Live From the Sapphire, 30-Day Antarctica/SA B2B, Jan 20 - Feb 19

[wallyj]

18 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

 

They do only 4 port stops on the itineraries with Antarctica scenic cruising added on.  Pretty sure your first leg will be the same.  The "regular" 14 day South America cruises without Antarctica (like your leg 2) visit 6 ports.  This is the way it's been since Princess restarted the Antarctica cruises in 2020.

Yes, the Jan 4, 2024 BA to Santiago sailing was a 16 day with the 4 days Antartica cruising, the itinerary BA to Santiago for the Feb 5 sailing is only 14 days which does NOT do the 4 days Antartica cruising, but does have the Amalia Glacier cruising which the earlier itineraries do not.
 

I have friends currently on the Sapphire who boarded on Dec 1, 2023 and they also booked the Jan 4 segment as it would allow them 2 chances to get to Port Stanley and the 4 days of Antartica scenic cruising both directions.

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

8 minutes ago, wallyj said:

Yes, the Jan 4, 2024 BA to Santiago sailing was a 16 day with the 4 days Antartica cruising, the itinerary BA to Santiago for the Feb 5 sailing is only 14 days which does NOT do the 4 days Antartica cruising, but does have the Amalia Glacier cruising which the earlier itineraries do not.
 

I have friends currently on the Sapphire who boarded on Dec 1, 2023 and they also booked the Jan 4 segment as it would allow them 2 chances to get to Port Stanley and the 4 days of Antartica scenic cruising both directions.

 

 

34 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

 

They do only 4 port stops on the itineraries with Antarctica scenic cruising added on.  Pretty sure your first leg will be the same.  The "regular" 14 day South America cruises without Antarctica (like your leg 2) visit 6 ports.  This is the way it's been since Princess restarted the Antarctica cruises in 2020.

You both are correct. My mistake. This was definitely their 16-day Antarctica cruise. I definitely need to go on a cruise! 😂

[Longbow77]

On 1/15/2024 at 6:25 PM, Ken the cruiser said:

Hopefully, we will have a little better luck with the weather than some of the other cruises have had to deal with, especially in the Patagonia area, the past few weeks. In any event, I’m sure it will be an awesome cruise! 😁

Actually the first 2 cruises have had good weather in comparison to last year’s 3 Antarctic itinerary’s. Missing a port or so is normal on this run. 
 

Last year we could not board in Valparaiso due to swells. The early Jan cruise got slammed crossing the Drake and the massive Sapphire sign was smashed by a storm. 2 of the 3 missed Stanley and do on. 

Edited January 17 by Longbow77

[azbirdmom]

27 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

 

You both are correct. My mistake. This was definitely their 16-day Antarctica cruise. I definitely need to go on a cruise! 😂

 

Yes you do!  And we will all be traveling along 🙂 

[Ken the cruiser]

5 minutes ago, Longbow77 said:

Actually the first 2 cruises have had good weather in comparison to last year’s 3 Antarctic itinerary’s. Missing a port or so is normal on this run. 
 

Last year we could not board in Valparaiso due to swells. The early Jan cruise got slammed crossing the Drake and the massive Sapphire sign was smashed by a storm. 2 of the 3 missed Stanley and do on. 

Wow! On our Jan 2018 HAL cruise, crossing Drake Passage was the only wild ride on the cruise. All of the ports we visited were quite pleasant with calm seas while the 4 days cruising around the Peninsula was just cloudy at times. I guess when it comes to cruising around Antarctica and Patagonia, the weather is always the wild card! Hopefully on our upcoming cruise, we won’t run into the issues you ran into last year.

[Ken the cruiser]

As we woke up this morning to 14F weather outside, which is a little chilly for central Alabama, it dawned on us that after this cruise we will have visited all 7 continents in the past 14 months and couldn't imagine any better itinerary to complete this milestone than the adventure we're about to head out on tomorrow! 😊

[Ken the cruiser]

And so the adventure begins! Just got this email notification regarding our embarkation port.

