Lengthy 3/6 Spirit Review (Not Positive)

[halos]

I do not consider waiting in line for three hours to get off a ship an adventure. YMMV.

 

 

 

Yes, my mileage does vary.

ADVENTURE:

I once was in Costa Rica and did a zip line. I was on a Celebrity ship full of 80+ year old passengers so the only two people who opted for the zip line as part of our tour with Charlie Sotos, were me and my dh.

We zippped down the first two lines with two tour guides with no isues. On the thirld line the one tour guide went first...after he disappeared into the trees, we heard screaming, yelling and what seemed to be 'not -so-nice words yelled in Spanish.

The second tour guide left us on the platform to find out what happened. Both guides then made their way back up the line to tell us a tree had fallen on the third zip line and we couldn't go down it.

There was NO WAY down from the platform we were on. We had to get back on the line and climb up, hand over hand, the two lines we had just zipped down.

My DH and I are middle aged, out of shape Americans. This was no easy feat. The story about the climb back up these two very long lines is very long in itself and I won't go into the nightmare-ish details.

We called that an adventure, (most people would have called the lawyer they keep on speed-dial) and to be honest, looking back it was insanely scary. A horrid disembark would be little more than a nuisance to us, even if we missed our flight.

 

I was not comparing the costs of cruising to camping. I was commenting on your claim that it is the best value for the money. But that depends on what you value.

 

And I brought up college breaks in conjunction with your post, as you had said that it has become a college kids most popular vacation. That is not my experience as a mother of a college age child.

 

 

 

I have been to many places in the US and Europe during high and shoulder seasons staying in beautiful hotels and dining in wonderful restaurants which do not include fast food. In my experience, wonderful deals based on frequent traveler programs, city cards, dining and other discounts are far easier to find for land based vacations, which help me keep the costs down for our family. When renting our most recent multi-million dollar house last summer on Orcas Island we paid $5000 for nine of us for a week. We all had gorgeous views out of our bedroom windows and a 6,000 sq. foot waterfront home and guest cottage with 8 exquisite acres of grounds during high season. It was stunning. Now that to me was a good value!

 

I'll keep my comments to myself from now on and won't bother anyone with what I thought were supportive words to the OP.

 

 

 

Absolutely.

 

What you describe is not what I value....

 

I live in a beautiful home...not 6,000 sf by any means, but very large and although it isn't water front, I am 6 miles from the ocean and beautiful beaches.

 

renting a home of any size does not float my boat....unless it comes complete with daily maid service and a chef...and bartenders and entertainment and live music.....

 

Get my point??

You got a house.

When I cruise, I get all that other stuff. To me, that IS a great value.

[Crusin6]

My wife and I are sailing on the Spirit on April 10.This will be

our first cruise and we didn't even think about Spring Break.

We are both usually very tolerent of others...BUT...we have both

been really looking forward to our cruise.Do you think there will

still be alot of Spring Breakers sailing April 10th??I know many

young adults ARE very responsible...BUT.. I will not be a happy

cruiser if our vacation is ruined by a bunch of drunk,rude and

obnoxious CHILDREN !!!!

College spring break is over by then and it is still one week until high school and grammar school spring break.

[newmexicoNita]

There will be complaints forthcoming from passengers just getting off the 3/13 Spirit sailing, including from myself. We received calls from NCL on both 3/12 and 3/13 notifying us that our ship was late and that we should plan to arrive at the port at 5pm for embarkation. We arrived at the parking garage around noon and decided to get our bags checked and try to park - there were about 80 spots in the garage at that point in time so we thought we would just mess around in the Riverwalk area for the afternoon. When we exited the parking garage elevators, we were met by NCL personnel and informed that not only was the ship late due to the med evac, they had an engine problem and might not make it to Roatan. We were offered the chance to cancel our cruise for a full refund, or if we stayed on and they did not make it to Roatan, we would receive $150/cabin credit. In addition, we were given a box lunch. Not all of the passengers received this information, or the box lunch for that matter - the last food we would see from NCL until about 11pm.

