Is the BREAKAWAY OK!!???

[All-ready2cruise]

i was on the Gem a couple of years ago.

it got hit with 70' waves.

 

we sailed thru it.

no dmg to the ship that i know of.

i slept thru it but heard other passengers getting sea sick.

 

i saw videos of Breakaway during the storm.

Water leaking down the stairwells?!

How the heck did that happen??

 

i read reports that the Breakaway was hit with 40' waves.

if the Gem made it thru vs 70' waves undamaged, im surprised that the Breakaway couldnt vs 40' waves. :o

 

LOL, I hear ya... I'm afraid to say it on here but I will anyway... I LOVE a wee Rock and roll... I'm old but I remember my daddy taking me on his fishing boat on the Atlantic ocean, I was but 2-4 yo and he'd tie me to the cabin door, worrying I'd get sick like my big bro. and fall overboard. I've loved the ocean all my life and love the motion of the ocean. Hook me up...

 

I do understand that some are fearful of the storms and how the ships deal with the motion but IMO the NCL captains are some of the best in the business and I would never feel fearful on any NCL ship....

 

I wish everyone a safe journey... just be careful.

[fstuff1]

Just received this update:

 

"Due to winter storm Grayson, Norwegian Breakaway will have a delayed arrival into New York on Friday, January 5. As a result, Norwegian Breakaway’s 14-day cruise that was originally scheduled to depart on January 5 will now depart on Saturday, January 6 at 3 pm. Due to the ship’s late arrival on Friday and the ongoing weather situation, embarking guests are encouraged to arrive to the pier on Saturday morning; all guests must be onboard by 1 pm on January 6. Guests unable to adjust their travel plans are welcome to board on Friday evening, between 6 pm and 10 pm.

The ship will now sail a slightly adjusted itinerary, which will be communicated to guests onboard. All guests will receive a refund of one day of their cruise fare, in the form of an onboard credit. We sincerely thank our guests for their understanding of this unexpected change due to the weather and apologize to our guests for any disruption to their schedule."

refund of one day isnt bad, altho in the form of OBC is kinda tacky.

 

on one of my 11day NCL cruises (2014?), the port of Tortola was canceled because waters were too rough to tender.

we all got $100 back on our credit cards.

 

hm.. what changes to ports due to this 1 day delay?

[mking8288]

... Water leaking down the stairwells?! How the heck did that happen??

 

i read reports that the Breakaway was hit with 40' waves. if the Gem made it thru vs 70' waves undamaged, im surprised that the Breakaway couldnt vs 40' waves. :o

From the video clip shown, it looked to be Deck 7 AFT ... just outside Manhattan MDR - water splash thru the locked doors above by the "Outdoors / Waterfront" - Cagney/Moderno ... since those are watertight doors like being sealed watertight inside a submarine, a little flooding & water damage, isn't all that surprising. Something, I think Cheng* familiar with NCL would call it "cosmetic" damages with broken glasses, rails & flipped over chairs & tables - things happened, whether this is a Carnival, Royal or NCL ship when transiting thru a big oceanic storm.

 

We sailed the Gem twice, just after Sandy with a Nor-easter in 30' to 40' waves & gale force cross wind for about 12 to 15 hours overnight and again last Halloween with another mini, much smaller Nor-easter with 15' to 20' waves, maybe at times 25' - last only 12 hours or so until we raced away from it again ... both times, southbound out of NYC.

 

We barely felt some movement on the BA with 15' waves for a day plus and that was Deck 12 Fwd, 2 doors away from the Haven corner suite.

 

We loved these roller coaster rides - although, the 40,000 tons NCL Crown doing the Bermuda crossing was a bit too rough for DW on the 1st. trip - typical with 25' to 35' waves ... on the 2nd. trip into St. George/Hamilton - slept like a baby.

 

Got an idea, maybe NCL should offer these folks the option to buckle up in a 5 point safety harness in their cabin and a lifeline to hook along the railings while walking around - afterall, airplane passengers do it when instructed flying thru air turbulence.

[L1211]

Because it implies that there is the real possibility of damage. A cruise ship in rough seas is a fairly regular occurrence, and one they are designed to handle. The passengers may not think so, but they are not mariners. (Ask a passenger what conditions are like, then ask one of the officers. You will probably get different answers.)

