Full refund for Brilliance passengers

//Full refund for Brilliance passengers

I hope passengers thrown out of bed during the storm which hit Brilliance of the Seas were quick to grab their camcorders and iPhones to capture the events for posterity, because it is beginning to sound like it was even more dramatic than we first thought.
Certainly enough for Royal Caribbean to pre-empt any claims for compensation by offering a full refund of the fare even though the 12-night cruise was more than half over by the time disaster struck at the weekend.
After issuing a brief statement this morning referring to passengers suffering “minor injuries” and the ship sustaining “some damage . . . which in no way affects its seaworthiness,” the line later released a rather longer response acknowledging guests had been through a “frightening experience” and confirming that two people had suffered broken bones.
The statement reads in full: “Royal Caribbean International continues to assess the serious incident guests and crew on-board Brilliance of the Seas experienced early Sunday morning as the ship was sailing to Alexandria, Egypt.
“During Brilliance of the Seas’ approach to Alexandria, the ship experienced extreme wind and sea conditions, including heavy seas and 70 knot winds, nearly double what had been forecast. The combination of the wind and sea conditions resulted in severe ship movement.
“Some guest injuries were reported, the most serious of which were two guests with fractures. The medical facility on-board is fully operational and our medical team is diligently caring for guests.
“The severe ship movement caused damage to some public areas and a loss of electricity in some staterooms. Aesthetic damages to the ship’s interior have caused the closure of three public venues for the remainder of the sailing: the beauty salon, video arcade and disco. There has been no impact to the ship’s operating systems or engines and the ship continues to be fully seaworthy.
“Brilliance of the Seas was unable to call in Alexandria, and instead proceeded to the next port of call, Valetta, Malta, where it will arrive on Tuesday at 7:00 a.m. The ship will conclude its sailing in Barcelona, Spain on Friday, as scheduled. Subsequent cruises will sail as scheduled and the ship will not require a dry dock, as repairs are underway.
“As a gesture of goodwill, and to thank guests on board Brilliance of the Seas for their understanding during this difficult situation, Royal Caribbean International has provided guests with an on-board credit, as well as a full refund of their cruise fare paid for the sailing.
“Royal Caribbean understands that this has been a frightening experience for our guests and crew, and our officers and crew on-board Brilliance of the Seas will make every effort to ensure that the remainder of the cruise is as enjoyable as possible.
“Brilliance of the Seas is sailing on a 12-night itinerary that departed Barcelona, Spain with port calls in Sicily (Palermo), Italy; Athens (Piraeus) and Rhodes, Greece; Alexandria, Egypt and Valetta, Malta ”
Captain Bill Wright, Royal Caribbean’s senior vice president of marine operations, has flown to Valletta ro be with the crew and to meet affected passengers. Here he is in his sumptuous office in Florida, explaining what happened to the Brilliance.

By | 2017-06-15T16:00:14+00:00 14 December 2010|Cruise News|3 Comments

About the Author:

John Honeywell is a travel writer specialising in cruise ships and cruise travel. Winner of CLIA UK's Contribution to Cruise award 2017.

3 Comments

  1. Debra 14 December 2010 at 5:25 am - Reply

    We just returned form this same cruise ship and had wonderful westher. I csn’t believe that this happened to such a nice ship. I am sure that all employees and guests will be well taken care of by Royal Carribian Int

  2. Rose 14 December 2010 at 6:05 am - Reply

    In my opinion, Royal Caribbean has been fair in providing the passengers with a full refund of their cruise fare paid for the sailing. Having myself sailed on some of their ships, the crew are quite professional and I am sure that they will take care of those on board.
    It is most unfortunate for those on board (both passengers and crew) to have experienced such a terrible storm at sea.
    The weather is something that is out of our control, and this could have happened to any other cruise line. To blame the Captain of the ship is unfair. I am sure he/she did everything possible to ensure the safety of those on board. Even a ship as large as “Brillance of the Seas” will be tossed about like a toy and “swallowed” up by the sea. Be grateful that there were no serious injuries. My heart goes out to those who suffered during the storm, and/or may have feared for their life. Someone was watching over you that day and made sure you were safe. God Bless.

  3. Philip Taylor 14 December 2010 at 9:07 am - Reply

    I am sat on the Brilliance of the Seas in Malta on a beatiful sunny day.
    I was a cheif officer in the merchant navy and although the ship rolled very heavily for 2-4 minutes there was no possibilty of capsize as some of my fellow passengers have said.
    On approach to the port of Alexandria the captain attempted to turn the ship to starboard to avoid traffic, the ship did not have enough speed and broached to deep swells and high waves, the worst roll was probaly in the region of 40 degrees and not 10-15 as the captain informed everyone, once the ship had gained speed control was restored and the ship hove to (wether and seas ahead), a decision to proceed to Malta was made later in the day and quite sensible as well.
    I can’t understand why the ship was put into close proximity of other vessels in that weather and at such slow speed, with the technology available on board the situation should have been recognised and appropriate action taken
    A couple of passengers broke abone or two and some had bumps and bruises. Although the cabins were in a mess the main damage was in the public aresa were all items of furniture, crockery and glasses made like they could fly, it was mess — alot of broken gear.
    the galley stores were not secured and apparently ended uo in one big heap but the eggs survived.
    I dread to think what injuries could have happened it this had occured during the day when all the passengers were walking about, probably fatalities. As passebgers were in their beds there was not very far to fall, although the sight of your bed against the patio doors and looking onto the sea is not one I want to see for a while.
    Thankfully there were no serious injuries.

Leave A Comment