 

We sat in the Riverwalk food court and watched the Spirit arrive I believe shortly before 5pm so we knew trying to get on at 5pm was not going to be happening so took our time walking down to the port. At 6pm the Riverwalk closed and shortly thereafter they shut the gates and forced everyone into the terminal area. We decided to go ahead and get in line and were not too far from the doors where entry would occur. It started getting unbearable around 7-8pm when late comers started showing up and ignored the fact that there was a VERY long line. I have never seen so many adults cut in line and honestly think that it was the right thing to do. It was a very sad testament to the character of some people - and they all know who they are. I approached a baggage worker and an NCL worker about the situation and they both basically threw their hands up - no planning and quite honestly they didn't care since they had all been working since early in the morning themselves.

 

I think they opened the door around 8pm and let people in about 20 at a time. It was pretty miserable - no food, no drink, no apologies, and actually, the NCL folks were just as crabby as the passengers. We finally boarded the boat around 10:30-11pm, our friends who were not Latitudes members who were in line with us did not get on until 11:30pm. So we basically lost our whole Sunday on the boat which was a disappointment. We didn't arrive at Costa Maya until very late in the afternoon on Tuesday - I believe that most of the excursions were cancelled.

 

None of my party of 12 ever heard a formal announcement that the engine was fixed or what the status of going to Roatan was. I inquired at the Service Desk on Tuesday and was told they were still trying to go to Roatan whether or not the engine was fixed. We did go to Roatan - but no idea if the engine issue was resolved.

 

The communications from NCL were at best poor. I applaud them for trying to get a hold of the 3/13 passengers on Saturday to let them know that the departure was going to be late but they were off by many, many hours. The Port folks need to plan better and have a line roped off for entry into the building - this would have solved the cutting in line issue and saved a lot of aggravation for some of us. Hindsight is always 20/20....lots of things they should be considering for similar situations in the future.

 

I think it is a given, NCLs biggest problem is communication and I do not know why. Other than that, the real issure on your late embarkation seemed to be the diversion because of a passenger who was ill and did pass away, it wan not the engine problem. as for the post people, I have sailed out of almost every port in our country and NEw Orleans is the worst.

 

Nita

[OneLuckyMom]

Other than that, the real issure on your late embarkation seemed to be the diversion because of a passenger who was ill and did pass away, it wan not the engine problem.

 

Nita

 

And you are basing this on what - because that's what NCL is "officially" saying? It seems there is more and more evidence coming into play that an engine problem DID add to the extremely late arrival and embarkation of the ship. We now even have someone saying the information came from NCL staff themselves. Why in the world would you be so willing to completely discount that?

[msunrullieone]

The communications from NCL were at best poor. I applaud them for trying to get a hold of the 3/13 passengers on Saturday to let them know that the departure was going to be late but they were off by many, many hours. The Port folks need to plan better and have a line roped off for entry into the building - this would have solved the cutting in line issue and saved a lot of aggravation for some of us. Hindsight is always 20/20....lots of things they should be considering for similar situations in the future.

 

Chris9800, you summed up our experience on embarkation day exactly! We also arrived about 5pm as we were instructed, and waited hours to get into the parking garage. There was no traffic control for a good chunk of that time, so people were basically clueless about what lane to be in. Then after we parked in the garage, we had to wait outside for two more hours to be allowed into the building. When we were walking down the sidewalk, we were told by a NCL staffmember that there was an ENGINE problem and we might miss Roatan.

 

The next part is where I think NCL needs to do much better: Communication! We had to wait outside the building for at least 2 more hours to even be let in to check in. We were crammed together and the crowd kept getting bigger and more antsy/aggressive. There also were cars picking up passengers from the previous cruise pulling up literally feet behind the mob of people. I was just praying that someone did not mistake their accelerator for their brake, as a number of people would have been hurt.

 

Our only source of information at this point was from some random guy standing by the window upstairs who would flash his hands to show us "30". Not sure if he meant 30 minutes, 30 more people, or "it sucks to be you." :) Then, they start to let in a few people at a time to the upstairs. It really felt like a quasi-stampede as they had 2 NCL people checking passports at the door. At one point, I was squeezed so tight that my feet were lifted up from the ground. Scary, scary, scary as I could not breathe. They should have had some crowd control measures in place and they should have given people information. I'm surprised no one was seriously hurt in that mess.

