Great Cruise on Caribbean Princess Ruined By Horrible Incident at Disembarkation

[CI66774]

This was our (daughter 10 and mom) fifth cruise on Princess (two 26-day, two 10-day, and one 7-day). Cruise took us thru partial Panama Canal transit. We opted for an inside on the Caribe deck (in the stern) with bunk beds as I refuse to sleep on a twin. Loved the location (near the aft elevators) and my daughter loved her bunk bed. Bed and pillows were the most comfortable I've ever had on Princess and I slept like a baby every night. Thought I'd hate the OceanMedallion but ended up LOVING it. Shorter lines, ease of purchase, etc. A wonderful addition to the Princess product. Bought the coffee card (15 drinks to be consumed on the cruise) and loved that, too. Had every specialty coffee drink known to man. Try the peach spice and mint apple iced teas - delicious! Had Anytime dining and only had to wait (5 minutes) one of the ten nights. Sat in Jerry's section almost every night (best waiter I've ever had on Princess) and the best meal was the PORK BELLY (best ever). Duval (Cruise Director) was hilarious and very personable (highly recommend him). Kid's club was terrific - as always. Ports (Columbia, Costa Rica, etc.) were warm and inviting. Overall - loved the ship, the crew, and the fellow passengers (I always love when paxs approach me and tell me how well-behaved my daughter is). I'd rate this cruise a 9.5 out of 10 but for the HORRIBLE AND SCARY INCIDENT at disembarkation.

 

As daughter and I approached the escalator to descend to customs, etc., I told her I'd hold her new Stanley stuffed bear so she had a free hand to hold on to the escalator hand railing. I shoved the bear under my armpit so I also could hold on. Daughter started descending the escalator and I started to proceed when I was PHYSICALLY RESTRAINED by a Princess shore staff person (I have his name but won't publicize it here). He then draped a cord across the escalator and told me I didn't have a free hand and that I had to take the elevator. I see my 10-year-old daughter descending into a sea of thousands of strangers and I start to panic. I yelled that he was separating me from my minor daughter and placing her safety at risk. He then THREATENED TO CALL THE POLICE ON ME. I then waited for the elevator. A few minutes later, I found my daughter. A kind couple had seen the incident and waited with her until I could join her. My daughter could have been abducted, assaulted, etc in the time it took for me to take the elevator and find her. I approached a shore staff supervisor and relayed the incident indicating that the employee's conduct was outrageous and endangered my daughter's well-being. She agreed that a parent should never be separated from a minor child in this type of situation. Moreover, having this employee threaten to call the cops on me was embarrassing and humiliating. The supervisor took my info and asked me if I wanted to file a police report. I declined as I didn't think it rose to that level and that I would miss my flight. This incident left a very bad taste in my mouth. I've been a loyal Princess cruiser for several years and couldn't believe someone would physically prevent me from remaining with my child among thousands of strangers. Thank God for that kind couple. Kids have been abducted in less time. Anyway, I felt it necessary to relay this incident. I will be following up with Princess for satisfactory resolution. 

[bemis12]

This may not be in your best interest at this point.

[cinsu]

Sounds like one issue with one individual. I hope you don’t let the actions of one individual impact your view of Princess. I believe you did the right thing to report this to the manager. Once you have walked off the ship, especially at disembarkation, Princess doesn’t own you. I reminded someone of that this weekend when she tried to tell me, off the ship, that I couldn’t take a commercially packaged, sealed bottle of water thru customs. 

Edited December 2, 2019 by cinsu

[pcsunlover]

Was this an older man?  I have MS and have some balance issues, especially when stepping onto a down escalator.  Once I have stepped on, I’m fine.  Usually I will hold the rail with my right hand and my husband holds my left arm and we step on the escalator together. Once I’m “safely” on he will either step behind me or in front.  Last year when we did that the older man directing people at the escalator started yelling at my husband for assisting me. My husband just yelled right back that nobody was going to stop him from helping his wife and the man yelled down the escalator at us threatening to call the police!  It’s the first time something like that had happened and was so embarrassing. I complained about it in our Princess survey, but really he is a port employee. He has no business with that “job”.  His compassion and common sense are certainly lacking. It totally ruined the “come back new” feeling for us.

