Bad experience with disembarkation shore excursion in FLL

[JudithLynne]

Just need to ventilate......

 

Last Friday, my husband and I completed a wonderful 11 day Caribbean cruise on the Equinox. We are seasoned cruisers, having completed 32 cruises at this time. We have never had a problem with a shore excursion.

 

Because of a late flight we scheduled a ship sponsored shore excursion the date of disembarkation. We exited the ship in a group booked on the same shore excursion, collected our luggage, cleared customs, and were on the bus at 9:15 AM. We were due to leave at 9:30 AM for the Sawgrass Mall. We were to leave the mall at 1:00 PM and go to the FLL airport. We were told by the bus driver that both trips were approximately 40 minutes. We were looking forward to making the most of our limited time at the mall. By 10:20 AM the bus had not left the port and there was no indication that we would leave anytime soon as the driver was waiting for more passengers, probably foreign who were hung up in customs. This significantly cut the time we would spend at the mall. In light of that disappointment, we were debating about continuing with the shore excursion when we witnessed an official looking man in a blazer with a name tag bring a woman up to the bus who was visibly sick. She was in a wheel chair with two companions beside her. She was pale, sweaty and in distress. She pulled a paper bag from her tote and vomited violently into it. Her companions quickly left and came back with wet paper towels and cleaned excess vomit from her face and clothing. Then, unbelievably, they loaded her onto our bus! That was enough for us. There was no way that we were going to be confined on a bus with a passenger who had an acute gastrointestinal infection and was probably contagious. We were aware and concerned that the Equinox had had a recent Noro virus outbreak. We got off of the bus (it was now 10:30 AM,) doused our hands with sanitizer, collected our luggage, and proceeded to the taxi area to get transportation to the airport.

 

I have sent as letter to Celebrity Cruises and enclosed our unused tickets and our receipt. I am hoping for a refund or OBC on our next Celebrity cruise in 6 months.

 

Thanks for listening……….Judith

[gelo7]

Wow....

[Duanerice1]

I'd have done the same. Bummer.

[NLH Arizona]

Once she pulled out the bag, I would have gotten off this bus.

[jj6961]

Ditto WOW....

You deserve a refund

Sorry you missed the mall, it's one of S. Florida's best :(

[wegiekat]

Ugh. I would have done the same thing. I hope you can get a refund on your unused tickets.

[Tommy3putts]

That's a real bummer and one of the real detractors about doing ship organized excursions. One person or group can ruin an excursion for everyone. I know if I were as ill as it sounds like this lady was, I wouldn't feel right making everyone wait twenty minutes and then subjecting them to catching whatever I had.

 

So inconsiderate.

[Karen@Steve]

Yucky...If she had done that in front of some of my family they would have needed bags too! What a lousy way to end a vacation all the way around. Glad you got off and I hope you get the compensation you deserve.

 

Let me say again...YUCKY!!!

[purduemom1]

Wow! It seems as if Celebrity's only concern was getting rid of this sick passenger and ready the ship for embarkation of new passengers. No regard for all of those on the bus. Sorry you missed the mall, it would have been a fun end to your cruise. Sure hope a refund it on its way to you.

[jackdiamond]

A refund and a letter of apology is definitey in order; and, a description of the punishment meted out to those responsible for this event.

[teajak]

That's a real bummer and one of the real detractors about doing ship organized excursions. One person or group can ruin an excursion for everyone. I know if I were as ill as it sounds like this lady was, I wouldn't feel right making everyone wait twenty minutes and then subjecting them to catching whatever I had.

 

So inconsiderate.

My thoughts exactly,why would anyone be that inconsiderate, and why would anyone that ill want to get on a bus? Did anyone else leave or confront the bus driver? Someone goofed badly to let them on that bus. Glad the OP got off.:eek:

[didicruiser]

I'm glad that you got off the bus and stayed well. Please report back what happens with celebrity.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

WOW is absolutely right. Unbelievable behavior on the part of Celebrity AND the passenger. Glad you had the sense to get off. Please let us know if Celebrity refunds your excursion cost.

 

I know these excursions seem like a good idea as a way to deal with your luggage. After your hearing your story, it seems to me a far better way would be to use the luggage valet service and proceed on your own to the mall. Yes, it might cost more. But no exposure to sick and inconsiderate passengers. Just a thought.

[hcat]

Shame on the Celebrity employee(s) who made the decision to take this person on the bus......The sick indiv should have been given a refund & been bumped from the excursion...Imagine how many folks at the mall may get infected!

 

You should definitely get the refund & a big apology .

