Cruiseathoning

The situation with NOLA is similar to Bayport-narrow and shallow channels, except the trip in is about 8 hours. That is eight hours of driving a wide load on a two lane highway. Besides the fact that in perfect conditions the Liberty is not well-suited to the passage, the storms themselves now pushing more towards LA, and therefore creating crosswinds, would make it an at best extremely risky proposition.

You do not want to risk running a ground.

Miami was the right decision, however, one needs to consider that in cases of large ships, Miami or Galveston appear to be the only disembarkation alternatives stateside. Meaning practically speaking, if the opposite were to happen, a cruise starting in FL may have to land in Galveston.

Largely I have confidence the appropriate pink slips are being issued as we speak, because RCCL is not an inherently bad, or stupid company. So before a pile on ensues, it is only fair that those with established relationships give the organization a fair opportunity to address their judgment and make appropriate adjustments as needed.

Action is part of what I am praying for. And when the call is made, I am ready to go help. At this point, I can't get there to help.

Merge if desired but this just came across my feed-Due to the ongoing unfolding disaster, Liberty of the Seas is going to head for Miami, where one would presume, passengers will debark before its return to Galveston. However, the option for passenger debarkation has not been confirmed.

Whatever your opinions about how RCCL handled this, the important thing now is that our efforts are on helping the people of Texas recover, and the passengers get home safely.

Energy wasted on castigation will help no one escape flooding, or recover their vehicles. As an objective person, I am not willing to end my relationship with RCCL over one decision and would rather see them review and reflect on their actions and hopefully enact positive changes for the future. We will see.

For now I ask you pray, to whatever you believe, however you wish. For me it is Jesus, however that does not preclude you and me from being friends. We may not agree on a single thing under the sun or have a thread in common except this one-we are all human, and thus deserving of humanity.

Your political opinions mean nothing and certainly do not belong here.

I didn't start that line of talk.

I just responded to it.

I know what pre-emptive declarations mean and why they are disseminated. It doesn't change the fact that it APPLIES currently, and was thus, accurate.

The weakest leadership at the state and local levels were Democrats, Kathleen Blanco, and Ray Nagin, Governor of LA and Mayor of Louisiana respectively.

In all honesty, and I mean, ALL honesty, Katrina was a bi-partisan screw up, and I know, because politics is my profession and I have been in the middle of campaigns, policy, and spin for a long, long time.

We have been told not to discuss politics but the "GOP" included our Governor, Rick Perry, who rescued, against the wishes of many in his own party, THOUSANDS of LA flood victims and many have since relocated here permanently.

The "Dems" also include Al Gore, the former Vice-President who flew into NOLA to rescue hospital patients-and you probably don't know that.

This is an American issue, to be solved by Americans, of all stripes, of all persuasions, of all backgrounds.

THIS is why we don't discuss politics here. Because it always seems to elevate party over people.

Correct but a thread with a summary may be more helpful to someone than sifting through hundreds of argumentative comments no?

These are the facts-

1. 30 counties in the state of Texas are disaster areas according to our Governor. https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/gove...ies-in-anticip

2. Galveston county is among them.

3. Royal Caribbean is telling people to not proceed to port at this time-subject to change.

4. Royal Caribbean is telling people that if they are not on the cruise, they will get no compensation excepting your individual insurance plan, consult your policy.

These are facts. Do with them what you wish. I will leave it to you to speculate on the repercussions, if any.

EDITQUOTE

These are the facts-

1. https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-declares-state-of-disaster-for-30-texas-counties-in-anticip

2. Galveston county is among them.

3. Royal Caribbean is telling people to not proceed to port.

4. Royal Caribbean is telling people that if they are not on the cruise, they will get no compensation.

These are facts. Do with them what you wish. I will leave it to you to speculate on the repercussions, if any.

A very surly reservations agent just said that if you cancel without cruise insurance there will be NO ZERO NADA compensation, and only then it depends on your coverage.

You are encouraged to verify this finding.

No further comment at this time.

I wish you luck EBFURR. Enjoy your anniversary, wherever you are.

I want to know if someone cancels right now are they being guaranteed future cruise credits.

Yes or no? Because ANYTHING less is may result in thousands of people entering a FEDERAL DISASTER area.

Now tell me, pretty please with sugar on top, what about THAT statement is incorrect?

They say don't come to the port until further notice. Ok fine. But what if you have to decide what to do with a flight? Once there is a notice to not proceed to port, the option to cancel for credit or full refund should be automatic. Who disagrees with this? What are people supposed to do? Proceed into a flood zone to get close enough just in case there is a cruise?

As much as myself and my fellow Texans welcome tourists and genuinely appreciate you, we do not want 10,000 of you in a flood zone, risking your safety, ever, and especially when we are already tapping resources as far away as DFW in an effort to protect, rescue, and provide for our citizens.

