South America & Chilean Fjords Feedback

[deec]

On 10/9/2022 at 11:23 AM, Australia08 said:

Thanks!

Which tour option did you choose?

the website is a bit different than when we chose!  I know we went in the direction not toward Valparaiso since I knew we would see that scenery as we went to meet the ship.  We were being VERY careful because of Covid so we did the tour for only 2 but I would definitely think  adding more would be fine!

[deec]

snookie is your transfer included through Viking?  If not, consider hiring a private transfer that would do a tour on the way to Santiago.  I know the wine tour company that I suggested offers trnasfers FROM Santiago but maybe the other way too!

[Mich3554]

1 hour ago, deec said:

snookie is your transfer included through Viking?  If not, consider hiring a private transfer that would do a tour on the way to Santiago.  I know the wine tour company that I suggested offers trnasfers FROM Santiago but maybe the other way too!

We did this cruise in both directions.  The first time, we were able to arrange a private wine tour from Santiago to Valparaiso, which also included a tour of Valparaiso and dropped us off at the ship at the end.  
The second time, DH was researching how to get from Valparaiso to Santiago (Delta had canceled our flight and we had to fly out the following evening) and came up with squat going in this direction.  I don’t know if this was a Covid issue or not, because we had not researched private tours out of Valparaiso, just Santiago the previous trip.  For us, we wound up taking private transport that Viking organized for us.  It was not inexpensive, but it got us to the hotel I had booked and it killed the balance of non refundable OBC we had, that we had to either use or lose.  

[Mich3554]

On 10/8/2022 at 1:25 PM, deec said:

We did this cruise last year starting late February.  Pandemic problems aside it was a GREAT cruise.  Unfortunately the Falklands were cancelled because no ships were allowed. 

Our pre-cruise extension was BAD but it was totally Covid related.  We did get to do a a private wine tour that was fantastic.  Great wine country!  We did a private wine tour too.  We wound up buying a case of wine to drink on the cruise as we hit so many good wineries between Santiago and Valparaiso.

 

Puerto Montt    Osorno Volcano, Petrohué Falls & Puerto Varas 

this was a good tour!  I think our tour included Emerald Lake too.  This was spectacular.  We had a gorgeous, sunny (but chilly) day for this.

 

Puenta Arenas  we did Magdalena Island & Penguin Reserve by Catamaran..this was our best Penguin Experience ( we could not go to the Falklands) OK boat ride and very knowledgeable guides.  We did this by speedboat, not catamaran.  The penguins were hatching, so we got to see lots of babies too.  Great tour

 

Ushuaia Great 4x4 and hiking adventure and fun lunch that we ate outside...the guide made this tour.  We didn’t have this option.  First cruise, we took the train to the end of the earth (or something like that).  This gave a lot of history as to how the area was developed, which was interesting.  

 

Puerto Madryn  we were here for 2 days because the Falklands were closed.  We did Punta Tombo Penguin Colony and something to see Elephant Seals much to the seemingly surprised guide both were without much wildlife...the lunch stops were horrific (but remember this was time of Covid)  those who did the included tour of the the Welsh community enjoyed it!  We lost Puerto Madryn due to Argentina being a PITA about letting us in.  We did go to the Punta Tombo penguin colony the first time.  I got some of my best pics here.  We had a good lunch stop, I remember steak was on the menu as they were huge!

 

Montivideo  we did the wine tour and it was good!  We also did the included because we were there twice ( we followed SA cruise with the Transatlantic)  This is a walkable fun city to wander about! We also did the wine tour, and I concur.  We also went to Colonia, which wound up being a surprisingly excellent excursion.  We spent 4 days off the coast bouncing between Montevideo and Punta del Este waiting for Argentina to let us in.  Punta del Este was gorgeous, we were halfway thinking about renting a place here to vacation during the winter.  

 

Truly though this trip is all about the scenery!!!  We had excellent naturalists onboard and spent most free time up in the Explorer's lounge watching for birds, dolphins and whales!!  Saw them all!!!  The bar tenders were also the BEST!!!

Agreed!  We spent a lot of time in the Explorer’s lounge (and on the front deck as weather permitted) admiring the scenery.  It is truly astounding.  This cruise is one of my all time favorites, and despite having gone twice, I’d do it again.

 

I also want to add that you need to see Iguazu falls if you can possibly manage it.  It is off the beaten track, and I wound up organizing a private tour (about 1/2 Viking’s price) after our first cruise from BA.  I’m very glad I did, and we did have a fairly good tour guide.  We got to see both the Argentinian and Brazilian sides of the falls, both were spectacular.  

 

 

[deec]

Mich you will laugh.."We had a good lunch stop, I remember steak was on the menu as they were huge!"  to quote you....

on our excursion the meat option on the buffet said MEAT...aka mystery meat like in college!

Edited October 11, 2022 by deec

[snookie1]

On 10/10/2022 at 11:57 AM, deec said:

snookie is your transfer included through Viking?  If not, consider hiring a private transfer that would do a tour on the way to Santiago.  I know the wine tour company that I suggested offers trnasfers FROM Santiago but maybe the other way too!

Yes, as we are not doing an extension, our transfers are included.  I hesitate to do a wine tour since we will be on our way home and, my luck, any wine we would want to bring home would have to go in our checked luggage and would most likely end up all over our clothes!!

[MSEm]

We will have an 11 PM flight out of Santiago, Chile on Feb 24.  Any suggestions for a good tour/transfer from Ship to airport.  I really do not want to be waiting in the airport for 12-14 hours.

Thanks for all the great info.

[Mich3554]

1 hour ago, MSEm said:

We will have an 11 PM flight out of Santiago, Chile on Feb 24.  Any suggestions for a good tour/transfer from Ship to airport.  I really do not want to be waiting in the airport for 12-14 hours.

Thanks for all the great info.

Has Viking made arrangements for a hospitality room in Santiago?  It’s a good 2 hours from Valparaiso to Santiago, are you using Viking transport?  Because answers to this question will change.  
If you are on your own, I’d consider doing a private tour and hit the vineyards between the 2 cities.  Our hotel in Santiago arranged this for us going the opposite direction.  
If Viking is taking you to Santiago, they will likely have a hospitality room set up in a hotel.  If that’s the case, I would book a room for the day at the hotel and do one of the HOHO bus routes.  When you get back, you’ll be able to shower and change before getting on your night flight.  I think all flights out of SA leave at night.  

[snookie1]

We have the same situation, leaving Santiago on December 18th.  From these boards I got the recommendation for Colchagua Tours.  They have arranged to pick us up at the pier at 8:30AM.  They will take us on a Casablanca custom wine tour.  We will have wine tastings at the Villard, Kingston, and Veramonte wineries, and lunch at the Tannino Restaurant in another winery.  They will then transport us to the airport by about 6:30 (our plane leaves at 11:59PM).   The company has gotten excellent reviews.  I have e-mailed Connie several times, and she has been extremely helpful.  I figure we may end up 3 sheets to the wind by the time we get to the airport, but that might not be a bad thing!  You can e-mail cproblete@colchaquatours.com if you are interested.  Hope this helps.

[MSEm]

Thanks for the replies.  Think we will look at doing a Wine Tour transfer from Ship to Airport.

I will contact tour company after Jan1.