 

IMPORTANT EMBARKATION LOCATION UPDATE

Please be advised that due to adverse weather conditions in San Antonio, Chile the port there has closed. Embarkation for your Sapphire Princess voyage on Saturday, January 20, 2024 will now be in Valparaiso, Chile at Valparaiso Terminal de Pasajeros (VTP), at Nudo Baron s/n. Departing from this sheltered port will help us maintain our voyage's schedule. No changes are required to your hotel or flight arrangements as the distance between these ports and the Santiago city center is the same (our flight guidelines remain unchanged).

 

Guests with a Princess pre-cruise hotel package or airport transfer will be taken directly from their hotel or the airport to the cruise terminal in Valparaiso. After checking in at the terminal there, all guests will walk approximately 0.9m/1.5km to the dock to board the ship. Your check-in start and end times can be found in your OceanReady pass.

 

Valparaiso does look like it's definitely more sheltered from the weather than San Antonio and about the same distance from Santiago, just in different directions.

 

 

 

 

Edited January 17 by Ken the cruiser

[Travelexpert35]

Looking forward to following along on your next adventure. You’ve been very busy cruising the globe this past year. Thanks for sharing your posts. Have a wonderful cruise!!

[tillys mom]

Hi Ken, looking forward to following along. 
What part of central Alabama are you from? We are on the Mississippi line close to Livingston. Do you have any advice about air? We are sailing next January so can’t book yet.

Tillys mom (Virginia)

[Ken the cruiser]

14 minutes ago, tillys mom said:

Hi Ken, looking forward to following along. 
What part of central Alabama are you from? We are on the Mississippi line close to Livingston. Do you have any advice about air? We are sailing next January so can’t book yet.

Tillys mom (Virginia)

We’re near Montgomery. We booked directly with Delta when the flights first became available (8-9 months out) so we could get Delta Comfort seats, as it’s a long flight between Atlanta and Santiago. We’re arriving a day early to avoid the stress of a delayed flight on embarkation day, spending the night in the airport hotel, and have 2 seats booked on the Princess transfer from the airport to the ship the next day. 
 

Based on the changes announced today, we’re sure glad we booked the Princess airport to ship transfer. 😁

[Ken the cruiser]

And with that thought in mind as we’re now all packed and just finished the check-in process for our flight tomorrow, it’s time to get this party started!! 🕺💃

 

 

[silkismom]

I needed a little Freddie today!!!

[gam888]

Hi Ken the cruiser, we really enjoy reading your post. We will be sailing with Sapphire Princess on February. Just wondering if you have any Princess Platter you can post here. We are trying to make our dining room reservation, and would like to get an idea of what the evening entertainment schedule is like. Is there any ballroom dancing scheduled in the evening? I believe the shows in the theatre is at 7:30 and 9:30? Thank you in advance.

[azbirdmom]

We've cruised twice from Valparaiso and once from San Antonio.  Prefer Valparaiso.  Much more interesting city and surroundings.  They used to always sail from Valparaiso but frequent strikes and other issues forced them to move.  I'm guessing all of those issues are now in the past.  Are you doing a tour to the port or just taking a straight transfer?

 

ETA:  I hope the switch doesn't mean that you'll encounter nasty weather while traveling south.  Some of the nastiest conditions we've ever experienced have been in that section.  Made the Drake shake seem tame!

Edited January 18 by azbirdmom

[Ken the cruiser]

27 minutes ago, gam888 said:

Hi Ken the cruiser, we really enjoy reading your post. We will be sailing with Sapphire Princess on February. Just wondering if you have any Princess Platter you can post here. We are trying to make our dining room reservation, and would like to get an idea of what the evening entertainment schedule is like. Is there any ballroom dancing scheduled in the evening? I believe the shows in the theatre is at 7:30 and 9:30? Thank you in advance.

Thanks. Once we are onboard starting Saturday, I will try to post the Patter every night, which we also use to plan our entertainment strategy for the following day. If I hear of or see any ballroom dancing going on, I will definitely let you know.

[Ken the cruiser]

31 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

We've cruised twice from Valparaiso and once from San Antonio.  Prefer Valparaiso.  Much more interesting city and surroundings.  They used to always sail from Valparaiso but frequent strikes and other issues forced them to move.  I'm guessing all of those issues are now in the past.  Are you doing a tour to the port or just taking a straight transfer?

