Man overboard

[MauiLvrs]

Regarding missing Maui and going to Kona instead...

In lots of ways ... I could rather got to Kona than Maui. Especially if they sail past the lava...

[Blk_Amish]

Precisely. I am onboard the Star right now. We aided in the search along with the Grand. I overheard a woman that was very upset' date=' she had booked this cruise specifically to visit Maui, and we missed Maui and will substituting Kona instead.

 

I am very fortunate to have traveled many times to Hawaii, but for many people this is a once in a lifetime journey. I can understand their disappointment at missing their chance to visit a place they had always wanted to see.[/quote']

 

I can imagine the heart break for some of the passengers, since Hawaii is a dream, literally once in a lifetime trip. My first trip to Hawaii was to the Big Island. The Big Island was great but Maui and Kauai were my image of Hawaii so we went back to experience. I loved Kona because I am really not a beach person and happy hour started as early as 11 am. Hilo for me was about Hawaii because of the greenery and lushness. However Kona is the only place I smelled more weed and listened to more Reggae than in Jamaica. There is Hawaiian music to the Reggae beat, fantastic.

 

The act that caused it is one that anger and bother many people, not nature as one learn not to question. The fact is, the act of the crew member took a lot of passengers' dream with him. If this was another passenger, I am sure many would not be as understanding. A matter of fact some have posted differently on the matter, and would have the ship pulling into Maui before it was due.

 

Sad for the family, crew, and the passengers who watched their dream sailed by!

Edited January 12, 2014 by Blk_Amish

[Host Joe]

A lot of nice posts here. It is truly a sad event for everyone including those onboard. It sounds like Star is lucky by substituting a port. We missed our first port completely (Hilo) and then only got 1/2 a day in Oahu because we arrived so late. This basically gave us 2 1/2 Hawaiian ports for a 15 day cruise. For my partner and I, it's been a mixture of sadness in lots of ways. For the person who was lost, for his family, for the crew who knew him, and for the passengers among us. We are fortunate as we have been here... But there are a lot of people that this was a once in a lifetime trip. Our friend traveling with us fits that. He has been wanting to visit Hawaii his whole life and saved for many years to go with us. He is allowed to be sad too.

 

On a lighter note we had a wonderful day in Kauai yesterday and are just arriving in Maui and it's gorgeous. We then head back to San Francisco.

[doris1930]

I can understand disappointment, however I do not think that gives folks the right to mistreat crew or other passengers, and complaining sometimes is actually mistreatment, particularly in regard to crew. Passengers can just turn and leave the disappointed complainer, crew cannot.

 

Regarding missing Maui and going to Kona instead, I again can understand disappointment for this person. Apparently no one warned them to never take a cruise when one port is that important to you - fly there. Ship ports change for various reasons and one needs to just go with it. Even if my cruise were "ruined" I WOULD NOT inflict my disappointment on others. But then I cruise for the whole experience and I do tend to make lemonade from lemons, some others do not. Complaining is apparently more fun for them.

 

 

Well said. Princess did not have to offer any compensation...the control was out of their hands. Am sure the "man overboard" cost them financially as well as sorrow for the crew.

 

I, too, go for the cruising experience.

[Loonbeam]

Also, there is a huge difference between respectful complaining (I am so sorry about what happened, but is there any way...) versus being a -censored- (How dare you stop and look for that person, this is ruining MY vacation that I paid good money for).

 

I have no issues with #1 at all, #2s had best stay out of my sight because I WILL say what the crew can't.

[NitaBcruising]

I was on this sailing. It was a very sad time, but the crew did their best to keep us entertained, trying to help us have a good vacation. There was nothing they could do, it was NOT their fault!

 

I just hate reading about how someone's vacation was ruined, or less than they expected. You are talking about FUN compared to DEATH. Geez, get a grip! :rolleyes:

 

BTW, I believe if you read your cruise contract, they offer you food, lodging, and transportation. You sign that contract, so you are agreeing to that, and JUST that. They try their darnedest to go where the itinerary is supposed to, but there are never any guarantees. Life happens, weather, death, whatever it is, can't be helped sometimes.

