Jump to content

How often does Tracy Arm get cancelled?


Alliwanttodoiscruise
 Share

Recommended Posts

Just got back from the Alaska cruise where I paid good money to see the glacier. We got up early, expecting to be there, only to get an announcement from the captain that the stop was bypassed due to a sick passenger needing medical attention at the next port. Now, I am as compassionate as the next guy for my fellow man, but where was the Coast Guard, helicopters, and all the other emergency agencies prepared for such emergencies? The Ruby Princess was full of people over 70 in wheel chairs or using walkers. I saw one old gentleman in the elevator pulling an oxygen bottle. If the Princess Cruiseline is going to allow sick people to travel, they should have provisions for the obvious. Penalizing me and 3,000 other passengers was not fair, especially when this was a once in a lifetime event for my wife and I. We saved for years to see the Alaska glaciers and got cheated. Even after all my complaints, Princess has not offered an apology nor reimbursement.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You will receive sympathy here for your disappointment,.

That sympathy will be tempered by disapproval of your attitude. How do you know that the sick passenger was elderly? How would you feel if that was you, or your wife or child?

It is much safer for the sick person to be cared for in a stable environment when already enroute to the best port for further care. Certainly, transfers to helicopters and Coast Guard cutters take time and have their risks. The captain and onboard medical personnel made the best decision for the patient.

Princess owes you nothing. Not even an apology. What would they be apologizing for? Not putting your glacier viewing over the health of a passenger? And surely you went to see Mendenhall Glacier while on your extended visit to Juneau.

Now you have an excuse to go back to Alaska. EM

Edited by Essiesmom
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just got back from the Alaska cruise where I paid good money to see the glacier. We got up early, expecting to be there, only to get an announcement from the captain that the stop was bypassed due to a sick passenger needing medical attention at the next port. Now, I am as compassionate as the next guy for my fellow man, but where was the Coast Guard, helicopters, and all the other emergency agencies prepared for such emergencies? The Ruby Princess was full of people over 70 in wheel chairs or using walkers. I saw one old gentleman in the elevator pulling an oxygen bottle. If the Princess Cruiseline is going to allow sick people to travel, they should have provisions for the obvious. Penalizing me and 3,000 other passengers was not fair, especially when this was a once in a lifetime event for my wife and I. We saved for years to see the Alaska glaciers and got cheated. Even after all my complaints, Princess has not offered an apology nor reimbursement.

 

This is always a possibility when cruising - the ship can miss ports due to medical emergencies. On one of my cruises it was a 20 year old with an appendix that needed to be dealt with immediately (and this person had no previous knowledge of this). It doesn't matter if it is a young person or older person - a medical emergency is always going to take priority. If your priority is to see Tracy Arm I strongly recommend that you fly to Juneau and book a small boat trip to see Tracy Arm. I would allow for several days as I have taken this trip 2x and did not have any medical emergencies and we still did not see Tracy Arm. Mother Nature is the one to blame here.

 

Not sure how much you have cruised but if your heart is set on seeing something particular, I would not recommend cruising. There is always a chance that you can miss the port or in this case, a glacier/fiord. You can even plan to go to Mexico and see California, plan to go to Eastern Caribbean and end up in Western Caribbean or even stuck in port for several days due to weather conditions, natural disasters, illnesses or political unrest.

 

I think most on this board can understand your disappointment in missing Tracy Arm but we are all praying and rooting for the passenger and hoping that they are now in stable condition and expect a full recovery. It would be morally wrong for the Captain to disregard a passenger in medical distress.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just got back from the Alaska cruise where I paid good money to see the glacier. We got up early, expecting to be there, only to get an announcement from the captain that the stop was bypassed due to a sick passenger needing medical attention at the next port. Now, I am as compassionate as the next guy for my fellow man, but where was the Coast Guard, helicopters, and all the other emergency agencies prepared for such emergencies? The Ruby Princess was full of people over 70 in wheel chairs or using walkers. I saw one old gentleman in the elevator pulling an oxygen bottle. If the Princess Cruiseline is going to allow sick people to travel, they should have provisions for the obvious. Penalizing me and 3,000 other passengers was not fair, especially when this was a once in a lifetime event for my wife and I. We saved for years to see the Alaska glaciers and got cheated. Even after all my complaints, Princess has not offered an apology nor reimbursement.

 

My family and I were on this cruise as well, and it was VERY disappointing.

I am sorry you were not able to realize your dream of seeing Tracy Arm.

 

That said, life happens and you just have to roll with it. Here is a link to a thread on this: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2252233. Post #45 tells of someone saying it was a young man, and not an old person at all.

 

I hope he came out okay in the end.

 

I do hope you at least went out to see Mendenhall Glacier. It was a beautiful day to see it that's for sure.

 

Texasopa: That is an amazing photo!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...