Conquest Captain Boots Man off Ship for Starting A Protest !!!03/16/08 Cruise

[scuabacruiser]

Hey!! That looked like my post on Fox News!! OMG I'm famous!! I wonder how much OBC I can get for that.....ship on a stick?:rolleyes::D

[Timmys_mom]

Perhaps they didn't have time to make Montego Bay at all, and had time to kill before arriving at the next port of call. Who knows? But I think the least that they could have done is inform the passengers. Now, that may not have been the captain's job, as he is probably not trained in keeping passengers happy, but it seems that the cruise director should have stepped in there and communicated with everyone. Just my opinion.

There has really never been any accurate reporting of exactly what was communicated to passengers and when. We know there was a letter slipped under everyone's door the night before they were supposed to dock in Jamaica informing them they would be spending a day at sea. We don't know the contents of any announcements over the loudspeakers (if there were any). The problem came in when people with GPS systems noticed that they were sailing in slow circles.

 

This is where the first part of your quote comes in. It is most likely that they didn't have enough time to make it to Jamaica, but they were way too early for their next port. Therefore, their option was a slow cruise to the Caymans. However, we don't know the real reasons, we never will, and we aren't "entitled" to an explaination, nor do we know that full disclosure would have helped the situation at all.

 

What we do know is that industry-wide practice is to refund port charges and excursion fees if a port is missed. Carnival did that.

[big_duck]

I was on this cruise and I'm a one post wonder posting my fist post about my first cruise. Breaking a rule of mine that most of the folks in this thread should take to heart and it reads something like this:

 

"It is better to say nothing and have people think you're stupid than open your mouth and remove all doubt."

 

I purchased tickets for my wife, three daughters and two guests. I was saving up to send my two youngest daughters to Europe with a Euro-rail pass so they could see the world and they decided that we should go on a family cruise instead. It would be my wife and my 25th wedding anniversary, my middle and youngest daughter's 21st and 18th birthdays. The oldest daughter was only allowed to come because only it was a "family" cruise. Just kidding… The two guests were originally my oldest two daughter's boyfriends but one of them had to back out at the last minute due to an unforeseeable situation at work. Instead of losing half of his passage and excursions we replaced him with a longtime friend of my youngest daughter. I know I'm a good dad and no I will not adopt you.

 

The reason this cruise was chosen over the shorter ones was that it went to Jamaica. Anyway, as outlined in some earlier postings that the ship turned around at approximately 8 PM. I'm not sure of that fact as I was eating my dinner at that time. However we were sitting in the balcony of the Toulouse Lautrec Lounge waiting for the 10 or 10:30 PM revue to start, when the Cruise Director announced over the ships Public Address system that due to an emergency medical condition that one of the guest needed to be evacuated and to stay away from the back of the ship and under no circumstance use any kind of flash photography as it would blind the pilot and jeopardize the safety of everyone involved in this operation. I remember thinking to myself that I would have cleared that deck of all guest just incase. Then I remembered that there are suites with balconies on the rear of the ship that could possibly pose a safety threat to this operation etc. Then I figured it would be so late at night that the majority of the passengers would most likely be asleep in there cabins or engaged in what ever nightly activity they were doing at that time and the flash photography risk would be low. I figured that this is not the fist time a passenger had to be airlifted from one of their ships and had things under control. The Cruise Director went on to explain that they did not know how this was going to impact their arrival at Montego Bay and everyone's safety was their main concern at that time. They figured to rendezvous with the helicopter to be around 12:30 AM.

 

The next morning when we awoke, there was a note/letter from the ship's captain that had been slipped under the door stating that due to the medical emergency our itinerary was changed and we would not be going to Jamaica. That the Port Fee of $25 and any excursions booked through them would be refunded back to our Sign and Sail cards. (I immediately check my account and the refunds were already posted. I still have the letter.) Though we were disappointed, at least we were not out any money. I was glad that we booked everything through the cruise line which is funny because I usually don't do that. I do the research and find my own deals. If you can save $10 a ticket and I had 7 tickets, that a $70 savings. Anyway, we had fun on our extra day at sea and the ships crew never missed a beat.

