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Norwegian Cruise Line Ship Leaves Couple Stranded in Cuba After Departing Early

MULTIZ321

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Norwegian Cruise Line Ship Leaves Couple Stranded in Cuba After Departing Early
By Patrick Clarke/ Travel Pulse/ Cruises/ Fox News/ foxnews.com

"Kevin Rohrer's and his girlfriend's vacation ended abruptly in Havana, Cuba after their cruise ship left without them on a recent four-night Norwegian Cruise Line sailing in the Caribbean.

According to News.com.au, the American couple returned to the dock more than an hour ahead of what they thought was the Norwegian Sky's 5 p.m. departure time only to find the ship was already gone....."

norwegian-skyy.jpg

Kevin Rohrer's and his girlfriend's vacation ended abruptly in Havana, Cuba after their cruise ship left without them on a recent four-night Norwegian Cruise Line sailing in the Caribbean. (Norwegian Cruise Line)


Richard
 

silentg

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So then what happened?
 

MULTIZ321

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So then what happened?
...."It was a frightening situation. We were devastated," Rohrer said in his complaint to the cruise company. "We exchanged money and we took a taxi to the airport. American Airlines told us they wouldn’t take a credit card and quoted us 472 pesos ($465). We didn’t have that much money."

The couple managed to book a flight home and Rohrer has since contacted consumer rights group Elliott Advocacy.

Nonetheless, the couple appears to be out of luck as Norwegian Cruise Line made multiple notes of the departure time change well in advance of the cruise. What's more, the company's terms and conditions point out that "shipboard time may differ from the port of call" and that it's the "guest’s responsibility to pay all expenses incurred to rejoin the ship" in the event they are left behind.

In a statement to Michelle Couch-Friedman of Elliott Advocacy, Norwegian Cruise Line said it notified guests of the time change and circulated it on their e-documents more than a month before the Havana stop. "Additionally, the day before calling into Havana, the Cruise Director announced the new time repeatedly throughout the day and additional signage was placed on the gangway for all those disembarking to see," the cruise line stated.

The hard-learned lesson is one that all travelers should take note of. "In the end, it’s the traveler’s responsibility to know when to be back on-board that ship. If you miss your cruise home, unfortunately, there’s no one to turn to for a refund or reimbursement," said Couch-Friedman...."

norwegian-sky.jpg

Nonetheless, the couple appears to be out of luck as Norwegian Cruise Line made multiple notes of the departure time change well in advance of the cruise. (Norwegian Cruise Line)


Richard
 

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That’s awful
 

SmithOp

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Fake news title, shame on the journalist who wrote this. Departure time was changed with multiple notifications issued way in advance. Nothing to see here.

I agree, 1998 other people made it back before departure.

There had been a lot of chatter on cruisecritic about NCL changing the departure time, apparently due to another cruiseline coming in to port. There are only 2 berths in Havana.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
 

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There was a time I was considering a cruise for an upcoming vacation but the more I read about cruising, the less attractive it sounds.
 

Passepartout

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There was a time I was considering a cruise for an upcoming vacation but the more I read about cruising, the less attractive it sounds.
Why? The cruise line announced multiple times of the departure time and all but these two people were on board by departure. They have no one to blame but themselves.

It's no crime- nor any skin off yours or anyone's nose if you decide to spend your travel dollars on timeshares, tours, tents, or dude ranches. But millions of people every year have very pleasant cruises and find them a great value for their travel expenditures. In this case, A cruise ship affords wonderful, up-scale accommodations and food in a place that has effectively been off the international tourism grid for 60 years and will take some time for the infrastructure to catch up to American expectations in travel.

Jim
 

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Honestly, I have no idea why this article was worthy of being published in the first place. And this "fake news" is coming from Fox News.
 

Sandy VDH

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Well it is not fake news, however it is not accurate reporting. Omitting important facts leads to better headlines, but very poor reporting.

There was ample opportunity for all passengers to be aware of the schedule change, as it was posted long in advance and repeated announced during the cruise.

No excuse for stupidity. However that is not newsworthy apparently.
 

Talent312

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The headline should'a read:
"Couple Ignores Cruise Line's Multiple Warnings About Change in Departure Time"
But that wouldn't draw as much interest.
 

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The headline should'a read:
"Couple Ignores Cruise Line's Multiple Warnings About Change in Departure Time"
But that wouldn't draw as much interest.
Yes, must blame the big, evil corporation because you certainly wouldn't want to promote the idea of people being responsible for their own actions! :rolleyes:

Kurt
 

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Why? The cruise line announced multiple times of the departure time and all but these two people were on board by departure. They have no one to blame but themselves.

