Royal Caribbean drops the ball

[Cruizer]

Carnival Cruise Lines left about 300 passengers behind in San Juan Sunday when approaching Hurricane Irene forced it to depart the island early. But unlike Royal Caribbean, which faced a similar problem, Carnival put all the passengers up in hotels and offered to fly them to the next port.

Royal Caribbean, which left 145 passengers behind, only accommodated the 15 who had purchased their airfare through the cruise line.

Carnival leaves 300 passengers in San Juan, but offers hotel and transport to next port - USATODAY.com

Of the 145 guests left behind, 15 of them had purchased their airfare through the cruise line and were given hotel accommodations Sunday and Monday night, and flown to Aruba on Tuesday to catch up with their seven-day cruise. The other 130 were left on their own.


"Independent guests were advised of hotel availability in the area, but the expense was on them given that it was a weather-related event," Royal Caribbean spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez said in a statement.

Royal Caribbean strands 145 passengers in San Juan when Irene forces early departure - USATODAY.com

[Mbandy]

Looks like the backlash from the bad PR has gotten their attention. What a shame they didn't figure it out sooner...

Royal Caribbean attempts to make right with stranded passengers

[Cruizer]

For a long time the big corporations could hide behind their one sided contracts and lawyers. However, these same corporations are powerless to stop the word of mouth that spreads on the social media sites. Once the mainstream media picks up on one of these stories the corporations then have to either face the bad PR or pay up.