THE BUENOS AIRES DISASTER

Buenos Aires is often referred to as “The Paris of South America”.  The city itself is not part of the Buenos Aires Province nor is it the Province's capital.  In a 1994 amendment of the Argentine Constitution Buenos Aires received the status of an autonomous city and changed its formal name to “Autonomous City of Buenos Aires”.  Today we simply know it as Buenos Aires.  It is the capital and largest city in Argentina and is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata. 

It is the most visited city in South America, and the second-most visited city of Latin America, behind Mexico City.  Buenos Aires held the 1st Pan American Games in 1951 as well as hosting two venues in the 1978 FIFA World Cup. The city also hosted the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics and the 2018 G20 summit. 

The morning of 2/21/2019 started off like every other morning except this day would prove to be the most frustrating day of all 49-days aboard the Royal Princess.

Princess Cruises offered three separate cruises for a Fort Lauderdale to Los Angeles sailing.  The first segment was Fort Lauderdale to Buenos Aires.  Second was the Buenos Aires to Santigo portion and third was the Santiago to Los Angeles segment.  I purchased my cruise as one 49-day itinerary to guarantee that a cabin change would not be required at ether Buenos Aires or Santiago.

My itinerary showed the arrival into Buenos Aires at 5am on 2/21/2019.  The ship was to spend the evening in port and set sail at 1pm on 2/22/2019.   There was to be approximately 900 passengers disembarking in Buenos Aires with that same number of new passengers boarding. Typically, a cruise ship will begin disembarkation early in the morning, allowing the new passengers to begin embarkation somewhere around noon. 

Waiting to enter the port at Buenos Aires

On 2/20/2019, in near perfect weather conditions, two MSC sister ships collided at the Port of Buenos Aires, the day before our scheduled arrival.  The accident happened when the cruise liner MSC Orchestra lost control while maneuvering in the port and started drifting towards the MSC Poesia which was moored at that time at the south dock. With a local pilot onboard and assistance from two tug boats, the MSC Orchestra still managed to collide sustaining minor damage on the starboard side. The MSC Orchestra was also involved in a minor collision with the dock, destroying the safety wheels placed on the edge of the pier.  This incident caused major delays for all ships in and out of the port. Click here to view the collision.

MSC ships collide in Buenos Aires

The Royal Princess was no exception to a late arrival into Buenos Aires, docking a little after 3pm.  This delay resulted in all morning shore excursions being cancelled. Disembarkation, originally scheduled to begin shortly after 8am, did not begin until 3:30pm.  This meant that embarkation would not begin until close to 5pm. 

As soon as I learned of the delay I forwarded an email to Tangol Tours and cancelled my morning city tour.  I re-confirmed the evening Tango Show as that was not scheduled to depart until 9pm. 

I understood from talking with fellow passengers that the cruise terminal hade lost all power for the majority of the day.  Negativity permeated the ship for most of the day.  This article was posted by a fellow passenger that was scheduled to embark in Buenos Aires at 11:30am:

“Can I request a DO-OVER of today Thursday Feb 21st, 2019.  I can't even find the words to describe our day on "the other side". 

Finally boarded a little after 5pm after enduring a mob scene in the terminal trying to get to check-in and the ship.   

Things are most definitely off. All day I had only 1 bottle of water and a cereal bar at about 4pm after sitting in the terminal with the power out for about an hour and a half.  That is what we were provided after sitting in that terminal on the hard metal chairs or standing or sitting on the floor wherever one could find. I knew I needed to eat and drink more water soon.

This is not even everything we endured today.  Princess' outsource company did a very POOR job of dealing with this mess and they will be hearing about it and many people took pictures as well.  No mention of any compensation, isn't that nice of Princess. OK, enough”

Due to our late disembarkation many, many passengers were going to miss their flights home. Everywhere you went on the ship people were yelling and complaining.  In short, the entire day was so chaotic I found it best to simply return to my cabin and watch movies.

By 8:45pm attitudes had calmed onboard and I found my group of 14 assembled and waiting in Club 6.  We all walked off the ship together.  Once off the ship we boarded one of the complimentary port shuttle buses to the main terminal.  By this time of night the terminal lights had been restored as well as air conditioning.  It was eerily quiet as we made our way through the terminal to Door #12.  We found Pablo eagerly awaiting us.  We boarded the shuttle van for the short 10 minute drive to La Ventana Tango Show. 

