Conquest Captain Boots Man off Ship for Starting A Protest !!!03/16/08 Cruise

[karenh1127]

When the announcement came over the speaker, I do not remember the exact words but did not think our stop in Jamaica might be delayed but rather immediately assumed we would not make that port. My dh and I were not too disappointed since our first cruise made no ports. It was my understanding from some who had gps trackers that we went almost all the way back to Mobile. There would have been no way to make Jamaica after that. And yes there was the one announcement and a letter under our doors the next morning. Not sure anything else could have been done to communicate better. The Matri d explained to us one night in the dining room (trying to convince my son everything was ok) that at hq in Miami there is a room with all the carnival ships lit up on the wall at their current postions and a person watching them 24/7. It is possible that the captain does not always get to make the decisions on where and what ports they have time to make. Trust me, it was a fabulous cruise and I would sail the Conquest again next week if I could!!!:)

[SheriNtexas]

Sadly, some situations simply can not be avoided.

 

 

 

Well said, Mach!! Personally, I'm just happy BEING on a cruise, and if we have to miss a port, so be it! Thanks for a well said explanation of just what the captain may have been facing, and how he doesn't just, on a whim, cancel or show up, at a port!

[SheriNtexas]

Even better than kicking him off, if the captain put the guy in a dingy,tied it up to the back of the ship,let him go out about a hundred yards back and have everyone wave at him. ;)

 

 

Now THAT would have truly been an unforgettable "cruise"!;)

[Cindy]

I'm feeling pretty lucky to have missed being involved in this - I just got back from sailing on RCL's Voyager of the Seas, and we had almost picked the Conquest instead. We were surprised when we didn't see the Conquest in port with us at Montego Bay Wednesday morning. When we asked our cab driver about it, he said that the ship had been quarantined due to a massive illness outbreak aboard (goes to show you how fast and far rumors can fly!)

 

I was also on the Voyager last week, and we heard the same rumor indirectly...a friend heard it from a cab driver. I'm glad for the sake of all the folks on the Conquest last week that 1,200 people ill wasn't the reason they didn't make Jamaica!

[CC Help Michell]

I don't understand what more "communications" onboard ship anyone wanted or could reasonably expect. Passengers were informed of the need for an airlift due to a medical emergency that "might" affect the Jamaica stop, and the next morning they were informed in writing that it had affected the Jamaica stop, which was cancelled (at least that's what the posts here seem to be saying).

 

What more do you need to know? The ill person's name? Diagnosis? Medical state? Doctor? Precise medical history? I don't think that's any other passenger's business, and if I or a family happened to be the ill person I would have been completely irate if the cruiseline had so violated privacy as to reveal any of that information. That course of action would almost certainly open up liability for the cruiseline, as well.

 

As for the blowhard and his petition, he's lucky the captain didn't put him in the brig for attempted incitement to riot/mutiny/endangering the welfare of the passengers, from the accounts here. The captain of a ship at sea is the master of the vessel and owes nobody ANY explanation for his/her decisions. If you think something they did violates your contract with the cruiseline, call your lawyer when you get home and sue them. I don't blame the captain for booting the passenger -- what kind of message would it send if he'd made nicey-nice and tried to negotiate with the belligerent idiots (with their $199 GPS's in hand) arguing with him about the ship's positioning and course? <boggle>

[IndyGirl]

http://johnhealdsblog.com/2008/03/15/kfckentucky-fried-chaos/

 

:rolleyes:

 

This was so interesting. The kid must have thought he was the son of GOD, rather than his GOD son.

[maxamuus]

call your lawyer when you get home and sue them.

 

rest assure the blowhard probably was on the phone with his lawyer as soon as he could make it to the nearest pay phone in Grand Cayman

[bcs819]

We just finished an NCL cruise, and I heard about this guy from fellow Dolphin Discovery customers in Cozumel - it definitely happened.

 

it "definitely" happened because you heard it in Cozumel???????

