We flew in to Santiago, Chile 3 days prior to embarkation and took an official taxi to Hotel Plaza San Francisco in the historic center of the city. Cost $30 US. The hotel was not busy at the time and allowed us in our room by 11 am. They offered currency exchange of $100 per room per day. A buffet breakfast was included in the rate of $151 US. We also enjoyed a very nice meal in the hotel restaurant on our first evening there. The HOHO bus stop was around the corner, although signs were not visible. We should have gotten a map before leaving the hotel. The bus gave us a good overview, however, the most interesting part of the city in my opinion was right behind the hotel. Santiago has a couple of nice modern malls which are easy to reach by bus or taxi.

On Feb. 14/19 the hotel arranged a taxi to take us back to SCL to catch the Princess Transfer (9:30) to the ship in San Antonio, Chile. There was a guide pointing out interesting sites along the way. In 90 minutes we were there. The ship would not be ready to board until 12. A very quick and easy process to board and off to lunch we went in the Portofino dining room. Shortly after, our luggage arrived in our cabin.

Muster Drill was around 5pm, followed by an informal meet & greet with roll call members from cruise critic. Read more