Antarctica/ South America winter 2021

[cruiseej]

36 minutes ago, kimanjo said:

Wonder if the demand for these sailings in Nov/Dec are empty or full?

 

Since we're on the holiday sailing on the Wind, which is one of only three trips it makes to South Georgia, I'm guessing it's pretty full. Vista and Classic Veranda suites are showing Waitlist, along with Silver, Royal, and Grand suites. Deluxe Veranda, Medallion and the Owner's Suite show available. But I don't know about some of the other cruises.

 

41 minutes ago, kimanjo said:

Side note, we are arriving in Santiago, a day before, the day before. I don't even mind 2 full days of hotel quarantine, just to be able to go. How many days pre are you scheduled to arrive?

 

We had our air booked through SS, without the extra day we would normally allow for. So we fly out on the 20th to arrive in Santiago the morning of the 21st. We'll spend that day in whatever bubble wrap they want to put us in, and fly to Punta Arenas early the next morning.

 

I figure they must have contingency plans if a flight to Santiago gets canceled; there are only a handful of flights from he US to Santiago each day, so each flight probably has a number of people for the cruise; since most of them arrive early in the morning, if anyone arrives a day late, I'm guessing they'd just be whisked across the terminal to the waiting charter flight to Punta Arenas.

 

I'll be curious to know when you find out what the rules will be for arriving independently on your own a day early. Is your air booked independently or via SS? Since Chile isn't yet open for general international travelers, I wonder how they will handle putting you into a SS bubble a day early. I'd normally say to check that with SS... but maybe wait a little to see if we even have a ship to sail on! 😉 

[kimanjo]

21 minutes ago, cruiseej said:

 

Since we're on the holiday sailing on the Wind, which is one of only three trips it makes to South Georgia, I'm guessing it's pretty full. Vista and Classic Veranda suites are showing Waitlist, along with Silver, Royal, and Grand suites. Deluxe Veranda, Medallion and the Owner's Suite show available. But I don't know about some of the other cruises.

 

 

We had our air booked through SS, without the extra day we would normally allow for. So we fly out on the 20th to arrive in Santiago the morning of the 21st. We'll spend that day in whatever bubble wrap they want to put us in, and fly to Punta Arenas early the next morning.

 

I figure they must have contingency plans if a flight to Santiago gets canceled; there are only a handful of flights from he US to Santiago each day, so each flight probably has a number of people for the cruise; since most of them arrive early in the morning, if anyone arrives a day late, I'm guessing they'd just be whisked across the terminal to the waiting charter flight to Punta Arenas.

 

I'll be curious to know when you find out what the rules will be for arriving independently on your own a day early. Is your air booked independently or via SS? Since Chile isn't yet open for general international travelers, I wonder how they will handle putting you into a SS bubble a day early. I'd normally say to check that with SS... but maybe wait a little to see if we even have a ship to sail on! 😉 

 'll be curious to know when you find out what the rules will be for arriving independently on your own a day early. Is your air booked independently or via SS? Since Chile isn't yet open for general international travelers, I wonder how they will handle putting you into a SS bubble a day early. I'd normally say to check that with SS... but maybe wait a little to see if we even have a ship to sail on! 😉 

 

Our air is independent.  I did a search a while ago, and found an old post as to which hotel people were put in by SS previously.  I booked that hotel.  I told my TA about our flight times, and which hotel  we wold be at, and she confirmed what I suspected, that my hotel guess is correct. She informed SS.  All seems in order.  I think we have to take a "private" transport directly to the hotel ( as opposed to public transport?).  I will find that out as it gets closer.  We've agreed to ALL quarantine protocols in the hotel.  I think I was a little lucky, a little smart to guess the right hotel.  If we can just check in on the morning of the 12th ( we fly out on the evening of the 11th), and stay in that same room til the bubble flight to PA on the 14th, it will be fine.

 I just know that DFW in November, with potential ice, I didn't want to take a chance of not building in an extra day.

Edited September 23, 2021 by kimanjo
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[kimanjo]

Whoo Hooo

 

Looks like Silver Cloud has departed Marseilles. She should be on her way to South America ( as is Explorer which left before her).

 

Now, with fingers crossed for the Wind passengers, watching for her departure from Gdansk to make the trek.

[cruiseej]

Well, there have been a few posts on Facebook by people whose travel agents have told them the Wind is not going to make it for this winter season. It's not clear whether this is because the renovation project failed or because they don't have enough bookings to support there ships in Antarctica -- or whether the reports are even true.

