Bit ot Cruise Passengers threaten Mutiny

[poetic license]

After reading the original post and seeing CNN in the URL, that about summed it up for me without ever opening it: a piddly little story likely blown out of all sense of proportion breathtakingly reported as "breaking news".

 

Yeah, right.

[negc]

If it were just one port I would be inclined to agree - but to miss that many ports just to make up time so they could continue on the next leg ( and may miss more ports- sounds reprehensible to me especially at the prices Cunard charges.

 

Mr. Christian - this is Mutiny I say

 

Strawberries - did someone say Strawberries??

So you would have had them stop at all of the ports even though it meant that the ship would arrive days late in Rio, thereby totally disrupting the plans of those who were scheduled to leave the ship there and return home - just imagine the complaints if that happened.

It would also disrupt the travel plans of everyone who was scheduled to board the ship when it reachd Rio - more complaints and more refunds.

The rest of the cruise schedule would be in shambles and everyone, on whatever leg of the journey, would experience delays, confusion and added expenses. But of course, the ship would have made those ports of call.:confused: No one denies that they have a right be be disappointed that their cruise wasn't perfect, but the lifetime of storytelling that they gained is priceless, and they'll probably get their fifteen minutes of fame when they are interviewed when they disembark in Rio.

My advice to those who were offered a 50% refund: Take the money and run. Fifty percent isn't bad and of course, for the time they were onboard, they ate, were entertained, and had all of the resources and amenities on the newest and largest passenger ship afloat, available to them. Doesn't sound like that bad a deal.

[Happy ks]

Blame has not yet been assigned. The accident may very well have been the fault of the harbor pilot and not Cunards fault in the least.

 

There are many more issues at hand than what the "news media" is writing about. Such as The Passenger Act, where people are not allowed to disembark in a US port until visiting a foreigh port. The fact that Cunard did not know exactly how long the delay would be and decisions were made to cancel ports after leaving Florida.

 

If you go to the Cunard board, there is a lengthy thread reagrding the behavior of the disgruntled passengers. While I believe the word "mutiny" has only been used in the press, there is a contingency of pax forming a class action suit against Cunard. From what I can gather, most of the pax are British and they intend to sue in England, I don't know how far that will get them.

 

The most dismaying part of this whole debacle is that pax are removing the gratuities from their onboard accounts. While I understand being angry, what they are doing is punishing the very people who are still giving them some measure of a luxurious vacation. Removing gratuities will not hurt the corporation one bit. I felt real bad for the pax until I read this part of the story.

 

Well, we'll have to stay tuned to see what happens. I think 1500 unhappy pax will, in reality be more like 150, the happy passengers will not get any air time with the media, just the grumblers. Cunard will continue to sail for many years to come, albeit without the current angry pax, their families, friends and co-workers. There are many more millions of people in the world who cruise every year. This event may cause a nick, but hardly a dent.

[constantcruiser]

On the news this morning, I heard that--even though they skipped all the ports in between--the QM2 will still arrive Rio a day late. That means that everyone who planned to fly home on the day it was scheduled to arrive will miss their return flights. If they booked air through Cunard, that may not be a problem...but for everyone who booked their flights independently, that will mean they'll have to buy one-way tickets back from Rio with only a day's notice. That will be a substantial increase over what they originally paid for tickets probably purchased months in advance. May also mean they'll incur hotel charges if they can't get flights out the same day. Seems like Cunard should at least pick up the difference. And what about an extra night in a hotel for those passengers who are waiting in Rio to board the next segment of the cruise?

[negc]

On the news this morning, I heard that--even though they skipped all the ports in between--the QM2 will still arrive Rio a day late. That means that everyone who planned to fly home on the day it was scheduled to arrive will miss their return flights. If they booked air through Cunard, that may not be a problem...but for everyone who booked their flights independently, that will mean they'll have to buy one-way tickets back from Rio with only a day's notice. That will be a substantial increase over what they originally paid for tickets probably purchased months in advance. May also mean they'll incur hotel charges if they can't get flights out the same day. Seems like Cunard should at least pick up the difference. And what about an extra night in a hotel for those passengers who are waiting in Rio to board the next segment of the cruise?

Let's wait and see what Cunard does about these problems before criticizing them. Based on their initial offer of a 50% refund, I suspect that they will offer assistance in arranging new flight schedules and offering hotel rooms or compensation for the same to those whose embarkation has been delayed. This is a fluid situation with things changing fairly rapidly, so the proposed solutions will necessarily change as the situation changes. Once the dust has cleared, maybe it will be possible to look at the whole matter and come to some conclusions relating to blame, responsibility, and the adequacy of Cunard's response.

[superjerryw]

If the ship gets to Rio a day late after skipping 3 ports it sounds like it will have to skip more ports to complete the overall itinerary on time. It sounds like more people are going to be upset as the cruise progresses. Can you imagine signing on for 38 days thinking you will stop in 20 places and then only stopping in 5.