 

I did notice the presence of the security personnel scattered throughout the ship. They were tucked out of the way but were visible if you knew where to look. My family all did a little bit more of what we had been doing. We all seemed to get a little lucky streak as my daughter won a $100+ BINGO pot, her boy friend was up over a $100 in Black Jack, I was up $100 on the slots and $200 on the Crap Table. I think my wife even won on the slots. We would have not won this money if we were off the ship. I did buy some art that I might not have bought otherwise but heck; it was there money I bought it with.

 

We were passing though the lobby of the ship when we saw the crowd that had gathered and heard some of the commotions going on. There he was in his flip-flops, bathing trunks and no shirt addressing the Captain and his staff. Flexing his muscles as to try and intimidate them. It was embarrassing to watch and as mentioned in an earlier posting, it was me that yelled to the guy to put a shirt on and no that lady is not my wife. Others followed suit and repeated the request. He wanted one third of his money back. I heckled about him not reading his contract and mentioned that he was still eating and using the ships facilities. I also mentioned to the people around me that we are not in the United States, and he is lucky that the Captain gave him an audience instead of detaining him, though that would be an extreme action for him to take. I was too far away to hear the subtleties of the conversation but we were informed that the Captain would contact Corporate with his request and another meeting would be held in the lobby 5 PM the next day. I bet my wife that he would be removed from the ship at the next port of call, which he was.

 

The next evening after a great day of fun, sun, relaxing and shopping in Grande Cayman the meeting with the Captain re-convened. I looked around and saw a classic example of the "Pack" mentality. These must have been the people that signed the partition. I was there to be entertained by this spectacle. Because there was entertainment scheduled for the lobby that started at that time the meeting it was moved to the Toulouse Lautrec Lounge down the hall. About 200 of us went there and the whining commenced. The Captain addressed their questions, concerns, events, policy etc. The Captain let us know that it was a crew member and not a guest. She was approximately seven weeks pregnant and started hemorrhaging. I don't remember if the ships doctor performed surgery and stopped the bleeding but needed blood to sustain her life or did not perform the surgery due to the lack of amble blood supply. Either case she needed to get off the ship and quickly. He also reported that she was stable and recovering nicely. The most compounding factor that everyone seemed to miss was the geographic location of the ship when this unfortunate event occurred. If it would have happen earlier, we would have been closer to the US and well within the range of the Coast Guard helicopter. If it would have happened later then the ship would have speed up and she would have been evacuated to either Cozumel or Grand Cayman. According to the Captain we were 26 hours from Grand Cayman, 14 hours from Cozumel at the top speed of the ship and five hours from a U.S Coast Guard Helicopter. It turned out to be seven hours to the helicopter but a whole lot quicker than to press on. Not counting the time for the actual evacuation operations etc. that is a 14 hour delay and physically impossible to make Jamaica on time. People even told the Captain that he should have skipped Cozumel and saved Jamaica. Yeah, right. Think about this for a moment. Let's mess up the rest of the cruise so you can go to Jamaica a day late. Never mind that if you had an excursion, the reservations would no longer be any good. There might be an opening the next day if your lucky. That would also cause the need to cancel and rebook every other excursion at the other ports of call for all the rest of the passengers. What selfish morons. The Captain informed these whiners that they could contact customer service when they get back home and see if they can/will give them any kind of compensation. That was not good enough for a lot of them as they wanted the captain to write a letter for them. I don't know how some of these people get dressed in the morning.

 

There was an airline captain that was with this Steve Sparks during his petition shenanigans and was sort of representing the petitioners during this meeting in his absence. He let this meeting run its course and then filled in a few more blanks. Apparently this guy Steve used a poor choice of words when addressing the ships captain and said something about a riot. That is like using the word "Hi-Jack" on an airplane. Can you say zip tied and face prosecution? I knew you could! Anyway, the airline captain said that is was brought to Steve's attend about his poor choice of words and he apparently even apologized to the Ships Captain. My take on this was that everyone in that meeting felt that he was just using words and there were not any plans to actually Riot, but the damage was done. A line had been crossed that forced the Ship's Captain and crew to take action in removing him from the ship. Steve gave himself a self-inflicted wound.

