Star Princess denied entry to Ushuaia over Falklands dispute

[Denisern2]

We went to the Falklands first and loved it. Then while on our tour in Ushaia the guide asked us where we had been. We told her and when we said the falklands. She said "When you are in Argentina you should show respect and call them the Malvines. Lets say I hope she got the tip....Keep your opinions to yourself.

IMHO if I had to choose between Ushaia and Falklands the Falklands win hands down.

[fathercop]

VICKIE: thanks for the update. I hope that the rest of your cruise is uneventful and that you enjoy your evening meal at the Crown Grill.

 

SHOGUN: As I said in my last post to you on a different thread, I guess it bears repeating here, you are very right, unless, of course, the Argentinians (or is it Argentines) want the sheep? :)

[Waynetor]

We had similar problem back in Dec 2009 on the Star. The captain was an ex British naval officer. After the Falklands we next went to Buenos Aires. When it came time to depart we were ready but the port officials kept letting other ships go ahead of us. After leaving 2.5 hours late as we sailed out the narrow channel to the open sea they allowed inbound ships to come in against us and we had to anchor for a couple hours to let them pass. We lost over 4 hours and were late getting to Rio for departure.

 

As a side note - we had an Argentinian passenger that brought on board a piece of sod and wanted to plant it on the Falklands.

[PescadoAmarillo]

Sorry the Star couldn't dock at Ushuaia. There's something special about going to the southern-most city in the world. I guess the 30th anniversary of the war and Prince William being in the Falklands has emotions stirred up, but, frankly, when I was there 10 years ago it seemed a hot issue then too. Many Argentinians on our ship refused to go ashore in the Falklands and I have a photo of a sign in a storefront that basically said that the people of Argentina would only be welcome if they honored the Falklands' right to self-determination.

[jig]

I have been to both places. I was reading an Argentinian press report, claiming that they will hit the Britts where it hurts. Are they sick. 4000 rich people roaming through your town dropping at least 1/2 million dollars. What pain. Maybe now is the time for the cruise lines to say bye, bye. It was reported that the order came from local "war veterens". So if thats what they want give it to them. Ushuaia will go out of business in a second. On my first circle south America we were unable to stop in the Falklands. Everyone was so upset. If we missed the half day in Ushuaia I don't think that too many people would be that upset. I have a good idea. The world cruise on HAL, because of bad weather, had to oveernight in Punta Arenas. That would give people a chance to visit Torre de Pines NP.

I'm sure that this will be resolved but if not no ships should visit Argentina till they come to their sences.

 

Jeffrey

[RickEk]

I have been to both places. I was reading an Argentinian press report, claiming that they will hit the Britts where it hurts. Are they sick. 4000 rich people roaming through your town dropping at least 1/2 million dollars. What pain. Maybe now is the time for the cruise lines to say bye, bye. It was reported that the order came from local "war veterens". So if thats what they want give it to them. Ushuaia will go out of business in a second. On my first circle south America we were unable to stop in the Falklands. Everyone was so upset. If we missed the half day in Ushuaia I don't think that too many people would be that upset. I have a good idea. The world cruise on HAL, because of bad weather, had to oveernight in Punta Arenas. That would give people a chance to visit Torre de Pines NP.

I'm sure that this will be resolved but if not no ships should visit Argentina till they come to their sences.

 

Jeffrey

 

Here's a good link to the story... P&O's Adonia (ex-Royal Princess) was turned away also... :(

 

http://travel.usatoday.com/cruises/story/2012-02-27/Argentina-bars-Carnival-ships-from-docking/53272448/1

[lorey]

This is very sad. We were on the Star Princess on the Venice to Valparaiso cruise and on 12/31/2011 we stopped at Stanley and did a penguin excursion. As we left Stanley we were amazed to see large Argentinean minefields fenced off with scary warning signs. They seemed to go on forever. Our driver said everyone knows where the Argentinean minefields are located and the land is not needed but they are the undetectable plastic mines that cannot be safely removed. If I had to live next to an Argentinean minefield I would certainly dislike and never want to be ruled by Argentina. I guess fortunately we were allowed to dock at Ushuaia so we can say we have been to Tierra Del Fuego. But this turn of events is very disappointing.:mad:

We've been on the same cruise and I have to tell you that when I am reading all these reviews I feel a bit strange that everything went well and we stopped both in Falklands and Ushuaia with no incidents. I don't know if I should say we were lucky that we visited both places but one thing that I realized over this cruise is that this visit in Argentina (both BA and Tierra del Fuego) it will probably be my last because I really found the people very unfriendly. The Chileans however were great......

[Triviabunny]

As Princess is turning around in B.A next year, it may make them have to cancel their trip to the Falklands if the Argies keep being akward.

 

Slightly more logical solution would be to skip Argentina alltogether.

[Loonbeam]

All depends which port brings them more shore excursion fees and where they may load supplies.

 

Slightly more logical solution would be to skip Argentina alltogether.

