Mississippi

After booking two years in advance, Viking cancels some Mississippi River cruise passengers four days ahead of departure

Published

2 years ago

September 21, 2022

After booking two years in advance, Viking cancels some Mississippi River cruise passengers four days ahead of departure

Richard and Jean Pletcher hoped to have fun their fiftieth wedding ceremony anniversary in fashion. In April 2020, the Eagan couple paid $18,800 to order a luxurious cruise from St. Paul to New Orleans, which might have been their sixth voyage with Viking, a global cruise large primarily based in Switzerland.

Little greater than every week in the past, simply 4 days earlier than the primary journey of the Viking Mississippi from the Mississippi River’s headwaters to its gulf, the corporate knowledgeable them by mail their reservation had been canceled. The 386-passenger ship, custom-built for the river, departed St. Paul’s Lambert’s Touchdown as deliberate, however the Pletchers weren’t aboard it. There was worse information to return.

“I referred to as instantly and was given little or no info, solely that we may reschedule for the journey throughout 2023 or 2024 with a 110 p.c credit score,” stated Richard Pletcher, who’s in his 70s. “After I referred to as simply to inquire about this, I used to be informed the primary accessible journey was truly in 2025, as a result of all the things earlier was absolutely booked.”

In different phrases, “Viking wished to maintain our cash for 3 extra years, after already having it for nearly two years,” stated Pletcher, who as an alternative demanded a full refund. “Asking for our understanding, loyalty and continued help. Evidently, my response didn’t embody any of those qualities.”

The Pletchers aren’t the one couple who’ve been bumped from Viking’s new Mississippi River cruises on the final minute.

Passengers from throughout the nation say they’ve acquired letters from the cruise firm informing them their reservation, paid for greater than two years prematurely, had been canceled simply days forward of departure. The letters provided restricted clarification besides to say that the corporate desires to make sure its voyages are high-quality, and difficult circumstances imply that the Viking Mississippi should sail at lowered capability.

Complete boat journeys deliberate from St. Paul in July and August had been canceled this summer time, and inside work aboard the ship has apparently continued proper by the primary departure from St. Paul towards St. Louis, Missouri on Sept. 3.

It’s unclear what number of reservations have been terminated with days to spare, however a Fb group web page created by a ticket holder on July 1 — “Viking Mississippi Cruise” — has drawn dozens of feedback, a lot of them from anxious or sad reservation-holders. Others stated their journeys had been roughly half full, carrying about 200 passengers.

Calls to Viking for remark weren’t returned this week.

SOURCE OF DELAYS LIKELY A PERFECT STORM

Whether or not the corporate is primarily fighting the nationwide labor scarcity, delayed workers trainings, or bodily issues equivalent to provide chain points impacting explicit staterooms stays unclear. Passengers have stated their comfort letter or on-board expertise appears to boost the opportunity of all three.

“We’re at the moment on this ship,” wrote passenger Dean Siddons on the Fb web page, throughout a visit to St. Paul on Sept. 15. “There are quite a few ship restore/upkeep individuals onboard and they’re taking over rooms. There are additionally some Viking individuals right here to do workers coaching, and another Viking individuals with unknown features that aren’t crew. None of those would usually be on the ship. So a few of the rooms are unavailable for these causes.”

Viking, which had as soon as deliberate to debut its new cruise ship in 2017, delayed the launch 5 years whereas it labored by federal regulatory challenges beneath the Jones Act, in any other case referred to as the Service provider Marine Act of 1920. The legislation requires vessels touring between U.S. ports to hold U.S. crews and to be U.S.-owned, U.S.-registered and U.S.-built.

Even after appeasing the U.S. Maritime Administration by leasing a constitution from Louisiana-based Edison Chouest, Viking needed to cope with federals appeals filed by competing cruise firms. Some media retailers alongside the river hall have pointed to probably provide chain challenges.

“As it’s possible you’ll bear in mind, resulting from circumstances past our management, development of the custom-built Viking Mississippi was delayed, impacting the ship’s supply date and the preparations essential to welcome friends on board,” reads a Sept. 8 letter from Viking to a California-based passenger who opted for a full refund.

