Silversea Confirms Antarctica Cruise Restart, Moves Operations to Chile

[Host Jazzbeau]

New article on Cruise Critic:

Silversea Confirms Antarctica Cruise Restart, Moves Operations to Chile

[etual324]

With the difference in ports will there be Itinerary changes  punta arenas is farther north than ushaia

[cruiseej]

4 hours ago, etual324 said:

With the difference in ports will there be Itinerary changes  punta arenas is farther north than ushaia

 

It's a good question, perhaps a key question; I hope we'll be able to find out something from Silversea in the near future. The impact could be rather significant, especially for the shorter 10-day cruises. Those 10-day trips spend two days going south, 6 days in Antarctica, and two days returning north. Hopefully they won't need to lop two days off Antartica; that would be a very significant change for some very expensive cruises: 6 sea days and four in Antarctica would be a major change from 4 sea days and 6 in Antarctica. 

 

We're on an 18-day trip which starts in the Falklands before South Georgia and then the Antarctic peninsula. Since the Falklands are actually closer to Punta Arenas than Ushuaia, we should have no adverse impact on the beginning of the trip. But there is still the question of the added time needed to return to Punta Arenas at the end. We have only 5 days in Antarctica on this trip, and I would not be happy to lose one of them.

 

In this era of travel, it seems every question answered creates one or two new questions! 😉 

[PaulMCO]

24 minutes ago, cruiseej said:

 

It's a good question, perhaps a key question; I hope we'll be able to find out something from Silversea in the near future. The impact could be rather significant, especially for the shorter 10-day cruises. Those 10-day trips spend two days going south, 6 days in Antarctica, and two days returning north. Hopefully they won't need to lop two days off Antartica; that would be a very significant change for some very expensive cruises: 6 sea days and four in Antarctica would be a major change from 4 sea days and 6 in Antarctica. 

 

We're on an 18-day trip which starts in the Falklands before South Georgia and then the Antarctic peninsula. Since the Falklands are actually closer to Punta Arenas than Ushuaia, we should have no adverse impact on the beginning of the trip. But there is still the question of the added time needed to return to Punta Arenas at the end. We have only 5 days in Antarctica on this trip, and I would not be happy to lose one of them.

 

In this era of travel, it seems every question answered creates one or two new questions! 😉 

You can add the question on whether the Falklands is open to tourism or requires a quarantine.  Better if the Falkland is at the end of the cruise then you have the quarantine met by being on the cruise.

[cruiseej]

12 minutes ago, PaulMCO said:

You can add the question on whether the Falklands is open to tourism or requires a quarantine.  Better if the Falkland is at the end of the cruise then you have the quarantine met by being on the cruise.

 

Oh, yes, I have that question, too! I don't know how easily they can re-arrange an itinerary to do it in reverse; I know there are strict limits on ships in Antarctica, so I imagine changing the rout to go there first might not be feasible. 

 

Of the three sections of our cruise -- Falklands, South Georgia, Antarctica -- the Falklands are the least critical to me. I hope we'll be able to visit as planned, but if they had to cut a day from the Falklands in order to maintain our full time in South Georgia and Antarctica, I'd be happier than if they cut a day either of the other two destinations.

[sfvoyage]

2 hours ago, cruiseej said:

Of the three sections of our cruise -- Falklands, South Georgia, Antarctica -- the Falklands are the least critical to me. I hope we'll be able to visit as planned, but if they had to cut a day from the Falklands in order to maintain our full time in South Georgia and Antarctica, I'd be happier than if they cut a day either of the other two destinations.

 

Having done South Georgia and Antarctica Peninsula, I'd rate South Georgia at the top, followed by Antarctica Peninsula.  I haven't been to the Falklands, but from what I've read and seen online, that would be a distant third.

[cruiseej]

1 hour ago, sfvoyage said:

Having done South Georgia and Antarctica Peninsula, I'd rate South Georgia at the top, followed by Antarctica Peninsula.  I haven't been to the Falklands, but from what I've read and seen online, that would be a distant third.

 

From pictures I've seen and people I've talked to on other cruises, that was my impression as well. If something has to be trimmed from our cruise due to the extra travel to Punta Arenas, I can only hope it will be less time in the Falkland Islands, not less time anywhere else!

[cruiseej]

Well, I just got a reply from Conrad Combrink (SS Senior VP) on Facebook. He says the Cloud and Wind are fast enough to cover the Drake Passage plus the extra distance to Punta Arenas in the two days already allotted on the schedules, so we won't lose time anywhere. He also confirmed that any itineraries with the Falklands at the beginning of the cruise will be reversed to have the Falklands at the end, due to the Falkland's requirement of 10 days at sea (which can include South Georgia in our case) before entry. Updated itineraries will be coming once they can finalize all the logistics. 

