In August, Carnival Cruise Line had to evacuate Grand Turk early due to incoming weather.
This was during Hurricane Ernesto, and Carnival Magic needed to leave the dock before the storm arrived.
Such situations are rare but they do happen, and the cruise line pulled out all the stops to let passengers know what was happening, since the departure change happened after people had left the ship.
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Carnival Brand Ambassador John Heald even shared the information on his Facebook page, since some passengers might view his page while they were in port or might get an alert about his post.
“This is an update for Carnival Magic guests only. If you are ashore in Grand Turk, please return to the ship by 2:30 p.m.,” he wrote. “Weather conditions are expected to deteriorate this evening, and the ship will have to sail earlier than planned.”
At the time, the cruise line sent out emails and text alerts to all passengers. It also sent crew members onto the island to alert passengers about the change.
The effort succeeded and Carnival managed to get everyone on board, but it did raise the question of how the cruise line can communicate with passengers when they are off the ship.
That’s a safety question because anyone left in Grand Turk would have been stranded on an island about to be hit by a major storm.
When people go to the beach, they may not have their phones nearby or even turned on.
Image source: Carnival Cruise Line.
Carnival asks a communications question
“If we needed to call you on your cell phone while you were ashore in port, would you have your phone switched on to receive calls and texts?” Heald asked on his Facebook page. “Thoughts please.”
More than 3,300 people commented on the post. Many said that their phones would be on but they probably would not answer.
“Yes. Text messages are free. However, I don’t usually answer calls (especially ‘unknown’ callers) so it is doubtful I would answer,” wrote Erika Easton.
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Many U.S. cellphone plans offer limited calling and text messages in most Caribbean ports. All cruise passengers should check what their plans cover before they leave on their cruises. That’s because some plans require an upgrade or purchase of day/week passes to ensure reasonably priced coverage in foreign cruise ports.
Some passengers said they never turned their phones on even when they were in port because they feared getting hit with unexpected charges.
“Absolutely not unless it is a port within my service area. Otherwise, it is airplane mode the entire cruise,” asserted Dean Grassino.
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Melanie Lulue agreed.
“Same, I don’t like expensive surprises,” she added.
One commenter might change how she uses her phone in port because she had not considered the safety aspect of the ship contacting her.
“Nope, once we sail my phone is in airplane mode so I don’t get ridiculous charges from my carrier. However, I see your point for an emergency or something important the ship needing to be able to get in contact with us,” posted Sheryl McCauley Chase.
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