<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>Income's swift reaction to flu threat, and cruise line's zero contingency plan
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->WHILE Singaporeans and Singapore companies leave nothing to chance in fighting the spread of Influenza A (H1N1), Star Cruises seems to be an exception.
My family and I booked a cruise to Penang and Phuket that is scheduled to sail on Sunday. As there were reports about a suspected case in Penang several days ago, we called Star Cruises to ask if there were any contingency plans in the event of a flu outbreak in these two ports of call. I wanted to know, first, if passengers would still be allowed to disembark for the optional land tours at these two ports and, second, could we postpone our cruise without any charge. I felt it would be risky if passengers were allowed to disembark in the event of an outbreak.
To my surprise, I was told there had been no directive from management; that it all depended on the captain of the ship; and that there were no contingency plans whatsoever. I asked to speak to a manager, but was told they were always too busy to speak to customers, weekends and weekdays alike. It would be useless, even if I were to leave my number. Any complaints should be made via e-mail.
I told the officer to postpone my cruise to a later date and was told I would have to pay admin charges. This is a small issue. What left me dismayed was the emergency ill-preparedness of such a large cruise line.
I called NTUC Income the next day to cancel my travel insurance. The customer service executive, Maggie, was helpful and sympathetic. She told me she would cancel my travel insurance and arrange a refund with no admin charges since the postponement was due to the threat of Influenza A. All it took was one minute. Elizabeth Ng (Mrs)
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->WHILE Singaporeans and Singapore companies leave nothing to chance in fighting the spread of Influenza A (H1N1), Star Cruises seems to be an exception.
My family and I booked a cruise to Penang and Phuket that is scheduled to sail on Sunday. As there were reports about a suspected case in Penang several days ago, we called Star Cruises to ask if there were any contingency plans in the event of a flu outbreak in these two ports of call. I wanted to know, first, if passengers would still be allowed to disembark for the optional land tours at these two ports and, second, could we postpone our cruise without any charge. I felt it would be risky if passengers were allowed to disembark in the event of an outbreak.
To my surprise, I was told there had been no directive from management; that it all depended on the captain of the ship; and that there were no contingency plans whatsoever. I asked to speak to a manager, but was told they were always too busy to speak to customers, weekends and weekdays alike. It would be useless, even if I were to leave my number. Any complaints should be made via e-mail.
I told the officer to postpone my cruise to a later date and was told I would have to pay admin charges. This is a small issue. What left me dismayed was the emergency ill-preparedness of such a large cruise line.
I called NTUC Income the next day to cancel my travel insurance. The customer service executive, Maggie, was helpful and sympathetic. She told me she would cancel my travel insurance and arrange a refund with no admin charges since the postponement was due to the threat of Influenza A. All it took was one minute. Elizabeth Ng (Mrs)
