Royal Caribbean strands 145 passengers in San Juan when Irene forces early departure

[mo&fran]

Let’s face it, we do not know these 145 people were actually in SJ, we just understand they were not on the cruise. They could have been sitting at airports around the country looking at canceled flights with SJ airport being closed.

And, even if they were all sitting in SJ, finding an airplane to fly them to the first port would be a difficult task in itself. I would not think that airlines would have planes that big sitting around , just in case someone would need a charter.

[time4u2go]

Let’s face it, we do not know these 145 people were actually in SJ, we just understand they were not on the cruise. They could have been sitting at airports around the country looking at canceled flights with SJ airport being closed.

And, even if they were all sitting in SJ, finding an airplane to fly them to the first port would be a difficult task in itself. I would not think that airlines would have planes that big sitting around , just in case someone would need a charter.

Actually the WFOR article did state that they were in SJ.

 

Carnival was able to get their passengers onto their cruise by putting them in hotels for a couple of nights then flying them to a port, after conditions had improved.

[oldguysandgalls]

Does RCI and all other cruise lines have liability insurance?

 

One would think cruise lines are insured for all perils, be it a passenger slipping on their decks and break an arm or a leg, or passengers missing the ship due to an earlier and unexpected departure due to weather related conditions.

 

If they do (and if they don't they should) any and all expenses in compensating passengers would be covered by the cruise lines insurance provider (less their deductible) and as such they would file a claim with their insurer.

 

Most of us and businesses, have building insurance, home insurance, flood insurance, earthquake insurance, fire insurance, liability insurance, life insurance, etc.etc. why would cruise lines and ships be any different?

 

Or is it a case of "cruise at your own risk" ?

[merdon]

I sail X and Azamara - owned by RCI.

 

Based on what I have seen from my cruises on these lines, what happened was surprising, especially given the response of Carnival. (there is a little bit of crowing going on in the Carnival boards now.)

 

I suspect RCI is reviewing the whole mess. I doubt it will happen again.

 

We were planning to sail RCI sometime and nothing has changed that.

 

What this is, in my opinion, is one of those decisions corporations make that make you shake your head sometime.

 

Note to RCI - When you have a tough decision to make and you are unsure of what to do, take the advice of my grandmother: "Do the right thing".

 

Smooth sailing...

I feel RCCL should have provided assistance to all the passengers left stranded. That being said, let Carnival boast and brag now. They did do the right thing. However, it wasn't that long ago (many 2 years) that their ship, The Splendor, was stranded at sea due to an onboard fire and it took them a long time getting those passengers back to port. I won't even mention the food situation on board. The ship went into drydock and a lot of future cruises were cancelled. They got a lot of bad publicity from that. They ate a lot of crow on that one!

[Mark_K]

Actually the WFOR article did state that they were in SJ.

I doubt WFOR, or RCI for that matter, knows exactly where all 145 people were at the time the ship had to leave port.

[dedosr]

I believe that Royal Caribbean made a huge error in not offering a future cruise credit to the travelers that missed the ship due to its "forced" early departure. I am well aware that The San Juan Port Authority ordered the departure, however it would have been the correct thing to do, from a public relations standpoint to offer the credit on a future sailing. Carnival corporation made the right decision, and hopefully RCI will change it's position. I am aware it was weather related and covered in the cruise contract, However sometimes things should not always be black and white. In this particular situation Royal Caribbean failed the test of loyalty to it's customers, who missed the ship through no fault of their own. There slogan is "THE NATION OF WHY NOT", and I ask them this, Why Not take care of those passengers who missed the ship?

:(

[dfishner]

Did RCL owe anything to the guest left behind.?.no it was weather related but should thy have done something like CCL did for its passengers yes it was the right thing to do regardless that it is not the ships fault.

 

On the public relation arena who comes out on top? Carnival does, makes no difference that the ship was not at fault Carnival did take care of their passenger and they did not have to....RCL comes out of this as a non caring business even though they were not responsible public opinion is all ready saying you did not do the right thing..I am not a fan of CCL but my respect for them over this has grown..

[The_Big_M]

There slogan is "THE NATION OF WHY NOT", and I ask them this, Why Not take care of those passengers who missed the ship?

