The Consumers’ Foundation yesterday criticized Costa Cruises as “irresponsible” after the Italian cruise ship operator agreed to pay only US$50 per person to compensate passengers whose trips to Japan last week were disrupted due to a mechanical malfunction.
On Tuesday last week, 3,536 people departed aboard the Costa Serena at the Port of Keelung for tours to Japan’s Okinawa and Ishigaki Island. Due to a mechanical malfunction, the ship was stuck at Okinawa’s Naha Port, and the voyage to Ishigaki was canceled.
The vessel docked in Keelung at 7am on Saturday, a day later than it was previously scheduled to return.
Photo courtesy of Hung Tun-chih
The cruise ship operator said in a statement that the technical issue constituted force majeure, adding that it has handled the dispute with passengers in accordance with its global operation guidelines.
The compensation package it offered included US$50 per traveler and a complete waiver of room service tips. Travelers rebooking the tour with the same cruise ship before the end of next year would receive a US$100 rebate.
Those who reserved tours that would have departed on Friday last week — about 3,000 people — would be entitled to a full refund without being charged service fees, or they could rebook the same package on Costa Serena for departure dates between June 25 and Sept. 3, the company said.
People who choose the latter option would also receive an on-board spending fund of US$100.
Travelers were dissatisfied with Costa Cruises for its characterization of the ship’s technical issue as an event covered by force majeure, the foundation said in a statement.
Travelers were at one point allowed to disembark in Okinawa, but were later prohibited from doing so, it said.
“It is irresponsible to try to dismiss consumers by merely compensating them US$50 per person,” it said.
“We urge Costa Cruises to be transparent in its handling of the dispute, regularly update their customers on the progress made at this front and answer their questions,” the foundation said.
“The company should have a reasonable mechanism for compensation in place, particularly regarding the compensation for the canceled trip to Ishigaki Island,” it added.
The company should also consider insuring their tours to cover potential financial losses incurred from them, it said, adding that the compensation should not be distributed by arbitrarily quoting a price.
Costa Cruises should learn from MSC Cruises, which encountered a mechanical problem with its MSC Bellissima in December last year, it said.
After announcing the cancelation of the voyage, MSC Cruises not only arranged connecting flights to take passengers back to Taiwan, but also fully refunded the cruise tickets, it said.
If the passengers chose to stay in Japan, MSC Cruises offered to compensate them no more than US$200, or the equivalent, per person, while those who stayed in countries outside of Japan were compensated no more than US$400, or the equivalent, per person as transportation expenses, the foundation said.
MSC Cruises also provided vouchers applicable for available voyages in the future, it said.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
RSS