Mutiny on the high seas? Luxury cruise ships are not the type of place one would generally expect a mutiny, but a Crikey tipster tells us that a brigade of grey nomads aboard the Royal Caribbean’s Legend of the Sea have been talking about staging a coup over a change in the ship’s itinerary. The ship, which left Fremantle last weekend, was due to stop at Broome as part of the two-week journey to Singapore, but customers were told it would be stopping at Port Hedland instead after they had gone through Immigration and were boarding the ship. The crew told passengers they couldn’t stop at Broome because of the tide, but the passengers thought they weren’t given enough notice of the change of plans, lobbying the captain for answers:
“So the issue appears to be that RC could of advised passengers nearly a week out but chose not to. Many (like myself) were planning to catch up with friend and relatives in Broome who had taken time off to meet the ship. One lady who was to board in Broome was told to buy a ticket to Port Hedland and claim it on her insurance.
Port Hedland was a poor substitute with the tour highlight a trip by bus to the local Woolworths.
By about the second week of the cruise the anger started to seethe with a passenger committee being formed by a retired Ansett Captain and some very capable fellow passengers. A letter was drafted and signed by nearly 400 passengers and sent to both the Captain of the Legend of the Seas and the CEO of the company. The management on the ship seemed to go out of their way to shut down dissidents by not allowing suitable meeting rooms and pulling down notices of meeting that appeared on the ship’s notice boards. That being said getting 400 people to sign a letter by word of mouth was not a bad effort. The management of RC were asked to formally respond Tuesday 6/10.
This afternoon in a very ‘cozy’ meeting room several hundred passengers took turns to hear the response from Royal Caribbean (Photo’s attached) RC sent no staff to address the crowd nor did they send an official written response. Instead the Captain has passed along a message stating that the letter from the 400 passengers would be effectively ignored and if passengers still wanted answers or recompense they should contact the company on an individual basis.
… With four days left to Singapore don’t be surprised if the Captain is made to walk the plank.”
We asked the Royal Caribbean why it took so long to alert passengers of the change of itinerary but did not hear back by deadline.
Update: Royal Caribbean got back to us with a statement confirming that the ship didn’t dock in Broome, saying that safety was their priority:
“Legend of the Seas was unable to call at Broome on 1 October 2015 during her 14-night Fremantle to Singapore cruise due to extreme tidal conditions. Working closely with Broome Port Authority, we were unable to determine a safe gangway solution to bring guests ashore.
Tidal conditions would have resulted in access doors to the ship being below wharf height for seven hours during our time in port, preventing gangways from being able to be safely connected between ship and shore, inhibiting evacuation of the ship in the event of an emergency.
Safety and security of our guests and crew are our number one priorities, and after careful consideration, a decision was taken by the ship’s Captain before the cruise departed to cancel the scheduled call at Broome and substitute with Port Hedland, where we were able to dock alongside. Guests were provided with a letter advising of the itinerary change immediately prior to boarding the ship.
We do our best to minimise itinerary changes to avoid disappointing guests who may be looking forward to visiting particular destinations, however safety always remains our highest priority and itinerary changes occur from time to time if sea conditions and available port infrastructure compromise our operations. Guests will be refunded all prepaid shore excursions and port fees for the missed port.”
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” Guests will be refunded all prepaid shore excursions and port fees for the missed port.”
Not really looking for repeat business.
This article misses one of the fundamental reasons why passengers are angry. Royal Caribbean would have (or at least should have) known YEARS in advance that they could not stop in Broome on that day. To quote Dr Ken George from the University of Plymouth, “…tides are the most predictable natural phenomena on Earth.” They could have checked the tides a decade ago if they wanted to. It was not a weather problem, the weather was perfect. Broome never should have been advertised as a port.
Royal Caribbean either never intended to go to Broome and lied when they advertised it or they just didn’t do their homework. Either way, it just isn’t good enough. It is like booking a flight to Broome only to be told as you board that it will go to Port Hedland instead because the runway in Broome isn’t long enough for the type of plane. You would not be happy with the airline because they either should have known or did know and lied about it.
Broome was the most important destination for many. For some, it was just one of those iconic Australian tourist destinations that they had always wanted to visit, and chose this cruise as the way of going there. Many of these cruisers booked independent tours in Broome that they won’t get refunds for. A number of cruisers were going to Broome to meet with family that they don’t often get the chance to see, with some flying into Broome from mining towns. One passenger was going to Broome to see their brother for the first time in 20 years. It is disappointing to everyone and it never should have happened.
Also, it is worth noting that there have been some lies from Royal Caribbean. It seems none of the 400 petitioners received a letter or email about the change. Like a child who didn’t do their homework, all they can come up with is feeble excuses. Maybe the dog ate their tide charts?