http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americ....ap/index.html

So sad!

It was not a Milli excursion. They were a group from a retirement village and onboard with many others from the same place. I can't imagine how horrible this trip must be for everyone involved. Pray for all of them, including the staff.

Yes according to what I read this was not one of the Celebrity arranged tour excursions but one that the passengers had booked on their own. However, Celebrity did say that the ship would remian docked in Chile indefinitely until all was worked out. This is so sad.

Celebrity is taking excellent care of the passenger's families. Flying them in, grief counceling, phone calles, tec.

I read that 2 couples were celebrating their 50th anniversaries this year. Makes you think twice about trips along windy roads.

I thought about that happening in St. Lucia on an excursion.The road were windy and on cliffs. Not for the faint of heart. So sad. This could happen to anyone.

I have just heard on the news that the driver had fallen asleep. I'm sure they thought they were doing the right thing and saving a few bucks in the process. But I still don't understand why the cost on some of the excursions are so high. You would think the cruise ships would want to make the side trips as afforable as possible so people aren't or even wanting to try and use side trips not sponsored by the cruise line. For safty and peace of mind I would think they would want to keep there passengers as happy as possilbe and safe as possible . So sad.

On my last cruise in October, I was the only one at our large table of 10 who knew you could arrange your own shore excursions.And half the people were "veteran" cruisers.According to Bob Dickinson, only 15% of the US population has ever cruised.Only 4.5% of that figure even know about travel boards/forums.And only 25% of that figure actually visit them!! He's the MAN, you know!! So, bottom line, most cruise passengers think you have to purchase the cruise lines shore excursions.

12 died, 10 from NJ & 2 from CT. They were all over 60, some in their 70's, all couples. It's hard to understand why these older people would have booked a tour on their own, and especially on a dangerous road.

We're not that adventurous, & only book through the cruiseline.

The ship did leave, and is now in Lima. You can see it on the webcam website.

This is another reason to purchase the ship's tours!! When we were on the Amalfi coast last summer, I kept hoping the cruise chose reputable tour companies with excellent drivers!

Same thing could have happened on ship's tour. Who do think operates them, crew members? No, same local drivers. One time in Jamaica I booked RC tour, the other cruise we took a taxi (mini bus). I did not see any difference in car or drivers appearance.

I agree with spur. This is human error. It can happen anytime even with ship sponsored tours. Its very sad nonetheless.

Suerich68: Cruise sponsored tours aren't the only ones out there. Many people book with outside companies and the price is less. Actually the helicopter tour we took in Alaska through the ship uses the SAME co. that you can book with independently if you do so well ahead of time. The cost for us to do the booking thru the ship was $45.00 more which we had to pay because bookings directly thru the co. were all sold out for our day in port.

Cost isn't the only reason that people book outside of the cruise sponsored options. Many times a privately booked tour has a higher guide to tourist ratio (for adventure excursion options) and a smaller more personalized tour experience. I did both last year and have to say that the quality of the privately booked tours was higher: snorkel boat was much nicer, fewer passengers on our boat vs. the ship sponsored tour which was absolutely stuffed with people, etc. That said, I did research the private options extensively before booking to make sure that the quality and safety standards seemed to be there. It is disturbing that this group took a tour with an unlicensed company. The other down side of going on an independent excursion is that the ship will not wait for you if something happens. If it is a ship sponsored excursion, they will wait.

We always try a private tour first-because of quality rather than cost. Though, the cost is usually less and the value much better. We have had great success. Just got back from BVI and had the misfortune to take the ship's tour. Everyone crammed into the bus like sardines. No personalied highlights. We were extremely disappointed-especially when we compare it to tours run by private operators in Granada, St Lucia, St. Thomas, Caymen, etc. We also like to see as much of our money as possible stay on the island with the locals insead of sailing away in the cruise line coffers.

More details are coming out now about the accident, the tour operator was not licensed nor did he have a license to carry passengers in a vehicle. If you do a web search you can not even find this person, so there are questions as to how the poor passengers found this company? in the first place. For a while there was a story out that the driver swerved to miss a vehicle, now the story is back to the driver falling asleep behind the wheel. Terrible tragedy.

We had just gotten off the ship in Valparaiso. The average shore excursion from Celebrity appears to be about $120 and I am as thrifty as they come, but in 3rd world countries you have to think of safety etc and the incovenience of getting back to the ship if something happens to your tour bus etc. The location of the accident is remote and in very extreme weather, which the people may or may not have understood. The cruise excursions were in large, comfortable seemingly well built buses from larger vendors with credentials checked on by Celebrity. I think we should all think very carefully about safety issues when we travel including such fundamentals as wearing seatbelts. In our week in Buenos Aires pre cruise and our week in Santiago post cruise, we were never in a cab that had working seatbelts! I would never dream of operating a car without using my seatbelts, but in a 3rd world country with a driver of unknown skill I was traveling without a seatbelt! It really makes you think.

I agree Hotzim. We've always done excursions through the ship. I don't think I'd ever consider an outside operator after this incident. At least if an accident orrurs on a ship-sponsored tour there is cruise ship liability. You're on your own with an outside operator. It's a shame the ship's tours cost so much more than outside tour companies.

That was my point exactly. One trusts that booking through the cruiseline will get a higher quality vehicle/tour guide, etc. And again, if you don't make it back in time from an outside tour, the ship can leave without you.

Is it worth saving a couple of bucks when you're spending thousands? Not to me!

Is it the cruise line that is liable or the co. they subcontract with? Does anyone know for certain?