:(

 

Agreed, I was thinking similar. Someone seems asleep at the wheel to have upset passengers who were disadvantaged through no fault of their own. While it may not be technically that RCCL are liable, they are responsible for the ship and did make the decision to leave which disadvantaged those passengers. Given RCCL are all about selling experiences, definitely a bad move to leave them on their own.

[Feelin' Nauti']

 

Some things I'd like to know is who makes up the 300 CCL passengers and who makes up the 145 RCI passengers?

:confused::confused:

 

What percentage of those are locals and don't require hotels?

By RC's standards - None

 

Carnival - All Guests

 

What percentage of those are international and don't have working phones and no way to be contacted?

 

RC called only those who use RC's ChoiceAir.

Those who booked their own air weren't contacted at all.

 

Carnival - ALL GUESTS

Carnival tried to contact all guests who didn't make the ship and was successful in reaching most of them.

 

What percentage of those were on sponsored excursions?

:confused: Ugh! What excursions?

 

What percentage of those had their air arrangements booked through the cruise line?

15 out of 145 stranded passengers on RC

Carnival - unknown

 

Logistically, what resources and personel do the cruise lines have in PR?

:confused:

When the Captain of the Port gave the order to leave, how much time were the ships given?

.

At approximately 12:30 p.m. on Sunday San Juan port starting limited traffic in and out of the port.

 

Carnival was ordered to leave at 6 p.m. instead of 10 p.m.

RC was ordered to leave at 5:30 p.m.

 

 

Royal Caribbean will not provide compensation for passengers who miss the sailing because it was a weather-related event.

 

All passengers who missed the Carnival Victory cruise will be refunded in the form of a future cruise credit.

 

Bravo Carnival!

[gfsu]

agreed this seems like a no brainer, the ship left 8 hours early. I am not for them compensating when ships miss ports due to weather I realize thats part of the gamble but if my ship leaves 8 hours early and no one seems to care I probably won't cruise again and I'm saying that as someone who cruises quite a bit

[griffy116]

I'm Diamond status with RCCL. I do, however, have to applaud Carnival's resolution to the problem. I always arrive at least one day in advance and I always purchase travel insurance. I also have a passport. These are things that people who cruise often or have cruised previously do as precautions. We also have only cruised once during hurricane season and were fortunate. That being said, sometimes there are work and scheduling problems that prevent everyone from having the good fortune to arrive a day early. There are a number of things that coulda/shoulda been done by RCCL...not because they are legally obligated or responsible, but because a ship is not like a hotel...they aren't sitting there waiting for you to arrive. While I understand that it was not RCCL's decision to leave early, they have the ability to send an e-mail, text, call. They also have the aiblity to compensate and accomodate as many as possible. Those without a passport obviously can't be flown to catch up with the ship. Those that hadn't arrived on their flight could have been compensated by flying them directly to the next port after notifying them of the change. If I were already in San Juan, and had any knowledge of Irene (and I would have been watching), I would have cancelled any "day of" activities and headed to the ship VERY early just in case of a change in plans. Who wouldn't know that the weather is screwy and wonder "what if"....????Some sort of accomodation or compensation would have been possible. It's a bit of a black eye for RCCL and a boost to Carnival. There's just no way around it.

[dcward89]

Agreed, I was thinking similar. Someone seems asleep at the wheel to have upset passengers who were disadvantaged through no fault of their own. While it may not be technically that RCCL are liable, they are responsible for the ship and did make the decision to leave which disadvantaged those passengers. Given RCCL are all about selling experiences, definitely a bad move to leave them on their own.

 

 

Just to be technical, RCI did not make the decision to leave, the Port Authority ordered them to leave. RCI did not have a choice.

 

This is not an endorsement of RCI's actions related to the passengers left behind...just wanted to clarify that the decision to leave early was not RCI's.

[Ronn452]

I've sailed with RCCL sin '81 and always been a big fan. However, I think they should have given more thought to their response to the "abandoned" passengers. Carnival's response has made RCCL look like a really cold, uncaring corporation; interested only in their own welfare and revenues.

 

For those that had no passport; too bad, you gambled and lost. If they had no travel insurance, then they were out of luck; but the cruise line could have responded with a bit more assistance. I guess, though, if they had, it would have set a huge precedent.

