MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Punta Arenas expects some 76 cruise calls from February to the end of the season

Magallanes Region extreme south of Chile is expecting the call of some 76 cruise vessels from this month until the end of the season in April. According to the the Austral Ports Enterprise, (EPA), of the 76, 49 are scheduled to dock at Punta Arenas, 14 at Puerto Williams, 7 in Puerto Natales and 3 in Puerto Eden. Of the total number, 58 belong to international cruise companies while the rest are Chilean.

This week one of the star vessels was the Seven Seas Splendor from the Norwegian Cruise Line, which can carry up to 829 visitors in 375 cabins and a crew of 542. She is 223 meters long, has a displacement of 55.498 tons, and was built in Italy four years ago.

One of the vessels with most calls in the rest of the season is Ventus Australis, from the Chilean group Australis, and which can carry 210 passengers. Another cruise with multiple visits in the extreme south of Chile and Antarctic seas is the Fram belonging to Crucero.com.

Precisely Ventus Australis is expected to end the cruise season on 9 April, and World Voyage, the international cruise on 4th Apri, both of them at Punta Arenas.

According to EPA the Magallanes Region so far has been visited by 104 cruise calls, and the final number for the 2024/25 season is 177, some nine less than the original number from October last year. Punta Arenas admits the numbers are some 200% less than the cruise activity of the neighboring Argentine port of Ushuaia.