2005-10-11T16:26:00.000-07:00

Empress of the Sea Cruise of 9/12/05
TheBrokenPromise@gmail.com

To our friends, shipmates and fellow survivors:

Monday 10/10/05

When we boarded our ship together on September 12, 2005 I just assumed that we had selected a cruise with a company that was ethical, honest, and substantial. I just assumed this company really cared about its customers and reputation.

Not the case. We sailed with a truly nasty Liberian corporation with a long CRIMINAL history. This corporation, ROYAL CARIBBEAN CRUISES LTD., A LIBERIAN CORPORATION, is involved in Kickbacks and Tax Fraud. Of note this is also the parent company of CELEBRITY CRUISES.

Of course they blew us off. Read about the bed bugs and you will know what it takes to get a refund.

Feel free to share the following information with anyone, your travel agency, your friends in the media, anyone. Royal Caribbean was given the opportunity to respond to all of the following, before publication and on the record. Royal Caribbean has specifically seen the following and has refused to respond or answer any questions about its Criminal Record, Safety, BED BUGS, Kickbacks, or Tax Fraud.

April 11 Jewel of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
A Florida couple was treated after being bitten by hundreds of bed bugs during a vacation cruise on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship, according to Local 6 News. "I was in such disbelief at first, you know, I mean, it was hundreds and hundreds of bugs, we had leaned against all the night before, I mean it literally made my skin crawl," the passenger said. Royal Caribbean apologized to the couple and refunded $2,800 for the tickets but declined to reimburse them for medical care or hotel expenses incurred while waiting to get home. (The incident apparently occurred on the cruise beginning March 26)

“Hundreds Of Bed Bug Bites Sicken Couple On Cruise
Royal Caribbean Apologizes To Couple, Refunds Ticket Money
POSTED: 7:35 am EDT April 11, 2005
UPDATED: 2:01 pm EDT April 11, 2005
A Florida couple was treated after being bitten by hundreds of bed bugs during a vacation cruise on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship, according to Local 6 News.

• "I was in such disbelief at first, you know, I mean, it was hundreds and hundreds of bugs, we had leaned against all the night before, I mean it literally made my skin crawl," Wasserstorm said.

Alan and Nathalie Wasserstorm said their vacation aboard the Royal Caribbean's Jewel of the Seas was ruined by the infestation of bed bugs.

More Pictures and Story

"I was in such disbelief at first, you know, I mean, it was hundreds and hundreds of bugs, we had leaned against all the night before, I mean it literally made my skin crawl," Alan Wasserstorm said.
The couple moved to another room on the ship but it was too late, according to the report.
Nathalie Wasserstorm was treated with Benadryl and steroids.
"We really wanted a dream vacation and instead I am taking nitro pills instead for pains," Alan Wasserstorm said.
Royal Caribbean apologized to the couple and refunded $2,800 for the tickets. The company declined to reimburse them for medical care or hotel expenses incurred while waiting to get home.

The Wasserstorms say this is the last cruise they will ever take.”

New Cruiser
Posted August 22, 2005 11:56 AM August 22, 2005 11:56 AM

My wife and I sailed on the Grandeur of the Seas from Baltimore on July 3. During the first night my wife suffered bites from insects that were coming out of her pillow. The insects (bedbugs? were full of blood). The insects were not in the bed, just coming out of the pillow. She had numerous bites on both arms and her head. She was treated at the infirmary but got very little relief from the pain. We felt the problem was handled very poorly onboard and wrote to both Guest Relations and Crown and Anchor Society upon our return home. My wife is allergic to insect bites and had a serious reaction that required additional treatment after returning home. Her doctor stated she could not positively identify the insects as bedbugs but there was a very good posibility. She had huge welts all over her arms. It has been a month since we wrote to RCCL (they signed for my certified letters on July 20) and we have had no response whatever. I sent an email a week ago and other than the automated receipt response, there has been no reply. This was our 8th cruise with RCCL
Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises Sued for Violation of Florida's Consumer Protection Act

Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd. and its subsidiary brand, Celebrity Cruises, Inc., were sued for fraud on Friday, May 16, 2003 in a lawsuit filed in Miami-Dade County Florida. The lawsuit seeks to prevent the cruise lines from continuing the fraud, and seeks class action status for the million of passengers defrauded to date.
Faced with decreased tickets sales in a competitive business dominated by cross-town rival Carnival Cruise Lines, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity schemed to increase their profitability by charging excessive or illegal taxes to passengers, according to the lawsuit. The cruise lines continue to charge the fraudulent taxes to date.
The scheme is based on a legitimate IRS tax which requires the cruise lines to charge $3 to passengers who embark or disembark at ports in the United States. Starting in April or May 2001, Royal Caribbean began to overcharge the passengers an additional $15 to $25 in "taxes." Rather than paying these amounts to the IRS, the companies kept the money. The cruise lines also charged passengers taxes on foreign cruises where no such tax was due.
Royal Caribbean and Celebrity was accused in the late 1990's of engaging in a similar scheme by overcharging passengers port charges. After an investigation by the Florida Attorney General, the cruise lines were barred from charging any fees in addition to the advertised ticket price except those fees actually passed on by the companies to the U.S. government.
Royal Caribbean registered it business in Liberia and flags its vessels in foreign countries in order to avoid paying most U.S. taxes. Yet, the lawsuit alleges that for the past two years Royal Caribbean charged its own brand of illegal taxes - approximating $90,000,000. An estimated 5.7 million passengers (mostly U.S. citizens) were affected by the charges. Including future bookings, the cruise line over-charged its customers approximately $150,000,000. Counsel for the plaintiffs are James Walker, and the law firm of Tew, Cardenas, Rebak, Kellogg, Lehman, DeMario, Tague, Raymond, & Levine. Lead counsel for the passengers is Tom Tew.
Seventy-three lawsuits were filed in the first quarter of 2001 against Miami based cruise lines by injured passengers and crew employees. See the list
Celebrity Cruise Line Ordered to Produce Passenger Statement of Injury
A Miami, Dade Circuit Court ordered Celebrity Cruises to produce a "Statement of Injury," signed by a passenger who was seriously injured while cruising aboard Celebrity's Millennium cruise ship in September 2000. The passenger caught his foot on a broken piece of combing which partially protruded into the entrance to the bathroom, and suffered a devastating injury to his dominant arm. At the cruise line's insistence, he signed a statement shortly after the accident. The cruise line refused to provide him with a copy of the statement while he was on the ship or even after suit was filed in Miami.
ROYAL CARIBBEAN CRUISES
Royal Caribbean pleaded guilty in 1998 to felony charges of dumping oil off the coast of Florida and Puerto Rico, and agreed to pay $9 million in fines & penalties. After the guilty plea, the company ran advertisements in local newspapers about its behavior, and pledging to do a better job. One of the ships convicted of dumping was then found to have repeated its acts, and covered up the action with false records as before, a month after the ads were printed.
A year later the company was convicted of related charges. It paid another criminal fine, this time for a record $18 million, & pleaded guilty to 21 felony counts of dumping waste oil, hazardous chemicals, and other pollutants and lying about its violations to the Coast Guard. The charges were filed in six US cities where federal environmental laws were violated, including Los Angeles, California. The company admitted it routinely dumped waste, including in environmentally sensitive areas, while promoting itself as a "green" company. The investigation also uncovered that eight of Royal Caribbean's cruise ships continued to dump illegally, even after being notified the company was under investigation in 1994
In June, 1998, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCCL), a Liberian-flag cruise line, pleaded guilty in the Federal District Courts in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Miami, Florida, to six criminal charges, including intentionally dumping oily bilge water during the period 1990 to 1994, not properly recording these discharges in their oil discharge books, and presenting these books as valid and authentic company records. Royal Caribbean agreed to pay a fine of $9 million to settle these cases. Last July, RCCL reached a final settlement with the Department of Justice, concluding a five-year investigation into the company’s past environmental practices. Under the agreement, RCCL will pay $18 million in fines, in addition to the $9 million penalty assessed in 1998.

Fee Lawsuits Filed Against Cruise Lines | Herald.com

May 06, 2005
by Gregg Fields
The MIami Herald

The way cruise ships market and sell shore excursions is the subject of three lawsuits filed in federal court in Miami.

Miami's leading cruise lines are ripping off their passengers by secretly pocketing some of the fees paid for shore excursions that were booked with purportedly independent operators, three related lawsuits allege.

The cases, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Miami, name Carnival Corp., Royal Caribbean Cruises and its Celebrity Cruises unit, and Norwegian Cruise Lines as defendants. The attorney filing the lawsuit, Charles Lipcon, is seeking class-action status for each complaint.

In an interview, Lipcon said the companies say the excursion operators are independent, and the ship is booking the activities as a convenience for its passengers.

"What they don't tell you is they're keeping up to half of the money," Lipcon said. "It's an undisclosed charge."
A Kickback!!

To: Admiral Thomas H. Gilmour,
Commandant for Marine Safety and Environmental Protection,
Coast Guard Headquarters 2100 Second Street, SW,
Washington, DC 20593

Dear Admiral Gilmour,

Please help. We believe the old “Empress of the Sea” presents a significant safety, and health threat. We ask you to simply find out if the ship is safe and let us know what you find out.

At or near her cruising speed the old Empress develops a terrible vibration. She shakes so badly that people cannot eat or talk above the din. Almost immediately the crew responds by cutting power. During our cruise the worst convulsions only lasted about two minutes [120 seconds.] This happened after the Master announced that the ship had been repaired in Nassau. Earlier vibrations lasted a shorter time.