 

So, “Does anyone know how long the Breakaway will be delayed?” is much less alarmist than “Is the BREAKAWAY OK!!??” which implies it isn’t. Also, a ship’s name is not in caps, generally.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

 

 

Cruise CRITIC (yes, caps intentional) is not literal or required for participation as I understand it. Or scolding. I totally don't get it.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[kingbear]

This is what CBS New York Has:

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2018/01/05/cruise-through-storm/

 

Let hope my January 19, 2018 Cruise on the Breakaway is not this bad...

[lcpagejr]

This is what CBS New York Has:

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2018/01/05/cruise-through-storm/

 

Let hope my January 19, 2018 Cruise on the Breakaway is not this bad...

 

These drama queens on the last cruise wanting a refund....Typical. Read your cruise contract!!

[Carlo and Erin]

Let's say an amazing job was done by the staff of the Norwegian breakaway during a storm that no one predicted was going to be as intense as it was. The captain the crew and all of his officers are very highly trained but never enough for an event as intense as a ginormous bomb blizzard storm. I give them extreme applause for bringing that ship back to New York Harbor with Every passenger safe and sound yes they were shaken up yes it was harrowing and yes it was scary and maybe they didn't communicate but obviously they had a job to do and that was to keep the Magnificent ship and all the souls aboard it safe and sound. So I applaud the staff the crew the captain the officers and every single person who did their best to try to keep everyone smiling or safe and sound during this journey. I do however believe that the national weather center needs an upgrade.. Because they never predicted the storm to be as intense as it was .. They Never warned anybody on Long Island until we were in the thick of the storm about the intense hurricane winds and I know they did not give any heads up about significant flooding to Boston Long Island So I'm sure this captain was not apprised of any hurricane winds they were approaching otherwise he would have the stayed South. Again what a Testament to beautiful ships that the Norwegian breakaway withstood a Jinormous storm with no injuries. Yes there was damage to the cabin doors but they made sure every passenger was safe and sound the same as the Captain of the Royal Carribean during the anthem of the seas Storm event.. Out standing service to the captain of the breakaway thank you for getting everyone home safe and thank you to Romeo and Benji and Alvin as well as the magnificent hotel director Vuk.. For keeping everyone smiling or comfortable to the best of their ability

[shof515]

i saw videos of Breakaway during this storm.

Water leaking down the stairwells?!

How the heck did that happen??

it could be possible some water was getting in the ventilation system. I noticed on the outside decks like on deck 6, there is a lot of mechanical equipment for the air conditioner or other systems.

[chengkp75]

it could be possible some water was getting in the ventilation system. I noticed on the outside decks like on deck 6, there is a lot of mechanical equipment for the air conditioner or other systems.

 

The doors on the promenade deck and above, all the way up, are "weathertight" not "watertight", so there can be some leakage under these doors that would roll around and find the stairways to go down. Also, any windows blown out (not sure if any were) or balcony doors blown in (reported), would lead to some water ingress, and the stairs and elevator shafts are the only path for most of this water to drain down.

[ColinIllinois]

It's really unfortunate that passengers had to go through this. I absolutely understand that people never expected weather like this to happen and were scared and frightened, most likely labeling their cruise as a failure.

 

Having said that, this is a valuable lesson for cruisers to learn. The ocean/weather combination is one of the most powerful and very often UNPREDICTABLE forces on the planet. Being a retired sailor myself I can tell you that command decisions that are made and seem to be sound and logical one minute can be thought of as wrong just an hour later when that combination of ocean and weather unpredictability raises it's head.

 

Usually though, this is one of those events that you hear happen to other people, not to you. But it can, and does. Cruise lines are in a lose/lose situation when these things happen. Someone is bound to be unhappy.

 

Again, sorry for those of you who had to go through that event.

[lorvit3]

Your post is the most logical out of anything else I’ve read here.

[mianmike]

 

Azipod issues are not uncommon and the ease of the repair indicate merely excessive wear rather then 'damage'.

