Putting aside what time the ship was supposed to sail and what information the couple was supposed to put on the forms, the fact is the ship left ealier than scheduled before two of its passengers had boarded.

It has got to be the cruise line's responsibility to know that all passengers are on board before sailing.

Passenger supplied information about flights is so the ship can decide whether to wait for you if your flight is late, not to give the ship a justification for departing early.

For Poulton to imply that the passengers bore any responsibiliy for this is just wrong. He says "These guests hadn't informed us of their travel plans." Yes they did. By purchasing the cruise they agreed to be on board by the published boarding time.

And he makes matters worse by adding, "We had no idea they were going to show up that evening." Weren't they on the manifest?

I agree with the couple's decision not to accept the $500. Given other compensation Regent has offered for problems that were not its responsibility (MUSH) I think $250 per person is way to little for this. Tom.