CONCERN about late night captain announcement on Riviera

[kekilia]

If Oceania's powers that be are reading this thread, I'd like to share my feelings about this incident based only on what has been shared here:

 

If Oceania's procedures and protocol have worked and I'm now safe, I don't want to know there was a time when, potentially, I wasn't safe. The only exception to that statement would be if any evasive maneuvers communicated that something unusual was happening. If I had some reason to believe something out of the ordinary was happening as it was happening, I'd expect a reassuring statement afterwards. However, if the event was transparent to 99.9% of the guests in real time, I would prefer that it stay that way.

 

+1250 as I feel I speak for the entire ship of guests who are or are about to sail on Riviera! Oceania has put their foot in it, now, and really should respond with a press release.

[kekilia]

What is your itinerary? Just curious what ports you are sailing and what the threat was? Read on another thread that there was issues in Egypt.

 

Below is itinerary of current Riviera cruise from another site with a ship tracker. It looks like this cruise was in Middle East (properly termed, South Asia), then headed into Greece, currently docked in Valletta.

 

Departing from Rome/Civitavecchia - 01 Jun, 05:00 pm,

Milazzo, Italy (02 Jun, 09:00 am - 02 Jun, 07:00 pm), Argostolion (03 Jun, 12:00 pm - 03 Jun, 08:00 pm), Gythion, Greece (04 Jun, 08:00 am - 04 Jun, 06:00 pm), Cruise Mediterranean Sea (05 Jun), Haifa, Israel (06 Jun, 08:00 am - 07 Jun, 06:00 pm), Port Said, Egypt (08 Jun, 07:00 am - 08 Jun, 09:00 pm), Alexandria (09 Jun, 08:00 am - 09 Jun, 08:00 pm), Cruise Mediterranean Sea (10 Jun), Chania/Crete (11 Jun, 08:00 am - 11 Jun, 06:00 pm), Cruise Mediterranean Sea (12 Jun), Valletta (13 Jun, 08:00 am - 13 Jun, 05:00 pm), Trapani, Italy (14 Jun, 08:00 am - 14 Jun, 06:00 pm), Cagliari, Italy (15 Jun, 08:00 am - 15 Jun, 04:00 pm),

Arriving in Rome/Civitavecchia - 16 Jun, 06:00 am,

[SellaVee]

+1250 as I feel I speak for the entire ship of guests who are or are about to sail on Riviera! Oceania has put their foot in it, now, and really should respond with a press release.

 

Really?

[kekilia]

Really?

 

I was responding to S&Js post above. Just my opinion, but I think now the pots been stirred by the Captain, so Oceania should come out and clear this up. And yes, I feel that most aboard would agree.

[hypercafe]

I have to say if I was aboard I really could care less. Sure I would have idle curiosity but the running of the ship has little interest to me, and in fact I could add nothing to it. At this point no matter what Oceania says or doesn't say someone will be outraged over something.

[SellaVee]

I have to say if I was aboard I really could care less. Sure I would have idle curiosity but the running of the ship has little interest to me, and in fact I could add nothing to it. At this point no matter what Oceania says or doesn't say someone will be outraged over something.

 

+1

 

Someone please pass me a teacup to contain this storm.

[Toranut97]

+1

 

Someone please pass me a teacup to contain this storm.

 

Me too.

 

Really, this is something none of us should even have heard about! (Sorry for the bad grammar) Had the OP simply asked security, or the CD, or some officer on board what was happening, the incident would likely have been forgotten by now. Instead, CC gets its collective self into a tizzy over something that is a pretty rare occurrence on any O ship.

 

No sense getting our knickers in a bunch over this IMHO.

[RJB]

I'm onboard as well and can confirm it's all very vague. Nobody really can explain the situation. Why on earth would the captain, at 11 pm, out of nowhere advise that the ship is safe??? If nothing is wrong and nobody knows something is going on, why on earth advise at such strange time an "important" message telling all is safe??

Honestly this captain is very far from a commucative person belonging, i.m.h.o, to a freight ship instead but this all was a very strange, unclear situation leaving me worried and concerned instead of feeling safe.

Yup, sure would scare the you know what out of me. :(:(

[Pet Nit Noy]

There is a lot of naval activity in the Mediterranean at the moment due to the huge increase in migrant ships trying to reach EU countries. Assuming people smugglers don't publish their itineraries the Greek authorities may have notified the captain of suspect vessels nearby. This is purely a guess on my part.

 

If even a few passengers noticed some suspect activity or apparent change of course and enquired about it the captain may have decided to inform all passengers. Hence the announcement in order to prevent worry and speculation. This is another guess on my part.

 

Thanks for reminding us of the migrant ship issue. This migrant ship crisis hit US newspapers in mid-April when one of the ships capsized, but it has largely disappeared from American newspapers.

 

The world is a changing place and first time events don't always produce the perfect response. In this case, the wording of the Captain's announcement seems to have raised as much concern as it soothed. During airplane flights, attendants read carefully prepared scripts about things like what to do if the oxygen masks fall and someone is traveling with a small child. In this big and increasingly scary world, Oceania ought to get its legal team and its writing team to draft a go-to statement that Captains could read if the need arose. No need to let everyone free-lance an announcement which has the potential to produce agitation here.

 

I'll even treat Oceania to the opening words of such a statement:

 

"Acting out of an abundance of caution, we followed Oceania's protocol for dealing with unusual situations..."

