Passengers on troubled cruise ship near rioting, callers told Ketchikan police

[unhappycamper]

http://www.adn.com/2013/08/22/3037385/passengers-on-troubled-cruise.html



The Celebrity cruises ship Millennium is tied up at the Berth 3 dock, Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2013 in Ketchikan, Alaska. The Millennium, the Celebrity Cruises ship that returned to Ketchikan, Alaska, after experiencing mechanical issues last weekend will remain there at least until Thursday, a spokeswoman said Wednesday.

Passengers on troubled cruise ship near rioting, callers told Ketchikan police
Published: August 22, 2013

From KRBD: Ketchikan police boarded the disabled Celebrity Millennium cruise ship in Ketchikan late Tuesday after receiving cellphone calls from passengers who said some aboard the ship were so angry they might riot. The ship first had problems with a propulsion system in Seward, which caused a several-days delay, then had more problems near Ketchikan. Finally, the cruise was called off, and on Wednesday passengers were boarding planes for flights back to Vancouver, B.C., and Seattle.

Police chief Alan Bengaard [said]: “We, the police department, received three 911 calls from passengers on the MV Millennium who stated that people were getting unruly on board the ship, and they believed a riot was about to begin. Officers responded to the ship, met with ship security and advised them of the 911 calls. Ship security and officers contacted approximately 500 guests on the third floor of the vessel, and subsequently peace was restored and officers left. ...


“The officers … were given the information that some of the passengers were unhappy with the miscommunication between them and the cruise line, and ultimately where their final destination was going to be,” he said. “Initially, evidently, they were told they were going to be flown to Anchorage, and plans had changed and some were upset with that.”



unhappycamper comment: The last time I went on a cruse was in 1967 - it was a troopship that landed my ass in Da Nang.

[Scootaloo]

1. The phrase "first world problems" creeps into my head n/t

[Demeter]

2. Why anyone would go on a cruise, in the face of the publicity of several years...

the triumph of marketing.

[westerebus]

3. The first cruise I was on,

was leaving Da Nang in '69.

[pscot]

4. I went to Europe on the Buckner in '63

[westerebus]

5. Dam.

The Army always gets the luxury liners... lol... says the jar head.

[Fuddnik]

6. My first cruise was on the Enterprise.

The aircraft carrier, not the starship.

[AnneD]

7. Well...

that explains a lot.

[westerebus]

8. He gets the two confused.

[AnneD]

9. Badda Bing....

sometime the jokes just write themselves.

[golfguru]

10. During my last 23 cruises, only 1 had a problem

Ironically it was also an Alaska cruise on Norwegian Cruise Line.
On a fine Saturday morning, the weather was sunny and fairly balmy after several days of rainy and cool weather. Lots of people were enjoying laying in the sun and swimming on the top deck pools. I am laying on the bed in my cabin, trying to digest the wonderful lunch from an hour ago. Suddenly, I feel the ship picking up speed furiously and leans 45 degrees making a hard right hand turn. Everything loose in my cabin falls to the ground, and I can hear crashing of glasses and plates from the ship. People on the top deck with nothing to grab onto slid several feet until they banged into some unmovable object such as a wall or pillar. The people in pool were thrown out along with most of the water in the pool. I was in the cabin, so I had no big problem, just slid off the bed onto the carpeted floor.

Several minutes later we heard the intercom saying everything was under control and just that the autopilot malfunctioned. I am thinking why are they using autopilot when there are like 1200 crew on ship.

Later in the evening the ship pulls into Victoria, BC. I observe a dozen ambulances racing to the dock and a whole bunch of people on stretchers carried from the ship to the ambulances. I did get a $500 voucher from Norwegian given out to all passengers on that cruise.

Well, I did have one more problem on another cruise but it was not serious. We just ran into a bad storm and the ship was rocking and rolling for several hours. Many people got sea-sick. I am immune to sea-sickness, knock on wood.

[Art_from_Ark]

11. I often wonder what my life would have been like

if I had been born, say, 9 or 10 years earlier, and found my ass on a "cruise ship" headed toward Da Nang back in 1967.

Glad you made it back.