Never Again On Rccl

[Happy ks]

My husband had clients on this cruise. They were told the same thing, although they had flights on their own, do nothing and RCI would take care of it for them. Well, they took RCI at their word and they were not assisted in any way by the company. He called his son (back in the US), who spent 4 hours online trying to find them flights home. RCI could not find a hotel except for 50 miles away. Fortunately, they called the hotel where they had stayed before the cruise out of desperation and luckily were put up there.

 

If they had been told that day they would have to make their own alternate plans, they could have taken care of it with far less stress. Wouldn't it be nice if someone from the head office had to endure the same? Perhaps they could put contingency plans into place if they really knew what it was like to be stranded with no answers. I know it wasn't the end of the world and they all (apparently) got home safely, but that is not the point.

 

Bottom line, it took 2 days, a couple of transfers, lots of stress and around $5000 to get back home again. I hope they had some sort of travel insurance, DH didn't know about that.

 

I'd love to take this cruise in the future and now will be forewarned. All of us understand there are difficulties with travel, it does not always go smoothly. But, I believe, after reading and hearing about what others endured, RCI really dropped the ball on customer service on this one, big time.

[nrdsb4]

Since RCI customer service seems to be less than responsive, might I suggest all of us that were actually on this cruise write to Conde Nast Traveler and let them know of the wonderful service we received during our time of need aboard RCI's Brilliance of the Sea's.

 

Their E-mail address is cntraveller@condenast.co.uk

 

I think that is a great idea as I would love to hear RCI's explanation for why they went to so much trouble to tell people they were contacting airlines when in fact they never even attempted to do so. I'm trying to figure out what they stood to gain by saying this - did they intend to handle this but something happened which prevented it? Why would they deliberately lie about this when they would have to know the chaos that would ensue as a direct result of this lie and the problems they would be causing for themselves as well? This is the one part of the story that sounds just bizarre to me. I believe the passengers, I just find it absolutely amazing.

 

I think this story is of value because it highlights something that a few people have mentioned. In our country today we do have a tendency to expect people to take care of us. We have heard over and over how the "government" failed everyone in the Katrina disaster. While a great deal of this criticism was warranted, there has also been after the fact quarterbacking which shows very unrealistic expectations of the national government-many of the demands would have been impossible to meet even had the scope of the tragedy been known beforehand. There was a failure on many fronts - national, local, and personal -that very few want to acknowledge.

 

In this particular case, you have a lot of confused, frightened people who were only too glad to hear "we're going to take care of you, don't worry." None of us can know for sure what we would do in any given situation, but you can make a good guess based on a person's past behavior. I am a very cynical person; I would have immediately distrusted anyone's assertion that they could rebook air that had not originally been handled by the cruiseline. Third parties cannot interfere with private bookings without the original person having some kind of contact with the airline to give permission to change arrangements. So my radar would have gone off and I would taken the bull by the horns and acted to control my own destiny. I would not have let RCI take on this parent role because I just don't trust large entities like that to look out for my interests in a crisis when they also have 2500 other people to attend to also. I'm not assigning blame to those who trusted them, just stating that I am naturally suspicious of large corporations to begin with, particularly one that would present such a patronistic and condescending face in the midst of an obvious crisis. That "don't worry your pretty little head" attitude just irritates me and makes me immediately suspicious.

 

If you want something done right, do it yourself. That is the lesson I have learned from these unfortunate peoples' experience. RCI behaved abominably. I would not count on RCI learning from their mistake, so we can only learn from the passengers' own admissions that they should not have allowed RCI to con them into believing that they could sit back, relax, and let someone else protect their interests. RCI should not have told these people they would take care of things. I know after reading this saga that you must never never put your destiny in the hands of another if you truly want to be SURE that you are covered.

 

Thanks to all the passengers who told their stories. Unfortunately, what you want, which is not compensation but an admission by RCI that they screwed up royally, an apology for same, and assurances that this will never happen to another group of people again, will most likely not be forthcoming. I don't blame you for writing them off for good.

[TXSailor]

I learned a long time ago not to trust anyone with my travel arrangements.

 

If you had your own flight arrangements(separate from the cruise line), then why did you give RCI your flight information and permit them to handle your flight arrangements? Why didn't you all just pick up the phone and call the airline yourselves? Ahhh, there's the real question. I ask, because if you would have just called the airline yourself, you wouldn't have been lied to and treated the way you were. Remember, RCI is a cruise line, not an airline, and definitely not a general travel agency.

