Jump to content

Earthquake near Santiago Chile -- Princess Sailings and Passengers


mmyorkston

Recommended Posts

If, having done so in the past creates an expectation that it will happen again, I wonder if the cruise lines will simply stop creating that expectation by making fewer and fewer such gestures. :(

I hear what you are saying and I think that that's exactly what Princess is doing, taking the painful first step toward adjusting expectations. Or maybe the first step was during last year's H1N1 when they offered a 50% future credit at the same time RC and Celebrity were offering full refunds.

 

At any rate, anyone who has parented knows how difficult it is to adjust expectations (i.e. "What do you mean I can't drink chocolate milk in the family room? I drank chocolate milk in the family room last week...month...year."). It's not an easy process, but is one best achieved by not turning back. If Princess doesn't turn back, doesn't reverse their prior stated positions on this, I think it's a clear signal that passengers are on their own in the future.

 

ETA I really wish they would just combine all these earthquake threads.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

According to the editors here on CC, Princess issued a statement on Feb. 27 as well. Did not turn out to be any more correct than the March 2 statement, but the first was on Feb. 27.

eta- this comment was in response to a post by juventus which has since been removed by the moderators.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Also 700+ embarking passengers were able to make it to the ship.

 

Not so. Rich & Joan Blacharski reported from the ship this Friday that many of the embarking passengers were actually those that disembarked on the 2nd, then returned to the ship on the 4th when they realized that they were stranded.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

W0kie,

Do you have any way of asking Joan and Rich if they could at least ask or estimate how many of the March 4 "Embarking" pax were actually returnees from the prior cruise? That is a number that I think many of us would be interested in knowing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, I don't know who is right, The New release that can be read here on CC News or a passenger watching people board on the Star. Maybe the March 4 returning passengers had a sign on them to that effect.

 

At any rate I would think the Princess personal checking the passengers on board would have an accurate count....... Here is part of the public information here on CC News.

 

Princess Cruises Provides Earthquake Response Timeline.......

.........Tuesday, March 2

Star Princess arrives in Valparaiso and disembarks roughly half the passengers who previously had hotel accommodations in Valparaiso after Princess validates the hotels are operational

Passengers already in Santiago (approx. 200) embarked the ship

We got notification from the port that they needed us to move the ship to anchor, because of the damage to the other berths and the need for cargo ships to come in.

Every passenger in Valparaiso was provided with a letter with the contact information of our local representative

We also evaluated the tender pier, which was extensively damaged and it was determined unsafe for our passengers

We did outbound calls using an auto-dialer to advise of revised ship departure date (to Thursday)

In the evening, we sent emergency notifications via email and fax to travel agents and passengers notifying them of the revised itinerary

Representatives are stationed at the Santiago airport 24/7

Our hospitality desks continue to operate at the major Santiago hotels

We put statement on princess.com to the same effect

 

Wednesday, March 3

The ship stayed at anchor where Princess worked with passengers onboard to determine their desired plans for disembarkation........

 

Thursday, March 4

More than 500 passengers boarded this morning, and more than 400 elected to stay onboard and disembark at a future port

Positioned representatives at Santiago airport 24/7

Our hospitality desks will remain open at the major Santiago hotels where passengers are still located

Star Princess sailed today with approximately 1200 passengers.

 

Then thee is this...

 

March 4, 2010 Princess Cruises Speaks Out About Cruise Impact of Chile Earthquake

 

Saturday, a massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck Chile about 200 miles south of its capital, Santiago, the gateway city for cruise passengers sailing from Valparaiso on "Around the Horn" voyages...........

........According to Julie Benson, Princess' Vice President, Public Relations, 472 passengers from the previous sailing have opted to stay onboard until at least the next port of call.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree, as someone who cruises regularly, the official communications...the ship will be there on March 2 so...was terrible until mid day March 1, when about 48 hours after the quake they did begin issuing written statements on the Princess website and other internet sites with some details. In reality that was probably the earliest timing possible for information, given the chaotic and changing situation.

 

I don't agree. Princess, and the whole world clearly knew on Sunday that the Santiago airport was virtually destroyed. Princess, for whatever reason, waited until mid day Monday, California time before issuing a press release acknowledging that "The airport there is operating on a very limited basis, and the vast majority of inbound and outbound flights have been cancelled".

