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Easter Island - Explorer - did you make it ashore?


mygreyhound66
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Greetings, I am trying (and failing miserably) to get as much information as possible. I am very interested in the Explorer, specifically the Easter Island/Papeete itineraries.

 

For those lucky people that have already gone - has there been any issues in missing any of the ports (?) - I ask since so many people say that it is rare to get on Easter Island. Even though, it shows as embarkation at Easter Island - the one TA I just spoke with, said that it might not happen due to weather? I pointed out that this was embarkation so I assumed it would happen!!!!! she disagreed - was she right?

 

I am also in the process of trying to secure a knowledgeable TA to assist with this trip. We have travelled on expeditions to Antarctica twice before and didn't have as difficult a time gathering information as we are finding for this particular voyage.

 

If anyone can help me,, I would be extremely grateful! Many thanks in advance........

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Most ships have to tender and therefore visits to the island quite frequently get canceled due to sea conditions. Explorer is probably small enough to dock at the island. I can't imagine why they would use Easter Island for embarkation if they couldn't guarantee picking up passengers.

 

Expedition cruising is out of the realm of many travel agencies. I suggest you call Silversea and ask them for specifics. They are very helpful.

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We are booked on the Silver Explorer 7820/7821 Honolulu to Easter Island this October. The cruise ends at Easter Island - so they will be looking to get 120 people off the boat and 120 new people on !

I will ask about this when we are on board in April.

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We went shore several times on Easter Island using our ship's zodiacs - this was the Silver Discoverer. The Explorer will be the same with slightly more passengers. Unless you have freakish weather you will make it ashore, though it is fairly choppy all year round as there is no reef. You will most definitely make it ashore on the last day of your cruise and I well remember seeing the luggage packed on the zodiacs and taking the rough ride across.

 

The gorgeous and historic Pitcairn Island is another matter. There is a real chance of not landing there though it's not nearly as bad a gamble as Tristan da Cunha. The open ocean heaves in to Pitcairn but with a combination of zodiacs and the islander's own boat you should be OK. Henderson and Ducie are fabulous places to land and that's a zodiac on to coral shelfs - our expedition leader didn't like landing on Henderson at all but we made it. Henderson has a pleasant beach to stroll along. Ducie is even less hospitable though there are wonderful birds and sharks in the lagoon. I count Ducie as my best snorkel experience ever.

 

This route remains the best cruise we have ever done. And we've been everywhere.

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On This year's Explorer cruise to Easter Island the ship is spending 2 nights there which gives a greater window for landing.

As to Pitcairn island I am optimistic as they have built an alternative landing site on the opposite side of the Island so a lot more chance that one of the landing sites will have reasonable conditions.It was officially opened in September 2017.

https://www.facebook.com/pg/Pitcairn-Alternative-Harbour-Project-1478758655735030/posts/?ref=page_internal

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I'm on the Oct Papeete to Easter Island itinerary, and am reasonably confident that we will make it ashore. Silversea has made it an embarkation port, so must have enough flexibility in their schedule to make it work. It might mean that we will disembark a little early, or late.

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Thank you all very much! most helpful indeed! now, if only I can find a good agent to help me........(sigh) I think I scared off the last one with my few questions - she hasn't called me back (only been 3 days!)

 

Happy to answer any further queries about this itinerary. Why bother with a travel agent? I never do. Just book direct with Silversea. I don't think a TA will bring anything worth having and by booking direct you have a dedicated contact person. Also if Silversea book your air tickets it's down to them if anything goes wrong like a cancelled or delayed flight etc.

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I booked directly with Silversea on my 3 voyages and was perfectly satisfied until I read on here that those who used a TA got money rebated, OBC, and upgrades. So I feel foolish and will definitely shop around next time.

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Easter Island is on our bucket list so reading this with interest.

 

As an aside, we have booked directly with the same Silversea agent for our past three cruises and received an on board credit every time. We have had to ask for it but one has always been provided. Even with our most recent booking which is, in our opinion, a bargain because of the business class air deal.

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Cruising is great, but why not tack on Easter Island as a pre or post cruise stop instead? They have great hotels, and IMO there is so much more on the island than you could possibly hope to see in a day.

 

We spent 3 nights there in November after our cruise ended in Santiago. LATAM flies there daily. It's a beautiful 787 dreamliner and it takes 4-5 hours, not 4 days. And you're pretty much guaranteed to land.

 

We didn't have the time to spend cruising there, so for us, flying was the only way to visit. But I really enjoyed how our trip turned out, and I don't think we'd have liked a cruise ship stop as much.

 

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Ron I agree for those cruises ending or beginning there, the chances seem much better than average. I was speaking more in general about not wanting to spend 4 days getting there, only to miss the landing. Given that choice, vs flying there and staying a few days, it's a no brainer IMO.

 

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Greetings. I don’t argue that Easter island would be a great destination. My question was around the embarkation and disembarking of the ship as an end point or entry. Also the question was about the actual listed ports of call on this voyage. This is a trip of immense interest to my seafaring spouse thus the intensity of the inquiry. Additionally I can be reached privately which I welcome. Thanks to all.

 

 

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The October 2018 sailing has a fabulous itinerary - one that I have not seen done before. It goes from Tahiti to the seldom visited Austral Islands. If I had a quibble it would be that one of the Australs, Tubuai, is not on the schedule and that's a pity as it was the first refuge of the Bounty mutineers. Anyway, the Australs that are on the schedule are unmissable in my view. Then all four of the Pitcairn Islands. The first one, Oeno, is sometimes included as a sort of banker in case the seas are rough around Pitcairn itself so you have two days in which to make a landing there. You also have two days at Easter Island which is enough to see the major sites without having to disembark and stay at one of the hotels there.

