How early to arrive in Santiago for a cruise

[ukpylot]

HAL were offering their 14 day South America cruise from Santiago to Buenos Aries next Feb for 200pp and I would have been nuts not to go for that (and hope to get some upgrades to a better cabin), and looking at flights from San Diego it seems my preferred route gets me in at 7am (via Dallas on AA).

 

I usually prefer coming in the day before, and still might, but do people think this is a risky flight to take, that I might miss the boat?

 

And if people come in the day before, do they usually stay in Valparaiso or Santiago and get a taxi in the morning to the port?

 

Thanks!

 

Paul

[carlmm]

There is always a risk when you fly in the day the cruise starts, yet I have done it to Santiago even with a three flights 36 hours connection. With a 7am schedulded arrival you still habe a buffer for a couple of hours delay.

I guess most people stay in Santiago but I highly encourage you to go to Valparaiso, a most interesting town.

[rkacruiser]

When I sailed on the Zaandam on this kind of itinerary, I arrived in Santiago 4 days/3 nights early because I wanted to see some of Santiago and the surrounding countryside (including the wineries and vineyards).  I enjoyed the tours that I booked and enjoyed my visit, particularly since the city was getting ready for the visit of Pope Francis.  You may or may not sail from Valparaiso.  That city was where we were supposed to sail, but, the port was changed to San Antonio.  

 

I used HAL's pre-cruise hotel (the Sheraton) and used their transfer service to the port on sailing day.  

[ukpylot]

My current thinking is to come the day before and stay in Valparaiso but looks like I should wait to book a hotel until we know for sure what our port will be.

[rkacruiser]

8 minutes ago, ukpylot said:

My current thinking is to come the day before and stay in Valparaiso but looks like I should wait to book a hotel until we know for sure what our port will be.

 

I think that would be wise.  

 

Welcome to CC!  I just noticed that you are a very new member of our group!  

[ukpylot]

47 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

Welcome to CC!  I just noticed that you are a very new member of our group!  

Thank you! I've done about 11 cruises all from domestic ports so now that I have a couple of foreign based ones I thought I'd get some wisdom from people who've been there before. And I've used this website for reviews and stuff in the past, been helpful.

[TayanaLorna]

When we did Around Cape Horn on another cruise line, we flew into Santiago 2 days early.  Checked into hotel first day and explored a bit of town. Second day got picked up at hotel for an all day excursion up into the Andes.  Next day got picked up at hotel by same company and toured Pablo Neruda's seaside home, had a local lunch, went to a wine tasting at a vineyard before getting dropped off at the ship at 7:30 pm   Next day we took the included ship excursion to Valparaiso and Vina del Mar.  Ship was docked in Valparaiso.  We used I Love Chile tours for our private excursions and drop off at ship.  They were fabulous and I highly recommend them.

[frantic36]

On 10/13/2022 at 9:41 PM, TayanaLorna said:

We used I Love Chile tours for our private excursions and drop off at ship.  They were fabulous and I highly recommend them.

 

Sadly I checked their website today and they are closed for now with no indication when they will restart.

[ukpylot]

On 10/15/2022 at 4:21 AM, frantic36 said:

 

Sadly I checked their website today and they are closed for now with no indication when they will restart.

I looked them up too and was sad to see that. It would be a great if there was a scenic tour option for a transfer to the cruise port rather than just sitting in a taxi or a bus

[TayanaLorna]

1 hour ago, ukpylot said:

I looked them up too and was sad to see that. It would be a great if there was a scenic tour option for a transfer to the cruise port rather than just sitting in a taxi or a bus

That's too bad.  They were a great couple and tour guides.  Try Colchagua Transport.  The do transfers as well as tours.  People raved about them for winery tours.

[ukpylot]

20 hours ago, TayanaLorna said:

That's too bad.  They were a great couple and tour guides.  Try Colchagua Transport.  The do transfers as well as tours.  People raved about them for winery tours.

Thanks for the recommendation, I contact them and they do a transfer that includes some wineries and lunch on the way to the port.

[LoveTigerOak]

Out of curiosity, how did you get that fare?  I must not be looking in right places.  

[SignorinaPinguina]

On 10/15/2022 at 7:21 AM, frantic36 said:

 

Sadly I checked their website today and they are closed for now with no indication when they will restart.

Hi, just happened to see this thread and wanted to let you know I Love Chile tours appears to be back up. The "not operating" notice no longer comes up on their website.

 

(I, too, was sad when I saw the notice on their website as I had bookmarked them at the beginning of my Santiago research. I took a chance and used the contact form on their website anyway, and they worked with me to make reservations for a Valpo tour and port transfer in December.)

[Gail in California]

We are in Santiago for 3 days prior to a Regent cruise to Buenos Aires. We are scheduled to do the ship’ s tours in Santiago & concerned they might be more of a driveby . Any advice on this? Might be tempted to do  Tour by Locals. 
One  day is a city tour  with lunch & tour at the Santa Rita Winery.

Next day is bus to Portillo,lunch at a local restaurant & visit Laguna del Inca (9am-6pm)

The last day is guided visit of Valparaiso ( might be 1 1/2 hrs.) before driving to the pier in San Antonio.

Thank you for any guidance or suggestions on this. We leave in a few weeks.

Edited January 14, 2023 by Gail in California

[Australia08]

We are just leaving Santiago today to fly to Buenos Aires. We have used Chile Dream Tours the past few days for day-tours. We really have enjoyed being with their guide coordinator Sean. I’ve written about our experiences on the Viking Ocean Cruise Critic site. 

[WaterDancer2]

Hi I'm arriving into Santiago on 1/19/23 and want to share a transport/winery tour to Valparaiso.  My flight gets in around 8 am... anyone else want to team up or have room for one person with two suitcases?  I'm just figuring out the transportation thing, and would live to also see some of the area... My cruise (Princess) leaves out on 1/20/23.  No takers so far on my roll call board, but hoping to share costs. 

 

Thanks,

Jean.