Norwegian Sky to the rescue

The Norwegian Sky in calmer waters

Norwegian Cruise Line announced this morning that they are deploying Norwegian Sky from her current position off the coast of Cancun to St. Thomas, in the US Virgin Islands, to retrieve approximately 2,000 travelers who were unable to evacuate the island prior to the storm.

This rescue mission is being coordinated with the Governor of St. Thomas and the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association. Current plans are for the ship to arrive in Miami on September 14th.

In the statement on NCL's website (click on the Weather Alert tab on the home page), the company premises this announcement this way, "Acting as a responsible corporate citizen and supporting the destinations that our ships operate in is a core value of Norwegian Cruise Line. In the wake of this devastating storm, we will be deploying Norwegian Sky..."

My 2 cents: From where I sit, Norwegian Cruise Line is doing an outstanding job of responding to this emergency. I have seen a story in the news about a passenger claiming to be left to their own devices in Florida. Not true. Every passenger aboard Norwegian's sailings that were cut short by 2 days prior to the hurricane were given a refund for the remaining days of their cruise, an offer of 50% off a future cruise, and an invitation to sail away from the storm on the Norwegian Escape. Today, the Escape is tied up outside of Cozumel, giving those who have secured flights today or tomorrow morning to disembark, if they wish. Or, they can stay aboard.

There are two sides to every story, and I don't know more than this, but I confess to my back getting up when I hear disparaging remarks about an organization that is doing so much to help their passengers and the general public alike in rescue missions like this.

Believing in the good of people, and am thankful for visionaries in positions of power who can move mountains (or cruise ships) to serve the greater good.

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How NCL helped 4000 guests escape IRMA