NCL Dawn Passengers meet with Attorney

[FinelyCruising]

For those who may be interested in further post-cruise developments, this was in our newspaper this morning:

 

http://www.bergen.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkyJmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2Njg0OTc2

[TexasDH]

...looks like cruise fares will be raised, yet again! :mad:

 

What is this about "The captain didn't have to do that to us," she said. "He put my family at risk for no reason." Do they (does SHE) honestly think that he would put himself -- not to mention his JOB -- at risk???

 

It was a ROGUE wave... random, fluke act of nature! I guess they would find someone to sue if they get caught in a tornado, God knows that SOMEONE would be to blame -- let's see -- the realtor for selling them a house in that area, the city zoning for allowing houses to be built in the area... the list is endless! Where does it end???

[Hflors]

WOW! How about sueing the TA for selling them the cruise! What no warning in writing that they were going to cruise in the atlantic and could encounter rough seas. You know like those privacy forms you need to fill out at the dr's office. "Yes I know I'm going to be on a ship and yes I know that ships can encounter bad weather, and yes I know that it might be rough and I could get seasick, and Yes I do understand that I might get scared. etc. etc. etc."

 

I smell a Big lawsuit coming. Good lord my sister came though a huricane to get into port. ON a cruise one time the waves were just about on deck five on the old soverign of the seas. And I didn't even get a free drink. I ask the purser's desk if I should be concerned. They looked at me like I had two heads!

 

I'm sorry, when you take a cruise on the OCEAN you must expect the unexpected! I wish them well.

[Kaibigan]

People will always look for a reason to sue so they can make some extra bucks for doing nothing. If that is the case here, then yeah, it makes me sick! I was in 25 ' waves once on my way to Hawaii, and it was nothing, but I honestly have no idea how afraid I would be if a 70 ' wave showed up. But if it did, I certainly wouldn't blame the captain for it! One "rogue" 70 ' wave? No one could have predicted that, and I'm sure the captain & crew are used to the 25 ' waves so it was nothing to them. So, yes, I agree, I don't think there is any way the captain would risk the lives of passengers or losing his career by doing something he knew was unsafe! Maybe people who are afraid of taking the chance of having a "rogue" wave come up on them would be better off taking a land vacation and cutting out that situation. ;)

[FinelyCruising]

You know how it is when you are not a real sailor ;)

[adonisr]

Getting slightly political here, but, if we had a "loser pays" legal system, this kind of crap would come to a screeching halt. As it is now, all you have to do is get an ambulance chaser and sue. Worst case, you lose and it costs you nothing. Best case, the company settles out of court to save legal expenses and bad PR.

 

OK, I'm off my soapbox now.

 

Hopefully the courts throw this one out.

[signman]

I'm not sure I understand. Who would these people be suing if they were snug in their homes during a thunderstorm and a bolt of lightning hit their house and set it on fire. It's a freak act of nature for freaking sakes.

[PhoenixCruiser]

Very interesting :eek:

 

Kim and FC :D :D

[FinelyCruising]

Whachutalkinboutwillis?

 

I live in Bergen County. Don't know about the rest of you but this made all kinds of news in the NY area, which I am but a mere few minutes away from, even when the ship was still in the Carolina's. Bigger news was when she came into NY at noon and sailed again at three.

 

As for me, I am a nutty cruiser and would have loved to have been on it when it hit. :o Would have been another of my own personal Storm Stories after comming back from Bermuda on the Celebrity Meridan in the Atlantic after Felix!

[Former Goalie]

Believe me, I am NOT a fan of ambulance chasers. If I'm going to sea (I've now been on nine cruises, and three more are planned), I know I may encounter rough seas.

What jumped out at me from that article (assuming the printed word is correct) is that the itinerary was altered, skipping the Bahamas, and aiming to arrive NYC early. Just a part of the story which may, or may not, be of interest to the legal profession.

[FinelyCruising]

Sure, skipping Nassau and comming to port 5 hours early, which the cruiseline announced at the onset of the cruise, to some in the legal profession, equals premeditated and precise knowledge by the Captain of exactly where and when this rogue wave would hit.

[bigreid07]

What is sad is that they will PROBABLY win due to "negligence" of the cruiseline. While I DO admit it is rather shady to cut paying customers' cruises short, they seemed to know about it in plenty of time and COULD HAVE cancelled w/ a full refund if i rememebr correctly.

[springtxbill]

Ambulance chasers holding a meeting to get clients and get press coverage on it to boot.:eek:

[spongerob]

It's all part of the game. Generate lots of negative press, and the cruise line will want to settle quickly.

[Heidict]

Actually, from the other articles I have read regarding this. The passengers aren't just looking into suing due to being hit with a rogue wave. i think if that was the case then they would have dealt with it. Accidents happen and all that.

 

The problem with this cruise and with this captain is the fact that they were racing through a storm so that they could get the ship back to NYC so that it could appear in the background of the taping of the Apprentice. Norwegian paid one million dollars to the Donald to appear in his show. Obviously they didn't make it.

 

So, the case comes down to this. Did the captain of the Dawn act safely and responsibly when it came to getting back to NYC on time and in dealing with the storm? Rumor has it that he should have put the safety of his passengers first and gone around the storm but received pressure to get to NYC on time. Norwegian didn't want to lose a million.

 

If he was pushing the envelope and endangering the welfare of his passengers, then I would say sue their butts off for putting the safety of the passengers on the back burner!!

[Former Goalie]

Sure, skipping Nassau and comming to port 5 hours early, which the cruiseline announced at the onset of the cruise, to some in the legal profession, equals premeditated and precise knowledge by the Captain of exactly where and when this rogue wave would hit.