 

While on a cruise, my credit card company put a security hold because RCI was trying to put in some charges, and the CC was unaware that I was on a cruise. RCI wanted me to fill out an authorization request. This form wanted me to provide my driver's license number, my social security number, my passport number, my home address, my home phone as well as the credit card number. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. This is all the info. one needs to completely take over my identity. I told the purser's I was not filling out this form. Instead, I took this into my own hands and personally called the credit card company straight from the ship. Yes, the call lasted about 20 minutes...trying holding on the phone while on a ship, "international long distance". The call was close to $160. But you know what? I may have just saved myself a costly nightmare from identity theft.

 

Fausto

[dougp26364]

I learned a long time ago not to trust anyone with my travel arrangements.

 

If you had your own flight arrangements(separate from the cruise line), then why did you give RCI your flight information and permit them to handle your flight arrangements? Why didn't you all just pick up the phone and call the airline yourselves? Ahhh, there's the real question. I ask, because if you would have just called the airline yourself, you wouldn't have been lied to and treated the way you were. Remember, RCI is a cruise line, not an airline, and definitely not a general travel agency.

 

 

The short answer is the cost. Ship to shore is not an inexpensive phone call and airlines have at least 5 minutes of recorded messages before you can even be put on hold to speak to someone.

 

I believe the phone charge is $9.85/minute on RCI. 10 minutes = $100.00.

 

Now in hindsight, that's a small price to pay but, when you're thinking on the fly and the cruise line has told eveyone they're doing it for you anyway, you tend not to act.

 

Sitting here now I can't help but marvel at the fact I was unwilling to spend around $100 to notify the airline myself. Let's face it, I wasn't prepared for this sort of situation. Yes, I knew it could happen but, I hadn't been through it before. I didn't know the protocol, how it was usually handled, what to expect from the cruiseline et....

 

Up until this point, RCI had pretty much always delivered on it's promise of service. They are in the travel industry and they are supposed to know the in's and out's of the travel industry. With as many flights as they book on a daily basis, the unassuming passenger would think they would have it well in hand. I did not know, for instance, that they couldn't notify the airlines for us or that we had to give the airlines permisssion for RCI to act on our behalf. Now I do but, it's a little bit late for me.

 

"Would have", "could have", "should have" and "next time" are phrases I hate to say but, in this instance, I'm having to say them. The inocence is gone and I'll know better next time (there's that phrase again). I'm hoping others learn from our mistakes.

 

Still, I find absolutely no excuse for RCI's behavior. It is reprehensible and unexcusable. For the passengers to not know any better is understandable but not RCI's behavior IMO.

[racephoto]

To those who were affected by BOTS......You somewhat share a portion of the responsibility/blame, as you should have followed up on your own. You should have made certain the cruise line did as they said they were doing.[/color][/size][/font]

RCI totally failed and it is obvious they handled the matter in the most unprofessional manner possible, but again I say to those who endured this....look in the mirror and ask if you handled it responsibly.

 

It's pretty sad that we live in a world where it's taken for granted that everything a customer service rep, politician, or other person in authority says is not to be trusted. And the person who gets conned is the one who gets chastised for being a trusting person.

 

I go by the old saying, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me."

 

I just hope the folks on the Bermuda sailing that's getting in 8hrs late tomorrow fare better.

[TXSailor]

The short answer is the cost....Sitting here now I can't help but marvel at the fact I was unwilling to spend around $100 to notify the airline myself.

 

Exactly. It would have cost you, but you probably would not have experienced what you did. I completely understand your frustration though. Like a previous poster mentioned, if RCI "offered" to do this on behalf of the passenger, then they should have been more organized. Did RCI intentionally treat you this way? I seriously doubt they did. Unfortunately, you were dealing with some staff/employees who didn't know what they were doing and spoke too soon. If this would have happened to me, I would have been kicking myself in the butt for giving RCI authorization to handle my own post cruise flight home. When I travel, I arrange everything on my own, therefore if there is a failure somewhere, I have no one but myself to blame. I got tired of the revovling door of customer service/care with TAs. I learned that I can't trust anyone with my travel arrangements. I even choose the seat I sit in, when I make airline resv., I don't let the airline put me where ever they want. I never liked sitting next to that loud engine at the back of the plane.

