Two tugs finally reached on Tuesday the stranded “Costa Allegra” cruise and are pulling her to the Seychelles Islands. The vessel on Monday suffered a fire which left her powerless approximately 200 miles southwest of the Indian Ocean islands.
Another British cruise vessel had to cancel its visit to a South American port, this time in Chile but not because of political disputes with the UK, but rather as a direct consequence of local protests against the national government.
The law was ‘misinterpreted’ and “the authorization awarded to cruise vessels by the (Argentine) Foreign Affairs ministry was ignored”, claimed the president of Ushuaia Chamber of Tourism Marcelo Lietti reacting to the weekend decision to bar two red ensign cruises from entering Tierra del Fuego.
An Italian cruise ship with more than 1,000 people on board is without power in the Indian Ocean following a fire. The Costa Allegra is adrift more than 200 miles southwest of the Seychelles, near Alphonse Island.
Argentina has banned two cruise ships from calling at Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego after they visited the Falkland Islands, apparently based on recent provincial legislation, according to reports in the Ushuaia media.
Chile’s flag-carrier LAN announced that as of Wednesday it will cut Chile-South America fares as much as 40%. For years LAN has used what is known as the low-cost carrier model on its domestic flights, which has greatly reduced fares on its domestic flights and increased traffic.
In an effort to assist travel agents and tour operators with Antarctica travel planning for their Japanese clients and foreign residents of Japan, the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) is making new information available from the Japanese Ministry of the Environment.
Argentine Health Minister Juan Manzur confirmed Wednesday morning that the situation on the MSC Armonía cruise ship, which lost a crew member last Friday to a possible flu virus, “was under control” and “normal” after it arrived to Buenos Aires port to be inspected by customs and health authorities.
Passengers and crew from the Italian cruise vessel MSC Armonia had to undergo a medical check-up when they docked in Montevideo Tuesday morning following the death of a member of the crew who is believed to have caught a type of flu virus.
TAM, Brazil's largest airline, reported a fourth-quarter profit on rising ticket prices, fanning expectations of more profitable operations in the year ahead despite recent cost pressures.