Ovation of the Seas Pax Possibly Injured in Volcanic Eruption

[$hip$hape]

3 minutes ago, Merion_Mom said:

 

A passenger from the Grandeur died in Barbados on Saturday while  snorkeling.

 

Are in you favor of banning snorkeling excursions?

Please. I think you misunderstand.

 

[HokiePoq]

13 minutes ago, fin said:

This is a tough one! Far from being a "bubble baby" and expecting Da Gummint to keep me totally safe from anything on earth including words that might hurt my feelings, I am sure that had I been on that cruise I would have signed up to go.

I was not specifically aware of the fact that it is impossible for trained volcanologists to predict an eruption. My "feelings" would have been that any 'danger' was more "Disney" than 'Real" and just part of the fun. I would have thought that a reputable cruise line like Royal Carib would never subject their passengers to real known danger, and that the folks running the tours there every day would not be putting their own lives in danger if they felt it was unsafe.

I will be curious to see how the legal end plays out (if it doesn't take a dozen or more years).  And I cannot begin to imagine the feelings of the guy who took the now undoubtedly viral video 20 minutes after he was there.

It will indeed be interesting to see how this plays out legally.   We were in a dangerous situation on a RCCL cruise excursion several years ago.    We complained on the ship and later to corporate.  The response both times was the same:  "It's the responsibility of the local provider."   I imagine the contract between the cruise line and the provider states this.   A month after we returned a tourist bus rolled over on the same route we complained about, killing thirty people (not a cruise excursion).

So sorry for all involved, locals, crew and passengers.  Tragic.   

[JFontaine]

All cruise lines have been in the excursion risk assessment business for a long time, not just from a liability perspective, but from a public relations perspective.  Not only don't you see the excursions that they deem too risky, but  there are the "too young, too short, too heavy, too old" restrictions. There is no way of knowing whether these restrictions start with the vendor or the cruise line, but they become the cruise lines' rules when they put them on their website.  My sympathies to all involved in this tragedy. 

[oceanwavegirl]

Royal Caribbean sending passengers to a volcanic Island when apparently there was a warning advice issued ? thats the latest news Ive heard 😞 dont know if RCCL got that advice seems there will be some explaining to do very tragic

 

[oceanwavegirl]

18 minutes ago, jagsfan said:

😮 Am I reading this wrong?

Royal Caribbean is responsible for the eruption of an active volcano?

 

Apparently a warning was issued not sure to whom that is yet to be discovered perhaps

I cruised Celebrity past the Island in 2007 and no way were they sending people on their ship to the Island 

seemed risky then they felt

overall tragic 

 

[marci22]

Article from 2012 https://www.wired.com/2012/08/how-dangerous-is-visiting-white-island/

[The Grumpus]

2 hours ago, JVilleGal said:

This is not the time to point fingers!

I'm not so sure the lawyer's of all the Companies involved in this would agree with you.

[bretts173]

1 hour ago, fin said:

 

 

People jump from planes, many people die in helicopter and small plane crashes every year.  A man died snorkelling just last week in the caribbean. 

 

[Pushka]

9 hours ago, cruisegirl1 said:

So at this point, does anyone have an idea of how many cruise passengers/crew are not accounted for?

 

m

 

 

 

 

 

11 as of this morning. 

[Hogbay]

A list of the missing soul's, so sad.

 

https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/incidents/victim-of-white-island-volcanic-eruption-named-as-local-tour-guide/news-story/92f7bb5a85a8c1755a2329036faa432d

[$hip$hape]

6 minutes ago, Pushka said:

 

11 as of this morning. 

It's still early.

[Von & John]

Our hearts, thoughts & prayers go out to those who perished, were injured, those who lost loved ones, the passengers, crew & the local New Zealanders. 

 

[Pushka]

Just now, $hip$hape said:

It's still early.

It’s mid morning in NZ. 

[ShazM]

3 hours ago, K32682 said:

 

Yes, the facts are not yet understood.  So in the meantime thoughts and prayers and let RCI get it's damage control plan into place and come up with a rational explanation why passengers went on their excursion when the alert level had increased the month before.  At some point they will have to answer two important questions:  What did they know and when did they now it?   

It was only at Level 2 which it has been at hundreds, if not thousands, of times over the last 10 years. Level 4 is eruption. People that go on this excursion are given gas masks to wear. If you read StuffNZ there is a pretty good explanation from the tour company of how the tours proceed, or don't, depending on the level it is at and that they send people ahead before the tour groups get there to assess.

[twangster]

58 minutes ago, oceanwavegirl said:

Royal Caribbean sending passengers to a volcanic Island when apparently there was a warning advice issued ? thats the latest news Ive heard 😞 dont know if RCCL got that advice seems there will be some explaining to do very tragic

 

 

Royal has never sent a passenger to this or any other island.  

 

Royal is simply a booking agent who sold the tour operated by a local tour company.  They are a middle man.  The same excursion can be purchased through a number of booking agencies who handle the transaction and book you on behalf of the local tour company.  You may be able to book it directly with the tour operator as well.  If you choose to book it through Royal they offer some incentives but you are never required to book an excursion through a cruise line except at their private destinations.  In this case the local company who operates the tour is White Island Tour Limited.

 

The only place where Royal operates excursions is at their own private destinations, Labadee and CocoCay.

