New thread on "Kicked Off" rumor

[hokie78]

Original thread on this topic is getting pretty long, and I thought this info was interesting enough to start it over. Who'da thunk the answer may lie right here in Utah. (UTAH?) Link to an article in today's SLC Tribune is attached. Seems this incident goes back to 2004, and the family did indeed miss the ship while stuck in traffic on St. Maarten. Read the article, but the bottom line is that they knew they were in trouble, phoned ahead, and were told to get there ASAP and they could get a tender (my words) to get them back on. Long story short, no tender when they got there (no clue how far out the ship was by that time) and no further help from RCI. Lots of stuff about not having passports with them, which would be key to flying elsewhere and catching up with the ship. Do we need to spell out that lesson about what to bring with you when visiting ports?!?!?! It would seem that technically, RCI is in the clear. The lawsuit revolves around what amounts to "pain and suffering" (again, my words) and that RCI was not compassionate enough to suit the complainant. No way to know for sure that this event is what started the original thread/rumor, but it sure smells right. http://www.sltrib.com/business/ci_3587230

[jwlane]

. Do we need to spell out that lesson about what to bring with you when visiting ports?!?!?!

No, the lesson is to be on time.

[Luv4dacruise]

Wow, now that is a bad day......

[Cruising89143]

Why is getting left behind on a self booked excursion the cruise lines fault? I hope that this gets thrown out of court. Just another attorney trying to make a quick buck and people trying to make someone else take responsibilty for their own lack of good judgement.

[parrotthead]

Why do so many people leave their passports at on the ship??? You are , after all in a forign country...you need your ID ...would these same people leave their drivers licensce at home and b!tc# about getting a traffic ticket???

I say gimme a break...JMO>:o

[LLM]

While on my Voyager cruise, the cruiseline took our passports when we checked in and kept them until the last day of the cruise. I don't know if this was because we were Canadian? On our last sea day we were given a number and had to go to the concierge lounge with the number to claim our passports. I don't remember having to do this on the Mariner. Maybe because we had to show our passports before entering St. Thomas. Maybe someone else can shed some light as to why they kept our passports. Has this happened to anyone else?

 

Lisa

[Erie Dave]

Why do so many people leave their passports at on the ship??? You are , after all in a forign country...you need your ID ...would these same people leave their drivers licensce at home and b!tc# about getting a traffic ticket???

I say gimme a break...JMO>:o

 

 

St Thomas is a US territory. The point is to be back to the ship in plenty of time.

[captNcrunch]

Why do so many people leave their passports at on the ship??? You are , after all in a forign country...you need your ID ...would these same people leave their drivers licensce at home and b!tc# about getting a traffic ticket???

I say gimme a break...JMO>:o

 

Probably because they are told that all they need is their ship card and a photo ID. JMO :rolleyes:

[Giorgi-one]

We should all know better by now that cruise lines are never at fault.

- Missed ship - passenger's fault

- Killed and Thrown off balcony - Don't drink

- Raped - She probably asked for it

- Slipped or fell - clumsy oaf

- Got sick from food - probably had stomach virus when they boarded

- Flight problems with cruise air - read fine print

[nrdsb4]

We should all know better by now that cruise lines are never at fault.

- Missed ship - passenger's fault

- Killed and Thrown off balcony - Don't drink

- Raped - She probably asked for it

- Slipped or fell - clumsy oaf

- Got sick from food - probably had stomach virus when they boarded

- Flight problems with cruise air - read fine print

 

Well, of those you mentioned, I'd say missing the ship is almost always the fault of the passenger or their privately booked excursion (occasionally other things happen which are the fault of neither the passenger nor the cruiseline). If the ship says be back by 4:30 because we're leaving at 5:00, and not only are you not back by 4:30, but you completely miss the ship, I fail to see how that could be the cruise line's fault (whether you're talking Carnival or Seabourne).

 

Your sarcasm could well be applied to the other situations you mentioned, but not the first. Of course, that's just my opinion.

