Bus Accident - Sapphire Excursion - Seattle

[dfields1814]

I was talking with friends who took the Sapphire cruise on May 7th up the west coast. They said they heard about a bus on a Princess excursion that had a major traffic accident. They heard the bus' brakes went out on a tour to some winery. A couple of cars were hit and people went to the hospital. Good news was that no one was seriously hurt from the bus, but some did require medical attention when they returned to the ship. the bus had major damage.

 

Did anybody hear about this??

 

You think about unsafe buses in some parts of the world. But you would never think that a bus was unsafe out of Seattle.

 

I am getting this information third hand so I don't know how accurate it is.

[Pam in CA]

I follow a couple of cruise news sites in addition to Cruise Critic and there hasn't been any mention of a Princess shore excursion bus accident, in Seattle or elsewhere. Just searched Cruise Bruise and nothing. Did a Google search and again, nothing. In today's instant communications world, this is unusual if something did happen. Not saying it didn't; just that there doesn't seem to be any mention on the Internet.

[Salacia]

Report of the bus accident can be found here: http://woodinville.patch.com/articles/passengers-from-the-tourist-bus-accident-may-12-tell-their-tale

 

Partial quote: Passengers From the Tourist Bus Accident May 12 Tell Their Tale

Reg Morre and Judie Rogers write about the harrowing ride and the gratitude felt for the bus driver and Woodinville business owners who comforted the passengers after the accident.

[dfields1814]

I googled it and I can't find anything either. It must be a conspiracy by Princess to cover it up LOL. You would just think something like that would make the papers and most certainly CC.

 

My friends said some the passengers were angry because the doctor was not available when they returned to the ship (probably went ashore). The bus had the windows broken.

 

Hopefully someone who was on that cruise will be able to tell us if it is an urban legend or not. My sources are very level headed people - not prone to rumors. But then again who knows!

[Salacia]

Partial quote:

 

On May 12 a tourist bus carrying 46 passengers appeared to have lost brake power coming down Woodinville’s Winery Hill and careened over traffic circles before coming crashing into boulders in front of Plants Northwest nursery.

 

No one was seriously injured, according to David Weed, spokesman for Woodinville Fire & Rescue, but two people in a car that was hit by the bus were transported to Evergreen hospital as a precautionary measure.

 

The passengers on board the bus were on a day trip from chartered by the Princess Cruise ship, Sapphire Princess.... more at http://woodinville.patch.com/articles/passengers-from-the-tourist-bus-accident-may-12-tell-their-tale

[treasure4two]

I have found that cruise lines in general(Pam from CA, I am not attacking Princess) try to distance themselves from problems with tours, saying problems are the tour companies fault and not the cruise lines. On HAL, we had a tour describe as a glass bottom boat and it had a tiny viewing area we had to all hunch over, yet another boat had a glass bottom boat and they were not advertised that way. HAL said it was the tour company's error, yet the info was written by HAL crew memebers and the two tours were run by different tour companies, so they could not have switched boats. As far as the Doctor not being available until later is understandable as he might have been off the ship and they could not reach him, but sounds like to me that in addition to the refund, a personal call from a high ranking crew member, checking on the passengers on the tour would have been a nice touch. I am in the insurance business and I find that many times, when there is an accident, businesses think that if they contact the people, it is like admitting they did something wrong. It is not, but I understand their concerns. In the 16 years I have handled insurance claims, maybe once or twice have I had a problem when one of my insureds contacted a claimant to express concern-most of the time, the claimants appreciated the concern as opposed to be totally ignored, like no one cared.

I am just glad not one on the bus(and hopefully the car hit) was hurt

badly and that the two tour people on the bus acted great.

[Adventurous Grandmom]

We participated in a tour on the Celebrity infinity in South America which was a Celebrity tour. We were on a ferry boat crossing the Straits of Magellan and 10 minutes out the port was closed--Celebrity stopped all tendering and we were left to continue the tour to an island with penguins. On our return to the port, the winds were at 90 to 100 mph and the passsage took double the time. We all thought we were going to die. Celebrity would take no responsibility for the tour --We all asked for refunds and none were given. We will not cruise with Celebrity again because of this incident.

[zacc]

I was talking with friends who took the Sapphire cruise on May 7th up the west coast. They said they heard about a bus on a Princess excursion that had a major traffic accident. They heard the bus' brakes went out on a tour to some winery. A couple of cars were hit and people went to the hospital. Good news was that no one was seriously hurt from the bus, but some did require medical attention when they returned to the ship. the bus had major damage.

 

Did anybody hear about this??

 

You think about unsafe buses in some parts of the world. But you would never think that a bus was unsafe out of Seattle.

 

I am getting this information third hand so I don't know how accurate it is.

 

I have to admit I am curious why you automatically assume the bus was unsafe. There are a number of things which could have occured, none of which have anything to do with the bus being "unsafe." Two weeks ago I was driving down the highway when my radiator hose split. It could just as easily been a brake line or my fuel line. Was my vehicle unsafe...no way. It was simply very untimely equipment failure. They call an accident an accident for a reason....because for the vast majority of them thats exactly what they are.

[ChiefSealthCruz]

I read the news article mentioned in posting #3. I drive school bus for a living and this road with the roundabouts is on my route. There was a yellow tour bus that looked like the one in the photo on the side of the road that had smashed into big rocks on the very narrow shoulder of the road right in front of the Plants Northwest nursery.

 

Knowing this area as I do, it says a lot for the driver's skill that he was able to fly through here without brakes and get the bus stopped without killing anyone on board his bus or other motorists/pedestrians/bicyclists. My hat is off to this driver.