“The ship has now begun crusing together with her first friends, however we’re nonetheless placing the ending touches on the general expertise and refining the itinerary,” the letter continues. “In your scheduled departure, we should function at a lowered capability as we proceed to ramp up service. Sadly, which means that some staterooms have to be cancelled, and we’re contacting you at present as a result of yours is amongst them.”

A FINAL VOYAGE

Bumped clients have been provided full refunds or vouchers equal to 110 p.c of what they’ve already paid to allow them to guide at later dates. Passengers have referred to as the latter simpler stated than achieved as journeys refill years prematurely. The prospect of ready till 2025 to board a Viking cruise strikes some aged passengers as iffy, if not unlikely given their age.

“After I inquired about how we go about rescheduling a visit sooner or later, if we even need to, the response was to test on a regular basis and perhaps there could be a cancellation,” Richard Pletcher stated. “They wouldn’t even monitor cancellations and put us first in line to think about whether or not we may fill the emptiness.”

Catherine Frohnert and her husband, each of their 80s, booked their Viking journey on the Mississippi River in 2019 and paid for it in early 2020, solely to be taught this month their reservation from New Orleans to St. Paul had been canceled. Frohnert, a world traveler in her 80s who’s Irish by start however has lived within the U.S. most of her life, had deliberate to fly to New Orleans and journey again to Minnesota by water for what she assumed could be her last voyage. Rescheduling a visit three years from now sounds unlikely to her.

“I used to be trying ahead to it. I learn all of the books of Mark Twain,” stated Frohnert, a former St. Paul resident who now lives in Rochester, Minn. “Over the 56 years we’ve lived in America, largely Minnesota, we have now traveled to over 85 nations.”

“The one factor left that we wished to do was to sail up the Mississippi,” she continued. “The value has shot up fairly a bit from what we paid. In the event you go on Fb, there are lots of individuals who had been dumped. I’ve achieved Viking cruises on the Danube, the Rhine, and this was my final want for journey. I used to be offended final Wednesday.”

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Mississippi

Mississippi High School Football Rankings: Top 25 Teams – September 2

Published

4 hours ago

September 3, 2024

Press Room

Mississippi High School Football Rankings: Top 25 Teams – September 2

The Mississippi high school football rankings saw some drastic changes after an opening week which saw multiple ranked matchups in the Magnolia State.

Brandon, Madison Central and Louisville each won top-10 games while Oak Grove, West Jones, Clinton and Germantown also picked up ranked wins.

Below is the updated Mississippi On3 Massey Ratings top 25, as of Sept. 2.

The On3 Massey Ratings — which were officially used during the BCS era and have generated college high school sports team rankings since 1995 — rank sports teams by analyzing game outcomes, strength of schedule and margin of victory.

CLICK HERE to watch high school games on NFHS Network now!

Previous Ranking: No. 4 (+3)
Madison Central opened the season in style with a 27-20 top-10 win over Ocean Springs. Ocean Springs shut out Madison Central for nearly the entire first half — until Madison Central running back Glen Singleton rattled off four consecutive rushing touchdowns. The Jaguars are on the road again Friday in the Mississippi game of the week as they travel to face No. 2 Brandon.

Previous Ranking: No. 3 (+1)
Brandon featured in another Mississippi top-10 game in week one, thrashing then-No. 7 Picayune Memorial 60-34. Star junior defensive back Preston Ashley recorded a 45-yard scoop-and-score touchdown, Logan Drummond returned a punt 61 yards to the house and Trey McQueen returned an interception 38 yards for a score in a night filled with unconventional scoring for the Bulldogs. Brandon will host No. 1 Madison Central on Friday.

Previous Ranking: No. 2 (-1)
Starkville took down Noxubee County 43-22 in week one. Tyson Knox picked off Mississippi State commit KaMario Taylor on Starkville’s own 1-yard line to keep the Yellowjackets’ 14-point lead in the second half. Two plays later, quarterback Jaylen Ruffin hit Jaheim Deanes for a 97-yard touchdown. Starkville now gets to look forward to hosting No. 20 West Point this week.

