How Silversea’s New Hotel Takes the Hassle Out of Flying to Antarctica

Most expedition cruise lines use Punta Arenas as their staging ground for Antarctic flights. At the same time, Silversea operates out of Puerto Williams and National Geographic–Lindblad Expedition operates out of Puerto Natales. Guests might fly into Santiago, spend the night at the hotel, and take a charter flight to their respective departure city. (Or they may even need to reach their departure city themselves.)

If all goes according to plan, guests will spend just one night in these cities before flying off to Antarctica. It sounds easy—until it isn’t.

Why Fly-Cruises Sometimes Go Wrong

The biggest issue affecting Antarctic fly-cruises is weather, particularly on King George Island. With a fairly primitive airfield, pilots must land by sight following visual flight rules (VFR) rather than instrument flight rules (IFR). That means weather conditions need to be nearly perfect to pull off a landing, from a high enough cloud base to low enough winds. Weather in Antarctica, however, changes dramatically minute by minute. Thus, the airline must make a call: will the good weather window last long enough to fly multiple planes down to King George Island and take off again safely? 

This creates a tense waiting period for guests. DAP usually issues a potential departure window the night before a flight, and guests must be packed and ready for the earliest possible departure time. But the official go-ahead might not come until the last minute, which could be hours into the weather window. Or worse, the flight may be postponed an entire day. Eventually, if the flight is delayed long enough—typically at the three-day mark—the entire cruise would be canceled. For a trip that’s supposed to be more convenient than the alternative (i.e., sailing the Drake), it can feel more like a burden.

For what it’s worth, Silversea says 80% of its fly-cruises depart on the scheduled departure day, but I highly encourage advisors to read the fine print to set realistic expectations with clients. On my previous trip, our flight was delayed three full days, and we departed right up against the cancellation cutoff, shortening our time in Antarctica by roughly 30%.

The Hotel Conundrum on Fly-Cruises

Whether or not DAP flies guests to Antarctica is only part of the problem. Punta Arenas doesn’t have enough keys for all the guests flying across the Drake at any given time. “You would then get allocated amongst several hotels because there was not a hotel that could take all the guests at once,” said Bert Hernandez, Silversea’s president, at a press conference. And of the limited options in town, not all are on par with a luxury Antarctica cruise. (I would know; I’ve stayed at three of them.)

Therein lies the next challenge: Guests might have to switch hotels every night, depending on availability in Punta Arenas. During my 2023 experience, I arrived a night early and stayed in one hotel, then switched twice more for my remaining three nights. So guests aren’t just waiting around in hotel lobbies, fully packed and ready to go, for up to three days; they might also need to switch hotels every night once DAP officially bumps the flight.

Silversea’s Game-Changing Operations

Silversea’s fly-cruise operations in Punta Arenas “didn’t really reflect the type of experience that we wanted to portray for the guests, and it didn’t really coincide with what we offer once you get on the ship,” said Hernandez. “We wanted to build something that could have and house everybody at the same time, to create that kind of camaraderie, that sense of community, to also make it easier to communicate to guests if there is some type of delay or change in flight times.”

With that potential conflict in mind, Silversea, in partnership with DAP, built the Cormorant at 55 South as a convenient travel hub for its fly-cruise guests. Overall operations remain similar but consolidated: guests fly into Santiago, overnight at either the Mandarin Oriental or the Ritz-Carlton, then take specially chartered E190 aircraft with Cormorant livery from an FBO in Santiago down to Puerto Williams for another overnight. Upon arrival at the hotel, guests can choose between guided excursions like hiking, birdwatching, and horseback riding, or relax after their travels. Dinner is a full Chilean asado experience, and a full complimentary bar rounds out the stay. 

On our Antarctica flight day, DAP gave us a window of 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. for our three charter flights, so those on the first flight were asked to be in the lobby starting at 7:30 a.m. Because it takes fewer than five minutes to drive to the Puerto Williams airport, there’s no need to get ready too early. Our flights were delayed about 90 minutes due to weather, but waiting around wasn’t difficult: the restaurant kept serving breakfast, and there was plenty of indoor and outdoor seating in the public areas. Guests on the second and third flights could even camp out in their rooms while they waited.

The Puerto Williams airport is significantly smaller than the one in Punta Arenas, so there’s no waiting around post-security, as Silversea times its bus departures to aircraft boarding, so guests walk directly onto the plane. Admittedly, it’s a far smoother process than in Punta Arenas, where guests might wait at the large commercial airport for hours for DAP’s go-ahead.

Now, I’m in Antarctica aboard Silver Endeavour for a six-night cruise, after which we’ll make our way back to King George Island, fly to the Cormorant at 55 South for a night (weather pending), and spend the night there before returning to Santiago for our flights home. 

Ultimately, I’m still a proponent of sailing the Drake if you have the time and stomach for it—I like the building anticipation on the way down and the time to decompress on the way back. But if you’re set on a fly-cruise, Silversea has made the option much smoother than ever. If only they could control the weather, too…