Star Princess – Valparaiso Chile – Earthquake Update
March 1, 2010 
3 Comments
I just got off the phone with Princess Cruise Lines. They have a hotline for passengers who are sailing on the Star Princess on March 2nd, 2010 departing from Valparaiso Chile. Many of the flights into Valparaiso have been cancelled and Princess is helping passengers look at alternate airports and with getting transfers to ship. The Star Princess is still scheduled to depart Chile on March 2nd. If you are having issues with your flights please call Princess at 1-800-Princess and you will get transferred to the Star Princess Hotline.
Here is the latest update from Princess’s Website:
Earthquake in Chile – Star Princess
Star Princess is currently sailing in South America and is en route to Valparaiso, Chile, where the cruise is scheduled to conclude on Tuesday, March 2.
Voyage 9005: Arriving Valparaiso Tuesday, March 2
We have been in close communication with management onboard Star Princess and, where possible, our contacts in Chile. Based on the information we currently have obtained, we do not anticipate any changes to our arrival in Valparaiso on March 2.
We are aware that the airport in Santiago is currently closed and appears to be closed through Monday, March 1. We are reviewing the impact of that closure and will provide updates as they become available.
Voyage 9006: Departing Valparaiso Tuesday, March 2
Star Princess is still scheduled to arrive on Tuesday in Valparaiso, Chile on Tuesday, March 2. Based on information that the Santiago airport will be closed for the next 72 hours, at this time we expect embarkation to commence as planned.
However, 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.
As we receive new information, we will continue to keep our passengers advised of any changes to their cruise itineraries. In the meantime, our thoughts are with those in Chile who are affected by the devastating earthquake.
Post Written By:
The ship will not sail on 3/2; please go to the pricess web site because their new sail date may be 3/3 depending on the airport status. We spent the whole day, first with LAN (flight cancelled); then our travel agent (flight is not cancelled); Princess, whose communications during this has been more than horrible. The same info on the new update for 4 days. To continue. Sped to Dulles Airport, tried to check in with United and found two of the most sympathetic, helpful personnel at the kiosk. “They didn’t want to send us to New York if the LAN flight was cancelled). They callled their inside sources, and the flight was cancelled not only for LAN but for ALL airlines going to Chile. Called Princess and asked for someone higher than agent; talked to Maggie who informed that a high level meeting was taking place to sort all of this out, and she would personally get back to us in 1 hour. We hung around the airport more than an hour; no call; so we took the Shuttle home. While in the shuttle,the travel agent called and informed that the flight was departing as planned (now this is one hour before our scheduled departure to NY). So I asked the bus driver if he could leave us off at the Hilton, where a lot of cabs were waiting. As he was turning around, our agent and Princess confirmed the flight was leaving. I asked how could that be, when all airlines flights had cancelled? I was put on hold again, and the Princess agent now said THE FLIGHT IS CANCELLED.” The agent said that we were to work with United/Lan and get ourselves there at which point I said “no way”, Princess made the arrangements, and I’m not doing one lick more of work until Princess calls us with where to take our feet and baggage. Did this day call for a martini?
You definitely deserve a Martini! Thank you for letting us know the update on about the Star Princess departure delay. And Thank you for sharing your day with us in the comments… I wish you safe travels to Valparaiso once you get to fly out and hopefully an awesome cruise once you get to the ship ~
Rich Tucker
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