Mutiny on the QM2?

[JoeyandDavid]

i do like his mind :grin:

[hamster92256]

Sounds like an interesting person, likes to eat, drink and stay up all night. Then turn around and do it again!!! My kind of guy.

[Joanandjoe]

Once again, here is a posting from another board, with the names removed to protect the innocent and not so innocent. Apparently the ship is scheduled to arrive in Rio tomorrow.

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The mood onboard Cunard's Queen Mary 2 this week is not as pleasant as you might expect to find on one of the world's most celebrated cruise ships.

According to CNN, some passengers are threatening to protest last-minute itinerary changes by not getting off the ship when it arrives in Rio on Thursday. The ship was delayed in Ft. Lauderdale for two days last week due to mechanical problems with one of its four propulsion pods. Work was done to put the problem pod temporarily out of service -- affecting speed and ultimately prompting Cunard to cancel calls at St. Kitts, Barbados and Salvador (basically every port on the first leg of a 38-night journey) and send the Queen straight to Rio de Janeiro.

The passengers have reportedly met with the captain to discuss Cunard's offered compensation, which they are unhappy with. The cruise line previously announced that passengers on the initial segment from New York (or Ft. Lauderdale) to Rio would receive a 50 percent refund; guests continuing through the second segment ending in Valparaiso on February 8, or the last segment ending in Los Angeles on February 22, will be provided a pro-rated refund for six days.

One question disappointed passengers have posed to Cunard and the media is "Why didn't we have the option to just get off in Ft. Lauderdale?" One reason could be the Jones Act: Cruise lines face stiff penalties if ships embark and disembark passengers in the U.S. without having called on at least one international port.

According to CNN, Cunard did not know how many ports would need to be canceled when the ship left Ft. Lauderdale. As far as ongoing itineraries and repairs are concerned, a spokeswoman for the line tells us that "there is still much assessment going on" ... and not much else. We'll keep you posted as things develop.

Meanwhile, XXX community member YYYY reports on the situation live from QM2 in our Cunard forum: "[The passengers] had another meeting with the commadore [saturday]. Disgruntled people were saying that they were not going to get off the ship in Rio if they don't get all their money back. One gal said she had called CNN about it and others were all in agreement not to spend any money onboard. Yesterday while I was at the shore excursion desk a gentleman was telling all in line to not buy any tours from Cunard and not to spend a dime onboard ... the meeting looked like a Parliament session with many boos and cheers when someone suggested that no one get off the ship and to stay in their cabins. One lady did point out the clause in the cruise contract stating that Cunard did not have to give them anything but she was shouted down.

"[At] yet another meeting with the commodore, they said they have 1,100 signatures [for] a class-action suit against Cunard. One guy stood up and blabbed that he was going to bankrupt Cunard and shut it down. All the complainers are now sunburned from yesterday. They are having such a bad time laying in the sun ... believe me it is only the 1,500 that are complaining, not everyone, in fact most people I have talked to are thinking these people are nuts."

While some folks are sympathetic to those missing port calls, just as many are appalled at passengers' behavior: "I think some people just go on vacation so that they can complain in a new location," writes zzz.

And while there is equal disdain on the topic of mutinies and sit-ins, what troubles most is idle talk about witholding tips from staffers. "Through all of this, no one has complained about the quality of the service or staff," www points out. "It seems unjust to hold them responsible, even if it was Cunard's fault."

[Joanandjoe]

And what else would a true Brit be doing on a cruise with no stops? Onward to the pub!

[Mebert]

Keith & Rita,

Thanks for the info on Jack at Sea. He seems to be a very funny character and taking all of this in stride. He also seems to be an independent observer of it all, invoking is opinion when he learns more facts.

[Joanandjoe]

More QM2 news from another board. What do the PAX want now, blood?

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The squeaky wheel really does get the grease. After a technical delay forced the cancellation of three port calls, a group of passengers onboard Cunard's Queen Mary 2 threatened to stage a sit-in unless they received a full refund of their cruise fare -- and the cruise line has decided to pay up.

Cunard has increased the original compensation offered to guests disembarking in Rio, which was a 50 percent refund. These guests now have two options: Receive a refund of full cruise fare including air, or take 50 percent of their refund in cash, plus another 75 percent as a future cruise credit for another Queen Mary 2 departure between now and the end of December 2007.

In a statement, Cunard says that they had hoped their guests would have "found much to enjoy during this liner voyage" and apologizes that "this has not proved to be the case for a significant number of people. In particular we recognize that the mood onboard may have further contributed adversely to our guests' experience ... while we believed that our initial offer would have been fair compensation, we have decided to make an additional compensatory gesture."

The ship is also running a day late and instead of arriving in Rio on January 26 as scheduled, it will arrive on January 27 -- which means some passengers will miss return flights. Because of this, all passengers on the leg to Rio will also receive a full refund of their airfare, whether it was booked by Cunard or by the passengers themselves.

Cunard's President Carol Marlow will meet the ship in Rio and is planning to personally apologize to guests onboard, and to thank the officers, captain and crew for doing their best under difficult circumstances.

Queen Mary 2 will depart for the second leg of its voyage tomorrow at 5 p.m. At this point, Cunard does not anticipate canceling any other port calls (though visits to Montevideo and Acapulco will be shortened); the ship will arrive in Los Angeles as scheduled on February 22.

[DaCruzNut]

I've been having problems logging on, and haven't been able to respond to this thread.

Living in Ft. Lauderdale, our local news spends a lot of time reporting on stories like this. The cruise industry is very important to us. Not only are Miami and Port Everglades the #1 and #2 busiest cruise ports in the U.S., but most of the cruise lines have their headquarters here and employ a lot of our people.

When the ship returned to Port Everglades, several passengers were interviewed. They all acknowledged that Cunard had offered them a full refund, and some 'perks,' if they wanted to cancel their cruise. All of the passengers indicated, to the reporters, that they would only be stuck here for a day, or two, and planned on having a great cruise. They all said that they'd probably miss a port, or two, but Cunard had already given them various credits.

One couple, and one couple only, opted to cancel the cruise. They were interviewed and said they were surprised that noone else took advantage of Cunard's offr. All the others voluntarily stayed aboard. It was their choice, knowing that there would be itinerary changes. We all knew it, from the news shows. They said so!

It was only after they sailed that the passengers decided to stage their various protests and take advantage of an unfortunate situation.

I have never cruised Cunard (just not my kind of cruise...); never will cruise Cunard; and have no reason to stick up for them. I just thought you deserved a little bit of the other side of the story....

[Mebert]

DaCruzNut,

Thanks for the additional news. I have never sailed Cunard either. Until their policy changes on maintaining a class system aboard ship where all passengers are not allowed in every area of the ship, I'm not sailing them.

Having said that, I hope the irate passengers are satisfied with the package that was offered and allow the rest of the guest to enjoy their cruise.

The only thing I can think of is that these passengers wanted to get to Rio and hop a few islands in between. I'm not as concerned for them as I am about the passengers who are going for the long haul. If it is true that there will not be any ports missed for the final leg, then that is good. But with a crippled ship, some of those stops will probably be very short.

[ANDREWDCSTX]

Don't know if it's been posted already, but the passengers are gonna receive full refunds.

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=...orld&id=3850884

[Mebert]

If what DaCruzNut mentioned about the passengers being given the option to get off of the ship before the second sailing is true. I don't think that that arrangement is fair to the cruise line.

It's a nice gesture on the part of the cruise line to give full refunds but I'm sure the cruise was not a total waste for those passengers. After all they had the opportunity to dine, be entertained, and have a staff attend to their needs while they were sailing.