 

As far as these posters threatening not to go on another cruise, I beg you to go through with your threat and never, and I do mean never, get on another cruise ship ever. That will make the cruise that much better for the rest of us.

 

As far as the Carnival's exclusive Vacation Guarantee, in previous post's, It is not included. Plans start at $29.

 

Excellent post except the last paragraph The Vacation Guarantee and the Vacation Protection Plan (insurance) are two different entities.

 

http://www.carnival.com/CMS/static_templates/vacation-guarantee.aspx refers.

[L2J]

Anyone notice this guy claims to be a 33 year old CEO???? Really???? I don't beleive it. Me thinks him is a TROLL<<<:rolleyes:

 

 

Not at all impossible.

[Timmys_mom]

I was on this cruise and I'm a one post wonder posting my fist post about my first cruise. Breaking a rule of mine that most of the folks in this thread should take to heart and it reads something like this:

 

"It is better to say nothing and have people think you're stupid than open your mouth and remove all doubt."

Thank you for breaking your own rule and providing some details that apparently a lot of people failed to mention - like the second meeting with the captain and the fact that Steve-O didn't get kicked off the ship for creating the petition (he was removed for attempting to incite a riot).

 

P.S. I think you are confusing Trip Insurance with the Vacation Guarantee.

[floatingaway2525]

I was on this cruise and I'm a one post wonder posting my fist post about my first cruise. Breaking a rule of mine that most of the folks in this thread should take to heart and it reads something like this:

 

"It is better to say nothing and have people think you're stupid than open your mouth and remove all doubt."

 

I purchased tickets for my wife, three daughters and two guests. I was saving up to send my two youngest daughters to Europe with a Euro-rail pass so they could see the world and they decided that we should go on a family cruise instead. It would be my wife and my 25th wedding anniversary, my middle and youngest daughter's 21st and 18th birthdays. The oldest daughter was only allowed to come because only it was a "family" cruise. Just kidding… The two guests were originally my oldest two daughter's boyfriends but one of them had to back out at the last minute due to an unforeseeable situation at work. Instead of losing half of his passage and excursions we replaced him with a longtime friend of my youngest daughter. I know I'm a good dad and no I will not adopt you.

 

The reason this cruise was chosen over the shorter ones was that it went to Jamaica. Anyway, as outlined in some earlier postings that the ship turned around at approximately 8 PM. I'm not sure of that fact as I was eating my dinner at that time. However we were sitting in the balcony of the Toulouse Lautrec Lounge waiting for the 10 or 10:30 PM revue to start, when the Cruise Director announced over the ships Public Address system that due to an emergency medical condition that one of the guest needed to be evacuated and to stay away from the back of the ship and under no circumstance use any kind of flash photography as it would blind the pilot and jeopardize the safety of everyone involved in this operation. I remember thinking to myself that I would have cleared that deck of all guest just incase. Then I remembered that there are suites with balconies on the rear of the ship that could possibly pose a safety threat to this operation etc. Then I figured it would be so late at night that the majority of the passengers would most likely be asleep in there cabins or engaged in what ever nightly activity they were doing at that time and the flash photography risk would be low. I figured that this is not the fist time a passenger had to be airlifted from one of their ships and had things under control. The Cruise Director went on to explain that they did not know how this was going to impact their arrival at Montego Bay and everyone's safety was their main concern at that time. They figured to rendezvous with the helicopter to be around 12:30 AM.

 

The next morning when we awoke, there was a note/letter from the ship's captain that had been slipped under the door stating that due to the medical emergency our itinerary was changed and we would not be going to Jamaica. That the Port Fee of $25 and any excursions booked through them would be refunded back to our Sign and Sail cards. (I immediately check my account and the refunds were already posted. I still have the letter.) Though we were disappointed, at least we were not out any money. I was glad that we booked everything through the cruise line which is funny because I usually don't do that. I do the research and find my own deals. If you can save $10 a ticket and I had 7 tickets, that a $70 savings. Anyway, we had fun on our extra day at sea and the ships crew never missed a beat.

