[quote oriolesfan22]Let me say once again that I don't care where we go. With that said, isn't the behavior of the passengers in this story below totally ridiculous?
Mob storms cruise ship
Saturday, September 6, 2008
BY NICK CLUNNSTAFF WRITER
An angry mob 300 strong stormed the main area of a Carnival cruise ship this week seeking cash and chanting “refund, refund†ÂÂ furious that their eight-day Caribbean jaunt was instead taking a 1,300-mile detour to Newport, R.I.
The incident happened aboard the Miracle, which left New York City Aug. 29 and returned this morning. The ship was rerouted to avoid Tropical Storm Hanna, Carnival spokeswoman Joyce Oliva said.
While most of the 2,400 passengers understood the diversion and made the most of it, several hundred rushed the purser’s desk in the main lobby last Tuesday, demanding their money back, Oliva said.
To one passenger, Corey Mania of River Vale, it looked like a mutiny. The passengers were “barbarically angry,†she said.
“I was very embarrassed to live in the metro area,†said Mania, 42, who believed that many of the protestors were from the New York-New Jersey region.
Mania, who had booked the trip to celebrate her 10th wedding anniversary, said the passengers became angry Tuesday evening after the captain announced the ship was headed to Newport rather than Grand Turk.
The ship at this point had already stopped in Florida and the Bahamas instead of Puerto Rico and St. Thomas.
Mania said the crowd was incited by an attorney, who insisted that he was a victim of fraud. He started a petition and called for a meeting with the captain, Mania said.
The passengers wanted refund on the voyage. The price of the cruise started at $659 for an interior stateroom.
Disgruntled passengers also stopped tipping. Carnival automatically charges passengers $10 a day for gratuity, but some people decided mid-trip to start giving less or nothing, Oliva said.
Carnival will not issue refunds because ticket contract terms allow the company to alter itineraries as a result of severe weather, Oliva said.
Carnival acted responsibility and the Miracle crew did its best to keep the passengers informed of the forecast, Oliva said. The captain and other senior officers on the ship interacted with passengers more than usual to answer questions, she said.
“The ship’s officers and staff did receive numerous letters and comments from guests who thanked them for handling the itinerary changes with safety in mind,†she said.
Other cruise ships, including Carnival Ecstasy and one from Norwegian Cruise Lines, also altered itineraries in the past week to stay clear of storms in the Caribbean.
E-mail:
clunn@northjersey.com An angry mob 300 strong stormed the main area of a Carnival cruise ship this week seeking cash and chanting “refund, refund†ÂÂ furious that their eight-day Caribbean jaunt was instead taking a 1,300-mile detour to Newport, R.I.
The incident happened aboard the Miracle, which left New York City Aug. 29 and returned this morning. The ship was rerouted to avoid Tropical Storm Hanna, Carnival spokeswoman Joyce Oliva said.
While most of the 2,400 passengers understood the diversion and made the most of it, several hundred rushed the purser’s desk in the main lobby last Tuesday, demanding their money back, Oliva said.
To one passenger, Corey Mania of River Vale, it looked like a mutiny. The passengers were “barbarically angry,†she said.
“I was very embarrassed to live in the metro area,†said Mania, 42, who believed that many of the protestors were from the New York-New Jersey region.
Mania, who had booked the trip to celebrate her 10th wedding anniversary, said the passengers became angry Tuesday evening after the captain announced the ship was headed to Newport rather than Grand Turk.
The ship at this point had already stopped in Florida and the Bahamas instead of Puerto Rico and St. Thomas.
Mania said the crowd was incited by an attorney, who insisted that he was a victim of fraud. He started a petition and called for a meeting with the captain, Mania said.
The passengers wanted refund on the voyage. The price of the cruise started at $659 for an interior stateroom.
Disgruntled passengers also stopped tipping. Carnival automatically charges passengers $10 a day for gratuity, but some people decided mid-trip to start giving less or nothing, Oliva said.
Carnival will not issue refunds because ticket contract terms allow the company to alter itineraries as a result of severe weather, Oliva said.
Carnival acted responsibility and the Miracle crew did its best to keep the passengers informed of the forecast, Oliva said. The captain and other senior officers on the ship interacted with passengers more than usual to answer questions, she said.
“The ship’s officers and staff did receive numerous letters and comments from guests who thanked them for handling the itinerary changes with safety in mind,†she said.
Other cruise ships, including Carnival Ecstasy and one from Norwegian Cruise Lines, also altered itineraries in the past week to stay clear of storms in the Caribbean.[/quote]
There is quite the thread ongoing over at the other neighborhood....
<http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=840724>
4 more days...time to go to work.
