Source: Cruise Junkie dot Com

Events at Sea by Norwegian Sky

Operated as Pride of Aloha from 2004 - 2008


Events by Ship:

Click here for Illness Outbreaks by Norwegian Sky


Click here for Environmental Events and Fines by Norwegian Cruise Line (Star Cruises)
Click here to return to Events by ... Index Page



The events listed have been reported in the public domain or to cruisejunkie by passengers or crew members onboard.  The list is by no means comprehensive.  For that reason it is necessary to be cautious in drawing conclusions from the potentially limited data.  Keep in mind that some companies may be more transparent than others about things that go wrong; conversely, some companies may be better at concealing events and thereby project an appearance that is inaccurate.  With that said, the following list is still interesting, as are the patterns when viewed separately by ship.




dd/mm/yy
2009
Incident
28.8.09 According to CBS-TV in Miami NCL has issued a statement that a passenger on the ship and his wife were walking on rocks by the shore on Great Stirrup Cay in a remote part of the island when he fell into the water yesterday. Following an extensive search, the man's body was recovered this morning. The ship's four-day Bahamas cruise departed Miami on August 24th and returned to Miami today. Pax dies on private island
18.4.09 The Miami Herald reports the Coast Guard is searching early Saturday for a 39-year-old man who went overboard the cruise ship Norwegian Sky around 3 a.m. about 60 miles north of the Nassau, Bahamas. The ship left Miami for a three-day cruise, and was headed to its first port of call, Nassau. The name of the passenger was not released. Fellow passengers saw him go overboard. Also assisting in the search were The Royal Bahamas Defense Force, the Royal Caribbean Monarch of the Seas cruise ship crew, the Norwegian Pearl cruise ship crew and Disney cruise line smallboat crews. The search was called off at nightfall. Passenger overboard
dd/mm/yy
2008
Incident
18.8.08
Cruise Critic reports a dozen passengers were stranded at the Port of Miami when the ship departed early on its four-night Bahamas cruise due to Tropical Storm Fay. It was scheduled to depart at 5 PM, but due to the oncoming storm the ship was forced to change it's departure time to 3 p.m. The line posted notices of the revised embarkation times on its Web site as early as Sunday and called all of the passengers on its manifest (and reached many of them, including some of the passengers who still arrived too late to embark), according to a spokeswoman for the line. NCL offered the stranded passengers full refunds of their cruise fares, and paid for their cab rides from the port to wherever they wanted to go (airport, hotel, etc.). The line arranged for a reduced rate for the travelers at a Miami hotel and gave them the number of NCL's Total Travel department, which could help arrange last-minute air travel back home. Passengers were also given the option of meeting up with the ship in a subsequent port (most likely Nassau on Wednesday), but no one took this option.
Missed ship
dd/mm/yy
2007
Incident
3.6.07 From a passenger on the 7 day cruise ending today:  The air conditioning system was broken part of the time thus resulting in stateroom temps of over 100 degrees for several hours; this involved a couple dozen staterooms.  In the buffet, the food temps were not appropriate and the food handling was poor - cross contamination by the servers was observed.  One day we were served chocolate milk for our ceral because the refrigeration system supposedly broke and there was no regular milk available.  Overall, the "freestyle dining" program is useless.  Everytime we went to dinner in any of the "free" restaurants there was always a 15-20 minute wait.  When we finally got inside, we observed about half the  tables were empty.  Apparently NCL didn't have enough staff to handle the restaurants on board.  On the last day of the cruise, our stateroom toilet was non-operational for approximately one hour.  Don't know how many staterooms were involved, but. I do know it was several.  According to ship personnel there was an "unknown problem with the waste system".  This was the "perfect ending' for our cruise from hell.
Continuing service problems
dd/mm/yy
2006
Incident
11.6.06
From a passenger:
My family just went on a cruise in Hawaii on NCL's Pride of Aloha when GI broke out (or continued to break out).  In a letter dated June 4, NCL informs passengers that 3.2% of the previous cruise's passengers took ill with GI. News reports at the time stated about 60 people. (They were offering people another cruise if they didn't want to board).  By the end of our cruise, the new letter from NCL, which was undated but that I picked up on June 10 at the reception desk, stated that 10% of passengers AND crew took ill with GI. If the ship was at or near capacity, then it's looking at roughly 300 people. (In this letter they were offering people a refund if they didn't want to board).
Illness
4.6.06
According to KHON-2 in Honolulu, 60 passengers were quarantined this past week after a virus spread through the ship.  Crew said staff had been coming down sick for weeks.  Guests said they weren't told of the outbreak but did notice extra precautions being taken.
Illness
15.5.06
May 17th transpacific cruise from San Francisco to Hawaii is canceled.  The ship had been delayed in drydock for repaires of a damaged bearing in the starboard propeller shaft.  The ship is expected to begin its normal schedule on May 26.
Canceled cruise
dd/mm/yy
2005
Incident
31.3.05
A complaint accuses Norwegian Cruise Line's Hawaii staff of reusing fruit garnishes, suggesting passengers cut up bath towels to make hand towels and using unlined garbage cans for ice.  Blue World Travel Corp., a San-Francisco-based travel agency, is seeking damages from Norwegian for a charter cruise last summer aboard the Pride of Aloha that resulted in a class-action lawsuit against the travel agency.  Issues include:  A few passengers were asked to fill in for crew and take ID photos at the embarkation check-in;  Some passengers were told they were eating too much food and at one event were rationed to one slice of pizza; Beds were reportedly made up with dirty linen, with some guests encountering items from previous guests; Passengers who reported dirty, foul-smelling bathrooms were told to pour water down the toilets to make them flush; Some passengers reported a shortage of food on the cruise, and some said the company served moldy and bruised fruit and reused fruit garnishes; Passengers said there were not enough life jackets and that there were other safety violations such as water on the dining room floor, malfunctioning fire doors and broken glass left around.  See Honolulu  Star-Bulletin. Lawsuit
12.3.05
Norwegian Cruise Line's Pride of Aloha discharged about 70 tons of treated effluent into Honolulu Harbor last month, violating a voluntary agreement with the state. The state's agreement with the cruise ships allows such discharges at least a mile out from shore while traveling at least 6 knots.  See Honolulu Advertiser: Environmental
dd/mm/yy
2004
Incident
28.8.04
Problems with service, cleanliness, and product quality have persisted since the cruise line began.  NLC America has taken the unusual step of refunding 50% of the mandatory service fee and is offering discounts on future cruises to past passengers.
Poor service -
"Cruise from hell"
27.6.04
The ship's mainden call at Hilo was met with protest by MOKU O KEAWE OHANA, a grassroots not-for-profit Hawaii based organization  Protests are also planned for the ship's other stops: June 27th in Kona, June 28th and 29th in Kahului, June 30th and July 1st in Nawiliwili and July 2nd in Honolulu.