[Bailey & Sophie]

So sorry this happened to you! What an unhappy ending to your vacation. We were on that same cruise as you were and it was such a lovely time. I hope you get a response from Celebrity.

 

Disembarkation was a breeze for us (big THANKS to Happy Cruiser 6143 who advised us to not put our suitcases out on that last night but carry them off in the morning instead!).

[Tiggertastic]

We loved that excursion, you missed a good trip.

 

I would not have got off, I would have insisted they did not allow the person on the coach - the tour company should have declined them too.

[TeaBag]

Sorry you missed a rather nice ending to your cruise. I think the sick person, companions and Celebrity staff were all irresponsible. This person should never have been allowed to get on the bus in the first place. Did they think she would be able to shop? Yes, you definitely should get a refund and more.....

[JudithLynne]

Thank you for all of your responses. To answer some of your questions:

 

I think that we were the only ones that saw the woman in the WC vomit. We were in the first seats opposite the bus driver’s seat and had a clear view of the side walk and front door of the bus. Most people were actually sitting on the opposite side and had no idea what had happened. Had others seen it, I have no doubt that they would have left the bus. This woman was that acutely ill.

 

We think that the official looking man pushing her WC was in some sort of coordinating role with the tour company that Celebrity contracts with in FLL. We do not think that he was a Celebrity employee. In all fairness to Celebrity, we think (and hope) that they will be concerned about our experience and will respond.

 

When we did get off the bus, we were over one hour late getting started to the mall, leaving us little time there (less than 2 hours.) BUT our biggest issue is endangering our health by putting an extremely ill woman on the bus.

 

I sure appreciate all the support and concern from my fellow CC’ers. I will definitely resurrect this thread when I hear from Celebrity…..

 

Judith

[Iamthesea]

Did the woman walk on the bus by herself and walk by you and your husband ? Could it be that she had another medical problem that was making her sick, such as an appendicitis and she was not contagious? Yes, if either was the case, she should have taken a taxi and skipped the mall portion. :rolleyes:

[Lois R]

Another WOW from me too:eek:.....there is a number to call as well

for "POST CRUISE" issues......it is on the website. I suggest calling them

as well.

[ghstudio]

There are people in jobs that just do not think.....their job is not to think...their job is to do a task and the only reason they might lose their job is if they don't complete their task.

 

Their job this time was to put someone on the bus...they put someone on the bus. It would never cross their mind that they should take a proactive position and do something other than their assignment.

 

I doubt if this was done by a Celebrity employee.....however, celebrity should take responsibility for the actions of either it's contracted pier personnel or shore personnel.

 

I too am interested in how this turns out. Will they stand behind the words in their shore excursion contract or will they step up and think about the situation.

[Jimsgirl]

She would have had to get out of the chair,and climb into the bus, others must have seen her (I know because I have to use a wheelchair, and have to get onto the bus )

 

I wonder where she waited on the ship to disembark. Also wonder if she had received treatment at the medical centre.

 

No doubt Celebrity will claim they have no knowledge of this passenger being ill, and that the bus company/driver is independent contracter (not under their control).

 

Recent events re Triumph indicate that the legal teams of cruise line write clauses that make the cruise line "fire proof" . So I doubt that you will get anything at all - not even an apology- as that would be admitting they knew that the woman was ill.

[durberville]

Good lord, I can't wrap my head around the fact that someone so violently ill would want to go to a mall... let alone why anyone would accommodate her. :eek:

 

You deserve your money back and an apology.

[CathyCruises]

It seems so many threads lately take the OP's issue, and spin it around and somehow make it their fault, or tell them what they should have done, or said that never happened to them ergo it didn't happen to the OP. I have been reading this thread nervously awaiting the post that says the OP was all wrong--what a relief to find that so far there has been 100% agreement that this was horribly mishandled, by whomever, and that the OP needs and deserves a letter of apology and a full refund!!!!

 

Whether the lady was ill with an infectious disease, or just plain sick, makes no difference. She should not have been going on a tour bus! I can't believe she allowed herself to be taken to the bus in the first place. She probably should have gotten a hotel room and waited it out, or gone to an urgent care/ER, depending on the circumstances. I can guarantee you that if I had been in her place no way would I be going on a bus trip!!

[BEAV]

Good lord, I can't wrap my head around the fact that someone so violently ill would want to go to a mall... let alone why anyone would accommodate her. :eek:

 

 

That same thought has been going through my head, too. If she was that ill, what on earth was she planning to do at a Mall? :eek: Was the site of department stores as the bus loomed closer to the Mall supposed to have some sort of miraculous healing powers?