Cruise cut short Gem Oct 31, 2017

[ChiefMike]

Still see the ship is in Barbados on Sea Scanners website, it was anchored offshore the beaches yesterday but is now back and docked next to where the Club Med 2 boat was docked.

 

 

I don't think any pax are onboard as work is being done, i've heard something that may be a legal technicality as the ship is out of service and pax are not allowed onboard. I'm sure quite a few people would've volunteered to stay aboard, a free week of food and board!

[medtech71]

Supposed to be heading out on the Gem in Feb...I used to be excited...now I am kind of approaching it with a mixture of dread and hope. Their handling of, well, pretty much everything since Irma leaves me wondering what I have gotten myself into?

[jm485]

I think someone said upthread that those who couldn’t fly back were being sent to a hotel to await ship and would be departing today or tomorrow from Barbados

 

 

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[Wizpharm2]

Is anyone on this forum still on the Gem waiting to sail back to NY? The 11/21 cruisers are pretty anxious as to what is going on with her down in Barbados. Any info would be super appreciated.

 

 

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Greetings from Barbados. The Gem is still here and under going repairs. As stated elsewhere, it appears the Gem has spent time away from the pier recently probably to test recent repairs.

Those that will be re-boarding the Gem for travel back to NYC, have a meeting schedule for this evening with a ship's representative. When folks left the ship a specific departure plan (date/time) was not provided to those waiting a local hotel, hopefully more info will be provided during the meeting.

[j2thesea]

Greetings from Barbados. The Gem is still here and under going repairs. As stated elsewhere, it appears the Gem has spent time away from the pier recently probably to test recent repairs.

Those that will be re-boarding the Gem for travel back to NYC, have a meeting schedule for this evening with a ship's representative. When folks left the ship a specific departure plan (date/time) was not provided to those waiting a local hotel, hopefully more info will be provided during the meeting.

 

 

 

THANKS so much! Any updates you can provide would be great! I hope those of you still in Barbados are making the best of a difficult situation.

 

 

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[marilyn_g]

Supposed to be heading out on the Gem in Feb...I used to be excited...now I am kind of approaching it with a mixture of dread and hope. Their handling of, well, pretty much everything since Irma leaves me wondering what I have gotten myself into?

The ship had a mechanical. It happens, even to new ones. Corporate decisions, not ship staff, caused the angst for most, problems for some, and serious issues for a few.

[marilyn_g]

I'd bet my last dollar, that if someone went to NCL and said they were diabetic and was afraid that there was no food they could eat either at the airport or on the plane, NCL would make something for them and make sure they could take it with them (there would be no uncooked fruits, vegetables, meats, etc.) or had it delivered to the airline, but I would bet that not one person did that. Like I said, better to be prepared, than be a victim.

 

BTW, if all you want is an apology, then why not call Customer Service and tell them that is all you want and you might get a call back from a Supervisor giving you that apology.

 

Were you there?

I'm not here wringing my hands moaning, I am still able to roll with events. I'm fortunate. They kept me and my husband together. I ended up at the better hotel by dark. It was only hours of confusion for me. I only suffered minor physical complaints. I was able to give my smuggled water bottle to the woman choking from the heat on our bus. I was able to give a spare pair of gloves, and lend my wool shaw to the elderly woman shivering, waiting for our bus in record cold NJ. I found out at the hotel, I was fortunate, from those separated from families, friends, ported from hotel to hotel, and, to quote "lied to my face" by the rep.

 

And I was there. I don't understand those who weren't there knowing better than those who experienced it. I'm not begging ncl for anything, but I understand those who are. People who have been calling NCL are being told everyone was accommodated, go to the website to comment, and hung up on.

 

Oh, I did receive an email from NCL, welcoming me to Latitude Rewards. Yeah. I'll probably sail ncl again, I have the bug, and we have deposits. But not this year.

[NLH Arizona]

Were you there?

I'm not here wringing my hands moaning, I am still able to roll with events. I'm fortunate. They kept me and my husband together. I ended up at the better hotel by dark. It was only hours of confusion for me. I only suffered minor physical complaints. I was able to give my smuggled water bottle to the woman choking from the heat on our bus. I was able to give a spare pair of gloves, and lend my wool shaw to the elderly woman shivering, waiting for our bus in record cold NJ. I found out at the hotel, I was fortunate, from those separated from families, friends, ported from hotel to hotel, and, to quote "lied to my face" by the rep.