 

I expected nothing for compensation, and was very pleasantly surprised and pleased with what Princess offered. During one trivia game, another passenger said people were still complaining and if we would go complain, maybe they'd give us more. I told that lady I wasn't expecting anything, was pleased with their offer and no way would I go complain.

 

My fella has never been to Hilo, we missed it. He is perfectly okay with that. I've always said, if I miss a port and never get there, and never do before I die, so be it. It isn't the end of the world.

 

All said, we had a very good cruise, with a lot of nice people, and maybe the best crew ever. Sad, yes, but we still tried to enjoy our time onboard. Oh, and after many cruises, Captain Lawes was the best captain we've ever had.

 

BTW, we were never confined to our cabins. Never did we have any such announcements to do so, as someone was quoted on that SF news article.

 

Also, as rumor has it, per one of his friends (he was a server), he had bad news from home. One rumor also said he left a suicide note. I repeat, these are rumors, not confirmed. I doubt we'll ever know for sure. Actually, it really doesn't matter, it is none of my business.

 

On a better note, we passengers collected over $9,200 to give to his family! In The Philippines, that may be of some help.

[compozer]

 

On a better note, we passengers collected over $9,200 to give to his family! In The Philippines, that may be of some help.

 

That is really nice!!

 

As they say

Believe half of what you read on the internet.

 

thanks for your post.

[Grammyluvs]

On a better note, we passengers collected over $9,200 to give to his family! In The Philippines, that may be of some help.

 

So glad you told us this. It restores my faith in humanity.:)

[NitaBcruising]

Thanks compozer and grammy.

 

I didn't mean to be too harsh, as I do understand the disappointment with missing part of a cruise. I know some people save a long time to go, and some may never get another opportunity to go. It still is nothing in comparison to losing a life. I guess we just need to be reminded of the difference, loss of fun or loss of life. Yes, he chose that, but we still need to have compassion for others' problems. And be glad it isn't us.

[Urgetocruise]

Very nice, compassionate post, Nita.

We too were on this cruise, and indeed were touched by the donations that we were able to generate for this poor fallen crew member's family in the Philippines! Our wonderful Captain did ask that all passengers remain in their cabins, but that was at 2:00am, when most would have been there asleep anyway, so it wasn't as if we were "confined" as stated in the news article.

 

This was only our 2nd cruise, but our crew was the BEST EVER! Not a single crew member ever failed to smile, wish us a great day, or ask if they could be of service!

 

While we were very sad to miss Hilo and the Volcanoes Nat'l Park, as well as getting to drive around Oahu due to our late arrival, we still enjoyed our cruise immensely and made new friends!

 

Our sincere admiration for the exemplary actions of our Captain during all phases of this cruise! Always professional, considerate, friendly, he was the consummate Ship's Captain! I'm so glad to have met him, and would not hesitate to sail with him again!

 

Suzanne

[NitaBcruising]

Very nice, compassionate post, Nita.

We too were on this cruise, and indeed were touched by the donations that we were able to generate for this poor fallen crew member's family in the Philippines! Our wonderful Captain did ask that all passengers remain in their cabins, but that was at 2:00am, when most would have been there asleep anyway, so it wasn't as if we were "confined" as stated in the news article.

 

This was only our 2nd cruise, but our crew was the BEST EVER! Not a single crew member ever failed to smile, wish us a great day, or ask if they could be of service!

 

While we were very sad to miss Hilo and the Volcanoes Nat'l Park, as well as getting to drive around Oahu due to our late arrival, we still enjoyed our cruise immensely and made new friends!

 

Our sincere admiration for the exemplary actions of our Captain during all phases of this cruise! Always professional, considerate, friendly, he was the consummate Ship's Captain! I'm so glad to have met him, and would not hesitate to sail with him again!