[taxatty]

2 hours ago, cruiseej said:

Well, I just got a reply from Conrad Combrink (SS Senior VP) on Facebook. He says the Cloud and Wind are fast enough to cover the Drake Passage plus the extra distance to Punta Arenas in the two days already allotted on the schedules, so we won't lose time anywhere. He also confirmed that any itineraries with the Falklands at the beginning of the cruise will be reversed to have the Falklands at the end, due to the Falkland's requirement of 10 days at sea (which can include South Georgia in our case) before entry. Updated itineraries will be coming once they can finalize all the logistics. 

Terrific news--thanks for the update. Many of the trip reports for these cruises show the SS ships  arriving in Ushuaia from the Antarctica area after only a one-day trip across the Drake unless the Drake Shake was in full force, so that makes sense. 

[Fletcher]

11 hours ago, sfvoyage said:

 

Having done South Georgia and Antarctica Peninsula, I'd rate South Georgia at the top, followed by Antarctica Peninsula.  I haven't been to the Falklands, but from what I've read and seen online, that would be a distant third.

They all have their unforgettable aspects.  As far as the Falkland Islands is concerned, the best wildlife experience I have ever had was on New Island in the Falklands, up on a clifftop where there were penguins galore and vast numbers of albatross.  You just sat down and let them literally walk all over you.

[kimanjo]

15 hours ago, cruiseej said:

Well, I just got a reply from Conrad Combrink (SS Senior VP) on Facebook. He says the Cloud and Wind are fast enough to cover the Drake Passage plus the extra distance to Punta Arenas in the two days already allotted on the schedules, so we won't lose time anywhere. He also confirmed that any itineraries with the Falklands at the beginning of the cruise will be reversed to have the Falklands at the end, due to the Falkland's requirement of 10 days at sea (which can include South Georgia in our case) before entry. Updated itineraries will be coming once they can finalize all the logistics. 

Thanks for the update.  We're not on Facebook, so any and all updates of any sort would be great!

We are on the November 14th Cloud sailing.  I expect since our departure was originally our of Punta Arenas only the return back to PA instead of Ushuaia is the only change.

 

[PaulMCO]

2 hours ago, kimanjo said:

Thanks for the update.  We're not on Facebook, so any and all updates of any sort would be great!

We are on the November 14th Cloud sailing.  I expect since our departure was originally our of Punta Arenas only the return back to PA instead of Ushuaia is the only change.

 

Except maybe the quarantine requirement in your hotel in Santiago..   I am sure details will follow as the rules are negotiated with each cruise line.

[highplanesdrifters]

18 hours ago, cruiseej said:

Well, I just got a reply from Conrad Combrink (SS Senior VP) on Facebook. He says the Cloud and Wind are fast enough to cover the Drake Passage plus the extra distance to Punta Arenas in the two days already allotted on the schedules, so we won't lose time anywhere. He also confirmed that any itineraries with the Falklands at the beginning of the cruise will be reversed to have the Falklands at the end, due to the Falkland's requirement of 10 days at sea (which can include South Georgia in our case) before entry. Updated itineraries will be coming once they can finalize all the logistics. 

Thanks for that info. Glad you were able to get something of an answer. But that reverse doesnt really work for the solar eclipse. It will be interesting to see what does happen with that trip. Pricing on that trip is crazy especially given the chance of actually seeing the eclipse. 

[kimanjo]

1 hour ago, PaulMCO said:

Except maybe the quarantine requirement in your hotel in Santiago..   I am sure details will follow as the rules are negotiated with each cruise line.

Of course the quarantine at the hotel...And actually, we are flying in a day early, so we will be doing a 2 day hotel quarantine.  We don't have a problem with that at all.   Flying in November ( potential ice in DFW) we absolutely, positively need the extra padding of an extra day for such a once-in-a-lifetime trip. 

[cruiseej]

4 hours ago, highplanesdrifters said:

Thanks for that info. Glad you were able to get something of an answer. But that reverse doesnt really work for the solar eclipse. It will be interesting to see what does happen with that trip.  

 

I'm sure they'll find a way to make it work.

 

The eclipse day is December 4, with the cruise departing November 20 and ending Dec 12, right? So just spitballing how they could possibly do this...

 

Nov 20: Fly to Punta Arenas for embarkation

Nov 21-22: Sail Drake Passage to Antarctic Peninsula

Nov 23-27: Antarctic Peninsula 

Nov 28-29: Sail to South Georgia Island

Nov 30- Dec 2: South Georgia Island

Dec 3: Sail to eclipse position in South Atlantic for early morning eclipse

Dec 4-5: Eclipse Dec 4 am, sail to Falkland Islands

Dec 6-7: Falkland Islands

Dec: 8: Sail to southwest back to South America

Dec 9: Scenic cruising Beagle channel

Dec 10: Scenic cruising Alberto de Agostini National Park

Dec 11: Cruise Straight of Magellan to to Punta Arenas

Dec 12: Disembark

[highplanesdrifters]

@cruiseej I think you just got a new job with SS logistics!  

[OlsSalt]

Any word on what the SS Explorer will be handling with new protocols when traveling to some of these same Antarctic cruise stops?

 

We will be on the transatlantic repositioning for the Explorer (March 2022) - Santiago overnight and  flight to the new port outside of Punta Arenas.