 

Obviously what you experienced is much more traumatic and if it is the same man, I hope you file a complaint with the port authority.  I really wish I had.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Am I right in deducting you were off the ship and inside the cruise terminal at the time? If so, the person responsible would probably not have been a Princess employee but rather an shore staff employee who are not part of Princess.

[Guest arowe6]

This is unfortunate and I’m sorry it happened. I’ve witnessed these individuals taking their jobs WAY too seriously (although I have to assume they have good intentions but poor delivery.) Perhaps there have been lawsuits in the past, which caused their stern rules. 
 

My partner is a bigger muscular guy. He had a suitcase in one hand and a backpack on his shoulder and something similar happened where he was told to take an elevator. He laughed at them and got on the escalator. With that said, I don’t believe these are Princess employees. 
 

I’m glad you had an amazing time and hope the good overshadows the bad and you sail Princess again. 
 

Andrew 🙂

Edited December 2, 2019 by arowe6

[caribill]

The "must have one hand free" rule is one of the port, not of Princess. It is not just at Fort Lauderdale, but also at some other ports.

 

As others have said, this was not a Princess employee that did this to the OP.  No matter what cruise line ship would be using a terminal with an escalator at Fort Lauderdale, the rule and enforecement is the same.

 

I agree with the OP that holding Stanley under the arm still left the hand free for holding the escalator railing.

[sanger727]

I agree that the employee probably overstepped his bounds and turned a non-incident into an incident.

 

That being said, I think you are making a mountain out of a molehill if this 5 minutes of being separated from your daughter was enough to "ruin" your "great cruise". Things happen. You were before customs in the cruise terminal. Only people who were disembarking from cruises plus port and government officials were there. At 10 I was going to sleep away camps, traveling on  bus to school, walking out of my house alone to see friends. Have you really never been separated from your daughter in a public place for a few minutes before while one of you went to the bathroom? Jumping to she could have been assaulted or abducted in the few minutes she was out of your sight is a bit of an exaggeration. Most people don't walk around looking for a few minutes of  opportunity to assault or abduct children.

[MCC retired]

Seems to be an overreaction by both the employee , and the departing guest  .

5 year old , yes panic , but a 10 year old ?

Hold the stuffed thing between your teeth and move on .

Never saw a cruise line employee monitoring a in-terminal escalator ?

 

 

 

[sunsetbeachgal]

45 minutes ago, sanger727 said:

I agree that the employee probably overstepped his bounds and turned a non-incident into an incident.

 

That being said, I think you are making a mountain out of a molehill if this 5 minutes of being separated from your daughter was enough to "ruin" your "great cruise". Things happen. You were before customs in the cruise terminal. Only people who were disembarking from cruises plus port and government officials were there. At 10 I was going to sleep away camps, traveling on  bus to school, walking out of my house alone to see friends. Have you really never been separated from your daughter in a public place for a few minutes before while one of you went to the bathroom? Jumping to she could have been assaulted or abducted in the few minutes she was out of your sight is a bit of an exaggeration. Most people don't walk around looking for a few minutes of  opportunity to assault or abduct children.

I tend to agree, especially since the area at the bottom of the escalator is a secured area before you exit through US Customs. The only people in there are those disembarking the ship.   I would classify this as a mishap but in no way would let it ruin my cruise. 

Edited December 2, 2019 by sunsetbeachgal

[Haboob]

"Physically restrained"?   Were it just a hand on my arm and a child in my care already on a moving escalator, I'd have simply kept going.  More restraint than that?  Methinks a police report alleging assault might be in order.

[Pierlesscruisers]

18 hours ago, CI66774 said:

 . . . I was PHYSICALLY RESTRAINED by a Princess shore staff person (I have his name but won't publicize it here). daughter descending into a sea of thousands of strangers and I start to panic. I yelled that he was separating me from my minor daughter and placing her safety at risk. .

 

As I believe was mentioned by someone else earlier, this would not have been a Princess employee but would have been an employee of whichever shore services company would have been employed at that pier to handle passengers.

 

Tom

Edited December 2, 2019 by Pierlesscruisers

[CI66774]

18 hours ago, pcsunlover said:

Was this an older man?  I have MS and have some balance issues, especially when stepping onto a down escalator.  Once I have stepped on, I’m fine.  Usually I will hold the rail with my right hand and my husband holds my left arm and we step on the escalator together. Once I’m “safely” on he will either step behind me or in front.  Last year when we did that the older man directing people at the escalator started yelling at my husband for assisting me. My husband just yelled right back that nobody was going to stop him from helping his wife and the man yelled down the escalator at us threatening to call the police!  It’s the first time something like that had happened and was so embarrassing. I complained about it in our Princess survey, but really he is a port employee. He has no business with that “job”.  His compassion and common sense are certainly lacking. It totally ruined the “come back new” feeling for us.

