Coronavirus scuttled a Bay cruise for Modesto grads. They want $10,000 deposit back
A yacht was supposed to carry 112 new graduates of Enochs High School on a celebratory cruise on San Francisco Bay. The coronavirus pandemic canceled the plans; now families who had already paid for it hope to get the $10,000 deposit back.
They have asked Commodore Cruises & Events, based in Alameda, to refund what was paid toward an event scheduled for Thursday, May 28. The money was raised through the Eagle Foundation at Enochs.
Foundation members said they tried over five weeks to negotiate with Commodore, one of many leisure businesses shut down in the effort to slow COVID-19. They said the company offered only to reschedule the cruise, which is not an option because the restrictions could linger and students are headed for college and other pursuits.
Commodore did not respond to phone and email messages from The Modesto Bee.
The trip did not involve any Modesto City Schools funds, said an email Friday from Krista Noonan, chief communications officer for the district. The district did ask an attorney to write a letter on the students’ behalf to Captain Morgan Proescher, the company’s president.
The attorney, Roman Munoz, wrote that the September 2019 contract for the cruise states clearly that Commodore would provide refunds for events it has to cancel. He noted that the reasons for this can include “governmental restrictions/regulations or other causes beyond the control of Commodore.”
‘Incredibly disappointed’ seniors
The letter, dated May 18, asked for a response by May 22. It noted that the contract requires disputes to go to an arbitrator but the parties should try to avoid this expense.
“As you can imagine, the district’s students are incredibly disappointed to be missing out on many of their senior year activities due to COVID-19 and are disappointed that the charter event cannot be held due to current circumstances,” Munoz wrote. “We hope that Commodore will not compound that disappointment by not returning the deposit.”
The pandemic closed schools in Modesto and beyond, forcing students to learn via computer and other remote means. High school seniors missed out on in-person commencements and other traditions.
Noonan said other types of graduation trips were canceled for district schools, but none brought about a contract dispute.
“The transportation companies, event venues, etc. all refunded deposits due to the extreme situation with COVID-19 and it being out of our control,” she said. “However, Commodore Cruises has not been willing to work with us to do this.”
This story was originally published May 25, 2020 at 8:25 AM.