 

Confusingly, one person said their travel agent told them their Wind holiday cruise in December was being moved to the Cloud -- which doesn't make sense since the Cloud has its own cruise during that time.

 

The often-useful, but imprecise, barometer of the SS website doesn't yet point to cancelations for either the Wind or Cloud, as both show suites available for December cruises. There are also questions about the itineraries which include the Falklands, and whether visiting will be possible or not due to Covid restrictions there.

 

The Silversea executives who often respond to queries about such things on FB have been notably silent when asked about the Wind recently. And none of the itineraries for Cloud or Wind have yet been updated on the website to reflect Punta Arenas instead of Ushuaia, nor itinerary changes to visit the Falklands after 10 or more days at sea. So after SS last month triumphantly announced the agreement with Chile to allow the winter Antarctica cruises on three ships to go forward, questions have lingered and now multiplied. It seems something is up, but it's not clear what.

[WesW]

Believe we will get clarity on this year's Antarctica season this week--hope so, as we have the Wind Solar eclipse voyage booked.

 

As I understand the FB post about the Wind holiday cruise being switched to the Cloud, the poster said Wind guests can now choose to book the Cloud holiday cruise and they said Silversea will add South Georgia to this 15 day holiday itinerary.

Edited October 4, 2021 by WesW

[kimanjo]

1 hour ago, cruiseej said:

Well, there have been a few posts on Facebook by people whose travel agents have told them the Wind is not going to make it for this winter season. It's not clear whether this is because the renovation project failed or because they don't have enough bookings to support there ships in Antarctica -- or whether the reports are even true.

 

Confusingly, one person said their travel agent told them their Wind holiday cruise in December was being moved to the Cloud -- which doesn't make sense since the Cloud has its own cruise during that time.

 

The often-useful, but imprecise, barometer of the SS website doesn't yet point to cancelations for either the Wind or Cloud, as both show suites available for December cruises. There are also questions about the itineraries which include the Falklands, and whether visiting will be possible or not due to Covid restrictions there.

 

The Silversea executives who often respond to queries about such things on FB have been notably silent when asked about the Wind recently. And none of the itineraries for Cloud or Wind have yet been updated on the website to reflect Punta Arenas instead of Ushuaia, nor itinerary changes to visit the Falklands after 10 or more days at sea. So after SS last month triumphantly announced the agreement with Chile to allow the winter Antarctica cruises on three ships to go forward, questions have lingered and now multiplied. It seems something is up, but it's not clear what.

Lots of good points.  I'm on the Nov 14th Cloud.  I wonder about 2 things.  It does still show USH as the disembarkation port.  I thought Argentina was opening Nov 1st?  Maybe Argentina wants to keep the disembarkation there? Give some work to the port.  Also, I wonder how many pax are booked on my Cloud sailing?  Is there space to add people from the Nov 20th Wind sailing if they wanted to switch? If I had to guess, my Cloud sailing maybe 1/2 full ( Covid protocols)? SS has to arrange charter flights to/from Punta Arenas or even USH if they kept that.And if they add Wind pax, they have to change all their flights/hotels.  Don't know how hard that is in 2121 vs. a normal year.  Getting ALL pax in the same hotel pre-cruise to quarantine in.   It's just a LOT of moving parts.  We are flexible, fly by the seat of our pants type travelers, who can adjust to these types of dynamics.  I don't think we're the norm, and it's difficult for both the pax and SS trying to move around ( if they are).

 

[cruiseej]

1 hour ago, WesW said:

Believe we will get clarity on this year's Antarctica season this week--hope so, as we have the Wind Solar eclipse voyage booked.

 

Yes, I hope they'll clear things up very soon. I'm increasingly doubtful that the Wind is going to be sailing. It's frustrating that they had two years to get the work done, then switched from the shipyard which had done the Cloud conversion to the Polish shipyard which has never worked on a luxury cruise ship, and seemingly did not get the work done in time resulting in another lost season of cruising. I hope that's not the case, but it seems like it.

 

1 hour ago, WesW said:

As I understand the FB post about the Wind holiday cruise being switched to the Cloud, the poster said Wind guests can now choose to book the Cloud holiday cruise and they said Silversea will add South Georgia to this 15 day holiday itinerary.

