I seriously believe that Royal Caribbean put all its passengers aboard the Enchantment of the Seas at danger. On Tuesday 9/5 when it was announced that the ship would be heading back to the Port of Miami and not making it to Coco Cay and Key West due to Hurricane Irma, I along with many other passengers went into panic calling our family at home as well as the airlines in which we had our flights booked. We were told later that the ship would be staying in Nassau, Bahamas until 4p Wednesday afternoon. This was not necessary, when a category 5 hurricane was approaching. If Royal Caribbean really had the best interest of its passengers at hand, it would have had the Enchantment of the Seas return to the Port of Miami as soon as possible instead of wasting the actual day. At this point, the cruise was no longer fun and this was no longer a vacation, but a complete nightmare. We were unable to enjoy our dinners or drinks because we were constantly trying to come up with the best plan to stay safe once we could exit the ship. Like mostly everyone else on the ship in a panic, we tried to get on the line to Guest Services. This line was wrapped all the way around the ship with only 3 staff members available at the desks to help. We had inquired about what our options were since the ship was docking in Miami on Thursday afternoon and our flight was not until Friday night. At this time, a staff member informed us that we would be able to stay on the ship at our own discretion Thursday night. On Wednesday 9/6 at 10pm, I was notified while on the phone with Jet Blue that our flight for Friday night had been canceled and all the Florida airports would be closing. We waited on line again at Guest Services to see what our options would be once we arrived in Miami, being that we were from New York and no longer had a flight home. As we were waiting, a staff member approached us and asked if he could help us. I said I was really scared because we were watching the news and they were talking about traffic and gas shortages throughout Florida. I asked him how bad the conditions were on land in Florida and he told me he had no idea. I then asked him what the safest option was for us once the ship docked in Miami. He asked me again where we were from and when I responded “New York”, he replied with a “Pssshhhhh” and a shrug of the shoulder. Fuming and in a panic – I asked him if that was the best answer he had and all he did was say he was sorry. My life was in extreme danger, and all this Royal Caribbean staff member could do was offer me an apology? When I asked him where he was going after the ship dumped all its passengers off – he told me they would go out to sea somewhere safe and far away from the storm. I asked if passengers would be able to travel with them wherever they went and he said “Crew only”. When we finally got to the front desk, I told the woman we were from New York and our flight had been cancelled and we were scared that we would be left stranded in Miami. I told her we had reserved a rental car but we were worried because of all the traffic and gas shortages we heard about on the television in the room. I asked about the conditions on land and if there were any shelters where we could stay to be safe in case we were unable to evacuate Florida. Her response to me was “Let me Google it and see what I find.” Let me break this down for you:

• A category 5 hurricane is approaching the Caribbean and Florida

• I am stuck on a cruise ship in the Bahamas in a state of panic Read more