National Geographic Quest accidents and incidents

CruiseMapper's National Geographic Quest cruise ship accidents, incidents and law news reports relate to a 100-passenger vessel owned by Lindblad Expeditions. Our National Geographic Quest accidents page contains reports made by using official data from renown online news media sources, US Coast Guard and Wikipedia.

Here are also reported latest updates on cruise law news related to ashore and shipboard crimes still investigated by the police. Among those could be arrests, filed lawsuits against the shipowner / cruise line company, charges and fines, grievances, settled / withdrawn legal actions, lost cases, virus outbreaks, etc.

ship grounding - 2017 (during the launch at the shipbuilding yard Nichols Brothers Boat Builders)

13 June 2017Ship Grounding

On June 13, 2017, the shipowner Lindblad Expeditions announced the cancellations of 3 inaugural voyages on the new vessel.

The ship's Inaugural Cruise (maiden voyage) was scheduled for June 26, 2017. The 13-day Alaskan itinerary was themed "Treasures of the Inside Passage: Alaska and British Columbia". The boat was supposed to spend a day in the San Juan Islands (located between mainland USA and Vancouver Island / BC Canada) and another day in the Gulf Islands (located in Strait of Georgia, between Vancouver Island and mainland Canada) before heading north to Alaska. Early booking cruise rates started from USD 9,390 per person (double-occupancy category 1 cabin rates).

However, due to a launch accident at the shipyard, the maiden voyage and the following 2 cruises were canceled. The vessel was grounded during its launch at Nichols Brothers shipbuilding yard (Freeland, Whidbey Island, Washington). Lindblad's official statement was that the vessel slid off the launch ramp improperly, resulting in damaged propeller and rudder, and that drydock was needed for full repairs.

The cancelled departure dates were June 26 (inaugural), July 8 and July 15. Passengers booked on the maiden voyage were notified and offered an alternative switch to another date (with 50% reduction on the cost of the rescheduled cruise) or the option to cancel the booking (with full refund, plus USD 2,000 pp onboard credit towards future Lindblad cruise). The following tables show the 3 cancelled itineraries.

12 nights / 13 days, one-way from Seattle to Sitka (prices from USD 10840 pp)

Date / Time	Port
27 Jun	Departing from Seattle, Washington
28 Jun	Friday Harbor, San Juan Island, Washington
29 Jun	At Sea (Gulf Islands)
30 Jun	Alert Bay, Cormorant Island, BC Canada
01 Jul	Inside Passage, Alaska
02 Jul	Inside Passage, Alaska
03 Jul	Misty Fjords, Alaska
04 Jul	Petersburg, Mitkof Island, Alaska
05 Jul	Tracy Arm Fjord, Alaska
06 Jul	Glacier Bay, Alaska
07 Jul	Icy Strait Point, Hoonah, Alaska
08 Jul	Chichagof Island, Alaska
09 Jul	Arriving in Sitka, Baranof Island, Alaska

7 nights / 8 days, one-way from Sitka to Seattle (prices from USD 7600 pp)

Date / Time	Port
09 Jul	Departing from Sitka (flight)
09 Jul	Departing from Sitka, Baranof Island, Alaska
10 Jul	Admiralty Island, Alaska
11 Jul	Chichagof Island, Alaska
12 Jul	Glacier Bay, Alaska
13 Jul	Frederick Sound, Alaska
13 Jul	Chatham Strait, Alaska
14 Jul	Petersburg, Mitkof Island, Alaska
15 Jul	Tracy Arm Fjord, Alaska
16 Jul	Juneau, Alaska
16 Jul	Arriving in Seattle (flight)

7 nights / 8 days, one-way from Seattle to Sitka (prices from USD 7600 pp)

Date / Time	Port
16 Jul	Departing from Seattle (flight)
16 Jul	Departing from Juneau, Alaska
17 Jul	Tracy Arm Fjord, Alaska
18 Jul	Petersburg, Mitkof Island, Alaska
19 Jul	Frederick Sound, Alaska
19 Jul	Chatham Strait, Alaska
20 Jul	Glacier Bay, Alaska
21 Jul	Chichagof Island, Alaska
22 Jul	Admiralty Island, Alaska
23 Jul	Sitka, Baranof Island, Alaska
23 Jul	Arriving in Sitka (flight)

The boat officially started operations with the inaugural cruise on July 29, 2017 (Saturday departure from Juneau AK). The 8-day voyage (themed "Exploring Alaska's Coastal Wilderness") was part of the ship's Southeast Alaska cruise program (through August 26, 2017).

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