Hotel in Valpariso or Santiago

[lkbside]

Thanks @safarigal - you're on the Dec 17 Cloud cruise, right?

 

Good to know the charter info - I assume eventually this will appear in all of our bookings. 

 

Our flight is at 10:00 PM - so will have to decide whether to go to the Mandarin Oriental and then back or just stay at the airport.

 

Several downsides to staying at the airport - at least for those flying American - their check in counters don't open until 5:30 pm, so I guess you'r stuck out in the main area til then. And then, AA doesn't have a lounge. We have Priority Pass lounge access, but that lounge has a 2 hour max time limit - although it's unclear how they kick you out after that time frame.

[safarigal]

1 hour ago, lkbside said:

Thanks @safarigal - you're on the Dec 17 Cloud cruise, right?

We are on the Cloud, but the November 27th sailing :).

[lkbside]

22 hours ago, safarigal said:

We are on the Cloud, but the November 27th sailing :).

Looking forward to your reports - I did see that you were on an earlier cruise, but too late to edit the post. 

[cruiseej]

On 11/9/2022 at 9:27 AM, lkbside said:

Our flight is at 10:00 PM - so will have to decide whether to go to the Mandarin Oriental and then back or just stay at the airport.

 

@lkbside We're on the Dec 17 cruise with you, and just today, a post-cruise hotel popped up on My Silversea. (Yes, I've been obsessively checking it daily!) The good news is there's a post-cruise hotel day room; the sad news is that it's the Hilton Garden Inn near the airport, not the Mandarin Oriental.

 

Our flight is a minute before midnight, so we're happy they won't just dump us at the airport for 10-11 hours. We're flying American, so we don't have access to one of the airport lounges, even with business class tickets. I wish they were sending us back to the Mandarin Oriental, but it's not worth the cost for us to book the hotel and transfers on our own, so we'll hang out at the Hilton Garden Inn.

Edited November 10, 2022 by cruiseej

[highplanesdrifters]

13 hours ago, cruiseej said:

We're flying American, so we don't have access to one of the airport lounges, even with business class tickets.

Wow, that's a bummer. How did you find out?  We are also AA Biz class.

[lkbside]

Interesting @cruiseej - our booking shows the Mandarin Oriental as the post hotel. Our flight is at 10 pm so I'd rather it was the Hilton Garden at the airport. I figure at most we'd have 3-4  hours at the Mandarin Oriental before we'd have to go back to the airport. I'd rather not spend the whole day in traffic!

 

Wonder if I can get that changed? Or we could switch?  I made a cancelable booking at the  Holiday Inn as an option.

 

@highplanesdrifters - American no longer has a lounge in Santiago, but there is a Priority Pass lounge there, but with a 2 hour time limit.

[highplanesdrifters]

4 hours ago, lkbside said:

American no longer has a lounge in Santiago, but there is a Priority Pass lounge there, but with a 2 hour time limit.

Thanks!  

[cruiseej]

On 11/11/2022 at 6:23 AM, highplanesdrifters said:

Wow, that's a bummer. How did you find out?  We are also AA Biz class.

 

@highplanesdrifters After trying to get a determination via the AA website, I called the phone number for Admiral Club and asked. The representative immediately confirmed that if you are a paid Admiral Club member, you can use the VIP Pacific Club; if you are an AA first/business class passenger, you can use Admiral Club lounges where they exist, but not partner clubs. So you're out of luck for Santiago. 😉

 

On 11/11/2022 at 10:13 AM, lkbside said:

Interesting @cruiseej - our booking shows the Mandarin Oriental as the post hotel. Our flight is at 10 pm so I'd rather it was the Hilton Garden at the airport. I figure at most we'd have 3-4  hours at the Mandarin Oriental before we'd have to go back to the airport. I'd rather not spend the whole day in traffic!