That's a very nice way to put it. I'd say burning through all four azipod clutches during the storm is definitely "excessive wear." :D

[arabrab]

Let's say an amazing job was done by the staff of the Norwegian breakaway during a storm that no one predicted was going to be as intense as it was. The captain the crew and all of his officers are very highly trained but never enough for an event as intense as a ginormous bomb blizzard storm. I give them extreme applause for bringing that ship back to New York Harbor with Every passenger safe and sound yes they were shaken up yes it was harrowing and yes it was scary and maybe they didn't communicate but obviously they had a job to do and that was to keep the Magnificent ship and all the souls aboard it safe and sound. So I applaud the staff the crew the captain the officers and every single person who did their best to try to keep everyone smiling or safe and sound during this journey. I do however believe that the national weather center needs an upgrade.. Because they never predicted the storm to be as intense as it was .. They Never warned anybody on Long Island until we were in the thick of the storm about the intense hurricane winds and I know they did not give any heads up about significant flooding to Boston Long Island So I'm sure this captain was not apprised of any hurricane winds they were approaching otherwise he would have the stayed South. Again what a Testament to beautiful ships that the Norwegian breakaway withstood a Jinormous storm with no injuries. Yes there was damage to the cabin doors but they made sure every passenger was safe and sound the same as the Captain of the Royal Carribean during the anthem of the seas Storm event.. Out standing service to the captain of the breakaway thank you for getting everyone home safe and thank you to Romeo and Benji and Alvin as well as the magnificent hotel director Vuk.. For keeping everyone smiling or comfortable to the best of their ability

 

Well, maybe it was because you were expecting the National Weather Service to tell you that a "Jinormous" storm was coming. :confused: They were posting warnings of severe weather - including Long Island - beginning January 2nd. "Major east coast winter storm is expected to bring snow, ice, rain, strong winds, and tidal flooding to coastal locations from the southeast U.S. to New England Wednesday into Thursday. Hazardous travel is likely."

On the 3rd, they said: This rapidly intensifying East Coast storm will produce strong, damaging winds - possibly resulting in downed trees, power outages and coastal flooding. These strong winter systems are notorious for packing big winds and waves to go along with heavy snow!

Later on the 3rd there was a supplemental warning of blizzard conditions, high winds and flooding.

Meanwhile, the marine forecast included: "SEAS...Followed the higher WAM wave guidance throughout much of

the forecast period. Waves should increase dramatically with thelow pressure system. Waves should be well into the 30s feet inthe far eastern mid-Atlantic zones near the Gulf Stream. Valuesclose to 40 feet are quite possible there Thursday afternoon andThursday evening.It also included warnings of gale force winds, and advice that mariners should avoid heading into the storm.

I'm glad you had a good cruise, and I'm sure that the staff did everything they possibly could to help with the situation. You might try actually reading the NWS forecasts before complaining that they didn't give enough warning.

[LA4LIFE32]

I was on this ship as well, worse cruise I have been on.

1. We were never properly informed of what was going on. Tuesday we were suppose to go to Great Stirrup, I guess a couple of tenders tried to make it over but waves were so bad that they had to return. I spoke to one of the ladies on the tenders and she told me, it was so bad everybody was throwing up and when they got back to the ship, it was very difficult to get back on board because the waves were rocking the tenders too much.

2. After the tenders returned, the Captain and Cruise Director made announcements about cancelling the rides over to Great Stirrup. Shortly afterwards the ship started leaving. The Captain then made an announcement about rough seas planned for the night and that he would have to optimize the speed to have less of an impact, but it should improve by early morning. That night the boat was rocking. Similar to when I was on the Quantum a couple of years ago, some people were scared, but it wasn't as bad as the next day. If it was my 1st cruise, I probably would have been very nervous too. I know are kids were. I can only equate it to, going through turbulence for the 1st time on a plane. We are now locked in from access to outside anywhere.

3. After a sleepless night, next day expecting it to get better, but it isn't. Can now begin to see how bad the ocean waters really are. Stilled locked in. Eating in buffet area is a challenge. Our kids are beginning to get dizzy and only want to back to room to lay down, we tell them it will be alright, lets go to a couple of activities and by dinner it should be fine. WRONG!!!!. In my opinion, worse night of the cruise. We were at the Brazilian restaurant and each kid is too sick to finish eating, my fiance's mother is now sick. Kids just want to go back to the room. My fiance and I decide to head to the Casino later in the night when kids have fallen asleep. Walking around the ship we could see water leaking and buckets. At one point, there was a wave that was so high that it slammed against the glass so loud it could be heard throughout the ship, everyone standing there just froze and the fear of "are we going to make it?" Look on their faces. When we got to the casino, we were there for a few minutes, when she said the ship is leaning, I said it will straighten out, but it didn't. At one point, her ashtray flew by both of us and you heard glasses shatter from the bar. That's when we said lets get back to the rooms with the kids. Looking out the window of our cabin, the waves were insane, the kids room on the other side of the ship, the water was right there. Another sleepless night. I literally thought the stabilizers were going to go.