 

Suzanne

 

Thanks Suzanne and I agree with you 100%!

[Kayakbride]

I was also on that sailing and was so thankful that my husband could not join me this time. He has been touched by suicides of family members and it is never easy to hear of another one. As one person earlier mentioned, suicide is a selfish action. I believe it is often used as a way to punish others (in this case, we heard from his co-workers that the crew member's wife was the problem). As the father of a small child, he had to be pretty angry and thoughtless to leave the child fatherless. It is very sad.

 

Think of the cost to the people in Hawaii who depend on our custom for a living, for the crew members who have to carry the sadness, and to the many elderly gentlemen Veterans who were en route to Pearl Harbor for one last chance to pay their respects to the soldiers who died there as heroes. Those Vets missed the chance to visit the USS Arizona and will likely not get another chance, simply because one selfish person was a coward. I have been to Hawaii before and will probably get another chance to visit Hilo in the future, but even among those whose one and only Hawaiian trip was marred by this understood it was a tragedy out of Princess' control. Very few people were complaining and the Princess Theater was standing room only for the memorial service. The 250 servers who were co-workers were in attendance, as well as many other officers and ship's staff. The co-workers later released a wreath of flowers into the sea.

 

I spoke with one of them (a member of the same department) who told me Princess indeed provides several layers of counseling which includes trained supervisors and the ship's Medical Officer for every crew member. Some of the victim's co-worker friends knew he was having personal problems at home, but did not know how upset he was. The co-worker I spoke with also told me that crew members do, in fact, have regular opportunities to communicate with their families by phone and internet.

 

The cost to Princess (and ultimately to the consumer) was enormous. Not only did they have to spend extra fuel for both the Grand and the Star to retrace the area in a grid pattern for two days, but they are also offering a "voyage goodwill" credit to all of the passengers on those ships. The taxpayer is also footing the bill for the Coast Guard's participation, and who knows what the cost is to the container vessel that assisted in the search for the first 24 hours. For anyone to suggest suing Princess is just ludicrous.

 

As to the notion that passengers were confined to their cabins for a head count, well that is just silly. In the wee hours of the morning, the Captain asked that we not interfere with the initial preparations outdoors in the dark, but we were never confined, nor was there any head count by cabin. At breakfast, we did hear that some people thought they had been confined but an announcement was made that that was not the case. The Captain made regular announcements every few hours to let passengers know the progress of the search and rescue/recovery mission. His tone was respectful and his leadership skills much in evidence.

 

I hope that readers will understand that Princess did everything it could, obeyed the Maritime laws governing these situations, and should not be blamed for the action of one unfortunate soul. Likewise, blaming imaginary passengers for being "rude" to servers is also not going to bring him back. I have never seen anyone display rudeness to the staff. Maybe I just wasn't paying attention, but I sure heard a lot of "please" and "thank you" going on.

[Grammyluvs]

This was such a tragedy for everyone...crew, passengers, family, etc. While suicide is a very selfish act, one has to be very, very despondent to end their life. I cannot imagine living with that kind of despair. My heart goes out to everyone and I do believe from what I have read, Princess should be commended for the professional way they handled an unfortunate situation.

[NitaBcruising]

I was also on that sailing and was so thankful that my husband could not join me this time. He has been touched by suicides of family members and it is never easy to hear of another one. As one person earlier mentioned, suicide is a selfish action. I believe it is often used as a way to punish others (in this case, we heard from his co-workers that the crew member's wife was the problem). As the father of a small child, he had to be pretty angry and thoughtless to leave the child fatherless. It is very sad.

 

Think of the cost to the people in Hawaii who depend on our custom for a living, for the crew members who have to carry the sadness, and to the many elderly gentlemen Veterans who were en route to Pearl Harbor for one last chance to pay their respects to the soldiers who died there as heroes. Those Vets missed the chance to visit the USS Arizona and will likely not get another chance, simply because one selfish person was a coward. I have been to Hawaii before and will probably get another chance to visit Hilo in the future, but even among those whose one and only Hawaiian trip was marred by this understood it was a tragedy out of Princess' control. Very few people were complaining and the Princess Theater was standing room only for the memorial service. The 250 servers who were co-workers were in attendance, as well as many other officers and ship's staff. The co-workers later released a wreath of flowers into the sea.