[dcward89]

agreed this seems like a no brainer, the ship left 8 hours early. I am not for them compensating when ships miss ports due to weather I realize thats part of the gamble but if my ship leaves 8 hours early and no one seems to care I probably won't cruise again and I'm saying that as someone who cruises quite a bit

 

From what I read here on CC...the ship left at 5:30pm...that is 3 hours early, not 8. Again, not an endorsement of their treatment of passengers left behind, just clarification of the facts.

[griffy116]

I said it in another thread and I'll repeat it here...I'm Diamond status with RCCL and I think RCCL dropped the PR ball on this one. They can't predict the weather and neither can the passengers. While they couldn't have reached everyone and some without passports couldn't have been flown to the ports, RCCL didn't attempt to notify ANYONE to give them an opportunity to get to the ship. They didn't compensate or accomodate anyone other than the 15 people who were flying in on RCCL's flights...15 out of 145. That's some really poor customer service, especially for customers not familiar with RCCL or cruising. Those customers will not, in my opinion, give RCCL a second glance in the future.

[Pushka]

The passengers were at the dock at the RCL stipulated time for boarding; had completed their online documentation and had paid for their trip in full. They completed their side of the contract.

 

They did not miss the ship, the ship sailed early without them. RCL did not complete their part of the contract by allowing them to board, even though this was out of their control. That does not absolve them from liability in this case.

 

I am disgusted to think that this cruise line does not think it is their responsibility to "make good". It says a lot about how they care for their clients. They obviously dont care when things go wrong; they simply say it isnt their fault. Their action causes me to wonder how else they might let people down in their service.

[time4u2go]

I said it in another thread and I'll repeat it here...I'm Diamond status with RCCL and I think RCCL dropped the PR ball on this one. They can't predict the weather and neither can the passengers. While they couldn't have reached everyone and some without passports couldn't have been flown to the ports, RCCL didn't attempt to notify ANYONE to give them an opportunity to get to the ship. They didn't compensate or accomodate anyone other than the 15 people who were flying in on RCCL's flights...15 out of 145. That's some really poor customer service, especially for customers not familiar with RCCL or cruising. Those customers will not, in my opinion, give RCCL a second glance in the future.

That's my biggest complaint, not even trying to contact anybody.

 

Also, the idea that they only assisted those that had bought their air fare through RCI is very troublesome to me. What about those that live there, that didn't even travel by air? They get penalized just because they live there???

[DBCH911]

I definitely agree that Royal Caribbean should have handled this a bit differently. I understand that things happen, but... There should be a plan in place to attempt to notify cruisers of any change in plans for embarkation/debarkation. Maybe one of those systems that places a generic mass phone call or text to any phone numbers registered for the cruisers? I know this would not work in some cases but many could be notified if problems such as these occurred. Cruisers would just have to register a number that could be reached once they left home for the port. Just a thought....

[crusinmama06]

RCI is not offering a future cruise credit? :eek:

 

SHAME ON RCI! :mad:

 

I've sat here and seen them offer a Future cruise credit for MUCH LESS. And often through the FAULT OF THE PASSENGER - which this clearly is NOT.

 

They better make this right!

[Aquahound]

 

Some things I'd like to know is who makes up the 300 CCL passengers and who makes up the 145 RCI passengers?

:confused::confused:

 

What percentage of those are locals and don't require hotels?

By RC's standards - None

 

Carnival - All Guests

 

What percentage of those are international and don't have working phones and no way to be contacted?

 

RC called only those who use RC's ChoiceAir.

Those who booked their own air weren't contacted at all.

 

Carnival - ALL GUESTS

Carnival tried to contact all guests who didn't make the ship and was successful in reaching most of them.

 

What percentage of those were on sponsored excursions?

:confused: Ugh! What excursions?

 

What percentage of those had their air arrangements booked through the cruise line?

15 out of 145 stranded passengers on RC

Carnival - unknown

 

Logistically' date=' what resources and personel do the cruise lines have in PR?

:confused:

When the Captain of the Port gave the order to leave, how much time were the ships given?

 

At approximately 12:30 p.m. on Sunday San Juan port starting limited traffic in and out of the port.

