South America and Chilean Fjords port questions

[dcl999]

We just booked this cruise while onboard. Are the ports normally within walking distance or a short bus ride from town and the excursion sites? Are there tender ports? How long is the approximate transfer time from the airport to the port on each end?

We just returned from the British Isles cruise where we spent too much time on tenders, buses and waiting to board in many of the ports. Since we are not early morning people who enjoy breakfast and most of the back on board times were 5:00, sightseeing time was often short. 
Thanks. 

 

[Going_Away]

I am not an expert, but I have this cruise booked for this winter. I think Port Stanley is the only tender port, and it is weather sensitive. If the seas are too rough they will skip it. The Santiago port is Valparaiso. It is an hour to an hour or a half from port to Santiago, but Valparaiso is a destination in it's own right. Montevideo, Buenos Aires, Ushaia, and Punta Arenas are docked and right in town. Buenos Aires you have to take a bus from the entrance of the port to the ship as it is a working cargo port. The Buenos Aires airport is just a few miles from the port. As for excursions, it depends on what you choose to do. In Port Stanley there are tours just a few blocks or miles from the ship up to 2 to 3 hours by 4x4 truck through a peat bog, if you want the best penguin views. There are many videos on YouTube about the ports and the excursions. Another post a few weeks ago provided a copy of last season's tour options, and I attached an arrival and departure schedule I got from my TA for my cruise to give you an idea of times. Just a note: there was the day of arrival in both Buenos Aires and Valparaiso, one night on ship, and then departure the next day. So you have a whole day in each of those ports. Hope that helps.

[Liz Masterson]

This is a great question. I’m on this itinerary this coming winter as well. 
 

I don’t know the answer but you might ask it in the South American Ports Board here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/47-south-america/

 

I would list the ports in your question. 
 

Jupiter seems to be the ship that sails this itinerary each winter.  So you might also get some ideas from looking through past Jupiter roll calls from winter 2023 and 2022. 
 

 

[Going_Away]

Here is a link to the post with the excursions.

 

The download is a way down the responses.

[dcl999]

Thanks all. We’re trying to decide if we want to stay on this itinerary or switch to one that goes north from Santiago after a week or so on land in Chile

[island lady]

We missed all of our tendered ports due to weather.  Including Devils Island, the Falklands, and Punta Arenas.  😞 

 

Our favorite port, fortunately docked....was Ushuaia.  Very easy to walk into, and lots of things to see.  Great restaurants! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 4 by island lady

[LindaS272]

3 hours ago, dcl999 said:

Thanks all. We’re trying to decide if we want to stay on this itinerary or switch to one that goes north from Santiago after a week or so on land in Chile

Santiago (Valparaiso) to Buenos Aires was our favorite VO cruise (we’ve done six). We did this in March 2020 just before the pandemic was declared. The only port we missed was Porto Madryn—made it into the Falklands, and Cape Horn seas were calm though overcast. A great cruise.

Edited July 4 by LindaS272

[Hanoj]

4 hours ago, island lady said:

We missed all of our tendered ports due to weather.  Including Devils Island, the Falklands, and Punta Arenas.  😞 

 

Our favorite port, fortunately docked....was Ushuaia.  Very easy to walk into, and lots of things to see.  Great restaurants! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unfortunate about the missed ports. Happy to read you made Ushuaia.

 

Does Viking disclose tender ports on their itineraries besides on the invoice? It would be helpful to consumers to have this information readily available before booking.

[Mich3554]

2 hours ago, LindaS272 said:

Santiago (Valparaiso) to Buenos Aires was our favorite VO cruise (we’ve done six). We did this in March 2020 just before the pandemic was declared. The only port we missed was Porto Madryn—made it into the Falklands, and Cape Horn seas were calm though overcast. A great cruise.

Our favorite cruise, we’ve done it twice once in each direction.  We missed Falklands once, and Puerto Madryn once.  

[Mich3554]

39 minutes ago, Hanoj said:

Unfortunate about the missed ports. Happy to read you made Ushuaia.

 

Does Viking disclose tender ports on their itineraries besides on the invoice? It would be helpful to consumers to have this information readily available before booking.

No, because it can change due to cruise and port schedule.  We have tendered on some cruises where we were in port before.  It’s all subject to change as to availability.

[LindaS272]

47 minutes ago, Hanoj said:

Does Viking disclose tender ports on their itineraries besides on the invoice? It would be helpful to consumers to have this information readily available before booking.

 

6 minutes ago, Mich3554 said:

No, because it can change due to cruise and port schedule.  We have tendered on some cruises where we were in port before.  It’s all subject to change as to availability.

And it can change after you’ve booked and received your initial invoice.

[OneSixtyToOne]

37 minutes ago, LindaS272 said:

 

And it can change after you’ve booked and received your initial invoice.

Yes it can. We were suppose to tender in Monaco last year and woke up to find ourselves docked instead. 

[Mich3554]

2 hours ago, LindaS272 said:

 

And it can change after you’ve booked and received your initial invoice.

Yep.  We just had this happen when a ship that was broken down and awaiting a part was in our berth in a port we were supposed to dock at.  We tendered.

[dcl999]

Our new bookings do not list the tender ports. Our last one did and then they sent out an email when they were notified the the Belfast dock was opened. I wish they would at least acknowledge the ones they know are going to be tender ports. 

[Mich3554]

4 hours ago, dcl999 said:

Our new bookings do not list the tender ports. Our last one did and then they sent out an email when they were notified the the Belfast dock was opened. I wish they would at least acknowledge the ones they know are going to be tender ports. 

Check the last page of your invoice, where each port is listed and the time in port.  If there is an anchor at the end of the line for that port, it is a tender port.  This is subject to change, of course.  

[deec]

We were still in a COVID bubble when we did this cruise so NO explorations on our own which made the cruise very different but still wonderful.  If possible I would highly recommend adding on the Transatlantic Crossing at the end.  If you don't do that make sure to spend a few days at Iguaza Falls.  The Grand Melia hotel was well worth the cost and the falls are incredible.