"CODE OF CONDUCT" and "MEDICAL EMERGENCIES"

We were made aware of two rather unique events that happened while we traveled on the Jewel of the Seas.  The first of which happened during the very first 12 hrs. of the cruise.

Joni and I had noticed a group of young men who appeared to be in their twenties that had mistakenly thought they were still in their frat house, instead of on a cruise ship.  I’ll skip the details, but it shouldn’t be difficult for you to paint the picture.  Apparently, it didn’t take the crew of the Jewel to see what was happening either.  The result: Six young men were kicked off the ship when we arrived in Tortola, BVI, at 8:00 AM on Sunday morning. That’s right.  Baggage and all were escorted from the ship and left at the pier in Tortola to find their way back home at their own expense.

Just for the record, I applaud Royal Caribbean and the Captain of the Jewel of the Seas for their actions.  If the Captain says, “Get off my ship”, he certainly doesn’t have to explain it to me.  I agree with the Captain.

HERE IS THE LINK TO THE RC Code of Conduct:
http://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/en_US/pdf/Guest_Conduct_Policy.pdf

The second event was a much more serious matter that happened on Thursday evening at about 9:00 PM.

A couple of times earlier in the week we heard general alarm / announcements over the ship’s public address directing the crew to proceed with certain ship’s drills.  Always during these announcements you would hear, “This is a drill.”  However, during Diner in the Tides Dining Room, we heard, “Code Alpha Deck Three. Code Alpha. Code Alpha”.  This phrase was repeated probably 4 times, and they didn’t say, “This is a drill.” 

I noticed that the entire Dining Room staff stopped momentarily as everything got quiet.  It was obvious this was not a ship’s business as usual moment.  Within less than a minute the piano player started playing again and the waiters returned to their duties. 

It wasn’t until about 15 minutes later that we noticed the waiters began apologizing for the delay in the delivery of the entrees.  We had already been served; it was Lobster Night, and we were thoroughly enjoying our broiled crustaceans.  However, several tables around us had not yet been served.  After a delay of perhaps 20 minutes the rapid delivery of dinners resumed. 

It seemed that perhaps there had been some sort of emergency situation in the galley, which I learned was located on Deck 3.  However, it was about 90 minutes later, while Joni and I were enjoying a “70’s Dance Party” in the Centrum, that the Cruise Director unexpectedly stopped the Band and nervously announced that their indeed was a “medical emergency” on-board.  I don’t think anyone was even breathing while we waited for him to continue.

“We have a medical emergency on-board. We need volunteers with type O-negative blood that are willing to donate to report immediately to the Guest Services Desk directly behind me. You will be directly from there…” Without hesitation or conversation at least a dozen people immediately started making their way through the crowd. I am B-pos, so my only assistance was to pray for the injured person(s).

The very next day, about noon, while we were enjoying lounging in the sun, another announcement was made requesting O-positive donors. Within 20 minutes the Cruise Director announced that the response was overwhelming and he thanked the passengers of the Jewel for their selfless act of caring for others.

We later learned that in fact two crew members had somehow been injured. An ambulance was waiting at a lower gangway from Deck 2 as Joni and I were walking off the ship from Deck 5. While in the baggage holding terminal we overheard one couple talking. They said the crew indicated that they were grateful for the Americans on-board that were willing to donate blood. They went on to say that apparently there are some nationalities that are unwilling to do so. I cannot understand this, and will spend time researching this. I would be very interested in learning more.