Celebrity in Quito During "Unrest"

[turbobob]

I am not a big fan of Celebrity Cruises but exceptional performance, good or bad, needs to be recognized.  During the week we were in the Galapagos on Flora (9/29-10/6) there was political unrest in Quito, the transfer point between Galapagos and the rest of the world. The demonstrations during the week we were at sea had led to a quiet weekend and we arrived at the J.W. Marriott Quito on Sunday, October 6.

There were about 25 of us at the Marriott on Monday October 7, a mix of Flora and Xpedition passengers who had completed their cruises and were awaiting flights home. Our Delta flight was scheduled for 11:30 pm and the airport transfer was scheduled for 8 pm; it takes about 1 hour to get to the airport from Quito.   Normally Celebrity has tours available during the day, prior to departure but because of the political unrest those tours were cancelled.  The Celebrity people on the ground in Quito at the hotel stayed on top of the demonstrations and as the situation worsened they decided that remaining in the Marriott was not safe and we should leave Quito immediately at around 2 pm.

The normal transfer buses were not available so Celebrity staff drove us, 6 people at a time, using minivans on a circuitous route using roads that were still open out of Quito to the San Jose de Puembo Quito Airport Hotel where we were provided rooms at no charge, dinner (also at no charge) and transfer to the airport only a few miles away.

When it was time for the transfer to the airport one Celebrity staff person and one of the hotel van drivers, who knew the local roads, loaded us and our luggage into two ten-passenger vans and headed to the airport using back roads because the main routes were blocked.  It was an exciting ride down dirt roads, used a creative left turn, and resourceful avoidance of roadblocks to get us to the airport in plenty of time for the earliest flight.

Kudos to the Celebrity staff in Quito; they did what was the best thing for their passengers, sometimes putting themselves at risk to get us out of harm’s way and to the airport for our flights home.

[Georgia_Peaches]

Wow!  Sounds like quite an adventure.  If I wasn't a "big fan" of Celebrity prior to this experience, I think I would be now!  Thanks for sharing and glad you made a safe journey home.

[The_Big_M]

It's certainly a good reflection of their on the ground Ecuadorean staff. Not sure how high this was driven by Corporate however.

[jelayne]

25 minutes ago, The_Big_M said:

It's certainly a good reflection of their on the ground Ecuadorean staff. Not sure how high this was driven by Corporate however.

Does it really matter at what Corporate level X came thru they did.  You choose to look at the glass as half empty I prefer to look at it as half full. 

[The_Big_M]

8 hours ago, jelayne said:

Does it really matter at what Corporate level X came thru they did.  You choose to look at the glass as half empty I prefer to look at it as half full. 

Where did I do that?

 

I don't know who you're looking at. I pointed out where the credit goes to, and you seem to want to diminish the on the ground activities. And yes, it does matter that they get recognised.

[PelicanLvr]

Getting back to the OP's story.....WOW!!  Really happy for you that X stood by you and made sure you were safe. 

 

Quite a story to tell!

 

Bet it was GREAT to be back in the USA.  

[mitz18]

1 hour ago, The_Big_M said:

Where did I do that?

 

I don't know who you're looking at. I pointed out where the credit goes to, and you seem to want to diminish the on the ground activities. And yes, it does matter that they get recognised.

 

I think it was your comment: "Not sure how high this was driven by Corporate however."   Kind of sounds like a negative thrown in on top of a positive.   Not saying that's what you meant, just saying how it sounds.   Bottom line, sounds like the OP and their group were very fortunate and treated with above/beyond service.

 

 

 

 

 

[Icon901]

Was just in Ecuador 2 weeks ago (mostly Cuenca but a couple days in Quito). Was very dismayed to see the beautiful country devolving into a bit of chaos lately... and we were glad we got out when we did (on the 23rd). 

 

The service you describe is impressive as hell. Kudos to Celebrity staff. 

[sippican]

Thank you for reporting in and glad you had such a positive experience. When we were with Celebrity in Lima, there was some political unrest (not to the degree in Ecuador) and the guides handled it beautifully. 

There are a few references to the experiences of other cruisers in this thread. 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2675233-galapagos-problems/

 

[snichols23]

Kudos to all. December 2018 completed transatlantic on the Rhapsodic of the Seas. Ship disembarked in Ft. Lauderdale instead of Tampa due to extremely rough seas. RCCL aided in air needs, transporting others by bus to Tampa port or air port to continue trip. Internet access was also opened up. No cost to passengers. Since we weren’t flying home until the next day, we simply had an added drive across Florida. I know the captain made the right decision. When we arrived at our hotel, new cruisers were transported from Tampa to Ft. Lauderdale. Hugh planning night mare but they pulled it off beautifully . 
 

[RJ2002]

Following this thread.  Our Galapagos trip is several months away, but obviously very concerned about the situation in Ecuador - especially for others with imminent travel plans.  I hope folks will continue to post their experiences here.  It is good to know that based on the initial reports, Celebrity seems to be on top of this.

[snichols23]

Here’s the link for travel advisory

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories.html

 

I checked out port info and found nothing dire.

also Checked travel advisory on celebrity. Nothing there either. (Bottom Right of home page Under customer care)

 

hoping for the best

[sippican]

1 hour ago, snichols23 said:

Here’s the link for travel advisory

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories.html

 

I checked out port info and found nothing dire.

also Checked travel advisory on celebrity. Nothing there either. (Bottom Right of home page Under customer care)

 

hoping for the best

 

Which port did you check for?

 

Althought the country-wide risk is rated "exercise increased caution", this is further down the page:

Do not travel to:

Azuay, Bolívar, Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, Guayas (including Guayaquil), Imbabura, Loja, Los Ríos, Manabí, Pichincha (including Quito), and Tungurahua provinces due to civil unrest.

 

Celebrity rarely posts warnings, or notifies TAs. It is worisome that X is not even communicating alternate plans in light of this warning from the State Department.

 

[snichols23]

I checked ports for the Eclipse from Nov. 20 through Dec. 22. If you read travel advisories you can see issues, which are fairly normal warnings (theft, assault, etc.) I felt good after reading warnings. Enroll in STEP program while you are there.

 

i haven’t been able to find anything about Manta and cruise ship issues.