Injured on Royal Caribbean’s “Legend of the Seas”
December 2004
In December 2004, while onboard Royal Caribbean’s “Legend of the Seas”, I slipped and fell outside of the Windjammer Café, as the ship was going through the Panama Canal…
A steward, who was kind enough to give me his name, witnessed the fall. He offered to take me to the infirmary and also informed me that some food had been dropped on the deck, which was what caused me to lose my balance. I chose not to go to the infirmary, because we were going through the Canal when the accident happened and I did not want to be taken off the ship, particularly there.
I was in quite a bit of pain, so I sat with an ice pack for an hour or so and took some aspirin.
I was in a fair amount of pain for the remainder of the cruise, so when I returned home, I went to an orthopedist. An MRI and a CAT scan revealed that I had fractured my sacrum. Although it was a minor fracture, I was in pain for six weeks.
I sent several emails to Royal Caribbean and provided them with all the details, only to receive automated email messages in return. Finally, I sent a certified letter to Jack Williams, CEO of RCCL, which prompted an email from their Customer Relations Department, apologizing for any inconvenience and informing me that I would be hearing from Ivette Gari of Guest Services.
Ivette Gari never called, so I sent her an email. She replied that after inspecting the area outside of the Windjammer, they found no “obstructions”. Therefore, they were not responsible for my fall. That was just nonsense. I never referred to an obstruction, unless they consider food to be an obstruction.
Needless to say my experience with RCCL was sheer misery. My cruise tablemates were shocked, as was AAA, at the shabby treatment I received.