3. Its now Thursday and still rough sailing and we are getting the same announcements. At this point, I am tired of hearing about optimizing speed and entertainment changes. Staff that I spoke to had no answers either. Everybody is frustrated, you are starting to hear bits and pieces from different passengers about how weather is back in their home areas, but those of us with no wifi don't know much else. The few channels we have are talking about Trump and how the storm has impacted the East Coast.

3. Announcement hits friday morning how we are delayed getting into NYC, which we are puzzled since we had left the Bahamas so early (some were hoping we were going to stop somewhere else instead). We finally arrive in NYC and they tell us at 330 that the first group can put on jackets and head to decks 6, 8, and 11 but not 7 because thats the deck we are leaving on. We are in line and there is no organization. Everybody is on the stairs, people are cutting people in line, arguments are breaking out and I can't visibly see any staff members at this point. The line moves slowly and then is halted. Announcement is made that there is ice on the deck so we now have to wait. While we are waiting people are now receiving text messages, including myself, are we ok? People are now reading social media and reading how we had deliberately travelled through the storm and now people are pissed. An hour later line is moving again, but its so disorganized I am surprised nobody got trampled.

As I read different stories about what was going on, it infuriates me thatthey would risk our lives for profits. Especially since airlines had cancellations, the port was delayed, and they had to push the next cruise out to the next day any way. If they had kept us informed and held back until the storm had passed, I would have been ok with that. These cruise lines should have learned from the Anthem. This is just my quick synopsis of what happened. Oh by the way, we got a $23 refund for not going to Great Stirrup........awesome.

 

PS- I have to give kudos to the workers, who remained up beat and professional throughout this whole ordeal, even when passengers were not so nice.

[kathy49]

every passenger on that ship should be refunded in full...no exceptions. First honestly who sails in Jan. from NY and to compare this to a storm in the tropics? I don't think so. Everyone knew this was coming and it was very bad...why did they continue right into it? I simply am amazed at what these cruise lines do to passengers. That was a major failure in judgement and put these people thru hell.

[#55worktoplay]

I have looked for the roll call for the sailing today but it seems to be gone.

 

I was just curious if many missed the ship due to air troubles.

[3rdtimecruising]

I think it is awesome that the passengers on this cruise get more time to make their cruise due to the weather. That does not always happen. Losing one cruise day is far better than losing the entire cruise. Now all I need to do is pray there are no more storms till after our Jan 19th cruise. My brother is flying in from California to go with us. It will be his very first cruise. I'd hate for him to miss it due to a canceled flight or storm.

We are on the Breakaway 1/19/18 and from experience any cruise in the Atlantic coastline in the winter is at risk for bad weather. We sailed out of NYC on the Gem in March

2010 we sailed on time in hurricane winds. The pool in the spa was splashing to the point that the bottom rung on the ladder could be seen. We are adventurous and from Boston and see lots of bad storms, i.e. this week was a doozie, It was rough and people got a bit sea sick, but honestly other than a few plates and wine chilling carafe's falling over in the Italian restaurant we never felt unsafe. We have left Boston on the Dawn in Hurricane season and the captain has headed straight towards England and then turned southerly towards Bermuda once out of the effects of storm. This will be our 23 cruise since our first in 2001 and despite some rough seas in both Atlantic and Pacific there never has been a time when we felt at risk. These are well trained ships captains on the latest high tech ships. As far as comments about capitalism, people are certainly entitled to their opinion... Where else can you pay for

room, food,most entertainment and transportation for such a reasonable price?

We hope your brother arrives safely and has an amazing time on his first cruise.

 

Ann and Bernie or as the kids call us Popeye and Olive Oyl..

[billslowsky]

Someone had posted from onboard earlier today. Described the ship as pretty well cleaned up, damage to some of the balcony dividers. Big dryers had been employed since last night. Thousands of people got on that boat today, after hearing reports and seeing the ship for themselves. And NCL isn't going to send a ship out with severe damage - in what thinking would that make sense?

