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

[*Mach*]

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??

 

I suspect that this gentleman believed that he was wiser in all things nautical than Captain Marino... Somehow, I find that difficult to believe but apparently 100 or so fellow passengers didn't... Amazing...

[spikester]

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

 

a little off topic here, but the ship shops pay $500 a month, and charge you 15% us income taxes on top of that. There are some commissions involved as well.

(info from www.starboardcruise.com site which is the company that hires the store staff)

[tootsiescurly]

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...

It cannot be daunting if they can switch from Mazatlan to another port without a big problem. Granted it is would be very easy to switch Cabo and Mazatlan or La Paz and Mazatlan, but none the less we are anticipating hearing about the port switch once we are onboard the Spirit.

[Snoozeman]

Interesting thread. I spoke with a friend today who was on the cruise and she never mentioned anything about a brouhaha, only that they missed Jamaica. She said that the helicopter came twice as it was too windy the first time. Certainly sounds like an interesting cruise.

 

Sounds like both sides could have had a little better communication skills.;)

 

Glad it ended well for almost everyone.:)

[sixgun8]

I suspect that this gentleman believed that he was wiser in all things nautical than Captain Marino... Somehow, I find that difficult to believe but apparently 100 or so fellow passengers didn't... Amazing...

 

 

I don't find it hard to believe at all. First, Word of mouth of an angry customer travels quickly and spreads like wildfire. Second, Angry people are easily led. Third, people are generally sheep anyway and will easily fall into crowd mentality. You get one person to lead 5 and then 50 will join in simply so that they are part of the story. Add in that this guy probably used the fact that he would MILK carnival out of more money than a $25 OBC and you throw greed into the mix. You've heard all the people go nuts when the misreporting of carnival giving back the fuel surcharge. Hands go out and people get to expecting the cash to flow, when it doesn't they get hysterical.

[Imalismom]

a little off topic here, but the ship shops pay $500 a month, and charge you 15% us income taxes on top of that. There are some commissions involved as well.

(info from www.starboardcruise.com site which is the company that hires the store staff)

 

Hmm.... My daughter bought an inlay opal ring from the gift shop on the Conquest last Thursday night.... I just looked at the receipt again (to make sure I was correct before I typed this reply).

There was no sales tax charged at all on her purchase, and I remember asking the person who rang her up if their was a commission involved because someone else had helped her earlier (she wanted to make sure she really wanted to spend her money on the ring before she finally purchased it).

I was told that no, they did not work on commission – which allowed for everyone working to help out whoever needed help.

So I wonder why their website said that?

Ali's Mom

[DreadPirateRobert]

I guess what amuses me is that 100 or so people actually thought they could petition the master of a vessel to change his course. Who do these people think they are dealing with? This isn't some small town parks commission that could be swayed by people carrying a petition. I'm not implying that the capt is some kind of a tyrrant or anything but a ship at sea is hardly a democracy.

[Kris7562]

I guess what amuses me is that 100 or so people actually thought they could petition the master of a vessel to change his course. Who do these people think they are dealing with? This isn't some small town parks commission that could be swayed by people carrying a petition. I'm not implying that the capt is some kind of a tyrrant or anything but a ship at sea is hardly a democracy.

 

 

Hahaha - Apparently there was the makings of a mutiny on this ship!!!

[*Mach*]

I guess what amuses me is that 100 or so people actually thought they could petition the master of a vessel to change his course. Who do these people think they are dealing with? This isn't some small town parks commission that could be swayed by people carrying a petition. I'm not implying that the capt is some kind of a tyrrant or anything but a ship at sea is hardly a democracy.

 

 

Tyrant by no means but the title 'Master of the Vessel' says it all...

If these folks (or this guy...) had been crew members they/he probably could have been charged with mutiny...

[DreadPirateRobert]

Tyrant by not means but the title 'Master of the Vessel' says it all...

If these folks (or this guy...) had been crew members they/he probably could have been charged with mutiny...

 

Perhaps marooning might have been more fitting. Arrgghhh!

[sixgun8]

someone said that people were videotaping the crowd and what not. I truly hope it makes it on utube. I wanna see the situation with my own eyes.

[crystalblue0610]

I guess what amuses me is that 100 or so people actually thought they could petition the master of a vessel to change his course. Who do these people think they are dealing with? This isn't some small town parks commission that could be swayed by people carrying a petition. I'm not implying that the capt is some kind of a tyrrant or anything but a ship at sea is hardly a democracy.

 

I guess some people take American democracy to the extreme not realizing that it doesn't apply everywhere:rolleyes:

 

I really do hope this does go up on youtube. I would really like to see this for myself

[RCruise2]

i was on that cruise and signed the petition.

There are a few points I would like to make...

- There are no objections to captain decision to change the course of the ship to address critical health situation of the passenger/crew, IF that was the only option.

