Refund? For what?
14 Dec 2010 9 Comments
in cruising, Royal Caribbean, travel, trip insurance Tags: Brilliance of the Seas, cruising, Mediterranean cruise, Royal Caribbean, Travel, trip insurance
Over the weekend, RCI’s Brilliance of the Seas experienced severe wind and sea conditions during a storm in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Alexandria, Egypt. “During Brilliance of the Seas’ approach to Alexandria, the ship experienced extreme wind and sea conditions, including heavy seas and 70 knot winds, nearly double what had been forecast,” the line says in a statement. ”The combination of the wind and sea conditions resulted in severe ship movement.” As a result of this, there were reports of major listing of the ship causing the tossing of loose objects and the ship’s 2100 passengers around like ragdolls. Early reports from RCI said there were minor injuries to passengers and aesthetic damages to the ship. In a later statement, the line no longer claimed the injuries to be minor saying that 2 passengers suffered broken bones. However, the ship remained fully seaworthy and would continue on to its next port of call and conclude its current sailing on Friday in Barcelona as scheduled.
As a gesture of good will, RCI announced that they would offer each cabin a $200 on-board credit for the remainder of the sailing, a gesture I feel was more than generous. Apparently, this was not an opinion shared by many passengers onboard, and it was made well known to ship officials. Due to the uproar, a full refund of their cruise fare, in addition to their on-board credit was issued. “Royal Caribbean understands that this has been a frightening experience for our guests and crew,” the line says. “Our officers and crew onboard Brilliance of the Seas will make every effort to ensure that the remainder of the cruise is as enjoyable as possible.”
Okay, so here’s the thing…..why is RCI being held responsible for what cannot be controlled by any human being on the face of the earth? If these people actually read their cruise contracts, they would see where RCI claims no responsiblity for “Acts of God” and is thereby not responsible for issuing a refund of any kind. Now don’t get me wrong; I feel for these people and the scary moments they had to go through. It doesn’t seem fair to save up for a vacation that you dream of taking for years, only to have it interrupted by the Perfect Storm. That’s the way it is. Deal with it. There are options like travel insurance if you are really worried about it. If you are sailing on the ocean, one of the most unpredictable environments, you have to be ready for the unexpected.
My family was diverted from eastern to western Caribbean on a cruise once because there was a hurricane effecting the eastern Caribbean. I had lots of great excursions planned, and I couldn’t wait to see the Virgin Islands, a place we had not yet visited. But with a quick, 30-second announcement from the captain, my great plans were dashed, and we had to just roll with the punches. Did we get a full refund for that cruise? No. Did we get on-board credit for that week’s sailing? No. Did we expect it? No, because stuff happens, and you just deal with it the best you can. It was through no fault of the cruiseline that our itinerary had to be changed.
Instead of recognizing that the crew and officers of the Brilliance of the Seas were going above and beyond to finish out the sailing in the best possible way, which was more than half way completed, they chose to make a tough situation worse by complaining and whining. I firmly believe every experience is what you make of it. Sometimes, you just have to put your big girl or big boy pants on and thank the good Lord you were able to take a 12-night Mediterranean cruise in the first place. But that’s just my opinion. 
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