[Pet Nit Noy]

The world is a changing place and first time events don't always produce the perfect response. In this case, the wording of the Captain's announcement seems to have raised as much concern as it soothed... No need to let everyone free-lance an announcement which has the potential to produce agitation here.

 

Just to reconcile the seeming conflict between my two posts (#19 and #34)...

 

I haven't haven't changed my mind about the Captain not making any announcement if 99.9% of the guests don't know anything out of the ordinary has happened. However, I am suggesting that a Captain's strengths might not include crafting an announcement at the end of a stressful situation. Having corporate prepare an announcement seems like a excellent pro-active move in case making an announcement is the right thing to do.

[ChatKat in Ca.]

The refugee situation in Europe, anti American/Anti Semitism and unsettled political and financial situation in Europe has caused me to not want to visit Europe. Last time we were in Istanbul the Syrian invasion really impacted touring in the city. In Italy - even in the smaller towns we did not feel safe as we had in the past.

 

It is a personal choice, but, there are some lovely places to go without much political and social impact.

[tabatha1]

The refugee situation in Europe, anti American/Anti Semitism and unsettled political and financial situation in Europe has caused me to not want to visit Europe. Last time we were in Istanbul the Syrian invasion really impacted touring in the city. In Italy - even in the smaller towns we did not feel safe as we had in the past.

 

It is a personal choice, but, there are some lovely places to go without much political and social impact.

 

Yes Europe has issues but so do most places. We visit Istanbul regularly and I can't say that anything has impacted adversely on our recent visits. We are going back in 5 weeks time and can't wait. Generally local people are very grateful of your visit in difficult times. We love to travel and, for us, life is too short to be constrained by what ifs. We welcome American visitors here in Wales and hope you continue to visit.

 

But as you say it is a personal choice.

[sammiedawg]

Transparency is a huge buzzword in the USA and perhaps prompted the announcement.

[warburg]

Greetings from decadent South Beach, as we head into our six month hurricane season. Imagine, if a hurricane hits, we lose the ability to ice our tropical drinks. If a port is cancelled in today's world because the Captain thinks it is unacceptable, that's fine with me. Making decisions about safety is one of the Captain's main jobs. Whatever is said or not said in these situations is also fine with me. I didn't go to Captain school, although I did spend my childhood on a cabin cruiser. As long as the world remains as unstable as it is today, there are no guarantees that any place is safe. It doesn't help that the TSA only passed 5% of its contraband detection tests recently, either. Most of us fly to meet our ships. I agree with Tabathal. Doing what we want to do is a personal choice. My husband and I like to do many things, and we choose to do them. Otherwise, life would be pretty dull. We board Insignia after flying to Los Angeles on June 18th, and are staying in the Intercontinental. Planes (Germanwings) and hotels (Mumbai) have not proved to be overly safe on occasion.

Mary

[hondorner]

I'm reminded of the folks who won't get off the ship in Cabo San Lucas or Acapulco because they might be beheaded by the drug cartel. I'm reminded of folks who carry arms in case of a mugging, when realistically they could never get their weapon in play before being shot. I'm reminded of my Mother, who locked the screen door on her front porch so bad guys couldn't get in. It must have worked; no bad guys ever bothered her. She also refused to fly because the plane might be hijacked to Cuba, and wouldn't pass a semi on the highway because it might fall over on her. I'm reminded of my daughter-in-law, who locks the door while her husband is mowing the front lawn.

 

It must be wearying to be worrying; it must be scary to live one's life in fear. How many busloads pass safely before someone tosses a bomb in one? How many millions live in a city where a relative few are harmed? What are the actual chances of any specific individual being in exactly the wrong place at the wrong time? How many runners were in the Boston Marathon? How many times have planes flown into buildings? How many cruise ships have been captured by pirates?

 

The terrorists have one weapon -- terror. When people live in fear and change their lives because of that, the terrorists have accomplished their goal. The World Cruise will be at or near several potential hotspots. I'll be on it, and I won't be worried. My driveway enters a state highway; I stand more chance of being killed every time I leave home. I don't worry about that, either. I show a certain amount of care in my actions, and that's the best I can do -- anywhere.

[Travelcat2]

Don - great post -- very true!

[DrHemlock]

+1, Don!

[ronrick1943]

True, however one should always care about what is happening around them. About "O", they should state what the problem was----or shouldn't have made the Ship is now safe PA.

Rick

[computerworks]

Maybe it was an internal problem?

Was the Captain fumbling with some steel ball bearings at the Reception? :rolleyes:

[computerworks]

In this case, the wording of the Captain's announcement seems to have raised as much concern as it soothed. During airplane flights, attendants read carefully prepared scripts...

 

Reminds me of a cross country flight where one engine spectacularly flamed out in sight of all passengers.

 

The Captain came on the PA and and set us all at ease by saying:

 

"... and we are going to TRY and make it back to McCarran..."

 

Panic ensued.... :cool:

[Hunding]

reminds me of a cross country flight where one engine spectacularly flamed out in sight of all passengers.

 

The captain came on the pa and and set us all at ease by saying:

 

"... And we are going to try and make it back to mccarran..."

 

panic ensued.... :cool:

 

lol!!

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Good for you, Don.

[Pet Nit Noy]

Maybe it was an internal problem?

Was the Captain fumbling with some steel ball bearings at the Reception? :rolleyes:

 

No. He was flipping out in the galley over some missing strawberries.

[computerworks]

No. He was flipping out in the galley over some missing strawberries.

 

There was another key!!!??

[Pet Nit Noy]

There was another key!!!??

 

 

And why shouldn't the mess staff have another key?