 

I spoke with one of them (a member of the same department) who told me Princess indeed provides several layers of counseling which includes trained supervisors and the ship's Medical Officer for every crew member. Some of the victim's co-worker friends knew he was having personal problems at home, but did not know how upset he was. The co-worker I spoke with also told me that crew members do, in fact, have regular opportunities to communicate with their families by phone and internet.

 

The cost to Princess (and ultimately to the consumer) was enormous. Not only did they have to spend extra fuel for both the Grand and the Star to retrace the area in a grid pattern for two days, but they are also offering a "voyage goodwill" credit to all of the passengers on those ships. The taxpayer is also footing the bill for the Coast Guard's participation, and who knows what the cost is to the container vessel that assisted in the search for the first 24 hours. For anyone to suggest suing Princess is just ludicrous.

 

As to the notion that passengers were confined to their cabins for a head count, well that is just silly. In the wee hours of the morning, the Captain asked that we not interfere with the initial preparations outdoors in the dark, but we were never confined, nor was there any head count by cabin. At breakfast, we did hear that some people thought they had been confined but an announcement was made that that was not the case. The Captain made regular announcements every few hours to let passengers know the progress of the search and rescue/recovery mission. His tone was respectful and his leadership skills much in evidence.

 

I hope that readers will understand that Princess did everything it could, obeyed the Maritime laws governing these situations, and should not be blamed for the action of one unfortunate soul. Likewise, blaming imaginary passengers for being "rude" to servers is also not going to bring him back. I have never seen anyone display rudeness to the staff. Maybe I just wasn't paying attention, but I sure heard a lot of "please" and "thank you" going on.

 

Well said. Thank you for your input.

[Host Joe]

I was also on that sailing and was so thankful that my husband could not join me this time. He has been touched by suicides of family members and it is never easy to hear of another one. As one person earlier mentioned, suicide is a selfish action. I believe it is often used as a way to punish others (in this case, we heard from his co-workers that the crew member's wife was the problem). As the father of a small child, he had to be pretty angry and thoughtless to leave the child fatherless. It is very sad.

 

Think of the cost to the people in Hawaii who depend on our custom for a living, for the crew members who have to carry the sadness, and to the many elderly gentlemen Veterans who were en route to Pearl Harbor for one last chance to pay their respects to the soldiers who died there as heroes. Those Vets missed the chance to visit the USS Arizona and will likely not get another chance, simply because one selfish person was a coward. I have been to Hawaii before and will probably get another chance to visit Hilo in the future, but even among those whose one and only Hawaiian trip was marred by this understood it was a tragedy out of Princess' control. Very few people were complaining and the Princess Theater was standing room only for the memorial service. The 250 servers who were co-workers were in attendance, as well as many other officers and ship's staff. The co-workers later released a wreath of flowers into the sea.

 

I spoke with one of them (a member of the same department) who told me Princess indeed provides several layers of counseling which includes trained supervisors and the ship's Medical Officer for every crew member. Some of the victim's co-worker friends knew he was having personal problems at home, but did not know how upset he was. The co-worker I spoke with also told me that crew members do, in fact, have regular opportunities to communicate with their families by phone and internet.

 

The cost to Princess (and ultimately to the consumer) was enormous. Not only did they have to spend extra fuel for both the Grand and the Star to retrace the area in a grid pattern for two days, but they are also offering a "voyage goodwill" credit to all of the passengers on those ships. The taxpayer is also footing the bill for the Coast Guard's participation, and who knows what the cost is to the container vessel that assisted in the search for the first 24 hours. For anyone to suggest suing Princess is just ludicrous.

