Attn All who were aboard the Norwegian Dawn

[newmexicoNita]

I have never been on an NCL cruise, but I have been on these boards lately because I have one booked for the fall.

 

I can't particularly say I'm a fan of the line, but I am a fan of cruising. I realize when I cruise, stuff can happen because I'm on a ship. In fact, right before my first cruise, my husband and I made our very first will.

 

Nobody makes money in class action lawsuits except for the lawyers. So, I wouldn't get involved in them if I were you.

 

We were involved in a class action suit once with our very large mortgage company. The actual settlement was over 300 million dollars, we received a check for 12 cents. I never cashed it because I wanted to mess up their accounting.

 

People are sue crazy.

My sentiments exactly but I am a fan of NCL: of course you are not yet, cause you haven't sailed them. LOL

[Guest OBAYbee]

Seahorse, don't you just love these people who have all the answers, but have the facts backward? Agree on the PR Dept as DH is a retired PR person, not only did he work for companies, he worked for a very large PR firm and one of our Presidents (I will not mention which one). It is much better to have a company spokesperson or dept than have everyone saying something different.

 

 

Hmmmmmmmmm

[Windrunner I]

I found the article interesting. Especially the part they left out.

First some facts: Orient Line was taken over by Norwegian Cruise Line."

Second: "Michael Coleman joins Orient Lines as public relations manager.

In the article they mentioned he was a PR guy for large cruise lines but they conveniently forgot to acknowledge his job was with NCL.

And since we are getting skeptical, I found his “Hotmail” email address given as the one to reply to very suspect. ;)

Thank you for posting the article. I hope your next cruise is soon and a lot more fun. ;)

 

Michael doesn't work for Orient Lines, doesn't work for NCL. He used to, and quite some time ago. In fact, he went to work for Crystal Cruises back around 2001 and I believe he has since left Crystal and doesn't work for any line. So, it really has no relevance who he worked for as he doesn't have a vested interest.

 

I found the article well written and balanced. Perhaps all cruise passengers should be required to acknowledge, in writing, that they're going to sea and the cruise line has no control over mother nature.

[jaxon41]

I guess I am always somewhat amazed at folks who don't understand the judicial system.

Fear is compensible in our society (not expressing my thoughts on the Dawn at the moment) -- assault, harrassment, stalking (compeletly fear based actions, cognizable in both criminal law as well as tort), holding up a bank and having a patron die of a heart attack is felony murder. Fear is not to be discounted -- it is a horrible, debilitating emotion and that is why we have laws against inducing it. None here should be dismissive of it, or what the Dawn passengers went through.

 

If you think class action suits are about getting great sums of money, you don't understand their purpose. They are about correcting wrongs -- generally within an industry -- and making life a little safer and better for all of us. They are extremely expensive to prosecute, so, yes, the plaintiffs' take pales against that of the attorneys. Those who wish to down them probably aren't driving a Pinto, using the Dalkon Shield, or dressing their children in non-flame retardant pj's, because of some "greedy" lawyer.

 

The question which must be asked in the case of The Dawn, is whether lives were risked by a change in itinerary/route/dock time which necessitated heading into a storm for no other reason than a financial corporate decision. This will not be a contract case -- it will be a tort case.

 

We don't know enough at the moment, but my guess is there will be a suit. I have the greatest admiration for the 9/11 families who refused the substantial government pay-off not to sue the airlines because they felt the only way the truth would out is through their lawsuit. There are those among us, who only trust the judicial process to get to the bottom of a matter -- the adversarial process of a courtroom is the closest thing to truth finding our society knows.

 

On another thread, someone posted that he was offered a cruise rebate if he agreed not to join a lawsuit against the NCL Hawaii ship. It is a good pr move to offer recompense when a corporation KNOWS there could be litigation. Be sure whatever you passengers are offered, does not have some fine print about giving up your legal rights by cashing the check/accepting the voucher.

 

Finally, I've been in the spin game and if I am shilling for a corporation by writing a dismissive article in a newpaper -- I'm going to set up posters to respond on site in a way favorable to my article. Call me a cynic, but I know the plays.

[mandotsan]

Lots of fancy words..but the bottom line is the almighty dollar..people live and pray for some lame thing to happen to them so they can get rich quick..all I know is there is NO trail that would ever want me on the jury..becaus I would vote against them...an accident is an accident..how can anybody in thiere right mind award anyone money when the one at fault is Mother Nature..sue her..just take a look at the condition of this country..its a mess..and why..because of get quick lawyers and people looking to rip off the big boys...thanks people for passing your greed onto the rest of us in causing higher prices to offset the legal cost....Only in America.

[Jett456]

I just got off the Dawn today. The captain had a question and answer sessoin about the ship. He was asked quite a few times to talk about the 'wave' incident. He said the seas on the day preceding the wave were nothing out of the ordinary. Normal rough weather. He was not concerned (until the broken window) at which time he decided to go to SC and get it fixed rather than wait until NY. From what we experienced on our cruise updates were given daily on the weather. We were told that we might have wind (35-40 mph), swells (14-20 feet) and rough seas due to another front off Cape Hatteras. I did not think it was bad at all. Although I did see a few green looking people As far as the wave last week, crew members told me (laughing) that it was not 70 feet high. It was more like 40. A waitress in the Aqua dining room was talkative and said the weather did not even affect her job. A guy on the dock said the same thing, he heard the wave was 40 ft. So, I guess it is a matter of perspective. Some people were terrified, some just took it in stride. Not everybody is going to have the same opinion. All you have to do is read reviews to know that.