 

@lkbside Does your itinerary show the Mandarin Oriental as a one night hotel, or as a day-use hotel? Was your air booked by SS or on your own? If they think you are flying back on the next day, they put you up in the MO overnight; if you are flying back the same day, they should have you in the Hilton Garden Inn. My TA called SS and confirmed this is the way they are doing it this year. They don't want to do transfers from the airport to MO and back again on the same day because of the traffic in Santiago. 

 

On 11/11/2022 at 10:13 AM, lkbside said:

Wonder if I can get that changed? Or we could switch?  I made a cancelable booking at the  Holiday Inn as an option.

 

I would definitely have your travel agent reach out to SS about it. I'd think they would be happy to switch you to the Hilton Garden Inn, as I'm sure it's less expensive for them than the MO!

 

[highplanesdrifters]

Thanks @cruiseej

You are the tops in CC Intelligencia!

[lkbside]

@cruiseej  - We booked our own air - I submitted our air itinerary to SS but I guess they didn't notice that we are flying out on Jan 4th. And they don't provide a transfer back to to the airport for those who booked their own air. The booking shows 1 night at the Mandarin Oriental, not day use.

 

I emailed my TA to see if we can switch - you're right, the Hilton Gardens is less expensive. Not expecting it to be an issue. 

[maadimom]

We are booked in February.  Last night I looked at AA for our flight booking just to see if it had been ticketed yet.  It has not, but the return flight has and in a big way.  It is now taking 26hours to get to Denver!  It was 16 hours.  My Silversea still has the old booking listed.   There is no other viable solution for a change as the tickets have not been issued and business class is sold out for all other combinations.  Oh, well, it is what it is at this point.  I am not happy, but….

 

My question is about the day room on the way back.  I spoke with our agent this morning and asked about it and she said there is no day room listed on our booking.  We booked the air with SS, the whole door to door thing.  Our original agent told us we get the overnight room in Santiago and the day room upon return.  The new agent sent an inquiry to the hotel department to ask them.  Am I wrong in assuming we are supposed to have one?  We are now leaving at 1am.  I will book one if I have to, but I think we should be getting one from SS.  

 

It is really difficult to get excited about this trip when issues keep popping up.  We are experienced enough to know that it will be great in the end, but the stress of just getting somewhere and back now is really hard to get used to.

[sherylc]

26 minutes ago, maadimom said:

We are booked in February.  Last night I looked at AA for our flight booking just to see if it had been ticketed yet.  It has not, but the return flight has and in a big way.  It is now taking 26hours to get to Denver!  It was 16 hours.  My Silversea still has the old booking listed.   There is no other viable solution for a change as the tickets have not been issued and business class is sold out for all other combinations.  Oh, well, it is what it is at this point.  I am not happy, but….

 

My question is about the day room on the way back.  I spoke with our agent this morning and asked about it and she said there is no day room listed on our booking.  We booked the air with SS, the whole door to door thing.  Our original agent told us we get the overnight room in Santiago and the day room upon return.  The new agent sent an inquiry to the hotel department to ask them.  Am I wrong in assuming we are supposed to have one?  We are now leaving at 1am.  I will book one if I have to, but I think we should be getting one from SS.  

 

It is really difficult to get excited about this trip when issues keep popping up.  We are experienced enough to know that it will be great in the end, but the stress of just getting somewhere and back now is really hard to get used to.

We did get a dayroom at the MO. Others seem to have gotten one of the two airport hotels. Most people on the boards seem to have been given a post cruise day room, but have seen a couple outliers like you who do not have it listed. Hope that helps.

[Stumblefoot]

5 hours ago, maadimom said:

It is now taking 26hours to get to Denver!  It was 16 hours.  My Silversea still has the old booking listed.   There is no other viable solution for a change as the tickets have not been issued and business class is sold out for all other combinations.  Oh, well, it is what it is at this point.  I am not happy, but….

That is beyond brutal!  AA is getting ready to change equipment on the SCL-DFW routing, so that is why J doesn't show available.  Clearly, SS has taken the MIA routing, which is beyond horrible for DEN flyers as the overnight from Chile doesn't arrive early enough in the morning to catch the 7:35a flight back to DEN.  