The fact is don't proceed to port is corporate double speak minus an option to ease the burden on families and let them cancel. A waste of air.

Call it what it is.

All the travel insurance I have had allowed for refunds in the event of a National Weather Service warning because they had cancel for any reason. Maybe some don't. Consult your policy.

We have a cruise booked in hurricane season. We bought insurance, so if there is a closed port and a storm warning, we will exercise our contractual rights, cancel the cruise, and go to Vegas. I can't worry about it, as much as I want to go, I am not God, so it is out of my control. I can only exercise the measures in my power to protect my family.

One of those measures is to not challenge a hurricane.

If a professional tells me, in an area that is at sea level or barely above, that there is high probability of water coming in higher than that, I feel I would be making a bad decision to assume the expert is wrong.

I am not a meteorologist. But when is someone called Dr. and that person has spent the better part of a decade studying their chosen field tells me there is mortal danger to my personal welfare if I discount their expertise, I am going to bet on the person who has made it a profession, not a hobby, and not a quick search.

I am well aware that cruise lines find themselves in a terrible spot and understand why they would want to wait to give up on earned revenue. That is why I feel the onus is to get insurance, and go that route, independent of whatever the bean counters say.

People need to traffic in what they know, and make decisions only on what they know.

Not what they think.

If you or loved ones have a cruise booked out of Galveston, please exercise good judgment and make alternate arrangements. According to most models, the storm is going to pinball off of the Texas gulf coast, re-intensify, and land just north of Galveston Sunday. I can not stress this enough-I would consider three feet of rain in that location to be a threat to my individual prospects for survival.

It is highly improbable the cruise lines will send their assets anywhere near Galveston, and if insurance is your concern, I have never encountered a program that did not provide a 100 percent refund for a severe weather warning either at embarkation, or anywhere on the route leading to embarkation. Do review your documents to confirm, but that is my experience.

Read the above again-it is not a matter of inconvenience. Flooding there is common at one-tenth the projected rainfall. This is red alert catastrophic. If you think this is hyperbole, I know this area. I know the traffic patterns, objectively inadequate draining, and routes to higher ground, so listen to highly trained public officials and avoid the area, please. If you have a special occasion to celebrate, take your refund as a near certainty and hop a plane to Vegas, or some other destination.

The bottom line is if these rainfall predictions come to fruition, Hurricane Katrina will be taking a step down in history.

And if for some reason insurance was not purchased, take this as an expensive lesson that costs you money, not you or your loved ones.

little boy- member Family Man's boy. Point is to keep it more in perspective.

I was going to do a full review. I was going to highlight/critique everything I took note of.

I was going to go into detail about the food, the shows, the operations, inside and out, down to the scraping of crumbs and the evolution of the line itself.

Then I read about a little boy for whom his daddy thinks this will be his last cruise.

So I won't. Whatever review I have to give will be done privately with RCI through its survey process. In fact, I am out of the public review business entirely.

It is all petty when it is put into perspective, perspective being a 7 year-old boy with cancer.

Family Man, and little guy, if you go on Liberty, your cruise will be awesome.

End of review.

My passport expires five days inside of six months from the end of our cruise. Will I have trouble getting on, back into the U.S., or in the event of an emergency, flying back into the U.S. using the passport?

Two-in the event the passport is rejected, can I use a certified COPY of a birth certificate? Not really sure what original means-it is from the hospital and is NOT accepted by WHTI according to TA. But Royal's website contradicts itself-

Exceptions:

United States citizens on cruises that begin and end at the same port in the United States can use a original government-issued picture ID (i.e. driver's license) AND an original government-issued birth certificate or original Naturalization Certificate.

Minors under the age of 16 will be able to present either an original government-issued, original or certified copy of his or her birth certificate; a Consular Report of Birth Abroad Issued by DOA; or Certificate of Naturalization issued by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.

It says certified for minors, ORIGINAL for adults. Yet there is nothing to procure OTHER than a certified copy. This is a closed loop cruise.

Thanks.

I ask, what is not factual, fair, or clear? I don't criticize the ship, the crew, the food, the entertainment-I have reviewed the deck plans so I can make my own guess as to crowds.

Why did this become so personal, aside from the fact that Carnival dominates the market and NCL is starting to eat into RCCL's piece of the pie?

I am sure all of these above amenities are wonderful-PROVIDED YOU CAN BOOK THEM.

I am not convinced I would want to be forced into a 10:30 east coast time slot for a major production. Maybe five times in my life have we left a movie that late.

I am not convinced I would constantly want my dining time to rotate.

I am not convinced I would want to sail with that many people.

I am not confident that there is enough to do during the afternoon, after reviewing recent cruise compasses.

I am not confident Royal is not painting itself into a corner by building more ship than their revenues can justify, with the anecdotal but widely mentioned corner cutting to show for it.

