If you happened to pass through central Dalmatia and its islands on Thursday, September 21, you would have seen some pleasant, late-summer sunny weather – at worst, maybe a couple of harmless clouds.
Jadrolinija must have seen the sky through a different filter, as the largest shipping company in Croatia cancelled two catamaran lines due to bad weather, reported Slobodna Dalmacija.
Regular cat lines were either cancelled or pushed back on Hvar and Lastovo islands, without any reason given to the angry passengers waiting at the port. Most of them were tourists who were supposed to reach the mainland to catch a bus or a plane and head back home; they didn’t receive any explanation or an apology apart from a printed notice about the cat being cancelled ‘because of the bad weather’.
It wouldn’t have been such an absurd occasion if it weren’t for the sunny sky above them, with no hint of upcoming storm in the air. It’s fair to say we did have a couple of crazy weeks, with flash floods, tornadoes, strong wind and other circumstances that might make sailing difficult at best and lethal at worst. In case of an ominous forecast, it’s better to be safe than sorry and Jadrolinija must have had its reasons, but reaching out to passengers and offering an apology instead of just leaving them stranded might have been a better business move.
‘Lastavo’ and randomly edited lines of text. / Slobodna Dalmacija
Two lines departing from Hvar were cancelled: Hvar-Split at 11:30 and Hvar-Vela Luka-Lastovo at 16:15. There was no notice published on Jadrolinija’s website, apart from a regular general warning that the schedule might get modified in periods of increased tourist traffic. Jadrolinija did report the catamaran from Ubli on Lastovo island was cancelled; the notice was published at 2:50, the cat was scheduled to depart at 4:25. However, that particular piece of information was reported only in Croatian, with no available notice in English, according to the tourists left waiting on Hvar island.
Some of the passengers tried calling Jadrolinija to inquire what was going on, but received no answer. While a massive crowd was forming at the pier where catamarans usually dock, the guests complained about the unacceptable state of affairs. They stated they would have understood if they were offered an apology or a logical explanation about a technical malfunction, but being left waiting without any information… In a country that relies on tourism, be it high season or post-season, such unprofessional conduct shouldn’t be taking place.
