MAIDEN VOYAGES, JUMPING SHIP (OR FALLING FROM)… the choice is yours!!!

Maiden Voyages of cruise ships…    nothing quite like them to get the marketing personnel working like there’s no tomorrow.

The big new maiden voyage of P&O’s Iona is now set for early 2020. Great choice of cabins, and lots of other sailing dates if you miss out on the maiden voyage. To some, the kudos of saying I was on the maiden voyage of a particular cruise ship is the greatest bragging opportunity there is. There are some great reasons to get on that maiden voyage sailing for the hype, the recognition, the red carpet treatment, the free bits that could come your way…    and of course, for the professional complainer, a wonderful opportunity to disembark at the end of the sailing, complaining it all went wrong, and seeking compensation. Yes, people like this do exist and they know who they are.

Reminds me also of a maiden voyage of Royal Caribbean’s Harmony Of The Seas, which had months of planning, and all the hype one would expect. Sad thing is that those who were lucky to get on what was billed as the maiden voyage, after many many months of anticipation, were then told that two further short sailings had been slotted in, before their maiden voyage. So, the reality set in that those thousands of people wanting the kudos of saying they were on that first sailing, were in fact not…    and did that create anger and complaints.

The most recent disaster in the maiden voyage stakes has to go to lesser known cruise line, Scenic. Well known and exceptionally good when it comes to river cruising, this line ventured into the ultra luxury market with the launch of their Scenic Eclipse. Shortly before the launch date came a communication from Scenic, to say the first five months of sailings had all been cancelled because the ship was not ready. For clients of mine who had made significant plans to work around booking one of the first sailings on the new Scenic Eclipse, the cancellation of their trip was a total disaster. Their likelihood of sailing now on this ship could be when the vessel is already nearing two years old. A marketing disaster perhaps?

The thing is, I am not one who gets caught up in the hype of maiden voyages, and the first few months of sailings of any new ship. You have heard of teething problems and avoid the first few sailings and you are more likely to miss them. I would probably jump ship if caught on a maiden voyage that goes wrong…

…which brings me to my other point.

A great amount of publicity for Kay Longstaff, the 46 year old who went off the back of a cruise ship recently. She says she fell from the ship and then survived around ten hours in the Adriatic by treading water and singing. A recent FaceBook post of mine asked if someone can fall. The reality is that people do go off ships. Do they fall or jump though?

Here’s my point. To get into the position on any cruise ship where you could “fall” is almost an impossibility. You have to be intoxicated, doing a “dare” or must be plain stupid. You have to have climbed onto, or over, something, or be sitting in some way that no normal person with any sense would, in order to fall from a ship.

Many who have fallen don’t survive the fall or are never found. Those that survive the fall and are found usually have a story to tell.

I really wish those who act irresponsibly like so many of these cases, would stop to consider the impact of their actions. The distress that family and friends go through. The trauma for passengers. The cost and time taken for services involved in any rescue attempt.

This subject could go on and on. I will let you guess my thoughts on this matter. Your comments would also be greatly appreciated.