 

Then the first projected stop was Falklands - but no chance for 10 days at sea before that stop,  and no chance to do the itinerary in reverse order since it then goes on to South Georgia, Tristan da Cuhna and finally Capetown, South Africa.

 

The next leg goes around the Cape of Good Hope on up to Madagascar and Zanzibar.  So there will be no backtracking opportunities on this segment of its repositioning on to Africa and the Indian Ocean.. 

[cruiseej]

@OlsSalt They haven't released the updated itineraries yet, as you're probably aware, so it's all guesswork right now. One thing I'd keep in mind is that March is eons away in a world where the Covid situation and protocols change monthly and sometimes weekly. It's entirely possible that the Falklands could remove the quarantine requirement as they get into their summer; there's no way to know right now, and I wonder if they will not make a decision on that until much later this year. If they can't do the Falklands, I wonder if they'd use the two days for some scenic cruising in the south of Chile (Beagle Channel, Alberto de Agostini National Park), which could be quite excellent, before heading east? But, as I said, guesswork...

 

P.S. Your trip is out of Puerto Williams, which is down near Ushuaia in the Beagle Channel, not Punta Arenas up on the Straight of Magellan where the Cloud and Wind trips will be based this winter. 

[TLCOhio]

Appreciate ALL of these various comments and follow-up regarding upcoming and potential Antarctica sailings.  We were looking at and seriously considering a Seabourn sailing for 21-days that started in Argentina, had five net days in Antarctica and then nicely sailed up the western coast of Chile.  BUT, Seabourn just recently scrubbed all their late 2021 and early 2022 sailings for this region.

 

Have not heard exactly as to how Silversea is navigating to adjust their offerings in this area.  BUT, even as late as this afternoon, SS has not posted on their website with these adjusted offerings.  Would like to see and examine the SS specifics.  Any ideas for why the delays in these SS postings??

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise from Copenhagen, July 2010, to the top of Europe. Scenic visuals with key tips. Live/blog at 242,564 views.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

[cruiseej]

4 hours ago, TLCOhio said:

Any ideas for why the delays in these SS postings??

 

Terry, the company was mostly shut down for two weeks due to hacking, they are canceling multiple ships for months of cruising, and revising itineraries for others -- I think it's understandable that it's taking them a bit of time to catch up from all that. Remember that changing a cruise's itinerary involves more than just updating the website; they also have to update booked passengers' itineraries and cruise documents, and send out emails to customers with the revisions -- and they're changing dozens of cruises at a time.

[retiredand happy]

15 hours ago, TLCOhio said:

Appreciate ALL of these various comments and follow-up regarding upcoming and potential Antarctica sailings.  We were looking at and seriously considering a Seabourn sailing for 21-days that started in Argentina, had five net days in Antarctica and then nicely sailed up the western coast of Chile.  BUT, Seabourn just recently scrubbed all their late 2021 and early 2022 sailings for this region.

 

Have not heard exactly as to how Silversea is navigating to adjust their offerings in this area.  BUT, even as late as this afternoon, SS has not posted on their website with these adjusted offerings.  Would like to see and examine the SS specifics.  Any ideas for why the delays in these SS postings??

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise from Copenhagen, July 2010, to the top of Europe. Scenic visuals with key tips. Live/blog at 242,564 views.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

This was posted by a SS executive on a SS Facebook site about a week ago. It gives some idea of their plans. 

Conrad Combrink

Great to see how observant our guests are!!!!!  happy to Provide clarity.

1. We are lucky, our ships Silver Cloud and Silver Wind are like greyhounds. They are fast. So even without reaching their maximum speed we can still crossed the Drake in 2 days as planned from Punta Arenas.

2. Yes absolutely The Falklands are requiring a 10 day “at sea” scenario to allow us to enter their territory. They consider Antarctica and South Georgie “at sea”. So we will reverse the itineraries where needed. South Georgia is open.

We will communicated he changes / reversal of the itineraries soon.

[scottjeanne]

16 hours ago, TLCOhio said:

Appreciate ALL of these various comments and follow-up regarding upcoming and potential Antarctica sailings.  We were looking at and seriously considering a Seabourn sailing for 21-days that started in Argentina, had five net days in Antarctica and then nicely sailed up the western coast of Chile.  BUT, Seabourn just recently scrubbed all their late 2021 and early 2022 sailings for this region.

 

Have not heard exactly as to how Silversea is navigating to adjust their offerings in this area.  BUT, even as late as this afternoon, SS has not posted on their website with these adjusted offerings.  Would like to see and examine the SS specifics.  Any ideas for why the delays in these SS postings??

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise from Copenhagen, July 2010, to the top of Europe. Scenic visuals with key tips. Live/blog at 242,564 views.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

This is one of the articles in which Silver Seas outlines how they anticipate the 2021-2022 season to look.

 

https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/ports-destinations/silversea-confirms-antarctica-season-three-ships-chilean-ports?fbclid=IwAR2X6k0zF426Sv5oGTLwPvdApkGomA-HCsZR28dESBwfI_i-k5Hk0qle75U