I was not aware that the itinerary changes had been announced prior to sailing.

[terri23]

Actually, from the other articles I have read regarding this. The passengers aren't just looking into suing due to being hit with a rogue wave. i think if that was the case then they would have dealt with it. Accidents happen and all that.

 

The problem with this cruise and with this captain is the fact that they were racing through a storm so that they could get the ship back to NYC so that it could appear in the background of the taping of the Apprentice. Norwegian paid one million dollars to the Donald to appear in his show. Obviously they didn't make it.

 

So, the case comes down to this. Did the captain of the Dawn act safely and responsibly when it came to getting back to NYC on time and in dealing with the storm? Rumor has it that he should have put the safety of his passengers first and gone around the storm but received pressure to get to NYC on time. Norwegian didn't want to lose a million.

 

If he was pushing the envelope and endangering the welfare of his passengers, then I would say sue their butts off for putting the safety of the passengers on the back burner!!

 

Agreed. When I heard about that I couldn't believe it was actually true!

[Barb C]

I have to agree with Terri23 and Hiedict.......if the Captain had orders to cut the cruise short and get back to NYC early for a TV show, then I think the passengers have a reason to be ticked off.......if this is true, then NCL should be held accountable.

[MetathoraX]

This is yet another example of some idiots trying to gain money from anything, they already gave people half there money back and half off there next cruise. Its a boat, in the middle of the ocean, crap happens. If you have nightmares then don't go cruising again. Who is going to represent mother nature since Johnny Cockran is gone :mad:

[MonaCK]

I believe that the passangers knew in advance about the television show -- but like others have said -- the question becomes whether or not the captain ignored weather advisories in order to get back to meet a scheduled call time...

[Retired not Expired]

Actually, from the other articles I have read regarding this. The passengers aren't just looking into suing due to being hit with a rogue wave. i think if that was the case then they would have dealt with it. Accidents happen and all that.

 

The problem with this cruise and with this captain is the fact that they were racing through a storm so that they could get the ship back to NYC so that it could appear in the background of the taping of the Apprentice. Norwegian paid one million dollars to the Donald to appear in his show. Obviously they didn't make it.

 

So, the case comes down to this. Did the captain of the Dawn act safely and responsibly when it came to getting back to NYC on time and in dealing with the storm? Rumor has it that he should have put the safety of his passengers first and gone around the storm but received pressure to get to NYC on time. Norwegian didn't want to lose a million.

 

If he was pushing the envelope and endangering the welfare of his passengers, then I would say sue their butts off for putting the safety of the passengers on the back burner!!

 

1. As quoted in the press by the cruise line AND passengers on the ship, the ship was only doing 4 knots through the worse of the storm for the passengers comfort. Doesn't sound like he was racing back just to be on that show.

 

2. It's hard to go around a storm when it is moving east and the coast is to the west. It was too wide of a storm to go around.

 

3. This ship, and many, many others, have sailed through storms like this before and many, many more will again. I'm sure some new cruisers, or some who have never sailed in a storm, were frightened, but the ship was in no danger. It was one wave that has caused all this uproar. ONE wave. Without it, there is no news story.

 

4. If a captain misses a port due to conditions, people get mad. If he tries and misses, people get mad. If he sails into a storm, people get mad. If he doesn't sail into a storm and people are late getting to a port or late sailing the next cruise, people get mad. This captain did not do anything wrong, but one rogue wave made him a target for some.

 

5. I hope these passengers who are so set on sueing realize they will get little, if any, from this suit. Lawyers are the only ones who stand to gain from this type suit. All the rest of us lose from higher fares. And all because of one wave.

[srlucado]

And all because of one wave.

 

Not to mention the wave of lawyers.

[Scooby427]

This whole story is very frustrating and upsetting. Agreed, it should be considered that the ship was attempting to make it back to port early, but to say that the captain acted negligently by driving through the storm is crazy. Forgive if I am wrong, but don't cruise ships have to deal with rough weather from time to time? Did the captain have control of the freak "rogue" wave? I understand that the passengers were scared and some were hurt, but when you agree to take a cruise, you have to accept that there may be risks inherent in cruising, much like the risk of crashing that you accept when you get in a car, or a plane.

 

Just my thoughts.......:mad:

Sue

[Starspangle1]

I'm sorry but I have to agree with Heidict, if they didn't have that arrangement planed ahead of time I really don't think that they would have gotten hit with the wave in the first place so I think that's what people don't understand. I have been on many cruises where we've missed private islands, Grand Cayman because of swells, Cancun because of swells & yes, we were disappointed but accepted it because of the safty issue but what was the safty issue with missing the Bahamas, they say that the cruise co. told the people ahead of time they would miss the Bahamas but how far in advance, that should have told at the time of booking because let's face it, that port really is what that cruise is all about. When I did this cruise in September we had to do it backwards because of the hurricanes and let me tell ya, one day at the magic Kingdom or Universal was a waste for the money that they charge for a one day pass and if I had to stay in miami for more then one day I wouldn't be too happy. If they are at fault then they should pay for it, I mean let's face it, these people didn't get the cruise they paid for because of something other then an act of God (unless that's what you call Trump now). NCL can afford it more then I can.

[katiel53]

I think the Fraley's have been on every TV show about the wave. They have been in the paper and still are enjoying their 15 mins of fame. Maybe next they will be on "Survivor". I don't know if the people on the cruise have a reason to sue or not. That's not up to me, but I am sooooooooooooooo sick of seeing and hearing from the same people. If others are as upset, why aren't we hearing from all of them too?