Robito

13 minutes ago, rimmit said:

Many people take non ship sponsored excursions.  Would you feel differently about missing the ports if that was the case?  How about if it was too windy to enter the sounds (which happens sometimes) or dock in Dunedin?   Would you be as angry then.  Ships miss ports ALL the time for various reasons.

 

When I was young we missed Puerto Madryn, Argentina due to 40mph winds.  This was the cruise highlight because they had colonies of thousands of penguins, and I thought that was gonna be my only chance ever to see that many penguins.  I was devastated and  I cried out of frustration.  I made it a personal goal from then To do whatever it took to see a massive colony of penguins. I have since been to South Georgia and the worlds largest king penguin colony and also Antarctica due to my devastation of missing that port.  I made it a life goal to do whatever it would take to see a massive colony of penguins.

 

Use this frustration and channel it.  While unfortunately your mom may not have the time to go back,  pick something even bigger and better.  Set that goal.  Don’t let something like this hold you back.  Use it as a spring board to see even bigger and better things.  

I think Royal Carribean`s responsibility would be different if the excursion was done outside of their system.

Honestly what would have made multiple people on the cruise feel better is if management on the ship acted more like professional cruise experts and less like....well internet trolls. That imo would have been true no matter how the excursion was booked.

I will get better from this. Learn do it better next time. Hope Royal Carribean is approaching things like that and not like an internet troll.

On the accountability part of this issue I would like to add my 2 cents. I am currently a passenger on the Ovation of the Seas as we are sitting at anchor outside Picton. I think RC should have some accountability because imo they marketed a thrill ride by saying people would be able to go to one of the most active volcanoes in the world. At times people go to this volcano...at times this volcano is active....it is only a matter of time before the volcano is active while people are on it. My family saw the active volcano part and the environment so dangerous a gas mask is needed part and we decided to skip that excursion while browsing the options that Royal Caribbean were marketing to their guests.

I see people talking about signing a waiver and how the 38 or so people knew what they were getting into.

Now I get that the 38 or so people who went there signed waivers and knew what they were getting into. People want to talk about how tragic this was for the kids left behind on the ship....did their kids sign a waiver? How about the 4760 other passengers on board the ship....did they sign a waiver?

This is a birthday gift for my mom. She turned 60 a couple years ago. It took me over a year to be able to afford this trip. She has never been to New Zealand before. She probably will never see the Taieri Gorge Train or the Sounds now unless one of us experience a financial miracle. 

I can not speak in detail for other guests but I am sure my mother is not the only person who is probably lost their only chance to see the Sounds and/or Taieri Gorge Train so that RC can make some money selling the thrill of going to one of the most active volcanoes in the world.

To compensate people for missing Dunedin and the Sounds 1/12 of our basic cruise cost was refunded. Many people feel the best thing was removed from the destinations and I personally think the best two things were removed. We all know the base cost is just a portion of the total cost. IMO 1/12 the base cost does not come close to make up for the damage to a once in a lifetime vacation for most people in average financial situations or even a little above average.

This has nothing to do with the accountability up until this point but let me add the current response on ship by management on the ship has been offensive with false promises. One manager insulted ~50 passengers by saying they did not care for the people on the volcano because the ~50 passengers were expressing their concerns about the change of destinations. 

I am disappointed in the decision by a company taking on the responsibility of 4800 passengers having an enjoyable cruise to take the risk of allowing 38 customers and employees go to a "one of the most active volcanoes in the world". If I was the Captain or the Excursion Management I would have canceled it when the threat level went to 2. Then again I thought it was too risky before I even knew the threat level went up.

Overall I loved going on a cruise. Maybe I need to look for a company that will not risk the enjoyment of 4760 people by allowing 38 people to take a risky excursion.