Laguna San Rafael, Chile Shore Excursions

[Lvntrvl]

We have been notified that we are waitlisted for the only excursion that Oceania offers at this port (360 days out). I am having trouble finding a private tour from this specific location as they all seem to come out of Puerto Montt, which is our next port of call. Has anyone been able to book a private excursion in Laguna San Rafael? We would love to get up close to the Glacier via catamaran, zodiac, or kayak. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. 

[JustLoveCruising]

On 2/20/2024 at 3:23 PM, Lvntrvl said:

We have been notified that we are waitlisted for the only excursion that Oceania offers at this port (360 days out). I am having trouble finding a private tour from this specific location as they all seem to come out of Puerto Montt, which is our next port of call. Has anyone been able to book a private excursion in Laguna San Rafael? We would love to get up close to the Glacier via catamaran, zodiac, or kayak. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. 

Oceania site has this note at the very bottom of the description:

"This is the only excursion available due to this ports' touristic infrastructure. This tour is limited in capacity and pre-reservation is suggested. This excursion will take place using several departures due to the catamaran’s capacity. Due to local restrictions, only guests participating in this tour will be permitted to leave your cruise ship."

[Lvntrvl]

Thank you. I did not see the disclaimer. Fortunately, we looked 2 days later and they had availability.

[Torquer]

Although you got the shore excursion, let me add some info to future readers.  We just did a cruise on Oceania with a stop at Laguna San Rafael.  For our cruise, there were two catamaran tours scheduled for the day which were sold out a year in advance.  About 2 months before sailing, they added a third tour which we were able to book.

 

There is no actual tendering ashore so if you don't do the ship's catamaran excursion you will not get off the ship.  The catamaran pulls up to the ship and you board it directly.  It takes about 1.5 hours to get from the ship to the glacier, you spend about 45 minutes at the glacier, and then 1.5 hours to get back to the ship.  There is not much to see on the way to and from the glacier.  The catamaran has two large indoor rooms for the ride.  However, it has very limited outdoor space at the bow and stern for viewing the glacier when you get there.  It was extremely crowded outside and difficult to get good photos. 

 

The glacier itself is pretty impressive, but if you have seen others, for example in Alaska, I'm not sure if it is worth the $299 PP we paid for this excursion.

Edited March 9 by Torquer

[Lvntrvl]

Thank you. Still considering our options and appreciate all feedback.