Pride Of America Buoy Disaster

[agabbymama]

Bottom Line is when you travel you have to be prepared for S%$# to happen. Murphy's Law, "If it can go wrong it will". Then if it doesn't be glad you had a wonderful cruise/trip.

 

I know it isn't always easy, but you could have had a Poisedon Adventure thanks to the Earthquake, but you didn't.:D

[mbisson]

I bet the earthquake was caused by the buoy coming untethered causing a great release of pressure on the crust of the sea bottom and the result was a catastrophic earth quake. :p

 

LMAO-at least pulling up the buoy anchor wasn't like pulling the plug in a bathtub and the ocean drained down the hole.

 

BTW-anyone wondering if all my cruises with NCL have been fine & dandy might want to take a peak in my Norwegian Sky Alaska folder in my sig. Some of those photos come much closer to "disaster" than this thread does.

 

-Monte

[Reading Interventionist]

As a new member to this "board", I read with interest the comments held by others that did not have the adventure that my husband and I, as well as a couple thousand other passengers, had on the Pride of America's sailing from October 14-21st. You had to be there to understand the lack of communication, among other things, disseminated by NCLA staff.

 

With regard to disgruntled guests meeting twice...we were never aware of any such meeting until we were told of such meetings while on our "after cruise" shore excursion. My husband and I would have loved to been part of those meetings as we had a few choice things to say to "management."

 

The point was well made by a previous poster (sorry I don't recall your name), as well as several other excellent points, that people spent a considerable amount of money on this cruise and we were treated shabbily. Yes it is true that there is a clause in the contract that the cruise line can change the itinerary, but lets be realistic and honest with their guests. I think it is little wonder that NCL, parent company, posted a loss while all the other cruise lines seem to be making a profit- what gives? Customer service or the lack thereof is the difference.

 

I have no intentions of booking a cruise anytime soon (I went on three since June, so I am cruised out for a while), but when I do I highly doubt it will be on an NCL or NCLA ship.

[Zeno]

An "unfortunate incident"? Perhaps.

 

A "disaster". Absolutely not.

 

My sentiments exactly!

Ditto to what Marlissa said as well - I Just Hate It When People Do That

[Zeno]

You had to be there to understand the lack of communication, among other things, disseminated by NCLA staff.

 

 

Just curious and I am sure as a reading expert, you can help me on this one. How does one disseminate a lack of communication? Sorry but the statement confuses me.

[Host CMLA]

Captain error caused the delay in Maui.

I don't believe that the captain addressed the passengers and admitted that he caused the buoy incident. This is your opinion.

the port missed by an error that could have and should have been avoided.

Where's the incident report? I'm not saying what caused the accident and who's at fault but it doesn't make sense that you can state with certainty that this incident could have or should have been avoided. The captain wouldn't have purposefully been negligent so how can you say this was avoidable when it could have been an accident that no one could have avoided?

I think the frustration was the lack of communication from the captain and staff to the passengers. I heard rumors that 300 passengers left the boat in maui. When I asked our waiter about it he said "no, more like 400 left."

Of course, the waiters are always the place to go for facts and to confirm rumors. :rolleyes: Kidding...it always seems that communication could have been better in every situation. Airlines could communicate better when your flight is delayed. Dentist could communicate better when they're running late. Is it possible that because the buoy and the prop are under water that the captain didn't know the facts right away? Could it be that he was still trying to gather the facts and he passed on information as he could?

The staff was not prepared for the delays either. and at times seemed frustrated too which in return delivered poor customer care.

Understandable...they didn't expect a buoy to get caught in the prop. The weren't prepared for that.

I feel the 100.00 was an insult for an error that was obviously preventable.

Again, if the captain didn't hit it on purpose then it had to have been an accident. With your seamanship skills, what should he have done to avoid it? Or what did the official inquiry say he should have done to avoid it?

