RCCL pax prove their irresponsibility once again...

[bepsf]

Passengers Miss Ship, Sue Cruise Line

 

Five passengers sailing on Royal Caribbean's Adventure of the Seas in the Eastern Caribbean are suing the cruise line. The reason? They missed the ship while in the port of St. Maarten. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, the attorney for the travelers, based in Utah, suggests, that cruise lines "ought to have a program or policy in place of what to do when you leave somebody behind."

 

What do you think???

[Grumpy1]

Passengers Miss Ship, Sue Cruise Line

 

Five passengers sailing on Royal Caribbean's Adventure of the Seas in the Eastern Caribbean are suing the cruise line. The reason? They missed the ship while in the port of St. Maarten. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, the attorney for the travelers, based in Utah, suggests, that cruise lines "ought to have a program or policy in place of what to do when you leave somebody behind."

 

What do you think???

But they DO have a program and policy in place... simply stated: Leave them behind and let them contact the port agent. Everyone that pays any attention knows that, but then... not everyone pays attention, do they.

[Pudgesmom]

Shall we also sue the airline when we miss our flight?

 

Shall we sue the school district when our children are tardy and school starts before they arrive?

 

Shall we sue the theater if we miss the first act?

 

Hello?

 

Most cruise lines provide the name and contact information for an on-shore agent, don't they? Why don't these passengers just contact the agent?

 

I guess people can sue for anything. It doesn't mean they'll win in court.

 

Beth

[jhannah]

It's really amazing how litigious our society is as a whole! How can anyone believe anyone owes them anything when they themselves are solely responsible for their plight? :rolleyes:

 

Gee, how many notices are we given of gangway-up and sailing time? In the daily program, signs at the gangway, signs ashore ...

 

Maybe they should sue their ophthamologist for failing to adequately prescribe their corrective lenses so they could read! :rolleyes:

[jckvpa0]

And you think this type of behavior is exclusive to RCCL pax :cool: ?

[Randyk47]

I'm not amazed since, as Jim points out so rightly, our litigious environment seems to encourage folks to sue a the drop of a hat. I always pay attention to the port announcements on our cruises and particularly focused on them on our Volendam cruise as we were doing more on our own than we typically do. I'd estimate there were no fewer than 5-6 notices, from the daily paper to a sign at the end of the gangplank for printed/posted notices to verbal reminders by our cabin steward and the security folks when we left the ship. Personally we would have had little to no excuse for missing the departure unless we'd been on a ship sponsored excursion with no control. I hope RCCL doesn't roll over and settle out of court but, then again, sometimes it's easier and cheaper....probably what the plantiffs are counting on. :(

[krewzin]

It's really amazing how litigious our society is as a whole!

 

That, and people these days really like to 'sue' for anything and everything!

:D

[tomc]

AFAIK, the crew will keep an informal lookout for anyone who seems to be running toward the ship at sailing time, but I think that's about as much as they will do.

[caviargal]

Irresponsible pax are not limited to RCI. I have been on several cruises over the years where pax were left ashore due to their tardiness. IMO, it is the individual's responsibility to make sure they are on time and, if not, deal with the consequences.

 

A lawsuit is certainly ridiculous and I hope that taxpayer's money is not wasted and the suit is thrown out.

 

I watched as a group of drunk pax - who we learned later were at Carlos and Charlies and not keeping track of time - were running towards the ship as we were pulling out of Cozumel. I saw no sympathy from the other passengers.

[herb]

as a matter of principal we always see to it to be onboard 1/2 hour BEFORE suggested time given by cruiseline.

[Copper10-8]

I think it's total B.S.! Also agree, it's not exclusive to RCI pax and don't forget the nice atty. who filed it for his clients. In today's society it would not surprise me to find out that these fine folks will get money out of this one. (i.e. the McDonalds coffee caper, the burglar who fell through the skylight and sued the owner of the building, etc etc) We watched two young ladies come running down the pier in Ensenada, Mexico one time after the ship had already shoved off. They lucked out when the authorities put them on the pilot boat and did an at sea transfer back to the ship.

[jhannah]

They lucked out when the authorities put them on the pilot boat and did an at sea transfer back to the ship.

I would hope they got a bill for that. But they probably didn't.

[Copper10-8]

I would hope they got a bill for that. But they probably didn't.

 

I doubt it too Jim; Mexican hospitality;)

[dakrewser]

Do you have a link for the story, Brian? The only recent suit I could find was by three crew members against Carnival for overtime (http://cbs2.com/local/local_story_059211130.html)

[Copper10-8]

Do you have a link for the story, Brian? The only recent suit I could find was by three crew members against Carnival for overtime (http://cbs2.com/local/local_story_059211130.html)

 

Dave, go to the "News" feature all the way on the top of this (CC) page; you'll find the full story there

[Williebill]

Of all the cruises that I have been on, we've been told what time the ship was to leave and that everyone was to be back on board one-half hour prior that time. I've also wittnessed crew on board looking for passengers approaching the ship prior to taking in lines, sometimes very anxiously because we were late leaving. I guess some people think they are special and the rest of the ship is suppose to wait until they are ready to leave, no matter what they have told. If these people get money from this, justice will not be served.

[infopaul]

As much as I agree with the views expressed so far, it is sad to say that is the way our society in the USA has become (for better or worse?). Welcome to the New America...Paul:)

 

PS: I think they'll settle for nusiance value.