 

The fact is that ALL International flights [except for Hillary Clinton's] as of Sunday, Monday and Tuesday were not supposed to land. Only a few domestic flights were allowed to land. The shut down order stopping International flights was confirmed by Chile aviation authorities on Monday. It was only on Wednesday, after conditions at the airport had slightly improved that the very first International flights were allowed to land to the best of my knowledge.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

W0kie,

Do you have any way of asking Joan and Rich if they could at least ask or estimate how many of the March 4 "Embarking" pax were actually returnees from the prior cruise? That is a number that I think many of us would be interested in knowing.

 

Here is the email address they are using on the ship rjblach at yahoo.com All I know is that they previously posted We had many passengers return who disembarked on March 2.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"Well, I don't know who is right, The New release that can be read here on CC News or a passenger watching people board on the Star. Maybe the March 4 returning passengers had a sign on them to that effect."

 

Not likely any signs on them. However, the passenger quoted said they had talked to people who had boarded as part of the "new" passengers who had actually debarked March 2nd but decided because of conditions to get back on the ship and debark elsewhere to make connections. So there were some, and that doesn't contradict anything, as Princess never mentioned them other than as "new" arrivals.

 

Only Princess knows how many of them did. Of course no passenger is likely to know the count. Princess is not likely to give that count except in a hearing for discovery that may occur later, because the reboarding passengers from March 2 weaken the arguement everything was fine ashore. A given is that they were counted amongst the arriving by Princess thus reducing people who came into the quake area, which also further weakens Princess's arguement that people should have got there despite the aftershock dangers and travel alerts which should have resulted in the cruise's cancellation.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't agree. Princess, and the whole world clearly knew on Sunday that the Santiago airport was virtually destroyed. Princess, for whatever reason, waited until mid day Monday, California time before issuing a press release acknowledging that "The airport there is operating on a very limited basis, and the vast majority of inbound and outbound flights have been cancelled".

 

The fact is that ALL International flights [except for Hillary Clinton's] as of Sunday, Monday and Tuesday were not supposed to land. Only a few domestic flights were allowed to land. The shut down order stopping International flights was confirmed by Chile aviation authorities on Monday. It was only on Wednesday, after conditions at the airport had slightly improved that the very first International flights were allowed to land to the best of my knowledge.

 

If Santiago airport was virtually destroyed, then it would have taken weeks if not months to repair. Get your facts straight, the Terminal was heavily damaged and the runways were o.k. - far from virtually destroyed

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't agree. Princess, and the whole world clearly knew on Sunday that the Santiago airport was virtually destroyed. Princess, for whatever reason, waited until mid day Monday, California time before issuing a press release acknowledging that "The airport there is operating on a very limited basis, and the vast majority of inbound and outbound flights have been cancelled".

 

 

Yes the airport was mostly closed but not "Virtually destroyed" - I think that is OTT. It was closed to assess structural damage to the terminal. The runways were not damaged. Limited landings started again on the Sunday takeoffs were not allowed though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"If Santiago airport was virtually destroyed, then it would have taken weeks if not months to repair. Get your facts straight, the Terminal was heavily damaged and the runways were o.k. - far from virtually destroyed "

 

Nobody said the runway wasn't usable that I saw! The damage to the buildings was such that first it was closed, then partially open, then tents were needed, planes landed at other airports first for customs........

Link to comment
Share on other sites

OK, not virtually destroyed, just the entire terminal building and terminal systems suffered major earthquake damage. See:

 

http://www.fotos.emol.com/?G_ID=13641#

 

and

 

"The Santiago airport suffered major damage, including smashed windows, partially collapsed ceilings and destroyed pedestrian walkways in the passenger terminals."

 

 

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/02/27/1504115/quake-closes-santiago-airport.html

 

and

 

"The Santiago International Airport has been closed to all but military operations."

 

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_4737.html

 

 

"the terminal has fuel supply problems and its electronic systems are not working,' said Chilean air force commander Ricardo Ortega."

 

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/World/Story/STIStory_496310.html

 

Other reports said the baggage system was no longer working.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

According to the editors here on CC, Princess issued a statement on Feb. 27 as well. Did not turn out to be any more correct than the March 2 statement, but the first was on Feb. 27.

eta- this comment was in response to a post by juventus which has since been removed by the moderators.