Personally, I wouldn't put up with sitting in Miami for over 12-hours until the night flight @ 8:13p departs for DEN.  I know you say there are no other options, but why not push your travel agent to get you on the UA flight via Houston.  J is wide open after your Antarctica voyage and total travel time is just over 14-hours.  Even Delta is a viable alternative via ATL with a 14-1/2 hour travel time.

[maadimom]

30 minutes ago, Stumblefoot said:

That is beyond brutal!  AA is getting ready to change equipment on the SCL-DFW routing, so that is why J doesn't show available.  Clearly, SS has taken the MIA routing, which is beyond horrible for DEN flyers as the overnight from Chile doesn't arrive early enough in the morning to catch the 7:35a flight back to DEN.  

Personally, I wouldn't put up with sitting in Miami for over 12-hours until the night flight @ 8:13p departs for DEN.  I know you say there are no other options, but why not push your travel agent to get you on the UA flight via Houston.  J is wide open after your Antarctica voyage and total travel time is just over 14-hours.  Even Delta is a viable alternative via ATL with a 14-1/2 hour travel time.

It is brutal, however, UA has no business class either.

[cruiseej]

15 hours ago, maadimom said:

My question is about the day room on the way back.  We booked the air with SS, the whole door to door thing.  Am I wrong in assuming we are supposed to have one?  We are now leaving at 1am.

 

I believe you absolutely should have a day room. Per the SS web site for Antarctica expedition cruises, everyone is supposed to get either an overnight in Santiago or a day room:

 

You need to have your travel agent press SS about why you are not listed for a day room and transfers.

[Hglsland]

We are getting ready for the Wind cruise on 12/22/22. Does anyone know who went already what happens if your suitcase 🧳 weights more than the 50 pounds?  Will they let you pay an overage fee?  Did they weigh your carry-on bag?

Thanks!!

[cruiseej]

The Silversea instructions state:

 

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.

 

(That line is bolded by Silversea, not me.) So, no, you can't pay for being over.

 

I don't know what happens if your checked luggage is overweight. Since it gets picked up at the hotel and taken directly to the charter plane, you're not checking in with your luggage at the airport. Do they weigh the bags as they load them, and pull out any which are over the limit? I don't know. I haven't read any reports here or on FB of people who had this issue.

 

People this fall have been reporting that the charter airline has not weighed their carry-ons, but they have pulled people out whose carry-ons are too large to fit in the small overhead compartments; those people have said they were able to have their carry-on place in the luggage hold. 

[WesW]

Eric; since I'm doing six weeks on the Cloud starting with Puerto Williams March 7th, am using luggage forward to ship one 50Lb bag to Puerto Williams, yes expensive, but will adhere to the luggage weight guidelines Silversea asks us to follow.

Edited December 12, 2022 by WesW

[cruiseej]

Six weeks on the Cloud, in a wide variety of climates, definitely seems to require more than a single 50 pound bag, Wes! Shipping one bag ahead sounds like a great solution.

 

For those of us going just to Antarctica for 10-18 days this winter, it's more a matter of editing our choices. I just did a test loading of my bag prior to our departure for our 3-week trip on Wednesday: 49.1 pounds! As long as no one will balk at my camera bag being my 'personal item' for the charter flight, I think we're in good shape. 🙂 

[WesW]

Eric, tried to rent boots on ship to shore but since we are starting in one country (Chile) ending in another (South Africa) you can't rent boots.  So, will bring my BOGs & plan to send my cold weather gear via luggage forward in late February.  Have a wonderful Antarctic Holiday voyage!

[les37b]

17 hours ago, cruiseej said:

Six weeks on the Cloud, in a wide variety of climates, definitely seems to require more than a single 50 pound bag,

I bet JP could still manage it with just a cabin carry on! 😀