 

And I was there. I don't understand those who weren't there knowing better than those who experienced it. I'm not begging ncl for anything, but I understand those who are. People who have been calling NCL are being told everyone was accommodated, go to the website to comment, and hung up on.

 

Oh, I did receive an email from NCL, welcoming me to Latitude Rewards. Yeah. I'll probably sail ncl again, I have the bug, and we have deposits. But not this year.

Never said anything about knowing better, but just pointing out that those with dietary restrictions should be responsible for themselves to make sure they have the food and type of food that they need and if they don't they can't blame the airline or cruise line, because they can not always accomodate folks with dietary restrictions.

 

I'm glad you were able to help others and hopefully more passengers were like you and helped those in need. We all need to look out for each other and lend a hand when needed.

[maggie cruises]

Were you there?

 

I'm not here wringing my hands moaning, I am still able to roll with events. I'm fortunate. They kept me and my husband together. I ended up at the better hotel by dark. It was only hours of confusion for me. I only suffered minor physical complaints. I was able to give my smuggled water bottle to the woman choking from the heat on our bus. I was able to give a spare pair of gloves, and lend my wool shaw to the elderly woman shivering, waiting for our bus in record cold NJ. I found out at the hotel, I was fortunate, from those separated from families, friends, ported from hotel to hotel, and, to quote "lied to my face" by the rep.

 

 

 

And I was there. I don't understand those who weren't there knowing better than those who experienced it. I'm not begging ncl for anything, but I understand those who are. People who have been calling NCL are being told everyone was accommodated, go to the website to comment, and hung up on.

 

 

 

Oh, I did receive an email from NCL, welcoming me to Latitude Rewards. Yeah. I'll probably sail ncl again, I have the bug, and we have deposits. But not this year.

 

 

 

I cannot believe ncl is so callous that they actually separated families?

 

Unfortunately it doesn't surprise me though.

 

However

 

I'm really interested as to why families were split up

 

I know I know nothing is guaranteed but cruises are just different.

And in this sort of crisis to separate families is negligent.

 

For those that won't call this a crisis....I bet the 90 yo couple will disagree as will the diabetic and scooter bound pax

 

 

This was a major fiasco and perhaps they should have limped to Miami or cancelled a few Sky cruises and just pressed their own ships into service to come to Barbados for a pick up

 

No easy answers here....except....the management team at ncl is asleep on the job

 

 

I wonder how ncl would have handled a real life threatening emergency...a la ...costa Concordia?

 

Yes I know that was under the carnival umbrella, but is it really possible all cruise lines are just as incompetent?

 

Rhetorical question btw I know the answer

 

 

 

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[xriva]

I agree it sounds like much of this could be handled better, but some of the assertions are just ignorant. Here’s why you don’t limp to Miami, courtesy of my Amazon Echo:

 

Alexa, how far is it from Miami to Barbados?

— 1610 miles as the crow flies

Alexa, what is 1610 miles in nautical miles?

— 1399 nautical miles

Alexa, what is 1399 divided by 8?

— 174.875

 

So, at 8 knots, it’s 174.875 hours to limp to Miami. That’s 7.3 Days. A week. I don’t think that was much of an option if the ship can be repaired in Barbados and then travel at full speed.

 

You assume that the ship can be repaired in Miami. That may or may not be true. I think the closest dry dock is in the Bahamas if extensive work is needed.

 

You assume canceling thousands of other people’s cruises to get another ship is a good idea. Imagine the wailing on here times two or three. Also, the Sky is a smaller ship. Round trip could take six or seven days. That’s at least two Sky cruises canceled for the rescue mission and you might not have enough room for all the stranded passengers.

 

Then, consider:

 

Did everyone have passports, since birth certificates are good on a closed-loop cruise but not a plane?

 

What government will let us transit all our passengers who are no longer sailing out?

 

How do we let the State Department know we have people that sailed out and flew home?

 

What if people won’t fly?

 

Where is an airport large enough to land a plane that can hold a significant number of passengers?

 

Where do we get the planes?

 

Where do we fix the freakin’ ship in time for its next cruise?

 

How do we not end up looking like Carnival with their “poop” ship?