 

 

Please check this site which is the official princess site and see which date was the first announcement? not the 27th but the 2nd

 

http://www.princess.com/news/index.jsp

 

This is is the official site not the cc site.

Why would a traveler visit other sites to check for a news rather checking with his carrier site ( Princess in this case ) we were in a foreign country with limited english speaking and no access to a computer why checking other sites when you lay your hands on a computer?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please check this site which is the official princess site and see which date was the first announcement? not the 27th but the 2nd

 

http://www.princess.com/news/index.jsp

 

This is is the official site not the cc site.

Why would a traveler visit other sites to check for a news rather checking with his carrier site ( Princess in this case ) we were in a foreign country with limited english speaking and no access to a computer why checking other sites when you lay your hands on a computer?

 

Of course no reasonable person or entity would expect that juventus, but when intent on blaming the victim sometimes it's a stretch. Getting the information was impossible for those at home with phones, fax, and/or

email despite their constant enquiries. Princess itself admitted that breakdown. I wish you people every success in pursuing this, but don't give it or them the power to eat you up or they win. That's it for me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For the record, the Princess News releases staring with the first one can be found copied to the the posts on the Star Princess Roll Call for the Mar 2nd sailing. Only the latest one are still on the Princess.com.

 

The passengers were sharing any bit of news they could find on the internet about the cruise and the conditions in Chile with each other. The members state that they are copying these posts from the Princess website.

 

This is from Post #1409 by Trenholm on the Star Princess Roll Cali for Mar 2.....

Just posted by Princess on its website

2/27/2010

Earthquake in Chile and Tsunami Warnings

We are aware of various tsunami warnings as a result of the magnitude 8.8 earthquake in Chile this morning. Any potential impact to our fleet has been reviewed thoroughly. As a result, some changes to port calls today and tomorrow have been made to ensure the safety of our passengers and crew. Passengers are being kept updated onboard.

</B>Voyage 9005 -- Star Princess</B>

Our shoreside offices have been in constant communication with management onboard Star Princess, and, where possible, our contacts in Chile. We have assessed the situation based on the information we currently have.

At this time, we do not anticipate any changes to our arrival in Valparaiso, Chile on Tuesday, March 2. We are currently reviewing the scheduled call to Puerto Montt tomorrow and will advise passengers who are onboard as we learn more.

Our best information at this point is that the Santiago airport will be closed through Monday. This is a very fluid situation and could change at any time. When we have additional information we will provide updates to our passengers onboard.

</B>Voyage 9006 -- Star Princess</B>

Star Princess is still scheduled to arrive on Tuesday in Valparaiso, Chile on Tuesday, March 2. Based on the statements that the Santiago airport will be closed for the next 72 hours, at this time we expect embarkation to commence as planned. This is a very fluid situation and could change at any time. We encourage passengers to make any necessary adjustments to plan their flight to arrive in Valparaiso on Tuesday, March 2.

 

There was a also a Princess news release posted for Feb 28 and then this one that I mentioned.

 

Posted by Salty Dawg post #1753

 

Here is the latest from Princess Website:

3/1/2010

Update on Star Princess Turnaround in Valparaiso, Chile -- March 2

Star Princess will end its current cruise in Valparaiso, Chile as scheduled on Tuesday morning, March 2. The cruise terminal is open and operational.

The airport there is operating on a very limited basis, and the vast majority of inbound and outbound flights have been cancelled. We are closely monitoring the situation.

Should the airport remain closed on Tuesday, we plan to keep Star Princess is Valparaiso for at least another 24 hours so our passengers who are unable to fly out, will be able to stay onboard until flight operations resume. Passengers who are already in Valparaiso will also be able to embark and stay on board the ship.

At this point we plan to operate the following cruise, which is sailing to Rio de Janeiro. We will keep passengers informed of any changes to the itinerary, but the earliest we would sail from Valparaiso would be Wednesday, March 3 at 6 pm.

Passengers who have booked their outbound or inbound air through Princess are being re-booked, and any modification to pre- or post packages have been taken care of.

For passengers onboard who had made independent travel plans in Valparaiso, we have assisted them by checking on the status of their hotel, and have provided them with this information. This is a fluid situation and can change at any time. We are continuing to provide updates to our passengers as we receive new information .

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is the site

http://www.princess.com/news/index.jsp

where are the 1st and the 27th announcement?

