I was aboard this trip & it may be easy for some to make light of what actually happened if they were not aboard. People panicked & were very frightened because there was no accurate official information about the fact that we were sinking, taking on water, people were instructed to put lifejackets on, stand in lobby areas crowded together like sardines, alarms wailing, people scared, crying, no idea of what was going on to save us, very bad organization by the crew captain, commanders, & officers, no ventilation, toilets overwhelmed with feces & vomit, long periods of waiting (8 to 10 hours from beginning of trouble to end & then 5 or 6 more hours being shifted around the island on buses when we finally got back to port while whoever was in charge tried to find accommodations for 800 plus passengers. Every time we were placed on buses we were never told where we were going & twice were offloaded & then reloaded because no rooms were available.
Finally at 5am in the morning my wife & I were placed in a motel room (they call it a resort - JOKE), malfunctioned air conditioning, dirty sheets, still no food & a promise that a company representative would be there at 10am to brief us on what steps would be taken to get us back to Florida. (Who could sleep? But 5 hours?). That meeting never happened either. Never a single apology from company or anyone for our dilemma. Every single person on this cruise should be reimbursed for a simply terrifying vacation. People are not accustomed to being dealt with like animals, most people are capable of handling information in order to prepare themselves for whatever problems they may have to deal with in an emergency.
When we arrived back in port all of the passengers could have been directed back to their cabins to rest in their beds until each deck was orderly removed from the ship. Instead people were sweating in lifejackets for hours crammed in the lobby areas & scared. No food, limited water (some got none). The ship that came to our rescue next day we didn't even know about until we were waiting for hours again in the very windy, cold outdoor area where we had to wait for (Instructions). Had the situation been any worse & the ship farther away from port I don't believe everyone would have survived because I don't believe the whole crew was trained in such emergencies. I recognized a few passengers on my deck suffering from shock as it was. One elderly woman fell & may have fractured a hip – the crew quickly whisked her away & out of sight of the other passengers.
I am speaking about this because people should know the truth and not a bunch of down – played bull so the Celebration Cruise Lines looks good. I have never to this day received a full accurate explanation of what happened nor have I received any compensation to my wife or I who were along with so many others traumatized by this event. I understand that the company that ran this ship has sold the ship, changed it's company name and continues to do business out of the Port of Palm Beach. I would happily love to hear about any class action lawsuit that has been initiated against this company.
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