 

1 hour ago, oceanwavegirl said:

I cruised Celebrity past the Island in 2007 and no way were they sending people on their ship to the Island 

seemed risky then they felt

 

Celebrity does the same thing.  Same parent company as Royal Caribbean.  If they didn't offer it in 2007 perhaps the local tour operator wasn't available on that day.

[BND]

45 minutes ago, Hogbay said:

A list of the missing soul's, so sad.

 

https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/incidents/victim-of-white-island-volcanic-eruption-named-as-local-tour-guide/news-story/92f7bb5a85a8c1755a2329036faa432d

That's a list of missing Australians only.  I haven't seen any lists of cruise passengers or other nationalities.  My sister and her family arrive in Auckland last night.  They've been touring Aus and now NZ.  No idea if they had considered the volcano.

[Hogbay]

23 minutes ago, BND said:

That's a list of missing Australians only.  I haven't seen any lists of cruise passengers or other nationalities.  My sister and her family arrive in Auckland last night.  They've been touring Aus and now NZ.  No idea if they had considered the volcano.

Contact NZ Red Cross , they have a thing called family links with list of names , the direct link keeps crashing . 

https://www.redcross.org.nz/

 

https://familylinks.icrc.org/new-zealand/en/Pages/search-persons.aspx

 

[Cruising Jedi]

4 hours ago, alwaysonaship said:

I totally agree. Thoughts and prayers are not going to bring these people back. These things should not happen. Visiting an active volcano is full of risks as we can see, and the cruise line should be held responsible for this tragic loss.

 

Wait, what?  The cruise line should be held responsible for "nature" ?  People chose to go there, they are not children.  Unless you mean the passengers had no choice but to spend hundreds of dollars to be brought to a volcano against their will?  

[BND]

8 minutes ago, Hogbay said:

Contact NZ Red Cross , they have a thing called family links with list of names , the direct link keeps crashing . 

https://www.redcross.org.nz/

 

https://familylinks.icrc.org/new-zealand/en/Pages/search-persons.aspx

 

I don't need it.  My sister and family are fine.  I was just pointing out the list is of Australians only.

[HappyEmeritus]

49 minutes ago, ShazM said:

It was only at Level 2 which it has been at hundreds, if not thousands, of times over the last 10 years. Level 4 is eruption. People that go on this excursion are given gas masks to wear. If you read StuffNZ there is a pretty good explanation from the tour company of how the tours proceed, or don't, depending on the level it is at and that they send people ahead before the tour groups get there to assess.

If you are in the crater of an active volcano and it has a gas event you will die.  It does not take an eruption.  What you call a gas mask is a filter mask.  It is useless if the air is unbreathable.  Fire fighters wear breathing apparatus not gas masks.    I’m a diver, been to active volcanos, published on volcanic ash and flight safety, done risk analysis and worn breathing apparatus in fires.  This was an uncontrolled, unpredictable and extraordinary risk.  

[Bobal]

1 hour ago, Hogbay said:

A list of the missing soul's, so sad.

 

https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/incidents/victim-of-white-island-volcanic-eruption-named-as-local-tour-guide/news-story/92f7bb5a85a8c1755a2329036faa432d

 

That isn't a list of missing souls it's a list of Australians whose names have been added to the Red Cross list of people whose family/friends are trying to check if they are Ok. It's quite feasible many of them wouldn't have even been in the area. The list was published by an Australian news site which has just picked out the Australian names. The full list has other nationalities but, again, they are not necessarily missing, just that someone has put their name on the list wondering if they are safe

[oceanwavegirl]

 

 

If it is the case that RCCL sold those tours to the passengers (middle man or not) Im sure the lawyers representing the passengers families will be organising a please explain memo to RCCL 

 

am I wrong in saying that was  a ships tender taking the passengers away from the area ? 

 

Warning at a level 2 ? 

https://home.nzcity.co.nz/news/article.aspx?id=302663

 

here is current advice : Level 2 is the highest alert level before an eruption takes place, and indicates "moderate to heightened volcanic unrest" with the "potential for eruption hazards". ... The update concluded: "The volcano may be entering a period where eruptive activity is more likely than normal."1 hour ago

 

Edited December 9, 2019 by oceanwavegirl
correction in grammar

[elliair]

2 hours ago, bretts173 said:

People jump from planes, many people die in helicopter and small plane crashes every year.  A man died snorkelling just last week in the caribbean. 

 

Passengers jump off ships too, is the ship's crew responsible for the actions someone takes to kill themselves?  How about those excursions in Hawaii, just as dangerous as White Island.  Any excursion has its risks.  I would never zipline and people have been killed doing it.  I wouldn't go on any island that had active volcanoes either, but that's just me.  All I can hope for is that those passengers killed or injured, had trip insurance.

[Tansy Mews]

Are you sure it was an RCCL excursion? I found a short list online for this departure and it wasn't there. http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/destinations/shoreExcursions/subGateWayByPort/search.do?DestinationCode=&LocationCode=TRG

 

[bilyclub]

20 minutes ago, oceanwavegirl said:

 

am I wrong in saying that was  a ships tender taking the passengers away from the area ? 

 

 

 

I did not see any cruise ship tenders in the footage, just zodiacs and tour boats.  I did see an abandoned helicopter sitting near the area the zodiacs were loading survivors up.