[Guest OBAYbee]

Michael doesn't work for Orient Lines, doesn't work for NCL. He used to, and quite some time ago. In fact, he went to work for Crystal Cruises back around 2001 and I believe he has since left Crystal and doesn't work for any line. So, it really has no relevance who he worked for as he doesn't have a vested interest.

 

I found the article well written and balanced. Perhaps all cruise passengers should be required to acknowledge, in writing, that they're going to sea and the cruise line has no control over mother nature.

 

 

Please read the entire thread. I said they (the article) mentioned he worked for a New York paper and forgot to mention he had also worked for NCL as PR manager. You read too much into my post.

I respect your opinion as you should mine. I think having worked for a New York Paper and NCL PR the fact they mentioned just the paper is suspect TO ME! The hotmail email makes me more suspect.

I am done with this thread. Seems no matter what people type someone needs to debate it. Some ask for my credentials, then when given they doubt them and correct my grammar *sigh* My opinion is just that, my opinion. I've never been rude on any boards and don't enjoy reading threads that are arguments about the OP.

I'll check the NCL boards later, when the friendliness comes out. : ) Meanwhile you can catch me on the RCCL boards.

[Zeno]

Finally, I've been in the spin game and if I am shilling for a corporation by writing a dismissive article in a newpaper -- I'm going to set up posters to respond on site in a way favorable to my article. Call me a cynic, but I know the plays.

 

Interestingly those of us who have been posting for a long time on this board are familiar with the old "Those who disagree with me are shills for xxxx cruiseline". We see it frequently enough.

[kalamari]

How come nobody ever sues the cruise lines for maybe saving their life? Doesn't "freak"wave mean a one time thing and that''s why it's a freak of nature? And even the sub-average momo knows that the pr department is always the one who issues the press releases, statements, etc.

[EscapeFromConnecticut]

I guess I am always somewhat amazed at folks who don't understand the judicial system.

Fear is compensible in our society (not expressing my thoughts on the Dawn at the moment) -- assault, harrassment, stalking (compeletly fear based actions, cognizable in both criminal law as well as tort), holding up a bank and having a patron die of a heart attack is felony murder. Fear is not to be discounted -- it is a horrible, debilitating emotion and that is why we have laws against inducing it. None here should be dismissive of it, or what the Dawn passengers went through.

 

If you think class action suits are about getting great sums of money, you don't understand their purpose. They are about correcting wrongs -- generally within an industry -- and making life a little safer and better for all of us. They are extremely expensive to prosecute, so, yes, the plaintiffs' take pales against that of the attorneys. Those who wish to down them probably aren't driving a Pinto, using the Dalkon Shield, or dressing their children in non-flame retardant pj's, because of some "greedy" lawyer.

 

The question which must be asked in the case of The Dawn, is whether lives were risked by a change in itinerary/route/dock time which necessitated heading into a storm for no other reason than a financial corporate decision. This will not be a contract case -- it will be a tort case.

 

We don't know enough at the moment, but my guess is there will be a suit. I have the greatest admiration for the 9/11 families who refused the substantial government pay-off not to sue the airlines because they felt the only way the truth would out is through their lawsuit. There are those among us, who only trust the judicial process to get to the bottom of a matter -- the adversarial process of a courtroom is the closest thing to truth finding our society knows.

 

On another thread, someone posted that he was offered a cruise rebate if he agreed not to join a lawsuit against the NCL Hawaii ship. It is a good pr move to offer recompense when a corporation KNOWS there could be litigation. Be sure whatever you passengers are offered, does not have some fine print about giving up your legal rights by cashing the check/accepting the voucher.

 

Finally, I've been in the spin game and if I am shilling for a corporation by writing a dismissive article in a newpaper -- I'm going to set up posters to respond on site in a way favorable to my article. Call me a cynic, but I know the plays.

 

Jaxon -- Your sensible and practical post is much appreciated. God bless America's lawyers, America's press, America's regulatory agencies and America's consumer rights advocates ... they're the last defense against ever-rising corporate greed and recklessness.

NCL has nothing to fear from outside investigations ... if indeed it did nothing wrong. And if that's the conclusion of independent investigations, we should cheerfully accept that NCL is blameless.

But I'll be far more interested in getting an assessment of NCL's actions from unbiased sources, not the knee-jerk corporate flag-wavers.

[BreezieNJ]

Ok, I didn't realize that the different ports were different charges. Shoreguy, I would have been getting it back2 times. The 50% is minus taxes, port charges and gratuities(obviously) I am trying to see how long the credit is good for, if anyone knows please post. Someone told me you only have 3 months to book. I can't imagine. I haven't been able to get through to NCL yet.

[shoreguy]

Ok, I didn't realize that the different ports were different charges. Shoreguy, I would have been getting it back2 times. The 50% is minus taxes, port charges and gratuities(obviously) I am trying to see how long the credit is good for, if anyone knows please post. Someone told me you only have 3 months to book. I can't imagine. I haven't been able to get through to NCL yet.

 

most times the credit is good for 1 year