 

Anyway...hope you don't give up on RCI just yet.

 

Fausto

[Host Kewlguy]

If you don't take care of your customers, your customers will go away. There are lots of cruising options these days which is great news for the consumer. Shop and compare. :D

[Eileen G]

Just a thought here. I'm not loyal to RCI I haven't even been on an RCI cruise yet but it seems to me that you all are forgetting that RCI's Headquarters are in Miami and on the 24TH they had a major hurricane come through and 6 million people were out of electricity not to mention phones, computers and fax machines Tall buildings had windows blown out destroying everything inside. It just might be that this has caused some of the miscommunication that everyone experienced. Some have said they really dropped the ball. Maybe just maybe the ball was blown out the window and things were still disorganized when the Brilliance came into port a few days later. BTW many people in Miami still don't have power today and may not for a while.

[FitzLA]

Just a thought here. I'm not loyal to RCI I haven't even been on an RCI cruise yet but it seems to me that you all are forgetting that RCI's Headquarters are in Miami and on the 24TH they had a major hurricane come through and 6 million people were out of electricity not to mention phones, computers and fax machines Tall buildings had windows blown out destroying everything inside. It just might be that this has caused some of the miscommunication that everyone experienced. Some have said they really dropped the ball. Maybe just maybe the ball was blown out the window and things were still disorganized when the Brilliance came into port a few days later. BTW many people in Miami still don't have power today and may not for a while.

 

This is very true. What a great reminder. I didn't even think of that. Thanks!

[imsulin2]

I learned a long time ago not to trust anyone with my travel arrangements.

 

If you had your own flight arrangements(separate from the cruise line), then why did you give RCI your flight information and permit them to handle your flight arrangements? Why didn't you all just pick up the phone and call the airline yourselves? Ahhh, there's the real question. I ask, because if you would have just called the airline yourself, you wouldn't have been lied to and treated the way you were. Remember, RCI is a cruise line, not an airline, and definitely not a general travel agency.

 

While on a cruise, my credit card company put a security hold because RCI was trying to put in some charges, and the CC was unaware that I was on a cruise. RCI wanted me to fill out an authorization request. This form wanted me to provide my driver's license number, my social security number, my passport number, my home address, my home phone as well as the credit card number. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. This is all the info. one needs to completely take over my identity. I told the purser's I was not filling out this form. Instead, I took this into my own hands and personally called the credit card company straight from the ship. Yes, the call lasted about 20 minutes...trying holding on the phone while on a ship, "international long distance". The call was close to $160. But you know what? I may have just saved myself a costly nightmare from identity theft.

 

Fausto

 

TXSailor - I'm very surprised that - since you like to handle your own travel arrangements - you didn't notify your CC company before you left for your cruise, and let them know where you'd be and the dates you would be gone! You could have saved yourself $160.00 by doing this, and it's just common sense. CC companies are ever on the alert for any foreign purchases, especially if there's little or no history of them. AMEX is especially alert. By putting a hold on your CC, they were protecting you from identity theft! I always advise my CC company about when and where I will be travelling, and that I plan to use my card.

[dougp26364]

Just a thought here. I'm not loyal to RCI I haven't even been on an RCI cruise yet but it seems to me that you all are forgetting that RCI's Headquarters are in Miami and on the 24TH they had a major hurricane come through and 6 million people were out of electricity not to mention phones, computers and fax machines Tall buildings had windows blown out destroying everything inside. It just might be that this has caused some of the miscommunication that everyone experienced. Some have said they really dropped the ball. Maybe just maybe the ball was blown out the window and things were still disorganized when the Brilliance came into port a few days later. BTW many people in Miami still don't have power today and may not for a while.

 

I'm not forgetting it at all. If the offer to do what they told us they would do was made and then the hurricane hit, that would be one thing. But the hurricane hit and then they made their offer.

 

A large company such as RCI should have alternative routing. I know that every major company I've ever delt with did. If RCI doesn't have alternative emergancy back up plans, then they really need to wake up and smell the coffee.

[beth4652]

While I understand the frustration of people when things go wrong, I'm always curious if the folks that complain the loudest and blame the cruise line (airline, government response to hurricanes, etc.) were put in charge how much better they would have done in the short amount of time available to set things up,the distances involved and the time difference between the U.S. and Spain. Also, dealing with the various agencies involved in a foreign country that are responsible for some of the things that need to be done had to be interesting.

