Brilliance o/t Seas passenger suing RCI over death of wife in storm off Alexandria

[Accidental Hero]

Claimant lawyers, never ones to let the facts get in the way of a making a claim!

[Moeve]

One thing maybe all can learn from this is in bad weather ALWAYS expect sudden and severe movment and stay put.

 

This is also one of the reasons it is never good to clutter all open tops with loose objects that can fly around and injure you.

 

If you are thrown to the ground - stay there and look for a spot where nothing is going to drop on you and look for soemthing to hold onto.

 

Reguardless of the outcome and true cause of the lady's death it is unquestionably a tradgedy for this man. Unfortunately we humans often need someone to fault and blame as part of the way we grieve (that isn't necessarily logical). These then often end up in court in a time often better spent with professional grief counselling.

 

What does strike me as odd is if you feel soo poorly, have had an incident such as the this one and maybe a pre existing condition of some kind - why would you go ashore or even plan to before consulting a doctor? I mean severe headache and feeling sick to the stomach is considered a common sympton for a stroke - or are others so badly informed about what symptoms to look out for...??

[Blue Peter 2]

Just one more thing. When the incidence happened most people were in bed asleep. There was no time to look out of the window, we were too busy hanging on to the bed head and avoiding the T.V. as it landed beside us. I think the more times this story is told the worse the weather becomes!!.

[MAZANDSTEVE]

Just one more thing. When the incidence happened most people were in bed asleep. There was no time to look out of the window, we were too busy hanging on to the bed head and avoiding the T.V. as it landed beside us. I think the more times this story is told the worse the weather becomes!!.

 

I think if the TV landed beside you, then the weather must have been pretty bad!:rolleyes:

[Cruzaholic41]

I think if the TV landed beside you, then the weather must have been pretty bad!:rolleyes:

 

You seem pretty sure in your opinion. There have been a few educational responses to your posts in this thread and I hope you learned a little from them.

[MAZANDSTEVE]

You seem pretty sure in your opinion. There have been a few educational responses to your posts in this thread and I hope you learned a little from them.

 

 

Er,Get off your high horse, Im just choosing to not get into an argument over them. I have my opinions and so do they, I have read other reports over the storm, not just the one on this thread. Others are entitled to their opinion too but some just wont hear anything against RCI.

[Cruzaholic41]

Er,Get off your high horse, Im just choosing to not get into an argument over them. I have my opinions and so do they, I have read other reports over the storm, not just the one on this thread. Others are entitled to their opinion too but some just wont hear anything against RCI.

 

I was able to post without insults, so I would appreciate the same courtesy. Thank you.

 

I was referring to the posts explaining shipboard systems and weather patterns, posted by experienced mariners. Those are not opinion posts. They were facts in response to a couple of your posts making false assumptions.

[MAZANDSTEVE]

I was able to post with insults, so I would appreciate the same courtesy. Thank you.

 

I was referring to the posts explaining shipboard systems and weather patterns, posted by experienced mariners. Those are not opinion posts. They were facts in response to a couple of your posts making false assumptions.

 

 

Yes, you are right I apologise. It sounded like you were talking to a child.

As for the ships systems etc, yes thats probably correct, but I think mistakes were made as far as the cruise continuing in bad weather it IMO it should have stayed in a port. Tv's flying everywhere etc , sounds like it was too bad to continue to me.

[jonbgd]

I was able to post without insults, so I would appreciate the same courtesy. Thank you.

 

I was referring to the posts explaining shipboard systems and weather patterns, posted by experienced mariners. Those are not opinion posts. They were facts in response to a couple of your posts making false assumptions.

Hey Devildog I agree...... with what Billie5 posted about fluid dynamics and Aquahounds knowledge from being a coastie I trust what they posted and I learned something as well

[mommabean]

I guess I'm just shocked that most people don't give Capt. Erik credit for possibly saving the entire ship.

 

You know jets fly into airports all the time during storms. On a rare occasion a sudden, unpredictable wind shear occurs. Planes and all on board have been lost more than once when this happens. In hindsight we can always say they shouldn't have attempted the landing.

 

This weather was not predicted. It was sudden. Had a less experienced captain been on board, maybe the outcome wouldn't have been so POSITIVE.

 

Different ships respond in different ways. If other ships didn't go there, they probably couldn't have handled the predicted weather that Brilliance was designed to handle.

 

Just my uneducated but common sense opinion.

