A New Day Dawns: Silversea Crafts a Seamless Antarctica Fly Journey with New Enhancements

The best destinations in the world transcend travel hurdles. An African safari? Yep. A secret island resort beyond the reach of the next season of “White Lotus”? Absolutely. Yet if there are ways travel providers can smooth the journey to the most remote places on Earth, getting past the vagaries of man, nature and the act of travel, I’m all ears.

After introducing the Antarctica Fly Cruise, which invites guests to skip the Drake Crossing by ship and transit by chartered plane to King George Island, Silversea recently announced an exciting addition to its travel portfolio that’s firmly planted on land.

When it opens in 2025/2026, the 150 rooms of The Cormorant at 55 South will make up the southernmost hotel in the world. It is built for Silversea’s guests, offering a relaxing way-station on the way to the majesty of Antarctica.

The hotel, which will be in Puerto Williams at the southern tip of Chile, is but one component of Antarctica Fly Cruise, and will ease the journey to the world’s most remote destination. Recently, I spoke with Ingrid Staudenmeyer, senior director, expeditions, who oversees product, design, and operational startup for the hotel, to learn about the overall goals behind Silversea’s latest initiative. 

“We’re subject to nature and all of her whims,” Staudenmeyer says. “Our caliber of guests wants everything to be perfect. We want to make the journey as seamless as possible to the extent that we can.”

Here are some excerpts from my conversation with Staudenmeyer.

Q. Silversea travels to many places that are wild or unusually isolated. What makes Antarctica uniquely challenging?

A. The thing you appreciate from the outset is that even with modern technology, it’s still an expedition to get down there. It’s the bottom of the Earth. You have to be patient. It’s going to take time, and there will be hiccups and there’s only so much we can do about the weather. Usually, everyone’s fine getting to southern Chile, but then in terms of actually flying to Antarctica, that’s where the weather hits.

“Antarctica is majestic, and every day is new and interesting and exciting. If you can experience it the way we’re going to deliver a trip to the most rugged place on Earth, you must make the journey.”

Ingrid Staudenmeyer, Silversea’s senior director, expeditions

Ironically, the pre- and post-components of the journey are the most challenging for us. We have designed this journey to smooth it out, so once you’re there, you can enjoy the experience.

Q. For the 2025/2026 season, Silversea is making additional adjustments to smooth out the journey. Tell me about them.

A. There are two big parts changing, and it’s unlike what any other cruise company is doing.

The first has to do with the flights. We’ve been leaving out of the main terminal at the Santiago, Chile, Airport. We’re going to be able to use the private terminal, and we’re the only ones there, which creates a completely different experience, no three-hour check-in. We still have to use smaller planes to Puerto Williams, but we’re upgrading our planes, leasing Embraers, and they’re nicer, with a two-by-two [seat] configuration.

The other upgrade? Now we’re flying directly from Santiago to Puerto Williams.

Q. In essence, Silversea is putting a new destination on the map, a new place to discover?

A: Yes, for sure. About 1,500 people live in Puerto Williams, and it’s really beautiful. The town is set on the famous Beagle Channel that everyone from Ferdinand Magellan to Charles Darwin would sail through, and the hotel overlooks the channel. On the other side are extremely picturesque mountains and forests, and it’s pristine and barely developed. Here, you’ll get the sense that nature is very real and everything is huge and untouched and beautiful. It’s a truly dynamic environment.

Our guests will land between noon and 1 p.m., and it’s a 10-minute ride from the airport to the hotel. Luggage will be taken to their rooms, and lunch is served. The afternoon features a whole program of activities, indoors and out, and a beautiful, locally cultivated dinner. The next morning, we set off for the short hop to Antarctica.

If there are delays, we will have entire programs in place guests don’t have to wait in the airport or perhaps have to switch hotels. We are eliminating that stress.

Q: Creating a hotel from scratch is an amazing initiative for Silversea. Beyond smoothing out the journey for guests, what else is Silversea committed to?

A: We are the only operator there, and we take our responsibility to the community seriously. We are really committing to Puerto Williams and to Patagonia. We’ve already started a training initiative to support locals who want to create tourism-related businesses. The Cormorant at 55 South will staff locally, so we’re also creating jobs.

Q: Part of what is special about this is the ability to fly to Antarctica, eliminating the two-day Drake Passage crossing. Who is your partner for this?

A: DAP Airlines is the only airline in the world that flies to Antarctica. The pilots are retired Chilean Air Force guys who are super experienced. They’ll fly a BAe 146/Avro RJ from Puerto Williams to King George Island, where the ship is waiting.

Where we land has two challenges. The first is the size of the King George runway. It’s short, so not all types of planes can land there. It’s also gravel. Depending on the conditions, which are normally icy under the best of circumstances, it’s a challenge. But the big thing is that they are landing by sight, because the radar systems are not advanced. Something like fog, which is not a problem for planes in a normal airport, will cancel a flight in Antarctica.

Part of the whole strategy of this is that if there’s a six-hour or a 24-hour delay, Silversea guests will not have to experience lengthy delays in a small airport: they can remain at our hotel with all the amenities and activities at their disposal until it’s time to leave.

Q: Understanding, as you’ve explained, that weather delays and other hiccups beyond Silversea’s control are not atypical on an expedition, why is experiencing Antarctica worth the trek?

A: Antarctica is like no other place. And Silversea has such a great expedition team. They’re so knowledgeable, on both the Antarctica side as well as the activities and knowing where to go.

Antarctica is majestic, and every day is new and interesting and exciting. If you can experience it the way we’re going to deliver a trip to the most rugged place on Earth, you must make the journey.