St. Maarten will definitely reap the benefits of the teamwork used to assist cruise passengers of Carnival Dream who were stranded here after the ship experienced some technical difficulties last week, according to ship’s agent S.E.L. Maduro and Sons (St. Maarten).
The ship’s agent thanks all local companies, government agencies and individuals who rallied promptly to assist with making the cruise passengers comfortable on St. Maarten after their Caribbean cruise was suddenly interrupted.
Everyone without fail did their part to allow for the seamless transfer of the cruise passengers from the ship berthed at Dr. A.C. Wathey Cruise and Cargo Facilities to Princess Juliana International Airport when charter flights were arranged to take them back to the United States. Cruise Passengers were given a royal reception from the Management and Staff of the PJIAE . The check in procedure was efficiently setup to handle the volume of passengers that needed to be processed in short time.
Everyone involved in the operation to assist the cruise passengers showed that St. Maarten is indeed and continues to be "the Friendly Island." The care and attention paid to the cruise passengers will play a role in those passengers opting for another cruise that includes St. Maarten or to return for a long on stay over vacation. Some passengers were seen leaving the Cruise ship with T-shirts printed with "SHIP HAPPENS, Stranded in Paradise, Carnival Dream, 3-13-13"
Carnival Dream sailed into port on Wednesday, March 13, but was unable to leave port at the end of the day as was scheduled. S.E.L. Maduro and Sons (St. Maarten) was notified by Carnival Cruise Line about the ship’s dilemma on Wednesday evening and set the wheels in motion take care of the cruise passengers. "Carnival’s priority is the safety of their Guests and Crew. They pull out all the stops when it comes to their guests" said the Agent .
An intensive operation with transportation services and escorting of buses to the airport from the harbour was undertaken when the charter flights arrived in the country. This operation continued throughout the weekend.
Carnival Dream was able to sail out of port and back to the United States on Sunday.