To arrive at Punta Arenas, the Star Princess had to navigate the infamous Strait of Magellan, the navigable sea route which passes immediately south of the mainland of Chile and north of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The Strait of Magellan was named after the Portuguese explorer who passed through this passage while circumnavigating the globe. Until the Panama Canal was built in 1914, this Strait was the main route for ships traveling from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and was considered the only safe way to travel between the two oceans because it offered some protection from the inhospitable climate of Cape Horn. The passage and the city of Punta Arenas grew in importance during the gold rushes further north in the Americas during the 1800s.

Punta Arenas lies atop rolling hills, looking out over the Strait of Magellan. In the days before the Panama Canal, this was a major port as ships plied the waters of Cape Horn. Punta Arenas remains a prosperous town today, thanks to its rich natural resources. The city is also the gateway to Chilean Patagonia, a maze of fiords, rivers, steppes, and the mountains to the north. To the south lies the great frozen mass of Antarctica. Across the Strait of Magellan lies Tierra del Fuego, the lonely, windswept island discovered by Magellan in 1520. The region was settled by Croatian and English sheep ranchers in the 19th century.