La Ventana building

Entrance to La Ventana

Mike and I in the waiting area of La Ventana

The Tango show certainly proved to be the highlight of the day.  At a cost of $67 per person I felt is well worth the price.  Our seats were on the third tier of the theater but the view was still good.   

I enjoyed a glass of wine while waiting for others to complete their meal.  I was glad I opted for the drinks only. At an additional $30 charge for dinner, I felt a lot of food was being wasted due to the portion size.  Click here to check out the dinner menu. 

Dinner while waiting for the show

Dinner served at La Ventana

The show started promptly at 10pm and the ticket price included a bottle of wine.  The show was a traditional tango and folklore show that included two orchestras: the Great Orchestra of Juan D’Arienzo and a quintet.  Featuring 32 artists on stage the evening including two singers, five pairs of tango dancers and a ballet show of bolas. The show lasted a full 90 minutes.

The free shuttle quickly transported our group back to the cruise terminal where we picked up the complimentary port shuttle back to the ship, arriving shortly after midnight.  It was a wonderful cultural experience. 

PENGUINS OF PUNTA ARENAS, CHILE

The largest city south of the 46th parallel south and most prominent settlement on the Straight of Magellan is Punta Arenas, Chile.

Map showing Punta Arenas, Chile                    Photo: PD

It is also the most populous southernmost city in Chile and in the Americas, with close to 150,000.  Punta Arenas records an average temperature of 52 degrees during January, the hottest month, and 36 degrees in June, the coldest month. The Royal Princess anchored alongside Punta Arenas on 3/1/2019 at 8am and the high temperature for the day would reach 52 degrees. 

Royal Princess

Punta Arenas was originally established by the Chilean government in 1848 as a small penal colony and a disciplinary station for military personnel with "problematic" behavior issues.  It is located 881 miles from the coast of Antarctica.

In December 1851, a prison mutiny resulted in the murder of Punta Arenas Governor Muñoz Gamero and led to the destruction of the church and the hospital. A second mutiny in 1877 further led to the destruction of a large part of the town along with the murder of many civilians. 

The Punta Arenas harbor was considered one of the most important in Chile prior to the construction of the Panama Canal. It was used as a coaling station for steamships transiting between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.  Today it is mostly recognized for tourism from an ever increasing cruise market, as well as being a launching point for scientific expeditions.

MS Midnatsol

Discovery Research vessel

In 2011 the Nao Victoria Museum opened to the public.  Privately owned, the museum features a full-size replica of Ferdinand Magellan's Nao Victoria, the first ship to ever circumnavigate the world.

Nao Victoria

You can certainly find other tourist options available in Punta Arenas but my sights were set on tracking down penguins.  I pre-arranged a shore excursion through Solo Expeditions 

for a private group of 18.  The tour was named “Magdalena and Marta Island Navigation”, operating from October 1st to April 5th. 

Punta Arenas is a tender port meaning that the Royal Princess  anchors off shore and requires you to take small tenders to the pier.  Our group of 18 disembarked the ship at 8:45am and arrived at the pier at 9:30am.  Most places here will accept U.S. dollars, some Euros and credit cards are widely accepted.

Tender arrival into Punta Arenas, Chile

 

Distance from the tender to the tourist center

Approaching the visitor center

In front of the visitor center

Local sight looking for my Solo Expedition representative

Before leaving the pier

Pathway out of the pier

It took another 20 minutes before I finally located our Solo Expeditions representative.  We then boarded a small van and headed to the Solo Expeditions downtown office to make payment.  It was now close to 10am.

Solo Expedition office in downtown Punta Arenas, Chile

I found the office very small and extremely crowded.  There was only 1 person working behind a very small desk in the corner.  She was handling everything without the convenience of a computer. I found it necessary to push my way through the crowd to even get to her.  On inquiry I discovered that most people were standing around waiting to see if there would be any ‘no-shows’ or cancellations as everything was sold out for the day.  Solo Expeditions does not require payment upfront.  It is not uncommon for the excursion to be cancelled due to inclement weather.  I found it very fortunate to be graced with a high temperature of 52 degrees and no rain on the day of my arrival.

