Oceania Cruises has apologized to guests after the Riviera luxury cruise ship was delayed arriving back at PortMiami, Florida due to a crew member who passed away.
Passed Away Crew Member Causes Delay
We are sad to report that a crew member has passed away onboard the Riviera cruise ship which is operated by luxury cruise line Oceania Cruises. Unfortunately, the vessel was delayed arriving back into Miami on Wednesday morning which had a knock-on effect for the embarkation process for the next cruise. The news was first posted by the popular Crew Center web site.
The cruise line posted the following statement:
Today at Port Miami, one of Riviera’s crew members passed away. Our heartfelt sympathies go out to the family members of the crew member, as well as our officers, staff and guests on board. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.
The ship was coming to the end of a 14-night Caribbean cruise and the next scheduled January 2 sailing from the port was delayed by 2 hours. Many guests waiting for the embarkation process to begin didn’t know at the time that a crew member had passed away. There were some angry posts on social media.
@OceaniaCruises check in today for the Riveria was unacceptable! 2 hours standing in line with no rhyme or reason!
— Roberta Kantola (@rokantola) January 2, 2019
@OceaniaCruises why is the Miami cruise so backed up? Luggage just sitting out in the sun, people just being forced to stand and wait. No line movement
— Amityville (@alexfromstrohs) January 2, 2019
The embarkation did get underway and the Riviera departed on a 10-night Eastern Caribbean cruise which will include some of the best destinations in the region. Sadly the ship will be without the crew member who has not been named.
Also Read:Â Crew Member Lost From Carnival Horizon
Our condolences go out to the crew members friends, family, and hard working colleagues onboard. No details were released of the reasons of passing and full respect goes to the family who may want to keep things private.
Riviera is a 66,000 gross ton vessel which entered service in 2012. The ship has a guest capacity of over 1,200.