Earthquake near Santiago Chile -- Princess Sailings and Passengers

[Tradewind40]

"Princess handled the communications abysmally. But to give them some credit, they allowed those that wanted to get off the ship on March 2 to get off the ship."

 

I guess holding the incoming passengers prisoner may well have just compounded their problems when added to the litany of mistreatment of the March 2 incoming passengers! ;-)

 

Princess Lines encouraged those passengers to ENTER a danger zone where aftershocks were certain even though after shocks can be deadly, just as the original quakes.

 

Princess Lines encouraged passengers to disregard the State Department's

Travel Alert as well as those of other countries and put themselves in danger.

 

Princess Lines encouraged passengers to get flights that didn't exist to an airport that was closed then partially closed, to get to a departure March 2nd that didn't leave then.

 

Princess has not provided the cruise booked, but despite all of this has classed those that didn't fall for it as voluntary no shows.

[lifeonship]

It seems to me that all of the back and forth about insurance, it's advisability and coverages, and yes I purchased it, misses and obscures the real point.

Due to the earthquake and subsequent events, which were neither Princess' nor my fault, Princess was unable to deliver the cruise as advertised afd purchased by }s. Nor could they offer any reasonable alternative itinerary. Therefore it was Princess that cancelled the cruise, which requires them by their own contract to refund the customers money, not make the customer file an insurance claim.

By stubornly insisting that the cruise is not cancelled they are hiding from their obligations while pocketing our money.

 

 

With all this talk about purchasing insurance, and yes we did purchase it, has anyone wondered if Princess Corporation also has insurance to cover them in instances like this? If in fact they do, I would say they are tripple-dipping -- 1)collecting from their insurance, 2)keeping our money, and 3)charging the passengers who stayed on board for my cabin. Oh, and don't forget, they have probably already re-sold my cabin (we were on the 32 day cruise) to new cruisers for the Rio to Ft Lauderdale leg-- so that would be #4). WHAT A MARKETING DREAM!!!

[WCAB]

It appears to me due to mass confusion that Princess was unable to give clear communication to the passengers, information was either wrong or not given at all, or changed due to ongoing events. Although some of this is understandable, the passenger should not be faulted for not being able to follow the bouncing ball that would lead to their cruise. If Princess had given a clear directive that with a reasonable effort was doable, then I would have a completely different take on this situation. Since this was such an unusual event and a lot of insurance policies will not cover this circumstance, I think Princess should be trying a little harder to compensate those who could not get there.

[Tradewind40]

"The US State Dept did not want to go looking for XXX US citizens who "volunteered" to go to the earthquake zone (NOT Santiago)...."

 

I read the alert which said Chile, and I'm amazed because when I was there a month ago Santiago was IN Chile. Did the earthquake move it?

 

Strong aftershocks did occur near Valparaiso two days ago. Fact. Princess urged March 2 passengers INTO a danger zone with a travel alert outstanding. Strong aftershocks can be deadly just as the original quake.

[HRHMadonna]

It appears to me due to mass confusion that Princess was unable to give clear communication to the passengers, information was either wrong or not given at all, or changed due to ongoing events. Although some of this is understandable, the passenger should not be faulted for not being able to follow the bouncing ball that would lead to their cruise. If Princess had given a clear directive that with a reasonable effort was doable, then I would have a completely different take on this situation. Since this was such an unusual event and a lot of insurance policies will not cover this circumstance, I think Princess should be trying a little harder to compensate those who could not get there.

 

 

Well said! The more I read about this, the more astonished I am that Princess put their head in the sand and treated this entire situation like it was "business as usual."

 

About the only thing with which I could agree in Princess' official published "communication" (and I use that word loosely!), was the statement that the situation was fluid...Fluid indeed!...Princess' plans & recommendations to passengers changed daily.

[gregdude]

I suspect this is all going to end in a huge class action law suit against Princess Cruises. The grounds for such a suit are clearly articulated by the vast number of post on this thread and the time line that Princess has in fact published. Simply put they sailed a cruise ship with passengers into an active earthquake zone knowing that the exit airport was closed, the port was closed, and there was massive damage in the country. At the time they made the decision to contue to the port they did not know if the roads were even open. They then allowed passengers to leave the ship into a potentially dangerous situation. On top of this they told future passengers to come join the ship (three different days).

