To stay or to go. These were two refund options, both including refunds, given to passengers aboard the Ruby Princess cruise ship that was damaged in a dock collision in San Francisco on Thursday.
The 113,000-ton cruise ship suffered a punctured hull and damage to the dock when it crashed into a dock at Pier 27 after returning from a 10-day cruise in Alaska. This caused delays for the new set of passengers who were supposed to set sail on Thursday.
One of these new passengers is TikTok user Janna (@jannadamigeana). Last week, she uploaded a video of herself weighing her options after the cruise ship offered a generous proposition.
@jannadamigeana Ruby Princess 2023 damaged cruise ship. Until they made the announcement Friday at 3:30 pm, they kept us on the ship. It was definitely a crazy morning with so many people wondering what would happen. However, friday night people were in good spirits because they had options.
♬ original sound – JannaDamigeana
“I’m a passenger aboard the damaged Ruby Princess cruise ship,” she says in her viral video, which by Wednesday had garnered over 1.7 million views.
After explaining what happened to the cruise ship, she explains that her party still boarded the boat on Thursday, hoping they would depart the next day.
“I think the captain thought that, too,” she says. On Friday, she and her family waited all day in anticipation to find out whether the cruise ship would be departing or not. It wasn’t until 3:30pm that they received word.
“The cruise is not leaving until Sunday and it’s going on a way abbreviated different cruise,” she explains before sharing that the cruise was shortened from 10 days to seven and would only include stops to Ketchikan, Alaska, and Prince Rupert, Canada.
While the cruise ship worked to patch the hole and repaint it, passengers were allowed to get off the ship and explore San Francisco.
They were also given two choices of how they wanted to proceed.
The first option was to cancel their cruise and depart the ship by around 10am Sunday morning. In exchange, they would receive a full refund and 50% of what they paid toward a future cruise.
The second option gave passengers the choice to carry on with their cruise. If they decided to stay, they would receive a 75% refund and a 75% credit toward their next cruise.
Undecided on what to do, Janna turned to TikTok for their thoughts.
The majority of comments believed that staying and taking advantage a nearly-free cruise was a no-brainer.
“I would 100% STAY!!!” this user commented. Another adamantly agreed: “Those are actually pretty awesome options! I’d stay!”
A third applauded Princess Cruises for their excellent customer service. “Wow. That’s Customer service right there,” this man shared. A fourth loved that passengers had options: “Such wonderful choices! I would enjoy the cruise and book another in the future!”
But then there were those who weren’t so keen on staying after the ship’s crash. “Leave, I would go nuts thinking that the ship is not safe!” this user wrote.
“Get your money back , I wouldn’t trust them to take nowhere,” another shared.
Others needed more information before they gave their opinion. “My question would be who is driving the ship to Alaska??” this person commented. “Hopefully not the person who run into a pier. that’s what I would need to make my decision.’
Another stated that the decision would depend on how the flight home was booked. “Depends. If you booked flight through Princess, they pay for early flight home. If not, you’re on your own about flights. I’d stay and take the refund,” this person wrote.
One viewer wished that airlines would be as generous as the cruise ship company. “We cant we expect the same from flight company… for real flight company are ridiculous,” this user wrote.
Janna has since told viewers her group’s decision to stay on the cruise and receive the partial refund.
@jannadamigeana Ruby princess passenger @Princess Cruises ♬ original sound – JannaDamigeana
After receiving safety clearance from the Coast Guard, the Ruby Princess set sail on Sunday. According to a statement from Princess Cruises to Insider, there are currently 2,677 guests on board, down from 3,328 guests on Thursday.
The Daily Dot reached out to Janna via TikTok comment and Princess Cruises via email.