 

I did notice the presence of the security personnel scattered throughout the ship. They were tucked out of the way but were visible if you knew where to look. My family all did a little bit more of what we had been doing. We all seemed to get a little lucky streak as my daughter won a $100+ BINGO pot, her boy friend was up over a $100 in Black Jack, I was up $100 on the slots and $200 on the Crap Table. I think my wife even won on the slots. We would have not won this money if we were off the ship. I did buy some art that I might not have bought otherwise but heck; it was there money I bought it with.

 

We were passing though the lobby of the ship when we saw the crowd that had gathered and heard some of the commotions going on. There he was in his flip-flops, bathing trunks and no shirt addressing the Captain and his staff. Flexing his muscles as to try and intimidate them. It was embarrassing to watch and as mentioned in an earlier posting, it was me that yelled to the guy to put a shirt on and no that lady is not my wife. Others followed suit and repeated the request. He wanted one third of his money back. I heckled about him not reading his contract and mentioned that he was still eating and using the ships facilities. I also mentioned to the people around me that we are not in the United States, and he is lucky that the Captain gave him an audience instead of detaining him, though that would be an extreme action for him to take. I was too far away to hear the subtleties of the conversation but we were informed that the Captain would contact Corporate with his request and another meeting would be held in the lobby 5 PM the next day. I bet my wife that he would be removed from the ship at the next port of call, which he was.

 

The next evening after a great day of fun, sun, relaxing and shopping in Grande Cayman the meeting with the Captain re-convened. I looked around and saw a classic example of the "Pack" mentality. These must have been the people that signed the partition. I was there to be entertained by this spectacle. Because there was entertainment scheduled for the lobby that started at that time the meeting it was moved to the Toulouse Lautrec Lounge down the hall. About 200 of us went there and the whining commenced. The Captain addressed their questions, concerns, events, policy etc. The Captain let us know that it was a crew member and not a guest. She was approximately seven weeks pregnant and started hemorrhaging. I don't remember if the ships doctor performed surgery and stopped the bleeding but needed blood to sustain her life or did not perform the surgery due to the lack of amble blood supply. Either case she needed to get off the ship and quickly. He also reported that she was stable and recovering nicely. The most compounding factor that everyone seemed to miss was the geographic location of the ship when this unfortunate event occurred. If it would have happen earlier, we would have been closer to the US and well within the range of the Coast Guard helicopter. If it would have happened later then the ship would have speed up and she would have been evacuated to either Cozumel or Grand Cayman. According to the Captain we were 26 hours from Grand Cayman, 14 hours from Cozumel at the top speed of the ship and five hours from a U.S Coast Guard Helicopter. It turned out to be seven hours to the helicopter but a whole lot quicker than to press on. Not counting the time for the actual evacuation operations etc. that is a 14 hour delay and physically impossible to make Jamaica on time. People even told the Captain that he should have skipped Cozumel and saved Jamaica. Yeah, right. Think about this for a moment. Let's mess up the rest of the cruise so you can go to Jamaica a day late. Never mind that if you had an excursion, the reservations would no longer be any good. There might be an opening the next day if your lucky. That would also cause the need to cancel and rebook every other excursion at the other ports of call for all the rest of the passengers. What selfish morons. The Captain informed these whiners that they could contact customer service when they get back home and see if they can/will give them any kind of compensation. That was not good enough for a lot of them as they wanted the captain to write a letter for them. I don't know how some of these people get dressed in the morning.

 

There was an airline captain that was with this Steve Sparks during his petition shenanigans and was sort of representing the petitioners during this meeting in his absence. He let this meeting run its course and then filled in a few more blanks. Apparently this guy Steve used a poor choice of words when addressing the ships captain and said something about a riot. That is like using the word "Hi-Jack" on an airplane. Can you say zip tied and face prosecution? I knew you could! Anyway, the airline captain said that is was brought to Steve's attend about his poor choice of words and he apparently even apologized to the Ships Captain. My take on this was that everyone in that meeting felt that he was just using words and there were not any plans to actually Riot, but the damage was done. A line had been crossed that forced the Ship's Captain and crew to take action in removing him from the ship. Steve gave himself a self-inflicted wound.