 

At no point did the decisions Princess made consider the safety of the passengers, only the corporate bottom line. If passenger safety had been a concern the Star Princess would have turned around on the morning of the earthquake and returned to Buenos Aires, they would have canceled the 3/2 cruise, and they would have dealt with the fallout.

 

Different cruise lines deal with adversary in different ways. A Holland American passenger committed suicide by jumping off the Roterdam a week ago. Below is a very sad letter to the folks on the Holland American blog from the son of the man who died. I was greatly moved by the letter and by the response by Holland American to this tragedy.

 

My name is Jason. My dad, Walter was the individual that went overboard on the 26th off of the Rotterdam. Dad was a very strong individual that lived life to it's fullest. He had become progressively more ill and knew that there was little he could do to change it.

 

My mom, Judy, met many wonderful people aboard ship, both before and after the incident. She was humbled by the number of cruise critics and others that attended the memorial on the morning of the 27th.

 

The ship and it's personnel became her guardian angels. She would like to personally thank each and every crew member that assisted her in her time of need. Holland America went above and beyond the call of duty in taking care of both her and my wife and I.

 

You see, shortly after I received the call from my mom via the ship's satellite phone, I received a call from the Holland America Care Team. They asked me if I was willing to meet my mom in Costa Rica. They told me that they would pay for my flight and accomodations and we would be flying out the next morning. After we arrived in Costa Rica, we met up with Mom and the Care Team. The Care Team were invaluable guides for us in Costa Rica as we underwent the long, arduous process of working our way through the government beaurocracy that stood between us and getting dad home.

 

It took us 5 days and they were our ever present friends and guides. They were our moral and physical support. They helped us figure out how to get dad from the mortuary to the funeral home, how to get his body cremated, how to prepare the required embassy paperwork, arranged transportation, meals and lodging for the entire ordeal. They cried with us and laughed with us. They are our heroes.

 

I would like to thank, from the bottom of my heart, Holland America and the Care Team. Without them, we would have spent thousands trying to get mom and dad home, and would likely still be in Costa Rica, working our way through a third world bureaucracy where few people speak English. They went above and beyond the call of duty and I will remember them and their generosity forever.

 

Thank You,

 

Jason and Family

 

I realize this was one person and one family, but this is the way a cruise line should respond, not by the way Princess is currently handling this situation.

[jsklerov]

Princess, and many of the contributors to this board, assert that passengers who could not travel to Santiago in time for the 3/2/10 departure should rely upon their insurance as a recourse. Unfortunatley I have had to do that, and would like to comment upon this.

 

I have just spent the better part of two days preparing a claim to my insurance company. The claim and supporting documentation, including a 6 page letter of explanation to make the documentation understandable, was 74 pages in all.

 

As an example, the insurance company wanted supporting documentation showing how and when I paid for the Princess cruise. It was not sufficient to provide an invoice from Princess marked "paid in full." This meant that I had to search for and find credit card statements going back to last July to prove when and how I paid for the cruise. Similarly documentation had to be provided for air flights. I also had to provide substantiation of why I had to cancel the cruise. I couldn't get a verificatioin of cancellation of my flight to Santiago as LAN airlines could not be reached, and so I had to look for, and provide what I hope will suffice; that the flight was cancelled because the airport was shut down due to the earthquake.

 

Suffice it to say, it was not a simple task to make the claim. It's time consuming, and frustrating, as this was my vacation time, now wasted on making a claim. Further, it followed 3 days of almost constant calls to Princess, trying to find out what was going on, and to my insurance company to get a heads up on whether their coverage would apply.

