Santiago Hotel & Transfers

[Lanz]

Can someone recommend a hotel in Santiago, please.   The Princess pre cruise package is pricey; we’ve always found Princess to be easy for a pre cruise stay, hotel , transfers and luggage handling but the Princess cost in Santiago is over the top.   Maybe it’s the transfers from airport to hotel, hotel to ship?  We’ve never been to South America so would greatly appreciate any comments or suggestions.   Our days of catching the bus/train and handling our own luggage are unfortunately over😱

[SusieKIslandGirl]

We have reservations for our stay in January at the Hotel Plaza San Francisco. There are about 10 couples from our roll call who have chosen to stay there although we've all chosen that hotel on our own-not a group booking. I originally used Booking.com but found a fair savings by booking directly with the hotel. They were also able to arrange a car to meet us at the airport for $50.

[Lanz]

Thanks so much, will definitely look into the Hotel Plaza San Francisco,  Transfer seems very reasonable.  

[SusieKIslandGirl]

We also have a tour arranged for a group of 8 that will pick us up at the hotel, tour the city, visit a winery and then drop us off at the pier in San Antonio. If you'd like details send me a message s.k.hill@comcast.net

[rkacruiser]

My arrival at the Santiago airport was one of the most stressful that I have experienced.  There must have been several international flights arrive within minutes of each other because baggage claim and customs/immigration was an absolute zoo.  After finally reaching the baggage carousel and retrieving my luggage, I found it nearly impossible to find the end of the extremely long, snaking line for clearing customs/immigration.  Once that step was completed, there was mass confusion outside waiting for transportation that was very slow to arrive due to street traffic.  I am thankful that I had booked the HAL hotel/transfer.  Having a few HAL representatives to guide me and answer questions was worth whatever I paid for that hotel/transfer.  

[Lanz]

35 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

My arrival at the Santiago airport was one of the most stressful that I have experienced.  There must have been several international flights arrive within minutes of each other because baggage claim and customs/immigration was an absolute zoo.  After finally reaching the baggage carousel and retrieving my luggage, I found it nearly impossible to find the end of the extremely long, snaking line for clearing customs/immigration.  Once that step was completed, there was mass confusion outside waiting for transportation that was very slow to arrive due to street traffic.  I am thankful that I had booked the HAL hotel/transfer.  Having a few HAL representatives to guide me and answer questions was worth whatever I paid for that hotel/transfer.  

Thanks for that info, that’s why we usually spring for cruise transfers but the hotel cost is over the top😱

[deb01]

On 10/27/2018 at 3:14 PM, rkacruiser said:

My arrival at the Santiago airport was one of the most stressful that I have experienced.  There must have been several international flights arrive within minutes of each other because baggage claim and customs/immigration was an absolute zoo.  After finally reaching the baggage carousel and retrieving my luggage, I found it nearly impossible to find the end of the extremely long, snaking line for clearing customs/immigration.  Once that step was completed, there was mass confusion outside waiting for transportation that was very slow to arrive due to street traffic.  I am thankful that I had booked the HAL hotel/transfer.  Having a few HAL representatives to guide me and answer questions was worth whatever I paid for that hotel/transfer.  

Hello rkacruiser, can I ask was there any stops from Santiago airport to the cruise port? and if yes were you able to purchase wine at the stop? I've booked the transfer like you I don't want the hassle normally I do on my own but after 24+ hr travel just don't want the hassle.

[rkacruiser]

My arrival at the Santiago airport was one of the most stressful that I have experienced.  There must have been several international flights arrive within minutes of each other because baggage claim and customs/immigration was an absolute zoo.  After finally reaching the baggage carousel and retrieving my luggage, I found it nearly impossible to find the end of the extremely long, snaking line for clearing customs/immigration.  Once that step was completed, there was mass confusion outside waiting for transportation that was very slow to arrive due to street traffic.  I am thankful that I had booked the HAL hotel/transfer.  Having a few HAL representatives to guide me and answer questions was worth whatever I paid for that hotel/transfer.  