 

Gina

[Oscar_the_Grouch's_Sis]

I spose you also accuse this poor man of exaggerating the death of his wife too just to get into the media, eh?...:rolleyes:

 

For goodness sakes man, show a bit of compassion to this gentleman who went on a cruise with a wife who was alive and well and had to go through the trauma of seeing her slip away from him, ultimately turning off her life support machine!

 

So what if he said anything about the props being visible...where you on board too...did you see what happened...?

 

This man watching his beloved wife get seriously hurt in a totally preventable incident, he then had to sit and hold her hand as pray that she would wake up from a coma....that is no exaggeration, that is real pain and anguish and far more important than whether or not he saw the props out of the water.

 

Sheesh...some people have no heart....put yourself into that man's shoes, what would you be feeling right now?

 

I know - I find it disgusting! You should read the comments under the article :rolleyes: Yeah, he just turned his wife's life support off ... I guess he now has plenty of free time to make up stories. Why are people harping on those stupid propellers?! Whether or not he actually did, why call him a liar? When people are scared out of their wits they could honestly believe with out a doubt they saw the boogey-man. (Just an example)

 

Now I don't know if RCI is responsible or not - I haven't heard the facts - that is not going to stop me from being deeply saddened by this. (and even sadder that it seems a lot of people are heartless)

 

I guess if these people had a tragedy in their life like this it would be different. (But who cares about the suffering of other people)

 

It doesn't look that way. It looks like they went ashore to walk around, not to find medical assistance. :( But maybe he didn't know the signs of a brain injury? Its very possible.

 

Around here, hitting your head, then throwing up would send warning bells and flashing lights. But that's in my house. We look out for stuff like that. We have had enough medical emergencies to look out for head injuries (which we have had).

 

Very sad. :(

 

I sure hope they don't use that against him! If they do, I sure hope his lawyer has enough sense to site other examples (like Natasha Richardson) where serious brain damage was not detected right away.

[Jtd724]

If RCCL went into danger when other ships stayed behind to avoid danger, end of story. RCCL did wrong. Really nothing else to it. I haven't read the whole thread but if people are saying hes after money or something like that, I'm pretty sure those people are the ones who would do just that, go after money for the most ridiculous of claims.

[Aquahound]

Why are people harping on those stupid propellers?! Whether or not he actually did' date=' why call him a liar? When people are scared out of their wits they could honestly believe with out a doubt they saw the boogey-man. (Just an example) [/color']

 

You make a very good point here. In my career, I've worked quite a bit with the media. Too often, I read an article and say to myself "I never said that." A good example was a recent incident of mine where I found a camera. Some news article made up I saw what I thought was a rotten tomato in the water. Uh, no. Why would I go in the water after a rotten tomato?

 

Anyways, my point is, this man may have said something along the lines of "it felt like the propellers were coming out of the water," which was construed by the media source to make it sound as though he said he actually saw the propellers.

 

Folks, we just cannot judge an incident or a lawsuit we had no part of. You cannot rely on the media for 100% accurate reporting, and RCI is not going to release all their facts to the public at this point. We'll just have to wait and see what happens.

[Oscar_the_Grouch's_Sis]

A good example was a recent incident of mine where I found a camera. Some news article made up I saw what I thought was a rotten tomato in the water. Uh, no. Why would I go in the water after a rotten tomato?

 

THANKS! I think we all could use a good laugh! :D

[Blue Peter 2]

As I said earlier The reports were rubbish. The incident lasted 5 mins tops.It was over in a flash. The rest of the trip was fine. No question of setting off in bad weather. The ship was steady. You would not know the winds were 70kts if you did not see the T.V. Only when for unknown reasons she slowed and turned and the stabilisers did not work was there a problem. It was immediately corrected and the sail to Malta was smooth. As usual the Media blow it up. Full marks to the crew for working all hours to clear up the mess and full marks to RCL for the refund. Very generous.

[xpcdoojk]

Er,Get off your high horse, Im just choosing to not get into an argument over them. I have my opinions and so do they, I have read other reports over the storm, not just the one on this thread. Others are entitled to their opinion too but some just wont hear anything against RCI.