 

 

The last announcement by princess before the 3/2/10 was on the 2/19/10 in case no one noticed "Princess Introduces New "A la Carte" Alaska Cruise tours this Summer for Independent-Minded Travelers ".

And its not only the latest were shown on their web

Who is Salty and who is Trenholm? Why would I count on their posts in deciding what to do, why not looking at princess web why didnt they email us?

CC is not the official web for princess this is the official one http://www.princess.com/news/index.jsp

Link to comment
Share on other sites

These are the press releases that I know about

All California time

 

 

Press release 2/27 around noon #na1077

Press release 2/28 afternoon #na1080

Press release 3/1 around noon #na1080 (a new version of #na1080)

Press release 3/2 early morning #na1084

Press release 3/2 late afternoon #na1085

Press release 3/4 around noon #na1086

 

I have these archived on another site

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It is clear that Princess posted on 3/27 the cruise would depart on March 2.

 

It is also clear that quite a few on this cruise either had no insurance or the almost worthless Princess insurance. Also add in the fact that quite a few had the Princess cruise/air package with the absolutely WORTHLESS cruise air tickets. Cruise air tickets are NON ENDORSABLE and generally NON REROUTABLE. At that point, Princess cruise/air passengers were STUCK-no way to get a flight on the originating carrier to SCL and no way to reroute the trip or use the tickets on another carrier. AND most cruise air passengers arrive the day of sailing, so no way to have the extra time needed to rearrange the trip.

 

Why is no one bringing up the TA's who sell these disastrous cruise air packages (they are often a disaster and not just in this situation)? If a passenger self-booked direct with the cruise line, they owed it to themselves to do a little research into what they were buying BEFORE they turned their entire vacation and vacation dollars over to a cruise line.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is the site

http://www.princess.com/news/index.jsp

where are the 1st and the 27th announcement?

 

2/27/2010

Earthquake in Chile and Tsunami Warnings

We are aware of various tsunami warnings as a result of the magnitude 8.8 earthquake in Chile this morning. Any potential impact to our fleet has been reviewed thoroughly. As a result, some changes to port calls today and tomorrow have been made to ensure the safety of our passengers and crew. Passengers are being kept updated onboard.

</B>Voyage 9005 -- Star Princess</B>

Our shoreside offices have been in constant communication with management onboard Star Princess, and, where possible, our contacts in Chile. We have assessed the situation based on the information we currently have.

At this time, we do not anticipate any changes to our arrival in Valparaiso, Chile on Tuesday, March 2. We are currently reviewing the scheduled call to Puerto Montt tomorrow and will advise passengers who are onboard as we learn more.

Our best information at this point is that the Santiago airport will be closed through Monday. This is a very fluid situation and could change at any time. When we have additional information we will provide updates to our passengers onboard.

</B>Voyage 9006 -- Star Princess</B>

Star Princess is still scheduled to arrive on Tuesday in Valparaiso, Chile on Tuesday, March 2. Based on the statements that the Santiago airport will be closed for the next 72 hours, at this time we expect embarkation to commence as planned. This is a very fluid situation and could change at any time. We encourage passengers to make any necessary adjustments to plan their flight to arrive in Valparaiso on Tuesday, March 2.

 

3/1/2010

Update on Star Princess Turnaround in Valparaiso, Chile -- March 2

Star Princess will end its current cruise in Valparaiso, Chile as scheduled on Tuesday morning, March 2. The cruise terminal is open and operational.

The airport there is operating on a very limited basis, and the vast majority of inbound and outbound flights have been cancelled. We are closely monitoring the situation.

Should the airport remain closed on Tuesday, we plan to keep Star Princess is Valparaiso for at least another 24 hours so our passengers who are unable to fly out, will be able to stay onboard until flight operations resume. Passengers who are already in Valparaiso will also be able to embark and stay on board the ship.

At this point we plan to operate the following cruise, which is sailing to Rio de Janeiro. We will keep passengers informed of any changes to the itinerary, but the earliest we would sail from Valparaiso would be Wednesday, March 3 at 6 pm.

Passengers who have booked their outbound or inbound air through Princess are being re-booked, and any modification to pre- or post packages have been taken care of.

For passengers onboard who had made independent travel plans in Valparaiso, we have assisted them by checking on the status of their hotel, and have provided them with this information. This is a fluid situation and can change at any time. We are continuing to provide updates to our passengers as we receive new information .