 

As to the notion that passengers were confined to their cabins for a head count, well that is just silly. In the wee hours of the morning, the Captain asked that we not interfere with the initial preparations outdoors in the dark, but we were never confined, nor was there any head count by cabin. At breakfast, we did hear that some people thought they had been confined but an announcement was made that that was not the case. The Captain made regular announcements every few hours to let passengers know the progress of the search and rescue/recovery mission. His tone was respectful and his leadership skills much in evidence.

 

I hope that readers will understand that Princess did everything it could, obeyed the Maritime laws governing these situations, and should not be blamed for the action of one unfortunate soul. Likewise, blaming imaginary passengers for being "rude" to servers is also not going to bring him back. I have never seen anyone display rudeness to the staff. Maybe I just wasn't paying attention, but I sure heard a lot of "please" and "thank you" going on.

 

Very, very, nice post! I could not have said it better. We personally never ran into any complainers aboard...everyone was very respectful and the staff were wonderful. It was just sad every way you look at it for everyone involved.

[own]

As one person earlier mentioned, suicide is a selfish action. I believe it is often used as a way to punish others (in this case, we heard from his co-workers that the crew member's wife was the problem). As the father of a small child, he had to be pretty angry and thoughtless to leave the child fatherless.

 

Your judgement astounds me.

[capriccio]

As one person earlier mentioned, suicide is a selfish action. I believe it is often used as a way to punish others (in this case, we heard from his co-workers that the crew member's wife was the problem). As the father of a small child, he had to be pretty angry and thoughtless to leave the child fatherless. It is very sad.

 

 

Should you or someone near and dear to you suffer with severe depression you might change your harsh opinions - not that I would wish that on anyone. The rest of your post was very considerate but I think you have no basis to pass judgement on the mindset ('selfish', 'thoughtless') of the crew member.

Edited January 22, 2014 by capriccio

[NitaBcruising]

Should you or someone near and dear to you suffer with severe depression you might change your harsh opinions - not that I would wish that on anyone. The rest of your post was very considerate but I think you have no basis to pass judgement on the mindset ('selfish', 'thoughtless') of the crew member.

 

 

I do agree the first part of the original post was harsh. However, the part I agree with is how well the passengers acted, and how kind, sad, but professional the Captain sounded.

 

Unless we feel deep depression, none of us will understand that young man's mindset. All speculation. And much of what we heard is still hearsay. May well be true, no proof. Even his friends can't be positive, unless there was a suicide note.

[G8RH8R]

It is sad and my prayers are with the family. But counselors on ships, you can't be serious. Should the company I work for provide counselors because my work is stressful? Of course not. If someone is intent on jumping off a ship and killing themselves there is nothing anyone can do.

 

So, you're saying that the company that you work for would not provide counseling if one of your co-workers committed suicide? Wow, I'm glad I don't work where you do!

[G8RH8R]

We also have over 27 cruises on Princess going back over twenty years and have never, repeat never seen a passenger being overly rude to a crew member. Not to say it doesn't happen. But for someone to go and jump overboard is some place off the chart in troubled behavior.

 

I sincerely hope we never see it.

 

Lucky you... I see it on nearly every cruise we take. Some people act as though they're entitled to everything they want simply because they've paid to be onboard.

[G8RH8R]

They didn't know the guy was missing for over two hours. He jumped deliberately with the intent to drown. There was no "attempting to rescue a person from drowning". They were quite aware that the were looking for a body to recover.

 

Regardless of the intent of the crew member, isn't it possible that once he was alone, in the water, at sea, he might have had second thoughts? Assuming that they were only looking for a body is pretty cold in my opinion.

[rbt001]

Regardless of the intent of the crew member, isn't it possible that once he was alone, in the water, at sea, he might have had second thoughts? Assuming that they were only looking for a body is pretty cold in my opinion.

 

Exactly! "Second thoughts" was the first thing I was thinking as I read through seven pages of postings on this thread. I'm just catching up on my forum reading and saw this today -- I bet the same applied to G8RH8R.