Celebrity Infinity Jan 7 2018 departure change -Valparaiso to San Antonio

60 days before departure they change Valparaiso Chile to San Antonio. Apparently until this year, passenger ships have not used this port in 50 years. Looks like an industrial area. Looks like nothing to do compared to Valparaiso. No credit, no nothing at this point from Celebrity.

Princess also switched their cruises to use San Antonio Chile rather than Valpariso.

Was there any reason given? Are you still flying home from Santiago? Is San Antonio closer perhaps?

60 days before departure they change Valparaiso Chile to San Antonio. Apparently until this year, passenger ships have not used this port in 50 years. Looks like an industrial area. Looks like nothing to do compared to Valparaiso. No credit, no nothing at this point from Celebrity.

The port change will actually start on December 8th when Infinity complete Trans Panama Canal cruise. I am on both cruises and just received notice of the change today. This is not the first time I've had an embarkation or debarkation port change. A TA that was supposed to leave from Civi left from Naples instead. Celebrity provided free transportation to Naples from FCO. Its easier for Celebrity if all goes as planned; however, there are times when things happen that are not controlled by Celebrity

no reason given and no help. Already booked hotels in Valparaiso. Money lost if we don't go there.

Just a guess, but since Princess also changed ports it may be,as was already suggested something out of Celebrity control. Did you try googling Valparaiso Chile? It may be something that your travel insurance may cover if you have it.

no reason given and no help. Already booked hotels in Valparaiso. Money lost if we don't go there.

Happening to many cruise lines. We'll be in Valparaiso for five days before our cruise. Am looking now into viable options for transfers from Valparaiso to San Antonio. Check with your hotel and explain the situation. My guess is there are others who will be in the same boat (no pun intended) from your same hotel. Perhaps the hotel could arrange a shuttle? I understand there is also a bus (Tur?) between the two cities. Because this is happening to so many....and on so many cruise lines....my guess is Valparaiso will capitalize and arrange more transportation between the two cities.

A quick Google search for "Valparaiso Cruise Port Problem" brought up an interesting article from SeaTrade, which I will not copy because I think it violates copyright laws, but all of those affected should read it and can perhaps gain some insight into the issue.

Valparaiso and San Antonio are roughly equidistant from Santiago. Check out Google Earth or equivalent.

Click to read the article on Valparaiso

I'm arriving December 8 in San Antonio now...oh well if you don't make the cruise lines happy, you pay!

Port personnel in Valparaiso have activated various work stoppages and last season several cruises were impacted.....I remember when Crystal passengers were delayed in being able to disembark there, and the subsequent cruise was also impacted. It appears that the cruise lines are reacting to the Valparaiso port disruptions and have found an alternative locale.

. A TA that was supposed to leave from Civi left from Naples instead. Celebrity provided free transportation to Naples from FCO. Its easier for Celebrity if all goes as planned; however, there are times when things happen that are not controlled by Celebrity

If I remember correctly the change was due to a storm,so not the same situation.

If I remember correctly the change was due to a storm,so not the same situation.

Yes, it was weather problems, but situation is precisely the same. The port of debarkation was changed! Does mater why it was changed, only that it was changed. Celebrity cannot control Acts of God or strikes. Passengers can control the way they adapt to changing conditions. The OP has time to make arrangements to get to the ship. I would suggest they start with their Roll Call. I'm on the November 23rd cruise that will now dock in San Antonio. Fortunately I'm on a B2B so not really affected. My cruise is in a bit over two weeks. The OP's cruise is a month later. Certainly enough time to make arrangements. I'll be interested to see how people react on my Roll Calls.

This is a risk we all assume when we make our own travel arrangements independent of Mother Celebrity. The SeaTrade article notes the labor problems as well as a refusal to prioritize cruise ships over cargo ships and a refusal to take bookings for the use of the port more than 3 months in advance.

Since the Valparaiso Port Authority has essentially decided that it doesn't want cruise ships calling anymore, the cruise lines have switched to San Antonio which has a state of the art dual use port. Unfortunately, San Antonio is more like Freeport, Bahamas while Valparaiso is more like Nassau, Bahamas.

I would think of this in the same way as Berlin. Berlin is not itself a port but is a port of call. Valparaiso is now a port of call that has a currently unusable port.

Sorry, there are buses and taxis and tour operators who will take passengers from Valparaiso to San Antonio.

I also suspect that the hotels or the tourist bureau will make arrangements for cruise passengers to visit Valparaiso. There will probably be shore excursions that will take passengers to San Antonio or Santiago via Valparaiso.

Or the government of Valparaiso will replace the Port Management because of the loss of hundreds of thousands of cruise passengers and many millions of dollars.

This is not the first time I've had an embarkation or debarkation port change. A TA that was supposed to leave from Civi left from Naples instead. Celebrity provided free transportation to Naples from FCO. Its easier for Celebrity if all goes as planned; however, there are times when things happen that are not controlled by Celebrity

A bit of a difference here . Celebrity gave us less than 24 hours notice and provided all transportation. We still went to the port and even had the option of being picked up at the airport. All at Celebrity's expense

Sorry, there are buses and taxis and tour operators who will take passengers from Valparaiso to San Antonio.

 

I also suspect that the hotels or the tourist bureau will make arrangements for cruise passengers to visit Valparaiso. There will probably be shore excursions that will take passengers to San Antonio or Santiago via Valparaiso.

 

Or the government of Valparaiso will replace the Port Management because of the loss of hundreds of thousands of cruise passengers and many millions of dollars.

I suspect you are correct with paragraph 3! We shall see. It is what it is...inconvenient yes, so is the National Holiday (wineries closed:() but sometimes cruisers just have to go with the flow - although Celebrity could have given the November 23 sailing passengers a bit more notice.

This is not the first time I've had an embarkation or debarkation port change. A TA that was supposed to leave from Civi left from Naples instead. Celebrity provided free transportation to Naples from FCO. Its easier for Celebrity if all goes as planned; however, there are times when things happen that are not controlled by Celebrity

A bit of a difference here . Celebrity gave us less than 24 hours notice and provided all transportation. We still went to the port and even had the option of being picked up at the airport. All at Celebrity's expense

I didn't find out about the change to Naples until I arrived at FCO the morning of the cruise since my Cell phone was off during the flight. I had paid for transportation and was happy to learn that Celebrity completely refunded the charge. People who booked transportation with them don't have to do anything. We still don't know what Celebrity might do for others.

We are a group of 6 pax who need to get from Valparaiso hotel to San Antonio cruise pier on Jan. 7th. Has anyone found a company who can provide this transportation?

We are a group of 6 pax who need to get from Valparaiso hotel to San Antonio cruise pier on Jan. 7th. Has anyone found a company who can provide this transportation?

Did you check with your hotel? Many of them can arrange this.