 

Things that were most frustrating were:

 

1. Princess's insistance that the cruise would depart on 3/2.

 

2. Princess's refusal, up to and including 3/2, to acknowledge that passengers could board at ports along the itinerary. We would have opted to board at Buenos Aires, but were strongly advised against this by Princess on numerous occasions from 2/28 to 3/2. This is what finally caused us to cancel our cruise, as it seemed there was no way to get to Santiago on time to depart on 3/2. Finally after our cancelling the cruise, Princess came out with the advice that passengers who could not make it to Santiago could join the cruise at Buenas Aires or other ports along the way.

 

I know that my inconvenience is miniscule compared to the suffering of the Chilean people. But, it hasn't been easy, and it won't be over until the insurance pays off, if it will.

[DougH]

Things that were most frustrating were:

 

1. Princess's insistance that the cruise would depart on 3/2.

 

2. Princess's refusal, up to and including 3/2, to acknowledge that passengers could board at ports along the itinerary. We would have opted to board at Buenos Aires, but were strongly advised against this by Princess on numerous occasions from 2/28 to 3/2. This is what finally caused us to cancel our cruise, as it seemed there was no way to get to Santiago on time to depart on 3/2. Finally after our cancelling the cruise, Princess came out with the advice that passengers who could not make it to Santiago could join the cruise at Buenas Aires or other ports along the way.

 

I know that my inconvenience is miniscule compared to the suffering of the Chilean people. But, it hasn't been easy, and it won't be over until the insurance pays off, if it will.

 

At first Princess said to change flights to meet up with the ship, which I did to Buenos Aires, Then they told me for several days that I should not have as they were in the process of rebooking me to meet the ship and they were not sure where/when it would be. Final change was to announce that they were booking preople to meet the ship in Montevideo or BA. (guess I was right)

 

I understand things where a mess for several days and am hopefull it will all work out and Princess will step up and make things right. They went over and above last year in a situiation involving my parents, somehow this one caught them off guard. This will be my 28th cruise on Princess and have not had any issues on any of the other trips.

[cherylandtk]

I have just spent the better part of two days preparing a claim to my insurance company. The claim and supporting documentation, including a 6 page letter of explanation to make the documentation understandable, was 74 pages in all.

 

As an example, the insurance company wanted supporting documentation showing how and when I paid for the Princess cruise. It was not sufficient to provide an invoice from Princess marked "paid in full." This meant that I had to search for and find credit card statements going back to last July to prove when and how I paid for the cruise.

That is terrible:(, can you tell us which company this is?? Not that it will help you, but when I cancelled a cruise our invoice from the TA was sufficient to show what we paid, and the total claim was less than 10 pages, including the supporting documentation and two page claim form. That was Travelex insurance.

[jsklerov]

It was Travelguard. I have no quarrel with them as they have been more than fair to me in the past, and they have a right to full substantiation of the claim being made. I merely point out that the process is not as simple as it might seem on the surface, and takes time and energy at a time when you would rather be doing other things. I would also point out that Princess's shifting the burden to a third party is neither ethical nor fair.

[lifeonship]

It was Travelguard. I have no quarrel with them as they have been more than fair to me in the past, and they have a right to full substantiation of the claim being made. I merely point out that the process is not as simple as it might seem on the surface, and takes time and energy at a time when you would rather be doing other things. I would also point out that Princess's shifting the burden to a third party is neither ethical nor fair.

 

Will you get cash from Travelguard or cruise credits?

[billet]

It was Travelguard. I have no quarrel with them as they have been more than fair to me in the past, and they have a right to full substantiation of the claim being made. I merely point out that the process is not as simple as it might seem on the surface, and takes time and energy at a time when you would rather be doing other things. I would also point out that Princess's shifting the burden to a third party is neither ethical nor fair.

 

I am sorry you had to cancel your cruise, that is miserable and I know that even for a simple claim for lost luggage the insurance documentation can be a real pain. I do hope Travelguard treat you fairly.

 

Help me out here please. Surely you took out insurance to cover just this eventuality because you had no expectatonsof Princess taking the burden? So I do not understand why Princess is neither ethical nor fair.

[yelp]

Apples and Oranges - sorry. Toyota manufactured the defective cars. Princess did not have anything to do with the earthquake happening.

 

Unless I'm missing your point completely - in which case, apologies.