 

haven't any of you ever heard the Jerry Penacoli story???? Millions of people know someone "who was in the ER" when he went in and there "absolutely WAS a gerbil...."

[ShedQueen77]

I don't agree with telling everyone the crew members condition. That is a privacy issue covered under the HIPA law. But I do agree that someone who starts trouble as this man did does deserve to be booted off a ship. The Captain must think of the safety of all of the other passengers.... Cain Mutany, although a movie, no one wants to deal with an unruly passenger who could get violent. I think the Captain did exactly what was necessary. He is the law on that ship and responsible for the well-being of EVERYONE on that ship, including the trouble maker. Bravo Captain. I'm looking forward to my Conquest cruise.

 

Actually HIPPA laws don't apply on the ship.

 

1. They are not a US flagged vessel.

2. Even if US HIPPA laws would apply on the ship, by law HIPPA is not required to be enforced in physician offices with 2 practicing physicians or less. Most small practices will practice HIPPA as a courtesy gesture and a reassurance to their patients, but are not required to do so by law.

 

(I'm in the HIM field. HIPPA is near and dear to my heart! lol)

 

HIPPA or not, I agree that no one needed to know the staff member's condition. The fact that they had to alter the ship's course and airlift ANYONE for medical care should have been indicator enough that it was a serious problem and left it at that.

 

I don't know why people think they are entitled to be privy to such personal information just because their vacation was "ruined". Gee..."ruined" vacation or the health and welfare of a person? Where is the compassion and empathy in the human race anymore? I'm not normally one to look down my nose at people, but easily will do so at anyone who could lack basic decency and say that a port stop in Jamaica is more important than the life of another fellow human being. That is just disgusting. :mad:

[crystalblue0610]

Actually HIPPA laws don't apply on the ship.

 

1. They are not a US flagged vessel.

2. Even if US HIPPA laws would apply on the ship, by law HIPPA is not required to be enforced in physician offices with 2 practicing physicians or less. Most small practices will practice HIPPA as a courtesy gesture and a reassurance to their patients, but are not required to do so by law.

 

(I'm in the HIM field. HIPPA is near and dear to my heart! lol)

 

HIPPA or not, I agree that no one needed to know the staff member's condition. The fact that they had to alter the ship's course and airlift ANYONE for medical care should have been indicator enough that it was a serious problem and left it at that.

 

I don't know why people think they are entitled to be privy to such personal information just because their vacation was "ruined". Gee..."ruined" vacation or the health and welfare of a person? Where is the compassion and empathy in the human race anymore? I'm not normally one to look down my nose at people, but easily will do so at anyone who could lack basic decency and say that a port stop in Jamaica is more important than the life of another fellow human being. That is just disgusting. :mad:

 

I didn't know that. I thought Carnival was a US flagged ship. At least that's what I heard actually on the ship when someone asked why people 18 to 20 can't drink alcohol in international waters but can gamble. And I heard some that some crew member said it's because the ship is US property and in the US the drinking age is 21:confused: now I'm confused

[backrow]

So a couple of points from someone who has worked in both the maritime and medical fields:

 

I'm not completely sure to what extent HIPAA applies to a foreign flagged vessel; however, I am sure that labor contract laws would have forbidden the ship from divulging information about the person in need of medical care. It also wouldn't be a bit of business to anybody except the people in the "need to know" group, and this does not include passengers.

 

Second, the Captain although fully responsible for the ship, its crew and passengers does NOT make the final call when it comes to where the ship is going and when. I can guarantee you that he was in constant contact with his ship's manager at headquarters and was getting his orders from someone high above his rank. Changing time of arrival and ports is not as easy as one may think. There is a lot that goes on with changing arrivals/departures. Anyone care to think of maybe the ship was about to refuel at its next stop beyond Jamaica and if they had completed the journey to Jamaica they wouldn't have had enough fuel to make it to the next port. Not every port has bunkers available.