 

As far as these posters threatening not to go on another cruise, I beg you to go through with your threat and never, and I do mean never, get on another cruise ship ever. That will make the cruise that much better for the rest of us.

 

As far as the Carnival's exclusive Vacation Guarantee, in previous post's, It is not included. Plans start at $29.

 

Thank you for posting, and I hope your family was not too stressed over having to witness this awful ridiculous event.

I suggest you write to Carnival Guest Relations to provide your insights and feedback, they really pay attention and would appreciate it.

God bless you for your service.:)

[big_duck]

Thank you for breaking your own rule

 

P.S. I think you are confusing Trip Insurance with the Vacation Guarantee.

 

You too. :D

 

I already said that. :p

[Timmys_mom]

You too. :D

 

I already said that. :p

I couldn't help myself. Mob mentality and all, ya know......

[Karshrimp]

Ya know....sometimes other people's needs come before yours. No matter who you may be: a customer, a king, or Donald Trump. This was a medical emergency and the ship's staff has protocol to follow. End of story. It had nothing to with you. It wasn't about YOU.

 

Sometimes YOU are not the most important person. It's good to share, and let someone else be important for awhile. I think that's kindergarten rule number #1.

 

Bravo!!!! ;)

[burnsbaby]

Every cruise I've been on seemed to have that "one Person". You know the one- you always have seemed to run into him/her. They always seemed to have the sour puss face on- they knew "everything" about the way things were

"supposed" to be. My last cruise "she" was the pain in butt in the health club..... why she was there at 300 + lbs.... I have no idea. But if you went

one minute passed that 30 minute limit on the treadmill...... tubby came a runnin' to let you know YOU ARE BREAKING THE RULES!!! Geesh! Between know it alls.... rule makers... and pool deck cops making sure youre REALLY using that lounge chair...... Have people really forgotten how to relax and have fun? I would pay a premium to for cruise without selfindulgent nay sayers who get tickle in their pants everytime they remove enjoyment from someone elses vacation. Let me know when it sails- I'm there. Peace.

[Blackhawk44]

Quote:
Originally Posted by [B]kinggartk[/B] [URL="http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=14158157#post14158157"][IMG]http://boards12.cruisecritic.com/images/buttons/viewpost.gif[/IMG][/URL]
[I]Anyone notice this guy claims to be a 33 year old CEO???? Really???? I don't beleive it. Me thinks him is a TROLL<<<:rolleyes:[/I]


Not at all impossible.
<~~~~~~>

Sure it is the CEO of Facebook is only 23.... Tons of companys out there and tons of CEO's.

[bigboatrider]

[quote name='kinggartk']Anyone notice this guy claims to be a 33 year old CEO???? Really???? I don't beleive it. Me thinks him is a TROLL<<<:rolleyes:[/quote]

A 33yr old CEO that doesn't know how to use SPELL CHECK!:D i agree with you, a Troll!:rolleyes:

AnyBoatAnyTime, thanks for a very insightful post.

[L2J]

[quote name='Blackhawk44']Quote:
Originally Posted by [B]kinggartk[/B] [URL="http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=14158157#post14158157"][IMG]http://boards12.cruisecritic.com/images/buttons/viewpost.gif[/IMG][/URL]
[I]Anyone notice this guy claims to be a 33 year old CEO???? Really???? I don't beleive it. Me thinks him is a TROLL<<<:rolleyes:[/I]


Not at all impossible.
<~~~~~~>

Sure it is the CEO of Facebook is only 23.... Tons of companys out there and tons of CEO's.[/quote]

Yep...look at the guys from Google...they were pretty young as well...in their 20s if I'm not mistaken.

[Karshrimp]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3]We were on RCI in 2006 when we missed Grand Cayman due to rough waters, which is very common. The Captain made an announcement over the speakers for anyone wanting to see Grand Cayman, hurry and rush to a window or railing, because that is as close as we were going to get. [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3]Were we disappointed? Of course, but we didn't let it affect our vacation. We were still on a cruise ship cruising, which alot of people can't afford to do. Compared to other people's lives, we felt blessed to even be there. We weren't given anything back, nor did we expect it because we know Grand Cayman is always a crap shoot. [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3]There are no guarantees in life except that someday you will die...;) [/SIZE][/FONT]

[Chief93]

[quote name='The Eye Wittness']I was there and participated with the man who was asked to leave.[/quote]

No, I suspect you are the orginal OP.

