Coral Expeditions blots it's copybook

[tgh]

Not a good look at all; crew seem to have failed return to ship head count and shore leader appears not to have noticed a challenged passenger missing.
Sounds like a very strong please explain will be in the maIL

Woman who failed to return to cruise ship found dead on Qld island

Emergency services find an 80-year-old woman dead on a remote island in the Great Barrier Reef after she "failed to board" a cruise ship.

www.abc.net.au

 

[tgh]

more…
Sources have told The Australian that the woman was hiking the steep Cook’s Look walk with a group on Saturday when she needed to stop.

“The group continued on and boarded the vessel before realising she was not there,” a source said.

Another source said the woman fell down a cliff, and the search was delayed until Sunday, when her body was retrieved.

 

[blackcat20]

Why didnt the group report to crew that they had left behind someone who was struggling?

 

[RB]

Storm in a tea cup. She was 88 and probably complaining too much as she struggled with the walk. The group would have made a decision to leave her behind and stay tight about the whole thing. This is real life people.

Sorry but I can't believe that someone would post such a comment

 

[RB]

I have a mate who is on this cruise. As well as the sad event posted up thread, the departure was delayed by a week as parts were required before departure- not sure the extra days in Cairns were appreciated & I haven't seen any discussion of a new itinerary/compensation yet

 

[RooFlyer]

Still unclear to me when the boat realised when she was missing.

On 'failure to board' - each pax should be scanned off and scanned on again, and if one is unaccounted for after the last zodiac returns, the boat shouldn't go anywhere.

Or, the scanning in process was faulted and they thought they had everyone on board and only realised later.

But I have yet to be on an expedition cruise, with shore landings and excursions where one of the exped crew isn't 'tail end Charlie' and brings up the rear with whoever is slowest.

 

[Pushka]

Storm in a tea cup. She was 88 and probably complaining too much as she struggled with the walk. The group would have made a decision to leave her behind and stay tight about the whole thing. This is real life people.

Ah no. That’s not the way ship excursions work.

 

[Flyerwin]

Storm in a tea cup.

Someone's mother/ grandmother/ great-grandmother died.

If that was my mum I would be upset.

 

[Aeryn]

Very sad, and negligent of the cruise company not properly count passengers on and off at an excursion.

As someone who travels a lot solo, I admit with no travelling companion to miss you back on board the ship/bus, its always a worry you migth be left behind somewhere on a day tour/excursion. Always motivation to be back at departure point a little early.

 

[drron]

But as a former expedition cruiser I would and did on one occasion stay back and watch the person who needed to rest.
And on my next to last expedition cruise I was the straggler and a crew member came back and made sure I made it back.

So. not just the crew but the other ones on the hike failed. In an elderly woman especially a heart attack may present as a sudden loss of energy. Maybe that was the problem.