 

 

Just curious, that's all.

 

 

 

 

I couldn't agree more. I realize that some of you were there, while I was not but I'll add my $.02 anyway. IMO, saying that RCCL deliberately lied to you and didn't care at all what you were going through is a little harsh. I would agree that there was a serious lack of or break down in communication. I would imagine that everyone who "lied" to you really thought he was telling you the truth (at least, as he knew it). In addition, none of us can know what special problems the Spanish government or port authorities may have caused, knowingly or unknowingly. I'm certainly not saying that Royal Caribbean doesn't have some internal problems that need to be solved. I would be likely to contact the cruise line, also, and express my frustrations. However, I would probably give them the benefit of the doubt and continue to cruise with them --- hoping, of course, for a calmer trip next time.

[Host Kewlguy]

Every cruise line seems wonderful until something goes wrong. That's when you find out how much they really care about their customers. I speak from experience.

[Lynnees]

that so many are trying to find excuses for a large corporation's bungling. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. That's why they can stay in business and I mean any company.

 

There is no excuse for incompetent staff, lack of communication, and all the rest of the fiasco that that poor people went through. RCL should have told them up front that they couldn't help them and they would have at least known what they really had to deal with.

 

For those that are making excuses, I would hope that you never get put in the position these cruisers were put in, and if you do, I would hope you don't run into people like yourselves when it's all over.

 

Yes, I always always make my own arrangements and I would never trust anyone to do anything like this for me. We've travelled enough (and the fact that I was born in England) would make me head for the train station and go north to either Paris or right over to London where getting a plane would have been much easier. However, I would not have expected many to know that Barcalona is a small airport.

 

RCL does not train their off ship staff properly and that doesn't matter where they are. I've watched them at different airports in the U.S. They come in for a couple of hours a week or so and really don't have much of a clue as to what they are suppose to be doing.

 

This fiasco in Barcelona just shows how little they really do care about their passengers.

 

There is an old saying, the bigger they are the harder they fall. I don't want to be underneath when RCL starts it's fall. There's too much competition out there.

[sailor05]

Royal Caribbean Reports Record Third Quarter Earnings

 

 

Miami - October 25, 2005 - Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE, OSE: RCL) today announced record net income for the third quarter of 2005 of $374.7 million, or $1.64 per share. This compares to $282.5 million, or $1.26 per share, for the third quarter of 2004. As previously announced, the third quarter of 2005 includes a net gain of $44.2 million, or $0.19 per share, related to the redemption of the company's investment in First Choice Holidays PLC.

 

Revenues for the third quarter of 2005 increased 8.4% to $1.5 billion from revenues of $1.4 billion in the third quarter of 2004. The increase in revenues was attributable to increases in cruise ticket prices and onboard revenues, plus a modest 1.9% increase in capacity. Occupancy levels were 109.3% versus 109.0% last year. Gross Yields and Net Yields for the third quarter of 2005 increased 6.3% and 6.9% from the third quarter of 2004, respectively. :eek: :eek:

 

 

 

Let's all remember what's important here! :cool:

[sandbag7]

Maybe we should require RCI shareholders to identify themselves in their posts; c'mon, which of you mugs are shareholders?

[TXSailor]

TXSailor - I'm very surprised that - since you like to handle your own travel arrangements - you didn't notify your CC company before you left for your cruise, and let them know where you'd be and the dates you would be gone! You could have saved yourself $160.00 by doing this, and it's just common sense.

 

Sue: You are correct. It was my new RCI Visa card and it was only a month old. Only 2 purchases had been made on it prior to the cruise. Why it didn't cross my mind to call the CC company to notify them about my cruise? It was because it has been years since this has happened to me. I've had my Mastercard for 15 years and this RCI Visa card is the first CC in that time span. Anyway, I won $3,600 in the casino on the cruise, so the $160 call to my CC company was not that bad. Plus, when compared to what RCI wanted me to provide them for authorization of the card, nope, I'd prefer to spend the money on a phone call rather than risk going through identity theft. But you are right, my bad for not calling the CC company.

:)

 

Fausto

[spongerob]

Hello, Fausto, how ya been? I agree with what you say - when you get off the ship, the passenger/cruise line relationship changes drastically. I had a similar, though not so severe incident after our first cruise on Princess disembarking in Vancouver. It's a long story, the moral is, you might have to take matters into your own hands and ignore what the people on the ship are telling you. They don't communicate with the shore staff very well apparently.