 

If you have not been to French Polynesia before I would most definitely fly out a week beforehand and see some of the islands - Moorea, Bora Bora and an atoll such as Rangiroa or Tikehau.

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Hi Everyone,

 

I thought I would add my "pennyworth" to this thread. Easter Island was on my bucket list for an age. Talking to cruisers who also wanted to see this island, I came to realise that I would be very fortunate to achieve my wish by cruise ship. The final straw was when I heard about a lady that had taken three cruises just for Rapu Nui, and each time, the weather had been too bad to land.

 

It was then I decided that I would fly from Santiago and spend several nights in situ. You are quite correct, the Latam flight is brilliant, particularly in business. What maybe is not understood, is how far out into the Pacific Ocean, this island lies. It takes six hours flying time from Santiago. You can also, I think, fly from Papeete.

 

I spent four idyllic days and I urge anyone to stay for at least three days, as there is so much to see, which would not be possible in either a day trip or indeed two.

 

All ocean going ships have to tender, regardless of size, and therefore those with a high passenger complement would find it extremely time consuming to tender everyone ashore and back.

 

To illustrate the point, I attach (hopefully!) a photograph of the "harbour".

 

Points to note -

 

The narrow, rocky harbour entrance is exposed to the open ocean; the size of the vessels in the harbour; approximately only 60% of cruise ships manage to tender ashore; indeed the Island's supply ships from mainland Chile, tranship cargo into barges, and the latter ferry the cargo ashore.

Do hope you all make it - it is truly a magical island.

Kindest regards

Master Echo

1417714525_Harbourandnarrowapproachchannel.thumb.jpg.b1cd8d018d1ca5e30f0eb874d84817ec.jpg

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We did a land tour in 2009 and took a photo of a ship off the harbour. We didn’t realise that it wasn’t always possible to tender in. We hadn’t taken our first cruise then.

I’m hoping the website I post will work, as I haven’t had any luck posting photos. Unfortunately there are no descriptions on the photos as we had problems and they disappeared.

We stayed at Explora after the first night and enjoyed it very much.

 

http://thefletchers.com.au/The_Fletchers/South_America_Photo_Album/Pages/Easter_Island.html#0

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  • 2 weeks later...
We went shore several times on Easter Island using our ship's zodiacs - this was the Silver Discoverer. The Explorer will be the same with slightly more passengers. Unless you have freakish weather you will make it ashore, though it is fairly choppy all year round as there is no reef. You will most definitely make it ashore on the last day of your cruise and I well remember seeing the luggage packed on the zodiacs and taking the rough ride across.

 

The gorgeous and historic Pitcairn Island is another matter. There is a real chance of not landing there though it's not nearly as bad a gamble as Tristan da Cunha. The open ocean heaves in to Pitcairn but with a combination of zodiacs and the islander's own boat you should be OK. Henderson and Ducie are fabulous places to land and that's a zodiac on to coral shelfs - our expedition leader didn't like landing on Henderson at all but we made it. Henderson has a pleasant beach to stroll along. Ducie is even less hospitable though there are wonderful birds and sharks in the lagoon. I count Ducie as my best snorkel experience ever.

 

This route remains the best cruise we have ever done. And we've been everywhere.

 

The best ever is pretty high bar. Like you, Mrs Banjo and I have been everywhere, we will need to take a second look at this IT

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All ocean going ships have to tender, regardless of size, and therefore those with a high passenger complement would find it extremely time consuming to tender everyone ashore and back.

 

If I may correct you Master Echo, expedition ships such as the Silver Explorer do not have tenders. They have zodiacs, making landing much more likely. In fact, I'd say that ships with zodiacs guarantees landing here.

 

It all comes down to choosing the right ship for the right itinerary. If you want to go to Easter Island and Pitcairn Island then your only chance is an expedition ship with about 100 passengers.

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If I may correct you Master Echo, expedition ships such as the Silver Explorer do not have tenders. They have zodiacs, making landing much more likely. In fact, I'd say that ships with zodiacs guarantees landing here.

 

It all comes down to choosing the right ship for the right itinerary. If you want to go to Easter Island and Pitcairn Island then your only chance is an expedition ship with about 100 passengers.

 

 

 

Not the only chance.We reached both Pitcairn and Easter Island with tenders from both the Whisper and Shadow in years gone by.It involves a lot of praying for decent weather conditions and we got lucky as both islands were an unforgettable experience.

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

My wife and I did Easter Island (Rappa Nui) this January off an Oceania cruise. We were able to tender in both days--the crew did an amazing job!!We also stopped at Pitcairn--most of the people who live there came on board our ship for talks and to sell t-shirts, etc. .

We think the Silversea explorer ships would be great ( we have many more cruises on Silversea then on Oceania).

Now that we are home, if I had it to do over again--I would fly from Santiago to Easter Island -- 10 flights a week --1 flight a week from Tahiti. The trip is worth 2 or 3 days--over 1000 of the Moai statues--also the coastline is very spectacular because of the rough seas.

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sugarbird, we tend to agree with you, though admittedly we haven't tried visiting by cruise ship. It was so good to stay there and to not worry about whether we could land or not. There is plenty to do for a 3-day stay.

 

Kauaijim, that must have been great! We were on the wrong side of the plane to get a view of the north coast when we flew in, but we got a great view of the south coast upon departure.

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