It's no crime- nor any skin off yours or anyone's nose if you decide to spend your travel dollars on timeshares, tours, tents, or dude ranches. But millions of people every year have very pleasant cruises and find them a great value for their travel expenditures. In this case, A cruise ship affords wonderful, up-scale accommodations and food in a place that has effectively been off the international tourism grid for 60 years and will take some time for the infrastructure to catch up to American expectations in travel.

Jim

Hello Jim,

You are spot on correct with your observation and I should have added more to my point. I have been reading a lot on Cruise Critic about the experience of cruising (what to do while on board, how things work on a cruise, costs one can incur, etc) and the more I read the less attractive it sounds in general. Readers on Cruise Critic are warned (repeatedly) about this sort of thing when getting off a ship in port and given that it was only two people, it does seem reasonable to conclude the two people were at fault here.

Regardless of who was at fault, when we travel, we hate to be tied to schedules. If an attraction we had planned a day for suddenly seems worthy of a 2nd day, we like the option of spontaneously altering our plans. Cruising doesn't really allow for this as much for those off ship attractions. For those who enjoy cruising, cheers to them but it just doesn't sound like my bag. The one exception I will likely make for this is an Alaskan cruise though.
 

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We are on a South East Asia cruise currently. What is there to not love when you are totally spoilt? We are in a suite on this cruise and we have a wonderful butler, an excellent stateroom attendent, excellent maitre d and wait staff who ensure that we have food that suits our preference, a private lounge etc etc.

We don't have blue blood but sure feel like we are royalty when cruising.
 

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We are on a South East Asia cruise currently. What is there to not love when you are totally spoilt? We are in a suite on this cruise and we have a wonderful butler, an excellent stateroom attendent, excellent maitre d and wait staff who ensure that we have food that suits our preference, a private lounge etc etc.

We don't have blue blood but sure feel like we are royalty when cruising.
Just to give you an idea of why some may not want to cruise, I totally get what bbodb is saying. We have done a handful of cruises and while they were fine, I feel like the negatives (for us) still outweigh the positives (ymmv), although I can totally see it as we get older and don't have the stamina for all of the activities of vacation such as flying/driving/trains between cities and shopping for food to prepare. Like bbodb, we like the freedom to do whatever we want to do, when we want to do it. I personally feel very confined with a scheduled day while on vacation. Then for me there's the crowd issue. My *least favorite* part of cruising was the lines to get off/on the ship. I am sure that staying at the suite level will address many of those issues, but at least for now, we are still happily doing our own thing.
 

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Just to give you an idea of why some may not want to cruise, I totally get what bbodb is saying. We have done a handful of cruises and while they were fine, I feel like the negatives (for us) still outweigh the positives (ymmv), although I can totally see it as we get older and don't have the stamina for all of the activities of vacation such as flying/driving/trains between cities and shopping for food to prepare. Like bbodb, we like the freedom to do whatever we want to do, when we want to do it. I personally feel very confined with a scheduled day while on vacation. Then for me there's the crowd issue. My *least favorite* part of cruising was the lines to get off/on the ship. I am sure that staying at the suite level will address many of those issues, but at least for now, we are still happily doing our own thing.
On this cruise, we added 5 nights on each end to the cities that we really wanted to visit, which are Singapore and Hong Kong. So it is not an either or. We like the cruise experience and the combination of land and cruise works very well for us.
 

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OK. For those who use the 'but I would feel trapped, or claustrophobic, or don't like lines, or whatever so they don't, haven't or tried cruising once and it didn't meet their expectations. Fine. Don't spend your money cruising. Nobody cares. TUG is a timesharing interest group. How many times have we had visitors answer the 'what to buy' questionnaire and seen that they just have unreasonable expectations. They want to 'trade around', but don't understand the costs involved- the exchange club membership, the exchange fees, the either/or of using the deeded week or the points. After it's explained, they decide timesharing is not for them and we never hear from them again. Same deal. Timesharing works for some. Cruising works for others, while combining a TS vacation with a cruise seems perfect for others. So be it. Do what you like and when someone asks a question that you might have some experience with, give answering a stab.

Enjoy your diversions whatever they may be.

Jim
 

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Fake, misleading, disingenuous, whatever you want to call it, I call the headline pure B.S. The ship did not leave early, anymore than a plane that leaves on time after its departure schedule changes far in advance.
 