It is my best information and belief that the vibration has more than sufficient strength to damage or threaten all of the other systems on board including fuel, hydraulic, electrical, plumbing and navigation systems.

My greatest concern would be an onboard fire caused by ruptured fuel or hydraulic line or an electrical fire caused by mechanical damage that would allow electrical current to reach the hull. Loss of steerage is another threat. Her inability to maintain cruising speeds or ever respond with full power cripples her ability to safely respond to other potential dangers at sea, hurricanes and collisions are examples.

We ask only that the Coast Guard examine this old ship under power, reproduce the vibration and make your own determination. Nothing that large can shake that badly without consequence.

I am in touch with more than one hundred passengers on one specific trip [LV Ft. Lauderdale 9/12]. Based on interviews with them, and other credible information. I now believe all of the following are true and supportable.

1. The master of this ship is under enormous pressure to make his schedule. That schedule requires him to sail at or near his cruising speed. A speed that is no longer safe.
2. These serious vibrations have gone on for some time and have led to “unforeseen events” in the past.
3. The crew has been specifically instructed as what to say and not to say to the passengers when these terrible vibrations occur.
4. The statement to the passengers by the Master that “We are going to Nassau for repairs” was a false statement. The ship sales on the “temporary repairs” made in Key West
5. The ship was not repaired at Nassau. Credible individuals who chose to watch the repairs in Nassau report that absolutely nothing was done. They insist there was no activity near the stern of this ship
6. In addition to the mechanical problems the ship sailed with hydraulic problems possibly related.
7. This ship has acknowledged sanitation related health problems that may or may not be related to plumbing issues and the backed-up sewage problems suffered by some passengers on our voyage. Old issues include very serious lifeboat deployment problems.

8. At this moment the Empress of the Sea presents an unacceptable risk to its passengers and crew.
Sincerely,
Robert Walden Goard

The following have not yet been confirmed but there is very strong evidence these are true as well.
July 2 Legend of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
A passenger is in a Spanish hospital after contracting what is believed to be Legionnaires' Disease. On June 27 the passenger became very ill and was rushed to hospital when the ship docked in Barcelona. Doctors diagnosed Legionella Pneumophilia, the bacterium which causes Legionnaires' Disease. The ship was detained in Barcelona for an extra day while authorities decided if there was a risk to the 2,000 passengers. Legionnaires' Disease
July 2 Jewel of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
Passengers on the cruise ending today (June 20 - July 2) in Harwick (England) report more than 100 passengers became ill with diarrhea and vomiting. One passenger says a staff person in the medical centre said that many of the crew had it and had had it on the previous cruise. Another says her daughter's blood test indicated a bacterial source for the disease which suggests food or water contamination, though descriptions provided suggest the source of the outbreak was noro or similar virus. It is unlikely that further information will be made available given that the ship is not required to contact or provide information to the Centers for Disease Control because it was operating outside the US. Illness
If you go to Google and search “Royal Caribbean” “Lawsuit” you will get 99,000 hits. Important that you use the quotes so that you only get hits that contain both. Change “lawsuit” to “illness” and you will get 53,000 new and different hits. Try “fraud” and get 183,000 more. Royal Caribbean has a reputation that is not to be envied.
The most common illness on Royal Caribbean and Celebrity are norovirus, linked directly to sanitation . Based on what is on the net I would guess that the pair has infected no less than one thousand travelers in just the past year. These people got nothing no vacation and no compensation.
Better to spend your cruise with norovirus than “Legionnaires’ Disease”, usually linked to a filthy air conditioning system. People often die from that one.
“Bad Luck” gambling at the casino? Some observers think they simply “cheat ” THERE IS NO LAW AGAINST IT.
FYI This ship was cut right down the middle with cutting torches into two pieces. A big section was added in the middle and the and then the whole thing was welded back together and sent back out to sea.
FYI General Standards of Care & Responsibilities – Quoted from a Travel Agency Insurance Site
‘Still other courts and increasingly this appears to be the majority view, hold that travel agents have certain specific duties to passengers regardless of whether they are agents of the supplier or of the passenger. While these minimum standards vary, some very basic examples of what types of things could be expected of a travel agent are as follows: Being, at the very least, knowledgeable about the suppliers, products and services being sold. Knowing a supplier's reputation within the travel industry. Communicating to the client any "bad news" about a supplier, especially if the travel trade may have relatively easy access to this information but the traveler or general public may not”

