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Subscribe to RSS(Updated 8:15 p.m.) Nearly 450 cruisers were stranded in San Juan on Sunday when port authorities ordered Carnival and Royal Caribbean vessels to leave early to avoid Hurricane Irene.
Three hundred of those left behind had not yet boarded the 2,758-passenger Carnival Victory, which was ordered to leave at 6 p.m. instead of 10 p.m. Another 145 were left by Royal Caribbean's 2,112-passenger Serenade of the Seas, which departed at 5:30 p.m. — three hours before the originally scheduled departure time. (Note: San Juan is the embarkation port for each ship.) Port authorities from San Juan limited traffic in and out of the port starting at approximately 12:30 p.m. on Sunday.
In Royal Caribbean's case, passengers from Serenade of the Seas were not notified of the change in plans.
One of those stranded passengers was Nicole Washington, who told CBS Miami that she arrived at the port shortly after 5 p.m. to find the terminal closed and Serenade of the Seas gone. According to Royal Caribbean, there wasn't time to alert the passengers of the early exit. "Since this decision was made by the Port of San Juan on Sunday while the ship was docked alongside, there was no way to notify our guests of this change in departure time," the line said in the statement. The line did, however, have port agents at the pier assisting guests who did not arrive in time to meet the ship.
Washington's response: "I can't believe this big billion-dollar company couldn't have contacted me to tell me the ship was leaving early. They had my phone number!"
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For Carnival's part, spokesman Vance Gulliksen tells Cruise Critic that the line "tried to contact all guests who didn't make the ship and was successful in reaching most of them."
Hotel accommodations and flights to Aruba to meet the ship were provided to the 15 Serenade passengers who had booked the air/sea package through Royal Caribbean. The balance of cruise-only passengers were, upon arrival at the cruise terminal, "advised of hotel availability in San Juan," said the line. The expense of both the potential hotel stay and airfare to reach the ship was the passengers' responsibility — or covered by their travel insurance, depending on the policy — because the early departure was a weather-related incident.
Carnival's response was markedly different. Spokeswoman Jennifer de la Cruz tells Cruise Critic that the line offered complimentary hotel rooms for two nights in San Juan to all 300 passengers, regardless of whether they booked air through the line. The 300 impacted passengers were also offered a free flight to Barbados to meet the ship. The flight required that they have a passport; about half of the passengers took the line up on the hotel and air offer.
At this point, a number of left-behinds have connected with Serenade of the Seas and Carnival Victory, said spokespeople from each line. "We're only aware of the independent guests who made contact with us," said Royal Caribbean's Cynthia Martinez, "[but] of those, 45 joined in Aruba and two in Curacao." Gulliksen tells us that about half of Carnival's impacted cruisers, many of whom were sailing as part of a large group, met Victory in Barbados on Wednesday.
Royal Caribbean is not providing compensation for passengers who miss the sailing, says Martinez — again, because the early departure was a weather-related event. De la Cruz said that any passenger who missed the Carnival Victory cruise will be refunded in the form of a future cruise credit.
More on Hurricane Irene
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Something doesn't add up in this story...if the passengers who disembarked were made fully aware of the ramifications the weather conditions dictated, then I can see the reticence on the part of the cruise lines to take any responsibility and leave these passengers on their own...
If the passengers had no warning that the ship could be commanded to leave at any time by the Port Authority, then these passengers have perfectly legitimate complaints......
Ummm... passengers never disembarked....the story states "Note: San Juan is the embarkation port for each ship".
I've done a number of cruises, less then most, more than some (12 to be exact). In that time, I've seen the best and worst of service, and in that short time I've seen the quality of cruise-line service mostly go down.
I don't know what I would do if I was on my own independent tour and my ship left, but I guarantee this, if I was on a ship-sponsored tour, bought from the cruise line and my ship left, and I was refused Full, and I mean Full compensation, I would spend the rest of my Life to bring that cruise line down, via TripAdvisor, legal action, public media, etc. etc.
So my question is, do you agree with my above opinion, and what happened to those Ship-sponsored tour passengers? The cruise lines Always, and I mean Always, states and brags that their ship will Not leave without those passengers. Did they leave those passengers behind? If they did, do they get Full refunds? They better!
re-read the story, these people were not on a tour...they had yet to check onto the ship. the cruise lines should have still tried to notify them of the early departure, they do require telephone numbers as well as emergency contact numbers.
Read the article, it said, it is the port of embarkation, so it is the start of the trip! That is why I go a day early so I'm not late.
I'm leaving in a month on same trip "Serenade"
THis is all covered in the cruise ticket, you must sign and agree with it when you register for the cruise. You are strongly advised to take trip insurance to cover such things, Here is the pertinent paragraph (NCL Version):
They did try to notify them, but many of these people were in transit, probably on Planes and difficult to reach. The cruise line loses money when a ship has an empty room, even if rented. Empty rooms don't buy drinks, shore excursions, gift shop items, spa treatments or upgrade to the specialty restaurants. They don't gamble in the casino, they don't take gym classes, get hair cuts or buy photos. And that is where they make their money, that and those who book the largest suites.
I agree w/you 100%. The inconvience, stress & lack of compensation that being left behind would cause would absolutely keep me from ever cruising either line & I would do the same as you in making sure anyone considering booking a cruise on those lines would never do so. SHAME ON THEM!