[cherylandtk]

With regards to passenger's surprise and disappointment at Princess' (or any other cruiseline) distancing themselves from the accident, perhaps it is time to review the Passage Contract again:

 

(F) Excursions, Shoreside Services and Other Transportation: All travel facilities, tours, products or services, other than aboard Carrier’s vessels and tenders, provided in connection with, before, after or during Your Cruise, including but not limited to pre and post cruise activities, shore excursions, hotel accommodations, meals, or transportation of any kind by any vessel, vehicle, aircraft or other conveyance, are provided, owned and/or operated by independent contractors whose employees, facilities, conveyances, products and services are not subject to Carrier’s supervision or control. In providing or selling reservations or tickets in connection with any such activities, or by accompanying You during such activities, Carrier does so as a convenience to Passengers and shall be entitled to impose a charge and earn a profit from the sale of such excursions, services or transportation, but does not undertake to supervise or control such independent contractors or their employees, conveyances or facilities, and accepts no liability for any loss, delay, damage, injury, death, misrepresentation or disappointment whatsoever resulting therefrom. Carrier makes no warranty, either express or implied, regarding the suitability, safety, insurance or other aspects of any such contractors, transportation, tours, services, products or facilities, and Carrier’s liability for non-performance of any independent contractor providing such facilities or services shall be limited to a refund of the amounts received by Carrier on the Passenger's behalf, if any. Any liability for such services will be governed by the terms and conditions of the Passage Contract and the contracts and/or tariffs between You and such service companies. Any company or person providing services or facilities of any kind in connection with a shore excursion or other activity offered for purchase by Carrier shall have the benefit of every defense to which Carrier is entitled under this Passage Contract. Without limiting the foregoing, Carrier shall have no liability under any circumstances for claims arising as a result of the Passenger participating in excursions or activities of any kind other than those offered for purchase by Carrier.

 

Not saying that the cruiselines could not do a better job or choose to be more helpful, just saying that passenger's expectations far exceed the actual contractual obligations. A ship 'sponsored' shore excursion has little to recommend it except, perhaps, the late-return get-you-to-the-ship provisions. Pax are usually better off taking a private excursion for less cost, and they do not have false expectations of the cruiseline's participation or liability.

[dfields1814]

Salaica: thanks for the website.

 

I just wanted confirmation that the accident happened. I guess it did.

 

The good news is that it appears no one was seriously hurt.

[Salacia]

Salaica: thanks for the website.

 

I just wanted confirmation that the accident happened. I guess it did.

 

The good news is that it appears no one was seriously hurt.

 

You're welcome defields. Yes, that no one was seriously hurt is indeed good news :) -S.

[Pam in CA]

Thanks for the info on the bus crash. Strange that it hasn't come up before.

[Cruisers from WA]

We live in Seattle, watch the LOCAL NEWS several times EVERYDAY and we never heard about it at all on TV, and hubby does not recall reading anything in the Seattle Times about the bus brake failure.

 

 

Now I do remember when leaving the port after our son picked us up (post cruise) and seeing an airport transfer bus broke down and the passengers boarding another bus that was behind it and luggage was being transferred to the rear bus, so the passengers could get to SEATAC.

 

Stuff happens with buses, cars, and cabs.....

[treasure4two]

When I read the article and what two of the passengers said about how Princess handled it, I did not see the passengers involved looking for compensation, which is something handled in their policies, but I think they may have been looking for more compassion and concern.

[emmtee]

For what it's worth, I had great treatment by NCL when I broke my ankle on on their shore excursions in Estonia. It was freak accident - absolutely no one's fault but my own: I tripped over a step and suffered a compound fracture. The tour guide stayed with me on the ambulance ride to the hospital, got my mom checked into a hotel, and facilitated communications between my mom and the rest of my family who continued with the cruise. Our guide came back when I checked out of the hospital and helped us get on a ferry to Helsinki where we rejoined the cruise. We had been sleeping 4 in a cabin, but when Mom and I re-boarded, they moved my sister and me move into another cabin for the 2nd half of the (13 day) cruise - no charge. Also, they loaned me a wheelchair for the rest of the cruise - even allowed me to take it on shore excursions. I know people don't always have nice things to say about NCL, but you won't hear any complaints from me. I'll alway be grateful for the way they helped me after my accident.

 

(BTW - Yes, my avatar is my actual x-ray.)

[SRQfireman]

Kinda hard to see that xray since it's so tiny....tried to get it expand and it wouldn't. That sure doesn't look good. Did they give you high dose antibitoics so you didn't get an infection? The bone end didn't get stuck in anything nasty when it came out did it? Ya never know what kind of grunge you'll find in a foreign country. You end up getting hardware in there or is that a metal splint on there? Hopefully you got good range of motion now

[sevencrawfords]

Yes this accident did happen my husband and I were on the bus. It was an excursion to the Chateau St. Michelle and Columbia wineries. The bus lost it's brakes traveling downhill into the town of Woodinville. All in all traveled about 3 miles without the brakes. One of the scariest experiences I have ever been involved in. I believe if it weren't for the quick thinking of the bus driver we could have all been killed. Unfortunately we were not as happy with the way Princess handled the situation and we have always been Princess Cruise line fans. Princess appeared to be more interested in covering their own behinds that caring about it's passengers and their well being. Very disappointed!

[cherylandtk]

Sevencrawfords, I am very sorry to hear of your scary 'adventure' and glad to know that you are OK. From your post it appears you were not injured? I do hope that is the case.

 

I am also sorry to hear that you are not happy with the way Princess handled the situation, but I would suggest to any others reading this that (again?) this unfortunate situation shows that the contract prevails. Princess bears zero liability for the performance of the shore excursion operators. (Not what you need to hear right now sevencrawfords, so I will just wish you the best and good luck in getting your situation resolved.). But everyone else take heed, make sure your expectations match your contract fine print.