Hotel in Valpariso or Santiago

[lkbside]

I'm pretty sure the last night in Santiago has been there since we booked the cruise (Cloud 12/17) in September, 2021. We elected to fly out the night of January 4th - 10:00 PM departure  - rather than take yet another bus transfer into the city and night at a hotel and long day in Santiago the following day before going back again to the airport. 

 

Hopefully there will be no charter complications  - I read an account by someone who went last year and due to charter delays and long check in time in Santiago they barely made their flight. I'm just not going to worry about that ahead of time - I think it would be very costly to try to change our return as the current business class fare is more than $3,000 more pp now than when I booked our flights. 

 

i'm assuming it will be the Mandarin Oriental, but waiting to arrange the airport transfer til they confirm. I really don't get why they take so long to confirm - surely they are holding the space.

[kimanjo]

Day room possibly?  

 

Our November 2021 Cloud sailing was supposed to have a day room after flying back from Punta Arenas to Santiago after disembarkation and charter flight. Using the room until our 10:00 pm night flight back thru DFW. If I recall it was listed as the Holiday Inn right at the airport.

 

BUT, there were so many problems departing PA, almost everyone missed their flights home, so the "day room" ended up being an overnight hotel.

 

So, in our paperwork was the MO for pre-cruise and HI for day/evening room til night flight back home.

 

We also had a day room in Guayaquil just 2 months ago after our Galapagos cruise, because we had a night flight to Quito.

[safarigal]

7 minutes ago, kimanjo said:

Day room possibly?  

 

Our November 2021 Cloud sailing was supposed to have a day room after flying back from Punta Arenas to Santiago after disembarkation and charter flight. Using the room until our 10:00 pm night flight back thru DFW. If I recall it was listed as the Holiday Inn right at the airport.

 

BUT, there were so many problems departing PA, almost everyone missed their flights home, so the "day room" ended up being an overnight hotel.

 

So, in our paperwork was the MO for pre-cruise and HI for day/evening room til night flight back home.

 

We also had a day room in Guayaquil just 2 months ago after our Galapagos cruise, because we had a night flight to Quito.

It definitely says overnight in Santiago with a transfer to the airport the next day, Maybe they are now doing the overnight due to problems with passengers making the evening flight last year. In that case we certainly would not have made our LATAM flight!

 

It would be nice if it was the MO for our last night, but as long as we have the use of the room until our late night flight out the next day, I'm happy  with the airport HI 🙂

[cruiseej]

7 hours ago, lkbside said:

I'm pretty sure the last night in Santiago has been there since we booked the cruise (Cloud 12/17) in September, 2021. We elected to fly out the night of January 4th - 10:00 PM departure

 

Well now I'm really confused! We are on the December 17 cruise, and I've never seen any mention of a hotel for the night of January 4. (We were booked in 2020, and again in 2021 — both canceled — but at no time was there an overnight mentioned at the end of the cruise.) It has always showed that the cruise ends the morning of January 4, we get transferred from the ship to the charter flight to Santiago, that they do something with us during the rest of the day, and that we fly home from Santiago late night on the same day. (Our flight from Santiago now departs at 11:59 pm!)

 

From My Silversea currently:

 

 

From my Invoice/Voyage Confirmation (from months ago):

 

 

Our air is booked through SS, and it make sense to take the late night flight on the day we disembark the ship. I'm still puzzled why @safarigal would have an overnight stay after her Cloud cruise, and why @lkbside had an overnight stay scheduled on the same Cloud cruise we're on, while ours has always showed flying home the night we disembark. I don't mind; I'd rather fly home that night than hang around Santiago an extra day (we'll be there for two days prior to the cruise). I'm just trying to understand what people are seeing versus what I'm seeing, to make sure I'm not missing any clues that our air will be messed up. (I already need to contact our TA to contact SS, because the end of our itinerary shows the Blacklane transfer from airport to home on January 4, when we don't arrive home in the US until January 5!)

