rodiond

5 hours ago, shipgeeks said:

rodiond, I'm sorry you were disappointed with some aspects of your cruise, but I'm more concerned that it appears to have affected your enjoyment of the cruise so greatly.  Were there not other ports and experiences that you enjoyed?  We thought Mendenhall Glacier was fabulous, as was just sailing from port to port.  Were there not pleasant and sober people around you, as well as the drunks?  Were the crew gracious and helpful?  Have you ever been to a concert in which a song you wanted was not played?  Or a restaurant that ran out of the dessert you had planned to get?  Planned an outing and then got rain?

The ship and the crew was great, the entertainment were and food also very good - no complains here. Unfortunately we got unlucky with the weather - it was rainy, cold, and foggy all the way (end of June). I was expecting to see mountains, icebergs, and snow for the duration of the cruise but I guess my expectations were too high 🙂 

2 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

So you missed Dawes Glacier and sped to Juneau.  How much time did that give you in Juneau?  There is a glacier outside of Juneau :  Mendenhall Glacier.  By taking the bus there and hiking, you can get closer than the ship would have to Dawes.  Or did you do whale watching instead…. You have to weigh your priorities.  EM

We did go to Mendenhall but it's a different experience. Also, based on pictures I assumed that it's not as big as Dawes.

8 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Everyone is drunk?  What other misconceptions do you have?

Is it not the right observation? at least that's what I saw around me late in the evening 🙂 Not everyone, of course, but a fair number of people.

5 minutes ago, MBP&O2/O said:

My experience of working with helicopters from a ship is limited but I have done it and it is fraught with danger.

 

You need plenty of sea room / no other traffic nearby / no land / suitable weather etc. etc.

 

You have to steer have to maintain a course some 15/20 degrees off the wind so as the pilot can see the deck as he approached the ship whilst he has to maintain a course into the wind, excellent communication is needed.

 

It takes time and a modicum of skill to do it successfully.

 

 

What about sending an emergency boat instead of a helicopter - is it an easier option?

Thanks a lot for all the responses.

Just to clarify, I don't "complain" about diverting the ship for medical emergency - it's totally understandable. It's more about the companies handling of the situation.

Also, since it's my first cruise, I was a little surprised that a medical emergency creates a force majeure type of situation. I would assume that medical emergencies happen quite often on cruises (especially given how drunk everyone is) and they should be planned for.

Thank you for the information. I understand that this was probably not their call. But missing the glacier in a cruise called "Glacier Cruise" is kind of a disappointment to put it mildly 🙂.
I am also surprised they didn't decide to change the itinerary for the rest of the cruise to make sure the glacier is covered. Anyway, if that's normal, I'd probably stay away from cruising since a trip can get affected so unpredictably.

We've been sailing on a 7-day Alaska Glacier Cruise with Royal Caribbean and there was a medical emergency when the ship was sailing from Skagway to the main attraction of the cruise - Dawes Glacier (somebody on the ship fell really badly). For some reason the crew decided to rush the whole ship to the nearest port (Juneau) instead of sending a helicopter or an emergency boat. As a result, they announced that we had to skip the glacier.

Royal Caribbean refused to compensate us for this change of plans because it was a medical emergency. So my question is - is this normal?
I would expect the likelihood of this kind of an emergency to be pretty high for a 5000 person cruise so they must plan for it. Is there a way to get some kind of compensation?

Thank you!