 

Sorry, I didn't put it very clearly :) Cruise Junky keeps asking where corporate responsibility should play a part. Obviously, Princess is a different industry than Toyota, but there's still corporate responsibility. Princess gave us misleading information and knew it was impossible for us to fly there by 3/2 (to the point that they admitted that the disembarking passengers had no way out). RaySR puts this well below:

It seems to me that all of the back and forth about insurance, it's advisability and coverages, and yes I purchased it, misses and obscures the real point.

Due to the earthquake and subsequent events, which were neither Princess' nor my fault, Princess was unable to deliver the cruise as advertised and purchased by us. Nor could they offer any reasonable alternative itinerary. Therefore it was Princess that cancelled the cruise, which requires them by their own contract to refund the customers money, not make the customer file an insurance claim.

By stubornly insisting that the cruise is not cancelled they are hiding from their obligations while pocketing our money.

[Cruise Junky]

Sorry, I didn't put it very clearly :) Cruise Junky keeps asking where corporate responsibility should play a part. Obviously, Princess is a different industry than Toyota, but there's still corporate responsibility. Princess gave us misleading information and knew it was impossible for us to fly there by 3/2 (to the point that they admitted that the disembarking passengers had no way out). RaySR puts this well below:

 

Keeps? I think I asked once. And it was in reference to covering yourself with sufficient insurance rather than relying on a corporation.

[juventus]

Written message from Princess : 25% reduction on negotiated cruise price in the future(by 2012) and 3 days prorated onboard cruise credit for those who got on March 2.

 

WHAT ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO DIDN'T GET TO RIDE???

 

:eek:

[Princess Cruiser 10]

Princess, and many of the contributors to this board, assert that passengers who could not travel to Santiago in time for the 3/2/10 departure should rely upon their insurance as a recourse. Unfortunatley I have had to do that, and would like to comment upon this.

 

I have just spent the better part of two days preparing a claim to my insurance company. The claim and supporting documentation, including a 6 page letter of explanation to make the documentation understandable, was 74 pages in all.

 

As an example, the insurance company wanted supporting documentation showing how and when I paid for the Princess cruise. It was not sufficient to provide an invoice from Princess marked "paid in full." This meant that I had to search for and find credit card statements going back to last July to prove when and how I paid for the cruise. Similarly documentation had to be provided for air flights. I also had to provide substantiation of why I had to cancel the cruise. I couldn't get a verificatioin of cancellation of my flight to Santiago as LAN airlines could not be reached, and so I had to look for, and provide what I hope will suffice; that the flight was cancelled because the airport was shut down due to the earthquake.

 

Suffice it to say, it was not a simple task to make the claim. It's time consuming, and frustrating, as this was my vacation time, now wasted on making a claim. Further, it followed 3 days of almost constant calls to Princess, trying to find out what was going on, and to my insurance company to get a heads up on whether their coverage would apply.

 

Things that were most frustrating were:

 

1. Princess's insistance that the cruise would depart on 3/2.

 

2. Princess's refusal, up to and including 3/2, to acknowledge that passengers could board at ports along the itinerary. We would have opted to board at Buenos Aires, but were strongly advised against this by Princess on numerous occasions from 2/28 to 3/2. This is what finally caused us to cancel our cruise, as it seemed there was no way to get to Santiago on time to depart on 3/2. Finally after our cancelling the cruise, Princess came out with the advice that passengers who could not make it to Santiago could join the cruise at Buenas Aires or other ports along the way.

 

I know that my inconvenience is miniscule compared to the suffering of the Chilean people. But, it hasn't been easy, and it won't be over until the insurance pays off, if it will.

Thanks for the heads up. I feel this is going to be a situation of misery loves company. What was to be a vacation of a lifetime, has truned into a battle of a lifetime. We too have spent days trying to come up with an agreeable conclusion, but Princess will not move one quarter of an inch. We have written letters to the heads of Carnival Corporation and Princess which I will include their names and addresses in this post for those who would like to do the same. As I have stated before, this is not the fault of anyone. It is Mother Nature, and it appears that she has her panties in a wad! Princess needs to just work with the ones that did not make the cruise and allow them to rebook and quit being such a butt!

