The latest from the Houston Chronicle...
March 13, 2005, 12:40AM
Many felt tricked into staying on ship
Cruise line says offers were fair, but some disagree
By RON NISSIMOV
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle
After five days on the 855-foot "fun ship" Ecstasy, hundreds of passengers disembarked in Galveston on Saturday seething with anger at Carnival Cruise Lines.
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Many interviewed said they were tricked into wasting money and vacation time puttering around the Caribbean on a disabled ship. Some said the most exciting part of the cruise was a protest in which they unsuccessfully demanded all their money back because they could not make landfall at Cozumel.
"There was a near riot in the atrium of the ship," said Karen Langley, of Yelm, Wash., after the ship returned to Galveston. "People were throwing things like fruit and water. It got really ugly."
Jennifer de la Cruz, spokeswoman for Miami-based Carnival, said the 2,000 passengers were warned before boarding Monday they might go on a "cruise to nowhere" because one of the ship's two propulsion systems was damaged. She said passengers were offered the chance to cancel and receive full refunds, and about 80 did so.
Those who went on the cruise were refunded 50 percent of their fares, and offered an additional cruise at a 25 percent discount, de la Cruz said. In addition, each passenger was given a $40 credit because the ship took off several hours later than expected Monday because of the mechanical problems.
"I feel the company was very generous and fair," de la Cruz said.
Some might sue
She said the Ecstasy is seaworthy, and that no passengers were in danger during the trip. Another cruise was scheduled to depart Saturday. De la Cruz said engineers would try to fix the engine problem, but passengers would be offered the same compensation if the problem is not corrected.
Many passengers, including Langley, scoffed at de la Cruz's claim that they were notified about the ship's problems.
Langley said she was called by a Carnival representative March 6, shortly before she left for the airport to fly to Houston and was never told the Ecstasy had mechanical problems, though Carnival was already aware of them.
She said she was told March 6 that the ship might be arriving at Cozumel later than expected, and she immediately asked if she could receive a refund rather than risking an unpleasant vacation. She said she was told she could not.
Langley said that she and her sister, Elizabeth Greenhill, of Sacramento, Calif., who met her for the cruise, were not told about the possibility of a full refund until after passengers started boarding Monday night.
"We had no option at that point," she said.
Langley and Greenhill said the 50 percent refund is not good enough, and they may sue along with other passengers if they don't get a full refund.
Other passengers said Carnival had told them before boarding that chances were good that the ship would go to Cozumel, but it wasn't until they started boarding Monday night that they were told that there was a greater chance the ship would just stay at sea before returning.
Johnnie Moreno and his newlywed wife hoped the cruise would be very special. Not only was it their honeymoon, it was their last planned romantic excursion together before Moreno goes to Iraq next month with the Army.
"They should have been up front with all the information," a frustrated Moreno said. "It would have saved a lot of headaches and prevented the angry mob from forming on the ship."
Protest party
Galveston City Manager Steven LeBlanc was on the trip with 14 family members. He said a "very vocal protest" occurred after Carnival officials announced the ship would try to make landfall at Progreso, Mexico, because it could not get to Cozumel and back on time. He said many became angry because Carnival said passengers would only be offered a 25 percent discount if the ship stopped in Progreso, which it was unable to do because of high winds.
Several other passengers described the meeting as a peaceful protest in which chants such as "We want a refund" and "U-turn," erupted.
De la Cruz, who said 400 passengers demanded "a Q and A" with the ship's captain and hotel manager during the trip, said she could not comment on whether the meeting was hostile. "I wasn't there, so I'm not going to speculate," she said.
Cindy Buckley, a city council member from Bunker Hill Village, said she held up a sign to organize the protest, but was warned by security guards to take it down or face arrest in Galveston for disturbing the peace.
De la Cruz said travel agents were notified March 4 that the ship might have problems, but she acknowledged many passengers may not have heard anything until after arriving to Galveston on Monday because most travel agencies are closed on weekends.
'Horrible' vacation
Some passengers said they were not bothered by not stopping at a port of call.
"All the girls were trapped on the ship, so we were fine," said Wes Wheat, 17, of Fulshear, who traveled with his parents and sister.
Eleven-year-old Alicia Boczar, of Sugar Land, said she was very excited about going on the trip because of the prospect of swimming with dolphins in Cozumel. The only dolphin she saw was the small and purple temporary tattoo of the animal on her shoulder.
Alicia's mother, Rosanne Boczar, said the family spent $200 on bingo games because there was so little to do.
"It was the most horrible vacation of our lives," Boczar said.
Rob and Vanessa Nash, of Nacogdoches, who were preparing to board for Saturday's trip despite the possibility of more engine problems, agreed.
"We have eight children and haven't gotten away to be husband and wife for four years," said Rob Nash, explaining that the couple had arranged for baby-sitters for all their children. "The ship could stay here at the dock and we'd be happy campers."
ron.nissimov@chron.com
