RCCL Strands 145 People in Puerto Rico due to Hurricane Irene

[Rick-cruiser]

I found this to be a very interesting article.. Certainly the cruiseline had no choice but to depart early from San Juan.. But what about the passengers that were left stranded..... imagine you were one of them... how would you feel about being left to your own devices (and expenses) given that "it was a weather-related event"?

 

 

Here is the link to the article: http://travel.usatoday.com/cruises/post/2011/08/stranded-passengers-san-juan-royal-caribbean-hurricane-irene/416548/1

[cruzeluver]

To answer your question, I would be seriously bummed out. But I would also not be looking for someone to blame.

[cruisestitch]

It is time for the ship to do as many airlines do -- have every passenger give cell phone or e-mail contact -- if my flight is going to be late, I get a recorded message on my cell phone, or an e-mail if that's the contact mode I have chosen. Time for Celebrity to add the same kind of passenger contact system to its arsenal.

[TeaBag]

Wow, I sure feel sorry for those 130 people. It wasn't RCCl's fault or the passengers' fault. Makes you think about using the cruise line's air. I sure do hope they get their cruise refunded.

[Maya57]

It is time for the ship to do as many airlines do -- have every passenger give cell phone or e-mail contact -- if my flight is going to be late, I get a recorded message on my cell phone, or an e-mail if that's the contact mode I have chosen. Time for Celebrity to add the same kind of passenger contact system to its arsenal.

 

This would not have helped.

Most passengers would have been in the air on a plane well before the time. they were informed to leave by port officials. Even if they were informed while on the plane what could they do?

[CruisinManiac]

RCCL wasn't the only cruiseline to leave passengers behind. Carnival and Celebrity did also. See message:

We were on a Celebrity ship in San Juan. We checked in then went to dinner at the Ritz. The departure time was supposed to be 10 pm with a be on-board by 9:30 pm.

We returned at 8:15 pm and the ship was about 40 feet off the dock. We called the ship on our cell phone, jumped up and down, all to no avail. We had locked everything in the room safe and only had an AMEX card. No licenses, passports, nothing. We ended up taking a taxi back to the Ritz, then went to the airport the next morning and had to convince American Airlines to fly us to St Thomas with no identification. About $900 later we arrived in Saint Thomas. Celebrity covered some of the expense. Truly bizarre that they left early.

[dmwnc1959]

Cruise News Daily is reporting that between the Carnival Victory and Serenade of the Seas approximately 445 passengers were stranded when both ships departed early to get ahead of the hurricane.

[CruisingChick]

Could it be that expensive for RCCL to have some type messaging system like the airlines and airports? I can have the airlines or airport text message or call my cell phone when there are delays or changes to a flight, why can't the cruise lines have something like this?

 

Also when we were sailing out of Charleston, SC in March 2010 our sailing was to be delayed. Celebrity called us to tell us not to come to the pier before a certain time because departured was being delayed. Granted they knew about this well in advance and called us 3 days prior to sailing but I can't believe there wasn't some way to notify these people that the ship was leaving 3 hours early.

 

I'd be really, really pissed if I was one of those 130 people.

[CoachT]

RCCL wasn't the only cruiseline to leave passengers behind. Carnival and Celebrity did also. See message:

And just where did Celebrity have a ship in the Caribbean last Sunday?

[austinlw]

I'm surprised that the cruise lines do not automatically put all passenger email addresses and phone numbers on an emergency notification list. They certainly send emails to me to get me to sign up for shore excursions and specialty dining on my upcoming cruise, so it is possible to try to contact everyone via blanket email (and maybe even an automated phone call). Yes some of these passengers may be on a plane on the way and wouldn't get the message in time. However, many of us fly in at least a day early to avoid unexpected problems. Especially during hurricane season, emergency schedule changes happen, so they should be prepared for them.

[cruisestitch]

Maya57 is right that an automated system would not have helped the passengers in the air, but if someone was already on the island and just out sightseeing or enjoying the beach that day, going to the pier early would have been a possibility and they would have made the ship. Many people go to San Juan the day before the cruise and would have benefited from such an automated announcement system as the airlines use.

[cruisestitch]

CruisinManiac -- I believe that report was of an earlier incident, not something that happened two days ago.

[gacruisergal]

Hurricanes don't jut appear of of the blue. They are tracked for days before they even get near to a landfall and I am sure that those stranded were aware that a hurricane (of sizable proportions) was approaching. If I were to go ashore knowing that a hurricane was heading in my direction, I certainly would change my land arrangements and stay close to the ship for this very reason!

 

This happened to us in the Falkland Islands and since we were tendered, the Captain called us all to return as the anchor was not holding. Crew member from the Princess were all over the island looking for passangers and getting them back to the tenders many hours before the original planned departure.