 

ETA:  I hope the switch doesn't mean that you'll encounter nasty weather while traveling south.  Some of the nastiest conditions we've ever experienced have been in that section.  Made the Drake shake seem tame!

Just a straight airport to ship transfer. As far as the Pacific wave action south of Valparaiso we will probably be cruising through, the forecast is definitely not looking like calm waters, that’s for sure. 🤔

 
https://www.windy.com/-33.046/-71.620/waves

 

[Ken the cruiser]

For those interested we just completed an optional 5-minute Delta "FlyReady" application process that basically requests information to get (in this case) the SAG Affidavit "Folio Number" emailed to each of us in advance to help speed up our time getting through Chile's Customs process once we arrive at the airport. The only catch is that it could not be submitted until we were within 48 hours of arrival into Chile.

 

We have done this a few times now, and it is definitely a very handy tool that allows us to get in the "shorter" Customs line once we arrive at a distant country's airport.

 

Now we're all set and just waiting to head to the airport. Yay!! 

[effinaround]

Safe travels, Ken.  We're leaving tonight from Toronto on the non-stop to Santiago.  I guess we better have our sea legs ready!

[Ken the cruiser]

2 minutes ago, effinaround said:

Safe travels, Ken.  We're leaving tonight from Toronto on the non-stop to Santiago.  I guess we better have our sea legs ready!

It sure looks that way. But it's going to be an awesome cruise, waves and all! 😀

[Mary loves to travel]

Hi Ken,

 

we landed in Santiago this morning about 8 am.   The airport was very quiet.   Long walks to baggage; breezed through passport, then walked through the “nothing to declare” customs door where they collected our Chile entry customs paper we’d filled out on the plane.  
 

We found and chatted with the Princess reps who showed us exactly where to meet the shuttle on Saturday morning.    

It was an easy walk to the Holiday Inn.   
They were able to get a room ready for us so we checked in before noon & are relaxing now - rooms are comfortable.  
 

Hope to see you at the shuttle on Saturday, if not, maybe on the ship. 
 

Safe travels,

Mary (& Peter)

[Ken the cruiser]

10 minutes ago, Mary loves to travel said:

Hi Ken,

 

we landed in Santiago this morning about 8 am.   The airport was very quiet.   Long walks to baggage; breezed through passport, then walked through the “nothing to declare” customs door where they collected our Chile entry customs paper we’d filled out on the plane.  
 

We found and chatted with the Princess reps who showed us exactly where to meet the shuttle on Saturday morning.    

It was an easy walk to the Holiday Inn.   
They were able to get a room ready for us so we checked in before noon & are relaxing now - rooms are comfortable.  
 

Hope to see you at the shuttle on Saturday, if not, maybe on the ship. 
 

Safe travels,

Mary (& Peter)

That is great news you made it there safely, a breeze getting through Customs, and you and your DH are now relaxing at the hotel. Hopefully our flight, which we’re leaving for shortly, as well as everyone else’s will be just as smooth. Can’t wait to get out of this winter cold blast and basque in Santiago’s summertime warmth. Well, at least for a day! 😂

[Gaynors]

Wishing you safe travels!  At least the weather in Atlanta is good today so hopefully your flight will be on time.

 

I'm also very interested to hear your thoughts about the ship and crew of the Sapphire Princess as I'll be boarding her beginning of April for the 32 day south pacific cruise.   

Edited January 18 by Gaynors
typos

[Ken the cruiser]

There is just something about catching our initial flight out of our local regional airport that makes it so relaxing to start from, most of the time. 😁

 

[azbirdmom]

Wow, is the airport open?  Hoping that doesn't mean something is wrong.  Wishing you safe travels!

[Ken the cruiser]

37 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

Wow, is the airport open?  Hoping that doesn't mean something is wrong.  Wishing you safe travels!

It’s open and all is good. We just got here 3 hours early. It’s now 90 minutes before we board and there are 2 more people here. 😂