 

Here are the names and addresses:

 

Carnival Corporation

Mr. Micky Arison, CEO and Chairman of Executive Committee

Mr. Tim Gallagher, Head of Customer Relations

3655 NW 87th Avenue

Miami FL 33178

 

Princess

Mr. Alan Buckalou, President

Ms. Joanna Crayon, Head of Customer Relations

24844 Avenue Rockefeller

Santa Clarita CA 91355

 

One last thing. We phone the credit card in which the cruise was charged and began a dispute. They are sending the needed papers to fill out and return. I might suggest for others to do the same.

[Princess Cruiser 10]

Written message from Princess : 25% reduction on negotiated cruise price in the future(by 2012) and 3 days prorated onboard cruise credit for those who got on March 2.

 

WHAT ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO DIDN'T GET TO RIDE???

 

:eek:

Are you on board at this time?

[Princess Chatterer]

Final report from Star Princess – effects of earthquake in Chile.

 

The Star Princess docked in Valpariso, Chile morning of March 2, 2010 as scheduled. Passengers disembarked and new ones embarked. The ship allowed disembarking passengers to stay on the ship until they finalized their plans. Passengers could also stay on the ship until Ushuaia, Montevideo or Buenos Aires and fly home from these cities. At mid-day, the ship left the port and anchored in the harbor. The dock was needed by other ships and relief efforts. The ship stayed anchored until morning of March 4 when it moved back to the dock. The ship had no ability to tender us to and from shore on March 2 & 3.

 

On March 4, passengers disembarked and new ones embarked. We had many passengers return who disembarked on March 2. At midday, the ship sailed. The ship stopped outside the harbor. A small boat came with 2 men that got on; one was wearing a uniform. The ship decided not to sail until it completed the processing of all new passengers and disembarked passengers who returned. The ship sailed for Ushuaia around 9:30 pm.

 

Visits to Cape Horn, Punta Arenas & Stanley have been cancelled. We will visit Ushuaia on March 8. Visits to Montevideo (Mar 12), Buenos Aires (Mar 13) and RIO (Mar 16) will occur as originally scheduled.

 

We will not have any additional reports unless some unusual events occur.

 

A note to cruise critic participants: we hope to finally have a meet & greet on March 6. we will miss all of you that we not able to get to the ship. We look forward to any of you that will still join us at one of our stops.

By Rich & Joan Blacharski

[greatam]

Thanks for the heads up. I feel this is going to be a situation of misery loves company. What was to be a vacation of a lifetime, has truned into a battle of a lifetime. We too have spent days trying to come up with an agreeable conclusion, but Princess will not move one quarter of an inch. We have written letters to the heads of Carnival Corporation and Princess which I will include their names and addresses in this post for those who would like to do the same. As I have stated before, this is not the fault of anyone. It is Mother Nature, and it appears that she has her panties in a wad! Princess needs to just work with the ones that did not make the cruise and allow them to rebook and quit being such a butt!

 

 

I really don't understand your post-"Princess will not move one quarter of an inch". IF you had Princess insurance, you will be able to use your 75% credit to rebook (which is REALLY crappy insurance and something your TA SHOULD have pointed out to you). If you had other travel insurance, you may or may not recoup your entire expenses IN CASH, but you should recoup the largest percentage. Use your cash to rebook.

 

If you had no insurance, it is a sad lesson to learn.

[Princess Cruiser 10]

I really don't understand your post-"Princess will not move one quarter of an inch". IF you had Princess insurance, you will be able to use your 75% credit to rebook (which is REALLY crappy insurance and something your TA SHOULD have pointed out to you). If you had other travel insurance, you may or may not recoup your entire expenses IN CASH, but you should recoup the largest percentage. Use your cash to rebook.

 

If you had no insurance, it is a sad lesson to learn.

