The problem with great expectations

By Anita Dunham-Potter

Travel columnist

updated 1:40 p.m. ET Oct. 8, 2007

Anita Dunham-Potter Travel columnist • Profile • E-mail

It should have been the ultimate Alaska cruise adventure for Oregon resident Phil Callison. Having previously sailed on two larger ships in Alaska, Callison and his wife were looking for a small-ship cruise that would allow them unique access to Alaska's wild side.

The couple had heard wonderful things about Cruise West, a well-respected small-ship cruise line that offers soft adventure cruises for travelers who seek up-close-and-personal cruising that is not offered by the traditional larger cruise lines. The line sails nine vessels on unusual itineraries in Alaska, Central America, Mexico and Asia, as well as on the West Coast. When Callison saw Cruise West's Alaska brochure, he was hooked by the vivid images of passengers touching glaciers from inflatable boats that had been launched from the ships. So the couple plopped down $12,000 for an eight-day May voyage aboard Cruise West's vessel the Spirit of Yorktown.

Disappointment from the start
It wasn't long after boarding that disappointment set in. The Callisons' cabin hadn't been cleaned thoroughly and it was "meat-locker" cold. "We had no control over the room temperature," Callison reports. "When I asked about the problem, I was informed that it was being worked on."

The Callisons' first night was spent in a frosty cabin, and as they settled into bed, Phil Callison nearly cut his foot on the sharp edge of a broken bed support. The Callisons reported these issues to ship's personnel, who again assured them that everything would be taken care of.

"The crew was extremely friendly with their willingness to provide the best service they could," notes Callison.

Then came the big disappointment: There would be no inflatable boat launches from their ship.

"[Cruise West's] literature boasts the use of portable boats to get in close and even has pictures showing people touching ice," Callison says. "The Yorktown never launched inflatable boats to take passengers anywhere. We had been looking forward to that aspect for months."

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The Callisons were upset, especially when they saw that some of the larger cruise ships in the area were able to get closer to glaciers than the Yorktown. They were also disappointed with some of the excursions, which they thought were "rushed" and not what they expected.

The topper came two days before the cruise ended, when the Callisons were at last told they could have had a portable heater.

"Why did they take so long to let us know that?" asks an angry Phil Callison.

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When he got home, Callison wrote a letter to Cruise West's president and owner, Richard G. West, and a few weeks later he got a personal reply. West apologized for the problems and promised to look into them.

Sure enough, a month later, the Callisons received a letter from Kier Matthews, guest relations manager for Cruise West, offering another apology and reaffirming that the cruise line has worked out the issues aboard the Yorktown. Matthews then offered the Callisons $150 each in credit toward a future cruise should they cruise again with Cruise West.

Phil Callison thought $300 was insufficient compensation considering the price of the cruise. "We had great expectations considering the price we paid. We spent over $12,000 on this one eight-day cruise! That's enough for at least two of the large-ship cruises!"

He contacted Tripso to see if more could be done.

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