 

People who got put out of their rooms should be compensated; they had real damages. But some of the claims aren't corroborated by others, nor by photographic evidence. Water streaming into deck 7 or 8 isn't the same as the peril being described. It's not acceptable, but it wasn't life-threatening.

[MM40]

This is what CBS New York Has:

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2018/01/05/cruise-through-storm/

 

Let hope my January 19, 2018 Cruise on the Breakaway is not this bad...

 

I was on this cruise and had to chuckle a little when watching this video. At 00:43 when commentator says ”the ship started leaking” - that is a video of a balcony cabin bathroom floor. The person mopping up floor must have just taken a shower while the boat was listing or rocking a little bit. The same thing happened to me. I didn’t realize there wasn’t a lip around the shower floor (like other ships I had been on) to catch the water. I’m pretty blind without my glasses, lol. The drain was on the port side of the shower but ship was leaning to starboard side so all of the water ran under the shower door. All of that water rolling around is from their shower.

 

I didn’t encounter any of the water running down walls or ceilings but then again, I didn’t walk around ship in middle of night when we were listing to look for it either. Didn’t walk ship until about 11am after I woke up. By that time crew must have already had water cleaned up. Sure some of the carpets were wet but ship wasn’t “wrecked” and I didn’t see any interior damage either.

 

That being said, I’m sure it was pretty traumatic for those passengers whose balcony doors failed. I probably would have slept in atrium too.

[turquoise 6]

Wow wow wow :o What a horrible experience! As a fellow Cruiser my respect and sympathy for what you are you family went through I’ve sailed on many Icean liners and Cruise Ships. And I know how it feels to be caught in a storm . Even a day is enough. My allegiance and sympathy goes to the Paasenges not NCL.

I was on this ship as well, worse cruise I have been on.

1. We were never properly informed of what was going on. Tuesday we were suppose to go to Great Stirrup, I guess a couple of tenders tried to make it over but waves were so bad that they had to return. I spoke to one of the ladies on the tenders and she told me, it was so bad everybody was throwing up and when they got back to the ship, it was very difficult to get back on board because the waves were rocking the tenders too much.

2. After the tenders returned, the Captain and Cruise Director made announcements about cancelling the rides over to Great Stirrup. Shortly afterwards the ship started leaving. The Captain then made an announcement about rough seas planned for the night and that he would have to optimize the speed to have less of an impact, but it should improve by early morning. That night the boat was rocking. Similar to when I was on the Quantum a couple of years ago, some people were scared, but it wasn't as bad as the next day. If it was my 1st cruise, I probably would have been very nervous too. I know are kids were. I can only equate it to, going through turbulence for the 1st time on a plane. We are now locked in from access to outside anywhere.

3. After a sleepless night, next day expecting it to get better, but it isn't. Can now begin to see how bad the ocean waters really are. Stilled locked in. Eating in buffet area is a challenge. Our kids are beginning to get dizzy and only want to back to room to lay down, we tell them it will be alright, lets go to a couple of activities and by dinner it should be fine. WRONG!!!!. In my opinion, worse night of the cruise. We were at the Brazilian restaurant and each kid is too sick to finish eating, my fiance's mother is now sick. Kids just want to go back to the room. My fiance and I decide to head to the Casino later in the night when kids have fallen asleep. Walking around the ship we could see water leaking and buckets. At one point, there was a wave that was so high that it slammed against the glass so loud it could be heard throughout the ship, everyone standing there just froze and the fear of "are we going to make it?" Look on their faces. When we got to the casino, we were there for a few minutes, when she said the ship is leaning, I said it will straighten out, but it didn't. At one point, her ashtray flew by both of us and you heard glasses shatter from the bar. That's when we said lets get back to the rooms with the kids. Looking out the window of our cabin, the waves were insane, the kids room on the other side of the ship, the water was right there. Another sleepless night. I literally thought the stabilizers were going to go.

3. Its now Thursday and still rough sailing and we are getting the same announcements. At this point, I am tired of hearing about optimizing speed and entertainment changes. Staff that I spoke to had no answers either. Everybody is frustrated, you are starting to hear bits and pieces from different passengers about how weather is back in their home areas, but those of us with no wifi don't know much else. The few channels we have are talking about Trump and how the storm has impacted the East Coast.

