Wondering why CCL hasn't helped in the rescue effort.

[Harrier1961]

As another poster mentioned, the real question is where are the Dutch and French--and maybe even the British. I know the British have been more visible, but have not done as much as they could IMHO. Maybe it is time for these European countries to let these islands go, as it is pretty obvious the Europeans are fair weather friends to them. Literally. Something isn't right when the Americans and primarily American companies are doing more for a French island than the French are.

 

Look at a map.

The U.S. is a tad bit closer to the islands than France, England, or the Neitherlands.

All about distance.

Andy

[elcuchio24]

It just happened that the only Carnival ships that were empty were positioned well north and east of the Caribbean to ride out Irma, while RCI and NCL had empty ships in the western Caribbean, so they were utilized first. When a Carnival ship returned to San Juan, they had cancelled the following cruise, so they were going to load supplies at that time. Just note, as I've said before on these threads asking about Carnival's contribution, that they don't just decide to up and go to the islands and say "Hi, were here to help, can we take some folks off the island, or land some food?". They offer their ships to the pertinent government authority, who then decides whether the ship will be useful in relief efforts, or whether it would be better to stay away. For example, St. Maarten's port is littered with sunken containers, and the dock is damaged, so even trying to get people off the island, or land food supplies becomes a major operation, and the military would decide whether a cruise ship could come in or not. As noted in the Carnival link, they dropped supplies off in St. Kitts to be taken to St. Maarten by small boat/landing craft which is far more suitable than trying to bring a huge ship into a fouled harbor.

 

NCL Sky has visited St. Maarten to deliver supplies after Irma, seemingly without incident.

[chengkp75]

NCL Sky has visited St. Maarten to deliver supplies after Irma, seemingly without incident.

 

Yes, at the direction of the Dutch military, which took over the port shortly after the storm, and do we know whether she entered the port or drifted/anchored outside (I don't know the port, so can't say if anchoring is possible), how supplies were delivered, how much was delivered, and whether the military decided that further attempts would be better done by staging to St. Kitts and thence to St. Maarten? Until you can answer those kinds of questions, I wouldn't cast too many stones at Carnival. What has NCL done since the trip to St. Maarten? Maybe they are continuing to provide supplies, as Carnival is, and maybe not. Have they returned to St. Maarten? Not to my knowledge, so you wonder why, unless the government has told ships to stay away. None of us knows what is going on between the relief organizations, the governments, and the various cruise lines, so none of us can know who "did the best job".

[VolzCruiser]

NCL Sky has visited St. Maarten to deliver supplies after Irma, seemingly without incident.

 

I don't believe it has, it has only docked in St Thomas at this time.

[gtalum]

What have you done to help the rescue effort?

[elcuchio24]

Yes, at the direction of the Dutch military, which took over the port shortly after the storm, and do we know whether she entered the port or drifted/anchored outside (I don't know the port, so can't say if anchoring is possible), how supplies were delivered, how much was delivered, and whether the military decided that further attempts would be better done by staging to St. Kitts and thence to St. Maarten? Until you can answer those kinds of questions, I wouldn't cast too many stones at Carnival. What has NCL done since the trip to St. Maarten? Maybe they are continuing to provide supplies, as Carnival is, and maybe not. Have they returned to St. Maarten? Not to my knowledge, so you wonder why, unless the government has told ships to stay away. None of us knows what is going on between the relief organizations, the governments, and the various cruise lines, so none of us can know who "did the best job".

 

I'm not casting stones at anyone. I was responding to your 'st maarten's port is littered with cargo containers and the dock is damaged' comment. Which is untrue. And yes, Sky docked normally, I was watching the live webcam. The doc looks like its in fine shape. I cant comment on any underwater obstacles, but obviously nothing that stopped them from berthing.

[CI66774]

Look at a map.

The U.S. is a tad bit closer to the islands than France, England, or the Neitherlands.

All about distance.

Andy

 

Perhaps, but those islands are the territories of those countries. Regardless of distance, they should be there helping.

[firemanbobswife]

Perhaps, but those islands are the territories of those countries. Regardless of distance, they should be there helping.

 

Exactly. That’s like saying if a natural disaster happened in Hawaii the US can’t get there because it’s too far away. Bottom line is they knew it was coming and had time to get there and/or organized. They need to step up and do their part as well.

[elcuchio24]

I don't believe it has, it has only docked in St Thomas at this time.

 

You are right. It was Adventure of the Seas that was in St. Maarten, and Sky in St. Thomas. Either way, navigable ports was my point in all of this. If that is still the case post-maria hopefully the tourist infrastructure will follow soon after.

[Pyrate13]

It amazes me when people are saying the US should be in there after every disaster. Guess what, we have the USVI, Puerto Rico, Florida and Texas to deal with right now. Do you see any other country sending aid to those areas? People need help in many areas after these storms but it can't all fall on the US shoulders.

[FSHLOT]

Im sorry, but I definetly see it as bash thread. You will most likely not see the OP again. The only reason I say that is all the information he/she needs is right at their finger tips. If they can get on Cruise critic, they know Google.

[LMaxwell]

In addition I believe I read that Carnival will use 12 ships to make 40+ humanitarian stops; this was before Hurricane Maria, I would anticipate more. I do not find any fault with Carnivals actions, or that of the Arison family.

[WiCruiseDreamer]

While others disagree with you, I do not. I completely understand and agree that Carnival is contributing after the fact, but IMO the reality of the situation is that while other cruise lines positioned themselves prior to the worst of the storms to be able to actually move in and rescue people as soon as it was safe to do so, Carnival delayed those decisions to maximize profit and then made decisions to contribute. Carnival delayed logistic decisions much longer, and then announced efforts to bring supplies after the fact. That decision IMO favored profit over rescue operations. I can't help but wonder how many people suffered as a result of Carnival's decision.

