How to find the best prices, perks when booking a cruise
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The problem has been resolved
- Strong winds left a spectacular Norwegian cruise ship from mooring in Catania, Sicily, stranding passengers on the coast.
- During the incident, one passenger fell into the water, leaving the others uncommunication for hours from the cruise line.
- The ship returned to port hours later, and passengers were given $100 onboard credits and a future cruise discount.
- Travel insurance may cover costs incurred by changes and delays in the itinerary caused by such incidents.
Jamie Cisco and her daughter Grace were on the beach in Catania, Sicily, and saw a cruise ship leave the port without them.
They looked at each other in confusion. “Grace was like, ‘Why is our ship leaving?’,” Cisco told USA Today. “I was like, ‘I don’t know.’ We were told we had until 5:30 to reenter the ship to depart again. ”
The Norwegian epic ship was separated from the pier during strong winds on May 30th, leaving guests falling from the gangway into the water, leaving others stuck on the coast. “Our concern was always those who fell because they were OK… but the lack of communication was completely unacceptable and not said,” said an Illinois resident.
Cisco was one of the many guests who were temporarily left behind. And that’s not just recent incidents of that kind.
“Just for everyone”
The pair celebrated Cisco’s 50th birthday on a 10-day Mediterranean cruise. After leaving the beach where the gust of wind was very strong, they were unable to place the blanket flat on the ground, so they returned to the harbor and received only updates on the situation from other guests in the Facebook group. Cisco said Norwegians were not immediately communicating directly with updates.
When they arrived the cruise ship was gone. Members of the Facebook group were confused by the Port Authority ordering vessels from the ship, according to Cisco.
They walked back to town for 15-20 minutes and then returned to the town, and first met a cruise line employee around 5:30pm. “Some people chose only to stay there, but there was little water (and) there was little shade,” she recalled.
Cisco and her daughter also had only what they needed on the beach day. At one point, they had to go search for painkillers after she pulled a muscle on her legs as she walked through Catania.
By 7:15pm the ship was back to port. “And when they got permission to open the gates, it was all free,” Cisco said. “People were just pushing and pushing.”
Back on board she says the ship’s crew warmly welcomed them and the captain apologized to the speaker. The incident left the ship late from Catania, and Cisco said the captain announced the next morning that the planned stop in Naples had been cancelled.
A May 31 letter to guests reviewed by USA Today said the ship’s mooring line broke up after three bollards on the pier broke in “an unexpectedly strong winds.”
“After this incident, Harbormaster ordered them to leave the port offshore until the wind settled,” the memo read.
Guests were given $100 onboard credits per cabin, but Cisco said they missed a $200 excursion in Naples that she and her daughter had booked outside the cruise line. She plans to file a claim with a travel insurance provider.
“We’re going home on Thursday, so I think we’ll spend a lot of our time on Friday trying to sort this out.”
According to a letter received by Cisco, the Norwegian also gave passengers a 10% future cruise credit.
“During this interruption, the crew were actively presenting guests until they were able to register the ship again,” a Cruise Line spokesman told USA Today earlier this week. “As always, the safety of our guests and crew is our number one priority,” the Norwegian did not immediately share any comments about Cisco’s experience.
Does travel insurance cover such incidents?
These cases are relatively rare, but in recent years they are not the only cases of their kind. The Carnival Magic Ship on the Carnival Cruise Line crashed into a Jamaican pier during the windy period of February 2024, forcing them to leave and temporarily leave guests on the coast. Wind also left MSC cruises and Cunard Line ships moored.
Meghan Walch, product director at InsureMemyTrip, said travelers should start by contacting the cruise line. This said “is likely to cover the costs that travelers were forced to pay because the vessel was wet.”
If you miss an independent excursion like Cisco, the benefits of changing your travel insurance itinerary can be helpful. “Normally, cruise lines need to make changes to their itinerary after departure and need to confirm that there have been changes to the itinerary from the cruise lines,” Walch said in an email. “So, if you have evidence from the cruise line and all other requirements are met, you could have coverage of the field trip you missed.”
If the incident is delayed by the number of hours required to plan, travel delay benefits may be effective if the policyholder pays for food, transportation or accommodation during the delay. Injuries from these types of incidents could also be dependent on emergency medical compensation.
“Again, it’s important to know what the cruise line covers. Travelers should also know what certain travel insurance covers,” she added.
Cisco hopes to visit Sorrento and misses the scheduled Limoncello tasting, but she ends up boldly inconvenient. “Thankfully, there are a lot of limoncellos in Italy.”
Nathan Diller is a consumer travel journalist for Nashville-based USA Today. You can contact him at ndiller@usatoday.com.
