Left High and Dry – tales of woe at sea!

It has been nearly six months since that unforgettable day when we were told – ‘our cruise owners have gone into administration’.  Although these words are heard by many others in similar situations my circumstances were a bit different to say the least!

I worked on a cruise ship and loved the life, the passengers and my fellow crew members who were like family to me.  Sailing the seas has been a joy and sometimes a sorrow when things happen that are beyond your control and this was just an occasion.

We were berthed in Port Kelang (for Kuala Lumpur) and were previously told on New Year’s Eve that our next cruise departing on 4th January had been cancelled, so we set about the task of informing those guests that were due to stay onboard for that cruise of the situation and new arrangements.  As you can imagine passengers were shocked, disappointed and some were even angry and we dealt with the situation the best we could.

The night of the 3rd January we were advised that all passengers had to vacate the ship by 10:00 so it was all hands to the deck to arrange taking those passengers on post-cruise extensions to their hotel, those B2B ones that elected to stay in a hotel also and the remaining 300 plus passengers trips into Kuala Lumpur before their late evening flights.  Again, this news did not go down well and the main thing for us was to ensure that our passengers were treated with respect and dealt with in a calm and understanding manner.

We had been told that we were to sail back to Singapore (where we had just come from) to go into a ‘dry dock’ (speculation was rife amongst the 220 plus crew members as to why).

All passengers were disembarked by 10:00 and by 11:00 after taking on limited provisions we set sail for Singapore where we should have arrived in the early hours of 5th January morning.

We were all up on deck when the Captain was called to the Bridge around 20:00 (8pm), 12 noon UK time.  Myself and the Shorex Managers were taken to the Hotel Directors Office and were informed that the cruise owners had gone into administration and basically that was that.  No more cruises, no more sailing, nothing, nada!!!

We were stunned in silence which doesn’t happen very often to me and we sat for a while contemplating our next move.  We were at sea – not as if we could jump ship!

It didn’t take long before everyone onboard heard the news as it was all on Social Media and the BBC news.

So, what to do next!  When things like this happens you still have a responsibility and loyalty to your superiors onboard especially our wonderful Captain so we set about the next day packing all items that didn’t belong to the owners’.

Then came the mammoth task of packing my belongings.  We were due back in Portsmouth in May and it is normally here that I would offload most of my items and bring new ones onboard, so I packed and packed and repacked and repacked and four cases later I was finished!  I had to leave one case behind with clothes, shoes etc in.

As I said we were sailing at the time of the announcement and thought we would be in Singapore when we awoke the next morning, but when I went up on deck we were still at sea.

On the night of 5th January as we were still at sea our wonderful Entertainment team put on a show in the main lounge for the crew – just what we needed after the day before’s events.

Eventually after two days at sea on 6th January mid-afternoon we were allowed into a ‘dry dock’ in Singapore.

This isn’t the end of my tale – I contacted my employer when the announcement was made on 4th January asking what happens to me regarding repatriation and they had not heard the news!  They had to attain permission from the company’s administrators to purchase a flight for me.  Finally, on 6th January around 18:00 (6pm) the news came that I had a flight leaving on 7th January to take me home (much to my relief).

The Entertainment team also had flights booked for the same evening as me and they were being checked into a hotel for the night so I decided to go too as it was just too heart-breaking to stay onboard any longer than necessary.

This is where the term ‘high and dry’ comes into play.  I must admit to not being too keen on heights and when I saw where we had to walk to get to our transfers I panicked, had a few tears and thought I was never going to leave the ship.  With four large cases and hand luggage I just didn’t think I would be able to get everything down to ground level.  I had some knights in shining armour (and ladies) who assisted me, and, my luggage down.

As you will see from these photos it was a long way down and very steep plus three flights of metal stairs that were nearly vertical.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

We made the best of our last night in a lovely hotel and left the hotel the next day to head to the airport and my flight home.  I checked in and it cost me £260.00 in excess luggage charges.

If you were to ask me do I regret taking the job at sea then the answer would be ‘NO’.  I loved every minute of it and although my story appeared as if it didn’t have a happy ending then it did as I have made so many wonderful friends whilst onboard, both colleagues and passengers and the wonderful times we all shared together.

Things happen in life and it is what you do next that counts – look to the future – I’m doing the next best thing – selling other peoples’ dreams with cruise.co.uk.


About Me

My name is Lyndy and I have worked in the travel industry for eight years, three years of these working on a cruise ship.  I enjoy cruising and have had many wonderful experiences both as a passenger and as a crew member (but that's another story). I returned from sea in January…

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