 

Well, that might make sense. The FB post I saw said the Dec. 22 Wind itinerary was going ahead, but on the Cloud. But if they changed the Cloud trip to substitute South Georgia for the Falklands, I guess I could see that working. But I assume the Wind holiday sailing was relatively full, especially after Seabourn canceled their Antarctica season, so I wonder how many Wind passengers they'd really be able to accommodate on the Cloud? Would they refund a portion of the cruise fare due to it being a shorter trip? Will they be able to secure business class seats for all these Wind passengers moving to new dates? So many questions... 😉

[cruiseej]

19 minutes ago, kimanjo said:

I'm on the Nov 14th Cloud.  I wonder about 2 things.  It does still show USH as the disembarkation port.  I thought Argentina was opening Nov 1st?  Maybe Argentina wants to keep the disembarkation there? Give some work to the port.

 

SS is doing its sailings from Punta Arenas. they wouldn't disembark in Ushuaia and then sail empty to Punta Arenas to pick up passengers for the next cruise. 

 

The website simply has not been updated for any of the Antarctica sailings. Although they made a big splash announcement about sailing three ships from Chile just last month, it seems there are lots of details which are in the process of changing -- possibly the Wind not sailing, definitely not going to the Falklands directly from Chile, moving all the Ushuaia embarkations and disembarkations to Punta Arenas -- so they haven't updated the website until they have their plans in place and are ready to communicate first to booked passengers. 

[taxatty]

The Cloud's 15-day itinerary probably wouldn't be enough to include the Falklands, South Georgia and the Antarctica continent. It has 5 days at the Antarctica continent (a big draw for us), but there are only 2 days there on the 18-day Wind itinerary. I'd hate to have only 2 days there and Plans A, B and C each day are all blocked due to ice or some other reason. At least with 5 days in theory there are more opportunities to touch ground at a desired location. Anyone other than Falklands-Malvinas War buffs would probably trade the Falklands for South Georgia in a second, but hopefully not at the expense of a far-shorter Antarctica visit. I'm curious if any seasoned Antartica cruiser could comment here about this.

[fudgbug]

With just over 2 months to departure on the Wind, wouldn't it be nice to let the guests know what is going on? Brrrr!  Just venting!

[cruiseej]

2 hours ago, taxatty said:

The Cloud's 15-day itinerary probably wouldn't be enough to include the Falklands, South Georgia and the Antarctica continent.

 

If we were switched from the Wind to the Cloud, and they added South Georgia to the Cloud itinerary, I would gladly trade out the Falklands for additional days in Antarctica! But the days don't add up for that. If the trip left from Punta Arenas and sailed straight to South Georgia, that would take two days. Then 3 days in South Georgia, 2 days to get to Elephant Island, a day at Elephant Island, a day in the Antarctic Sound, 5 days along the Antarctic Peninsula, a day in South Shetland, and todays back across the Drank to Punta Arenas: that's 17 days. So if they have to cut two days, I'd guess they might cut one day from the Antarctic peninsula, and I'm not sure what other day they'd cut. Maybe they'll add a day to the Cloud trip? (Haha... I know they won't do that.) For many of us, this is a trip of a lifetime, and quite possibly our only trip to this region, so no one wants the itinerary to be full of compromises. 

 

It'll be interesting to see how this sorts out; I suspect we'll find out pretty soon now...

[WesW]

We will all learn the way ahead in the next few days.

Edited October 5, 2021 by WesW

[labrasett]

Patience is key.    The Cloud and the Explorer are on their way south as we speak so thats two ships for the Southern summer.   British Airways are not offering daily flights to SCL and may not be flying there at all but from UK or Europe there are several other options albeit via other capital cities in Europe not ideal but what is in these difficult times.   Hang in there folks.  

[WesW]

Just read on the Silversea Passengers FB page that the Cloud WC beginning in January is canceled.  Sad for Silversea and the WC guests.

 

However, if the Wind's voyages do not go, Silversea now has the flexibility to offer Antarctica and South Georgia voyages on the Cloud beginning in January.

[HappyLadyTravels]

The Silversea WC2022 is not on the Cloud. Do you have a link about the WC2022 being canceled? The last announcement I received from them stated a decision would be made in November.  Thx.

[Stumblefoot]

32 minutes ago, HappyLadyTravels said:

The Silversea WC2022 is not on the Cloud.

HappyLady, Silversea most certainly was offering a 2022 world cruise on the Cloud.  Attached is a screenshot from their website.

[sloopjohnb]

On the Silversea website, the first cruise for the Cloud is now the one embarking in Tromsø on July 11th 2022, whereas the Wind shows a full schedule from our eclipse cruise on November 20th. I imagine a poor deckhand is, as I write, suspended over the bow of the ship, hastily painting over the name

[HappyLadyTravels]

Oh, Expedition WC. I'm on the other WC2022, with another ship.