 

While I applaud Carnival's decision to contribute after the storms, I can't help but wonder how much human suffering could have been prevented if Carnival had made earlier decisions, like the other major cruise lines, to cancel cruises to position ships for rescue vs. recovery.

Funny thing is, everyone wants to be the "first" to help, but tend to forget a week, a month later. While some may feel that Carnival was slow in acting, it is a real possibly that Carnival simply did not care about the publicity.

 

Carnival, as well as the other lines, had many variables to look at. The direction of the storm as well as the intensity was just 2, and both of these changed many times over the days leading up to actual land fall.

 

I have seen both sides of this debate on what and when Carnival should have done something. The number of people upset over the mere fact that Carnival canceled and changed itineraries is almost funny.

 

Another thing to remember is that there is limited area for these ships top dock in the best of conditions, and even less when faced with bad weather.

 

Could Carnival have done more sooner, maybe, but the bigger question is, what will they do in the future to help restore the economy of these islands on their residents.

 

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[cruisinmems]

It amazes me when people are saying the US should be in there after every disaster. Guess what, we have the USVI, Puerto Rico, Florida and Texas to deal with right now. Do you see any other country sending aid to those areas? People need help in many areas after these storms but it can't all fall on the US shoulders.

 

 

LOVE IT.....and completely agree!

[Cafedumonde]

Look at a map.

The U.S. is a tad bit closer to the islands than France, England, or the Neitherlands.

All about distance.

Andy

 

Actually much of the US help has come from a base in New York, so not much closer than Western European countries. The problem is that these wealthy European nations do not invest enough in their militaries and expect the US to carry the load.

[Athankfulheart]

Carnival actually has been dropping supplies. One location in particular was in fact dropping at St Kitts for St Martin. The Elation saved a guy who had to abandon his sailboat on her way from drydock out to sea. Many things have been done, some of which you can read about by following Carnivals official facebook pages.

 

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[2PinaColadas]

If there is anything we have learned the past few years, it is that the media only posts negative information that they have created. They no longer report the news-- they trash whomever they can, whenever they can.

 

So glad Carnival, RCC, and NCL are helping these islands. The people there deserve all the help they can get.

[Mimi2Say]

We shouldn't be concerned with whether one cruise line is doing more than another. Any assistance that any of them give is a beautiful thing, but disaster relief is not their primary mission. The thing is that most of these islands are territories of larger nations and the question is, what are these countries doing for their own territories? It can't be placed at the feet of the cruise industry to support and rebuild these islands.

 

Excellent comment! Thanks :)

[Pellaz]

I can't speak for the French or Dutch governments, but I know the UK has landed Royal Marines and Royal Army commandos on Grand Turk (after staging from Providenciales) to help with relief efforts. The support ship RFA Mount Bay and HMS Ocean are present and en route, respectively.

 

Two links from the Royal Navy's website:

https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-latest-activity/news/2017/september/14/170914-commandos-aid-in-relief-efforts-on-grand-turk

 

https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-latest-activity/news/2017/september/18/170918-commandos-help-rebuild-school-as-grand-turk-relief-mission-begins-in-earnest

[timeinthesand]

I know RCL has been very active in rescuing people from the US Virgin Islands and I believe NCL has also been participating.

I just wonder why I haven't heard a thing about Carnival, with the most ships of any of the cruiselines, helping in the rescue efforts. I mean, they sure have made a boatload of money from these islands. Shouldn't they be taking part in rescue and recovery efforts as a humane gesture?

I'm not a Carnival basher, have an 8-nt. cruise scheduled for March on the Vista. I'd just like to see them step up to the plate here.

Cancel your cruise and donate your money to those that need it in the very places you speak of.

[sfaaa]

I just wonder why I haven't heard a thing about Carnival, with the most ships of any of the cruiselines, helping in the rescue efforts. I mean, they sure have made a boatload of money from these islands. Shouldn't they be taking part in rescue and recovery efforts as a humane gesture?

I'm not a Carnival basher, have an 8-nt. cruise scheduled for March on the Vista. I'd just like to see them step up to the plate here.

 

Carnival has been asking embarkation passengers to make a donation to hurricane relief effort. That amounts to thousands of donors every single day boarding a Carnival ship. How's that for relief assistance effort? Now that you know, how much are you planning to send in tomorrow? Like you said, step up to the plate.

[TerReuv]

Carnival Cruise Lines - the Atlanta Falcons of the cruise industry! LOL

[tatt2ed]

I know RCL has been very active in rescuing people from the US Virgin Islands and I believe NCL has also been participating.

I just wonder why I haven't heard a thing about Carnival, with the most ships of any of the cruiselines, helping in the rescue efforts. I mean, they sure have made a boatload of money from these islands. Shouldn't they be taking part in rescue and recovery efforts as a humane gesture?

I'm not a Carnival basher, have an 8-nt. cruise scheduled for March on the Vista. I'd just like to see them step up to the plate here.

Have you stepped up to the plate as well ? I cant stand how people expect everyone else to do everything.

 

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[Oppalopa]

Large cruise ship cannot maneuver in fouled ports but Carnival has transported supplies on their ships but remember Carnival is a private business and not a charity. As a stock holder in Carnival I want to ensure the value to my stock by protecting the ships and crew.

That's nice

[ScottsSweetie]

Carnival Cruise Lines - the Atlanta Falcons of the cruise industry! LOL

 

HA! We say the same thing about Falcons coverage! :D