An Antarctica Cruise by boutique cruise line Swan Hellenic didn’t go according to plan after the ship suffered a technical defect that couldn’t be fixed, causing the ship to forego all Antarctica stops.
A group of Russian passengers on the vessel now went on a hunger strike to force adequate compensation from the cruise line after the company only offered a 50% of the cruise as a refund for the missed stops.
It appears to be rather ill-fated to go on a hunger strike during a cruise, let alone an emergency at sea while the ship is slowly inching its way back to the next port at a snail’s pace.
The sailing had several stops so it’s not like the trip was totally in vain, so a 50% refund was already quite generous but it seems that these Russian guests weren’t having any of it.
As reported by Euro News a small group of passengers then started to go on hunger strike to push for more compensation.
Passengers on an Antarctic cruise have staged a hunger strike after the ship’s engine failed, forcing the expedition to be cut short.
SH Diana, operated by cruise company Swan Hellenic, left Cape Town on 13 November for a 21-day voyage to the southern region.
However, one of the ship’s electric motors experienced an “unexpected malfunction”, putting an end to the €10,000 trip.
The vessel is due to arrive at its next departure port in Ushuaia, Argentina, on Saturday to undergo repairs.
The cruise itinerary was scheduled to include stops at iconic Antarctic spots like Elephant Island, Heroina Island, Paulet Island, Brown Bluff, D’Urville Monument, Yankee Harbour and Deception Island.
However, engine failure forced the Antarctica port calls to be cut short and the ship to make its way to its next departure port instead.
Passengers had paid up to €10,000 for the voyage and are angry that Swan Hellenic has not offered to compensate them in full for the cruise.
“They made the right call not to go to Antarctica for safety reasons, but it is being handled very badly by Swan Hellenic,” one passenger told UK newspaper the Times.
“To go to Antarctica is a trip of a lifetime and this specific sailing made it achievable for many on board to do so as it’s a repositioning sailing that had attractive deals.
“Many of the passengers are very angry and it was getting nasty yesterday. The company needs to make a better offer to quell the continuing rising anger.”
A small group of Russian passengers have reportedly staged a hunger strike in protest.
Swan Hellenic has offered a 50 per cent refund or a 65 per cent future cruise credit to be used within two years.
The company has also promised daily excursions when the ship makes port in Ushuaia, where passengers will be waiting until 3 December for their return flights.
Swan Hellenic’s chief executive Andrea Zito said in a statement that the refund offered is “significantly higher than the legal requirement of approximately 30 per cent”.
He acknowledged, however, that the “3.5 days lost on the Antarctic Peninsula leg of the sailing understandably was considered by most guests to be a highlight of the 21-day cruise”.
“As expected, not all of the guests were immediately satisfied with this compensation and have tried to build up pressure through discussions on board and by making demands on the captain and senior staff in order to obtain an even higher compensation for themselves,” he added.
“A select few chose to stage a hunger strike in their protest which is rather counterproductive. We are working towards a swift end to this action.”
I think a 50% refund in cash or 65% in credit is extremely generous in such a case, especially considering it’s a 21-day journey. As it was highlighted here, the legal requirement is much lower and would probably be pro-rated based on the actual stops that were being missed.
Going on hunger strike and trying to stage a mutiny on board the ship might not only void their compensation offer entirely but also put the passengers in legal jeopardy, depending on how serious the situation gets.
I’m also not sure that going on a hunger strike with only a couple of days left on board builds up pressure in any way. The passengers will be off the ship soon, and then they’ll no longer be the cruise line’s problem.
I have been on quite a few cruises in recent years but there was never any monetary compensation for missed ports except a refund of the port taxes upon request. Of course, this situation is a little different as it isn’t just a missed port but basically an entirely skipped destination. It was advertised as an Antarctica cruise without ever going to Antarctica.
The ship is still damaged and now makes its way to the Argentinian port. Here are some technical data points of the vessel:
As you can see, this is a smaller ship specifically designed to travel to unique destinations such as Antarctica. Keep in mind that many destinations don’t allow large cruise ships to enter due to the disturbance to Ecosystems so many cruise lines have ordered slightly smaller vessels for such trips. I also find the crew-to-guest ratio remarkable here. Despite its size, this seems to be quite a luxurious vessel.
But I’d really not risk taking it deep into Antarctica with a defective engine that can only be fixed in a larger port. What if the engine goes dead entirely? Good luck, no thanks.
Conclusion
A small boutique cruise line’s exploration vessel suffered an engine failure during a 21-day Antarctica cruise and the company (in coordination with the captain) decided to forego the crucial Antarctica ports in order to get the ship repaired in a properly equipped Argentinian port.
This didn’t sit well with a few passengers and while more were reasonable and accepted the cruise line’s offer of 50% refund in cash (or 65% in cruise credits), a group of Russian passengers caused problems. They eventually went on hunger strike for a couple of days. The ship is scheduled to reach port today where passengers will be disembarked.
I think as an alternative to the credits or refund offered the passengers could have been given an option to take a future Antarctica sailing. This is a bucket list destination, something you usually don’t do several times, and while the refund is generous given how long the sailing was it still didn’t get them to Antarctica. When I took my 15-day Panama Canal cruise I’d be pretty upset if the ship had to turn back for some reason and forego the canal.
But staging a hunger strike or causing problems? That’ll most likely cause them not receiving anything plus not eating a couple of days before being taken off the ship is hardly a threat. That’s not a hunger strike, it’s a crash diet.
