Royal Caribbean Strand Passengers to Avoid Hurricane

Royal Caribbean is denying responsibility for leaving 145 passengers stranded in order to avoid Hurricane Irene.

The cruise line has denied stranding passengers in Puerto Rico however numerous passengers who had flown to the island to join Serenade of the Seas were left high and dry as the ship left port three hours earlier than scheduled in order to avoid the hurricane.

Royal Caribbean International said port officials began to limit harbour traffic at 12:30pm on Sunday, forcing the ship to leave early.

130 people were left to fend for themselves without any assistance from the cruise line whilst only fifteen people that were left behind were given assistance and hotel accommodation.

A Royal Caribbean spokeswoman told US media: “Independent guests were advised of hotel availability in the area, but the expense was on them given that it was a weather-related event. There was no way to notify our guests of this change in departure time. We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused our guests, but this decision was made by the Port of San Juan to ensure the safe transit of all guests and crew through the port.”

We all know mother nature cannot be tamed or controlled but what are your thoughts on this, could Royal Caribbean have done more for their passengers?

Recently 300 passengers were also left behind when the Carnival Victory had to leave port 4 hours earlier than scheduled to avoid hurricane winds.