Day 01 - Fly to Santiago, Chile
Renaissance hotel santiago
We flew from DFW to Santiago, Chile, on American Airlines flight 945 which departed at around 7:00pm. We were able to “upgrade” to Main Cabin Extra (no Premium Economy or Business Class were available) and we lucked out by having an empty seat between us.
When we arrived in Santiago it took about 30 minutes to get through Immigration and Customs and, as we exited to the airport lobby, we were greeted by Silversea reps. Our documents stated that we had a transfer to our hotel included, but the Silversea reps knew nothing about that and they helped arrange a taxi for us (at our expense). It was only about $27, so not a big deal. We were informed later that there was a mis-communication with the airport greeters and Silversea apologized for the mix up.
our taxi ride receipt from airport to hotel
Silversea has arranged for us to spend the night at the Renaissance Hotel in Santiago (see top photo). The hotel is very nice and the room was large and comfortable. Most Silversea guests are staying across the street at the Mandarin Oriental. We were informed via email that we needed to attend a mandatory meeting at the Mandarin and also try on our parkas and other cold weather gear.
Mandarin Oriental Santiago
It is only a five-minute walk to the Mandarin Oriental from our hotel and when we arrived, Silversea has a hospitality desk where guests’ questions can be answered. We were instructed to go to one of the meeting rooms to try on our parkas and boots.
Rickee tries on her parka
Silversea provides guests with complimentary parkas, waterproof pants, and boots to wear when on excursions in Antarctica. After we confirmed our sizes, we went to the pre-cruise briefing.
At the briefing we discovered that weather conditions were forcing a change of plans. Our original itinerary was to fly to Punta Arenas tomorrow, spend the night, then fly to Antarctica the following day. However, because low visibility is expected on King George Island in two days, the decision was made for us to fly to Punta Arenas tomorrow, then change planes and fly on to King George Island. The result is no hotel tomorrow night and we get to board Silver Endeavor a day early. One more day on Silversea…Bonus!
After the briefing, we return to our hotel where we had dinner, then time for bed.
Tomorrow, we fly to Punta Arenas, then on to King George Island.