 

deb01,

 

My Santiago transfer was not from the airport to the cruise port.  My transfer was from the airport to the Sheraton Santiago Hotel for 2 days followed by the transfer to San Antonio.  In transferring to the port from the hotel, there were no stops made.  It was a scenic transfer, I thought.  It made me realize that Santiago lies in a wide valley between the Andes and the Coastal Mountain range.  The brief drive though the community of San Antonio was interesting to me as well.

[Bonnie Sue]

On 11/30/2018 at 1:48 PM, rkacruiser said:

My arrival at the Santiago airport was one of the most stressful that I have experienced.  There must have been several international flights arrive within minutes of each other because baggage claim and customs/immigration was an absolute zoo.  After finally reaching the baggage carousel and retrieving my luggage, I found it nearly impossible to find the end of the extremely long, snaking line for clearing customs/immigration.  Once that step was completed, there was mass confusion outside waiting for transportation that was very slow to arrive due to street traffic.  I am thankful that I had booked the HAL hotel/transfer.  Having a few HAL representatives to guide me and answer questions was worth whatever I paid for that hotel/transfer.  

 

deb01,

 

My Santiago transfer was not from the airport to the cruise port.  My transfer was from the airport to the Sheraton Santiago Hotel for 2 days followed by the transfer to San Antonio.  In transferring to the port from the hotel, there were no stops made.  It was a scenic transfer, I thought.  It made me realize that Santiago lies in a wide valley between the Andes and the Coastal Mountain range.  The brief drive though the community of San Antonio was interesting to me as well.

We have booked the transfers and Sheraton Hotel through Princess but it cost close to $700. Should we "bit the bullet" or look for another answer?

Bonnie

[rkacruiser]

2 hours ago, Bonnie Sue said:

We have booked the transfers and Sheraton Hotel through Princess but it cost close to $700. Should we "bit the bullet" or look for another answer?

Bonnie

 

Your question is difficult for me to answer.  I don't think my hotel and transfer cost that much with HAL.  But cruise related costs have increased, I think.  

 

Personally, with the chaos that I experienced at the airport, having a live person--and there was more than one--with whom to connect, who spoke the language, who knew the expected "drill"--was worth whatever I paid for that transfer.  What you choose to do is really up to whatever your comfort level in handling such a situation may be.

 

Regardless of what happens upon your arrival and transfer to your ship, I think I can safely promise you a scenic cruise that will remain in your memory forever.

[FredZiffle]

17 hours ago, Bonnie Sue said:

We have booked the transfers and Sheraton Hotel through Princess but it cost close to $700. Should we "bit the bullet" or look for another answer?

Bonnie

Depends.  Are you a traveler who needs to be spoon-fed whenever you set foot in a foreign country?  If so, then bite the bullet and sleep well knowing that Princess will take care of you.  If you're a traveler who enjoys researching a destination and finding ways to save money while achieving the same objectives, then, yes, you can do this for much less money.  You can stay at a hotel like the Ibis Estacion Central (around $60/nt.), which is perfectly nice and very modern.  I'm picky on hotels and loved this place.  You can take a public bus from the airport in Santiago to Alameda Terminal for just a couple of dollars and walk all of about 100 feet from the terminal to your hotel (they are adjacent).  There's a metro station about a block away from the hotel, so you can tour any part of Santiago if you wish.  When you're ready to go to San Antonio, you can take a motor coach from Alameda for around $10 pp. and then grab a taxi in San Antonio to the port.  We speak very limited Spanish, yet had no issues with a similar itinerary last year.

[Reina del Mar]

For our first visit to South America, we chose to use the cruise line's transfer from airport to hotel (Sheraton), 3 nights in hotel and cruiseline's transfer to port.

 

It was more expensive than we would have paid doing it independently, but we tend to bite the bullet with costs when cruising from somewhere new to us.

 

The arrangements suited us, were punctual and we had reps available to answer any questions we had.

[Budget Queen]

On 12/4/2018 at 4:47 PM, Bonnie Sue said:

We have booked the transfers and Sheraton Hotel through Princess but it cost close to $700. Should we "bit the bullet" or look for another answer?

Bonnie

Yikes,    I've never paid anything near that. BUT,  I simply  do transfer by public bus.   Less than $100   for  airport  to hotel,   hotel cost,   and port transfer.