A passenger claims he was kicked off Norwegian Breakaway after making discourteous comments to a crew member in a heated argument over reservations.
Robert Gaines and his wife were left stranded on a Caribbean island and they had to figure out how they were going to get home.
The incident occurred in the first few days of a seven-night Caribbean cruise on Norwegian Cruise Lines, the couple told Fox News in America, and he was not given a chance to challenge the decision.
Mr Gaines claims that he had reservations for the show but his name was not on the list. He became unhappy when the crew member refused to let him in.
He told NBC 6 in Miami that he responded with, “Listen you idiot, I’m telling you right now that my family is in the show. Why are you keeping me out of the show?”
Mr Gaines added, ”They started calling security, and I may have made a comment that said you better get more than a couple because I’m a big guy. They were really scaring me.”
The incident did not come to a physical altercation but a security officer showed up at his cabin to deliver the captain’s decision the next morning. He was told to disembark at Tortola, one of the British Virgin Islands.
Some news sources suggest that it is the word ‘idiot’ that got Mr Gaines in trouble.
A statement from the line said, “We are in the business of providing incredibly positive and memorable experiences for all our guests. We also care deeply about our team members and work very hard to ensure they are happy and treated with the utmost respect. Therefore, we do not take kindly to anyone who behaves badly by disparaging others or creating an environment which erodes the experience we are providing for our guests and crew.
“As such, we have a zero-tolerance policy aboard our fleet when it comes to inappropriate or discourteous behaviour.”
So what are your rights? And what might get you thrown off your cruise?
Disorderly conduct
This includes verbal and physical misbehaviours. Last year, a total of seven guests were ordered off a P&O cruise at Bradleys Head after a drunken brawl. The brawl allegedly involved two stag parties and one man was struck on the head with an empty wine bottle, causing a laceration.
In 2011, American celebrity Foxy Brown was booted off Royal Caribbean after going “completely ballistic” when the nail salon could not accommodate her after she turned up late for her manicure appointment, according to TMZ. She was confined in her room for two days before the ship’s anchor was dropped somewhere in the Cayman Islands and she was kicked off.
Not attending the muster drill
Attendance is mandatory and there have been reports of ships ordering passengers to disembark for failing to turn up. In 2012, an elderly couple was kicked off the Seabourn Sojourn in Portugal. The passengers in cabin 627 had not responded to numerous requests, phone calls and announcements to proceed to The Restaurant for the muster drill.
Getting Sick
The ship’s medical staff has the right to determine whether a passenger is unfit to continue on a sailing. Cruisers will be disembarked if they are in a condition “likely to endanger health or safety,” according to MSC Cruises’ conditions of travel, for example. Cruise doctors can make arrangements to have passengers transferred to a health facility at any port, at the passengers’ expense.
Throwing anything overboard
Throwing anything off the ship no matter how big or small can also get you kicked off the ship. The captain ordered a Perth man off his P&O cruise in Bali after he flicked a cigarette overboard in 2016. A small ciggie butt can pose a major hazard. A Princess Cruise ship was caught alight after a passenger disposed of their cigarette overboard.
Make a terror threat
Terrorism is not to be joked about. Secure your social media accounts! Back in 2012 someone posed as the neurosurgeon who was on board Carnival Magic to give a presentation on Twitter and tweeted about having a vial of a disease for a bio-hazard attack on the ship. Dr Kruse eventually had his name cleared, but only after his room was raided by FBI and Homeland Security agents and was removed from the ship even before it set sail.
Buying a minor a drink
Letting your son or daughter, who might be turning 18, sneak a glass on a cruise can end with a problem. If you don’t want your family holiday to end abruptly, do not buy drinks for minors or let them borrow your ship ID to buy their own. Cruise lines don’t tolerate aiding and abetting an underage person to acquire alcohol. Both the adult and minor involved could be disembarked if caught.
Forgetting your passport
Being on a cruise often means waking up at a new port everyday. If you plan to go on shore and explore the destination, remember to bring your passport with you. Some ports might need to check your passport before allowing you back on board. If you don’t have your passport, it is possible to be denied entry back onto the ship.
Impersonating Crew
Pretending to be a crew member—whether it’s the captain or just someone who makes colorful animals out of bath towels—will get you thrown off a ship instantly. A German man posed as a ship doctor on several different cruises and treated hundreds of patients over the course of five years before he was discovered in December 2015.
