RCCL Strands 145 People in Puerto Rico due to Hurricane Irene

[cruisestitch]

CruisinManiac, where did that quote come from, please?

[Lois R]

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,

 

Hi,:) you are not wrong....they don't have any ships in the Caribbean.

I believe that paragraph was from the page where folks commented

on the Royal event.....(I think it was USA Today's travel section).

So who knows what hurricane they were even talking about.

[Lois R]

CruisinManiac, where did that quote come from, please?

 

Hi, if you click on the link in post#1 you will see it is from USA Today's

travel section. The quote is from one of the people who replied

to the article.

[bigwalt0176]

Fishy :)

[cruisestitch]

OK, so, as I thought, this was not part of the current news story. If and when it happened, only the commenter knows. And we'll probably never get to find out.

[Lois R]

Fishy :)

 

Click on the link in the first post. It is the article about the Royal

ship and what happened. People replied to the article and if you

read some of the replies you will find that quote. It is in the USA

Today's Travel Section.

[cruisestitch]

OK, thanks, so it is what I thought -- not related to the current situation. If and when it happened, only the commenter knows. And we'll probably never find out.

[Lois R]

OK, so, as I thought, this was not part of the current news story. If and when it happened, only the commenter knows. And we'll probably never get to find out.

 

I agree, someone replied to the current article. Who knows when

they actually cruised and you are correct, we probably will never

know.

[Gracie115]

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.

 

true enough...

[Dr. Cocktail]

I am frankly astonished by the mean-spiritedness and general schadenfreude of many posts. I have been on a lot of cruises and always arrive a day early. Yet, to make generally critical comments of fellow cruisers without knowing what really happened on that particular day is both ignorant and stupid.

 

For once, put yourselves in the shoes of those involved - you board the ship, dump your carry-on in your cabin and go for an afternoon ashore.

If the ship advises you when you board that a situation is developing, you're on your own. But if they don't ... you return to the pier and find your ship gone. What would you think?

 

It's also easy to blame Mother Nature but it appears that RCI should at least have set up an assistance desk to help people either get to the next port or fly home. I'm sure many of you are perfect, can afford to fly in a day early, take vacations only in months that are hurricane, tornado and flooding-free and plan for every contingency.

 

But have some feeling for those who could only afford to take time off now, could only find child or animal care now or those who simply had to get away because the world was getting them down.

 

Don't count on sympathy for your unexpected travel woes when you can't extend some warm thoughts towards others in distress.

[Captain Jake]

I am frankly astonished by the mean-spiritedness and general schadenfreude of many posts. I have been on a lot of cruises and always arrive a day early. Yet, to make generally critical comments of fellow cruisers without knowing what really happened on that particular day is both ignorant and stupid.

 

For once, put yourselves in the shoes of those involved - you board the ship, dump your carry-on in your cabin and go for an afternoon ashore.

If the ship advises you when you board that a situation is developing, you're on your own. But if they don't ... you return to the pier and find your ship gone. What would you think?

 

It's also easy to blame Mother Nature but it appears that RCI should at least have set up an assistance desk to help people either get to the next port or fly home. I'm sure many of you are perfect, can afford to fly in a day early, take vacations only in months that are hurricane, tornado and flooding-free and plan for every contingency.

 

But have some feeling for those who could only afford to take time off now, could only find child or animal care now or those who simply had to get away because the world was getting them down.

 

Don't count on sympathy for your unexpected travel woes when you can't extend some warm thoughts towards others in distress.

very well said.RCCLshowed a total lack of class for not helping the 130 they left stranded,Sure they may have had no choice but to leave but their behavior to those left behind was inexcusible

[DrKoob]

At this point it really isn't about what pax was at fault or wasn't. It's about how the cruise line handled it after it happened. I am absolutely sure that RCL and Carnival all did whatever they could to not leave people behind but when they did, this is what the two companies did afterwards. Read this story on Cruise Critic's main site. Click here.

 

Carnival (who I abhor as a cruise line) did the right thing and took care of its pax while RCL hid behind the "it's weather-related" excuse. Don't get me wrong, I am not going to go become a Carnival cruiser. I still value my X experience too much. I am truly disappointed in the RCL line and corporate policy.

[Leo Jay]

[/b]

 

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

 

Thanks, but the same thought applies regardless. In fact, to my mind, that would make the cruiseline's actions even less excusable.

[Cruise Junky]

Carnival couldn't buy good press like this. Total idiots at RCL for not picking up on that and doing the right thing.

[Gonzo70]

At this point it really isn't about what pax was at fault or wasn't. It's about how the cruise line handled it after it happened. I am absolutely sure that RCL and Carnival all did whatever they could to not leave people behind but when they did, this is what the two companies did afterwards. Read this story on Cruise Critic's main site. Click here.

 

Carnival (who I abhor as a cruise line) did the right thing and took care of its pax while RCL hid behind the "it's weather-related" excuse. Don't get me wrong, I am not going to go become a Carnival cruiser. I still value my X experience too much. I am truly disappointed in the RCL line and corporate policy.