- There are different types of people: somebody likes to stay on the ship, but for someone the primary objective is to visit new places, so no doubts that skipping Jamaica is a BIG impact on vacation plans for those people from the secind group

- Analyzing the situation, you can see that Carnival as a company does not have efficient way or did not want to proceed with more efficient ways to address such situations without impacting the people's vacation. There are long reach helicopters they could use to pick up somebody from the ship without changing the course... but i guess they picked cheaper solution.

- All this demonstrates that taking a cruise is really taking a chance: you just cannot rely on efficient handling of situation by Carnival as a company.

- Signing this petition,.. money was a secondary matter for me; there is a matter of principal here.

[ruskatab]

What a nutcase to start a petition because they didnt get to go to Montetgo Bay. Hes lucky he missed the security fondling him as he got back on the ship....or maybe thats what he was mad about!! Montego Bay is the best port to miss on that cruise.

[DreadPirateRobert]

i was on that cruise and signed the petition.

There are a few points I would like to make...

- There are no objections to captain decision to change the course of the ship to address critical health situation of the passenger/crew, IF that was the only option.

- There are different types of people: somebody likes to stay on the ship, but for someone the primary objective is to visit new places, so no doubts that skipping Jamaica is a BIG impact on vacation plans for those people from the secind group

- Analyzing the situation, you can see that Carnival as a company does not have efficient way or did not want to proceed with more efficient ways to address such situations without impacting the people's vacation. There are long reach helicopters they could use to pick up somebody from the ship without changing the course... but i guess they picked cheaper solution.

- All this demonstrates that taking a cruise is really taking a chance: you just cannot rely on efficient handling of situation by Carnival as a company.

- Signing this petition,.. money was a secondary matter for me; there is a matter of principal here.

 

Sorry you missed Jamaica. I know it's got to be disappointing but I'm pretty sure if it were your loved one being air-evac'd off a cruise ship you'd have wanted that ship hauling butt toward the Coast Guard chopper not expecting the chopper to run to the outer edge of it's range to keep a cruise ship on schedule.

I know I would.

[bcs819]

i was on that cruise and signed the petition.

There are a few points I would like to make...

- There are no objections to captain decision to change the course of the ship to address critical health situation of the passenger/crew, IF that was the only option.

- There are different types of people: somebody likes to stay on the ship, but for someone the primary objective is to visit new places, so no doubts that skipping Jamaica is a BIG impact on vacation plans for those people from the secind group

- Analyzing the situation, you can see that Carnival as a company does not have efficient way or did not want to proceed with more efficient ways to address such situations without impacting the people's vacation. There are long reach helicopters they could use to pick up somebody from the ship without changing the course... but i guess they picked cheaper solution.

- All this demonstrates that taking a cruise is really taking a chance: you just cannot rely on efficient handling of situation by Carnival as a company.

- Signing this petition,.. money was a secondary matter for me; there is a matter of principal here.

 

another one-hit wonder. So glad you registered TODAY just to post on this particular thread.

 

I have missed Ports of Call on 2 Carnival cruises, and both situations were handled with announcements and small OBC to refund port charges.

 

I missed a Port of Call on Princess, and we got virtually nothing. There was an apology the next day in the Patters saying we would get our port charges back, but we never did. I went to the Purser's desk with the printed copy asking for the money and was told it was a misprint since we actually did anchor, but weren't allowed to go to the port due to bad weather. I had to fight it out with AMEX when I got home for $60. Normally I wouldn't have cared, but they said we would get it back and then didn't.

 

I am prepared on every cruise to miss every port of call. I am happy knowing that if something happens to me, the Captain will turn the ship around to get me the care I need at the expense of everyone else's day in port. And I would gladly give up my day in port for the same for someone else.

 

As for the announcement, we were on the NCL Jewel a few weeks ago, and 2 weeks before we were on, the CD "disappeared" mid-cruise. People on this board jumped to the conclusion he got fired, when in fact, he was taken off the ship for an emergency appendectomy. Was it really necessary to announce to the entire ship the personal medical problem of a stranger?

[sixgun8]

i was on that cruise and signed the petition.

There are a few points I would like to make...

- There are no objections to captain decision to change the course of the ship to address critical health situation of the passenger/crew, IF that was the only option.

- There are different types of people: somebody likes to stay on the ship, but for someone the primary objective is to visit new places, so no doubts that skipping Jamaica is a BIG impact on vacation plans for those people from the secind group

- Analyzing the situation, you can see that Carnival as a company does not have efficient way or did not want to proceed with more efficient ways to address such situations without impacting the people's vacation. There are long reach helicopters they could use to pick up somebody from the ship without changing the course... but i guess they picked cheaper solution.

- All this demonstrates that taking a cruise is really taking a chance: you just cannot rely on efficient handling of situation by Carnival as a company.

- Signing this petition,.. money was a secondary matter for me; there is a matter of principal here.

 

 

OK, so you signed because you missed a port, or you signed because of exactly why? You say it wasn't monetary. But rather Principal? Also, I would lie to hear the basic wording of this petition and what in fact you thought would come of said petition. Not trying to pick a fight here, but I would truly like to hear what your thoughts and what the feel of the petitioners was. Were you at the "meeting/protest"? Did you see the originator of the petition after Grand Cayman and if not what do you think or know of what happened to him.

