Roatan Zip Line Death (MERGED THREADS)

[Jeanne B]

It does not matter if the ship tour has "exclusive rights". AGAIN, the issue is that cruisers pay more to go through the ship because the cruise line is SUPPOSE to check out these tours (especially for safety). That is why people book through the ship and pay more. And if a cruise line is not doing this, then it reflects on the cruise line as well. That is why it is VERY important to know if this was a ship excursion. It a cruise line is not doing their job to protect their cruisers....I want to know it!

 

Maybe I'm wrong here since I'm one that never books excursions through the cruiselines but I thought the main reason for booking through a cruise excursion is that they guarantee the ship will stay in port until you get back in port.

 

I just checked the Carnival website and here is what I found...

 

Carnival is not responsible for any losses, damage, death, injuries, or claims whatsoever arising from, connected with, or related to any activities engaged in by guests while off Carnival’s ships or tenders in any port of call. This includes all shore excursions, whether booked online, sold onboard or sold by third parties ashore. Guests engage in all such activities off the ship at their own risk.

 

Carnival acts only as an agent for the independent tour operators supplying excursions or services. Independent contractors operate all shore excursions, including any related transportation. Carnival neither supervises nor controls their actions, nor makes any representation either expressed or implied as to their suitability. Carnival sells tickets for all excursions as a convenience to guests only. Tour operators, transportation providers, and their employees are neither agents nor employees of Carnival, notwithstanding their use of any signage or clothing which may contain the name “Carnival” or other related trade names or logos. It is understood and agreed that Carnival assumes no responsibility for, nor guarantees performance of, and in no event shall be liable for, any loss, damage, injury, or death in connection with said excursions or transportation. Please review your ticket for further information regarding your rights and obligations as well as those of Carnival.

 

I just hate to see people misguided thinking that just because they book a cruise sponsored excursion that they don't have to have any worries.

[WarmBloodedMom]

I was also a passenger on the NCL Spirit with this lady that died on Tuesday, March 18th. There is also a story on MSNBC about it today. :(

 

Someone mentioned earlier it was the cables/lines (not the harness) that broke and this is correct. We actually had friends in our party that were there and when she fell, she broke her neck. Another passenger on the tour was an RN and rushed down to help but even he said he could tell she wasn't going to make it. My mother-in-law spoke to the friends she was traveling with who were looking after the kids. The woman's husband met our ship (The NCL Spirit) in Cozumel and took the kids off the boat to fly them home. The story on the ship all week was that she lied about her weight but I have nothing to verify that information. I think it's relatively safe (and fun!) but pay close attention to the restrictions as far as weight, age, and ability levels. They are there for a reason.

[SeaPA1]

Maybe I'm wrong here since I'm one that never books excursions through the cruiselines but I thought the main reason for booking through a cruise excursion is that they guarantee the ship will stay in port until you get back in port.

 

I'm like you, I'd always thought the main motives for booking through the ship were:

 

1. They won't leave you if you're late getting back

2. Convenience of having everything taken care of for you without having to hunt things down on your own

 

And I've always thought the main reason you paid more to book through the ship was so the cruiseline could make more money. ;)

[caitlizzle]

I was on this excursion at Gumbalimba... my mother, boyfriend, and myself were the last to zip before Barbie. We heard that she got stuck in the middle, and a guide came along to help her. He undid her safety clip so that he could get in front of her to taxi her along to the next platform. While this was happening, the line fell. I think the combined weight of the guide and Barbie was too much... she was not over the weight limit. She didn't regain consiousness, and she died in a hospital on the mainland.

 

Her two kids and husband are just in shock... all of us are. No one expected this to happen. Our families were vacationing together on the Spirit and we miss her so much.

[Preds]

I was on this excursion at Gumbalimba... my mother, boyfriend, and myself were the last to zip before Barbie. We heard that she got stuck in the middle, and a guide came along to help her. He undid her safety clip so that he could get in front of her to taxi her along to the next platform. While this was happening, the line fell. I think the combined weight of the guide and Barbie was too much... she was not over the weight limit. She didn't regain consiousness, and she died in a hospital on the mainland.

 

Her two kids and husband are just in shock... all of us are. No one expected this to happen. Our families were vacationing together on the Spirit and we miss her so much.

So this was definately the Zipline Excursion through the ship? We were on the SPirit last month and chose to go the independent route with Victor Bodden tours.

 

We did the Roatan Jungle Canopy Tour and had a great time. We never felt unsafe (and I'm a big guy), but then you just never know. I think it's the lowest heights of the 3 zip lines on the islant (45ft max height).

