Weather South America cruise

[patrinka]

Has anyone just completed a South America cruise or is on the cruise now? I am wondering what the weather is like and the seas going around the "horn"?

[silverjoe]

We took this cruise last year and be prepared for weather ranging from summer to winter. It was 90+F in Buenos Aires and Santiago, and freezing around cape horn, and southern Chile, with every type of weather in between. We could not get into Falklands because of high winds and seas, but the Cape Horn transit, while cold and rainy was not that rough. The cruise before us and after us had more tranquil weather, so you never no what you will get. Just be prepared for anything and you will have the trip of a lifetime, as we did.

 

Joe

[skynight]

As stated, hot up north, colder as you head down to and return from the south. When we were at the Falklands, Cape Horn and Southern Chile the seas were very calm, but they did get a little rocky as we headed north in the Pacific towards Valparaiso. Bring layers. We had a thin poly long sleeve undershirt, long sleeve shirt, sweat shirt, windbreaker, long pants, warm socks and closed shoes. In B.A. it will be hot.

 

Sea conditions and weather can vary from the calm and sun we experienced to rough and cloudy, anything. So be prepared.

[runnerodb83]

same as people have said above. We went WB in Jan of 2012, and was able to get into the falklands. We also had "lake drake" through drakes passage and the captain said it was exceptionally calm. In fact, the only rough weather that we felt was the morning after leaving Punta Arenas and the seas were very rough for about 4 hours. The captain warned us the night before that it would be a good morning to sleep in. Supposedly the weather isn't as bad when going eastbound.

 

This is a great website to check the weather in that area of the world.

http://passageweather.com/

 

It was a great trip, enjoy!

[Pam in CA]

I've done this passage twice and both times, my weather experience was similar: Buenos Aires was hot and humid; Montevideo was hot and drier; the Falklands were sunny and in the 60's but if you went to any of the points to see penguins, it was windy and very cold; Ushuaia was cool (50's-60's) and rainy; rounding the Horn was windy, choppy and chilly; Puerto Montt was rainy and chilly; and the last 2-3 days before Santiago got warmer and warmer. It got too chilly to be outside for long after Montevideo until 2-3 days before Santiago. Bring layers and a good windbreaker, hat and mittens/gloves. Fleece works very well as it's lightweight but warm.

[IECalCruiser]

Every cruise is different. In February of 2010, BA and Montevideo weather was sunny and warm, but not hot or humid. All of the Falklands including Stanley and Volunteer Point was in the 50's with rain. It was also quite windy at Volunteer Point but the water was calm for tendering. Seas for 8 hours on the way from the Falklands to Cape Horn were very rough (12-18 feet) while rounding The Horn they were only rough (8-12 feet). Ushuaia was cool and overcast while Puerto Mont was mostly sunny and pleasant.

 

Pack layers including long underwear, long sleeve shirts, sweaters, vests, light gloves, earmuffs, and most importantly, waterproof shoes and windbreaker with hood.

[Duane T]

Has anyone just completed a South America cruise or is on the cruise now? I am wondering what the weather is like and the seas going around the "horn"?

 

We were on the Golden Princess 2 weeks ago when it rounded Cape Horn on 12/27/2013. Although I've seen Youtube videos (and movies) about how rough the seas can be, we had calm seas and great weather. We sailed from the Pacific side to the Atlantic and it was sunny but cool. We had port side balcony rooms and got a great view during the entire passage. Princess Photographers will be on the top decks if you want a professional photo of Cape Horn with you in it and they give us a Certificate later on "certifying" we had sailed around the Cape Horn as a souvenir.

 

After we crossed over to the Atlantic side, we looked behind and saw dark clouds that eventually caught up with us and we had a light snow shower on the ship....so we really did have all 4 seasons on this voyage. From 100 degree weather in Rio to snow around the Cape (it also snowed for a short bit in Punta Arenas when we went to see the Penguins) you'll see a lot of different weather.

 

The only day I can say we experienced waves of any significance was our 1st day sailing south from Valparaiso, Chile and it was only that one day.

 

You'll have a fun voyage!

[paul929207]

Temperatures will be high in the northern areas like Brazil and drop as you head to Cape Horn

[oceanfan1212]

We are on Golden Princess March 1 to LA. We are packing layers and hats and mittens, rain gear and our swim suits. We are from California so our cold tolerance is not that great. But I think being prepared for anything- rain, high seas, cold is part of the wonderful adventure of traveling. Hope you have a trip of a lifetime.

[riclop]

Has anyone just completed a South America cruise or is on the cruise now? I am wondering what the weather is like and the seas going around the "horn"?

All types of weather.

[NSWP]

We are on Golden Princess March 1 to LA. We are packing layers and hats and mittens, rain gear and our swim suits. We are from California so our cold tolerance is not that great. But I think being prepared for anything- rain, high seas, cold is part of the wonderful adventure of traveling. Hope you have a trip of a lifetime.

Yes, let us hope for fine weather and calm seas, but anything can happen, as you said, bring hot and cold gear.

[Duane T]

We are on Golden Princess March 1 to LA. We are packing layers and hats and mittens, rain gear and our swim suits. We are from California so our cold tolerance is not that great. But I think being prepared for anything- rain, high seas, cold is part of the wonderful adventure of traveling. Hope you have a trip of a lifetime.

 

We're from Hawaii but we thought packed for Cold Weather, but I forgot about the WIND. In both Ushuaia (12/26/2013) and Punta Arenas (12/25/2013), we had a rather brisk wind when we were outdoors looking at the Penguins and you had to often walk in the open fields up to a mile outdoors. It was ok until we got a little snow which in 30 mph gusts it would sting a little. A scarf helped but I my eyeballs got really cold!

[Duane T]

We were on the Golden Princess 2 weeks ago when it rounded Cape Horn on 12/27/2013. Although I've seen Youtube videos (and movies) about how rough the seas can be, we had calm seas and great weather. We sailed from the Pacific side to the Atlantic and it was sunny but cool. We had port side balcony rooms and got a great view during the entire passage. Princess Photographers will be on the top decks if you want a professional photo of Cape Horn with you in it and they give us a Certificate later on "certifying" we had sailed around the Cape Horn as a souvenir.

 

After we crossed over to the Atlantic side, we looked behind and saw dark clouds that eventually caught up with us and we had a light snow shower on the ship....so we really did have all 4 seasons on this voyage. From 100 degree weather in Rio to snow around the Cape (it also snowed for a short bit in Punta Arenas when we went to see the Penguins) you'll see a lot of different weather.

 

The only day I can say we experienced waves of any significance was our 1st day sailing south from Valparaiso, Chile and it was only that one day.

 

You'll have a fun voyage!

 

Here are 2 snapshots.

Pacific headed east...Sunny

Atlantic...Snow!

[Duane T]

Has anyone just completed a South America cruise or is on the cruise now? I am wondering what the weather is like and the seas going around the "horn"?

 

I finally figured out how to post a Youtube videos. Hope this works. The video shows Partly Sunny skies ahead but a snowstorm was creeping up on us as we passed from the Pacific to the Atlantic on the Golden Princess on December 27, 2013.