[dougp26364]

I couldn't agree more. I realize that some of you were there, while I was not but I'll add my $.02 anyway. IMO, saying that RCCL deliberately lied to you and didn't care at all what you were going through is a little harsh.

 

You're right, you weren't there. Everyone that was there and has posted has the same opinion, RCI lied through their teeth and did it repeatedly. Not just once or twice but over and over again.

 

What would you call it when RCI tells you to give them you airline information so that they can call your airlines for you and make new flight arrangements? What would you call it when RCI tells you not to worry, they're working on making hotel arrangements for you? What would you call it when RCI tells you not to call your airline because they are taking care of that for you? What do you call it when you find out that they've done none of that despite telling you over and over again AND putting it on the RCI television as a service announcement that repeats over and over again? I call it telling a lie to keep the passengers from mass panicing, tying up communications and overloading the internet trying to make their own arrangements.

 

While I might buy the arguement that they were trying to avoid a mass panic, I can not abide by how they acomplished it.....by telling lies and then putting us off the ship to fend for ourselves.

 

I've written complaint letters before but this one takes up seven pages. I've never had to write a letter that went so long.

 

Someone else said it best......the bottom line is money. RCI profits are up so, for now at least, they must be doing something right as far as the profit and loss sheet goes.

 

Whether or not other cruise lines are just as bad has no impact on how I feel I've been treated in this one particular instance. The more people accept this type of behavior out of cruise lines, the longer it will go on.

[Happy ks]

Quote "Whether or not other cruise lines are just as bad has no impact on how I feel I've been treated in this one particular instance. The more people accept this type of behavior out of cruise lines, the longer it will go on."

 

This is the biggest truth of the whole fiasco. I'm hoping that everyone involved in this writes to RCI and perhaps they will learn from this mistake. Most of us are with on this one, dougp.... To excuse this is to accept it and it will be repeated. The company needs to know they cannot treat their customers this way.

[Clarksfan1]

Bottom line to me is this. If you read one account of someone being lied to then you can say....Well maybe those people overreacted. However, when all the stories are so consistent you need to start looking at the source of the problem. Clearly, RCCL has many MANY faults when it comes to taking acountability. And the most unfortunate thing is that because cruising is such a popular means of vacation now they will not need to address these issues because there will always be people willing to fill the boats. The more and more I read about RCCL's handeling of situations like this, the more bothered I become.

 

And to the RCCL loyalists on these boards. Of course you have the right to love RCCL and who can blame you. But, you have never encountered any situation like the ones being described in these boards (I can't imagine you would be real happy if this happened to you, or maybe you are such a loyalist you would say it was your fault for taking the cruise in the first place?) To sit there at your computer and have such little compassion for people who have been through so much to begin with is beyond my comprehension. These people did not come on these boards and ask for your opinions. They simply came on here to inform people about what has happened to them (and vent a little, but who can really blame them). And lets face it when people make their voices heard that is when change will occur.

 

To the people who had to endure such treatment. I am sorry for your troubles. I am also sorry for having to come onto these boards and defend why you have problems with the way you were treated. I will be calling RCCL today and will make my voice heard about the way you were treated.

[Pat848]

Doug & Everyone else

 

I am 100% behind you and am glad you came on and informed us of what went on. I feel I am much better prepared for my cruise next year. I do have insurance but had not thought of an international cell phone (which I am looking into). I also will have plenty of phone #'s just in case.

I am a Diamond member and have e-mailed Crown & Anchor about the treatment you received and questioned what would happen if a similiar incident happened on my cruise. I have received the standard "we have received your e-mail and will get back to you".

[jbond]

I was not going to post on this thread again, I think that it has served it's purpose in making people aware of what could happen and most posters appear to have accepted the fact that there are certain things that one should be aware of and make preparations for.

However I do have a couple of more things to say.

If you had your own flight arrangements(separate from the cruise line), then why did you give RCI your flight information and permit them to handle your flight arrangements? Why didn't you all just pick up the phone and call the airline yourselves? Ahhh, there's the real question. I ask, because if you would have just called the airline yourself, you wouldn't have been lied to and treated the way you were. Remember, RCI is a cruise line, not an airline, and definitely not a general travel agency.

