Itinerary
Friday 21 February
Home – Santiago (D)
We depart this evening on our direct flight to Santiago. The flight crosses the international dateline en route and arrives Santiago early afternoon. On arrival, we are met and transferred to our hotel for a 2-night stay. This evening, let’s get together for dinner.
Saturday 22 February
Santiago (B)
After breakfast we will be taken on a panoramic city tour. The excursion begins with a tour of the main avenues of the city’s civic center. When leaving the downtown area, the tour proceeds to Forestal Park passing in front of the Fine Arts Museum towards Bellavista, the bohemian quarter of Santiago. We then travel to San Cristobal Hill, a beautiful public park dominated by the monumental sculpture of Virgin Mary. Continue toward the modern residential neighbourhood of Pedro de Valdivia Norte, Las Condes and Vitacura. The rest of the day is at leisure.
Sunday 23 February
Santiago – Valparaiso – Join Seabourn Quest (B,L,D)
Today we check out of our hotel and travel out of Santiago past the vineyards, farms, orchards and olive plantations of Curacavi and Casablanca valleys. We arrive a while later in Valparaiso, a port christened by the Spanish in 1536 and known for its steep funiculars and colourful, clifftop homes. A city of narrow twisting streets, it is balanced on some 400 hills. We enjoy lunch at a local winery before continuing on to San Antonio where we join our floating home for the next 21 nights – the Seabourn Quest. Ship departs at 5.00pm.
Monday 24 February
At Sea (B,L,D)
A full day to get your bearings and to enjoy the onboard facilities.
Tuesday 25 February
Scenic Cruising & Puerto Montt (B,L,D)
Puerto Montt, in Chile’s Northern Patagonia Los Lagos region is set on the shores of a large bay identified as Reloncavi Sound. To the east looms Mt. Yate, a snow capped, glaciated stratovolcano, and beyond that the cordillera of the Andes. The sound is punctuated by islands, the three largest being Tengio, Maillén and Huar. Two much larger islands, Puluqiui and Queulín, sprawl across the mouth of the sound, separating it from the Gulf of Ancud. The point where the Reloncavi Estuary empties into the sound is effectively where the Chilean Central Valley meets the Pacific Ocean. Salmon farms dimple the coves of the sound, and pods of orcas are sometimes seen. Near the sound on shore, Chile’s Alerce Andino National Park protects a vestigial forest of ancient alerce trees, similar to the huge sequoias found in North America.Arrive Puerto Montt 10.00am, Depart 8.00pm.
Wednesday 26 February
Castro, Isla Chiloe & Scenic Cruising – Gulf of Corcovado (B,L,D)
Here, the towns are largely built of abundant local woods, and many houses are elaborately shingled in intricate designs. The forest and the sea are the main sources of livelihood in this rustic outpost. Arrives 7.00am, Depart 3.00pm. The Gulf of Corcovado is a large body of water between Chiloe Island and the coast of Chile. It is surrounded by the Corcovado National Park on the east and Chiloe Island’s Valdivian forest on the west. The shoreline is largely unspoiled and forests of southern beech and the magnificent alerce trees predominate. The Gulf is actually a submerged fore-basin carved by a massive glacier. Keep your eyes peeled as the waters are home to some endangered species, including blue whales, humpback, minke and sei whales.
Thursday 27 February
Chilean Fjords – Cruising (B,L,D)
Our ship threads among the islands and waterways along Chile’s wild southern coastline. Looming, glacier polished walls of rock rise sheer from the water, furred with vegetation and lacy veils of waterfalls tinsel the surfaces. Rings of brightly coloured floats mark the circular fish farms encircling silvery schools of salmon. In other places, the shoreline is dense with twisted dwarf forest, buffeted by the endless passing winds. A scene of primeval nature unreels as you watch from your lofty vantage point.
