OzzieCruiser36

Like many others I was travelling with my wife on the HAL Eurodam last week. This Caribbean vacation is something that my wife and I were looking forward to for a long time. It was my wife’s first cruise, her 30th birthday and our wedding anniversary.

Yes, at 30 and 36 we were among the younger passengers aboard and were even participants in the “pub crawl” event that other comments have been using as a reason for Jason’s disappearance.

I would like to point out several key elements that have been overlooked or unknown by other passengers commenting on the events of the night

1) Anaise (the African-American staff member mentioned above) at all times throughout the event and the cruise acted with the utmost professionalism and in our opinion there is no way she was in any way at fault for the tragic events that transpired. She wasn't slurring, falling over, out of control or anything else - she was a party host and acted accordingly.

Please keep in mind that all participants were over 21 years old, were deemed to be responsible by all legal definitions for their own behavior and Anaise was not a baby-sitter, she was a party and event planner.

2) The alcohol supplied during the “pub crawl” event consisted of 4 standard drinks. It was not an unlimited ‘frat-party’ though the enthusiasm and volume of the participants may have been in keeping with such.

Not only was the alcohol limited to four standard drinks, the event itself was only for about two to two and a half hours. The sum of supplied drinks was less than one drink every thirty minutes.

3) The event was run from about 9:30 to 12:00 and it was several hours after the events conclusion when Jason went missing. Surely Anaise and the event are not responsible for any choices made following the conclusion of the event?

4) Jason left “Northern Lights,” the ship’s nightclub shortly after 1am, at which time my wife was dancing with Jason’s wife Christine, which continued until after 2:00am.

As Jason left the club he spoke to other passengers around our own age range and the consensus was that while it was clear he had been drinking, he wasn’t without control of his faculties, nor falling over or staggering.

Like others, who commented on the various news stories, we were disappointed with missing Half Moon Cay, however in light of the tragedy we completely understand the decision and our disappointment in missing this port of call vanished in light of the sadness and concern we felt (and still feel) for Jason and his wife Christine.

I believe that the staff aboard the Eurodam handled this tragedy as best as they could and I was proud to watch them in action on both the Thursday and Friday following Jason’s disappearance. Many of our fellow passengers however disappointed me. From non-stop complaining about missing Half Moon Cay, to insisting that all onboard costs for the Friday be waived and borne by HAL to the spreading of rumours and gossip about Jason’s disappearance, I was sickened and the heartlessness I witnessed on those days.

Jason’s disappearance is a tragedy and our thoughts and prayers are with Christine. I cannot imagine the feeling of losing my wife under such tragic circumstances.

I do believe that the absence of security cameras in the public areas of the ship is a concern that should be addressed but at all times the staff handled themselves with decorum and professionalism.