 

Carnival was ordered to leave at 6 p.m. instead of 10 p.m.

RC was ordered to leave at 5:30 p.m.

 

 

Royal Caribbean will not provide compensation for passengers who miss the sailing because it was a weather-related event.

 

All passengers who missed the Carnival Victory cruise will be refunded in the form of a future cruise credit.

 

Bravo Carnival!

 

Sure, good on Carnival. That's great and I applaud them for their effort. But it wasn't really my point. My point is, how do you know all this? Please don't say it's from what you read. For example, I know it says RCI was ordered out at 5:30. However, one article says a passenger showed up at 5 and the ship was gone. The passenger's account is probably wrong, but it goes to show you cannot put so much faith in what you read. Details are going to be off.

 

And as far as excursions, I'm not sure what you mean by "Ugh," but excursions are offered in SJ with late departures. Were any of these people on excurions? I certainly don't know.

[sgtgerryf]

Anybody who travels and doesn't get travel insurance, especially in hurricane season where you are flying into a tropical port, needs to seriously ammend their travel practices.

 

Even in the best of weather, there are many things that you can't control such as an airplane mechanical issue that could cause you to miss a ship.

 

Flying into San Juan should never be a "day of" arrival, again because too many things can go wrong on the flight from home to the port and during hurricane season, these issues are multiplied ten fold because a cancellation of one flight due to a storm can ripple through an entire airlines itinerary.

 

All this being said, RCCL was under no "legal" obligation to do any more than they did. Some posters totally missed the point that they were ordered out of the port for a weather related issue, so they couldn't just stay and wait for the last guests.

 

Should RCCL done more? The answer is an unqualified "YES". Call, e-mail, have personnel at the airport, and port. This may have not gotten one more of the late arrivals on board, but just explaining the situation face to face or in some type of communication would have gone a long way to resolving issues and retaining customers. Having a block of hotel rooms, for those who needed them would also have been a great idea, even though I would not expect RCCL to pay for the room unless the stranded passenger had insurance through RCCL. At least somebody who was stranded wouldn't have to go through the hassle of getting a hotel in the middle of a hurricane.

 

Lessons can be learned on both sides from this incident.

 

Travellers---Get trip insurance and fly in early, especially when tropical ports are involved in hurrican season (equally applies during winter blizzards when flying out of US cities subject to harsh winter weather).

 

Cruise Lines--Step up and put customer service ahead of the almighty buck. A minimal expenditure of time, money and personnel could have gone a long way to reduce the negative PR sustained in this incident and reduced the stress your passengers encountered.

[emdia43]

I wonder did they contact PR media.... announce it on TV/radio? That might have helped some people who were already there at hotels..

[emdia43]

I definitely agree that Royal Caribbean should have handled this a bit differently. I understand that things happen, but... There should be a plan in place to attempt to notify cruisers of any change in plans for embarkation/debarkation. Maybe one of those systems that places a generic mass phone call or text to any phone numbers registered for the cruisers? I know this would not work in some cases but many could be notified if problems such as these occurred. Cruisers would just have to register a number that could be reached once they left home for the port. Just a thought....

 

 

Yes, you can get a phone call/text from the major agencies if your flight itinerary is changed. RCCL can't even get their website fixed though..

[Wilda]

RCI has a habit of taking a few days to mull situations like this over. My guess is they will offer up some type of compensation to those folks within the next few days. Some type of a goodwill gesture on their part would go a long way in impacting the overall customer experience.

 

We always fly in the day before, get travelers insurance, and arrive at the port around 10:30, with a passport. Anyone flying into SJ the day of the cruise during HS is taking their chances, and unfortunately on this one they lost:(

 

As previously discussed-RCI is not at fault for the decision to leave port early. I agree they should have done a mass email/text/phone to try to reach people (do we know for certain that they did not?).

[wvufan]

I wonder if RCCL's rep in San Juan was reachable or who they may have had at the port. Anyone know off hand if the contact info is on the xpress pass?

 

Certainly a mess that nobody wanted. Even if RCCL wasn't responsible, there should have been someone available to guide the affected passengers through the ordeal.

 

Happy sails to you.

 

OOOEEE :D:D Bob and Phykl