interesting reading

[lougee1043]

was this posted when it originally happend?????

 

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/16/nyregion/16cruise.html

[karen2cruz]

I remember the ship being re-directed, for good cause. I can also understand why cruiselines wait as long as possible to make a decision of this kind, because weather can change overnight.

 

I am constantly amazed and dismayed by these lawsuits.

[gizmo]

Yes, it was all over CC, newpapers, and TV when it happened.

[Copper10-8]

Not too many options if there's a hurricane between Bayonne and Bermuda! Last time I checked, cruise ship captains still can't control the weather! Maybe, that RCI captain should have sailed that ship into the middle of that hurricane. Then those money hungry, litigation happy, swimsuit packing, sunglass wearing pax would have really had something to cry about. Unbelievable but not surprising!

[kryos]

Not too many options if there's a hurricane between Bayonne and Bermuda! Last time I checked, cruise ship captains still can't control the weather! Maybe, that RCI captain should have sailed that ship into the middle of that hurricane. Then those money hungry, litigation happy, swimsuit packing, sunglass wearing pax would have really had something to cry about. Unbelievable but not surprising!

The problem was that those passengers were not offered any options ... it was take a Canada/New England cruise or lose your money.

 

I think the line should have offered them options ... like cancel with a full refund or sail to Canada/New England at a reduced rate. I think even a cruise to nowhere would have been better than what they gave these people. From what I understand, most of them packed for the tropics and now they had cold and rainy temps. To make matters worse, the onboard shops charged them full price for cold weather outerwear ... like sweatshirts and jackets.

 

Look at it this way. How would you feel if you purchased a cruise to Hawaii ... had long been looking forward to it ... and then at the last minute you were "informed" that since a volcano had erupted on the islands, you were going to Alaska instead? No options, no nothing. One cruise is 180-degrees different from the other. Wouldn't you be upset? Now, let's say the line offered you something reasonably similiar to Hawaii ... say an expanded Mexican Riveria cruise ... warm climates, that sort of thing? You could either take that cruise, with a nice discount, in your same stateroom ... or you could take a full refund plus a reasonable allowance for your airfare and hotel fees.

 

Wouldn't that leave you with a much better taste in your mouth? You would realize that the cruise line can do little about an erupting volcano on the islands, but they realize that passengers will be bitterly disappointed about not getting to visit them after perhaps they've been planning their trip for years. At least by offering them some viable options, you promote goodwill and at least give those passengers a chance to salvage their long-anticipated vacations.

 

I think the way RCCL did things in this case was not fair ... and that's why they are getting hauled into court now. I don't blame those passengers. I'd be on the plaintiffs' list too if I had been on that cruise.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[lougee1043]

if i read this correctly they went from a 7(or shorter) day carib cruise to a longer one in the north east --is this correct

 

if it is how were the pax that had only planned on a 7(or shorter) day cruise handle not being able to get back to work---what about all the air arrangements??

[Copper10-8]

I agree with you on this Rita, if RCI knew about having to change the itinerary before that ship shoved off, yes, they should have given those that wanted the option to get off with a full refund. The exact same thing happened to my parents, wife and I in SEP 95 on Carnival's Jubilee. We were supposed to go to Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan. A hurricane named "Henriette" was hovering near Cabo so instead we got Catalina Island, San Diego and Ensenada. Were we disappointed? Sure, we were but we didn't think one second about filing a law suit after we got home.

If something like a hurricane presents itself, what does the cruise line do? Look for alternative ports of call and look for them in a hurry, meaning making all sorts of last minute arrangements in order to go to those new ports. I don't know if they could have headed south instead of north and still make a 7-day cruise out of it. Those pax on the RCI ship did not get to go to Bermuda but they did get to go to Canada/New England. Sorry, but I don't agree with you that they should have had a reduced rate for going there. The weather there was not great either but whose fault is that? Nobody's!

That captain made the absolute correct decision by not going to Bermuda and so did that captain we had on the Jubilee! Weather happens so you deal with it. Those RCI pax still got to be on a cruise ship and enjoy all the amenities. What changed was the destination(s). We live in a society where civil lawsuits are totally out of control and it's not going to get any better soon!

[serendipity1499]

I agree with Copper10..Believe their cruise was the same amount of days..The N.Y. Times was comparing prices of a 5 day Bermuda as opposed to a 9 day New England/Canada but clarified that with stating the cruise in July was much less than a nine day..

 

RCCL probably made the decision to alter course on the 21st which was the only prudent thing to do..They had to go North to avoid the Hurricane..

 

We had a similar experience one year instead of going into Mexico we altered course & went into the Eastern Caribbean due to a Hurricane..Sure we were not happy, as had been to the Easter Caribbean so many times, but it never occurred to us to sue!

 

In addition to port charges RCCL also gave them a 25% discount on another cruise...Perhaps morally they could have offered a better deal to the passengers &/or offered a full refund but believe cruising North was the only alternative and I think legally RCCL was in the right..

 

I too believe there are far too many law suits going on in this country & that's another reason why everything costs so much...

 

As far as I can tell, Insurance does not cover a change in itinerary, but I could be wrong on that..

[sailorbill]

Every passenger signs a contract with the cruise line agreeing to all the provisions in that contract. If a passenger refuses to sign then he/she is refused boarding. One of the provisions of that contract is that the cruise line may change the itinerary at the cruise line's discretion without recompense to the passenger. Because of the contract this lawsuit is starting out on very shakey grounds. I suppose that the basis of the lawsuit is that Royal Caribbean is guilty of a nefarious bait and switch scheme. I hope that the lawsuit gets tossed out of court quickly.

 

Cruise lines could save themselves considerable trouble if they would issue clear and prominent warnings to passengers booking east coast, caribbean and Mexican riviera cruises during hurricane season that itinerary changes due to bad weather are always a possibility and occur more frequently than during other seasons.

 

And then as smart cruise critics we do know that there are no limits to the stupidity and also to the cupidity of some cruise passengers.