 

Then, we get upstairs to mass chaos with several different lines snaking along. We'd never cruised NCL before so I asked a man what line we should get in as they weren't clearly marked. My son was getting really hungry as it was really late, and he hadn't eaten anything substantial since lunch. So I asked a worker if he knew about how long it was taking for the lines to move, so I could get a rough estimate. He said, "we've got 70 people working to move 2000 passengers, you do the math!" I get that he was tired, but so were we and there is no excuse for that from a "customer service" rep. So I went to buy my son some snacks and we settled in for yet another long wait in line. BTW, it took about 2 hours for that line--still trying to make the math work on that one. lol I'll write a review later as we enjoyed the rest of our cruise. I think NCL has some serious communication and contingency plans to resolve as I truly felt my the situation should have been handled in a much clearer, well-managed manner.

[Rozee]

Yes, my mileage does vary.

ADVENTURE:

I once was in Costa Rica and did a zip line. I was on a Celebrity ship full of 80+ year old passengers so the only two people who opted for the zip line as part of our tour with Charlie Sotos, were me and my dh.

We zippped down the first two lines with two tour guides with no isues. On the thirld line the one tour guide went first...after he disappeared into the trees, we heard screaming, yelling and what seemed to be 'not -so-nice words yelled in Spanish.

The second tour guide left us on the platform to find out what happened. Both guides then made their way back up the line to tell us a tree had fallen on the third zip line and we couldn't go down it.

There was NO WAY down from the platform we were on. We had to get back on the line and climb up, hand over hand, the two lines we had just zipped down.

My DH and I are middle aged, out of shape Americans. This was no easy feat. The story about the climb back up these two very long lines is very long in itself and I won't go into the nightmare-ish details.

We called that an adventure, (most people would have called the lawyer they keep on speed-dial) and to be honest, looking back it was insanely scary. A horrid disembark would be little more than a nuisance to us, even if we missed our flight.

We have also done the zip lines in Costa Rica. In what way do you possibly compare your adventure to waiting in line for 3 hours? That's just absurd.

[halos]

The difference between an ordeal and an adventure... Is attitude.

absolutely! :)

 

I do not consider waiting in line for three hours to get off a ship an adventure. YMMV.

 

 

 

 

We have also done the zip lines in Costa Rica. In what way do you possibly compare your adventure to waiting in line for 3 hours? That's just absurd.

 

My point is that I had a harrowing experience and called it an adventure.

You can take most any circumstance (if you so choose) and spin it so it isn't that bad....OR you can take an inconvenience that you experienced and make an issue out of a 3 hour wait to disembark (because someone on board DIED) .....that's my point. Your mileage and mine do vary.

[Rozee]

My point is that I had a harrowing experience and called it an adventure.

You can take most any circumstance (if you so choose) and spin it so it isn't that bad....OR you can take an inconvenience that you experienced and make an issue out of a 3 hour wait to disembark (because someone on board DIED) .....that's my point. Your mileage and mine do vary.

The three hour wait to get off is really not the issue. The Spirits inability to take care of passengers and at their inability to provide accurate information is the issue.

 

That’s the one thing that I and others have stressed in this thread. Others have stressed Spring Break and other problems.

 

Let me ask you, did you get a refund for you zip line adventure? I believe that if I were in your shoes, it would have been an adventure, yes. But I would have expected a refund. I would have probably turned right around and given that money to the guides. Did you get a refund?

 

When things go pear shaped, I think it’s a good idea to get information about what’s up. In the case of the Spirits 3/6/2011 cruise, we were all relying on rumor for a good 12 hours. I don’t think that’s a good way to run a ship.

 

When things go wrong I ask questions, and try to follow up on the rumors. I’m a Systems Analyst. It’s what I do.

[klingoncruiser]

I just got off the ship Sunday. As others said, the whole system came unglued. I have been on the Spirit several times and this was one for the books. However many things came together to make one very odd set of events. (limony snickets anyone?) A person got sick, the ship was diverted and ran into engine trouble. We knew it was coming as they called (several times) to let us know. The last one said an arrival time of 3PM for the ship. It did not get there until 5. We sat in a LONG and unorganized line at the port. (NOLA port peoples fault... sort of.) They could not let many in as they were still trying to clear people off the ship and there were not that many parking slots clear yet. However there were plenty of people cutting a LONG line. I am still puzzled why someone did not get hurt in some serious road rage. We got to the port building and had to wait about to even get in the building. (Building was closed as it was already full and the port people would not let any more in.) Finally got on the ship about 10:30. We ate at raffles and went to bed. It was a trying experience but did NOT ruin the cruise.

