Horrific Accident in Mexico

[cruisemom42]

The timing of this tragic event is terrible as families are gathering to celebrate various holidays; it struck a chill in me to read that members of a CC'er's family were among those who lost their lives.

 

This is an unfortunate reminder of the good reasons to have appropriate insurance (particularly for those injured) as well as a reminder of the potential need for a passport, even if on a closed-loop cruise.

[slightlysilly]

I was on a similar tour (the buses we were on said DelValle on the back) about three weeks ago. I felt that we were safe on the comfortable, air conditioned buses. However, we had just come from a harrowing experience with the roads in Roatan so that may have contributed my sense of safety. Very sad and tragic for all involved.

[bamelin]

Horrible.

 

My parents were in Costa Maya that day off Navigator of the Seas. I know they were going to go see the ruins. Until I got confirmation of which ships passengers were involved it was a crappy day today for me.

 

Regardless this is horrendous. I just got off Equinox myself (Dec 2 - 9) ... beautiful ship. Such a tragedy over the Holidays.

[bigwally]

This is an unfortunate reminder of the good reasons to have appropriate insurance (particularly for those injured) as well as a reminder of the potential need for a passport, even if on a closed-loop cruise.

 

And a reminder to have your affairs in order at home! My mother just passed away unexpectedly with no will or trust document in place. I also spent the 6 days between her passing and the end of the Thanksgiving weekend going through mounds of old paperwork without finding much of anything useful.

 

Do your heirs a favor - get a legal will or trust document drawn up and make darn sure they know where to find it! Also get rid of all the crap in your life and only keep stuff that is still relevant and/or useful. Because one minute you might be enjoying the Quintana Roo jungle from the window of a tour bus and the next... Well, you know. :(

[Cruizer Bill]

We were on that very tour out of Costa Maya last month. Might have been our bus.

[anaco_angler]

This is undoubtedly a tragedy and everyone who has responded on this thread and on the Celebrity site has rightfully expressed their sympathy and condolences for the families involved. I share those sentiments and I'm sure all of us have said "there but for the grace of God go I." But it has made me think: would the cruise line have responded any differently if the shore excursion had been a private instead of ship-sponsored one? Does the cruise line bear any responsibility since this was a ship-sponsored excursion? I am sure there are hold harmless clauses embedded in the pages-long terms and conditions that we all agree to, or maybe there are releases as part of the shore excursion contract. We all take risks and we need to be aware of what those risks are when we book a shore excursion. This tragic accident also underscores the wisdom of taking out trip insurance. And it has made me weigh the benefits of ship-sponsored tours versus private tours. We have usually favored private tours for their small groups and flexibility but there are risks. On our last cruise we decided to take a ship-sponsored tour and it was fortunate that we did since the tour was over an hour late returning to the ship due to a tour passenger issue and heavy traffic. The captain waited but that might not have been the case if it was a private tour.

[iancal]

This can happen anywhere. It was only a few years ago that there was a bus involved in a a fatal road accident in the Canadian Rockies. Several tourists from China died in that accident.

[cruisemom42]

This is undoubtedly a tragedy and everyone who has responded on this thread and on the Celebrity site has rightfully expressed their sympathy and condolences for the families involved. I share those sentiments and I'm sure all of us have said "there but for the grace of God go I." But it has made me think: would the cruise line have responded any differently if the shore excursion had been a private instead of ship-sponsored one? Does the cruise line bear any responsibility since this was a ship-sponsored excursion? I am sure there are hold harmless clauses embedded in the pages-long terms and conditions that we all agree to, or maybe there are releases as part of the shore excursion contract. We all take risks and we need to be aware of what those risks are when we book a shore excursion. This tragic accident also underscores the wisdom of taking out trip insurance. And it has made me weigh the benefits of ship-sponsored tours versus private tours. We have usually favored private tours for their small groups and flexibility but there are risks. On our last cruise we decided to take a ship-sponsored tour and it was fortunate that we did since the tour was over an hour late returning to the ship due to a tour passenger issue and heavy traffic. The captain waited but that might not have been the case if it was a private tour.

 

It is wise to weigh up the pros and cons of private vs ship excursion, but one should consider all parts of the equation honestly. For example, bus tours seem to be late back to the ship fairly often -- and I think that they are late partly because they know they CAN be late with impunity.

 

When I was on a HAL cruise that visited Israel, I took a private tour that pretty much mimicked what the (very expensive) overnight ship tour offered. My private car had me back to the ship a good two hours before the "all aboard". Meanwhile the bus tour, which visited the same attractions, was over two hours late returning -- not just one bus but bus after bus.

 

I suspect it is somewhat true that if a terrible accident like this happens, you may see the ship putting more resources into it and possibly holding the ship to enable uninjured or slightly passengers to get back.

 

However, for passengers who have to go to hospital (or whose injuries were so severe that no help was possible), I imagine they'd get the same assistance shoreside from the ship agent whether on a private tour or a ship tour. In that situation, a private tour shouldn't be considered any differently than if a passenger was walking around the town by him or herself and managed to fall off a curb and break an ankle -- e.g., not on a ship tour, but still entitled to some assistance shoreside.

 

I am not a fan of ship tours, but I take reasonable precautions when going private. I have insurance, and I also check to see if the private tour operator has the appropriate licenses and insurance. If I'm going a long way from the ship, I bring my passport just in case.

 

And of course, ship tours are not immune to accidents such as this one occurring, or from being held up and robbed, which has also occurred in the Caribbean. In some countries, one may actually be safer when NOT traveling in a large, conspicuous tour bus.

[Cruise Junky]

 

And of course, ship tours are not immune to accidents such as this one occurring, or from being held up and robbed, which has also occurred in the Caribbean. In some countries, one may actually be safer when NOT traveling in a large, conspicuous tour bus.

Very true, didn't the shooters in Tunisia wait for the Ship's tour buses?