 

I would not have wanted to be a passenger on this trip, but I wouldn’t want to be on the team that handled it, either. They’re screwed no matter what happens.

 

I’m sure it was not handed well, but it doesn’t mean they all failed.

 

 

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[Suziloves2cruise]

Greetings from Barbados. The Gem is still here and under going repairs. As stated elsewhere, it appears the Gem has spent time away from the pier recently probably to test recent repairs.

Those that will be re-boarding the Gem for travel back to NYC, have a meeting schedule for this evening with a ship's representative. When folks left the ship a specific departure plan (date/time) was not provided to those waiting a local hotel, hopefully more info will be provided during the meeting.

 

Thanks for the update Wizpharm, we are booked on the 12/2 sailing and hoping repairs go well

[Wizpharm2]

Update regarding Gem's status...passengers in Barbados have been told they will be heading back to NYC early Friday with an expected arrival on Nov. 21st.

 

 

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[Suziloves2cruise]

Update regarding Gem's status...passengers in Barbados have been told they will be heading back to NYC early Friday with an expected arrival on Nov. 21st.

 

 

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Great news [emoji106]

 

 

 

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[*Luv2Cruz*]

Update regarding Gem's status...passengers in Barbados have been told they will be heading back to NYC early Friday with an expected arrival on Nov. 21st.

 

 

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Awesome![emoji847][emoji41][emoji106][emoji6][emoji854]🤞

 

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[NLH Arizona]

Update regarding Gem's status...passengers in Barbados have been told they will be heading back to NYC early Friday with an expected arrival on Nov. 21st.

 

 

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Good to hear!

[maggie cruises]

I agree it sounds like much of this could be handled better, but some of the assertions are just ignorant. Here’s why you don’t limp to Miami, courtesy of my Amazon Echo:

 

Alexa, how far is it from Miami to Barbados?

— 1610 miles as the crow flies

Alexa, what is 1610 miles in nautical miles?

— 1399 nautical miles

Alexa, what is 1399 divided by 8?

— 174.875

 

So, at 8 knots, it’s 174.875 hours to limp to Miami. That’s 7.3 Days. A week. I don’t think that was much of an option if the ship can be repaired in Barbados and then travel at full speed.

 

You assume that the ship can be repaired in Miami. That may or may not be true. I think the closest dry dock is in the Bahamas if extensive work is needed.

 

You assume canceling thousands of other people’s cruises to get another ship is a good idea. Imagine the wailing on here times two or three. Also, the Sky is a smaller ship. Round trip could take six or seven days. That’s at least two Sky cruises canceled for the rescue mission and you might not have enough room for all the stranded passengers.

 

Then, consider:

 

Did everyone have passports, since birth certificates are good on a closed-loop cruise but not a plane?

 

What government will let us transit all our passengers who are no longer sailing out?

 

How do we let the State Department know we have people that sailed out and flew home?

 

What if people won’t fly?

 

Where is an airport large enough to land a plane that can hold a significant number of passengers?

 

Where do we get the planes?

 

Where do we fix the freakin’ ship in time for its next cruise?

 

How do we not end up looking like Carnival with their “poop” ship?

 

I would not have wanted to be a passenger on this trip, but I wouldn’t want to be on the team that handled it, either. They’re screwed no matter what happens.

 

I’m sure it was not handed well, but it doesn’t mean they all failed.

 

 

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There were lots of better ways for this to have been handled

 

Sending another ship to transport them to Miami was an EXAMPLE

 

Using the sky was an EXAMPLE

 

The first hand accounts of this "air lift" from Barbados seem to say there were only 2 options given

 

A. Fly back to NYC in the chartered flights

 

B. Stay in Barbados at a hotel until you can sail back on the fixed up gem

 

What about flying pax...some not all of course... on regular scheduled airlines? Perhaps to Boston Miami Chicago? If that worked better for the pax of course

 

How about looking into passage on another ship porting in Barbados?

 

And yes disrupting the 3/4 day cruises to perhaps press that particular ship into service

 

This mess already disrupted 2300 other pax on the cancelled Gem cruise

 

 

But I digress....how about ncl just sending in a group of their own trained operations people to be on the ground?

 

 

At a minimum have trained ncl operatives who are skilled at handling this type of scenario? On the ground in Barbados and NYC...Not rent-a-usher like they use on embark days?