[quote name='The Eye Wittness'] Perhaps his physique intimidated the Captain or security and that's why he was forced to leave.[/quote]

OMG! Gonna laugh at this all day! Quite possibly the dumbest thing ever said in the history of all humankind, and further proof that you are in fact the original OP.

[quote name='The Eye Wittness']What they do not realize is that I have already talked to many people in San Antonio who take cruises on a regular basis. All of them were shocked to hear about the circumstances and Carnival's poor customer service attitude. I can't begin to guess how many customers they are going to lose.[/quote]

They won't lose any, you ain't as important as you think. BTW, saw you on TV, some free advice: Bad facial hair deters from your credibility.

[CruisnGram]

It definitely happened. Here's the news link:

[URL]http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,347748,00.html[/URL] theres video too of this man, his side of the story.

I also believe that in regard to why ports were skipped and why circles were cruised is common sense.

Having to circle back and/or wait for the chopper to pick up the sick crew member cost valuable sailing time. I am always amazed at the timing of these ships...if they tell you they are going to arrive in port at 8 am, it's very close to 8 am. They don't arrive 3 hours early. So timing is everything.

I have no idea how long the scheduled Jamaica stop was but obviously, the delay for the ill crew member cost them a lot of time and the decision was made to skip Jamaica. However, they cannot arrive in the next port early. Schedules are made way in advance and there simply would not be room in the next port for this ship if it arrived a day in advance. So what are the options? Cruise in circles or drop anchor somewhere and sit.

In spite of what some have said, all of that cruising in circles probably cost the cruise line more money in fuel.

Sounds to me like the captain made decisions to the best of his ability.

[neverpar]

[quote name='aarmcotr'][B]There are some real morons on this forum! [/B][/QUOTE]

You really shouldn't call yourself and your one post wonders morons.....it's not nice board etiquette...

[Soccerman723]

Things happened in much the same way as described...a medical emergency was announced, the ship turned back to rendevous with the Coast Guard chopper, and it slowed down to let the chopper operate safely. Seas were rough and wind was high, so the chopper had to hover off the back of the ship to make three pickups...husband, luggage, wife. With our back balcony location, we watched the whole thing unfold in awe...those Coast Guard guys are AMAZING! The whole time, we were thinking how awesome it was that it was possible to save someone's life like that, even after being in the middle of the ocean.

It did not occur to us or any of our traveling companions to complain about this, and we pretty much dismissed the efforts of this "person" to gather petition signatures. We heard from several sources that he was abusive to the pursor's staff in the lobby, who basically had no power to do anything anyway.

We also heard through our cabin staff that the captain had attempted to offset the missed Jamaican day by trying to dock us for an extra day in the Caymans, but of course, those arrangements are usually made and paid for months in advance, and he was unable to do it. I would surmise that is the point at which he started making lazy ocean circles...we didn't have enough time to make Jamaica after the detour, but we would have reached Cayman too soon.

The only suggestion I would have made to Carnival was to have the Captain announce all of the things he had done in order to take care of his crewmember and to make up for the missed day in port. Sending out a letter with an explanation would have probably tempered some of the anxiety and defused the situation with the troublemaker. It is my belief that the majority of people would have been appeased just to be hearing from an official source instead of listening to gossip.

All of us were disappointed not to have made Montego Bay, but the reasons were understandable and the Captain's actions admirable, in my opinion. A very human couple lost the baby they were expecting, and if I was the guy with the petition, I would have been embarrassed to make such a stink about it.

I think the Captain was right to remove him from the ship, as it made the rest of the voyage much more pleasant for the rest of us. Any beef he had with Carnival could have been pursued once he got back to his own home turf. The headline saying he was tossed off for protesting is not correct. He was put off for the manner in which he treated people in doing it. Raising a ruckus at sea in that manner was unproductive. The Captain is in total control out there, but he doesn't make corporate or monetary decisions in regards to reimbursement issues. I feel comfortable that the Captain did not make ANY of his decisions in this case lightly.

