Passengers Go On Hunger Strike After Antarctica Cruise Skips Antarctica
A mechanical issue onboard a Swan Hellenic vessel led to the difficult decision to abandon Antarctica on a cruise whose very point was to visit Antarctica. When full refunds were not offered, hunger strikes began onboard.
Swan Hellenic Antarctica Cruise Upended By Mechanical Issue, Prompting Protests And Hunger Strikes Onboard
Swan Hellenic’s Diana vessel left Cape Town on November 13, 2024 on a 20-day cruise. Five days into the voyage, a mechanical issue developed (one passenger onboard described it as “grinding clunk and juddering”). The vessel stopped and a problem was identified with the bearing in the propeller shaft. That left only one of the two propellors properly operating.
After coming to a complete halt in the middle of the ocean, the vessel continued at half speed toward South Georgia, a British Overseas Territory. Unfortunately, the propellor issue could not be fixed so the decision was made not to continue to Antarctica, a further two-day journey away from inhabited land and help, should the need arise.
Thus began the six-day journey to Ushuaia, Argentina at a heavily reduced speed.
To address the obvious disappointment of passengers onboard, many of whom were on a once-in-a-lifetime trip, Swan Hellenic offered two compensation choices:
A 50% refund on the voyage
65% off a future voyage
Many accepted the offer (or reached out to their insurance companies), but a handful onboard refused…with several Russian guests commencing a hunger strike and a group of Chinese guests demanding a 100% refund plus a future free cruise.
Some settlements were made, but as the ship approached Ushuaia, at least one Russian woman continued her hunger strike, and several of the Chinese guests wore placards demanding a full refund.
I have to admit that I am very sympathetic to the passengers onboard and sensitive even to the demands of the Chinese guests. When you book an Antarctica cruise, you are booking a trip to go to Antarctica, not the South Sandwich Islands or Ushuaia, as impressive as they are.
When a cruise line fails to deliver due to a mechanical problem (on a ship less than a year old), it seems to me that you don’t make someone whole at all by skipping Antarctica, but you can at least compensate them for what amounts to a trip in vain.
Yes, the fine print you agree to when you book the cruise may exculpate the cruiseliner from most liability in case of a circumstance like this, but that does not make it right. I expect more from Swan Hellenic here.
image: Swan Hellenic