 

Also....yes....special personalized assistance for their pax in need of it?

 

Sorry....but a cruise line must have protocol...and operations/logistics personnel on the payroll that can be pressed into service for situations like this...so that situations like 90 yo pax freezing and being disoriented do not occur....so that families are not split up (I personally would like to hear details about this as I'm sure minors weren't split up) ....so that special diet needs pax are supervised and cared for. I know my dh who has severe asthma would have needed special assistance as this stressful situation coupled with crowding and more than likely very poor air circulation etc would have triggered an attack. And yes he prepares for these situations but then again he wouldn't choose to travel home in this way would he? Again I digress but I do hope that ncl had trained medical personnel around. At minimum flown in traveling nurses like insurance companies use. Yes, I know I'm delusional but as a logistics persons I can't help it.

 

Of course the way this played out should be of no surprise to anyone however of the 2300 pax my guess is perhaps 300 may have needed assistance

 

Of those 300 I believe someone posted approx 100 stayed on in Barbados until ship is fixed

 

So perhaps 200?

 

Ncl should have done everything in their power to make this fiasco run smoothly

 

Getting pax up at 1 am isn't running smoothly

 

Bad food isn't running smoothly

 

Splitting up families isn't running smoothly

 

 

I know it's a sport here to rip apart posts and to disagree whenever possible as it's all part of the fun of cc but NCL just makes some bad decisions

 

Some are actually comical...like not being able to take food from the buffet (remember that) to putting their pax in harms way

 

Ftlog...if there is a 90 yo couple caught up in this airlift..which by all accounts there were and probably more than one...

 

Make sure they are at minimum given priority treatment and more.

 

 

 

 

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Edited November 15, 2017 by maggie cruises

[xriva]

If you’re a logistics person, you should read the guest contract.

 

The reason they don’t fly you someplace convenient is because the contract states they will return you to the port of departure or your home city - at their discretion. It’s much easier to move 2000 people to one place than multiple.

 

The medical section has specific warnings about fitness to travel and the fact they may not have the ability or supplies to help you. Your health is on you (which others have said.)

 

I understand you’re just spitballing but they are required to do what’s in the contract. I agree “in the contract” is a minimum, but it is “good enough”.

 

It is interesting that the contract states the passenger is entitled to a partial refund in case the cruise is shortened by a mechanical failure. So, people might want to look at that section.

 

 

 

 

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[em-sk]

You have to recognize they should have done better at communicating with passengers. That said, I think some of what is discussed here is also unreasonable.

 

Using this to judge how effective they would be at handling a Concordia type situation is a stretch. An on-ship emergency is something completely in the hands of the employees on the ship to handle. It is also somethings they train and drill extensively to handle. In comparison the propulsion problem and getting all the passengers back to the home port involves a complex network of suppliers that all need to be sourced, contracted and paid in very short order.

 

Suggestions were made that NCL should have put passengers onto regularly scheduled flights from Brigtown airport. I had a quick peak at the flights from this airport. Hand full of flights to other Caribbean islands. One flight on JetBlue to New York, one on Air Canada and a second on WestJet to Toronto. Two on American to Miami and a British Airways flight to London. Last minute you should not expect more that a handful of seats on any of these flights. That is going to take weeks if you dump 2,500 people onto regularly scheduled flights.

 

They had to charter flights out and have early morning departures in they had any hope of getting most people back to New York at the same time the ship was originally scheduled to dock in New York.

 

Omni Air does a lot of US military charters, they probably do not go into Bridgtown that frequently. They need to arrange fuel, catering, security, check-in staff etc. Air Canada operates regular flights from Bridgtown to Toronto and Montreal, so they already have people on the ground.

 

We all expect flawless customer experiences and execution when the cruise lines has months to prepare. They tentatively order food for the ship two months ahead of time and finalize the order a few weeks ahead of time. They sign contracts for charter buses and check in agents months ahead of time.

 

This is a situation when they have to pull together all of the moving parts in a day or two and it shows it. Not certain any other cruise line would have done better.

[Cafedumonde]

Can't sail Carnival because of the Triumph.

No more Royal because of the Anthem.

Won't sail Norwegian because of the Gem.

It's only a matter of time until you'll cross off every major cruise line if one event deters you.