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OK. For those who use the 'but I would feel trapped, or claustrophobic, or don't like lines, or whatever so they don't, haven't or tried cruising once and it didn't meet their expectations. Fine. Don't spend your money cruising. Nobody cares. TUG is a timesharing interest group. How many times have we had visitors answer the 'what to buy' questionnaire and seen that they just have unreasonable expectations. They want to 'trade around', but don't understand the costs involved- the exchange club membership, the exchange fees, the either/or of using the deeded week or the points. After it's explained, they decide timesharing is not for them and we never hear from them again. Same deal. Timesharing works for some. Cruising works for others, while combining a TS vacation with a cruise seems perfect for others. So be it. Do what you like and when someone asks a question that you might have some experience with, give answering a stab.

Enjoy your diversions whatever they may be.

Jim
VF asked who wouldn't want to cruise? I thought that I gave a thoughtful answer. I've done 5 cruises. They were fine. I'm cool with folks who like them. It's all good. ;)
 

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I never cruised until I was in my mid-40's. When I was young, I didn't mind driving 8-10 hours, dining over a campfire and sleeping on the ground in a tent. As I aged, I began to place a higher value on creature comforts, like restaurants, hotels and timeshares, and on time by flying instead of driving.

Nowadays, cruising provides the convenience of destinations, food and entertainment at my feet - with less walking... although sometimes, the beds don't seem much removed from sleeping on the ground.

.
 

klpca

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I never cruised until I was in my mid-40's. When I was young, I didn't mind driving 8-10 hours, dining over a campfire and sleeping on the ground in a tent. As I aged, I began to place a higher value on creature comforts, like restaurants, hotels and timeshares, and on time by flying instead of driving.

Nowadays, cruising provides the convenience of destinations, food and entertainment at my feet - with less walking... although sometimes, the beds don't seem much removed from sleeping on the ground.

.
We just got back from a Tradewinds cruise...that was pretty close to camping...except for having a chef. You couldn't even flush your TP! :D Anyway we had an excellent time and can't wait to do it again.
 

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We have enjoyed cruising for about thirty years. We liked to cruise first then do a week at a timeshare resort. Is cruising for everyone no; is timesharing for everyone no.

We enjoy sea days on a cruise ship and now we enjoy visiting timeshare resorts and exploring the area local restaurants and their local history (woman shops:thumbup:).

Select what ever your spouse, friend, friends and you enjoy Together.:clap:
 

dougp26364

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Honestly, I have no idea why this article was worthy of being published in the first place. And this "fake news" is coming from Fox News.

My thought exactly. This isn’t a new incident. We’ve seen it on more than one cruise. It use to be great sport for those with balcony’s to stand and cheer as couples raced back before the gangplank was pulled. We NEVER failed to see some dumb butt running like mad trying to make the ship and more than once watched as gusted had to pay a pilot boat to bring them out to a cruise ship that had already departed. For the record, I’d just watch it leave and call it good, finding another way home. Board a cruise ship from a pilot boat looks like risky business.

The ONLY reason this might be a “news story” is they got to put Cuba in the title. That’s always going to generate clicks and interest. In a news media world where advertising dollars are king, that’s worth its weight in gold. Other than that it’s just another example of a head-up-your-ass headline with the headline looking for public sympathy for being stupid and suffering the consequences.
 

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I agree, why was this article published?? The couple simply did not follow instructions.

99.8% of the cruise passengers were on the cruise ship and they all hear, read and follow instructions.
 

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OK. For those who use the 'but I would feel trapped, or claustrophobic, or don't like lines, or whatever so they don't, haven't or tried cruising once and it didn't meet their expectations. Fine. Don't spend your money cruising. Nobody cares. TUG is a timesharing interest group. How many times have we had visitors answer the 'what to buy' questionnaire and seen that they just have unreasonable expectations. They want to 'trade around', but don't understand the costs involved- the exchange club membership, the exchange fees, the either/or of using the deeded week or the points. After it's explained, they decide timesharing is not for them and we never hear from them again. Same deal. Timesharing works for some. Cruising works for others, while combining a TS vacation with a cruise seems perfect for others. So be it. Do what you like and when someone asks a question that you might have some experience with, give answering a stab.

Enjoy your diversions whatever they may be.

Jim

Jim,

I get what you're saying - truly I do. But if our TS purchases taught us anything, the most enduring lesson has been to be sure you want this (cruise in this case) before purchasing. It is a little hard to 'try' a cruise so we have to cruise vicariously if you will. It is also incredibly expensive - sort of like a TS! At some point, we either have to take a cruise or move on and I am NOT quite to the point of moving on because there is one cruise destination that might trump the concerns of life aboard a cruise ship. For us, that destination is Alaska. But the cost to cruise is so prohibitively high for us that we want to make real sure the trade off will be worth it.

I guess the flip side is we should look at a train tour of Alaska (which isn't cheap either). I guess all of this is to say we're trying to maximize our available budget as much as possible and maximize the enjoyment.
 
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