 

And some prefer to believe things which are impossible to have occurred. I am going back to work now in my flying saucer. :D

 

jc

[dirtgirl]

Hey, I was on that cruise. The ship had no problems on the way to Alexandria. There was some movement but the stabilisers kept the boat steady. Only when we were near Alexandria at 02.30 and only for five minutes or so was there violent movement. The ship had slowed down and turned so the stabilisers did not work. Immediately the ship increased speed it was back to normal. It is just my opinion but I do not think that turn was planned since the result would have been obvious to anyone.

 

I think Royal Caribbean were very generous, apart from that five minutes and missing Alexandria the cruise was great. I have missed ports before in bad weather without any refund. It's possible that the guy saw the stabilisers sticking out from the side but if he had a balcony then that would have been impossible unless he was outside against instructions.

 

I feel for him for losing his wife, One can only imagine what that was like but lets keep things in proportion please.

 

 

The turn was planned and was expected. The Captain told us it would get worse before it got better, and people on their starboard balconies especially were told not to open them.

 

I think if the TV landed beside you, then the weather must have been pretty bad!:rolleyes:

 

Many tvs were destroyed. One in our group had his tv hit his injured shoulder, which dislodged a screw that was holding the plate in place.

 

As I said earlier The reports were rubbish. The incident lasted 5 mins tops.It was over in a flash. The rest of the trip was fine. No question of setting off in bad weather. The ship was steady. You would not know the winds were 70kts if you did not see the T.V. Only when for unknown reasons she slowed and turned and the stabilisers did not work was there a problem. It was immediately corrected and the sail to Malta was smooth. As usual the Media blow it up. Full marks to the crew for working all hours to clear up the mess and full marks to RCL for the refund. Very generous.

 

It was not smooth sailing!! The weather started Friday night, was rocking all day Saturday so that half the dining room skipped dinner, and most of Sunday. Monday the weather picked up again for a while. Thursday was also really rocky, and my roomie was sick again.

 

On the whole, I did love the cruise, by the way!:p

 

And yes, full marks to the crew, and I never expected a full refund.

[Blue Peter 2]

If you think that was rocking you should try the car ferry from U.K. to France across the English channel. Apart from that five minutes Brilliance was a stroll in the park.

 

The incidence was not expected. If it was there would have been warnings at 02.00 to hang on to your beds.!!There was only the normal instructions in bad weather ie don't go on deck or balconies. There was three explanations after the incidence at three different times. First the captain said it was caused because we were going too slow. Later he said it was because the weather was worse than expected. Later still he said it was because there was a lot of other traffic i.e evasive action.. That does not sound like it was planned. If the weather was so bad why was there other traffic?

[sansterre]

I agree with previous poster. It sounds like the injury wasn't reported and perhaps not even recognized by anyone.

Medical staff can't be blamed if she didn't report to them, or call them.

The question is: was the death caused by hitting her head (no evidence) or a pre-existing condition, or something else?

Regardless, the family has my sympathy.

[dirtgirl]

If you think that was rocking you should try the car ferry from U.K. to France across the English channel. Apart from that five minutes Brilliance was a stroll in the park.

 

The incidence was not expected. If it was there would have been warnings at 02.00 to hang on to your beds.!!There was only the normal instructions in bad weather ie don't go on deck or balconies. There was three explanations after the incidence at three different times. First the captain said it was caused because we were going too slow. Later he said it was because the weather was worse than expected. Later still he said it was because there was a lot of other traffic i.e evasive action.. That does not sound like it was planned. If the weather was so bad why was there other traffic?

 

 

I didn't say the incident was planned - I said a turn was planned. It had been very rocky, and then the ship had to turn, so we were getting the wind hitting the starboard side.

 

And it was no walk in the park, so please have empathy for the green people that were everywhere!:p Maybe it was a walk in the park to you, but not to others, my roommate amongst them, who spent several days in bed and vomiting. That was my 20th cruise, and I've never had it that bad anywhere. Luckily I don't get seasick! Touch wood!

[skipp_r1]

I spose you also accuse this poor man of exaggerating the death of his wife too just to get into the media, eh?...:rolleyes:

 

For goodness sakes man, show a bit of compassion to this gentleman who went on a cruise with a wife who was alive and well and had to go through the trauma of seeing her slip away from him, ultimately turning off her life support machine!

 

So what if he said anything about the props being visible...where you on board too...did you see what happened...?

 

This man watching his beloved wife get seriously hurt in a totally preventable incident, he then had to sit and hold her hand as pray that she would wake up from a coma....that is no exaggeration, that is real pain and anguish and far more important than whether or not he saw the props out of the water.

