Boarding in Valparaiso Chile…..

[D. B.]

For anyone planning on boarding a Celebrity Cruise In Valparaiso Chile a few hints on what to expect.

I boarded Eclipse this morning.

  Because the ship docks in a security container port all embarkation and disembarking requires a bus ride from or to the ship from a terminal a half a mile away.

  The terminal can be reached by Taxi or a light rail line that passes close by.

  I used a taxi because dragging my bags on and off  A train is usually a chore.

  I must say the experience in the terminal was one of the least well organized and executed ones I have experienced on a Celebrity Cruise BUT eventually I got to the ship.

  Be aware that when you travel to Valparaiso you Fly to Santiago and it’s about 70 miles from the airport to Valparaiso.

  I arrived One day before the cruise so getting from the Airport to Valparaiso was not a rush.  I would not recommend trying to arrive on the same day as your cruise but that advice is the same for every cruise from A foreign  Port. I made arrangements for transportation from Santiago airport to my hotel in Valparaiso but I didn’t save any money over using a Taxi. Turns out my prepaid car and driver were 2 hours late.

there were Plenty of Taxis at the airport and I asked some of them what the charge (in US dollars) was and all said $110.00 . The same as I paid for my 2 hours late prepaid ride.

 If you don’t require a fancy hotel for a 1 night pre cruise stay I can recommend the Ibis Valparaiso right on the harbor.

 It is basic but clean and convenient.

For $56.00 US$ per night including a buffet breakfast it was popular with pre cruise travelers. I would Not recommend having dinner in the Ibis onsite restaurant. 

A taxi from that hotel was $10.00 US$ to the Passenger Terminal Valparaiso .

my phone says UBER was also available but there were Taxis waiting right outside the hotel.

I did Not change any US$ to Chilean Pasos and found most places that didn’t take Visa were happy with Newer crisp US bills.

the exchange rate is roughly 9?? Chilean to One US$. 
I just rounded it off to 1000 Chilean to OneUS$ when doing the quick conversion in my head.

D. B.

  

[Larwos]

Excellent advice. You’re going to love this cruise. 
I wilsh you the glorious weather we had. 

[zitsky]

I’ve been there and done that.  And that’s why celebrity is cutting out Chile from future cruises and focusing on Uruguay and Argentina.

[D. B.]

11 minutes ago, zitsky said:

I’ve been there and done that.  And that’s why celebrity is cutting out Chile from future cruises and focusing on Uruguay and Argentina.

This one Stars from Valparaiso and Ends in Argentina.

[rfbrian8]

D.B are you staying on in Buenos Aires? We will be boarding in 2 weeks there joining the ship!  Can't wait! 

[zitsky]

2 hours ago, D. B. said:

This one Stars from Valparaiso and Ends in Argentina.

 

Yes.  I know.  As I said, I've been on that cruise.  When I boarded, the line to get on the BUS was 2 to 3 hours long.  Then 30-45 minutes to get from the bus on to the ship.

 

That is the reason, IMHO, that they changed the cruise in 2025 (or is it 2026) to go to/from Buenos Aires and NOT Valparaiso.  Because the port of Valparaiso is not well managed.

[D. B.]

16 hours ago, rfbrian8 said:

D.B are you staying on in Buenos Aires? We will be boarding in 2 weeks there joining the ship!  Can't wait! 

No. I will do the 2 day post excursion to Iguazu Falls so I could not make a B2B with the next cruise.

i hope to do a Celebrity Cruise North from BA in the future. Or A TA that Ends at BA?