"At issue is Norwegian Cruise Line’s failure to respect and accept responsibility for the impact that they will have on the Hawaiian culture and environment. Cultural protocols have been ignored and the overall impact that thousands of tourists will have on the land and sea has not been addressed. We have asked NCL, what is their Ho’okupu to Na Kanaka Hawaii? Their response was jobs. Moku O Keawe Ohana views this response as insensitive and degrading in the Ho’okupu protocol to Na Kanaka Hawaii”, says Moku O Keawe Ohana President, Kale Gumapac.
Protest
8.6.04
KSBW-TV reported that the ship may have dropped anchor over a fragile marine environment -- fragile shale beds.  The ship insists that it anchored at one of the two permitted locations, but a scientist using lasers and global positioning equipment suggests otherwise.  Environmental
dd/mm/yy
2003 and earlier
Incident
21.05.01 The autopilot failed and caused the ship to make a jarring turn and then list, sending plates and glasses crashing and injuring more than 70 people.  The ship was near the mouth of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Severe list
24.9.99 Ran aground on a sandbar near the confluence of the Sagenay and St. Lawrence rivers; was refloated at high tide. The ship will need to undergo repairs so the next two cruises were cancelled. Aground

   

Illness Outbreaks at Sea by Norwegian Sky

dd/mm/yy
Outbreak
28.8.03 A health outbreak was reported, but specimens were not obtained and no other information is available.
27.5.03 About 90 passengers and 20 crew members returning on a cruise on Saturday (May 24) reportedly contracted Norwalk-like virus. This was the second week in a row with an outbreak.
19.5.03 About 55 passengers and 5 crew members returning on a cruise on Saturday (May 17) reportedly contracted Norwalk-like virus.
Apr 01 Illness outbreak reported by CDC -- details unknown.


Illness Outbreaks by Ship: