Cruise Holidays - Attheta Travel

By A. Pawlowski, CNN March 5, 2010 1:11 p.m. EST (CNN) -- The terrifying moments on board the Louis Majesty, a cruise ship hit by 26-foot waves off northeast Spain, may be prompting second thoughts among travelers considering a vacation at sea. Two passengers were killed and 14 people were injured when water violently crashed through the windows of some of the ship's public areas this week. The incident brought to mind scenes from "The Poseidon Adventure," a movie in which a wall of water completely flips a cruise ship. But could that actually happen away from a Hollywood movie screen? And how well are cruise ships equipped for extreme weather? Experts said waves like those that struck the Louis Majesty are extremely rare and should be of little concern to the average cruise ship passenger. "Cruise lines are operating on a weekly basis, they're always at sea and there's a very, very, very low frequency of these incidents happening,...

"Almost 3,800 passengers and crew were aboard the Star Princess, but only a handful were up on the bow in the blush of pre-dawn as the cruise ship glided into Vancouver, B.C." By Alan Berner Seattle Times staff photographer Click HERE to read the complete article in the Seattle Times.

TRAVEL ADVANCE Volume XX, Number 41 Tuesday, March 2, 2010 TURISMO CHILE ISSUES UPDATE ON EARTHQUAKE DAMAGE. Turismo Chile, the country’s tourism promotion organization, has issued a statement to the tourism industry addressing the effect of the 8.8-magnitude earthquake that hit Chile in the earning morning hours last Saturday. According to the report, the cities closest to the epicenter of the quake–including Concepcion, Talcahuano and Temuco, and a number of small towns along Chile’s central coast–were most affected by the quake. Authorities are still working on assessing the full damage. Basic essential services including water, electricity and telecommunications are gradually being restored. The southern parts of the Lakes and Volcanoes region was not affected by the quake. Operations in popular tourist towns including Pucon, Puerto Varas and Puerto Montt are reported to be normal. In Santiago and Chile’s Central Region, the Santiago airport suffered structural damage to the...

Update from Oceania Cruises, March 2 Insignia is currently sailing in South America and is en route to Valparaiso, Chile, where the cruise is scheduled to arrive on Sunday, March 7th. We have been in close communication with management onboard Insignia and our ground operations team in Chile. Additionally, a team of Miami-based executives is enroute to the region to provide a firsthand assessment of the situation in Santiago and Valparaiso. Based on the preliminary information we have obtained, we do not anticipate any itinerary changes to affect our arrival in Valparaiso on March 7th. The Santiago International Airport has been closed to all but military operations since the earthquake. In a meeting of the Chilean Civil Aviation Authority (DJAC) on March 1, the authorities announced a twophase restoration of airline service.  During Phase One (March 3 - 5), domestic flights will arrive and depart from 8:00 AM until 8:00 PM through temporary facilities at the airport. ...

The Cruise Holidays International Concierge Desk has many contacts in Chile. Our sources have advised that the area around Santiago is experiencing fuel shortages, thus affecting the availability and price of taxis. Travelers may find themselves in Santiago at the airport or Valparaiso at the pier without ground transportation. We advise our clients to book their transfers with the cruise line. In this way, the cruise lines will have some responsibility in getting the clients to or from the ship. If transfers are not available through the cruise line, contact the Cruise Holidays International Concierge Desk for help in securing ground transportation. The desk can be reached by sending an email to travel@attheta.com . Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Chile at this time. We at Cruise Holiday will monitor the situation and relay important information as needed.