 

I know I've questioned most of what you said. It's not to discredit you. It's to point out that there could be other factors involved in this but because you're emotional about this, you aren't seeing the other possible things that could have happened. I'm so very sorry that your trip wasn't what you wanted it to be but you have to know that this buoy thing wasn't done on purpose and sometimes bad things just happen. I saved up for two years to take my dream honeymoon to Paris. We spent a fortune on a hotel with a balcony that looked out to the Eiffel Tower so that on New Year's Eve we could enjoy the fireworks show on our balcony in comfort and probably a bit safer. On December 26, 2004 a tsunami hit Asia. As a gesture of mourning, the city of Paris canceled their fireworks show on New Years Eve. I paid $575 a night specifically to get the fireworks show from my balcony on New Years Eve. This was a once in a lifetime HONEYMOON trip. Granted my situation was caused by an act of nature but the tsunami didn't hit Paris. My hotel didn't offer me $100 for my inconvenience. So bad things can happen to anyone at anytime and sometimes it's just one of those things. I hope you can one day find the things you did like about your trip and maybe go back one day.

[dwrist]

Nothing to do with this thread except----friends' son was in Kona the day the earthquake hit. They had no electricity, no communications, nothing for the day. Took two days for their son to touch base with his parents on the mainland. Maybe that is one of the reasons the ship missed Kona.:rolleyes:

JMO this whole thread is blown out of proportion to what really happened. Still have seen no pictures of the cement, etc that was said to be photographed. Sorry people, no sympathy from this cruiser.

[smeyer418]

On occassion the back wash of the prop of another ship has been known to move a buoy. Also its possible that the prop itself was close enough to catch a loose chain and have it wrap around. Unless the chain fouled the prop it wouldn't have registered. A ship that weights 80,000 tons and picks up a couple of tons of buoy would never know the difference.Generally when you are dragging something, it stays underwater until you stop. As for the lack of news it takes time to figuire out wht is going on. No one was in danger. there was no one hurt and until the divers tell you what the damage is you don't know.

 

Was Jim Buoy from Luisiana?

[mbisson]

Was Jim Buoy from Luisiana?

 

GROAN ;) But I like it.

 

-Monte

[flyingpirate]

Your "disaster" cruise on NCLA sounds like our regularly scheduled cruise in a suite on RCCL last week!

 

We managed to have fun ( we always do ) but the lack of service and communication was apalling.

 

NCL rocks beyond belief!

[newmexicoNita]

Not to be redundant, but since this is a new thread, I feel compelled to repeat: the Pride ships in Hawaii are not NCL ships. They are run by NCLA. Two different companies under the same parent company, not unlike Princess, HAL, Cunard, etc., all owned by Carnival. Sorry you had a bad experience on your NCLA cruise, but you shouldn't generalize your feelings to encompass all of NCL. It would be analogous to someone who disliked their Princess cruise swearing off HAL.

He's a first time poster again. i am not saying 1st time posters are always to be doubted because we were all first timers once, but I still put little into what they say and wonder what their adgenda really is. NMnita

[Reading Interventionist]

In response to Zeno's comments concerning the terms disseminate and communicate/communication. Disseminate means to scatter or spread while communicate means to exchange knowledge. One could interpret the two words as synonyms, however, I did not intend them to be synonyms. My intent was that the ship's "management" did not spread important knowledge/information that impacted my husband and me in a timely manner, thus we were unable to alter our plans accordingly, which ultimately caused feelings of dissatisfaction.

 

It is important to realize that communication is a two way street. Fault lies when people do not communicate appropriately, timely or otherwise.

 

I can only speculate as to why the ship remained in port an extra day and we missed the big island, the point that I want to make is the disregard for the guests on board when it came to communicating important information. I did not appreciate being told on Monday that we would be leaving on Tuesday only to find out around the time that we were supposed to leave that guess what we not only are not leaving but also a day at sea is planned. Then to provide only a few shore tours is not okay considering that many people, me included, expected to not be docked at Maui for a 3rd day!

 

I can't speak for all guests, but as far as I am concerned, to offer few shore excursions and limited activities for Tuesday and Wednesday, on board, is not going to win friends but will definately influence those that already had a "beef" with NCLA for other reasons not associated with the earthquake (which had nothing to do with the buoy) or the buoy problem.