 

One thing I noticed about the ziplines in Roatan is that there was only 1 cable (at least on the one we were on). You're clipped with 2 lines onto that one cable, but if something happens to the cable you're in trouble.

 

I've seen other zip line operations that have 2 cables, a main line and a safety line in case something happens. From your description, had she been on a zip line with dual lines she'd probably still be alive today, which makes me think the next tme we zip we'll make sure it's at a site with a safety line as well.

 

I'm very sorry to hear of your loss, and truly feel for the children and father.

[LHP]

I was on this excursion at Gumbalimba... my mother, boyfriend, and myself were the last to zip before Barbie. We heard that she got stuck in the middle, and a guide came along to help her. He undid her safety clip so that he could get in front of her to taxi her along to the next platform. While this was happening, the line fell. I think the combined weight of the guide and Barbie was too much... she was not over the weight limit. She didn't regain consiousness, and she died in a hospital on the mainland.

 

Her two kids and husband are just in shock... all of us are. No one expected this to happen. Our families were vacationing together on the Spirit and we miss her so much.

 

Thank you for the additional information. Our hearts go out to this family.

It sounds like a freak accident and not negligence. Very sad.....

[LHP]

Maybe I'm wrong here since I'm one that never books excursions through the cruiselines but I thought the main reason for booking through a cruise excursion is that they guarantee the ship will stay in port until you get back in port.

 

I just checked the Carnival website and here is what I found...

 

Carnival is not responsible for any losses, damage, death, injuries, or claims whatsoever arising from, connected with, or related to any activities engaged in by guests while off Carnival’s ships or tenders in any port of call. This includes all shore excursions, whether booked online, sold onboard or sold by third parties ashore. Guests engage in all such activities off the ship at their own risk.

 

Carnival acts only as an agent for the independent tour operators supplying excursions or services. Independent contractors operate all shore excursions, including any related transportation. Carnival neither supervises nor controls their actions, nor makes any representation either expressed or implied as to their suitability. Carnival sells tickets for all excursions as a convenience to guests only. Tour operators, transportation providers, and their employees are neither agents nor employees of Carnival, notwithstanding their use of any signage or clothing which may contain the name “Carnival” or other related trade names or logos. It is understood and agreed that Carnival assumes no responsibility for, nor guarantees performance of, and in no event shall be liable for, any loss, damage, injury, or death in connection with said excursions or transportation. Please review your ticket for further information regarding your rights and obligations as well as those of Carnival.

 

I just hate to see people misguided thinking that just because they book a cruise sponsored excursion that they don't have to have any worries.

 

During the Shore Excursion talk, all you hear from the Carnival Cruise Director is that people should use ship excursions because they have been "checked out" to be the best AND SAFEST available. They also tout the fact that the ship will wait for you...but that is only ONE of the many reasons they give for using a ship tour. All you hear from the Cruise Directors is "don't go out there on your own...it isn't SAFE!"

 

People hear the talk...most don't read the fine print. That is why it is very important for people to know this was a ship's tour...so that they can make an informed decision.

 

We generally don't use ship tours either. We have traveled enough to do our own thing and we have a special needs child with autism that travels with us...so we are limited to what we can do.

 

However, oddly enough, our oldest son (in college) and my husband were looking at this very tour in May because we have a couple of hundred extra OBC to burn.

[bdtmoult]

I was planning to do this next week and trying to get my arms around all of this info. If the line was stressed because the guide went out there, I'm not sure why the guide wouldn't have fallen as well? I've never ziplined before - so if someone can explain that, maybe it would help me. My thoughts are with the family and it really makes me just think twice about this planned adventure. Don't get me wrong, I know accidents happen - but if I can figure out what happened, then maybe I will know what to check and feel more confident.

[njs]

I was on this excursion at Gumbalimba... my mother, boyfriend, and myself were the last to zip before Barbie. We heard that she got stuck in the middle, and a guide came along to help her. HE undid her safety clip so that he could get in front of her to taxi her along to the next platform. While this was happening, the line fell. I think the combined weight of the guide and Barbie was too much... she was not over the weight limit. She didn't regain consiousness, and she died in a hospital on the mainland.

 

Her two kids and husband are just in shock... all of us are. No one expected this to happen. Our families were vacationing together on the Spirit and we miss her so much.

 

 

Wait a minute- some have said freak accident / not tour company's fault????

If her safety clip was undone, wasnt her safety in jeopardy? (also adding the combined weight adding stress to the same point on the line)

We did zip-lining in Dominican Republic and they taught how to go hand-over-hand on the line if you braked and "stalled"

[hawt1]

I was on this excursion at Gumbalimba... my mother, boyfriend, and myself were the last to zip before Barbie. We heard that she got stuck in the middle, and a guide came along to help her. He undid her safety clip so that he could get in front of her to taxi her along to the next platform. While this was happening, the line fell. I think the combined weight of the guide and Barbie was too much... she was not over the weight limit. She didn't regain consiousness, and she died in a hospital on the mainland.