[taxatty]

Finally, some real news--Falklands changed from the beginning to the end.  No South Georgia.

 

Dear Esteemed Guest,

 

Your Antarctic expedition voyage aboard the beautiful Silver Cloud is fast approaching and we look forward to welcoming you aboard. We are writing today with important information regarding your pre-cruise travels.

 

As previously communicated, your cruise will now depart from Punta Arenas, Chile, and not from Ushuaia, Argentina. Silversea continues to work in partnership with the Chilean government in preparation for our upcoming Antarctica season to ensure your experience is as comfortable and successful as possible.

 

We are pleased to let you know that in partnership with the Magallanes region of Chile, the country’s mandatory five-day quarantine requirement has been waived for Antarctic tourism. This waiver allows for only a 1-day pre-cruise arrival into Santiago, where all guests are required to quarantine and are not permitted any independent excursions or activities (no dining out, shopping, sightseeing, etc). All Silversea guests will be hosted at the InterContinental Santiago hotel.

 

We understand that some guests have requested a pre-cruise deviation of two or more nights. Silversea will assist in obtaining these permissions; however, these guests will then have to quarantine in their hotel, in order to comply with Chile’s five-day mandatory quarantine currently in place. Costs associated with pre-cruise deviations (hotel nights, meals, and beverages) will be at the expense of the guest.

 

Regarding your air arrival in Santiago, please note the following:

 

• For Silversea Air/Sea guests (those who booked their travel with us) who wish to change their arrival plans to align with the 1-day pre-cruise waiver protocol, your air ticket will be changed at no cost to you.

 

• For guests with independent air travel arrangements who wish to change their arrival plans to align with the 1-day pre-cruise waiver protocol, you may proceed in doing so and Silversea will reimburse you for the airline change fee up to $250 per person.

 

Please note: 30 days prior to your cruise, you will receive a detailed protocol and travel/entry requirement checklist from Silversea.

 

For your information, at the bottom of this letter you will find the Chilean country requirements for entry into Chile as they currently stand; you are strongly encouraged to review these protocols in advance of your travels. Please be aware that these protocols may evolve and/or change before your cruise departs.

 

We’d also like to let you know that we have had to make minor itinerary adjustments to your voyage as noted below:

 

PRIOR ITINERARY
21-Dec-21	TUE	Ushuaia		17:00
22-Dec-21	WED	Day at Sea
23-Dec-21	THU	Saunders Island	6:00	11:30
23-Dec-21	THU	Carcass Islands, Falklands	15:00	20:00
24-Dec-21	FRI	Port Stanley	6:30	12:00
25-Dec-21	SAT	Day at Sea
26-Dec-21	SUN	Elephant Island	12:30
27-Dec-21	MON	Antarctic Sound
28-Dec-21	TUE	Antarctic Peninsula
29-Dec-21	WED	Antarctic Peninsula
30-Dec-21	THU	Antarctic Peninsula
31-Dec-21	FRI	Antarctic Peninsula
1-Jan-22	SAT	Antarctic Peninsula
2-Jan-22	SUN	South Shetland Islands
3-Jan-22	MON	Drake Passage
4-Jan-22	TUE	Drake Passage
5-Jan-22	WED	Ushuaia	8:00

 

UPDATED ITINERARY
21-Dec-21	TUE	Punta Arenas		17:00
22-Dec-21	WED	Drake Passage
23-Dec-21	THU	Drake Passage
24-Dec-21	FRI	South Shetland Islands	6:30
25-Dec-21	SAT	Antarctic Peninsula
26-Dec-21	SUN	Antarctic Peninsula
27-Dec-21	MON	Antarctic Peninsula
28-Dec-21	TUE	Antarctic Peninsula
29-Dec-21	WED	Antarctic Peninsula
30-Dec-21	THU	Antarctic Sound
31-Dec-21	FRI	Elephant Island		13:00
1-Jan-22	SAT	Day at Sea
2-Jan-22	SUN	Port Stanley	7:00	18:00
3-Jan-22	MON	Saunders Island	6:30	12:00
3-Jan-22	MON	Carcass Islands, Falklands	13:30	19:30
4-Jan-22	TUE	Day at Sea
5-Jan-22	WED	Punta Arenas	8:00

 

Thank you for your understanding of the importance of these policies and protocols. Silversea is guided by our commitment to always provide you, our valued guests, with a safe and comfortable travel experience. Should you have any questions, please contact your Travel Professional.

