Celebrity Infinity – 15 Night Cruise visiting three (3) countries: Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile.
December 23, 2017 – January 07, 2018
On line photo gallery (full trip): South America 2017/18
“I want to go to South America …”
Those words have been spoken by me for a very long time. Although we have been to Cartegena, Colombia – I (Heather), personally haven’t felt that I have really gone to South America. My vision of South America included more than just a one day stop.
The chosen itinerary was a 15-night run, beginning in Buenos Aires, Argentina and ending in San Antonio, Chile. It is commonly referred to as the “Around the Horn” cruise, as the ship will have to enter the infamous Drake Passage (“Lake or “Shake”) to get from the Atlantic side of the continent to the Pacific Coast.
We arrived 2 days prior to embarkation to settle in, relax, and then get out of the city to “Entre Rios Province” for a full day of birding. As our motto goes, “We Cruise *and* We Bird”. Sometimes, it is difficult to combine both passions, but with this cruise, there were several opportunities to do so. We embarked the Celebrity Infinity on the 23rd of December and the ship was berthed overnight. This gave us an extra night/day to explore the city. From Buenos Aires, we sailed along the Atlantic coast of South America with stops in Uruguay and Argentina. Approximately half way through the trip, we circumvented Cape Horn, Chile and then continued with a stop in Ushuaia, Argentina the following morning. From Ushuaia, we transversed the Straight of Magellan to then climb the Pacific Coast weaving through the Chilean Fjords en route to Puerto Montt, Chile. We continued north until we reached our port of disembarkation, San Antonio, Chile; where we took a transfer tour that included a winery visit (Chilean Wine!) to Santiago.
We spent one overnight in Santiago, such that we could bird the Andes Mountain range the following day. There was a lot of pre-planning to do for this cruise and it was ALL worth it … “We went to South America”.
Visit the individual links below for each port of call, sea day activities, ship review, and pre/post cruise experiences: sub-bullets describe highlights within each post.
- Travel Plan & Journey to Buenos Aires
- Cruise Line, Cabin Selection, Airline, Travel Agent
- Pre-Cruise Buenos Aires
- Savoy Hotel (BA), El Ateneo Grand Splendid Bookstore, Cafe El Gato Negro, Birding Argentina (Entre Rios), Retiro, Recoleta, & Cemetery Tour
- Embarkation & Buenos Aires
- Embarkation, Aqua Class Cabin 9038 BLU Dining, Milongas (Tango Clubs) Evening Tour, La Boca & San Telmo Tour, Sail-Away from BA
- Montevideo, Uruguay
- Birding West Montevideo, DIY City Walk
- Punta Del Este, Uruguay
- Birding Punta Del Este
- Sea Days 1 & 2
- Wine Cellar Events, Beyond the Podium Lectures, Life at Sea
- Puerto Madryn, Argentina
- Birding Puerto Madryn
- Sea Day 3
- Cape Horn, Chile (Sea Day 4)
- Strait of Lemaire, Cape Horn, Helipad Experience
- Ushuaia, Argentina & Glacier Alley (Chile)
- Private Driver, End of the World, Tierra del Fuego National Park, Glacier Alley
- Punta Arenas, Chile
- Taxi-Share, “Reserva Nacional Magallanes” (National Forest), Hiking, Nature
- Sea Days 5 & 6 – Chilean Fjords and Straight of Magellan
- Scenic Cruising, Wandering Albatross, Dinner with Senior Officers
- Puerto Montt, Chile
- Birding the Lake District, Natural Reserve Lahuen Ñadi, Alerce Forest
- Sea Day 7
- Disembarkation – San Antonio, Chile
- Port to Santiago Excursion, San Antonio, Humboldt Penguins, Peruvian Pelicans, Poets, La Casa de Isla Negra, Chilean Wine, Santiago, De Blasis Bed & Breakfast
- Post-Cruise – Santiago, Chile
- Birding the Andes, El Yeso Valley
Baskey Travelogues 