Mosque attach in Christchurh

[Ladybentley]

We were on the Celebrity Solstice in Tauranga, New Zealand, on Friday when the dreadful Mosque attacks happened in Christchurch. By coincidence, we were also on a cruise ship, Holland America’s Volendam, eight years ago when the second, disastrous earthquake struck Christchurch. We remember that after passengers had returned to the ship that day, the captain made an announcement telling everyone about the earthquake and offering sympathy from himself, the crew and Holland America, to the New Zealanders on board. The ship screened news coverage of the disaster for the rest of the day and evening on a large screen in one of the lounges. We were among many of our fellow New Zealanders who gathered there in shock to watch what was happening. What a contrast to Celebrity who did nothing. No announcement; no expression of sympathy – it was just ignored. We didn’t find out about the horrific attack until late in the evening when we turned on the BBC News in our cabin. We were appalled to think that we had been enjoying the life on board not knowing that this dreadful event had occurred in our country. Not impressed with Celebrity.

[Bellies5]

All sympathy to you and your fellow countrymen/women.  What a dreadful event. What a curious approach for Celebrity to take.  I am sure there are lots of Kiwis on board, and there was no way to prevent the news reaching passengers.  A poor show not to offer an expression of sympathy. 

[puppycanducruise]

A horrific event.

How could Celebrity ignore it?

Our thoughts and prayers to the victims and their families.

[The_Big_M]

That sort of thing is typically the captain's call. He may have consulted with shoreside, but usually it's his decision.

[MicCanberra]

All I can say is sorry that you feel aggrieved at Celebrity for not informing you. They should have made an announcement to all the Kiwis on board. It would have come as quite a shock.

[MicCanberra]

I am curious now.

OP, did the Captain inform anyone on board about the plane crash on 10 March 2019 that killed 157 people?  

 

[Brisbane41]

With all respect to Celebrity Cruises, I kind of agree with their decision. I was reluctant to even open this topic as I have deliberately been trying to avoid watching or reading any news about it. News of disasters and incidents upsets people and it is fine balance Celebrity has to play. You must remember that many of their passengers are likely to be American and you have no idea where in America they are from or if they have friends or relatives in previous American shootings. Just the slightest mention of such a topic could set people off and upset them. Even at the moment America is politically divided and I am finding most of them that I met last year on a cruise are just not interested in discussing political issues or tragedies.

 

To be honest the best thing they could do would be a dignified silence and business as usual. There is international news channels available on the ship and a reasonable adult is free to obtain the news at their own wish. It is not really the cruise lines job to play mother or father to the passengers and lead some sort of sorrow event on a cruise ship. 

[viviancartman]

I was on a Royal Caribbean cruise in Napier on Friday and there was no mention of it on board either. 

[The_Big_M]

6 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

I am curious now.

OP, did the Captain inform anyone on board about the plane crash on 10 March 2019 that killed 157 people?  

 

Big difference.

 

The ship was in New Zealand. The incident was in New Zealand.

 

The ship was not in Ethiopia. Not sure why you'd see relevance on a plane crash on the other side of the world.

[MicCanberra]

7 hours ago, The_Big_M said:

Big difference.

 

The ship was in New Zealand. The incident was in New Zealand.

 

The ship was not in Ethiopia. Not sure why you'd see relevance on a plane crash on the other side of the world.

My point was that it was a major event that involved the death of people from all over the world, Canadians, Americans and Europeans would have been on board the ship at the time and it is likely that wasn't mentioned. I suppose most cruise ships do not mention these type events or even natural disasters unless the itinerary is directly affected. As I said, it was sad that the OP felt let down but I do not think it was something that normally would occur.

[Bubbeh]

We were travelling on an MSC ship in 2015.  At the time the Nepalese / Gorkha earthquake occurred we were in Turkey actually on shore on the Gallipoli Penisular. This event killed 9000 and injurred another 22 000. When we reboarded we knew nothing about the disaster and no announcements were made at all.  As there was no news feed to the ship, it was left up to fellow passengers to alert us over the next few days.  It was generally felt that MSC should have made us aware and even held a minutes silence to show respect. 

 

A collection of money and clothing was organised by a couple of passengers who had contacts in Nepal to forward the cash and items to.  This was done at our next port in Greece.  MSC refused to sanction any benevolent actions.  Most disappointing and amongst a number of reasons why I will never cruise with this line again.

[The_Big_M]

5 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

My point was that it was a major event that involved the death of people from all over the world, Canadians, Americans and Europeans would have been on board the ship at the time and it is likely that wasn't mentioned. I suppose most cruise ships do not mention these type events or even natural disasters unless the itinerary is directly affected. As I said, it was sad that the OP felt let down but I do not think it was something that normally would occur.

 

Sure, but there's a lot of difference between something on the other side of the world, compared to something more significant right on your doorstep that those onboard would have much greater relevance.

 

The two aren't comparable.

[MicCanberra]

2 hours ago, The_Big_M said:

 

Sure, but there's a lot of difference between something on the other side of the world, compared to something more significant right on your doorstep that those onboard would have much greater relevance.

 

The two aren't comparable.

I disagree, just because it is not relevant for one person, doesn't mean it isn't relevant for someone else. That said, I don't think it is up to the captain to make these announcements when there are several news channels on the TV.

 

[OzKiwiJJ]

There may be corporate guidelines against mentioning things like terrorist attacks unless passenger safety is compromised. Some passengers could panic thinking that there will be similar attacks at subsequent ports on the itinerary.

 

An earthquake is quite different as it is an act of nature.

[The_Big_M]

1 hour ago, MicCanberra said:

I disagree, just because it is not relevant for one person, doesn't mean it isn't relevant for someone else. That said, I don't think it is up to the captain to make these announcements when there are several news channels on the TV.

 

 

That's kind of the point. Anything could be relevant with that argument so that would have them reading every single piece of news.

 

However, this is markedly different as it's a major terrorism act on the same territory as the ship is visiting. That makes this definitely relevant to many as distinct from your example, which you haven't shown has any relevance to anyone onboard.

[MicCanberra]

33 minutes ago, The_Big_M said:

 

That's kind of the point. Anything could be relevant with that argument so that would have them reading every single piece of news.

 

However, this is markedly different as it's a major terrorism act on the same territory as the ship is visiting. That makes this definitely relevant to many as distinct from your example, which you haven't shown has any relevance to anyone onboard.

So you are advocating they should make announcements as long as the incident occurs in the country they are visiting that day.

If that was the case, as they were in port, most people may not have been on board at the time.  

[The_Big_M]

 

2 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

So you are advocating they should make announcements as long as the incident occurs in the country they are visiting that day.

If that was the case, as they were in port, most people may not have been on board at the time.  

 

It's not about running a live news studio. As the OP said, it was spoken about after people had returned.

[MicCanberra]

44 minutes ago, The_Big_M said:

 

 

It's not about running a live news studio. As the OP said, it was spoken about after , people had returned.

But not by the captain, which is what the OP wanted.

[The_Big_M]

That wasn't the point of contention you had.

[Bubbeh]

Am I the only one who's now confused?

[MicCanberra]

1 hour ago, Bubbeh said:

Am I the only one who's now confused?

No, it seems there are a few of us.