Friday 28 February
Scenic Cruising – El Brujo Glacier & Canal Sarmiento (B,L,D)
Entering Peel Fjord from the Sarmiento Channel in southern Chile, our ship veers into the branch called Asia Fjord. As we cruise deeper into the fjord, the water’s surface is dappled with floating ‘bergie bits’ of ice, and occasional larger growlers. Ahead, two ochre slopes cradle a glowing blue-white face of cracked and fissured ice two kilometres across and hundreds of feet high, spilling with geologic slowness from the South Patagonian Ice Field far up the valley. Occasionally a huge shard of ice falls silently into the sea, followed seconds later by the delayed sound of its crack and thunder. You are in the midst of Chile’s Bernardo O’Higgins National Park, the nation’s largest protected region. Canal Sarmiento is a protected inside passage that runs north-and-south along Chile’s Pacific Coast between the mainland and Esperanza, Vancouver and Piazzi Islands. It is in the Magallanes y Antárctica Chilena region. Although the native Kawésgar people routinely navigated the channel for 6,000 years up until the 20th century, it was named for the first European to do so, the Spanish explorer Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa, who sailed it in 1579-80.
Saturday 29 February
Strait of Magellan & Punta Arenas (B,L,D)
The Strait of Magellan is a 570 km channel separating the mainland of South America from the large Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego and connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It was first navigated by the explorer Ferdinand Magellan during his circumnavigation voyage in 1520. He named it the Strait of All Saints, because his transit started on November 1, All Saints Day. It was also Magellan who named the southern island Tierra del Fuego, after seeing the campfires of the native Yahgan people, whom he named the Patagones, meaning “big feet,” and their land Patagonia. The strait is between two and 20 miles wide, and earned the nickname Dragon’s Tail among sailors, for its tortuous path. Along with the Beagle Channel, it was one of two protected channels for sailing between the oceans prior to the construction of the Panama Canal. Punta Arenas is the most important port and commercial centre for the immense Patagonian agricultural area of Chile. Located on the Strait of Magellan separating the mainland from the island of Tierra del Fuego, the city proclaims itself the southernmost city in the world. Arrives 6.00am, Departs 6.00pm.
Sunday 01 March
Scenic Cruising – Beagle Channel & Ushuaia, Argentina (B,L,D)
The Beagle Channel cuts between the Atlantic and the Pacific south of the Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, separating that large island from the smaller ones to the south, including the island known as Cape Horn. At its eastern end, the channel forms the border between Argentina and Chile, while its western extent is entirely in Chile. There are two communities on the shore of the channel, Ushuaia on the northern Argentine side and Puerto Williams, Chile on the southern island of Navarino. They are the two southernmost settlements on earth. The channel is 240 km long, and between 3 and 8 miles wide. The channel was named for the Beagle, the expedition ship on which Charles Darwin sailed through these waters in the 19th century. Aside from the glaciers and the mountains, you are likely to see many species of seabirds and ducks, as well as southern sea lions. Less frequent, though possible, are endemic dolphins and pygmy right whales.
The southernmost city in the world, Ushuaia is the capital of Argentine Tierra del Fuego and an important naval base boasting a strategic as well as a picturesque location on the shores of Ushuaia Bay and the Beagle Channel. This rustic coastal town is set among waterfalls, glaciers, snow-clad mountains and beech forests, and the local waters abound with marine life. Though the houses here are painted warm, pastel colours, the weather is chilly year-round and winter sports such as downhill and cross-country skiing and skating are popular. Ushuaia’s principal industries are raising sheep, logging, fishing and trapping. It became a boomtown with 30,000 residents in the late 1980’s when the government sought to increase Argentina’s presence near Antarctica by giving tax breaks to citizens who settled here. Arrives 3.00pm, Departs 9.00pm.
Monday 02 March
At Sea (B,L,D)
Tuesday 03 March
At Sea (B,L,D)
Wednesday 04 March
Antarctic Experience (B,L,D)
Antarctica! The name alone conjures up images of boundless ice, towering icebergs, comedic penguins, epic snowstorms, great sailing ships held tightly by ice and the hardy explorers striving to survive wrapped in thick, heavy parkas. All of this is, or once was, true. Today, vessels have changed and the level of safety on a journey to ‘The Great White Continent’ has increased immensely. Antarctica is the truest of wild places, the majesty of its pristine natural landscapes is second to no other location on earth. The animals that thrive in the rigors of the Antarctic climate are present in such great numbers and concentrations that they must be seen to be believed. This untouched oasis harkens back to a time when the world was untouched by humanity, pure in its natural innocence. Antarctica has been a source of natural inspiration for as long as humans have been aware of its existence — and it may produce in you one of the most exceptional emotional sensations it is possible to experience on our great planet.