[srpilo]

OP .. Really sorry to hear about the disruption of your cruise, I been to both Port Stanley and Tierra Del Fuego, and persoanlly I wouldn't have wanted to miss either of them. FYI the cruise down the Beagle channel from Ushuaia to Punta Arenas is less than 150 miles and with the long summer time daylight hours available during the transit, it is always cruised slowly past the 5 Romanche Glaciers.

 

 

 

Again sorry you had to miss a really cool part of any SA cruise

Srpilo

[abbydancer2003]

I enjoyed both ports on our 2010 cruise.

 

When in BA I referred to the as the Mavinas and my tour guide thanked me for that.

 

When we docked in Ushuaia the patter for the day said that if you bought any tee-shirts, etc that said Falklands on them while there, don't wear them in Ushuaia.

[piper28]

it is always cruised slowly past the 5 Romanche Glaciers.

 

Actually, I'd disagree with that. We went past them at a pretty decent clip. Certainly no stopping and turning the ship around. I'd have to go back to the gps logs to know exactly how fast, but it wasn't a leisurely pace.

[Sunsailor]

Article in the Wall Street Journal today re: Argentina vs UK says that Argentine companies are being asked to replace British goods with goods from other countries. Mention was made of the two ships being denied entry to Ushuaia.

Boo hiss Argentina for inventing a new conflict now that there is offshore oil in the Falklands.

I may just give up my Malbec in favor of wine from Chile.

 

BTW - Carnival corp trades on the UK exchange. Will Argentina not allow all Carnival lines in it's ports in the future?

[gatour]

Julie, Since you live in Scottsdale which is known to attract tourists, should that preclude you from posting political messages? You have to remember that this is their country and if authorities believe the political messages are in accordance with local ordinance or acceptance so be it.

 

On the other hand, if you disagree with the message and decide to with-hold your spending that is your prerogative.

 

I have been many "tourist" places where political messages abound. It is their home and I am just a visitor, so if they feel the messages are acceptable so be it.

 

Just posted a response to Vickie but your comments about losing tourism dollars is spot on. We were on the cruise before your's so we visited the Falklands after Ushuaia. There were several signs up in Ushuaia including at the port about the Falklands always being part of the Maldives and that alone cost them some tourist dollars from folks who were irked by the political messages while they were supposed to be on vacation. Enjoy the glaciers and the rest of the trip!

 

Julie

[azbirdmom]

Julie, Since you live in Scottsdale which is known to attract tourists, should that preclude you from posting political messages? You have to remember that this is their country and if authorities believe the political messages are in accordance with local ordinance or acceptance so be it.

 

On the other hand, if you disagree with the message and decide to with-hold your spending that is your prerogative.

 

I have been many "tourist" places where political messages abound. It is their home and I am just a visitor, so if they feel the messages are acceptable so be it.

 

If I went to a country and saw signs maligning America I would not want to visit again, so I can certainly understand how the British passengers on our cruise felt. It really was over the top. This is a town that relies heavily upon tourism, and from my recent experience, this political dust up has probably cost the the hardworking people of the town a lot of money not only this week but potentially in the future. We are all entitled to our opinions, and that is just mine.

[Ryancoke]

On Coral last month I noticed the beef was a bit different than I was used to and was told it was sourced in Argentina. Hopefully Princess addresses this oversight. And lets them know why.

[freetocruise]

OP .. Really sorry to hear about the disruption of your cruise, I been to both Port Stanley and Tierra Del Fuego, and persoanlly I wouldn't have wanted to miss either of them. FYI the cruise down the Beagle channel from Ushuaia to Punta Arenas is less than 150 miles and with the long summer time daylight hours available during the transit, it is always cruised slowly past the 5 Romanche Glaciers.

 

 

 

Again sorry you had to miss a really cool part of any SA cruise

Srpilo

 

I am currently on this cruise. Capt. Perrin stated that the ship sails past these glaciers after leaving Ushuaia at 4 pm and they have to be out of the narrow fjord by sunset. He says he normally sails past them at "full speed" with no stopping to make it out of the area in time.

[Scrapchick]

Yikes, I didn't mean to start something, and I never expected to end up being quoted in the CC news story about the two ships missing Ushuaia... Friends started face booking me telling me I was "famous"...

 

I disembarked the lovely Star P today in Santiago and finally have some unrestricted wifi time again, as I wait for my flight home. As Vickie said, we spent the day we should have been in Ushuaia cruising the Beagle Channel and I think we definitely made lemonade out of lemons that day. Instead of a quick look at a glacier after leaving port and then racing for Punta Arenas, we spent an absolutely fantastic day enjoying the stunning scenery at a leisurely pace. I think we came out the winners. I visited Ushuaia many years ago so I wasn't broken hearted at missing it, more just fuming at the silliness of the Argentinians. They gave up a huge amount of revenue and didn't win any friends on the ship for their quest for ownership of the Falklands (and I will not call them that other name, as I completely reject the Argentinian claim for the islands....)