Just picking up the phone and calling to make a change isn't quite that easy for many folks. It costs $7.95 a min and my experience calling airlines has been that I spend a lot of time on hold, many people can't afford that. When an offer to take care of that for you is made by the cruiseline, it's an offer most people can't refuse. I was fortunate that I invested in an international cell phone. I just got my statement. I spent a total of 74 minutes on the phone. 63 minutes were with RCI trying to book the charter. Thank goodness that it wasn't at $7.95 a minute.

Calling the airline had nothing to do with RCI lying. They lied deliberately and consistently. As for them not being a general travel agency, that's not really correct. They probably book more flights in a week than 90% of the travel agencies in the US. IN 1987(?) we were blown out of the Caribbean by Hurricane Hugo. We were sailing Sun Viking. RCI rearranged all the flights overnight and we left a day early. We were not the only ship in San Juan, but it went very smoothly, an extreme contrast to last weeks debacle.

 

Over the past week I've reflected on the incident and after several attitude adjustments I've come to the following conclusions.

 

RCI lied and let us down.

Never leave on vacation with out a cell phone(international if abroad) and insurance.

Arrive a couple of days early.

Leaving a day later won't always solve the problem, be prepared.

I'll sail RCI again, we have two cruises already scheduled. I like their ships and it was a wonderful vacation.

I won't sell my RCI stock, the onboard credit is too good to miss.

Oh, and RCI lied and let us down.

[critterchick]

Over the past week I've reflected on the incident and after several attitude adjustments I've come to the following conclusions.

 

RCI lied and let us down.

Never leave on vacation with out a cell phone(international if abroad) and insurance.

Arrive a couple of days early.

Leaving a day later won't always solve the problem, be prepared.

I'll sail RCI again, we have two cruises already scheduled. I like their ships and it was a wonderful vacation.

I won't sell my RCI stock, the onboard credit is too good to miss.

Oh, and RCI lied and let us down.

 

We learned a lot of those lessons a couple of years ago on Splendour of the Seas. High seas kept us out of port on disembarkation day. By the time we disembarked, we had 40 minutes to find our bags and make our flight. We did, with about 5 minutes to spare (then Delta held the flight for an hour to accomodate as many of our fellow passengers as they could). DH was able to find some kind Spaniards with cell phones so he could call Delta in case we missed our flight. Now we activate the international calling feature just for the month that we're gone, so it's really not that expensive an option. I think arriving the day before is plenty of time, but we like to see the place we're leaving from if we can, so we try to get there earlier most of the time. It's leaving that can get hairy.

This time around we booked a flight out the next day, so of course disembarking was a breeze and we were off the ship by 8:30. But we also had a full day to enjoy Barcelona, so that wasn't all bad!

I would classify myself as an "RCI Loyalist," but I'm certainly not blind. What happened to both sets of cruisers was a disgrace, and as soon as I have time this weekend, I'm going to write to RCI corporate and let them know. On our side, I think it was more the port agent than RCI that kept messing up, but RCI needs to know that and perhaps make a change in agent.

It surprises me that RCI is so inept at communication. In addition to everything that's been stated above, they gave everybody a credit ($100 for most passengers, $150 for suite passengers) on the second day of the cruise, which is a positive thing. Many people were upset because they thought they had to spend it on board and there was only one day left to the cruise. How hard would it have been to say, "if you do not spend the credit on board, you will receive a refund of the unused amount on your credit card?" I heard several people at the purser's desk explaining that thihs was the case to irate passengers, but they could have avoided the upset in the first place by explaining it clearly.

[Mississippian]

While it might not have been the moral or ethical thing to tell people not to worry, they'd take care of everything, they certainly weren't obligated to actaully do anything.

They were not obligated to do anything UNTIL they told everyone they WERE doing something. To the extent they they caused their passengers not to provide self-help (for example, by not calling the airlines themselves), then the cruise line is clearly liable for damages.

 

Suppose, if you wil, that your neighbor is out burning leaves. His phone rings and he wants to answer it, but doesn't want to leave the fire unattended. You certainly have no obligation to help this neighbor, but it you tell him that you will watch the leaves and the neighbor goes to the phone, you had better darn well watch the leaves. If you negligently let the fire get away, then YOU are responsible, since you assumed the burden, even though you had no obligation to do so.

 

That's just what the law is, sorry.