Thursday 05 March
Antarctic Experience (B,L,D)
Scenic cruising with landings (weather permitting).
Friday 06 March
Antarctic Experience (B,L,D)
Scenic cruising with landings (weather permitting).
Saturday 07 March
Antarctic Experience (B,L,D)
Scenic cruising with landings (weather permitting).
Sunday 08 March
Antarctic Experience (B,L,D)
Scenic cruising with landings (weather permitting).
Monday 09 March
Antarctic Experience (B,L,D)
Scenic cruising with landings (weather permitting).
Tuesday 10 March
At Sea (B,L,D)
Wednesday 11 March
Stanley, Falkland Islands & Islas Malvinas (B,L,D)
The lonely lighthouse at Cape Pembroke welcomes arrivals to Stanley. It alerts ships to the treacherous rocks, reefs and shoals for which the Falkland Islands have long been known. With a population of over 2,000 people, Stanley is the largest settlement on the islands. Its gardens, tea rooms, brightly coloured houses and hotels lend it a slightly Victorian feel, seemingly suspended in time. The Anglican Cathedral, the southernmost in the world, stands prominently on Stanley’s waterfront. The Falklands’ unique abundance of wildlife is evident in Stanley. Dolphins visit its harbour, while steamer ducks, kelp gulls, and other birds abound on shore. Southern sea lions can be spotted basking in the sun. Southern giant petrels often fly through town, oblivious to the human presence. Founded in the 1840s, the town was named after Edward Smith-Stanley, Earl of Derby, who never visited the islands. Arrives 7.00am, Departs 4.00pm.
Thursday 12 March
At Sea (B,L,D)
Friday 13 March
At Sea (B,L,D)
One final full day at sea to enjoy the ships facilities.
Saturday 14 March
Montevideo, Uruguay (B,L,D)
Tucked in between Brazil and Argentina, the republic of Uruguay has nevertheless maintained its own identity and traditions. As South America’s second smallest country, it has been called a city surrounded by a big ranch. Montevideo has also been referred to as “The Switzerland of South America,” for its same secretive bank system guaranteed by law. Uruguay is principally middle class and boasts the most highly educated citizens on the continent. Arrives 12.00pm, Departs 8.00pm.
Sunday 15 March
Buenos Aires, Argentina (B,D)
We arrive in to Buenos Aires early this morning and farewell our fellow cruise passengers. We are met on arrival and enjoy a sightseeing tour of Buenos Aires, visiting the most important highlights of the city. Beginning at Plaza de Mayo Square, we then visit Mayo Avenue and the oldest residential neighbourhood in Buenos Aires; San Telmo. Other highlights include, Puerto Madero, Palermo, Recoleta, the colourful neighbourhood of La Boca, where tango first originated in the late 1800’s, and Recoleta Cemetery, the famous and final resting place of “Evita”. This afternoon is yours to rest and relax before meeting again for dinner where we will be transported back in time thanks to the La Ventana tango show. Enjoy the dancers, orchestras and local singers, while dining from the impressive menu that offers both local and international cuisine as well as an extensive list of Argentinean wines.
Monday 16 March
Buenos Aires – Auckland (B,L,D)
This morning, admire Buenos Aires from the Rio de la Plata as you travel by catamaran to the Tigre Delta. On arrival, transfer to Paseo Victoria, the most important neighbourhood in Tigre, and then to Puerto de Frutos. You will also see San Isidro, visit the towns historical centre and Cathedral, and the Presidential Residence in Olivos, before returning to the city. The afternoon is at leisure – perhaps visit a local market, discover Recoleta, or simply relax at the hotel. This evening, we transfer to the airport in time to join our flight, departing Buenos Aires just before midnight. We enjoy one final dinner together enroute to the airport.
Wednesday 18 March
Arrive Auckland
Welcome home! Arrival time is early morning.
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