 

Anyway, we had a wonderful day and it worked out fine. It didn't work out so well for the couple who were waiting for their luggage to catch up with the ship and found they had to wait till Santiago for it... It didn't work out for those passengers hoping to embark and disembark in Ushuaia, and it didn't work out for those who had booked the trip because they especially wanted to go there. But that's politics, it seems...

 

Anyway, I didn't want to just post and run, but my on ship wifi time was so limited and I couldn't get back to reply even though I wanted to.

[WarEagle76]

Thanks for the update. You might find the picture of Star Princess used by "The Sun" in their report of the situation curious as we did. Can't believe they couldn't find another picture of the ship vs. this one!

 

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4157952/Brit-liners-refused-entry-into-Argentina.html

[Shogun]

Hi All

 

May be one day the Sun will get a story 100% right.

 

yours Shogun

[CRUZER2012]

Yikes, I didn't mean to start something, and I never expected to end up being quoted in the CC news story about the two ships missing Ushuaia... Friends started face booking me telling me I was "famous"...

 

I disembarked the lovely Star P today in Santiago and finally have some unrestricted wifi time again, as I wait for my flight home. As Vickie said, we spent the day we should have been in Ushuaia cruising the Beagle Channel and I think we definitely made lemonade out of lemons that day. Instead of a quick look at a glacier after leaving port and then racing for Punta Arenas, we spent an absolutely fantastic day enjoying the stunning scenery at a leisurely pace. I think we came out the winners. I visited Ushuaia many years ago so I wasn't broken hearted at missing it, more just fuming at the silliness of the Argentinians. They gave up a huge amount of revenue and didn't win any friends on the ship for their quest for ownership of the Falklands (and I will not call them that other name, as I completely reject the Argentinian claim for the islands....)

 

Anyway, we had a wonderful day and it worked out fine. It didn't work out so well for the couple who were waiting for their luggage to catch up with the ship and found they had to wait till Santiago for it... It didn't work out for those passengers hoping to embark and disembark in Ushuaia, and it didn't work out for those who had booked the trip because they especially wanted to go there. But that's politics, it seems...

 

Anyway, I didn't want to just post and run, but my on ship wifi time was so limited and I couldn't get back to reply even though I wanted to.

 

 

 

I have no opinion on the Falklands/Maldives issue. But, I do recall a similar situation when the Star Princess tried to make a port call at Stanley. The Star Princess was also denied entry. There are lots of issues to think about in this one - the local Argentine governor's interpretation of the new law, long time animosity between Argentina and the UK, concerns over oil and gas exploration in the Falklands/Maldives.

 

It is just so sad for cruisers to get caught in the middle of this whole situation.

[RickEk]

Thanks for the update. You might find the picture of Star Princess used by "The Sun" in their report of the situation curious as we did. Can't believe they couldn't find another picture of the ship vs. this one!

 

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4157952/Brit-liners-refused-entry-into-Argentina.html

 

LOL... omg... :eek: Really, there had to at least one other stock photo out there... Heck, they could have gotten one from Princess' website. Makes you wonder... :rolleyes:

 

Oh... and I just went to read the rest of the story and they got the Adonia wrong too!! The current Adonia is the old R-ship Royal Princess. Does any news organization use proofreaders anymore!?

[englishbird]

I have no opinion on the Falklands/Maldives issue. But, I do recall a similar situation when the Star Princess tried to make a port call at Stanley. The Star Princess was also denied entry. There are lots of issues to think about in this one - the local Argentine governor's interpretation of the new law, long time animosity between Argentina and the UK, concerns over oil and gas exploration in the Falklands/Maldives.

 

It is just so sad for cruisers to get caught in the middle of this whole situation.

 

The Maldives are in The Indian Ocean!:confused:. I think you mean Malvinas

:D:D

[Bowie MeMe]

On Coral last month I noticed the beef was a bit different than I was used to and was told it was sourced in Argentina. Hopefully Princess addresses this oversight. And lets them know why.

 

We had Argentina sourced beef on our recent Star Princess cruise and I for one found it very delicious. I had given up on beef while cruising because it was tougher than shoe leather and hard to get it cooked to my liking since it has to be done in mass cooking. (Beef that starts in the kitchen as medium keeps cooking while it delivered and can go past rare or medium to tooooo done!).

 

What you are tasting is the taste of beef that is raised and finished on the grass of the plains while the beef you are used to is more grain fed and often supplements in the grain for quick weight gain. Leaner beef also because the cows move around like they are supposed to and not kept in feed lots.

Locally sourced food supplies means fresher food with less preservatives and at a cheaper cost which all is good. Traveling often means temporarily adjusting your taste buds but I consider that some of the fun and adventure.

[paul929207]

The Maldives are in The Indian Ocean!:confused:. I think you mean Malvinas

:D:D

Yes, we are going to the Maldives on the Ocean Princess next month. We go to the Malvinas (AKA Falklands) next February on the Grand Princess.