We have insurance, and will be getting a 100% "CRUISE CREDIT" . My point was earlier in the week, we went to Princess with the following: Move this South American cruise to next year as we finally realized that regardless we were not going to make the trip to Santiago...and we were at that point willing to book ANOTHER cruise leaving this weekend out of San Juan, thus paying them more money along with them keeping the money for South America another year before we used the booking. Princess would NOT allow us to move the booking or book San Juan without at least a 25% penalty. That in my opinion is NOT moving a quarter of an inch.

[greatam]

We have insurance, and will be getting a 100% "CRUISE CREDIT" . My point was earlier in the week, we went to Princess with the following: Move this South American cruise to next year as we finally realized that regardless we were not going to make the trip to Santiago...and we were at that point willing to book ANOTHER cruise leaving this weekend out of San Juan, thus paying them more money along with them keeping the money for South America another year before we used the booking. Princess would NOT allow us to move the booking or book San Juan without at least a 25% penalty. That in my opinion is NOT moving a quarter of an inch.

 

Help me understand this: You will get 100% cruise credit, but you cannot book another cruise without suffering a 25% penalty? Is the reason behind this that your Princess insurance hasn't processed the credit through Berkley Care yet? I certainly don't understand why you couldn't book the San Juan cruise CASH? There has to be more to the story.

[juventus]

I think we should focus on the following

- Sure all people did their best to be in Valapraiso on time to catch the cruise but could,t due to santiago airport closure ( why would they cancel a trip they already organized for months and paid in full )

- Princess misled us to time and date of departure as it stayed unchanged until the same day where they delayed by 2 days but was already too late for people who had to make other arrangements or they concede more losses

-Princess forced people to travel to a dangerous area ignoring all governments advise or there will be no refund for them.

- Princess double rented paid cabins getting money from both booked passengers and passengers who did not disembark from previous trip ($50-$70 per night)

-Princess refusing any compensation and refund for passengers who couldn't make it to the ship due to airport closure while compensating the people who managed to be there ( By miracle or reaching there before the Quake ) by paying them for 3 days + 25% future cruise

 

I THINK WE ALL SHOULD FOCUS ON THIS AND DON'T GO INTO UNNECESSARY DETAILS AND VERY PERSONAL STORIES WHICH WILL NOT PROVIDE ANY SOLUTIONS

THOSE WHO HAVEN'T BOOKED ON THIS CRUISE AND ANTICIPATING NEGATIVELY IN THESE DISCUSSIONS PLEASE STOP AS YOU ARE ALREADY ADDING MORE BITTERNESS TO US

[yelp]

It seems to me that all of the back and forth about insurance, it's advisability and coverages, and yes I purchased it, misses and obscures the real point.

Due to the earthquake and subsequent events, which were neither Princess' nor my fault, Princess was unable to deliver the cruise as advertised and purchased by us. Nor could they offer any reasonable alternative itinerary. Therefore it was Princess that cancelled the cruise, which requires them by their own contract to refund the customers money, not make the customer file an insurance claim.

By stubornly insisting that the cruise is not cancelled they are hiding from their obligations while pocketing our money.

 

Well said, RaySR. I too don't understand why certain posters here are lecturing us about insurance (previously, they were lecturing us about how feasible it was to get to Santiago on time!), given that, insurance or no, Princess should give a credit or refund for this cruise (even Cruise Critic brought up reasons why Princess should give a credit/refund http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=23425811&highlight=#post23425811, let alone that it makes business sense to have almost 2,000 passengers to want to cruise with you again!)

[Colo Cruiser]

We have insurance, and will be getting a 100% "CRUISE CREDIT" . My point was earlier in the week, we went to Princess with the following: Move this South American cruise to next year as we finally realized that regardless we were not going to make the trip to Santiago...and we were at that point willing to book ANOTHER cruise leaving this weekend out of San Juan, thus paying them more money along with them keeping the money for South America another year before we used the booking. Princess would NOT allow us to move the booking or book San Juan without at least a 25% penalty. That in my opinion is NOT moving a quarter of an inch.

 

 

They are canceled for next year, the Star stays later in the Med.

[Tradewind40]

Princess slammed in news!

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/03/0...ave-chile.html

 

http://www.examiner.com/x-22875-Orla...details-emerge

 

Rightly so I might add!:rolleyes: