alithecat

SS Air is safer in this time of Covid-19, flight delays and cancellations because as others have said, they will take care of you. But SS has limited airline contracts. I would recommend booking SS Air up-front and when they give you flights at about 6 months from the cruise, check to make sure they are acceptable. Some people are happy with their flights. But recently they have given others like me unacceptable routes, and wanted a very high deviation fee to change them. eg. they routed us from Santiago to San Francisco via Toronto, ie. flying into winter storms in January. We ended up cancelling SS Air and booking our own flights. We are going 2 days before the cruise, so hope that's enough to handle issues.

We were exhausted after our day tour of Ephesus. It was a long drive and there was a lot of walking downhill on very smooth, slippery marble cobblestone streets. Also, check the weather when you are going. It felt like 100+ degrees for us, and there was no shadel. It was very interesting to see Ephesus, but I did not enjoy either the heat or the scary walking. We did not go back for the evening concert. I recommend you skip the day tour, go for the evening concert when it will be cooler, take a flashlight and wear your hiking shoes.

Same as the others. SS collected this with my initial cruise invoice.

@ggo85For informal, dress the way you would to go out to a nice restaurant for dinner. I wear slacks and tops . I always find the dining rooms cold, so even in hot climates I don't wear anything sleeveless, unless it is accompanied by a wrap, light jacket, or cardigan. So, I would not wear a sundress except for dining on deck in hot climates. Some women wear what what you called work dresses, but personally I prefer slacks and find them more versatile. I take 2 pair of black slacks (just in case), and nice tops that work with them. I also take one casual black dress, plus a necklace, a nice scarf and silk jacket to wear with it and change up the look. My silk jacket also works well with my black pants. Don't overpack. You won't be with the same people every night. And no one will remember or care if you wear the same outfit more than once. Hope this helps.

@taxatty we are booked business class using miles via Houston. There is no overnight layover. The flight leaves late in the evening and arrives early the next morning, same as Miami.

I outlined our issues with SS Air, business class, in other posts. We are flying SFO to Santiago in December/January for an Antarctic cruise. SS routed us thru NYC outgoing and Toronto returning. Neither of these is acceptable in the winter months. We were told that if they gave us our preferred flights, thru Houston, it would be an additional $2300pp. Several others replied to my post that they were also given unacceptable routings, for different cruises. The most interesting was a return trip from Bali to Las Vegas, which was routed thru Amsterdam, and took an extra 19 hours if I remember correctly. The issue is that that there are fewer flights now, higher prices, and SS Air has limited contracts with the various airlines. It's a lot safer to use SS Air in this time of Covid-19, but buyer beware.

@labrasettPerhaps you misunderstood my comment. I said that if you book the extra night at the hotel thru SS, you get the free transfer and no deviation fee. This matches what you received.

We are also going to Santiago a day early. If you are using SS Air, and you book the extra night at the hotel thru SS, then you don't have to pay a deviation fee and you still get the transfer from airport to hotel. It's more expensive, $210pp, but worth it to eliminate the hassle. If you don't book the extra night thru SS then the transfer will not be included, plus if you used SS Air you will have to pay a deviation fee for going a day early. Unfortunately, after we booked the extra night at the hotel we received our SS Air flights and they were unacceptable. We live in SF and they routed us thru NY going and Toronto returning. We will not risk flying into winter that time of year. So, we cancelled SS Air, booked our own flights, and are paying extra for the airport to hotel transfer.

@cruiseejWe haven't cancelled the SS Air yet. I will check after we have done so. We have plenty of time.

I remember your post about the thief at SCL. We'll be extra cautious there. We are booked on the Holiday cruise to South Georgia, and are getting excited. But not too excited...we were booked on the Cloud in 2020 and on the Seabourn Quest in 2021 and both cruises were cancelled.

Apologies if this has been asked and answered. I searched but can't find any info. We will be on a Silver Cloud expedition to Antarctica this December [We hope. This will be our 3rd try.] Silversea now has a charter flight to/from Santiago & Puerto Williams. Silversea used to have a day room for those with late flights. For those who have returned to Santiago from Antarctica, what time did you get to the day room and when did they take you back to the airport? Is it worth the bother? We booked our own flights on United, so probably won't get the day room. I checked and the only lounge we will have access to at SCL has a 2-hour limit. Our flight is not until 10:30pm. I'm considering booking a room at the airport Holiday Inn, so we have someplace to hang out in the afternoon and evening. I'd appreciate advice from those who have done this trip.

cruiseej: we are also on the Cloud holiday cruise this December 2022. It is our 3rd try to Antarctica too. First the Wind in 2020, then Seabourn Quest in 2021, and now finally the Cloud. Sorry to miss the Wind... next time. We normally book our own air, but because of Covid-19 uncertainties and possible itinerary changes, we booked Silversea air this time. I'm getting concerned that they haven't given us flights yet.