I think that maybe you didn't read the differences on the way each cruise line handled the situation. Carnival made a conscientious effort to reach all passengers. I'm sure some were unreachable due to flight schedules, etc. Then Carnival, even though the situation was weather related, provided hotels and flight service to catch up with the ship. Carnival went above and beyond what they need to do under the circumstances.
I do think that Royal Carribean could have and maybe should have made a better effort and maybe provided more services to those who were unable to make it to the ship.
Not for nothing - if you travel to the Carribean during prime hurricane season, it is your responsibility to purchase insurance and/or take a risk that the weather may interrupt and/or disrupt your travel plans. The cruise lines do not have control over the weather. That's why I went on a cruise last March and will never book a cruise from August - October. It's prime hurricane season.
Typical of Royal Caribbean to leave passengers on their own. I have sailed with them in the past and once they have your money their hospitality ends their. No surprise here.
The bottom line in this is that everyone traveling Carnival or Royal Caribbean needs to have Travel Insurance since they don't give a damn about you after you have booked as stated in their policy that post #6 above shows.
I'm staying here in South Beach Miami watching these boats sail in and out, thinking how nice it would be to go on a cruise. You can bet it will be on Carnival...
If you have booked a cruise and you know that a hurricane is approaching you should stay alert for possible last minute changes. Some people seldom travel and think that just because they have paid a few bucks for a trip they are entitled to tender loving care from start to finish.
When you buy an airline ticket and you know that a snow storm is coming... don't you ask yourself questions as to whether the flight will go?
If the ship waits for you despite an approaching storm and you end up puking all over the galley are you going to complain to the line for the fact that it was rough going?
Some folks should just stay on their couch and watch the TV Travel Channel.
Ok, I reread the article, slowly this time. I too always come in a day earlier to an embarkation port city, and get on board shortly after the Noon hour to partake of the Lunch buffet, so I have "no dog in this fight", and of course it would be my responsibility to pay for my hotel for that night, but damn if I'd go chasing a ship, after Not being contacted that said ship was leaving earler than the time stated on the manisfesto and ticketing info.
Really I'm being more of an Advocate for the Hundreds and Hundreds of those poor chumps that were Not contacted by the Cruise Line. Demand full restitution or at least a Full voucher for a similar future cruise, not one of those phony 25% to 50% token crap vouchers. By the way, I've had only pleasant and great and exceptional cruises, but these customers need to be reimbursed for their "missed cruise", which was Not of their doing, so pony-up Cruise Lines or face the wrath of Hundreds and Hundreds of disgruntle customers! If the Cruise Lines were smart, they'd absorb the loss, and turn this incident into a Marketing-plus Bonanza.
ps. and for all you "Cruise Line Apologists", this goes way-beyond trip-insurance and legal mumbo-jumbo. Just yesterday the Airlines were legally forced to double-up and quadrupable the compensation for those passengers who get stuck on the tamarac (even for weather related delays!), and for getting bump off their planes.
"The Line must be drawn here", as Captain Picard of the newer Star Trek show would say. Contact Chris Elliot, the famous and effective Trip Advisor Troubleshooter, start a class-action legal suit, boycott these two cruise lines, etc. etc. and yes, this post is meant to be provocative! So fellow posters, do you agree or disagree? Inquiring minds want to Know.
Not everyone can fly in early for their cruise vacation, so I wonder how many of the unreachable people were still in transit as the port authority made them leave hours before their scheduled time. That is not the cruise line's fault that they couldn't be reached on anything not booked through the Cruise line.
1st - I commend Carnival on going above and beyond what they needed to do for a weather related incident. That is very impressive!!
2nd - I absolutely do not think it's right to lump these two cruise lines together as they each handled the situation differently and neither have control over the weather.
3rd - I think anyone who chooses to take a cruise during prime hurricane season assumes the risk that their plans may be disrupted. Purchase insurance to cover a likely disruptions or pay the consequences. You are the one CHOOSING to travel during a period known for hurricanes. Your choice = your risk! Unless you have trip insurance that covers weather related interruptions, and you choose to travel during prime hurricane season, you assume the risk!
4th - I do not believe that airlines, cruises, train, etc. should be responsible or liable for any weather related problems, delays etc. I do believe they should make an effort to contact passengers, reschedule, etc. as quickly as possible, BUT they can not help weather conditions and passengers making the choice to travel, especially during bad weather seasons, have to understand that they are assuming a risk their travel plans may be disrupted due to things out of control of the plane, train, cruise, etc. Purchase insurance to cover the situation or assume the risk - your choice.
It comes back to one of the biggest problems that people do not take responsibility for their own choices or actions and just want to hold someone else responsible and sue. That type of mentality raises the costs of everything for the rest of us. I have been on a few cruises, but have never booked during hurricane season as it my risk of a weather related incident is severely reduced. Do your research, use common sense and take responsibility for your own choices.
Compare this to buying airfare and then arriving for the flight only to find that it left hours earlier. No refund or compensation although you have a ticket in hand. I would be irate regardless of the the reason. The cost of doing business should include the cost of doing the right thing . . . sometimes the profits aren't as high.
WOW!...I will NEVER sail Royal Caribbean. They won't pay to help the stranded passengers who they will now lose as future passengers. How stupid are these people? Carnival is far from perfect but at least they treat their passengers right. Those people will never cruise with Royal again and will tell 100 people to never sail with them. What a bunch of dopes.