 

 

 

 

[cruiseej]

My Silversea as of today shows our pre-cruise hotel as the Mandarin Oriental. Yay… that's progress! But there's still no information about what they're doing with us at the end of the cruise. Sigh. 😉 

[safarigal]

11 minutes ago, cruiseej said:

 

Well now I'm really confused! We are on the December 17 cruise, and I've never seen any mention of a hotel for the night of January 4. (We were booked in 2020, and again in 2021 — both canceled — but at no time was there an overnight mentioned at the end of the cruise.) It has always showed that the cruise ends the morning of January 4, we get transferred from the ship to the charter flight to Santiago, that they do something with us during the rest of the day, and that we fly home from Santiago late night on the same day. (Our flight from Santiago now departs at 11:59 pm!)

 

From My Silversea currently:

 

 

From my Invoice/Voyage Confirmation (from months ago):

 

 

Our air is booked through SS, and it make sense to take the late night flight on the day we disembark the ship. I'm still puzzled why @safarigal would have an overnight stay after her Cloud cruise, and why @lkbside had an overnight stay scheduled on the same Cloud cruise we're on, while ours has always showed flying home the night we disembark. I don't mind; I'd rather fly home that night than hang around Santiago an extra day (we'll be there for two days prior to the cruise). I'm just trying to understand what people are seeing versus what I'm seeing, to make sure I'm not missing any clues that our air will be messed up. (I already need to contact our TA to contact SS, because the end of our itinerary shows the Blacklane transfer from airport to home on January 4, when we don't arrive home in the US until January 5!)

 

 

 

 

I just checked our my.siversea to attach a screen shot of our itinerary - and there lo and behold it says we will be in the MO again. Hopefully it will be warm enough for a day by the pool

 

Sorry,  the attachment may not be readable 🙂

 

 

 

Edited October 25, 2022 by safarigal

[cruiseej]

@safarigal Your PDF isn't viewable.

 

Well, at least you know how you will be spending the last day of your trip. We're still in the dark. Bus tour and then 6 hours at the airport? Day room at the Holiday Inn? I guess it doesn't really matter, but it would be nice to know — and to be 100% certain they don't think we're overnighting in Santiago like they're doing for you! If nothing shows up on MySS in the next week or two, when I ask my TA to straighten out the correct date for our Blacklane transfer, I'll see if she can also find out what they plan to do with us in Santiago. 

[safarigal]

2 minutes ago, cruiseej said:

@safarigal Your PDF isn't viewable.

 

Well, at least you know how you will be spending the last day of your trip. We're still in the dark. Bus tour and then 6 hours at the airport? Day room at the Holiday Inn? I guess it doesn't really matter, but it would be nice to know — and to be 100% certain they don't think we're overnighting in Santiago like they're doing for you! If nothing shows up on MySS in the next week or two, when I ask my TA to straighten out the correct date for our Blacklane transfer, I'll see if she can also find out what they plan to do with us in Santiago. 

Sorry about that = operator error yet again. We are also so excited that it looks like this cruise really will happen after missing out on out 2020 and 2021 trips!

[alithecat]

We booked our own air and booked a regular room at the Holiday Inn Santiago Airport for Jan. 4th. This hotel doesn't have day rooms. Silversea could have taken us back to the MO to their day room, for $140 because we didn't use their air, plus the cost of a taxi to get back to the airport.

 

Our flight is at 10:45pm. I researched airport lounges and the only one we can get into has a 2 hour time limit. We decided it would be easier for ourselves and our luggage to stay in the Holiday Inn. Also that way, should our flight get cancelled, we have a place to stay for the night.

[FlyerTalker]

OK....dirty little secret time.

 

Why are some of you flying home on one day while others are flying home a day later, when they are both on the same cruise?  Though I don't have inside information and the details from inside SS HQ, my very educated guess is:

 

There was not enough inventory in the SS air contract to bring everyone north from Santiago on the day the cruise ended.

 

I strongly suspect that when SS negotiated the contract, they made some estimates on the number of guests who would fly north on the disembark date, with some plus/minus built into the contract.  And they may have planned on some number leaving in the days after that.  If the number they actually have flying goes outside those ranges, well, now it becomes a question of where they get the extra seats needed.  Can they get negotiated rates for extra seats?  Do they have to purchase on the spot market?  Will they purchase on the spot market?  Are they able to have seats on the following day, either at a contracted rate or at the spot price?