[lvs2crooz]

IMHO I believe it is the responsibility of the cruise passenger to make sure he or she gets back to the ship on time. The cruiseline is very clear about the timeline. DH and I are always onboard one hour before the deadline, just to be on the safe side. It amazes me how close people come to missing the ship. On one of our cruises, we were sailing away and there on the docks were stranded passengers of our ship waving their arms begging the ship to come back. Finally, a tugboat or pilot boat came to their rescue and ferried them out to the ship and loaded them onboard. They were lucky, but all could have been avoided if they had been a little more considerate and aware of the time.

[lardan]

One reason that I usually will take the ship's excursion is that if it is late returning, they WILL hold the ship for you as long as the excursion is booked on the ship.

 

In Jamaica two years ago there was a bad accident (not involving the cruise passengers) and they held the ship for 2 hours waiting for those folks on a cruise sponsored excursion to return.

[FoxyTerrier]

Cruise line is sued after 3 left behind

By Rosemary Winters

The Salt Lake Tribune

 

 

 

Five Utah residents have sued Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. after three of them were left behind on a Caribbean cruise.

Although boarding the ship following an island excursion is the passengers' responsibility, the plaintiffs allege that Royal Caribbean hampered the their efforts to rejoin the cruise. The lawsuit, filed last month in Utah's 3rd District Court, charges Royal Caribbean with breach of contract, infliction of emotional distress, negligence and fraud.

"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?"

Babcock took his wife, four sons and daughter-in-law on the Caribbean cruise during the week of Christmas 2004. He filed the lawsuit on behalf of three sons who were left behind at St. Martin island and his wife and daughter-in-law for their distress.

Collin Babcock and step-brothers Bill Allred and Mark Allred were caught in a traffic jam on St. Martin when the ship was close to departure. They jumped out of the taxi, ran ahead of traffic, pulled another taxi driver out of a barber shop and called ahead to the dock to notify the ship of their delay, Robert Babcock said.

Aboard the ship, Babcock was told by Royal Caribbean staff that his sons could be shuttled to the ship if they arrived soon. But when the young men arrived seconds after the ship pulled away, they were told by staff at the harbor that a transfer wasn't possible, Babcock said.

The young men then made plans to fly from St. Martin to Aruba, where the ship would dock next. Babcock asked management on board the ship if his sons would need their passports but was told passports were not necessary for travel between the two Dutch islands.

On St. Martin, a Royal Caribbean agent told the young men they would need their passports because they had to fly through Puerto Rico to get to Aruba. The agent e-mailed the ship but did not have a phone number, according to the lawsuit.

When the passports had not arrived, Babcock's sons found the ship's phone number and made a frantic call from a telephone booth. The situation had become a "crisis," the lawsuit alleged.

Babcock faxed copies of the passports before his sons had to leave for their flight. They arrived in Aruba in time to board the ship - after Royal Caribbean security staff initially denied boarding because their clearance had been dropped from the system.

Getting left behind "wasn't that big of a deal because I had traveled internationally," said Bill Allred. "The frustrating part was dealing with Royal Caribbean. Their negligence made it harder for us to get back."

After returning from the cruise, Babcock wrote and called Royal Caribbean several times to try to talk with someone about how the situation was handled. Babcock said his complaints were repeatedly ignored, prompting him to seek legal recourse.

In an e-mail, Michael Sheehan, director of corporate communications at Royal Caribbean, said cruise guests are responsible for boarding the ship on time and for arranging and paying for travel to the next port of call if they get left behind.

"This information is clearly spelled out in the ticket contract that each guest receives from our company," Sheehan wrote. "This information has also been explained to Mr. Babcock on numerous occasions."

rwinters@sltrib.com

[kryos]

What a crock!

 

They shouldn't have cut it so close that getting caught in traffic became such a problem.

 

Hey, I missed embarkation on one cruise and had to travel to Puerto Limon, Costa Rica to catch the ship. My case was even more upsetting than their's because I missed the ship due to airline incompentency ... not cutting things so short (I left Philly at something like 8:30 a.m. for a 5:00 p.m. sailing). But, that's not HAL's fault ... that's life. Luckily I had insurance and I got some of my money back. I would have never even thought of suing anyone, though I did write some letters to U.S. Air ... and to shut me up, I got some vouchers for free round trip coach seats on any flights they operate.

 

The article posted states that the attorney who took this case is part of the family of people who missed the ship. Believe me, no other attorney would touch it. It's going nowhere and will not even see the courtroom. My guess is they are looking for a "token" settlement from the cruise line and then will drop it. Even the attorney knows there is no way he can win on this one.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[dakrewser]

It's going nowhere and will not even see the courtroom. My guess is they are looking for a "token" settlement from the cruise line and then will drop it. Even the attorney knows there is no way he can win on this one.

 

I wouldn't be too sure. They aren't suing because the ship left without them, but because of the conflicting information they received about getting back to the ship.

 

Whoever the "management on board the ship " is should be summarily fired if they committed to anything except the name & phone number of the port agent, whose job it is to get passengers to the next port.

 

It also, though, points up the need to travel off-ship with your passport!

[RuthC]

I'm starting to feel sorry for Royal Caribbean. First the widowed bride starts doing the media rounds, now this. :rolleyes:

Like the song says---When will they ever learn? When will they ev-er learn?

[trubey]

Not only is this a litigious society, but it is also a late society. People show up at concerts, weddings, etc. a wee bit late and think its perfectly proper. It bugs me.

 

However, I'm now late for feeding my rottweiler. GOTTA' RUN! susana.

[lougee1043]

<<<I wouldn't be too sure. They aren't suing because the ship left without them, but because of the conflicting information they received about getting back to the ship.

Whoever the "management on board the ship " is should be summarily fired if they committed to anything except the name & phone number of the port agent, whose job it is to get passengers to the next port.>>>

 

couldnt find anything re: the above--any other details available