 

Her two kids and husband are just in shock... all of us are. No one expected this to happen. Our families were vacationing together on the Spirit and we miss her so much.

 

So sorry to hear this and please accept my condolences.

 

I too am wondering why we are not hearing about the guide falling as well if this is what happened.

 

Again, our heartfelt condolences.

[Jeanne B]

I was planning to do this next week and trying to get my arms around all of this info. If the line was stressed because the guide went out there, I'm not sure why the guide wouldn't have fallen as well? I've never ziplined before - so if someone can explain that, maybe it would help me. My thoughts are with the family and it really makes me just think twice about this planned adventure. Don't get me wrong, I know accidents happen - but if I can figure out what happened, then maybe I will know what to check and feel more confident.

 

I don't think it was the zipline itself that was stressed because if that broke most certainly the guide would have fallen as well. It was the cable and/or harness that attached the lady to the zipline that broke. Here's a picture from our zipline tour a few weeks ago at Jungle Canopy in Roatan which might be helpful to those who haven't zipped before since it shows the connections.

 

[Preds]

When we zip lined last month we had 2 lines connected to the cable. A main line that was clipped to the bearings on the cable, and a safety line that clipped to the caribiner of the main line.

 

If the tour guide only undid he safety line, she still should have been clipped onto the cable via the main line, unless that line is the one that snapped. If that's the case, the safety line was likely stressed BEFORE the guide unsnapped it (which should have indicated the main line was failing). That certainly should have been something he/she recognized before unclipping the safety line.

[cpizzull]

So sorry to hear this and please accept my condolences.

 

I too am wondering why we are not hearing about the guide falling as well if this is what happened.

 

Again, our heartfelt condolences.

 

I was on the Valor, which was at Roatan the day after Spirit, I believe, and had heard about this (as unconfirmed rumor) while in Cozumel. The person had indicated that the guide had fallen also and was close to death. Again, I haven't read a thing about the guide on this yet, so have no idea, and don't want to spread rumors either. Just wanted to post what I heard in case someone can confirm for those interested. Just a horrible tragedy.

[Aprille]

This photo is from the Gumbalimba Park website. It appears to be a double-cable course.

 

 

If the eyewitness account posted by caitlizzle is accurate in it's interpretation of what happened, it sounds to be completely the tour operator's error. And an explanation of why the guide did not also fall (if, in fact, he didn't). If the guide unhooked her from the safety cable and the main cable snapped, she would fall and he wouldn't if still hooked to the safety cable.

 

Just attempting to put the pieces together as the come in...

 

caitlizzle - thank you so much for posting. My heart goes out to you. I can only imagine witnessing such a tragedy.

 

Continued prayers for all involved.

[Preds]

This photo is from the Gumalimba Park website. It appears to be a double-cable course.

 

 

If the eyewitness account posted by caitlizzle is accurate in it's interpretation of what happened, it sounds to be completely the tour operator's error. And an explanation of why the guide did not also fall (if, in fact, he didn't). If the guide unhooked her from the safety cable and the main cable snapped, she would fall and he wouldn't if still hooked to the safety cable.

 

Just attempting to put the pieces together as the come in...

 

caitlizzle - thank you so much for posting. My heart goes out to you. I can only imagine witinessing such a tragedy.

 

Continued prayers for all involved.

Going by that photo, I'd have to assume it was the Tour Guide's error as well. He should have inspected her primary line before disconnecting the safety (if that is indeed what happened).

 

BTW, the lines hooked to the cable in that picture above look mighty thin. The ones we had at the Jungle Canopy were more like super thick Bungee cords as pictured in the photo on page 2.

[Medusa123]

First, she was NOT at Pirates of the Carribbean. She was at Gumbalina Park. Secondly, they did not hook her to the second line which was a safety line to her harness. The main zip-line BROKE, not the harness.

 

A word about Pirates of the Carribean. I e-mailed them immediately for information and they called me back with where the accident happened and a phone number for the hospital on Roatan. They were EXCEPTIONALLY helpful. I verified myself that it was at Gumbalina. I cannot thank Pirates of the Carribbean enough for their help!

[Preds]

First, she was NOT at Pirates of the Carribbean. She was at Gumbalina Park. Secondly, they did not hook her to the second line which was a safety line to her harness. The main zip-line BROKE, not the harness.