 

Sheesh...some people have no heart....put yourself into that man's shoes, what would you be feeling right now?

I was on this cruise, and theis occurred at 2:30 am. If anyone was outside on a balcony and could see the propellers, they would have had a real close=up few of how they worked being in the water with them. As for the injury to the wife, my question is why did they wait so long to report it, as the cabin staff went to every cabin and checked on all the passengers asking if anyone was injured I was on deck 7 with a balcony and the waves never reached our level. I feel for the family and hope they get everything sorted out.

As for the weather, when we left port to go to Alexandria we were told we would have some rough seas but the forecast for Alexandria was not bad.

Could this have been avoided, probally, but we are second guessing people who know more about the sea then we ever will.

[Daisy16178]

Well having read all the comments on this post there's obviously a mixed opinion. At the end of the day if we were not on this particular cruise and had not witnessed the events we only have media reports to base our comments on.

 

Regardless you cannot help feeling immense sympathy for the gentleman who lost his wife. It should not have happened. You go on a vacation to enjoy yourselves, not return alone.

 

You also have to remember that not everyone likes to make a fuss and regardless of feeling unwell some people think it may go away and do not seek medical advise. This may well have happened in this case. If the lady concerned was so ill anyway (as stated) would she have gone on the cruise? Don't think so.

 

Yes there are without doubt some posters on here that will back RCCL and think they can do no wrong but if other ships did not leave the port then why did this one? If it had not sailed the lady would without doubt have lived.

 

Interesting to read that they were all given full refunds. Guilt money without a doubt!!

[xpcdoojk]

Well having read all the comments on this post there's obviously a mixed opinion. At the end of the day if we were not on this particular cruise and had not witnessed the events we only have media reports to base our comments on.

 

Regardless you cannot help feeling immense sympathy for the gentleman who lost his wife. It should not have happened. You go on a vacation to enjoy yourselves, not return alone.

 

You also have to remember that not everyone likes to make a fuss and regardless of feeling unwell some people think it may go away and do not seek medical advise. This may well have happened in this case. If the lady concerned was so ill anyway (as stated) would she have gone on the cruise? Don't think so.

 

Yes there are without doubt some posters on here that will back RCCL and think they can do no wrong but if other ships did not leave the port then why did this one? If it had not sailed the lady would without doubt have lived.

 

Interesting to read that they were all given full refunds. Guilt money without a doubt!!

 

Actually, there is a great deal of doubt. Nothing has been proved. The facts have not been established, and yet you "KNOW WITHOUT DOUBT". Typical.:rolleyes: Sad.:(

 

jc

[thelion]

Well having read all the comments on this post there's obviously a mixed opinion. At the end of the day if we were not on this particular cruise and had not witnessed the events we only have media reports to base our comments on.

 

Regardless you cannot help feeling immense sympathy for the gentleman who lost his wife. It should not have happened. You go on a vacation to enjoy yourselves, not return alone.

 

You also have to remember that not everyone likes to make a fuss and regardless of feeling unwell some people think it may go away and do not seek medical advise. This may well have happened in this case. If the lady concerned was so ill anyway (as stated) would she have gone on the cruise? Don't think so.

 

Yes there are without doubt some posters on here that will back RCCL and think they can do no wrong but if other ships did not leave the port then why did this one? If it had not sailed the lady would without doubt have lived.

 

Interesting to read that they were all given full refunds. Guilt money without a doubt!!

 

I do feel for him, but I disagree that it was guilt money. More likely it was "shut up and let us fix this ship" money. My buddy in Corporate Relations tells me he got four calls (FOUR!) about this issue. That was some good hush money. He gets more calls about illness onboard. :confused:

 

The said fact is, if she was hurt but never told RCI, they are not to be blamed. Had she received quick medical attention, she may not have died.

[Daisy16178]

Actually, there is a great deal of doubt. Nothing has been proved. The facts have not been established, and yet you "KNOW WITHOUT DOUBT". Typical.:rolleyes: Sad.:(

 

jc

 

Sorry to disappoint you but I'm not sad in the way you refer. That's a rude statement to make. You obviously have no sympathy for the bereaved family and it would be ok for RCCL to get away with negligence. Having had experience of their extreme negligence last year while cruising with them I would not recommend them or use them ever again. A law unto themselves. It's never their fault. Diabolical company to deal with and try to get answers out of.