Disembarkation in San Antonio (Santiago) Chile

[MarciAnn]

Our cruise ends at 8 am in San Antonio, Chile and our flight home is not until 11:00 pm.  I thought we would book a hotel in Santiago, drop off our luggage, take a private tour and then return to the hotel for dinner and rest before heading to the airport.  I now see that San Antonio is more than an hour from Santiago.  Should I instead head for Valparaiso and book a hotel and tour there before the airport?  Don’ t know which is the better option and which has more to see.  Has anyone out there done this and have advice?  Much appreciated.  

[FlaMariner]

We embarked from San Antonio after flying into Santiago and staying one night..(March 2023)...On embarkation day, we used these guys to pick us up at our Santiago hotel and give us a great tour of the wineries on the way to drop off at the ship.

 

https://www.ilovechiletours.com

 

We visited 3 wineries and had a blast.   There were 3 couples on the tour and we got the group together from our roll call. 

 

See if they can pick you up in San Antonio and take you by a few wineries and then drop you off at your Santiago hotel.....or just forget the hotel and head to the airport.

 

(The wine area is between Santiago/the Santiago airport and San Antonio)

 

 

[HappyKatya]

Help! 🙂 You folks seem experienced sailing South America. We sail LA to Santiago Chile Dec 1, 18 days.
Please: Are the seas rough sailing in this direction? Once south of the Equator, we'll be sailing against the kinda large Peru (Humboldt) Current, which flows north from Antarctica to the Equator.
Have you or your network sailed this route? Any thoughts? Thank you! - Kathy in California

[mexico8]

On 7/19/2023 at 4:55 PM, FlaMariner said:

We embarked from San Antonio after flying into Santiago and staying one night..(March 2023)...On embarkation day, we used these guys to pick us up at our Santiago hotel and give us a great tour of the wineries on the way to drop off at the ship.

 

https://www.ilovechiletours.com

 

We visited 3 wineries and had a blast.   There were 3 couples on the tour and we got the group together from our roll call. 

 

See if they can pick you up in San Antonio and take you by a few wineries and then drop you off at your Santiago hotel.....or just forget the hotel and head to the airport.

 

(The wine area is between Santiago/the Santiago airport and San Antonio)

 

We are disembarking on December 2nd and will stay in a hotel for 3 nights to tour around the area.  Wondering if we should stay in Valparaiso or Santiago for the 3 nights?  Any thoughts on that?   Thanks.

 

Wendy

[Sea42]

On 7/22/2023 at 4:51 PM, mexico8 said:

We are disembarking on December 2nd and will stay in a hotel for 3 nights to tour around the area.  Wondering if we should stay in Valparaiso or Santiago for the 3 nights?  Any thoughts on that?   Thanks.

 

Wendy

I would take a transfer & tour to Santiago. You can visit Valparaiso and maybe some wineries then head to Santiago for your overnights.

[mexico8]

30 minutes ago, Sea42 said:

I would take a transfer & tour to Santiago. You can visit Valparaiso and maybe some wineries then head to Santiago for your overnights.

Thank you   that is exactly what we are planning to do.  I booked a hotel in Santiago and booked a tour from the ship the day we disembark so we are all set.

 

Wendy

[SVBing]

On 7/21/2023 at 12:53 AM, HappyKatya said:

Help! 🙂 You folks seem experienced sailing South America. We sail LA to Santiago Chile Dec 1, 18 days.
Please: Are the seas rough sailing in this direction? Once south of the Equator, we'll be sailing against the kinda large Peru (Humboldt) Current, which flows north from Antarctica to the Equator.
Have you or your network sailed this route? Any thoughts? Thank you! - Kathy in California

I have done this sailing. We had no issues with seas the full trip, short of a short rock of the ship at sea during earthquake.

[Nebr.cruiser]

On 7/20/2023 at 11:53 PM, HappyKatya said:

Help! 🙂 You folks seem experienced sailing South America. We sail LA to Santiago Chile Dec 1, 18 days.
Please: Are the seas rough sailing in this direction? Once south of the Equator, we'll be sailing against the kinda large Peru (Humboldt) Current, which flows north from Antarctica to the Equator.
Have you or your network sailed this route? Any thoughts? Thank you! - Kathy in California

We are on the same cruise and have done this route before.  We had no problems with rough seas at all.  Of course, nothing can be guaranteed.  We are just going on the first segment, but have done Argentina to Santiago and luckily had very good seas the whole way as well.

