- Royal Caribbean canceled an Alaskan cruise after passengers had already boarded the ship.
- Two couples from California traveled multiple days to get to the remote port.
On September 1, Carol and Tom Cutkomp stepped aboard Royal Caribbean's Radiance of the Seas ship in Seward, Alaska, and began unpacking their belongings, eager to kick off their vacation after three long days of travel.
Within the next hour, the ship's captain told passengers the cruise had been canceled due to a technical issue with the ship's propulsion system, Carol Cutkomp told Insider.
The Cutkomps, avid cruise goers who are both retired teachers, had departed Southern California on Tuesday, August 29, and arrived in Seward, a small Alaskan city three hours south of Anchorage, on Friday, September 1. They booked the seven-night cruise with their friends, Greg and Sharon Wookey, to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversaries together.
But instead of exploring the Alaskan coast, the group spent the weekend scrambling to secure a way home, Carol Cutkomp said.
"We had talked about going on a cruise together for years," she told Insider. "I went over to their room and we looked at each other like, what the hell is going on?"
The hundreds of passengers affected by the last-minute cancelation could remain on the ship-turned-hotel for the next two nights, according to a notice from Royal Caribbean. They had two options to reschedule their flights: (1) book the airfare on their own and be compensated up to $600, or (2) let Royal Caribbean book the flights.
Concerned they wouldn't be able to find flights for under $600, the group headed to the ship's conference center to book their flights through Royal Caribbean, Cutkomp said. There, they waited in a three-hour line to give their flight preferences and contact information to an employee who worked in the ship's food service department, she told Insider.
The next morning, after still not receiving a confirmation email about their flights, they spent another three hours on the phone with customer service, Cutkomp said, only to find out that the two couples had been booked on separate flights home.
After more back and forth over the phone to change their flight, the Cutkomps received the final confirmation number while they were on the last bus out of Seward to the Anchorage airport.
In order to get to and from Seward, Cutkomp said she and her husband spent a total of 11 hours waiting in airports, six hours rescheduling airfare, six hours on the bus, and three nights in hotels. To top it all off, all four travelers tested positive for COVID-19 when they arrived back in California, she told Insider.
The group is unsatisfied with Royal Caribbean's compensation
Royal Caribbean's Radiance of the Seas cruise ship, which can fit up to 2,501 passengers, was scheduled to depart from Seward, Alaska on September 1 and Vancouver, Canada on September 8 for seven-night cruises along the Alaskan coast. Both voyages were canceled due to a technical issue with the ship's propulsion system, a Royal Caribbean spokesperson said.
The ship is undergoing repairs and is expected to sail as planned on September 15, the spokesperson told Insider.
Royal Caribbean is issuing customers who booked the September 1 cruise a full refund (including taxes and fees, pre-paid packages and gratuities, amenities, shore excursions, and any flights purchased through Royal Caribbean) and a future cruise credit good for one year. The cruise line will also reimburse transportation costs of up to $600 per person, the spokesperson said.
"We understand the time and effort our guests put into planning their vacation, and we are disappointed that we needed to cancel these sailings, but we look forward to welcoming them on a future vacation," the spokesperson told Insider.
Cutkomp said she spent two hours on Monday attempting to rebook the same cruise using the future cruise credit, which she said is equal to the fare she originally paid for the cruise. After applying the credit, she would need to pay an additional $1,690, she told Insider.
"The prices have gone up significantly for next year, so they are requiring that we pay the increased prices," Cutkomp said. "We also have several hundreds of dollars of discounts because of the way we booked it and they're not honoring any of those discounts."
Following the cancellation, the Cutkomp's travel companions Greg and Sharon Wookey emailed Royal Caribbean's top executives Jason Liberty, Michael Bayley, and Greg Purdy.
In an email exchange viewed by Insider, the couple said the compensation packages do not take into account "the significant cost we incurred to get to Seward which we would have to incur again if we were to try to take the same cruise."
While traveling to and from Alaska, the Cutkomps spent approximately $2,400 and the Wookeys spent about $2,800 on travel expenses including flights, baggage fees, hotel rooms, shuttles, food, pet care, parking, and tips, receipts show.
"Our expectation is that you would compensate us for all of these costs as well," the Wookeys wrote. "This was a significant trip for us with months of planning and significant costs incurred aside from the cost of the cruise itself."
In response, Faith Dixon, an employee in Royal Caribbean's executive office said the cruise line is not able to provide additional compensation beyond refunding their shuttle bus tickets.
"In situations such as these, where a considerable number of guests are impacted, we must view the situation as a whole and provide a package we feel will be fair for all guests," Dixon wrote in an email.
The Cutkomps, who are Diamond members (Royal Caribbean's fourth-highest loyalty status) said they did not receive a response from Royal Caribbean.
"I am furious," Cutkomp told Insider. "We've spent six days of our lives in this turmoil and there's no compensation."
Are you a cruise passenger or crew member? Email this reporter at htowey@insider.com to share your story.