 

A word about Pirates of the Carribean. I e-mailed them immediately for information and they called me back with where the accident happened and a phone number for the hospital on Roatan. They were EXCEPTIONALLY helpful. I verified myself that it was at Gumbalina. I cannot thank Pirates of the Carribbean enough for their help!

Have you not read the current posts? We have an eyewitness account that states it was at Gumbalimba. Nobody is disputing that, at least none of the recent posters.

 

What remains unclear is exactly what broke, the line or the harness.

[Medusa123]

She was well under the weight limit of 225. However, a guide got on with her and that put them over the weight limit. But the second line for saftely had broke the week before.

[Medusa123]

The main line broke. The safety line broke one week before.

[Aprille]

First, she was NOT at Pirates of the Carribbean. She was at Gumbalina Park. Secondly, they did not hook her to the second line which was a safety line to her harness. The main zip-line BROKE, not the harness.

I believe if you had read through the entire thread you would see you are not adding any information that hasn't already been posted.

 

She was well under the weight limit of 225. However, a guide got on with her and that put them over the weight limit. But the second line for saftely had broke the week before.

Okay, this is something we haven't heard. If true, the guide must have fallen too.

[anaslile]

The poor woman and her family. That's a truly awful thing to happen. Regardless of who's fault it was.

 

We may never know what truly happened on the course. Maybe somebody there that day can comment on whether or not the safety line was broken or not. In a way I almost think it's a no-win situation for Gumbalimba, but I could eat those words.

 

That being said, I will continue to zip. I'm looking forward to my zip adventure.

[Denisern2]

March 18

Norwegian Spirit

Norwegian Cruise LineA 44 year old woman fell 65 feet to her death during a zip line ride through the jungle on the Caribbean island of Roatan. She was riding along a steel wire hung between trees in the jungle when a harness holding her apparently broke on Tuesday. She was taken to a private clinic on the island, then transferred to a hospital in the mainland city of San Pedro Sula, where she died on Wednesday. The excursion was reportedly Pirates of the Caribbean Zip Line EXTREME ZIP. Fatal accident on shore excursion

__________________

[Aprille]

March 18

Norwegian Spirit

Norwegian Cruise LineA 44 year old woman fell 65 feet to her death during a zip line ride through the jungle on the Caribbean island of Roatan. She was riding along a steel wire hung between trees in the jungle when a harness holding her apparently broke on Tuesday. She was taken to a private clinic on the island, then transferred to a hospital in the mainland city of San Pedro Sula, where she died on Wednesday. The excursion was reportedly Pirates of the Caribbean Zip Line EXTREME ZIP. Fatal accident on shore excursion

__________________

Not sure what the source of this information is but it is nearly a week old and much of it has been discounted in the interim.

[ChBoxers800]

I can fully understand wanting to know WHICH zipline this happened with; it would certainly make me reconsider doing the zip with that company, and if I did I would be checking the gear very closely (truthfully, after hearing of this I'd do that no matter which I did the zip with).

 

My point is that there are 3 zipline companies on the island. If you do the zip, you'll be doing it with one of those 3. It does not matter if you book through the cruiseline or on your own, or if you're on a landbased vacation & do the zipline. You'll still be using one of those 3 companies, and the gear you use will be the same gear that is being used by someone who booked on their own, is on a land-based vacation, or lives on the island full-time. They don't have "special issue equipment" for the folks that booked through the cruiseline.

 

The only pertinent question is "which zipline were they on"?

 

I think that there are 4 ziplines on the island, not 3. The 4th one is the one in Gumbalimba Park. It is close to South Shore but isn't the same one. And I'm pretty sure that the Gumbalimba one is the one that all cruise lines use. The accident was on the Gumbalimba line.

[ChBoxers800]

Having just finished reading all of the threads here, I may be add a little to this topic.

 

It seems this poor lady died on March 18th. We did the same Gumbalimba line on March 17th. The guides were very professional and helpful and we felt safe the entire time.

 

There are absolutely 2 cables. One is the main cable, the other is the safety cable. And when we were there on Monday, the day before the accident, the safety cable was 100% in operation. The guides were very, very careful about hooking up the safety cable first...before even attaching you to the main line.

 

The post that says that the lady got stuck and a guide came out to get her, sounds very reasonable. 2 in our group got stuck in the middle and had to be retrieved by the guides. However, at no time were their safety lines disconnected from the 2nd safety cable. The guide approached them from the front (with his safety line attached also), wrapped his legs around their legs to grasp them, and then used his hands on the cable to pull both himself and them down to the platform. Since I saw this happen twice, I would assume that is the normal procedure for rescuing those that are stuck. Why a guide would disconnect someone's safety cable makes absolutely no sense at all. But it certainly seems likely thats what has happened from the reports.