Link to comment
Share on other sites

OK, not virtually destroyed, just the entire terminal building and terminal systems suffered major earthquake damage. See:

 

http://www.fotos.emol.com/?G_ID=13641#

 

and

 

"The Santiago airport suffered major damage, including smashed windows, partially collapsed ceilings and destroyed pedestrian walkways in the passenger terminals."

 

 

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/02/27/1504115/quake-closes-santiago-airport.html

 

and

 

"The Santiago International Airport has been closed to all but military operations."

 

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_4737.html

 

 

"the terminal has fuel supply problems and its electronic systems are not working,' said Chilean air force commander Ricardo Ortega."

 

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/World/Story/STIStory_496310.html

 

Other reports said the baggage system was no longer working.

 

The suspended ceiling fell in at SCL and things flew off the shelf. Most of the damage was superficial. There was little structural damage. This a first hand report on Monday from my business associate in Santiago who had arrived Mendoza on LAN and then been bused to Santiago by LAN. I posted this information as soon as I heard from my business associate.

 

Baggage can be EASILY unloaded without a functioning "baggage system" and not taken into the terminal. No different than baggage at any cruise port in the world. It is all just laid out for those to grab their own bags and take them through Customs.

 

There were electronics problems which prevented the automatic fueling systems from fueling the planes. Guess what-old school tankers were used to fuel the planes (I specifically know this about AA flight 9220 which arrived March 3). Gee, what an innovation-you don't need all the fancy electronics and computer systems to get fuel into a plane or a car. And you don't need all the scanners, etc to get people through immigration/customs. A tent on the tarmac and immigration officials is all you need. Don't forget, that is the way you are often cleared on a ship-a table in the ballroom and officials examining passports and visas.

 

Again, the main problem, IMHO, were the SEVERE limitations on cruise air tickets and the really, really crappy Princess insurance. Princess did themselves no favors with their limited communication. But not refunding those whose cabins are being occupied by "returnees" is just plain WRONG.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It is clear that Princess posted on 3/27 the cruise would depart on March 2.

 

It is also clear that quite a few on this cruise either had no insurance or the almost worthless Princess insurance. Also add in the fact that quite a few had the Princess cruise/air package with the absolutely WORTHLESS cruise air tickets. Cruise air tickets are NON ENDORSABLE and generally NON REROUTABLE. At that point, Princess cruise/air passengers were STUCK-no way to get a flight on the originating carrier to SCL and no way to reroute the trip or use the tickets on another carrier. AND most cruise air passengers arrive the day of sailing, so no way to have the extra time needed to rearrange the trip.

 

Why is no one bringing up the TA's who sell these disastrous cruise air packages (they are often a disaster and not just in this situation)? If a passenger self-booked direct with the cruise line, they owed it to themselves to do a little research into what they were buying BEFORE they turned their entire vacation and vacation dollars over to a cruise line.

 

Why do you say the Princess Insurance is almost worthless?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pescado - I presume it was because of the fluctuating situation; older news releases were no longer accurate ("ship still leaving on March 2", for example) and were removed to prevent confusion with more recently issued and up-to-date information. The daily history and item-by-item updates are well-documented here on CC. Which, as all regular visitors know, is a tremendous resource.

 

It is clear that some posters are still in the anger and blame stages of their grief. Let's not take it too personally, they will calm down (eventually) and move on to the next stages. The outcomes of credit card disputes, cruise contract disputes, insurance contract coverages, media drum-banging and class action lawsuits are well-documented here on CC as well as other sites including both Chris Elliott and expertcruiser.com. Angry and upset people don't/won't listen to the facts until they calm down, and until then nobody wants to be the messenger. :(

 

Moving out of line-of-fire.....Rich and Joan did post on their Roll Call that they are in port at Ushuaia;

many people from prior cruise getting off and flying home. we heard that many people will join the ship today. also many will join in buenos aires and montevideo. held meet and greet on march 6. many people made it to the ship in Valpariso due to their determination and creative rescheduling by flying to alternative cities and then taking buses and taxis. ship is quiet due to few people on board - they have not told us any numbers.

SailorJack also posted they are joining the ship in Rio.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • Hurricane Zone 2024
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...

If you are already a Cruise Critic member, please log in with your existing account information or your email address and password.