 

Well said; RCI really needs to step up and do something big for those passengers they left behind and did not take care of. They really messed this one up. The bad press, ill will and lack of trust this creates will cost them massive amounts more than what it would have cost them to take care of all passengers left behind. Horrible move on RCI's part; they should be ashamed. I too would not want to sail on Carnival, but they sure look made RCI look bad here, very bad!

[CathyCruises]

We always arrive esrly too, but often go ashore after checking in to enjoy more time in the port city. You would think in that case, once you had checked in, the ship personnel would alert you to a possible early departure--unconscionable not to. I wonder if the RCCL pax who missed the ship just had not checked in yet.

[jt1120]

I feel so bad for these folks, but take it from a Floridian, it's hurricane season, so anything is possible. This is a good reason to plan a stay in SJ a day or two ahead of departure. We always do, but that's because we love OSJ so much. Regardless, I would think that the cruise line should be held accountable and make up something to those affected. I know I'd be mighty PO'ed if that happened to me.

[Cruise-A-Hoy]

Cruise line insurance will cover everything booked through the cruise line, stateroom, airline, transfers, etc. If you booked your own air and transfers it is not covered by the cruise line insurance.

This is why I ALWAYS take insurance with a third party and not the cruise lines.

 

Another consideration is those who will be flying to Aruba better have a valid passport.

This is one situation where birth certificate and/or passport card will not work

[CRUZBUDS]

Sounds like RCI handled it pretty much like Celebrity did with the Century last year -- tough -- you're on your own. It gives you a real feeling of security to sail with them :eek:

 

They really should re-think the way they treat their passengers. Carnival got great PR from the Splendor incident last year. They went way above and beyond what was required to try to make it up to the passengers. They didn't point to the small print in the contract to save a few bucks. They realized the world was watching and did their best in a bad situation.

 

No cruise line is responsible for anything in the small print.

[bigwalt0176]

RCCL had every right to leave the passengers behind to fend for themselves in SJ. So did Carnival. As a matter of fact, RCCL had every right to leave the Cruise Air passengers stranded, but they didn't.

 

But beyond that, there will be 300 people on the Carnival cruise that will come back to the line again based on the line making the extra effort. They will also tell others of their experience. The RCCL passengers left behind without support will probably never again cruise with RCCL AND they will probably tell everyone else they encounter that they were treated badly even though they might have been treated properly according to the fine print. How many people will not cruise with RCCL because of this? Hard to tell but almost everyone out there knows that the customer service and support experience is many times the key for future purchase decisions and the recommendations people make to others.

[dmwnc1959]

RCCL had every right to leave the passengers behind to fend for themselves in SJ. So did Carnival. As a matter of fact, RCCL had every right to leave the Cruise Air passengers stranded, but they didn't.

 

But beyond that, there will be 300 people on the Carnival cruise that will come back to the line again based on the line making the extra effort. They will also tell others of their experience. The RCCL passengers left behind without support will probably never again cruise with RCCL AND they will probably tell everyone else they encounter that they were treated badly even though they might have been treated properly according to the fine print. How many people will not cruise with RCCL because of this? Hard to tell but almost everyone out there knows that the customer service and support experience is many times the key for future purchase decisions and the recommendations people make to others.

 

Excellent post. If it were me and RCI left me to fend for myself with an approaching hurricane I would never, ever cruise them again. Ever. Royal Caribbean should be ashamed of themselves. Completely ashamed.

 

It reminds me of the situation with the Celebrity Century when she broke down in the Med and her passengers were left to fend for themselves. Such horrible public relations they got out of that mess. When the Carnival Splendor broke down and had to be towed back to port Carnival stepped up and offered everyone a full refund and a free cruise on top of it.

 

Carnival has repeatedly outshined RCI in customer service compensations.

[80sramfan]

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

 

Ouch horrible decision by RCL. Carnival paid for all their folks air and hotel. That's the way it should be. RCL screwed this up bad

[cruisestitch]

It would be interesting to know how many of these people had passports. Currently only about one in ten Americans has a passport. Cruisers, presumably, would be a higher percentage. But you did not need a passport for this itinerary. Without one, you could not go on to meet the ship at its next destination. Not having a passport would not be Celebrity's "fault" as they clearly state over and over again that passports are the recommended document.

[CruisinNole]

It reminds me of the situation with the Celebrity Century when she broke down in the Med and her passengers were left to fend for themselves. Such horrible public relations they got out of that mess. When the Carnival Splendor broke down and had to be towed back to port Carnival stepped up and offered everyone a full refund and a free cruise on top of it.

 

Carnival has repeatedly outshined RCI in customer service compensations.

 

I was on the Century Med cruise last year and it was the first thing I thought of when I read about this in USAToday. We had travel insurance which wasn't of such a great help. What helped us most was to have an international cell phone and an excellent online travel agent. Our TA did everything that Celebrity should have done. I'm so disappointed in Royal Caribbean's response to this.

[cruise47]

Ouch horrible decision by RCL. Carnival paid for all their folks air and hotel. That's the way it should be. RCL screwed this up bad

 

Wow!! Sound like Carnival is the premium cruise line. Customers came first then the bottom line.