Organise your own tours in public
Booking an independent tour with a few friends is fine but when the tour includes 30-person bus and an advertising campaign, you might want to hold back as you might get removed from the ship for soliciting.
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There are a lot of rude people who go on cruises for example, if I am walking down a corridor and on passing I would say hello as I always do and most times I wouldn’t even get a nod and when you do sit at a table I often say hello and quite often I get no answer in return only a snobby glare and I am not even crew so imagine how these trailer park snobs treat the crew. To be honest I don’t know why those people go on cruises if they are not going to be social and friendly, at the very least they should reciprocate the hello and not snob your fellow passengers or the crew and the crew are not slaves so don’t treat them like one. I find that these type of people usually sit at a table for 4 and when someone is looking for a seat they get told it is taken when really it isn’t. I often sit while having my meal and watch these selfish people taking up seats they are not occupying just because they don’t want anyone to sit next to them. next time you are on a cruise you watch these selfish, arrogant people sitting at tables by themselves or only the two of them at a 4 seat table and have their jackets and bags on the other seats and not intending to occupy the other two seats, I watch and see it all the time and it amazes me why these morons go on cruises. I see it on every cruise I’m on and you can’t say a thing to embarrass them or you get kicked off the ship but it is the seed to cruise rage and the laundry rage is one example and these people are the ones who start it by minding seats and deck chairs etc when they are not really going to use them, then you get the people who put books and towels on deck chairs early in the morning then go off to eat or to the gym and one such person I saw on one cruise would claim a certain deck chair by leaving a book and a hanky the night before then come back around mid afternoon the next day and claim the reserved chair and yes this person would never socialize with anyone or reciprocate a hello if you saw this person walking through the corridor so I don’t know why they go on a cruise just to read a book and snob anyone who tries to be nice.
If you read this and you are these types of moron then stay at home because cruising is not for you. If you find a table and the other person is still getting food then that is fine but don’t take the whole table if you don’t need it, share it. I have met some lovely people when sharing a table and I love it.
But be warned if you do this sort of selfishness on land and you come across me I will embarrass you beyond belief but on a ship it is not my place to embarrass passengers and it can get you kicked off so I just grin and bear it.
My wife had a fall onshore in Barcelona and damaged ribs, one ankle and one knee.
She landed on her cheek and damaged her face and broke her glasses.
We caught a taxi back to the MSC Orchestra and went to the ships Doctor the next morning. The Doctor and medical staff couldn’t have been more caring.
Our next stop was Madera and my wife and I were taken to a clinic, X-rays were taken and knee and ankle were re strapped and were taken back to the ship. She was given a wheel chair to use onboard. The only complaint we have is the rude European passengers who wouldn’t move in the lifts and telling us no no no and closing the door. I would cruise with MSC again.
Custermers and people come first i traveled on ships and use your maners to the crew thay work hard for all the hospitality and there preperation
After reading about the argument between crew and passenger I can not understand why the crews side was taken in the argument.
Myself and 5 other passengers were insulted by a crew member and it reached the stage where we asked to leave the ship. The cruise line said they had no control over this person as they were employed by a 3rd party.
I have never cruised with Norwegian and after reading the complaint I NEVER WILL
Yes totally agree with the captain’s decision ,the passenger was extremely abusive and threatening what a jerk he would’ve been arrested if he tried that on shore ,have respect for the crew they’re trying to help
To be booted off a ship for being rude to a crew member is one thing but a broken arm, i wonder if there is more to the story that has not been told as there is always two sides to a coin.
Maybe both sides of the story should be told like the cruise lines version.
I ans my wife were put ashore in Panama City from Oceania (a Norwegian company) because my wife had a broken arm suffered as a result to the ships slippery deck on the way to a restaurant on the ship. We were not given time to pack and had to leave luggage on the sip. It took a total of seven month to receive most of it back, but some was never returned. My insurance claim as a result of this high handed action was for AU$101,000. I will never travel with a Norwegian Cruise line owned ship again.
Yes that information was great, I think I can understand why you would be ordered off the ship, we have always obeyed the rules and the staff have always been curates and helpful.
Before my first cruise in 2017 nobody told me about laundry rage on board. A confined space,people leaving their laundry in machines and coming back late. People who decide to iron 40 items at one time thereby infuriating others who often respond badly. More than once passengers have been booted off a ship for laundry rage.