 

In Costa Maya nearly all the tours went off even though some got back in the dark. The rest of the cruise settled back to normal.

 

We have cruised at Spring break for years. (teacher have no choice) It is always a crap shoot on who is on board. There were plenty of college student to go around for us. They were loud and thoughtless late in the evening and we had to call the front desk the second night to get it calmed down. They did.

 

We had to call the steward as our shower was leaking into the room. They had to re grout the thing and we had a blower in the room for a day.

 

Food is just fine to me.... it is worthless to complain about it as it is all subjective. (I don't cruise Princess because I don't like the food.)

 

They changed how we exited the ship as they kept everyone inside and off the outer deck. I thought it would melt down, but it did not. Thanks to your post I now understand better why they did that.

 

Spirit is headed to dry dock in September. She needs it.

 

I under stand many of your complaints but would not give up on NCL due to one bad cruise. (I did that for years with Celebrity and regret it to this day) However.... trying other lines is always good. Our cruise was great as usual, despite the ugly start.

 

Booked B to B at Xmas on Spirit. Still a lovely ship with a wonderful crew.

[fleet]

And you are basing this on what - because that's what NCL is "officially" saying? It seems there is more and more evidence coming into play that an engine problem DID add to the extremely late arrival and embarkation of the ship. We now even have someone saying the information came from NCL staff themselves. Why in the world would you be so willing to completely discount that?

 

 

Really sounds insane doesn't it? Especially if someone could get some sort or reimbursement for expenses incurred due to the delay. I would think with the mess NCL had it would benefit them to admit they did have and engine problem so folks could file their insurance. Why make it worse than it has to be?

[maggiek99]

Yeah, I was wondering about the whole insurance thing too... If you all could get a copy of that letter that was given to some of us on the 3/13 sailing when we arrived at the port, it clearly stated that there was "engine trouble" and we may even miss Roatan.

 

When they wouldn't admit to engine problems to those of you on the 3/6 sailing, it made me wonder if NCL is charged back by the insurance company for any claims filed because of their negligence / error. What other reason would they have for not just calling it engine trouble?

[magoo33]

Did you guys receive any credit for your inconveniences? Like 10% off your next cruise or something like that.

 

 

Nothing!!!

[tkportersat]

Wish I would have kept the letter....it very clearly stated that due to possible engine trouble we might miss Roatan and if we did we would be given $100 OBC. Wonder why we didn't get that anyways since we sat in the terminal all day? I might call my insurance (purchased seperate from the cruiseline) and see if it is covered. Trip delay? IDK.

 

Yeah, I was wondering about the whole insurance thing too... If you all could get a copy of that letter that was given to some of us on the 3/13 sailing when we arrived at the port, it clearly stated that there was "engine trouble" and we may even miss Roatan.

 

When they wouldn't admit to engine problems to those of you on the 3/6 sailing, it made me wonder if NCL is charged back by the insurance company for any claims filed because of their negligence / error. What other reason would they have for not just calling it engine trouble?

[magoo33]

I am so sorry that your cruise was not a good one :(

I hope you write to NCL. Believe me when I tell you that they DO read all letters (I sned snail-mail...email is lame imo) and they do listen and respond. What you experienced is SO unlike any NCL cruise I have ever taken and if I had experienced what you did, I'd be appalled as well. So, I urge you to write to NCL exactly they way you wrote your review here (very coherent and not overly emotional)...they will respond.

 

I wrote 2 letters prior to boarding the ship because of the trouble I was having with the 30 cabins I booked. I never heard a word back from the folks I addressed my letter to in fact one person Operations Manager in AZ deleted the letter with out even opening it. If you have an address of where to send my concerns about there customer service I would love to have it.

[magoo33]

I think it is a given, NCLs biggest problem is communication and I do not know why. Other than that, the real issure on your late embarkation seemed to be the diversion because of a passenger who was ill and did pass away, it wan not the engine problem. as for the post people, I have sailed out of almost every port in our country and NEw Orleans is the worst.

 

Nita

 

I also was on board and heard from serveral cab drivers and our hotel staff that there was also engine problems as well as the medical emergency.

[magoo33]

Yeah, I was wondering about the whole insurance thing too... If you all could get a copy of that letter that was given to some of us on the 3/13 sailing when we arrived at the port, it clearly stated that there was "engine trouble" and we may even miss Roatan.