[*Mach*]

i was on that cruise and signed the petition.

There are a few points I would like to make...

- There are no objections to captain decision to change the course of the ship to address critical health situation of the passenger/crew, IF that was the only option.

- There are different types of people: somebody likes to stay on the ship, but for someone the primary objective is to visit new places, so no doubts that skipping Jamaica is a BIG impact on vacation plans for those people from the secind group

- Analyzing the situation, you can see that Carnival as a company does not have efficient way or did not want to proceed with more efficient ways to address such situations without impacting the people's vacation. There are long reach helicopters they could use to pick up somebody from the ship without changing the course... but i guess they picked cheaper solution.

- All this demonstrates that taking a cruise is really taking a chance: you just cannot rely on efficient handling of situation by Carnival as a company.

- Signing this petition,.. money was a secondary matter for me; there is a matter of principal here.

 

 

Just an an informational point, the UH-60Q Medevac helicopter (arguably the best medevac chopper in the world) has a max range of 315 nautical miles on internal fuel. The Dolphin, that was apparently dispatched to do the evacuation, has a max range of 300 nautical miles.

Some how I doubt that your statement that the decision was financially based is realistic... Just my opinion, of course...

[Kris7562]

If, as stated above, the woman who needed to be evacuated had experienced a tubal pregnancy, I'm not sure that people realize how serious that can be. This isn't "just" a medical problem - it's a life or death situation. Women can and DO die from tubal pregnancies.

If it was me in that situation, or a loved one, (or anyone on board really....), I would thank God every second of our extra day at sea that the Captain cared enough about me to turn around his ship.

[*Mach*]

If, as stated above, the woman who needed to be evacuated had experienced a tubal pregnancy, I'm not sure that people realize how serious that can be. This isn't "just" a medical problem - it's a life or death situation. Women can and DO die from tubal pregnancies.

If it was me in that situation, or a loved one, (or anyone on board really....), I would thank God every second of our extra day at sea that the Captain cared enough about me to turn around his ship.

 

 

Amen, Kris... and thank God that Capt. Marino values life more than vacations...

[Cruisin thru life]

I don't find it hard to believe at all. First, Word of mouth of an angry customer travels quickly and spreads like wildfire. Second, Angry people are easily led. Third, people are generally sheep anyway and will easily fall into crowd mentality. You get one person to lead 5 and then 50 will join in simply so that they are part of the story. Add in that this guy probably used the fact that he would MILK carnival out of more money than a $25 OBC and you throw greed into the mix. You've heard all the people go nuts when the misreporting of carnival giving back the fuel surcharge. Hands go out and people get to expecting the cash to flow, when it doesn't they get hysterical.

 

Unfortunately, but most likely, a little(or maybe a lot) of alcohal adds even more flames to the fire.

[TCF]

If somebody offered me $25 NOT to go to anywhere in Jamaica I would consider that I got the best end of that deal!!!:D

[PINEVIEW01]

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'm sure if they just sugar-coated and said "sick crew member" I'm sure people would be a little pissed off, thinking big deal, sick take us to out port.

Your kidding right! How would you like, not to mention ethics, if the Captain told 3000 people about YOUR compicated pregnancy???????????

 

If a person needed to be medivacted, everyone KNOWS it is major. They don't call our the cost guard for anything minor.

[PINEVIEW01]

i was on that cruise and signed the petition.

There are a few points I would like to make...

- There are no objections to captain decision to change the course of the ship to address critical health situation of the passenger/crew, IF that was the only option.

- There are different types of people: somebody likes to stay on the ship, but for someone the primary objective is to visit new places, so no doubts that skipping Jamaica is a BIG impact on vacation plans for those people from the secind group

- Analyzing the situation, you can see that Carnival as a company does not have efficient way or did not want to proceed with more efficient ways to address such situations without impacting the people's vacation. There are long reach helicopters they could use to pick up somebody from the ship without changing the course... but i guess they picked cheaper solution.

- All this demonstrates that taking a cruise is really taking a chance: you just cannot rely on efficient handling of situation by Carnival as a company.

- Signing this petition,.. money was a secondary matter for me; there is a matter of principal here.

 

I have seen this situation handled excatly the same way on Carnival, Princess and Celebrity. I hope if it is ever me it will be handled the same. These choises aren't made litely and they have a system in place when the need arrises.

[KRUISE KING]

What a nutcase to start a petition because they didnt get to go to Montetgo Bay. Hes lucky he missed the security fondling him as he got back on the ship....or maybe thats what he was mad about!! Montego Bay is the best port to miss on that cruise.

 

I agree with you Russ hell they coulda missed Jamaica and kept the $25 bucks too Jamaica sucks! The Captain did the right thing. I would hope if that were me having a medical condition the Captain would do everything in his power to help me. Things happen those people who complained should be glad it wasn't them on that helicopter.