Australis new route for 2021-22

[Host Jazzbeau]

Australis cruise line has announced a special new route for the 2021-22 season:  5 nts round trip from Punta Arenas [skipping Ushuaia to stay completely within Chile]:

https://www.australis.com/glaciers-at-the-edge-of-the-world/

[ArubaTuesday]

Yes. We've signed up for this cruise for March 2022.  Not sure exactly why Australis would need to avoid Argentina unless it's Covid protocols in transitioning between Chile and Argentina???

 

I'm also trying to find independent evaluations/reviews of Australis cruises but hard to find.  There are a small number of them on Cruise Critic but most are older, pre-pandemic vintage.  Anything new about them?

 

I've also requested info from Australis about their Covid policy since virtually nothing is currently mentioned on their website. 

 

Any info or opinions are welcomed!

[Host Jazzbeau]

I haven't sailed with Australis, but in researching this area I found that several reputable vendors that use their ships:  e.g., Backroads, Nat Geo, Odysseys Unlimited, Road Scholar.  You may find mini-reviews on their websites.

[Lirio]

On 11/4/2021 at 6:35 PM, ArubaTuesday said:

Yes. We've signed up for this cruise for March 2022.  Not sure exactly why Australis would need to avoid Argentina unless it's Covid protocols in transitioning between Chile and Argentina???

 

I'm also trying to find independent evaluations/reviews of Australis cruises but hard to find.  There are a small number of them on Cruise Critic but most are older, pre-pandemic vintage.  Anything new about them?

 

I've also requested info from Australis about their Covid policy since virtually nothing is currently mentioned on their website. 

 

Any info or opinions are welcomed!

I did an Australis Cruises several years ago. And I liked it very much.

[YoPhilly]

I did a 4 night Australis cruises through Overseas Adventure Travel pre-COVID.  The ship, the crew, the meals - all excellent.  It seemed to me that passengers booked through a tour operator had priority in boarding the zodiacs for excursions so you may want to keep that in mind.  Worked well for us, as our group was always first off the ship.  I would do that cruise again in a heartbeat.

[Homerody]

On 3/26/2022 at 9:14 AM, YoPhilly said:

I did a 4 night Australis cruises through Overseas Adventure Travel pre-COVID.  The ship, the crew, the meals - all excellent.  It seemed to me that passengers booked through a tour operator had priority in boarding the zodiacs for excursions so you may want to keep that in mind.  Worked well for us, as our group was always first off the ship.  I would do that cruise again in a heartbeat.

For our Jan 2022 Australis sailing - we were independent travelers and we were mixed in with an OAT tour group that was on board and other independent travelers (based on language - English or Spanish).  There was no separate priority embarkation, disembarkation or  zodiac excursion seating for the OAT group.  The OAT group did stick together and their guide for most of the trip.  (At times when the tour group split up for easy or hard walking excursion option for a particular excursion - the guide generally stuck with the larger group in his tour)   At meal times, however, the OAT group  were seated together.  Independent travelers had a choice for tables for 2, family groups, or sit with other English speaking passengers.