 

On behalf of everyone at Silversea and aboard Silver Cloud, we are excited and eager to show you the wonders of Antarctica.

 

 

Best personal regards,

 

Barbara Muckermann

Chief Commercial Officer

 

 

 

COUNTRY REQUIREMENTS TO ENTER CHILE:

 

· Visitors must be vaccinated for Covid-19 and must complete a five-day isolation period at a hotel or residence. Waived for Antarctic tourism; specific protocols apply as noted above.

· Proof of the Covid-19 vaccine will allow visitors to obtain a Mobility Pass issued by the Chilean Ministry of Health. This requirement is due at least 30 days prior to your arrival in Chile, and we strongly encourage all guests to do this as soon as possible to avoid any potential delays.

· Before entry, all travellers must complete a "traveller’s affidavit" form 48 hours prior to travel. The electronic form includes contact information, medical history, and previous travel history.

· Visitors must produce a negative Covid-19 PCR test performed within 72 hours prior to departure; counting from the last boarding on flights with stopovers.

· Also, they must have travel insurance to cover any medical expenses related to Covid-19 with a minimum coverage of $30,000 for health benefits.

 

NOTE: Pre- and post-cruise land experiences are not allowed.

[cruiseej]

Just to clarify: the post from @taxatty above is for people booked on the Cloud holiday cruise. The confirms that (a) the itinerary is reversed, going to the Falklands last rather than first to meet the Covid requirements of entry to the Falklands, (b) the itinerary is not otherwise changed to go to South Georgia, as had been rumored, (c) there is no merger of the Cloud and Wind holiday trips, as had been rumored, D) even though the Cloud cruises are missing from the website, this is a temporary anomaly as they update the itinerary after first notifying all guests and travel agents this morning.

 

Meanwhile, for those of us booked on the Wind, the wait continues. The fact that we did not receive a similar email from Silversea this morning, and that the Wind trips are not similarly being updated on the SS website, are probably the first official hints of what many of us already suspected: the Wind will probably not sail this winter. It has not left the shipyard in Poland, and SS officials who usually respond to inquiries on Facebook have gone silent. With the first Wind cruise scheduled to depart in just over 6 weeks, it seems increasingly likely that they have failed to complete the ship's renovation on time.

 

Yet there are still a few things which may indicate cancellation of the Wind trips is not a done deal. (1) On My Silversea, the booking continues to show normally, and does not have the telltale "cxl" next to the ship name. (2) The website continue to show suites available for booking rather than having them all show the telltale "waitlisted" status. (3) Our airline reservations have not been canceled. So perhaps there's still a chance? I'd think the first cruise on November 20 is highly unlikely, but is it possible the ship could be done in time for later cruises which will still go ahead? The wait for definitive information from SS continues... 

[taxatty]

In line with the comments above, all Cloud cruises through July 10th of next year have been removed from the SS website--the deck is being reshuffled.

[rosewood jo]

SEE. SILVER SEA SITE BELOW 

[kimanjo]

39 minutes ago, rosewood jo said:

SEE. SILVER SEA SITE BELOW 

 

Those are the Wind, the Cloud sailings are gone ( January 2022).  The Cloud sailings are being re-done I think.

Edited October 6, 2021 by kimanjo

[cruiseej]

Yes, the Cloud trips disappeared from the website this morning, at the same time SS sent emails to passengers and travel agents about the tweaks to Cloud itineraries and Chile entry requirements. I think they have been typically trying to notify booked passengers before advertising the revised itineraries on the website; I'd expect to see the updated Cloud trips re-appear on the site within a day or two.

 

Because we have seen the email sent to Cloud passengers -- as was posted above earlier today -- we now know for certain that the removal of the Cloud trips from the website does not indicate the Cloud trips are being canceled, or swapped with the Wind, or anything like that. They just took them down in order to re-post them with the updates that have now been communicated to booked guests on the Cloud trips.

 

What this means for those of us booked on the Wind is... nothing. Perhaps they'll update the Wind trips next. Perhaps they'll cancel the Wind trips next. Perhaps some Wind trips will be canceled and others will go ahead. We just don't know, and SS isn't saying.

[kimanjo]

Update for anyone interested.  Silver Explorer has departed Las Palmas, and it says her next stop Montevideo.  ETA 10/24.  

Cloud hasn't arrived Las Palmas yet.