Personal Injury Law

Three Leslie women among passengers of a Royal Caribbean cruise ship tossed about Mediterranean Sea during storm

By Lipcon, Margulies & Alsina, P.A.

Lucille Eldred?s 80th birthday celebration aboard a cruise ship on the Mediterranean Sea turned out to be more eventful than she and two friends could have ever imagined.

Eldred, Joanne Herendeen and Deborah Urban, all of Leslie, were aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise liner that was tossed around during a heavy storm off the coast of Egypt last week.

The trio clung to their beds and watched the furniture in their fourth-deck state room on the Brilliance of the Seas smash onto the floor and into the walls during a late-night disturbance.

The storm hit about 2 a.m. Dec. 13, and the high seas left the ship in disarray and caused injuries to about 30 of the ship?s 2,100 passengers.

?For about five minutes, the thought was: ?We are going to sink and we?re going to die,?? said Urban, who hung on to the top bunk, which was attached to the wall, while Herendeen and Eldred slid around the room while still in their beds.

?I was very relieved when the captain came over the PA and said we were OK.?

The captain instructed passengers to stay in their rooms during the disturbance. While in their room, the three women began trying to reorganize the furniture, which had been moved about the room and was blocking their way out.

?It happened very slow so it was surreal,? Herendeen said. ?Once it stopped rolling, everything was against the door and we wanted to be able to get out if we had to. It was very scary.?

Herendeen called herself and her travelmates ?lucky? in that none was injured nor did any of their personal items sustain damage.

Herendeen felt Royal Caribbean initially attempted to downplay the situation.

?A day later, they were giving everyone a $200 credit. I don?t think people felt that was enough for what we?d been through,? she said. ?There was a lot more injury that what they led on. ? I think that?s what upset people. We didn?t feel the message going out was really as bad as things were on the ship.?

Royal Caribbean eventually credited the entire cruise back to the passengers.

In spite of the incident, Herendeen was complimentary of her overall experience and said the staff was outstanding.

?They did a wonderful job of trying to keep everyone comfortable and calm,? she said. ?Those people (the staff) went two or three days without sleep.?

Herendeen and Urban, who have each been on multiple cruises, feel the ordeal was an isolated incident and said they would be open to going on a cruise in the future.

Originally Posted at: www.mlive.com

Full post as published by Cruise Ship Law on December 21, 2010 (boomark / email).