 

When they wouldn't admit to engine problems to those of you on the 3/6 sailing, it made me wonder if NCL is charged back by the insurance company for any claims filed because of their negligence / error. What other reason would they have for not just calling it engine trouble?

 

 

I keptasking for a letter on Sunday 3/13 as I knew I would need on for insurance purposes. I was told 3 times that they were being printed and we would get one prior to getting off the ship

 

connie

[tfs72]

just be prepared, dont bother requesting help from the staff.

[Linda in MI]

I have a copy of the letter. It does say the the "Norwegian Spirit has experienced some technical difficulties with one of her engines."

[newmexicoNita]

I also was on board and heard from serveral cab drivers and our hotel staff that there was also engine problems as well as the medical emergency.

 

I am sure there was engine trouble, but I do not think that was the main reason for the lengthty delay and I would never believe a cab driver. Oh, may I ask, how did you hear this from several cab drivers and how did they know this other than what someone told them? Again, I am not saying it didn't happen, I am just trying to see both sides.

 

Nita

[Mikejleeds]

If this departure date was advertised as spring break cruise then everyone else would have a choice. If NCL want to corner the spring break market then fine (being from Uk spring break doesnt mean a lot to me...does now) but let people have a choice it's a bit late when you are in the gulf you can't just check out by the way i will post a letter sent to Mr Sheehan later

[Rozee]

I have a copy of the letter. It does say the the "Norwegian Spirit has experienced some technical difficulties with one of her engines."

Please, please post the text of the letter. Better yet, an image would be great.

 

About 1000 people missed flights, connections, hotel stays and work because of this.

[fin]

You know I will not address any other issue but the spring breakers...

 

I don;t care what cruiseline you book, they are on them all...maybe HAL is the exception, I really don;t know..

 

People come back every year complaining about them...I wonder why you book cruises at that time of year...I certainly would not..

 

The (fairly obvious) answer was contained in the review.

[Mikejleeds]

Dear Mr Sheehan

Norwegian Spirit 3/6/2011

I took my cruise as part of the BearcruiseUSA with 2 friends, all from UK. I have been on cruises before but not part of large gay group so was not really sure how that would work, but anticipating that NCL would make other passengers aware of our group was reassured that things would be ok. After spending a few days in New Orleans we arrived on Sunday afternoon to board the cruise. The traffic was very heavy but it was Mardi Gras, but we arrived in good time and checked in very efficiently. The ship, although smaller than others I have been on, was quite impressive. After meeting a few from our group we were full of anticipation for a great week onboard Norwegian Spirit combining events with our group and the onboard activities with our fellow passengers. After finding our cabin which was compact but adequate we decided to explore the ship to get our bearings. We reached the pool deck to find it very busy which was no surprise as people like to make the most of every minute of their vacation. What was a surprise (if not shock) was the profile of the passengers. Not the friendly atmosphere of families, couples and seniors all mixing together which for me is the attraction of a cruise, but a rowdy group of drunken college kids( yes at 3 p.m.). on a Spring Break which means very little to people from UK. We decided not to stay in this area and after more exploration decided to go back to the cabin, where our luggage was waiting.

After unpacking we went to Raffles for something to eat and had a pleasant lunch, despite the noisy atmosphere created by the large groups of college kids. After meeting more of our group and a couple of cocktails, which by the way took a long time to get due to the lines at the bars, we set sail at the farewell party on deck. Our group dinner was booked at 9 p.m. in Windows main dining room, so after catching the first theatre show we went for dinner. The surroundings and company were great, but the food was average. i.e. small portions and on the cold side, which was the same on the two further occasions we ate there. After dinner we went to Henry's for the advertised karaoke. Being met by a bar full of drunken college kids who made it impossible for both the cruise staff and fellow passengers to enjoy the event we decided to find somewhere else to spend our first night. A theme then developed every venue noisy rowdy drunken kids monopolising every venue. As the week went on things continued in a similar way. Add to this having to wait up to 30 minutes at the bars on deck for drinks, constant line jumping, being subject to foul and abusive language, personal insults and abusive attacks, drinks being spilled over our clothing, food being spilled after being pushed out of line at raffles, unable to enjoy pool facilities, (our group even set up a rota system to ensure use of one of the four hot tubs). Add to this having to climb over drunks to get to your cabin, noise from running up and down corridors banging on doors, kids walking round the ship with drinks in their hands 24/7 you can imagine this was well below our expectations. I contacted the guest services and as an apology was ironically offered a bottle of wine by way of an apology. NCL failed to grasp the nature of the many complaints from passengers, and showed a lack of duty of care by supplying alcohol in an irresponsible manner, including running out of certain drinks due to over indulgence by the kids on the alcohol package,

with the consequences as described.

