Traveller Mark Stratton left Cape Town on Nov. 13 aboard the Diana and was expecting to arrive at Antarctica by early December. Instead, mechanical problems, specifically a problem with the propeller shaft, meant the ship could not proceed at full power and would have to dock at the southern end of Argentina, prompting passenger outrage and even a hunger strike.
“I have sailed to Antarctica before from South Georgia across the Scotia Sea – one of the wildest stretches of water on Earth – and can well understand that attempting this crossing would have been dangerous with only one functioning propeller,” Stratton wrote for The Telegraph.
He says the decision created a “great collective disappointment. Mine included.” However, Stratton insisted most passengers, despite being denied “the dream of a lifetime,” were philosophic about the news, knowing that the ship’s captain and the cruise company can’t take chances with the lives of its passengers and crew even if they are tantalizingly close to the South Pole.
“Thus, at a heavily reduced speed, fluctuating between 4-7 knots, we began a slow limp back towards Ushuaia at the southern tip of Argentina, our final port-of-call to disembark. It would be a five-day voyage, which is now likely to be six as I write, with an estimated arrival date of December 1.”
Stratton notes that Swan Hellenic offered compensation to the passengers. The deal was a choice between a 50 percent refund for the current trip or a 65 percent cut in price for any future cruise. The author says the ship’s disappointed passengers did not respond immediately to the offer but “within 24 hours of the announcement, the mood changed.”
Although some passengers readily accepted either one or the other of the rebates offered, many others demanded more from the cruise line and were apparently on the line with whomever could help to strike a better deal. Stratton says that three Russian guests refused to accept any kind of compromise and started a hunger strike “on Deck 4 outside the dining room.”
They were insisting on getting 100 percent of their fare returned. Some passengers from China also wanted a full fare refund along with another cruise free of charge. It all came to a climax at a meeting between the dissatisfied customers, the ship’s captain and the social director. Stratton said the “meeting certainly became heated, with tensions boiling over.” The author suggests people should have at least considered that they did get two weeks at sea out of the foiled trip.
But everything calmed down. The hunger strike broke down with just one Russian remaining and only a few of the Chinese passengers are expecting a full refund. “Mostly, however, passengers are trying to enjoy the last few remaining days at sea. Some disquiet remains at how compensation negotiations have gone, but it is mixed with a realism that we could not have risked sailing down to Antarctica and breaking down there.”
Stratton said, two American women summed things up best when they told him, “It’s a shame not to make it there, but you never know how things are going to turn out down here. It’s all part of the adventure.”