 

Overall I say the guy who got kicked off deserved it. I'm sure if he had simply gone about it in a different way things would have ended much happier for everyone.

[AnniversaryFun]

I agree with you. Did they even tell everyone what the emergency was or was it a "by word of mouth." I think if they would have said "attention passangers.....one of the Conquest crew members is experiencing complications with her pregnancy....we apologize for any inconvience but this matter takes president" people would have been less inn attack dog mode. Any idiot wouldn't protest over missing a port if knowing it was THAT serious.

 

I think they should have made an early announcement. It is against HIPA (health informaton privacy act) to reveal anyone's medical information - the passengers would have had to do with "medical emergency".

[AnniversaryFun]

after reading more of the previous posts, realized I used the wrong acronym. I am in the medical field, but am Canadian so am not boned up on the U.S terminology!!:D

[big_duck]

I didn't know that. I thought Carnival was a US flagged ship. At least that's what I heard actually on the ship when someone asked why people 18 to 20 can't drink alcohol in international waters but can gamble. And I heard some that some crew member said it's because the ship is US property and in the US the drinking age is 21:confused: now I'm confused

 

People 18 to 20 can't drink on a Carnival ship because Carnival says so period.

 

It has nothing to do with drinking laws and everything with Carnival knowing and understanding their customers.

[crystalblue0610]

People 18 to 20 can't drink on a Carnival ship because Carnival says so period.

 

It has nothing to do with drinking laws and everything with Carnival knowing and understanding their customers.

 

Wow, I really thought it was a US ship and that was the law.

[KroozMeister]

I don't understand what more "communications" onboard ship anyone wanted or could reasonably expect. Passengers were informed of the need for an airlift due to a medical emergency that "might" affect the Jamaica stop, and the next morning they were informed in writing that it had affected the Jamaica stop, which was cancelled (at least that's what the posts here seem to be saying).

 

What more do you need to know? The ill person's name? Diagnosis? Medical state? Doctor? Precise medical history? I don't think that's any other passenger's business, and if I or a family happened to be the ill person I would have been completely irate if the cruiseline had so violated privacy as to reveal any of that information. That course of action would almost certainly open up liability for the cruiseline, as well.

 

I agree with you - I'm really not in any position to evaluate how good or bad the communication was, so I guess I shouldn't. Anyway, I wouldn't expect any detailed information about a sick / injured passenger or crew member's condition, obviously.

 

I was rather struck by the notion that there were passengers with GPS's commenting on where the ship was going :confused:. That's what I was referring to in my post above. If there are really going to be passengers monitoring the ship's course with their "$199 GPS's", then it may be necessary to explain things like why a ship has to backtrack hundreds of miles in order to meet a coast guard airlift, and why it isn't practical to attempt a 3 or 4-hour stay at a port of call or visit the next port earlier. (after all, not everyone reads the cruise critic boards)

 

Maybe that would've made a difference in this case, maybe not - some people are just determined to have a bad time, and drag as many people down with them as they can!

 

I certainly don't think Carnival or the Captain did anything wrong at all, and the agitators that caused all the trouble probably deserved worse than what they got. I just think the cruise lines should probably expect more of this kind of thing to happen, with passengers gaining access to just enough information to draw the wrong conclusions.

[backrow]

Wow, I really thought it was a US ship and that was the law.

 

There are only a very few US flagged cruise ships. There are anywhere from 1-3 in Hawaii run by Norweigan (I think they are reflagging one or two, that's why I'm not sure on the number) and there are a few small cruise ships around the country as well. Other than that they are all foreign flagged. For the most part you can tell by your crew: if the majority of your officers and crew are American it is American flagged, if it is a very multinational crew it's probably foreign flagged. You can also look at the flag they fly as well.

[maxamuus]

Wow, I really thought it was a US ship and that was the law.

 

If your curious why almost no ships are US flagged ships read this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_convenience

[ShedQueen77]

after reading more of the previous posts, realized I used the wrong acronym. I am in the medical field, but am Canadian so am not boned up on the U.S terminology!!:D

 

That's OK. We'll forgive ya this time! lol :D

[chadinennistx]

why did we ever get rid of the gang planks? those pirates in the old days would've made him walked it. ARRRHHHHHHHHHH:D !

[crystalblue0610]

There are only a very few US flagged cruise ships. There are anywhere from 1-3 in Hawaii run by Norweigan (I think they are reflagging one or two, that's why I'm not sure on the number) and there are a few small cruise ships around the country as well. Other than that they are all foreign flagged. For the most part you can tell by your crew: if the majority of your officers and crew are American it is American flagged, if it is a very multinational crew it's probably foreign flagged. You can also look at the flag they fly as well.

 

I noticed the crew. For me it was a game of "who DOESN'T have an accent" and I just figured it would be hard to get Americans to actually work on the ship for the pay. For what they pay on ships that money is pretty good for someone in a foreign country

[sixgun8]

http://johnhealdsblog.com/2008/03/15/kfckentucky-fried-chaos/

 

:rolleyes:

 

 

OK, I like John More and more every time I read his blog. I have been in the customer service field for all my life and I always hear the customer is always right and I have always known that to be a BIG BLOB OF BULL.

 

It takes a man with some smooth charisma and some intestinal fortitude to actually tell these people that and get away with it. I love John's attitude and I hope someday I get to shake his hand and tell him so.

 

 

Now on to the conquest situation.

 

I remember our cruise it seemed as though we covered the first half of trip to Jamaica pretty fast, and then we slowed down, No I imagine that was a plan in case anything would go wrong we'd have a majority of the distance covered? I kept a pretty good eye on the navigators report so I noticed the speeds. I don't know how fast these ships can go and how far off course they were? But it must have been fairly severe to miss the port.

[yaletown605]

I don't think people realize that the cruise ship is first adn foremost, a ship. And the captain is the ultimate boss of the ship. Even though the prupose of the ship is for pleasure, the captain has to make decisions and he doesn't need to justify it to passenger or anyone else for that matter.

 

A captain will not turn a ship around for any old reason. Even though he did not specify it, we know it is serious. The infirmary can handle most cases, and many medical condition can wait several hours until the next port. So to turn the ship around is a huge deal and one that will not be taken lightly.

 

So this man is upset that he missed a port. Boo hoo, and he is upset. I suppose the life and health of another human being just isn't as important as Montegro Bay.

 

The captain has to make a lot of decision in the course of the voyage. We may not understand but trust that each one is rightfully justified.

[*Mach*]

If the decision to change ports is so daunting, why are we being told by tour operators in Mazatlan they cannot handle 4 ships in port on one day? Ships do not tender in Mazatlan and the last time this happened one of the 4 ships switched ports. Also, of the 4 ships in port on the day we are supposed to be there, our ship is the one not on the harbormasters list.

 

 

Please excuse me as I'm having a hard time discovering what your question or disagreement with my statement was; not your fault, mine, I'm sure...

I'd be happy to answer if you would please further expand on your question...

[Kris7562]

Isn't there some element of trust that we all have when we set foot on a cruise ship? We trust the Captain and the crew to keep us safe while on the ship, to get us to where we are supposed to go, and to keep us out of harm's way in the event of a storm or unforseen circumstances.

That being said, can people not just TRUST that the Captain, with the information that he had, that we really have no business knowing, made the appropriate decision?

None of us are ship captains. That we know of anyway - maybe somebody is and they can enlighten us. But, since we would trust the Captain in the event of a hurricane or other emergency, can't we just trust that the Captain did the best he could with a horrible set of circumstances?

 

And, as has been stated MANY times above, everyone was still on a cruise! If you are that stressed out and upset on a cruise, what on earth are you like at home??