[Leo Jay]

IMO, the fact that any one of us, in this same situation may have chosen to stay close to port, or stay on the ship, or whatever other "safer" or "more prudent" thing does not mean that the blame lies with the passengers, and does not absolve the cruiseline from responsibility for stranding people on the island. Without knowing any more details, and assuming the passengers were not specifically warned in advance that the ship might leave them behind, I'd have to say I'd be pretty angry. As others have said, hurricanes don't come out of the blue, and the ship certainly has access to far more detailed tracking reports than a passenger, who has access to little if any local TV news. If the ship has reason to believe they may need to leave a port early, they should announce before docking that passengers should report back to the ship X hours early to be sure, or else take the risk of being left behind.

[cruisestitch]

I can picture that the port authorities gave the cruise line not much warning and no options -- an interesting thought just came to me -- there might have been crew members on shore -- not many of them can go ashore on debarkation/embarkation day but some can and do -- I wonder if any of them were caught by this?

[CruisinManiac]

And just where did Celebrity have a ship in the Caribbean last Sunday?

 

CruisinManiac -- I believe that report was of an earlier incident, not something that happened two days ago.

 

:o They sure made it sound like it just happened, didn't they?

 

From now on, I'll stick to reporting what I really know. As far fetched as it sounds, the recent earthquake really did hit Tennessee. Shook my study and computer desk pretty good. :D

[caripoo]

I guess thats why I personally avoid the Caribbean during hurricaine season!!!

[Christine Frances]

IMO, the fact that any one of us, in this same situation may have chosen to stay close to port, or stay on the ship, or whatever other "safer" or "more prudent" thing does not mean that the blame lies with the passengers, and does not absolve the cruiseline from responsibility for stranding people on the island. Without knowing any more details, and assuming the passengers were not specifically warned in advance that the ship might leave them behind, I'd have to say I'd be pretty angry. As others have said, hurricanes don't come out of the blue, and the ship certainly has access to far more detailed tracking reports than a passenger, who has access to little if any local TV news. If the ship has reason to believe they may need to leave a port early, they should announce before docking that passengers should report back to the ship X hours early to be sure, or else take the risk of being left behind.

 

San Juan was the departure port - not a port of call.

[Lois R]

RCCL wasn't the only cruiseline to leave passengers behind. Carnival and Celebrity did also. See message:

 

Celebrity does not have a ship in the Caribbean this month:eek: what

year did this happen?

[jerseygirl3]

Just one more reason to plan to arrive at least a day or two early for your cruise, especially during hurricane/winter season. We NEVER arrive the day of a cruise. It sucks for those passengers but the cruiseline really had no options. I don't see where they have any responsibility to reimburse the passengers that missed the ship. A hurricane is a weather-related event. I would think that those who had travel insurance (another thing we NEVER cruise without) had their expenses incurred to catch up with the ship covered.

 

Jo-Ann

[cruisestitch]

And one more reason to have a passport!

[Gracie115]

And another reason to fly in a day ahead of time......

[cruisestitch]

Probably some of these people did come in a day ahead, but they were delaying getting to the ship in order to enjoy the island. Had they known that they needed to hustle, they might have made it.

[eandj]

Obviously the cruiselines did what they HAD to to protect the ship and pasengers onboard. It wasn't their fault. They post poned sailing as long as they could, I'm sure. ANd they knew they'd "hear about it" after the fact. It's just a freaky situation that the passengers found themselves in. Disappointing for them and scary I'm sure. But no one can point the finger at anyone but Mother Nature on this one. I'm sure we'll all be reading about people asking for refunds becasue they missed a port a call or two. :rolleyes:

 

land vacations and cruising the Caribbean in hurricane season is a lot cheaper than in the winter. Looking for a value can sometimes hit a snag.;) If we all had a crystal ball I'm sure we'd do a lot of things differently.

[bigwalt0176]

Previously posted:

 

"We were on a Celebrity ship in San Juan. We checked in then went to dinner at the Ritz. The departure time was supposed to be 10 pm with a be on-board by 9:30 pm.

We returned at 8:15 pm and the ship was about 40 feet off the dock. We called the ship on our cell phone, jumped up and down, all to no avail. We had locked everything in the room safe and only had an AMEX card. No licenses, passports, nothing. We ended up taking a taxi back to the Ritz, then went to the airport the next morning and had to convince American Airlines to fly us to St Thomas with no identification. About $900 later we arrived in Saint Thomas. Celebrity covered some of the expense. Truly bizarre that they left early."

 

Seems a bit strange to me. I didn't think Celebrity had any ships in the Carib right now and how does one get through TSA security at an airport in SJ with just a crdit card for ID. I might be wrong,