Solo Expeditions policy required each person in my group to go inside the office and pay.  Payment could be made in Chilean Pesos or via credit card.  The cost of the 4.5 hour excursion was $95 per person.  This process would take another 30 minutes.

Once all payments had been processed we were instructed to follow a representative out to a waiting van where our group of 18 were combined by others, making our total count about 30 by the time we were ready to leave.  We pulled out of town at 10:30am for our drive north to the Solo Expedition private pier. The trip would take 30 minutes, dropping us at the private boat dock at 11am.

Solo Expedition private boat dock north of Punta Arenas

Solo Expeditions maintains a fleet of 4 boats ranging in size from 18-47 passengers.  When I initially contacted Solo Expeditions I reserved the Isla Magdalena Speedboat.  With a maximum capacity of 18 it is equipped with 2 Yamaha de 200 HP engines and can attain a speed of 25 knots.   

Isla Magdalena 18 passenger boat

Unfortunately, days before arriving into Puerta Arenas I received an email advising that the Isla Magdalena Speedboat had mechanical issues and could not be fixed in time for our arrival.  I was given 2 options – move our party of 18 to the larger Isla Tierra del Fuego boat that accommodates 47, or cancel our reservation.  Not wanting to miss the penguin experience I opted to move the entire group to the larger vessel.

Isla Tierra del Fuego 47 passenger boat

On arrival at the Solo Expedition Pier we were required to don a life vest before being allowed to board.  

Putting on our life jackets

Inside the boat

Friends Jon Garth Swim and Marci Inman at the back of the boat

Jon Garth Swim and Jim Oldham enjoying the fresh air

We would reach Magdalena Island, our first stop, in 45 minutes.  It is difficult to express my feelings are I stepped onto the island.  I was overwhelmed with the distinctiveness of it all.  I found it so far beyond my wildest expectations.  The island allows you to interact with more than 150,000 Magellan penguins that inhabit the island each year.  

Approaching Magdalena Island

On the island of Magdalena

On the island with my cute little friends behind me

You are encouraged to stay on a well-groomed designated path as you slowly make your way around the island admiring these magnificent creatures.  Starting to your left you will slowly wend your way through the Magellan penguin colony as you head up to a lighthouse located at the top of the island.  Then its downhill as you make your way back to the dock. They allocate 1 hour for this spectacular experience.

 

 

Enjoy hot chocolate and cookies as you step back onto the boat and settle in for the short trip over to Marta Island. 

Marta Island is home to more than 1000 Sea lions, Cormorants, Skuas  and Sea elephants. Although not allowed to step onto the island, the boat eases close to shore, affording an excellent view of the sea lion colony. 

Sea lions

Cormorants

Skus

Time seemed to stand still and before I knew it we were heading back to the mainland.  As we approached the pier it was announced that we would be unable to dock due to low tides.  The decision was made to move everyone to one of their smaller boats, the Isla Isabel.  The smaller boat had a maximum capacity of 33 so it would take 2 trips to relay us all ashore.  Once the smaller boat had pulled up next to us, 33 of the 47 passengers were transferred over and headed to the pier. 

Isla Isabel for transporting smaller groups

Myself and 13 others opted to wait for the second trip of the rescue boat.  As we bobbed around in the water, Pisco sour and other unknown alcoholic beverages poured freely as we patiently waited for our ride.  I seem to have lost track of time during the wait but by the time the rescue boat arrived for the remaining 13 we were happily singing rounds of the Irish Rovers “Drunken Sailor”, led by good friend Jon Garth Swim.  

I wasn't really steering the boat

Finally the remaining 13 maneuvered over to the rescue boat and headed to shore.  Arriving safe and sound we returned our life jackets, made our way to an awaiting bus and another 30 minute ride.  Originally scheduled to return to the ship at 3:30pm, we found ourselves dockside at 4:45pm with the Royal Princess scheduled to set sail from Punta Arenas at 8:00pm. 

The day proved to be a great adventure and one that will be remembered for years to come.