　

Why were passengers not advised of this large group booking ,and indeed of our group (BearcruiseUSA) to have the choice to avoid the obvious clash of passenger profile. Why did you take no action to limit the effects that were obvious to everyone but the crew on the ship?

It may come across that I have a bad attitude to younger people. That is not the case at all. If they wish to behave in that manner then that is their choice but I certainly do not want to be forced into their company.

At the farewell show in the theatre which was one of the highlights of the cruise the Captain said how proud he was of the crew “The Norwegian Spirit Family” I must say he can’t really think much of their welfare subjecting them to 400 rude drunk and abusive passengers. He also stated at that show that how well he thought that the passengers got on together. I began to wonder should I trust my safety to this deluded man. Then to make a joke about the Spring break behaviour really left a bitter taste in my mouth. I felt like standing up and screaming how wrong he was but then my behaviour would be no better than the people I am complaining about. At the Q & A session on Friday with the crew there was also denial and defence of the unacceptable behaviour all put under the umbrella of “SPRING BREAK”

You really did not get it did you ????

An unfortunate incident towards the end of our cruise made the last day a really unpleasant (in parts) experience. Due to a medical emergency the captain decided to alter course to meet up with a helicopter to airlift a sick passenger. I have every sympathy for the passenger who was ill but surely the captain must have been aware of the consequences of his action to divert the ship causing a delayed arrival into New Orleans. I will never forget the amount of desperation and despair at Guest services on that morning. To see lines of angry frustrated passengers, some of whom were in tears and near to hysteria was an awful experience, and there did not seem to be much in the way of sympathy or assistance from any of the NCL staff. who took no responsibility for anyone’s problems caused by the captain’s decision to divert causing all this chaos. It reminded me of a condemned man, being allowed a phone call to rearrange flights hotels etc It was a very sad sight and my sympathy went to those who had to spend a substantial amount of money to get home, in some cases paying more than the original cost of the cruise. The last days extra entertainment in the Galaxy was a welcome bonus, which for me turned out to be the best afternoon on the ship. The music competition was fun the karaoke relaxed and enjoyable and the passengers there all commented on how much they wished the whole cruise was like that. The 1 hour Open bar offer, although appreciated was woeful compensation, especially when yet again the peaceful friendly atmosphere of the galaxy was ruined by college kids getting their last free drinks, and downing them in one go showing off and shouting to each other.

When the ship docked eventually 10 hours late the fight to get off had to be seen to be believed. Crowded public areas with poor restroom facilities and general lack of information and interest from the crew lead to anger frustration and dangerous conditions. My group finally got off the ship at 8.30 p.m to what can be only described as chaos of biblical proportions, my sympathy for oncoming passengers some who stood in line for 9 hours.

To summarise this woeful tale I would say to NCL.

Be more informative to others regarding the nature of special groups on board.

Anticipate the problems offering alcohol packages of $300 - $350 to groups of college kids

Understand the effect of unacceptable behaviour of passengers and deal with it.

Take responsibility for problems caused by your decisions.

Acknowledge passenger problems and offer some form of compensation to passengers that were inconvenienced by your ill thought operational policies.

I look forward to hearing from you but please do not answer with “It was Spring Break”

Kind Regards

[Linda in MI]

Since I have no idea how to post an image of the letter, my tech-savvy son (at grad school in another state) has agreed to do it for me. Luckily, he also kept his copy of the letter. It should be posted here soon!

 

Linda

[Rozee]

I am sure there was engine trouble, but I do not think that was the main reason for the lengthty delay and I would never believe a cab driver. Oh, may I ask, how did you hear this from several cab drivers and how did they know this other than what someone told them? Again, I am not saying it didn't happen, I am just trying to see both sides.

 

Nita

You're sure there was engine trouble? I don't doubt you one bit but could you provide a Cite please? How do you know this? I very, very strongly suspect it but would like to know how you are sure.

 

Do you have a document that was given to the 3/13 guests that stated engine trouble?