Previous Ranking: No. 1 (-3)
Oak Grove fell in the rankings this week simply by virtue of other teams’ impressive performances — as the Warriors won their game over No. 15 Grenada 38-24. Oak Grove quarterback Kellon Hall was 19-of-27 passing for 306 yards with a touchdown. Next up is No. 11 Ocean Springs at home.

Previous Ranking: No. 5
Tupelo escaped upset-minded Whitehaven last week with a 26-19 opening win. Quarterback Noah Gillon and running back J.J. Hill each accounted for two touchdowns as the Golden Wave came away with an ugly win in ugly conditions following a 90-minute weather delay. Tupelo will play Southaven on the road next.

Previous Ranking: No. 9 (+3)
Yet another top-10 matchup on opening night in Mississippi. Louisville took down then-No. 10 West Point 15-14 in a nailbiter. Louisville scored the only points of the second half — a 21-yard field goal to put the Wildcats on top. Louisville will hit the road again this week at Neshoba Central.

Previous Ranking: No. 8 (+1)
West Jones knocked Laurel out of the Mississippi top 25 with a dominant 34-6 win on Friday. Senior running back Elijah Jones was unstoppable on the ground with 226 yards and four touchdowns on 24 carries. West Jones will play Northeast Jones on the road this Friday.

Previous Ranking: No. 21 (+13)
Clinton pulled off the upset in week one with a 26-20 win over then-No. 11 Warren Central in the ‘Red Carpet Bowl’. Jakobe Williams rushed for two touchdowns while the Clinton special teams and defense scored on a blocked punt and recovered three fumbles. A road game against Northwest Rankin is on deck.

Previous Ranking: No. 16 (+7)
Oxford owned one of the few week one blowouts on this list, beating Lafayette 45-0 in the ‘Crosstown Classic.’ All six of the Chargers’ touchdowns came on the ground. Oxford will play No. 22 South Panola at home this Friday.

Previous Ranking: No. 12 (+2)
Madison-Ridgeland moved to 3-0 on the season after a 50-6 win over Oak Forest Academy that was never in question. Pulaski Academy — The No. 9 team in Arkansas — is on deck for the Patriots.

11. Ocean Springs (-5)
12. Gulfport (+2)
13. Pearl (+4)
14. Germantown (+10)
15. Hartfield Academy (+3)

16. Grenada (-1)
17. Picayune Memorial (-10)
18. Hattiesburg (NR)
19. Jackson Prep (+3)
20. West Point (-10)

21. D’Iberville (NR)
22. South Panola (-9)
23. Poplarville (NR)
24. Warren Central (-13)
25. Gautier (NR)

Dropped from rankings: Northwest Rankin, Meridian, Columbia, Laurel

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Mississippi

MPCA testing the entirety of the Mississippi River within Minnesota

Published

12 hours ago

September 2, 2024

Press Room

MPCA testing the entirety of the Mississippi River within Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. —It winds 650 miles, rushing past the cities, industries and landscapes that make up Minnesota.

However, the Mississippi River has never gotten this type of attention from water quality professionals.

For the first time ever, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) is testing the entirety of the river, from Itasca to Iowa, in a single year.

The governor’s office wants the river to be swimmable and fishable, but right now, parts of the river are polluted.

The MPCA says the upper Mississippi is largely healthy up north, but quality drops south of St. Cloud where metro development and tributaries from agriculture muddy the waters. The National Park Service says stretches of the river exceed water quality standards for things like mercury, bacteria and sediment.

Think of the testing like a checkup for one of our state’s most valuable and powerful resources. Researchers will check temperature, transparency and levels of pollutants like phosphorus, nitrogen and ammonia.

Crews also check fish for those contaminants and collect insects to test in a lab to identify any concerning trends.

