Flying to Santiago Chile

click images to enlarge

JFK to Santiago

The second leg of our flight to Santiago, Chile departed JFK at 9 PM.  Once airborn, total flight time was 10 hours and 10 minutes.  The plane was a Boeing 767 operated by LATAM Airlines, a OneWorld alliance airline.  We had economy seats and had selected two seats in the second section.  The configuration was two seats on each side with three in the middle.  When we had selected our seats at check-in, there had been plenty of open seating in the middle, so we figured we'd be able to recline once we were airborne.   Those seats had filled up quickly but I was fortunate to have the flight attendant reseat me in a row to myself, so that I could lie flat and get some sleep on the long flight.

There were two meals served during the flight.  Dinner choices included a pasta dish and BBQ chicken with rice.   I slept through that meal but my husband had the chicken.  Breakfast was a choice of ham and cheese sandwich or eggs.  We both had the sandwich.


Arriving in Santiago

Once we arrived in Chile the first thing we needed to do was check in with a Princess Cruises representative, who gave us a sticker which we'd need for transfer to the pier.  Then we needed to clear immigration.  We hadn't been given any form, so we hoped that we just needed our passports.  Passports were all we needed to get through customs.  They stamp your passport and another slip of paper.   We thought they would collect that along the way, but they did not. Make sure you don't lose that paper because you'll need it on your cruise ship.

After clearing immigration, we headed to pickup our luggage.  We had checked two bags, a regular size suitcase and a soft-sided roller bag.  Our suitcase was the only bag still on the carousel by the time we got there.  We asked a LATAM agent if there were more bags, but there weren't any more.  We told them we were missing one bag and they said to wait about 10 minutes while they checked.  We looked at various piles of suitcases that were standing around as well as the other carousels, but didn't find our bag.   After 15 minutes or so, we went to the counter and filed a missing luggage claim.  We showed them
our itinerary and gave them necessary information including the description of the bag, the claim

check number, contact information, and our ship name.  We also informed Princess Cruises local representative.

Heading to Valparaiso

Crown Princess was actually embarking from Valparaiso which is 1.5 hours away.  We dropped off our luggage which would be sent via truck.  We kept our backpack and canvas bag, filled with cameras, medicines, and other personal items we wouldn't check, and got on a bus for the trip. It was a scenic trip.  We made one stop for restrooms and refreshments, if desired.

We'll describe the check-in process in another post.


Related Albums:

JFK to SCL
Transfer to Valparaiso

Note:  we will be adding to these albums as we continue our journey.

Click on the image to the right for more Blog posts about this trip.

Additional photos can be found on our South America Shutterfly page

View Our Other Shutterfly Share Pages

Follow us on Twitter: @ChrisPappinMCC  

Pinterest: CruiseWithChris Pappin 
and Facebook: CruiseWithChris Pappin Cruises Inc

Where have you explored? 

Gather your travel and food pics and join us Wednesday night for the latest installment of #FoodTravelChat 

Beginning Adventure to Chile

click images to enlarge

Chicago to JFK

We set out from Chicago on American Airlines for Santiago, Chile via JFK Airport in New York.

There we landed at gate 39 and our next flight was out of Gate 45. We had a 2.5 hour flight to New York and then about 5.5 hour layover before our 9 PM flight on Latam Airlines to Santiago, Chile.

Between the two gates there was a waiting area that had a large charging station. We had originally planned on getting a day pass for the Admirals Club but due to construction of one of the two clubs at JFK, they were not allowing one day passes.

There were several food locations nearby, so we scouted them out and them decided to split a sandwich from the Brooklyn Deli. We knew there would be meals on board our flight as well, so we just needed something light to hold us over until our flight.

Our journey to see Southern South America was officially started. Be sure to come back often for updates on the rest of our journey.

Additional photos can be found on our South America Shutterfly page

View Our Other Shutterfly Share Pages

Note:  we will be adding to these albums as we continue our journey.

Click on the image to the right for more Blog posts about this trip.




Don’t want to miss a minute of "#foodtravelchat? 

Tweet “remind me” to @FoodTravelChat and we’ll remind you every week.

Thanks to our #foodtravelchat moderators @ant_kneee @ourtastytravels @s_poet82 @ChrisPappinMCC @always5star @BackpackBritts @The_Jenius

 And thanks as always to #Foodtravelchat hosts @FoodTravelist @shreddel @dlaskaris @PoshPorts @FoodTravelChat

Follow us on Twitter: @ChrisPappinMCC  
Pinterest: CruiseWithChris Pappin 
and Facebook: CruiseWithChris Pappin Cruises Inc

Where have you explored? 

Gather your travel and food pics and join us Wednesday night for the latest installment of #FoodTravelChat Follow us on Twitter: @ChrisPappinMCC  

If you like food and travel be sure to join us for a lively chat each Wednesday evening on #foodtravelchat

Heading for Zurich

Avalon Waterways

The Rhine & Moselle Northbound

Pre-Cruise Travel 

Chicago - NY - Zurich

The requirement for the cruise was to be in Zurich, Switzerland by 3 PM on Monday, July 13th for transfer to the ship.   There were pre-cruise hotel stays and excursions also offered by Avalon Waterways.   

 

As usual, we prefer to arrive in our disembarkation city at least a day early, especially in the case of trans-Atlantic departures.  We opted for one night  hotel stay and the optional Excursion to Mt. Pilatus with transfer to ship.   The flights were booked independently using miles.  

Connecting Through New York

When using frequent flier mileage for your flights, there are limitations in the flights you can select, especially if you want to minimize the number of miles consumed.   In our case, we opted for connecting flights through New York.   This added a twist, since the connections included changing planes AND airports.

click image to enlarge

LGA to JFK

Our flight from Chicago departed Saturday, July 11th at 10:10 AM and arrived in New York (LGA) shortly after 1 PM.   We claimed our luggage and headed for the NYCAirporter counter to purchase transfer tickets to New York's JFK airport.   

TIP: The cost is $13 per person for this approximately 30 minute ride.   You need to allow plenty of connection time for this transfer because New York traffic can be 
unpredictable, and check-in time at JFK will take quite some time as well.

^{Click on image to see additional Blog Posts}

The LGA to JFK transfer leaves the American Airlines baggage claim area every 30 minutes.  We were able to catch the 1:30 PM shuttle which arrived around 2 PM.    We proceeded to TSA security check-in, which had very long lines and took awhile to complete.

After passing security, we noticed the sculpture pictured above which was quite appropriate: "From New York to the World".  Our next stop was the American Airlines Admirals Club lounge for some snacks before our 4:45 PM flight to Zurich which arrived at 7:55 AM local time.

We had an on-time departure for Zurich, Switzerland.  In our next posts we'll talk about our pre-cruise adventures and then continue with more information about this fabulous river cruise.