3. Announcement hits friday morning how we are delayed getting into NYC, which we are puzzled since we had left the Bahamas so early (some were hoping we were going to stop somewhere else instead). We finally arrive in NYC and they tell us at 330 that the first group can put on jackets and head to decks 6, 8, and 11 but not 7 because thats the deck we are leaving on. We are in line and there is no organization. Everybody is on the stairs, people are cutting people in line, arguments are breaking out and I can't visibly see any staff members at this point. The line moves slowly and then is halted. Announcement is made that there is ice on the deck so we now have to wait. While we are waiting people are now receiving text messages, including myself, are we ok? People are now reading social media and reading how we had deliberately travelled through the storm and now people are pissed. An hour later line is moving again, but its so disorganized I am surprised nobody got trampled.

As I read different stories about what was going on, it infuriates me thatthey would risk our lives for profits. Especially since airlines had cancellations, the port was delayed, and they had to push the next cruise out to the next day any way. If they had kept us informed and held back until the storm had passed, I would have been ok with that. These cruise lines should have learned from the Anthem. This is just my quick synopsis of what happened. Oh by the way, we got a $23 refund for not going to Great Stirrup........awesome.

 

PS- I have to give kudos to the workers, who remained up beat and professional throughout this whole ordeal, even when passengers were not so nice.

[logan25]

It does sound like an eventful ride for passengers. As for the suggested refund, don't count on it from NCL, not that I think any is warranted.

[ryba]

every passenger on that ship should be refunded in full...no exceptions. First honestly who sails in Jan. from NY and to compare this to a storm in the tropics? I don't think so. Everyone knew this was coming and it was very bad...why did they continue right into it? I simply am amazed at what these cruise lines do to passengers. That was a major failure in judgement and put these people thru hell.

 

Agreed. Every passenger should receive a full refund. Cruise guests should never have to go through these traumatizing situations. We are not the Navy, we are not the Coast Guard. This is not the experience we sign up for. This "bomb cyclone" was well forecasted. Breakaway made the choice to sail into the storm. It was the wrong choice.

[lcpagejr]

It does sound like an eventful ride for passengers. As for the suggested refund, don't count on it from NCL, not that I think any is warranted.

 

Exactly!! A complete refund is "laughable"....How about the 75% of the cruise which was fine?? As for canceling Great Stirrup Cay?? Atleast they tried. Have you ever cruised to Grand Cayman.... Its not unusual to deal with high seas in this port and many times they need to anchor at an alternative spot due to high seas and swales which many times crash over the sea walls at the pier area.

 

Its unfortunate.... but storms happen. I cruised back from Belize and Panama directly into a Tropical storm with 60mph winds.... Ship was no rockier than I experienced on a normal windy day sailing the eastern carribean. Captains are skilled and trained in navigating their ships.... He has all the state of art weather information and I'm sure everything was considered when navigating course back to NY.The North Atlantic is different than the carribean....Try a Trans atlantic cruise if you want to deal with a rocky ship!!

[TNcruising02]

Since NCL knowingly sailed into a horrible storm and did have advanced warning with other alternatives, I think the cruise passengers should get a voucher for 50% off of their next cruise. NCL isn't at fault for the storm, but they are at fault for choosing to put their passengers' safety at risk, in my opinion.

 

It's easy for people who were not on the cruise to say it was not a big deal, but I can imagine that the people who were on the cruise were under a great deal of distress because they did not know what the outcome would be. I think NCL made a big mistake by doing this. They usually handle themselves very well, so it's surprising.

[billslowsky]

Since NCL knowingly sailed into a horrible storm and did have advanced warning with other alternatives, I think the cruise passengers should get a voucher for 50% off of their next cruise. NCL isn't at fault for the storm, but they are at fault for choosing to put their passengers' safety at risk, in my opinion.

 

It's easy for people who were not on the cruise to say it was not a big deal, but I can imagine that the people who were on the cruise were under a great deal of distress because they did not know what the outcome would be. I think NCL made a big mistake by doing this. They usually handle themselves very well, so it's surprising.

 

They offered $500 per person according to the guy who interviewed himself for the news. 2 x $500 double occupancy is $1000, not much off from 50% of a cruise.