 

Obviously what you experienced is much more traumatic and if it is the same man, I hope you file a complaint with the port authority.  I really wish I had.

Yes it was.

[CI66774]

2 hours ago, Pierlesscruisers said:

 

As I believe was mentioned by someone else earlier, this would not have been a Princess employee but would have been an employee of whichever shore services company would have been employed at that pier to handle passengers.

 

Tom

Confirmed he, indeed, is a Princess employee.

[CI66774]

18 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Am I right in deducting you were off the ship and inside the cruise terminal at the time? If so, the person responsible would probably not have been a Princess employee but rather an shore staff employee who are not part of Princess.

It was confirmed he was a Princess employee.

[CI66774]

3 hours ago, sunsetbeachgal said:

I tend to agree, especially since the area at the bottom of the escalator is a secured area before you exit through US Customs. The only people in there are those disembarking the ship.   I would classify this as a mishap but in no way would let it ruin my cruise. 

I'm in contact with Princess management and am confident it will be resolved satisfactorily.

[CI66774]

3 hours ago, Haboob said:

"Physically restrained"?   Were it just a hand on my arm and a child in my care already on a moving escalator, I'd have simply kept going.  More restraint than that?  Methinks a police report alleging assault might be in order.

Don't think it rose to that level and didn't want to be detained by police and miss my flight by refusing to comply. 

[CI66774]

13 hours ago, caribill said:

The "must have one hand free" rule is one of the port, not of Princess. It is not just at Fort Lauderdale, but also at some other ports.

 

As others have said, this was not a Princess employee that did this to the OP.  No matter what cruise line ship would be using a terminal with an escalator at Fort Lauderdale, the rule and enforecement is the same.

 

I agree with the OP that holding Stanley under the arm still left the hand free for holding the escalator railing.

I confirmed he's a Princess employee.

[CI66774]

18 hours ago, pcsunlover said:

Was this an older man?  I have MS and have some balance issues, especially when stepping onto a down escalator.  Once I have stepped on, I’m fine.  Usually I will hold the rail with my right hand and my husband holds my left arm and we step on the escalator together. Once I’m “safely” on he will either step behind me or in front.  Last year when we did that the older man directing people at the escalator started yelling at my husband for assisting me. My husband just yelled right back that nobody was going to stop him from helping his wife and the man yelled down the escalator at us threatening to call the police!  It’s the first time something like that had happened and was so embarrassing. I complained about it in our Princess survey, but really he is a port employee. He has no business with that “job”.  His compassion and common sense are certainly lacking. It totally ruined the “come back new” feeling for us.

 

Obviously what you experienced is much more traumatic and if it is the same man, I hope you file a complaint with the port authority.  I really wish I had.

Princess told me he's an employee.

[thinfool]

My response would be, "Yes, call the Police...right now...if you don't, I will...and, by the way, I'll be down there beside my daughter."

Press on!

[CI66774]

It's utterly shocking and quite sad that some people who post here think allowing a minor child to wander among thousands of strangers is utterly acceptable. Wait until it's your grandchild who is forcibly separated from you and abducted, etc. within minutes. Some of these responses are unreal!

[CI66774]

Just now, thinfool said:

My response would be, "Yes, call the Police...right now...if you don't, I will...and, by the way, I'll be down there beside my daughter."

Press on!

Should have done that but he physically restrained me and extended a cord across the escalator. Your suggestion would have been a better response. I guess I was panicking and not thinking clearly.

[Bruin Steve]

Several things YOU should have/could have done:

1)  On the earlier thread you started that got deleted, you said you knew about the "hands free" thing.  You could have complied from the start...and/or NOT put your child on the escalator in front of you.

 

2)  Rather than making your priority arguing with the employee, you could have shouted to your child to wait for you at the bottom of the escalator--She's ten years old, certainly she could have understood to do that rather than going off with one of your fellow passengers (that's who has access to that point).

 

3)  Rather than arguing with the employee, you could have told your daughter to turn around as soon as she got to the bottom and to walk right back up the stairs to join you in the elevator.  She would have remained in your sight the entire minute or so that way.