“If we find the fish community is suffering — maybe the water is too warm and maybe there’s a thermal pollution source upstream or maybe it’s too much runoff — that sort of stuff. Temperature is an important indicator especially for sensitive species,” Isaac Martin with the MPCA said.

Also for the first time, the agency is looking for PFAS contamination with money from an Environmental Protection Agency grant to identify and stop the forever chemicals from streaming into the Mississippi.

PFAS are a group of manufactured chemicals for industry and consumer products that don’t break down in the environment. While research is ongoing, the EPA says exposure to the chemicals can cause human health issues. It’s why the federal agency just lowered the amount allowed in drinking water.

“They go to parts per trillion, which is incredibly sensitive. You get that low, you’re talking drops in an Olympic swimming pool,” Martin said. “Part of the reason why it was chosen is because it’s a primary drinking source or potentially could be a primary drinking source. We’re just finding them in places we never expected to find them. We’re finding them almost everywhere and being that it is new, there’s just a lot of ‘I don’t know’ that goes with it.”

It’s too early to know what this complete snapshot will reveal, but we know this powerful river is part of our community, economy and health.

“Maybe you don’t use the resource yourself, but maybe you know someone who does or future generations of your own will,” Martin said. “In Minnesota, we’re just trying to be the best stewards we can be.”

The data from this testing will be available early next year. Researchers will use that data and compare it to 10-year pollution averages to determine which parts of the river are improved or impaired.

A full report will be released in 2026.

Erin Hassanzadeh

Erin is back home in the Twin Cities after stops in South Korea and Omaha. The Jefferson High School grad (Go Jags!) is excited to get back to storytelling in the community that raised her.

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Mississippi

Who should be SBLive’s Mississippi high school player of the week? (Aug. 25-31)

Published

19 hours ago

September 2, 2024

Press Room

Who should be SBLive’s Mississippi high school player of the week? (Aug. 25-31)

Here are the candidates for SBLive’s Mississippi high school Athlete of the Week for August25-31. Read through the nominees and cast your vote. The poll will close Sunday at 11:59 p.m. If you would like to make a nomination in a future week, email Tyler@scorebooklive.com. For questions/issues with he poll, email athleteoftheweek@scorebooklive.com.

Editor’s note: Our Athlete of the Week feature and corresponding poll is intended to be fun, and we do not set limits on how many times a fan can vote during the competition. However, we do not allow votes that are generated by script, macro or other automated means. Athletes that receive votes generated by script, macro or other automated means will be disqualified.

Kohl Bradley, DB, George County: Racked up 17 tackles and returned an interception 80 yards for a touchdown in a 33-7 win over East Central.

DaJuan Colbert, DB, Natchez: Recorded 15 tackles, forced one fumble and returned another one 75 yards for a touchdown in a 58-50 win over Hancock.

Garrison Davis, QB, Holmes County Central: Completed 14 of his 21 pass attempts for 375 yards and three touchdowns in a 20-6 win over Vicksburg.

Xzavion Gainwell, DB, Yazoo County: Recorded nine tackles, an interception and an 80-yard interception return for a touchdown in the Panthers’ 20-16 win over South Delta.

Elijah Jones, RB, West Jones: Had 24 carries 226 yards and four touchdowns in a 34-6 win over Laurel.

Kingi McNair, WR, Pearl: Caught four passes for 160 yards and two touchdowns in a 26-20 win over Neshoba Central.

Ashton Nichols, DB, Clinton: Recorded six tackles to go with two big pass breakups, a blocked punt and a return for a touchdown in a 26-20 win over Warren Central.

Ethan Prater, RB, Pisgah: Rushed for 132 yards on 27 carries with three scores and caught a 60-yard touchdown pass in a 33-32 win over North Forrest.

Glen Singleton, RB, Madison Central: Rushed for 174 yards on 18 carries with all four touchdowns in a 27-20 win over Ocean Springs.

Damarius Yates, RB, Kemper County: Rushed for 193 yards on 17 carries and returned a kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown in a 38-15 win over Kosciusko.

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