[Travelandtourism] Elderly couple forced to leave Seabourn ship after missed drill - Travel Weekly

[cheryl echevarria]

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> From: atlanticstar1 at gmail.com
> To: travelandtourism at nfbnet.org
> Date: Fri, 18 May 2012 14:25:19 -0400
> Subject: [Travelandtourism] Elderly couple forced to leave Seabourn ship	after missed drill - Travel Weekly
> 
> Seabourn is standing by its decision to force an elderly couple to disembark 
> the Seabourn Sojourn on May 12, after the wife missed the ship's mandatory 
> passenger safety drill before departure from Lisbon.
> 
> The California couple had booked a 20-day, three-leg cruise from Rome to 
> Hamburg, and had participated in the drill when the ship left Rome on May 4. 
> At the start of the second leg from Lisbon, another drill was announced and 
> held, per industry policy.
> 
> But the 84-year-old woman wasn't feeling well, and since she had 
> participated in the drill before leaving Rome, she decided to skip it, said 
> her agent, Steven Shulem, president of Strictly Vacations in Santa Barbara. 
> Her 90-year-old husband attended both drills.
> 
> Within an hour of the Lisbon drill, the two found themselves standing with 
> their luggage on the pier as the Sojourn sailed off.
> 
> "I think Seabourn could have handled this differently," Shulem said.
> 
> According to his client's account, when the elderly lady didn't show at the 
> drill, a crew member was sent to her room. She told that person she wasn't 
> well.
> 
> "Fifteen minutes later, an officer was at their door, telling her the couple 
> needed to disembark," Shulem said. "The staff packed them up and put them 
> off."
> 
> Passenger safety drills have taken on new urgency - and have mandated strict 
> compliance rules - since the Costa Concordia shipwreck on Jan. 13, which 
> claimed the lives of 32 people off the Tuscan coast.
> 
> A Seabourn spokesman said: "Mandatory attendance at the emergency drill 
> conducted prior to every voyage is a strict company policy to ensure the 
> safety of everyone on board. No exceptions are permitted."
> 
> He added: "A guest who is too ill to attend may attend a make-up drill when 
> their health permits." Seabourn did not elaborate on why that option wasn't 
> offered in this case.
> 
> Shulem said he likely will relate this experience to other cruise clients so 
> they are fully aware of the ramifications if they don't show up at a drill.
> 
> "Everyone knows the story of the Concordia," Shulem said, adding that "it's 
> just common sense" to attend.
> 
> CLIA said it provides travel agent members with information to assist 
> customers in preparing for a cruise, and part of that information includes 
> the importance of participating in muster drills as well as reviewing safety 
> material and videos provided in passenger staterooms.
> 
> Mike McGarry, the association's senior vice president of public affairs, 
> said, "In February CLIA's member lines, along with the European Cruise 
> Council and Passenger Shipping Association, voluntarily adopted a policy 
> that calls for the mandatory muster of embarking passengers prior to 
> departure from port. This policy has been communicated widely to a global 
> audience."
> 
> Shulem said that the couple, who are long-time clients, cruise once a year. 
> They were assisted in Lisbon by Strictly Vacations' 24-hour emergency 
> services vendor, since Shulem was aboard the Oceania Riviera's christening 
> cruise when the incident occurred.
> 
> "They said they'll never cruise Seabourn again," he said.
> 
> Holland America Line, a sister brand to Seabourn, in February debarked a 
> passenger for refusing to participate in a drill. Both lines are Carnival 
> Corp. brands, as is Costa Cruises, owner of the Concordia. Home of the low 
> price guaranty
> 
> Maurice Shackelford
> http://www.peachtreetravel.net
> (phone)770-280-5029
> (fax)404-921-9674
> reservations at peachtreetravel.net
> 
> 
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