Rare terry&mike Posted January 17, 2017 #1 Share Posted January 17, 2017 A friend was scheduled to sail to Antarctica on the Lindblad Expeditions National Geographic Orion on Dec. 27, 2016, but the sailing was cancelled when he arrived at the port in Ushuaia. The ship had suffered from power failure while in Antarctica on the sailing before his and was not back in port yet. The ship made it back to port by Dec. 29th, but is undergoing assessment of the technical issues and all cruises on this ship through January, 2017 have currently been cancelled. He went off and explored the desert area in Northern Chile' and Patagonia, and basically made the most of his time away. This brings up an interesting thought for me, as we are on Ponant next January... if such an issue were to arise, is it possible to approach other ships that are departing over the next couple of days and see if passage can be booked at the dock? Is there an agency in town that might handle booking empty ship berths? It seems as if I have read of people doing this, and was wondering if it's an option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarniaLo Posted January 17, 2017 #2 Share Posted January 17, 2017 In situations like that (which unfortunately happen sometimes), often the company will try to rebook some passengers on ships departing at similar dates, if there are still berths available. So in such a situation, I would definitely approach the company with such a request. Wasn't your friend offered something like this? There are companies in town that sell last-minute cabins on departing ships, but you still would have to pay for them, and even though these cabins are cheaper than premium price, they still cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare terry&mike Posted January 17, 2017 Author #3 Share Posted January 17, 2017 He was financially compensated in a way that was acceptable to him. Yes, I would expect to have to pay for my passage onboard, but if I were being reimbursed or compensated for the sailing that did not happen, I would rather pay for another sailing on the spot and go on the trip that I was hoping for on another ship, than go home or venture off on an entirely different style of trip. I was just wondering if this might be an option, in case there is a wrinkle of some sort; glad to know that it may be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerfectlyPerth Posted January 18, 2017 #4 Share Posted January 18, 2017 The affected Nat Geo passengers were compensated with same value replacement itineraries for the next season. Their own personal travel insurance covers them for any other incidental expenses. Expedition companies that have multiple ships, or partnerships with other companies - are generally the ones that attempt to relocate passengers onto vacant berths on other ships in port - if there is availability over a 3 or 4 day period. Not always possible of course if its a ship carrying 140 or more people - rarely going to be that many available berths anywhere. Passengers are given multiple options as to what will suit them best. There is generally at least one similar incident per season. Last season from memory it was the MS Expedition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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