 

Who goes when is likely due to various factors, and possibly includes status with SS.  But beyond that, it's more than just the flights from SCL heading north.  Flights north from SCL go to Dallas, Miami, New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Houston, Toronto and Mexico City.  But guests are from many other cities.  So it's also about having seats going to those onward destinations.  All the pieces need to fit together, not just the obvious ones.

 

Again, this is an educated guess, based on decades of travel experience and knowledge of airline procedures and revenue management.  How likely is this to be the answer -- I'd say at least a 75%.  Could it be another answer - sure.  Mismanagement, path of least resistance, corporate penny-pinching and other reasons may be at play.  But I know how I would wager.

[sherylc]

1 hour ago, FlyerTalker said:

OK....dirty little secret time.

 

Why are some of you flying home on one day while others are flying home a day later, when they are both on the same cruise?  Though I don't have inside information and the details from inside SS HQ, my very educated guess is:

 

There was not enough inventory in the SS air contract to bring everyone north from Santiago on the day the cruise ended.

 

I strongly suspect that when SS negotiated the contract, they made some estimates on the number of guests who would fly north on the disembark date, with some plus/minus built into the contract.  And they may have planned on some number leaving in the days after that.  If the number they actually have flying goes outside those ranges, well, now it becomes a question of where they get the extra seats needed.  Can they get negotiated rates for extra seats?  Do they have to purchase on the spot market?  Will they purchase on the spot market?  Are they able to have seats on the following day, either at a contracted rate or at the spot price?

 

Who goes when is likely due to various factors, and possibly includes status with SS.  But beyond that, it's more than just the flights from SCL heading north.  Flights north from SCL go to Dallas, Miami, New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Houston, Toronto and Mexico City.  But guests are from many other cities.  So it's also about having seats going to those onward destinations.  All the pieces need to fit together, not just the obvious ones.

 

Again, this is an educated guess, based on decades of travel experience and knowledge of airline procedures and revenue management.  How likely is this to be the answer -- I'd say at least a 75%.  Could it be another answer - sure.  Mismanagement, path of least resistance, corporate penny-pinching and other reasons may be at play.  But I know how I would wager.

I think a lot of people booked their own air and are going back when the air worked out best. For us, we are flying home about 11 pm on Jan 4 (booked our own), but still shows we have an overnight paid for by Silversea on that night. We also booked our own room at the airport Hilton just in case we don't want to use what they offer. We will wait to see where they are putting us before getting Silversea to update our itinerary. 

 

[cruiseej]

1 hour ago, FlyerTalker said:

Who goes when is likely due to various factors, and possibly includes status with SS. 

 

We've got no status with SS, yet we're departing "on time" the evening the cruise ends. So go figure.

 

Maybe people who had been canceled the past two years got priority this year? 🤣

[kimanjo]

I checked my old documents.  It was not the Holiday Inn, it was the Hamton Inn.  This is a screen shot of the transfers and day room.

1.  We did our own air, and got the transfers and hotel rooms included.

2.  Our night flight out was at 10:00 pm thru DFW night of disembarkation.

 

I would have your TA's ask about the gap between disembarkation from the ship and the 10 pm (ish) flights out.

 

At the very least, the MO is so nice, just to luggage store, and hang out by the pool and have access to lounging about and bathrooms ( and even locker rooms for freshening up before heading to the airport) would be a nice thing.

 

[highplanesdrifters]

9 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

OK....dirty little secret time.

 

Why are some of you flying home on one day while others are flying home a day later, when they are both on the same cruise?  Though I don't have inside information and the details from inside SS HQ, my very educated guess is:

 

There was not enough inventory in the SS air contract to bring everyone north from Santiago on the day the cruise ended.

 

I strongly suspect that when SS negotiated the contract, they made some estimates on the number of guests who would fly north on the disembark date, with some plus/minus built into the contract.  And they may have planned on some number leaving in the days after that.  If the number they actually have flying goes outside those ranges, well, now it becomes a question of where they get the extra seats needed.  Can they get negotiated rates for extra seats?  Do they have to purchase on the spot market?  Will they purchase on the spot market?  Are they able to have seats on the following day, either at a contracted rate or at the spot price?

 

Who goes when is likely due to various factors, and possibly includes status with SS.  But beyond that, it's more than just the flights from SCL heading north.  Flights north from SCL go to Dallas, Miami, New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Houston, Toronto and Mexico City.  But guests are from many other cities.  So it's also about having seats going to those onward destinations.  All the pieces need to fit together, not just the obvious ones.

