Cruise Ship Suffers 'Technical Issue' At Sea, Forces Thousands Of Passengers To Disembark

A Royal Caribbean cruise ship that faced mechanical problems forced thousands of passengers to disembark after canceling the trip. This caused shock and frustration among stranded passengers.

The incident happened during the week-end and left thousands of disembarked passengers stranded in Baltimore.

Among the crowd was an Indiana mother and son on a five-day cruise to Bermuda who found themselves distressed in Baltimore over the weekend.

According to cruise news, the Grandeur of the Seas, departed Saturday and soon “experienced a technical issue with its propulsion system and forced to discontinue the sailing and return to Baltimore for necessary repairs.”

Explaining the predicament, Lisa Rinker, 55, the mother from Indianapolis, who had taken her adult son to the cruise as a birthday and Christmas gift said: “My son and I were sitting on these little benches in the Inner Harbor at 10:30 at night trying to make hotel and plane reservations from our cell phones.”

According to Rinker the Grandeur of the Seas immediately after moving out of the dock began moving in circles.

Around 8 p.m. Saturday, the captain announced the cruise stands canceled. Passengers covered under various cruise deals were told they could leave the boat immediately or stay overnight and disembark at 6 p.m. Sunday.

Passengers felt abandoned

“We don’t know anybody in Baltimore. I felt abandoned. If my son hadn’t been with me, it would have been kind of scary,” she said bitterly.

The ship had a capacity of 2,446 passengers and was fully occupied.

Royal Caribbean spokeswoman Melissa Charbonneau expressed regret in a statement Saturday.

‘We understand this is an unfortunate inconvenience for our guests and sincerely apologize for the interruption in their travel plans.”

Paltry reimbursement

When passengers returned to their staterooms, there was a letter promising reimbursement of some costs of the cruise in which Rinker and son were entitled to $3,000.

Also, it offered domestic passengers $200 and international passengers $400 to change flights and $200 for one night’s stay in a hotel room.

Passengers were also offered credit for a future cruise, according to the letter signed by Thordur Thorsson, Grandeur’s captain.

Travel insurance best way in crises

Rinker said she found the cheapest air ticket to be back in Indianapolis as $700 that was near twice the $400 offered by the cruise liner Royal Caribbean.

Also, no reimbursement will be coming for her stay in a Baltimore hotel the night before she boarded the cruise ship, the luggage fees, meals, parking at the airport, or other incidental expenses in planning a week’s vacation.

Rinker said that all these hefty costs could have been avoided if there was travel insurance.

Hurricane Dorian’s impact on cruise itinerary

Meanwhile, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line’s update on Saturday said the following ships have modified their programs.

The Allure of the Seas: The Aug. 24 sailing has been extended to Sept. 4, with extra stops in Honduras and Mexico. The Sept. 1 sailing shortened and made a four-night cruise departing Sept. 4.

Harmony of the Seas: The Aug. 25 sailing has been deferred to Sept. 4 with added stops in Cozumel and extra nights at sea. Sept. 1 sailing will start on Sept. 4 and the duration will be shortened.