Based on experience with other Royal ships, I am not confident the food is not trending downhill.

I am not confident I would retain the feel of a cruise.

I am not confident there is a point FOR ME to Oasis class, when Freedom class delivers very similar offerings with less people and NO bookings for shows.

Clear enough for you?

it seems, are missing the point. I never said it was a bad ship, I said that I would prefer not to be forced into reservations to enjoy a cruise. Particularly I did not want to book at last minute and miss the entertainment. But by all means, continue to post first, read later.

Now keep in mind, I have never booked an Oasis class so I am not criticizing the ship, people, anything like that. But reading Clarea's OP on her birthday being messed up by Grease being moved to a ridiculously late time, especially for the east coast, reminds me of why I prefer the midsizes.

For one, I cruise to be fed, entertained, meet people, feel peacefully small in the expanse of the sea, and relax. If I want Vegas-I go to Vegas.

So if in order for me to get Broadway, I have to book months in advance, no thank you. We rarely book cruises far in advance, so if I were to take Royal up on its deal now, and book Allure for January, we would probably get no chance to reserve dining or shows. Dealbreaker. Don't want to book a ship I can't fully enjoy.

Now this is not to imply I don't enjoy Royal-I do. And I reiterate, I HAVE NO personal experience with these class ships, so do not take this post as a slam against their quality. I am simply stating my preference for a more relaxed process.

If we book an NCL midsize, any Carnival, or Freedom class RCCL, this is not an issue. We have done a mega NCL, and were lucky to book Rock of Ages and dining on relatively short notice. This is uncommon, and from my understanding, RCCL is even worse about pre-booking.

To me, I will gladly give up a few bells and whistles to get a fun show, good fun, and public space, because one other thing: ever notice that the bigger ships are unfriendlier? Not the crew, the people. That is because THEY are stressed out, having argued to no avail with customer service, having their plans rearranged, and their mood is not one of a chill cruiser, but a Vegas bruiser.

Part of the negative deal with Vegas on the sea is the same as with Vegas on the strip-crowds, elbows, expense, timing, and logistics.

Cruise for the sea, the people, the food, and the fun-a good cheesy magician is a lot more fun than a high-gloss production if you can strike up a convo with a guy from Kansas whose son looks like Clark Kent. Or a woman from Louisiana only too happy to share a gumbo secret. You see where I am going?

Cruising is about reconnecting with people, and disconnecting with STUFF.

I believe fully these ships to be wonderful marvels of the sea, and that if you are booked with them, they will perform to your expectations. Just be sure your expectations are not Vegas strip entertainment and Black Hills serenity.

-T

"I heard."

I heard can mean many things. It could mean a pathological liar wants to be relevant. It could mean a nefarious attempt at reputation damage bereft of actual facts. It could mean the person is nuts. It could mean they just want to play with your head..

The Breeze is, near as I can tell, Magic with more bells and whistles. (Not been on it yet.) The Magic has been fun when we were on it, manageable but not too small where we got bored. (If you are lucky, you will get Curly to do trivia on your ship..)

Now on this board I have read ever more ridiculous statements that seems to mirror a societal injury of some sort. Statements like, "worst experience ever." What a life-a cruise you walked away from unharmed is the worst thing ever.

I have read about springs in backs, hair in food, filth on walls, and so forth. And while I can not directly dispute the claims of individuals above, not having been there, I can say that in all of our cruises, and there have been a lot of Carnivals, we have never once, not one time, experienced anything remotely similar.

Not once. In the more than one hundred meals, observing hundreds more, have we ever experienced hair in our food on Carnival. If you think about it, that is remarkable.

In the more than one hundred nights of sleep, we have never felt one spring. Now beds vary, but life varies, and for the most part, they have been fine. I advise to request a topper, and that makes it very comfortable.

The food on Carnival is always tasty, if sometimes uninspired. Smoke can be a problem, but not usually on the newer ships. Most crew, and I mean a huge majority, are above and beyond excellent and considering the deterioration in American attitudes, a miracle, and yes, I am American, and getting quite tired of the observed nit-pickiness.

Yet I fully believe the posters believe what they are posting, to some extent. On this board I have read about cruises being nearly ruined from an eye roll, or a snide or misunderstood comment. Our hypersensivity is affecting our enjoyment of life, and of cruising. Chill.

The Breeze looks great to me, and having been on her Sis, I have no reason to doubt it can deliver. But while opinions vary, keep in mind that one of the most foolish things someone can ever do is to abdicate their own opinions to someone else, unverified and undocumented.

Grain of salt, people.

"I heard" that is the best way to take opinions.

But by all means, buck the system-take it with pepper.

Cruise often, my friends.

-T

Ya, but what space continuum timeline? I found myself in a weird space where the Cubs won the World Series, so, I will ask the OP to clarify.