[PhD-iva]

On 7/20/2023 at 11:53 PM, HappyKatya said:

Help! 🙂 You folks seem experienced sailing South America. We sail LA to Santiago Chile Dec 1, 18 days.
Please: Are the seas rough sailing in this direction? Once south of the Equator, we'll be sailing against the kinda large Peru (Humboldt) Current, which flows north from Antarctica to the Equator.
Have you or your network sailed this route? Any thoughts? Thank you! - Kathy in California

I’ve done LA to Lima. Great itinerary! You’ll love it. No worries about currents. OTOH, rough seas can happen just about anywhere.

[PhD-iva]

On 7/26/2023 at 9:37 AM, Sea42 said:

I would take a transfer & tour to Santiago. You can visit Valparaiso and maybe some wineries then head to Santiago for your overnights.

Agree, great suggestion. Have been to Santiago on business; lots to see and do. Plus great wineries along the way to Santiago.

[HappyKatya]

On 9/11/2023 at 3:56 PM, Nebr.cruiser said:

We are on the same cruise and have done this route before.  We had no problems with rough seas at all.  Of course, nothing can be guaranteed.  We are just going on the first segment, but have done Argentina to Santiago and luckily had very good seas the whole way as well.

Dear @Nebr.cruiser, Thank you so much!  After reading your kind post and those by @PhD-iva and @SVBing, we bought this cruise and hope to see you on board 🙂  We're in Santiago Dec. 19-20, flying home to LA Dec. 21. It's our first time in Santiago, will you be in town?

      Also: Does anyone have specifics on a Sapphire Princess shuttle in Lima Dec 13 & 14 from Callao port to Larcomer in Miraflores? I've seen posts here that Coral Princess ran shuttles from Callao to Miraflores this past August, but it was only announced on board, 3 days before docking.  My husband and I love to explore ports and cities freelance but given Callao's reputation, a Princess shuttle would be great...

[Nebr.cruiser]

If we get to go on the cruise (uncertain at this point as my husband is suffering from a pinched nerve in his back and is on crutches), we fly home the 19th.  My sister(s) are staying one extra day, but we have been to Santiago twice,so we'll just find a tour that drops us off at the airport.

 

I hope the weather/seas are as good as our previous cruise on this itinerary!

[HappyKatya]

@Nebr.cruiser So sorry about your poor husband! We do hope he heals up! 

Please, since you know Santiago,  do we need a shuttle from the dock to get across Santiago's large container port San Antonio and out to the port gate or a public street?  Where the driver we booked online can find us? 

 We stay in Santiago 2 nights but not at an official Princess hotel so we can't use their coach to Santiago...

[Nebr.cruiser]

13 hours ago, HappyKatya said:

@Nebr.cruiser So sorry about your poor husband! We do hope he heals up! 

Please, since you know Santiago,  do we need a shuttle from the dock to get across Santiago's large container port San Antonio and out to the port gate or a public street?  Where the driver we booked online can find us? 

 We stay in Santiago 2 nights but not at an official Princess hotel so we can't use their coach to Santiago...

Where we docked no, it was not that long of a walk to the gates. We did not need a shuttle. We did have difficulty finding our driver/guide afterwards but I am not sure if it was us or mis-communication.  Unfortunately, also, his car had trouble and he had to line up an alternative driver and we ended up doing a slightly different tour, that was still fine.

 

This was several years ago and I seem to remember that cars couldn't pull right up to the gate, but you should be able to meet your driver there.

 

I'd be sure to find out exactly where to meet your driver.  Thank you for the kind words about my husband; he's still experiencing a lot of pain, so the cruise is iffy for us.

Edited October 24, 2023 by Nebr.cruiser

[HappyKatya]

Dear @Nebr.cruiser, 

Thank you so much for everything, you have been so helpful on ocean conditions and ports!

Please keep us posted on your husband's health and whether we can see you on board.

Warm wishes,  Kathy