 

It was only a couple years ago when no one would eat at Chipotle anymore and only a few months since everyone vowed not to fly United. Time passes, and one bad publicity story won't sick the ship. I like puns.

 

Honestly, it sounds like things weren't glamorous and I do feel badly for those whose vacations were cut short and were stressed but from what I'm reading it sounds like NCL handled things pretty decently up until Newark airport.

Are people eating at Chipotle again? No one I know eats there anymore. Lol. And we have avoided United for about 8 years now. And it is dominant here. Awful airline, and not because of their recent PR disasters.

Edited November 15, 2017 by Cafedumonde

[Cafedumonde]

Wait, is NCL seriously only giving 25% off future cruise? That is beyond tacky. Definitely gives me pause.

[esm54687]

OMG! I just saw it and the tears from the family member "just hoping to get them home safely" says all I need. ...... and they are concerned about little Nicky missing school..... he's in 4th grade and they have the internet.... instead of him hanging with the monkeys how about getting assignments from the school and sitting his butt down for a couple days of home schooling!!! Mom had no issues pulling him out of class for 7 school days..... and they're low on medication??? FedEx the medication down and give the bill to your travel insurance company (and if you have that severe of medical conditions where you cannot fly, etc then you better have Platinum Travel Insurance.... if not WOW)...... again, I'm completely sympathetic to their situation but my goodness.... http://abc7ny.com/travel/cruise-nightmare-for-one-new-jersey-family/2648832/

 

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[Suziloves2cruise]

OMG! I just saw it and the tears from the family member "just hoping to get them home safely" says all I need. ...... and they are concerned about little Nicky missing school..... he's in 4th grade and they have the internet.... instead of him hanging with the monkeys how about getting assignments from the school and sitting his butt down for a couple days of home schooling!!! Mom had no issues pulling him out of class for 7 school days..... and they're low on medication??? FedEx the medication down and give the bill to your travel insurance company (and if you have that severe of medical conditions where you cannot fly, etc then you better have Platinum Travel Insurance.... if not WOW)...... again, I'm completely sympathetic to their situation but my goodness.... http://abc7ny.com/travel/cruise-nightmare-for-one-new-jersey-family/2648832/

 

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I was just going to post a comment on that! I don't know if was her or the over dramatic news reporting but they didn't seem optimistic about the ship being fixed and leaving on Friday, they emphasized the "SHOULD be fixed"

But again the news channels dramatize everything too.

 

What type of medical issues keep you from flying? I'm not trying to be a jerk, I'm seriously curious, I guess maybe clotting disorders? Heart issues? I just ask because I know people with some serious medical issues that do fly. Sorry for my ignorance

[calmpets]

What type of medical issues keep you from flying? I'm not trying to be a jerk, I'm seriously curious, I guess maybe clotting disorders? Heart issues? I just ask because I know people with some serious medical issues that do fly. Sorry for my ignorance

I was curious about that myself. Here is what I found - https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/health-status. Most of these are things you shouldn't be cruising with either, but there are a couple that could possibly have started while traveling. If the number of affected passengers I read is accurate, 100 people are claiming inability to fly, which seems disproportionately high to me.

[mjkacmom]

Are people eating at Chipotle again? No one I know eats there anymore. Lol. And we have avoided United for about 8 years now. And it is dominant here. Awful airline, and not because of their recent PR disasters.

Our chipotle is always packed, and lots of organizations use them for fundraisers, they give 50% of the proceeds to the organizations. We only seem to fly United, major hub here.

[mjkacmom]

OMG! I just saw it and the tears from the family member "just hoping to get them home safely" says all I need. ...... and they are concerned about little Nicky missing school..... he's in 4th grade and they have the internet.... instead of him hanging with the monkeys how about getting assignments from the school and sitting his butt down for a couple days of home schooling!!! Mom had no issues pulling him out of class for 7 school days..... and they're low on medication??? FedEx the medication down and give the bill to your travel insurance company (and if you have that severe of medical conditions where you cannot fly, etc then you better have Platinum Travel Insurance.... if not WOW)...... again, I'm completely sympathetic to their situation but my goodness.... http://abc7ny.com/travel/cruise-nightmare-for-one-new-jersey-family/2648832/

 

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Talk about first world problems. It was a good time to try to stretch a trip, with 4 days off from school already. How does an 8 year old know about hospitals in Barbados? Curious why they can’t fly.