 

I believe the guests that cruised on that fateful cruise have every right to vent their frustrations just as those that did not cruise have the right to comment. Let's keep it civil though. I am not saying that we shouldn't have an opinion, but at the same time, I get upset reading posts by people that didn't cruise with us telling those of us that did cruise, that we shouldn't feel the way we do or we should be happy we got the $100. How would you know you what we experienced? You weren't there experiencing the experience.

 

Thank you

 

Keep smiling:)

[Redog]

To those of you who claim that we who were on the POA when the Capt. took the bouy with him and are trying to get something for nothing - no we aren't - we are try to get something for our $4000. We were not able to go to the all the islands noted in the itinerary nor go on all the shore excursions. When SOME of us have to save for a cruise we plan very carelfully as to where we we want to go on that cruise and expect what is promised us. Don't critize us unless you were on that ship. The food was o.k. but seemed to be the same day after day and the entertainment was not very professional. The crew was friendly but acted like they didn't know what was going on. Hawaii cruise is not like the Carribean for those of us on the mainland and after a 9 hour flight we expect more than we got. And I did hear passengers making arrangements to leave after the 2nd day on Maui. I also know of one passenger that used the FreeFly program and as of Tuesday has still not gotten her luggage.

[cruisingknut]

you didn't take the $100? who lost out there?

[Snoopyto]

I decided to do a google search and found several articles about this incident. The best one with information was this one http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061018/NEWS09/610180363/1019/NEWS It notes the amount of compensation given to guests. But I see no mention of 200+ guests being stranded. I did notices they said 'parties'. We only heard about one.

 

I did find the quote by the USCG LT peculiar. He says "ship ocassionally run ver naviagational aids." Of course they do, but most of the time it is cargo ships and such, not cruise ships. It is also noted that it was raining at the time as well. The problem I have with the incident, if they make this run all the time, why didn't they know where they were in the channel. With GPS and charting, the ship should be able to move on auto pilot out of the channel. But I am sure the USCG will have a report forth coming a few months.

 

I just don't see the significant amount of people inconvenienced by this incident. I don't see people stranded in hotel due to the ship being locked down. Short of being barred access to this ship, $100 for an extra day in probably the best port is not bad, when all things are considered.

[Retired not Expired]

Nothing to do with this thread except----friends' son was in Kona the day the earthquake hit. They had no electricity, no communications, nothing for the day. Took two days for their son to touch base with his parents on the mainland. Maybe that is one of the reasons the ship missed Kona.:rolleyes:

JMO this whole thread is blown out of proportion to what really happened. Still have seen no pictures of the cement, etc that was said to be photographed. Sorry people, no sympathy from this cruiser.

 

Yes. Kona was the one port closed to cruise ships for a few days after the earthquake. Most likely, the POAm would not have been able to make this port anyway.

 

And the OLD statemen made (Not by dwrist) that how would any of us know since we weren't there, most who have done very many cruises at all has missed ports and sometimes had the whole itinerary changed so we do know. Been there, done that.

 

It was a missed port. Why it hit the buoy will come out in the report in six months or so. Until then, nobody really knows why.

[Redog]

Didn't take the $100 as were advised NOT to by an attorney!

[boundingmaynard]

I find it hard to believe that anyone would even consider blaming the cruise line for missed ports due to an earthquake, I feel so bad for you that you were forced to enjoy the ammenities of a cruise ship for an extra couple of days, your lucky the outcome wasn't worse.

As far as hitting and dragging the bouy, how did this disturb your cruise?:confused:

Some people just aren't happy unless they are unhappy.:cool:

[cruisingknut]

Was on the Sun when Katrina hit. Missed two ports. Rough seas that make us sick one day screwing up that day. Only got $50 credit and a free rum punch party (don't drink). Still enjoyed the time at sea. Loved the cruise. Had several people doing what you did. They were bitter. I cherished my vacation. Hope you get what you want out of it. Too bad it spoiled your vacation.

[Host CMLA]

It is important to realize that communication is a two way street. Fault lies when people do not communicate appropriately, timely or otherwise.