[Onessa]

While on my Voyager cruise, the cruiseline took our passports when we checked in and kept them until the last day of the cruise. I don't know if this was because we were Canadian? On our last sea day we were given a number and had to go to the concierge lounge with the number to claim our passports. I don't remember having to do this on the Mariner. Maybe because we had to show our passports before entering St. Thomas. Maybe someone else can shed some light as to why they kept our passports. Has this happened to anyone else?

 

Different lines and different itenaries have different policies to deal with retaining passports for foriegn pax. As US citizens, we've had our passports "retained" on some European cruises.

 

US State Dept encourages you to photocopy the inside front page of your US passport - three copies: one on you at all time while traveling in foreign contries, one copy safe (and separate) in your cabin or room, one copy home with someone you can call in case of an emergency. If your passport is lost, stolen or "sails away'" without you the copy can provide much needed information to help you and the authorities deal with the situation.

[babaloo41]

We should all know better by now that cruise lines are never at fault.

- Missed ship - passenger's fault

- Killed and Thrown off balcony - Don't drink

- Raped - She probably asked for it

- Slipped or fell - clumsy oaf

- Got sick from food - probably had stomach virus when they boarded

- Flight problems with cruise air - read fine print

 

Wow. That's a little harsh. :eek:

[skypilotks]

What I'm reading from that article is not the fact that RCCI is not at fault for them missing the ship, it's all the miscommunications, which if anyone has been on a cruise in the last couple years, you all know is very true!! You get totally different answers from everyone you talk to! I'm thinking that if the RCCI person that told the family members on board that if the boat sailled there wouldn't be anyway for them to get out to the ship (ie can take a tender) that the family would have left there passports at the port! ( I would have actually stayed behind if it was my family). And I know everyone on here things RCCI can't do anything wrong, but you have to admit, that the CS has decreased alot in the last couple years!

[jimmyatc]

As a rule, I will only do a non-RCI excursion in the morning. I will always have 3+ hours left afterwards...just as a buffer. I have no sympathy for these people. They knew the rules. You don't penalize 2500 people because of a few who knew better.

[pcur]

This isn't making a whole lot of sense to me. I was on the Splendor in October 2003, and at the C&A Diamond / Platinum lunch we had the head pursur at our table. We had an incident in the Canary Islands where a woman argued with her DH, got off the ship to go shopping, and didn't return on time.

 

The head pursur went to the cabin TO COLLECT THE WOMAN'S PASSPORT, which is company policy, and leave it with the port authority at the dock. The DH had literally minutes to decide whether to stay or get off, and he stayed! We were on a Transatlantic, so he was at sea for 7 days without her (hmmmm....maybe better for them, huh?).

 

Anyway, if they have your passports, or they can get them, they leave them at the dock. So, I have a problem with the story here. I think they either didn't have passports with them, or the ship did not know it.

[stbmom]

We should all know better by now that cruise lines are never at fault.

- Missed ship - passenger's fault

- Killed and Thrown off balcony - Don't drink

- Raped - She probably asked for it

- Slipped or fell - clumsy oaf

- Got sick from food - probably had stomach virus when they boarded

- Flight problems with cruise air - read fine print

 

I guess my question is:

Why would it be the cruise lines fault that someone missed the ship?

Why would the cruise line be responsible for someone getting killed and thrown off the ship (unless an employee committed the crime)

Same for the rape (not that the woman asked for it, but why would it be RCCL's fault)

Flight problem - does RCCL really control Delta airline?

 

But, considering the fact that I saw a thread in which people felt the cruise line should make sure that underage drinking doesn't happen - then in two threads down someone mentions that their 16 year old is "mature enough to do whatever and make the right decisions" I can see why in society today - we would rather the government or businesses think, parent, and just do everything else for us instead of having personal responsibility.

 

Me - I just make sure I get back to the ship on time.

[tinkerme1]

Man oh man, you start finger-pointing and accusing fault and look at all the people wanting to play! LOL!

