and call me. I did not wear anything except what was included in the package (the base layer, the middle layer, then the waterproof pants). I'm somewhat cold natured, but found these three layers worked perfectly. And just with their insulated socks and the waterproof boots (which you WILL wear for hours every single day), my feet never got cold. I found the sizes to be very true and appropriately sized for layering. So for example, if you wear Large, don't order an X-Large parka because it's going over other clothes. They've already taken that into account and the Large parka is what you would order.

 

Happy to answer any other questions. I just loved this trip and plan on doing it again within the next 5 years. One of the most amazing experiences I've every had.

[beth555]

We are also scheduled on the PAII 12/17 trip. Does anyone know what would be a safe time to book the international trip home assuming we want to leave the same day we disembark and need to take the charter back to BA

[Skeezics]

Beth: Think you mean the 12/19 trip if you are taking it this year. We booked our flight about three weeks ago using miles.

We had a bit of a problem getting dates so have to go 3 days early and 3 days after the cruise. If you are just booking, things looked pretty open (economy and business). As I recall from our past trip, most US flights leave at night.

[jpalbny]

We are also scheduled on the PAII 12/17 trip. Does anyone know what would be a safe time to book the international trip home assuming we want to leave the same day we disembark and need to take the charter back to BA

 

I think you're asking when the charter arrives in BA, and what's a "safe" flight time home so that you don't miss your connection - is that right?

 

We did this in December and the charter left USH late morning and arrived at the domestic airport mid-afternoon. We then had to collect our luggage and take a 1h 30m (or longer) ride through afternoon BA traffic to get to the international airport to connect home. If you are arriving on a weekend or holiday the ride will be much faster!

 

Check in at the international airport was crowded and every line was slow - check-in, customs, security... I don't think we had more than 1 hour from the time we finally made it to the gate until we started boarding for our 9:30 PM flight home.

 

So based on what we experienced I wouldn't cut it any closer than 8:00 for a flight home from the international airport. If I remember tonight, I'll take a look at the pile of paper that we saved from that cruise and see if I happened to save the information on the charter flight. But I think the charter flight arrived at the domestic airport sometime between 3 and 4 PM. You'd think that would give you tons of time, but it really doesn't.

[Skeezics]

What time did the charter leave from BA? Thanks

[jpalbny]

What time did the charter leave from BA? Thanks

 

The flight was delayed a bit themorning that we took it; I think we ended up leaving around 8 - though we were scheduled for 7ish. Made for a long wait at the airport that morning... We left the hotel at some ungodly hour like 4:30 AM!

 

In reference to my previous post, I did find the time of the return charter flight in my daily newsletter from SS; it left USH at 13:25 and arrived at the domestic airport at 16:47. We left downtown Ushuaia at 11:30 so that must be what I was remembering. But I don't have the information about the flight down - hopefully, I am remembering it right!

[pke-atlanta]

Beth555, since we spent time in BA on the front end, we flew out from Argentina the same day the expedition ended. In our case, the Ushaia to BA flight landed at the domestic airport in BA around 4:30. You have to collect your luggage, then transfer to the international airport. We used a Silversea transfer and arrived at the interantional airport around 6PM (Given we were transferring during rush hour on Friday afternoon, the time between airports was about an hour). Assuming the charter is on a similar schedule for your trip, I would not book the international flight home prior to 8PM.