 

Again, this is an educated guess, based on decades of travel experience and knowledge of airline procedures and revenue management.  How likely is this to be the answer -- I'd say at least a 75%.  Could it be another answer - sure.  Mismanagement, path of least resistance,

rporate penny-pinching and other reasons may be at play.  But I know how I would wager.

My bets with you!

Edited October 26, 2022 by highplanesdrifters

[alithecat]

The Hilton Garden Inn is probably a nicer hotel than the Holiday Inn. But you need to take their shuttle or a taxi to get from it to the airport. You walk across the airport parking lot from the terminal to get to the Holiday Inn. That's why we booked it.

[lkbside]

Good to hear the MO has been confirmed - I'm seeing it in my silversea now - still no post arrangements. 

 

We booked through a TA in Sept. 2021 and then booked our own air, opting to fly out the night of Jan 4th - that post hotel night was on the confirmation from SS. Weird that different bookings show different things.

 

original booking info below.

[flydc]

Does anyone know what time the charter leaves PW for SCL on the last day of the cruise? We arrive back into PW on 7 Dec and are trying to decide if we want the SS hotel at the Mandarin or would just get our own day room at the airport hotel.

 

We are on the Silver Cloud - so not quite sure how everyone fits on the one charter Bae146 aircraft. Perhaps they have more than one? 

[safarigal]

38 minutes ago, flydc said:

Does anyone know what time the charter leaves PW for SCL on the last day of the cruise? We arrive back into PW on 7 Dec and are trying to decide if we want the SS hotel at the Mandarin or would just get our own day room at the airport hotel.

 

We are on the Silver Cloud - so not quite sure how everyone fits on the one charter Bae146 aircraft. Perhaps they have more than one? 

This is what our flight information says:

 

Airline:       Antarctic Airways (DAP) 
Flight #:     821 / 823 / 825 / 827
Aircraft type: BAE/RJ-100

Departure Airport: Puerto Williams Airport

Flight Date:  December 07th, 2022
Flight Time:  DEPARTS PUERTO WILLIAMS between 08:00 – 09:00 AM and ARRIVES SANTIAGO (SCL) between 12:00 – 1:00 PM

 

We have decided to go to the Mandarin Oriental.
 

[flydc]

Thanks very much! We didn’t get this info! 

[safarigal]

6 minutes ago, flydc said:

Thanks very much! We didn’t get this info! 

It is actually quite well hidden! It is on my.silversea under the documents tab, right at the end. The document is entitled your voyage number.Not exactly easy to find! See you on board 🙂

[cruiseej]

8 hours ago, safarigal said:

It is actually quite well hidden!

 

@safarigal Yes, thank you; that's very helpful. Do you remember how far before your cruise this information appeared in your MySilversea? We're still waiting for this info for our cruise so we can make plans if appropriate.

 

Also: on your day of embarkation, do you have the flight info? I'm curious how early they get us to the airport to fly us down to Puerto Williams.

 

If they have flights departing Puerto Williams between 8 and 9 am, does that mean they fly the planes down there empty to pick up passengers? I would have thought they'd fly down from Santiago with the next cruise passengers, and then fly back with those who just disembarked. But the early morning flight from Puerto Williams doesn't seem to allow for that, unless the flight from Santiago is at 4 am!

[caradara]

We leave Friday and cruise from Valparaiso to Puerto Williams.  There is nothing in our emailed documents or in MySilversea about the charter back to Santiago.  Transfers and a hotel are listed.  Since it is the return I'm not going to worry about it.  My documents just list the airline schedule and our Covid proofs.

[safarigal]

31 minutes ago, caradara said:

We leave Friday and cruise from Valparaiso to Puerto Williams.  There is nothing in our emailed documents or in MySilversea about the charter back to Santiago.  Transfers and a hotel are listed.  Since it is the return I'm not going to worry about it.  My documents just list the airline schedule and our Covid proofs.