 

Personally, IMHO, it is true that you should take responsibility to get back to the ship on time. Whenever I make plans for private tours, this is a stipulation I make to the tour/tourguide. Obviously, things happen. Traffic, flat tires, etc. Sometimes, the best laid plans don't work. I think what this article in the Utah paper was referring to, is that the attorney feels there should be a policy in place if it does happen, and what a passenger should do if it happens to them! I'd hate to see any of you get left behind and then need help from these boards.

 

"You ought to have a program or a policy in place of what [to] do when you leave somebody behind," said Robert Babcock, attorney for the plaintiffs, who also are members of his family. "It's going to happen sometimes. How do you turn that marketing problem from lemons to lemonade?"

 

Personally, I agree there "should" be a policy in place.

 

P.S. If you read the article, it states they needed their passports to fly from St. Maarten to San Juan to Aruba to catch up with the ship. You need one in San Juan.

[HurricaneSally]

I never leave the ship without my passport and my credit card (just in case). That being said, I am always back on the ship at least an hour before departure. People are just idiots and want everybody else to take care of them.

 

I say, take care of yourself, it's the only person you can really count on.

[pcur]

Like I said above, there IS a policy in place. And, the article on the home page of CruiseCritic says it, too.

 

There's a port agent at the dock waiting for you when you get to the (now empty) dock. If the staff on the ship can get their hands on your family and get ID, passports, luggage, anything, they leave it with the port agent who then proceeds to help you get to the next port of call.

 

Of course, if they can't find your family on board, or anything to leave for you, and you went drinking or swimming with a $20 bill, then you're pretty much on your way to the nearest Moneygram office!

[Host Jacquelyn]

Is it only Canadians that have to surrender their passports at boarding time, and collect them when they re-enter the US (or US territory)?

[cruiseaholics]

Jacquelyn,

 

My DH is a citizen of the UK but a resident alien of the US. He's always had to surrender his UK passport or US "green card" at boarding time and collect it later. I'm assuming this might be the case for all non-US citizens, not only Canadians, when embarking from a US port.

 

For what it's worth...

Patty

[icequeen]

I am Canadian and have been on five cruises. On every single cruise, I have surrendered my passport on check-in and only received it back right before disembarkation. Since there are always Brits, etc. in the lines for passports on the last days, I always assumed that everyone who did not live in the U.S. had to surrender their passport as well.

[AAGF]

As with Cruiseaholics DH, I am originally from the UK (Scotland) with a Permanent Resident "Green Card" and they held my card and I kept my passport. Incidentally, while they accepted my Green Card on re-entry to the US, The Immigration agent informed me that I needed to upgrade my card (Form I-90) and that's another chunk of change to the government. grr!

[egh170]

The cruise industry DOES have a policy if you are not back in time. THEY SAIL WITHOUT YOU!! You are told that. In case you get left behind, YOU should have a policy of what you are going to do. Have a good camera with you so you can take a picture of the ship sailing away. Then notify local authorities what happened.

[Papa C]

My God!!

 

I think if I hear of one more law suit like this my head may explode. This country needs a law that says when a lawyer files a suit he/she has something to lose if the case if frivoulous and thrown out. As passengers we are warned numerous times including by signing our ticket/contract that it is our responsibility to catch the ship. PERIOD!

 

I fail to understand why the cruise line (RCCL or any other) could be held responsible for someone missing the ship. If I get stuck in traffic on my way to the airport can I sue the airline for not waiting? People like this should stay home anyway as they seem incapable of taking care of themselves. They go ashore with no proof of who they are, insufficient funds and then expect to be "taken care of" when they get stranded. How is the cruise line to know how late they will be? Are the balance of us expected to wait for the irresponsible indefinitly,

 

Does anyone really think that a company (cruise line, airline, etc) pays these settlements? Everyone of us who utilizes the services of these companies pay.

 

Well, I feel better after ranting.