Saturday, February 27, 2010

Princess Cruises: Earthquake in Chile & Tsunami Warnings

Statement From Princess Cruises:

Early Saturday morning, Feb 27th, a magnitude 8.8 earthquake occurred in Chile, resulting in a tsunami warning issued over a wide area of the Pacific Ocean rim. Princess Cruises currently has eight ships sailing in the region's waters, and none are adversely affected at this time. The safety and security of our passengers and crew is our foremost priority and we continue to monitor events and, if necessary, modify itineraries to avoid any unfavorable sea conditions.

Star Princess Sailings in South America
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. The ship's call to Puerto Montt tomorrow is scheduled to proceed as planned. The authorities in Puerto Montt have confirmed that the port is open and fully operational. Officials have also advised that the city and surrounding area has suffered minimal damage and virtually all tours will operate as planned. 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.

Pacific Tsunami Warnings

The Princess ships cruising in areas of the Pacific Ocean rim that have received tsunami warnings, are not adversely affected. As necessary we are making itinerary adjustments to ensure the safety of our passengers and crew. The location of our ships and their status is as follows:

  • Coral Princess is at sea, en route to Costa Rica and is unaffected.
  • Dawn Princess is in Auckland, New Zealand today, and has had to make operational adjustments.
  • Diamond Princess is at sea in Australia waters and is unaffected.
  • Golden Princess is in Ensenada, Mexico today and is unaffected.
  • Island Princess arrived at Huatulco, Mexico today but had to depart because of the sea surge.
  • Pacific Princess was slightly delayed arriving into Suva, Fiji, but is otherwise unaffected.
  • Sapphire Princess is turning around in Los Angeles today, but because the Port is currently closed embarkation will be delayed.
  • Sun Princess is at sea in New Zealand waters and will visit Fiordland National Park tomorrow as scheduled, however the time will be reduced.

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.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

So my Father and sister in law are on the Star Princess, set to dock in Valparaiso , but America Airlines has cancelled their flight on the 2nd, and re booked for the 4th. So where do they stay? Is Valparaiso relatively unscathed? I need to find them a place to stay till they can get their flight....help

Linda Coffman, AKA Cruise Diva said...

If they booked their air arrangements through the cruise line, they will likely try to assist them. From news reports, it doesn't sound like Valparaiso suffered as much damage as cities closer to the center of the earthquake.

Anonymous said...

I am booked on the cruise only but our airline is not flying to Santiago as it says the airport is closed to 2nd march so we won't make it

Anonymous said...

My family are on the a Princess cruise line to come into I believe LA to return from a 2 wk trip from Hawaii, wonder where that ship is at?