Otway Sound vs. Magdalena Penguin Reserves in Punta Arenas

[Aussie Gal]

Julie,

 

It is worth a try. Can you give them a ring or do you think we should send them an email. I do not have their email address so if you know how to persuade the powers that be please let me know. I am happy to try and get that excursion on itinerary.

 

Jennie

[juliejoe]

Jennie,

 

I called and the Captain's Circle Rep said I could send a letter to:

Princess Cruise Lines

Customer Relations

24844 Ave. Rockefeller

Santa Clarita, California 91355

I'll get one in the mail tomorrow - for whatever good it might do. At least maybe they'll respond with some reason if they are not going to offer it.

 

Seems strange that the private tours are so late in the day. Maybe that is due to tides or something and they can only land the ferry on the island during those hours. The early departure from Punta Arenas that Princess has scheduled could be the reason they don't offer it. :confused:

 

I guess the way to be sure to see penguins is to book a shore ex at each port where one is offerred...then cancel #2 and #3 if tour #1 is a success. If #1 fails - go on #2 etc etc etc. With the weather variables it would be taking a chance to only book one ahead of time. Decisions....decisions.... :D

 

Julie

[Aussie Gal]

Julie,

 

Do you want me to wait until you receive an answer or do you want me to follow up with another email. I am happy to do either.

 

Jennie

[greatam]

Hi ladies,

 

I guess I didn't make myself clear. Contacting Princess probably won't do any good (but I guess it can't hurt). Their schedules and shore ex are fixed well in advance, so an added shore ex is probably not in the picture.

 

Contact the 3 or 4 companies in Punta Arenas directly. THEY may not be aware that Princess does not have Magdalena Isle scheduled. And then either they can contact Princess and try to make the arrangements or more likely, offer a private tour compatible with the ship's docking hours. The reason they do their private tour at 4:00PM is they have agreed to a no compete arrangement with the cruise lines. That is why I think they are unaware of the situation. Most probably ASSUME that Princess has chartered one of the ferries and they have all agreed not to compete, if they want future business with the OTHER cruise lines. But since there is NO Princess tour, they are NOT competing. You will have to repeat this over and over to get what you want, but I think it is doable. I would call, instead of email.

[gann]

We are on the 13th of Feb. Infinity cruise and want to be sure that we see the penguins, so I booked the ship's tour which is $108. Know that we could maybe get a cheaper fare, but want to be sure the ship is there when we get back. Hope you all can work something out that you will be able to get to the islands.

Don

[Queen of DaNile]

For what it's worth, we just returned from SA on the Insignia where we overnighted in Punta Arenas. NOTHING could have prepared us for the intensity of the wind. We had made reservations with Comapa to go to Isla Magdalena but when we got to the pier we were told no ferry today because of the strong winds. While disappointed, our enterprising cab driver offered to drive us to Otway which is what we did. Penguins were good but not as impressive as the numbers in Punta Tombo or the Falklands.

I emailed Comapa when we returned home & they courteously told me I would be getting a credit within 15 days for the cancelled ferry.

No matter how well you plan your trip be prepared for changes, particularly in that part of the world where the weather plays a major role.

[relevart]

I e-mailed a friend that lives in Chile and she checked into seeing the penguins and she said

‘I've checked through what I have about Punta Arenas, and don't think you'll find anyone else to take you to the Penguin Island. It's a National Park and I think it is restricted to three afternoons, Tues, Thurs, and Sat, to keep the penguins from getting too stressed out by the people. The boat trip is about two hours each way and you have about an hour on the island- it's a terrific experience.’

[Aussie Gal]

Relevart,

 

Thanks for finding out that information. We will be there on a Tuesday. Even though the ship arrives in at 6am and leaves at 7pm, I am not sure if there is enough time for the four hour trip plus the time on the island. Do you know what time the boat leaves the port?

 

Jennie

[jasl]

Jennie: We just did the Magdelena Island tour with HAL and it was excellent.

Bus picks you up at pier, very short drive to the ferry, we all got off the bus and settled into the seats on the ferry, quite tight and not comfortable, but worth the "suffering". Trip took about 1 1/2 hours, that likely depends on the weather, stayed on the island probably 1 1/2 hours and return ditto. We lucked out on the weather, the island is easy to navigate and the penquins are almost within reach...... a WONDERFUL experience, don't miss it. I also have read where people stay on the bus, maybe the weather conditions have something to do with that.

[Aussie Gal]

jasl,

 

Unfortunately we are not going with HAL on this cruise. We are HAL Mariners from way back and love the HAL experience but they were very late with their itineraries and the S.A. itineraries for 2006 only came out last week - too late for us as we are doing a lot of other things in S.A. beside the cruise. Anyway, we are going with Princess and this year they are not offering Magdelena Island as a shore excursion. They may change for our cruise next year. A C.C. member has written to them requesting that they put it on their excursions so we can only hope.

 

Jennie