 

I noticed the information in my my.silversea documents tab about a week ago, but who knows how long it had been there. It says that flight time and aircraft type are subject to change, so this may not be the final document:

 

Silversea Cruises
Puerto Williams Charter Flight Information Silver Cloud
Pre-Cruise
Thank you for choosing Silversea Cruises. Below is information regarding the charter flight service from Santiago to Puerto Williams. Prior to leaving home please review the charter flight details, luggage restrictions and other important information listed below.
Silversea’s exclusive charter flight is scheduled as follows (Flight time and aircraft type are subject to change):
Airline:  Antarctic Airways (DAP) 

Flight #:   820 / 822 / 824 / 826

Aircraft type:  BAE/RJ-100 & BAE/RJ-85
Depature Airport: FBO Aviasur - Aviador David Fuentes Nte. 2205, Pudahuel, Región Metropolitana, Chile. Emergency phone number +56 2 261 11559/+56 2 261 11549
Flight Date:  November 27th, 2022

Flight Time: DEPARTS SANTIAGO (SCL) between 1:00 PM and 2:00 PM – ARRIVES PUERTO WILLIAMS between 5:00 PM and 6:00 PM
Meal Service: Snack

Seat Assignment: Seats will be assigned 48 hours before departure according to suite category.

Boarding Pass: Provided in the “Welcome Kit” upon arrival to the hotel

Transfer: All embarking guests will be transported to a private terminal (FBO) for a charter flight.
Luggage Restrictions: Each guest is limited to one (1) carry-on of no more than 17lbs (8kg) and checked bags (one) not to exceed a total of 50 lbs. (23kg). Each guest may also carry one small personal bag, such as a purse or laptop bag. All hand luggage must fit in the overhead compartment or under the seat. Due to weight restrictions, excess/additional baggage cannot be purchased.
Boarding Procedures: Boarding from FBO will require use of stairs. No jet bridge available.

Luggage Transfer:  Upon disembarkation of the aircraft in Puerto Williams, Silversea representatives will transfer your luggage directly from the airport to the vessel.

Post-Cruise
Thank you for choosing Silversea Cruises. Below is information regarding the charter flight service from Puerto Williams to Santiago. Prior to leaving home please review the charter flight details, luggage restrictions and other important information listed below.
Silversea’s exclusive charter flight is scheduled as follows (Flight time and aircraft type are subject to change):
Airline:  Antarctic Airways (DAP)
Flight #:  821 / 823 / 825 / 827
Aircraft type: BAE/RJ-100

Departure Airport: Puerto Williams Airport

Flight Date: December 07th, 2022
Flight Time: DEPARTS PUERTO WILLIAMS between 08:00 – 09:00 AM and ARRIVES SANTIAGO (SCL) between 12:00 – 1:00 PM
Meal Service: Breakfast/Lunch
Seat Assignment: Seats will be assigned 48 hours before departure according to suite category

Boarding Pass: Provided upon arrival to the airport.

Luggage Restrictions:  Each guest is limited to one (1) carry-on of no more than 17lbs (8kg) and checked bags (one) not to exceed a total of 50 lbs. (23kg). Each guest may also carry one small personal bag, such as a purse or laptop bag. All hand luggage must fit in the overhead compartment or under the seat. Due to weight restrictions, excess/additional baggage cannot be purchased.
Boarding Procedures: Boarding will require use of stairs. No jet bridge available.

Luggage Transfer:  Upon disembarkation of the ship in Puerto Williams, Silversea representatives will transfer your luggage directly from the vessel to the airport where it will be loaded onto the charter flight. Luggage must be picked up upon arrival at the baggage claim area. Guests who are scheduled to depart on international flights the same afternoon should go directly to their applicable airline check-in area within the airport.
** A 30 min stop in Punta Arenas is scheduled due to operational reasons.
 

[caradara]

Thank you for this information.  Our documents online don't list any of this and our emailed documents state charter information will be listed at the end of this document but it wasn't.  Our return is Nov. 25 and it's probably the same as yours.

[cruiseej]

@safarigal Yes, thanks for sharing that information! I don't know why SS waits until the last minute to communicate with passengers.

 

Assuming our charter flights are the same as yours, at the end of the cruise we'll arrive back in Santiago between noon and 1 pm, and our flight home isn't until 11:59 pm. Clearly, that calls for a hotel day room somewhere — but we have to wait and wait for SS to tell us if they're providing one and where.