 

4)  You could have stepped back for a few seconds, unzipped your carry-on a little and stuffed the bear partially or fully inside, then followed your daughter down the escalator almost immediately.

 

BUT, it appears to me that your priority here was to argue with the attendant--who was only doing his job.

 

As I told you in the prior thread, the cruise line and the port authority need to have great concern over the possibility of an accident on the escalator by someone falling.  The potential liability from such an incident is extremely high.  Their employee (and again, here, I sincerely doubt it was a Princess employee--most of the employees you encounter in the terminal are employees of the port authority--especially ones with tasks like enforcing the escalator policy).

 

AND, to the extent you think you deserve compensation from Princess, AGAIN, I ask you how you were damaged?  Were you or your daughter injured by their actions?  Did you lose property or have property damaged by their actions?  Did the events described cost you financially?  Yet, you really think Princess owes you something here?

 

We have all run into an employee here or there who, for whatever reason, we may have considered rude--even if they, and not us, were completely in the right--as clearly in this case.  You were very fortunate that, as you disregarded your daughter, some nice fellow passenger made they effort to look after her.  Thank THAT person...and brush off the small bit of imagined rudeness by the person properly doing his job.  Be thankful that Princess supplied you with a great cruise...and that you and your daughter survived this minor incident and are safely home...

 

It might have been a lot worse had you entered the escalator with a suitcase on one arm, cradling a stuffed bear with the other and took a tumble down the escalator falling on your daughter and other passengers on your way to the cement floor at the bottom.  Next time, consider the elevator.

[dickinson]

10 minutes ago, CI66774 said:

It's utterly shocking and quite sad that some people who post here think allowing a minor child to wander among thousands of strangers is utterly acceptable. Wait until it's your grandchild who is forcibly separated from you and abducted, etc. within minutes. Some of these responses are unreal!

 

I agree with you.  I find it hard to believe that this employee is still working... especially because another poster also mentioned an incident.  I assume it is the same employee but obviously it might not be.  Most people are like you and that they are on their way home and don't have time to report things.

 

I wonder if Princess, in saying that he is an employee, is just generically telling you that info because he works at the port and is wearing a Princess uniform, etc.  They want everyone to think these people work for the cruise line.  Also possible that customer relations (I assume that is who you have been in touch with) is clueless that they might really work for the port.

 

I met you on a cruise in 2015 when we took the same excursion.  I'm sure you don't remember me nor my dh but from what I remember you were a very responsible parent.  I would have been just as upset as you in this instance.  The ship is full of all the same kinds of people as "out in the real world".  As a matter of fact, in 1990 we took our two children on a cruise on the NCL Norway.  It was the largest ship afloat.  We went to pick up our 9 year old at the children's center but they said he checked himself out.  WHAT????!!!!  They never told us that kids could do that.  So unsafe... even then.  We had to search the ship to find him!

[CI66774]

6 minutes ago, dickinson said:

 

I agree with you.  I find it hard to believe that this employee is still working... especially because another poster also mentioned an incident.  I assume it is the same employee but obviously it might not be.  Most people are like you and that they are on their way home and don't have time to report things.

 

I wonder if Princess, in saying that he is an employee, is just generically telling you that info because he works at the port and is wearing a Princess uniform, etc.  They want everyone to think these people work for the cruise line.  Also possible that customer relations (I assume that is who you have been in touch with) is clueless that they might really work for the port.

 

I met you on a cruise in 2015 when we took the same excursion.  I'm sure you don't remember me nor my dh but from what I remember you were a very responsible parent.  I would have been just as upset as you in this instance.  The ship is full of all the same kinds of people as "out in the real world".  As a matter of fact, in 1990 we took our two children on a cruise on the NCL Norway.  It was the largest ship afloat.  We went to pick up our 9 year old at the children's center but they said he checked himself out.  WHAT????!!!!  They never told us that kids could do that.  So unsafe... even then.  We had to search the ship to find him!

Thank you for your kind words. Was it a 26-day cruise where we met? I probably did panic and should have charged ahead on the escalator but I wasn't thinking clearly. It's unreal to me that another poster (Bruin) seems to take pleasure in deriding me and my actions. It's so unfortunate when those who sit behind computers think it's ok to harass and abuse someone who's been through a frightening episode. Thanks again for your kind words.