If the passenger in question is so upset that he wants to sue, he certainly has that option, although I think it reflects poorly on him and sets a negative example of humanity for his sons. But....that's the beauty of our legal system. Any person can sue any person for anything!

I will definitely be returning to Carnival in the future...I am satisfied with the decisions made in this situation, and....I still want to go to Jamaica!!

[Tatka]

Last April during our cruise on Celebrity Century one of the crewmembers from Jamaica died as a result of alergy for penicilin. He died in the air, after being picked up from our ship. I can't forget how we all felt that night. :( We'd gladly miss all ports if we knew this could be prevented.

[jbwest]

I am a licensed USCG Merchant Marine officer and worked on Cruise Ships in Alaska. First of all, I would never recommend anyone going on a cruise who does not respect and understand that they are sailing on a vessel. All things are not certain as to agenda due to weather and emergencies. I have done my share of medical evacuations and also had to abandon ship on one occassion with all passengers. I tell people that they should not travel on large cruise lines unless they are prepared that they may spend the entire trip on the vessel and not be compensated a dime. That is all the cruise lines are really entitled to do, keep you safe and give you a bed.
Cruise vessels have large drafts and are sometimes tide restricted. I have never been to Jamaica but we time our arrival to the port and the channel on the tide. The vessel may have only lost a few hours due to a medical evac, but they could have lost an entire tide cycle and the next tide may not have been until the middle of the night. These facts get lost on hot heads that feel that they need to be reimbursed for something.
Cruise ships are still ships and subject to transit restrictions the same as any other vessel. The only difference is the cargo moves around the deck and talks back.

[Blackchips Ahoy]

I saw this guy on the news with his 3 sons while onboard the Miracle the other day.

First of all, if he was so upset over missing ocho-rios, a dog of a port imo, he should have taken Carnival up on their cruise vacation guarantee and disembarked at the next port on carnivals dime. No, instead he chose to start a mutiny (some say petition,) and because of his poor decision, was ordered to walk the plank. What kind of message does his pending litigation say about personal responsibility? He is one of the causes of the next generation taking no personal responsibility or remorse for their actions. Where was the wife? He's such a charmer, you know, she probably stayed home to hook up with the milkman, wink wink.

Maybe if we're all lucky enough, he'll be banned for life from Carnival and we won't have to deal with his kind again. Hopefully, that does happen and it will be a lesson to all that the Captain is the Captain and you have no say where the ship goes or stops and you have to accept it. Period.

[kinggartk]

[quote name='livtojump']Not at all impossible.[/quote]


No...not impossible...but not likely either....In this instance...I don't believe it.

[Blackchips Ahoy]

[quote name='kinggartk']No...not impossible...but not likely either....In this instance...I don't believe it.[/quote]


Hey King, see you on the Glory in 31 days, woo-hoo!:D

[garycarla]

I have read through the bulk of this thread and am amazed at what some people feel compelled to comment about.

Though the exact nature of the emergency really did not need to be communicated, including it is would not be privacy issue (even in the states). Since you do not know who the person is, you can not "violate" her privacy. Get over it, and besides, what does that have to do with the issue anyways?

As to the discussion about the Captain not making decisions or knowing about going in circles, it is pretty obvious that the decisions may well have been made back at corporate and he was only following orders. Of course the Captain knew where he was.

As for everyone else trying to second guess why certain things took place and decisions being made..... Do you really think somebody made a decision to disrupt the vacation plans of all these people lightly? Come on. Lots of issues they have to deal with.

As to the idiot using threats and words like riot. Very stupid. We run a business that has repeat customers. When someone even mumbles the word 'lawyer', that is the last time they step foot into our building. Period. Done. And as someone else mentioned, on a an airline it would be a big problem.

Stupid is, as stupid does.

[Blackchips Ahoy]

[quote name='garycarla']When someone even mumbles the word 'lawyer', that is the last time they step foot into our building. Period. Done. And as someone else mentioned, on a an airline it would be a big problem.

Stupid is, as stupid does.[/quote]


Agreed. The threat of litigation will get you the exit faster than you know. As Ron White said, "You can't fix stupid."