DON’T ROCK MY SHIP! SAFETY AT SEA

Since the shipwrecked Costa Concordia can still be seen near the Italian island of Giglio, safety at sea continues to be something we are very aware of.

When Hurricane Sandy was creating chaos off the Atlantic coast several months ago, a number of cruise ships were forced to alter their scheduled port stops and substitute other locations. Some passengers complained and wanted the cruise lines to compensate them, because they missed part of their itinerary and felt they had not received what they paid for.

However, most people would prefer not risking their lives in a hurricane to visit a rain-soaked port. The decision, ultimately, is the Captain’s, and the overriding concerns are for the safety of the people on the ship and the ship itself.

We recently experienced a similar situation in the South Pacific. All around us, the sky was blue and the sea was calm, but up ahead a major cyclone was bearing down. When you only have 4 scheduled port stops in 12 days, canceling two of them is not an easy decision.

Rarotonga, a South Pacific island that forms part of the Cook Islands, has no dock and must depend on calm water for a ship’s tenders to carry passengers to land. Alas, the waves were too high to use the tenders when we arrived.

Of course, that made our stop in Fiji even more anticipated. When we learned that a major cyclone was sweeping toward Fiji, the captain changed course and we headed south toward New Zealand.

When passengers have many more sea days than they are expecting and must miss seeing the very places that caused them to book the cruise, you might expect them to be very unhappy for the rest of the journey.

The secret is quick action to provide programs and diversions that keep people engaged and happily entertained. Although both port cancellations resulted in huge activity voids on board, the Cruise Director immediately organized a revised program with lectures, enrichment classes and activities to make everyone happy.

As a result, despite missing two key ports, the passengers did not feel that their cruise was less enjoyable and there were no complaints. When we later learned that Fiji had suffered its worst cyclone in 20 years, the Captain’s decision to change course was deemed very wise indeed.

To be able to successfully adapt an unfortunate cancellation experience into a favorable outcome was something that the cruise personnel on Crystal Cruises showed that they excelled at — twice! They also arranged to give the two canceled port days back with extended time in New Zealand. Safety at sea handled well creates a lot of confidence in the Captain and the cruise line.

Have you ever felt that unexpected changes ruined your cruise experience and what did you do about it?