OK my friends, what can we do now? What should we do now? I think there is an enormous amount we can and should do. For me this is just the beginning of the beginning.
I recommend the following.
1. Send all of the horror stories and your own to YOUR travel agent. A sample letter is attached. I recommend a hand written envelope. Hand written letters are slightly better than type written ones. Your own will be better than mine but mine will work. Just add a note if you have time.
a. If they agree to help. Have your travel agent send us a confirming Email to thebrokenpromise@gmail.com and we will spread the word that this is a travel agent we should all be using.
b. If they are not willing to help. Please send me an Email with their address and Email info and I will be happy to remind them that maybe they should check with their attorney and/or insurance agent about their own liability now that they know a bit more about RC.
2. Complain to the Better Business Bureau. You must complain to the BBB Serving Southeast, Central and Western Kansas at 328 Laura Wichita, KS 67211. IF YOU LOOK ANYWHERE ELSE YOU WILL NOT FIND “ROYAL CARIBBEAN” AND YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO FILE A BBB COMPLAINT!!. ROYAL CARIBBEAN does have an office at 4729 So Palisade in Wichita KS 67211 TELEPHONE 316-554-5000. Do any of you wonder why RC has chosen to list their office in Kansas with the BBB and not their home office in Miami?
3. If you have already written to the Coast Guard write again, send in the new info we have discovered. We have a new contact at the Coast Guard send a COPY of your letter and this information to Commandant (G-IPA-3) US Coast Guard 2100 Second Street SW, Washington DC 20593-0001 Fax (202) 267-4737. Continue to address the original as before.
4. We have a lot more ammunition than we had before. Don’t be shy, spread the word.
ABOVE ALL KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!! WE ARE GETTING A TON OF REALLY GREAT EMAIL AND RESPONSE! THIS IS ONE INCREDIBLE GROUP. PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF IT IS OK TO USE YOUR LETTER WITH OR WITHOUT YOUR NAME. SEND ME PICTURES AND I WILL SOON DO THE SAME. THIS IS OBVIOUSLY A FUN GROUP. DOING SOMETHING VERY WORTHWHILE.
IF WE PERSIST, IF WE GROW, WE REALLY CAN KEEP THIS CREEPY FOREIGN COMPANY OUT OF ALL US PORTS! IF WE GET A CLASS ACTION ATTORNEY OR NATIONAL TV COVERAGE THAT WILL BE ONE BIG WAKE UP CALL. MY OWN DREAM WOULD BE “A “CRUISERS” BILL OF RIGHTS” DEMANDED BY TRAVELERS AND AFFIRMED BY TRAVEL AGENTS THAT WOULD GUARANTEE WE ALL GET THE CUSTOMER SUPPORT WE AND ALL OF OUR CRUISING FRIENDS DESERVE
MUCH MORE TO COME.
Affectionately,
Bob and Louise Goard
TheBrokenPromise@gmail.com

Robert and Louise Goard
3839 NW 7th Place
Deerfield Beach Florida 33442
The Wagners, Owners Monday, October 10, 2005
Village Travel and Cruise
1010 Bowers
Birmingham MI 48009

Dear Friends,

We chose your travel agency because you came highly recommended by our close friends. When we booked the cruse with Royal Caribbean Cruise Line on the Empress of the Seas, we assumed we had booked with a reputable cruise line and could expect any problems would be met with professional and caring customer support.

As you can see from the following, this was not the case. We assume you too did not know that this foreign corporation had a substantial criminal history, or that Royal Caribbean and its subsidiary Celebrity Cruises have a long history of customer abuse, kickbacks, tax fraud and serious sanitation issues. Royal Caribbean easily has the poorest record of customer service in the cruise industry. Again, we are not blaming you. We are only asking for your help going forward.

We are more than one hundred fifty strong now. We will soon be three times that. We have a great cause. Royal Caribbean has been really nasty to us. This Cruise Line is very nasty to no less than 1,000 travelers a month. We will not be going away any time soon. NEVER UNDER-ESTIMATE THE POWER OF A NICE GROUP OF PEOPLE DOING THE RIGHT THING.

We do urge you to discuss all of these issues and all of the information we are sending you with Royal Caribbean. Royal Caribbean has already been given all of this information and has refused to answer any of our questions. If you can get a specific response please share it with us. If Royal Caribbean also fails or refuse to give you an adequate response, we both ask and recommend that you consider warning prospective customers about the reputation of this cruise line, in advance.

You may wish to consider the potential dangers of not warning potential customers. Perhaps you should discuss this issue with, your attorney and your insurance agent. We agree you may or may not be liable if, in the future, knowing about the reputation of this cruise line you remain silent.

If you agree to simply warn future customers, and write a letter to Royal Caribbean asking these same critical questions on our behalf, we would like to share your name with over 150 cruise customers that share our concerns. These, mostly repeat cruise customers are specifically looking for Travel Agents they feel they can trust. All of us have been misled.
If you don’t agree or chose not to respond, of course, we will note that as well.

Sincerely, Sincerely,

Robert Goard Louise Goard

More Stories

Royal Caribbean Kickbacks and Tax Fraud