I have to interject this because you've made a point of pointing out what communication should have been like on your cruise. In reality, communication is not necessarily a two way street. The sender of the communication has no idea how it will be received or if it is received at all. So it may seem like communication was lacking but in reality, there could have been any number of factors working against a clear communication. OK...the communications major in me will step off the soap box. LOL

I get upset reading posts by people that didn't cruise with us telling those of us that did cruise, that we shouldn't feel the way we do or we should be happy we got the $100. How would you know you what we experienced? You weren't there experiencing the experience.

It's the nature of message boards for people to post their experience and others to respond with how they would have felt or what's happened to them in the past. Of course, people not on your cruise don't know exactly what you experienced but situations in life are sometimes similar enough that people can respond intelligently on the subject without telling you you're wrong. And I don't believe anyone has told you that you're wrong.

[Happy ks]

I'm sorry your cruise wasn't all you had hoped it would be. It is such a disappointment to have things like this happen.

 

But, I've been on these boards long enough, read enough of these stories to know that things sometimes just happen. Life is not perfect, ships have mechanical problems, sometimes pax are not kept up to date because the Captain doesn't always know what is going to happen next. The repair or problem can either be quickly fixed, take days, the engines may run or not. Ports may or may not be missed.

 

If you read these boards long enough, you will find it happens several times a year and to all lines, not just NCL, not just in Hawaii. It's not only mechanical failure either, last year in Spain, Brilliance of the Sea assured pax they would rearrange air for thousands when a dock strike forced many on the ship to miss their flight home. And then, they didn't, it was a fiasco that cost many people thousands out of their own pockets.

 

Some of you may have read about the QM2 hitting the sea wall out of FLL (?) last year and none of the port stops were made. That debacle even hit the media and the pax ended up getting refunds. Very rare. How about the Princess ship that listed only a couple of months ago (sorry, can't remember the ship). NCL Dawn (?) had a rogue wave hit it a couple of years back and cabins were damaged.

 

All of these instances, answers were not immediate to the pax. Unfortunately, people want info now and will not have the patience it sometimes takes. Fortunately, I've not hit any snags with a cruise, but I have been left cooling my heels for hours and once days, stranded, waiting for a flight home. It's definitely no fun, but I've never felt as though I was owed anything.

 

The only thing that is guaranteed to you is a voyage on a ship. If you read your contract carefully, you will know that all they really owe you is the ride and meals. For them to make any sort of offer is above and beyond what they are legally required to do. You can write all the letters you want, but unfortunately, all you will get is an apology.

 

I do hope all your future travels go smoothly.

[Happy ks]

I almost forgot, all I was going to post was the all caps at the beginning og the word thing. You can set your computer to do that automatically.

 

I do wish when people post here that they would turn that feature off. It is very hard to concentrate on the message. Almost as bad as a lot of misspelled words or too many cyber abbreviations. I read it as if Jon Lovitz was talking in my head, yea, that's the ticket :rolleyes:

[Host CMLA]

To those of you who claim that we who were on the POA when the Capt. took the bouy with him and are trying to get something for nothing - no we aren't - we are try to get something for our $4000. We were not able to go to the all the islands noted in the itinerary nor go on all the shore excursions. When SOME of us have to save for a cruise we plan very carelfully as to where we we want to go on that cruise and expect what is promised us.

I'm sorry you didn't get to go to your ports however the cruise line makes it clear what you're getting when you book. Please note...I don't agree with this but this is where the cruise line stands. The cruise contract says you'll get a room, transportation and some food and entertainment. They don't guarantee that you'll make any ports. So the cruise line has fulfilled their agreement with you. Again, I don't agree with it but that's where they stand.

[RLJPHX]

The first post in this thread talks of being late Honolulu due to only one azipod working. Is this true? If so, is POAm spending less time in port this week so that the ship can get to the next port on time? When and how will the ship be repaired? Dry dock in Hawaii or go the the west coast on one azipod? What if something goes wrong with the only working azipod. I can see the headline, "NCL ship adrift at sea rescued by Coast Guard." Any Info out there?

[Host CMLA]

The first post in this thread talks of being late Honolulu due to only one azipod working.

You should read the post again. The OP doesn't say azipod anywhere. I'm not sure how you'd leap from buoy to one azipod. :rolleyes: Maybe the buoy broke the azipod but no one had mentioned that.