Victory Dropping Dominica-Cancellation Concessions

[divers2]

Carnival seems to have changed their tune on cancellations from currently booked customers on the Victory due to Carnival dropping Dominica from the itinerary and making it a sea day starting this November. On Friday, they were sticking to their 24 hour cancellation policy for ES, but I think they may have gotten an earful about it. Today, I was told that if you want to cancel and have already booked air, they will pay up to $200 per person for airline change fees and they will also reimburse in full for carnival trip insurance, plus they are extending the time to cancel to September 23rd without penalty and with a 100% waiver of any ES penalties. Of course, this also applies to changing cruises or cruise dates. The rep I spoke to said she was recommending that people make their decision by September 22nd to be safe.

 

This is a bit better, but they certainly should send this revised policy to all of the booked passengers that got the change of itinerary notice that contained no cancellation or change info at all. I am still very disappointed that they dropped Dominica and added a sea day, but at least this gives all of us that already booked some more time to search for alternatives. The rep still held to the Carnival line that the cancellation of Dominica was due to fuel costs, which I explained makes no sense since they have to pass the island on the way to Barbados.

 

For those that decide to sit tight, I was told that there will be no OBC for Dominica port fees or taxes, because supposedly those fees have gone up since we booked. Huh? There must have been some part of what we paid that was associated with going to Dominica. Oh well. If we stay on the Victory cruise we booked, we are determined that we will spend no more money with Carnival. We already planned to book all of our excursions independently, and we will be boycotting the bars. Carnival has not handled this well at all.

[firefly333]

For those that decide to sit tight, I was told that there will be no OBC for Dominica port fees or taxes, because supposedly those fees have gone up since we booked. Huh? There must have been some part of what we paid that was associated with going to Dominica. Oh well. If we stay on the Victory cruise we booked, we are determined that we will spend no more money with Carnival. We already planned to book all of our excursions independently, and we will be boycotting the bars. Carnival has not handled this well at all.

 

Nothing like cutting off your nose to spite your face.

 

I would make a decision and move on. Go or dont go. I would not cruise with a bad attitude.

[Ken076]

divers2 - since Carnival is changing the Itinerary for reasons under their own control, you are entitled to Cancel but it sounds like they're making it much easier. The "Govt Fees and Taxes" refund would probably be $25 or even less and hardly worth quibbling over at this point - I agree with FIRE that you should either decide to go on the cruise with the intent of enjoying it or cancel and make other arrangements. Ken

[donaldsc]

Sounds like you are going to make a really major effort to have a really lousy time.

 

DON

[cowgirlamy]

Divers2- You have every right to be upset over this. I agree with you about boycotting the bars on the at-sea day. I do not see it as cutting off your nose to spite your face. I can have a great time without assistance from Carnival or their activities. I will be there in spirit when you don't give them a dime of your money on the at-sea day. And I bet you will still have a great time!

[divers2]

Thanks to the last poster for understanding. I think we will have a very good time if we go. As I said, we already planned on doing our excursions independently and have a good idea what we want to do on each island. We are really looking forward to seeing some new places and revisiting some places we have been to before. We already planned on bringing some wine and sodas as allowed, and really do not need to drink on the boat to have a good time. We can drink in port if we want for less, and can have our own wine onboard. We don't gamble, so I doubt we would have spent much anyway, but we will specifially not buy any drinks or anything else on board. If we go, we will have a great time without a doubt, and will feel especially good that we did not contribute to the revenue on the sea day that we did not want. Sad to think people think we will have a lousy time just because we will not be buying drinks from Carnival.

 

I posted with the intention of giving info to people like me that understood per the official Carnival policy that we had 24 hours to cancel for a full refund, because of the itinerary change and for those that had already booked air and thought they would get no relief in that regard. Carnival has made a decision to be more generous for those that want to cancel, in money and in giving more time to make a decision, and that is good. However, they obviously cancelled Dominica for financial reasons to get more revenue by holding everyone on the ship for a full day, and we choose not to participate in the extra revenue drive. To each their own.

[firefly333]

Divers2- You have every right to be upset over this. I agree with you about boycotting the bars on the at-sea day. I do not see it as cutting off your nose to spite your face. I can have a great time without assistance from Carnival or their activities. I will be there in spirit when you don't give them a dime of your money on the at-sea day. And I bet you will still have a great time!

 

I forgot my credit card one time, and only had a little extra cash. I sure felt like my hands were tied, when I knew I couldnt spend money I didnt have.

 

Hard to walk by a shop and not look.

 

I guess I have that female shopping gene. It would affect my cruise fun to say I COULD not shop, even if it was self imposed.

[MargaritaPlease]

I was told that there will be no OBC for Dominica port fees or taxes, because supposedly those fees have gone up since we booked. Huh?

 

I think what they're trying to say is that the aggregate of port fees for all the ports to be visited has increased. When they then drop one port, the fees charged in the first place are enough to cover the remainder without remainder.

 

I can have a great time without assistance from Carnival or their activities.

 

So then why are you booking with Carnival?

[sunseeker09]

Well I don't blame you one bit for being upset. We were just on the Victory in Jan. and they had changed our itinerary a few months before. They swapped Antigua for St. Maarten. Luckily we hadn't booked any excursions yet. There was a lot of assumptions about why they really did that switch, but in this case dropping Dominica I would bet it's about gaining a sea day for them to make more money on people spending more money onboard (drinking, using the spa, etc.). The fuel savings line is total crap, as you say, they pass right by Dominica. Besides it takes more fuel to cruise, or even idle out at sea, than it does to be docked.

It's too bad, as Dominica was one of our favorite ports, as it was for a lot of people who posted reviews. But it was also one where most people booked private excursons (as we did), since there are some great tours for great prices offered that way. Carnival surely couldn't compete there.

Anyway, all these constant intinerary changes make me nervous. They sure are flakey and make a lot of port changes. We were thinking of doing another Victory cruise one day, but at this rate, there won't be any ports left!

We picked it specifically for the lack of sea days. Now that it doesn't have that, we'll be looking at other Southern Caribbean cruises instead. I'm sure we won't be alone in that thinking, as most people seemed to pick that cruise for the itinerary and lack of sea days, and certainly not for that ship! Shame. What a BAD move Carnival !!!

[divers2]

I can't speak for cowgirlamy, but for me, we booked specifically for the itinerary, namely the Southern Caribbean port a day, which was only offered by Carnival at the time we booked. We thought the price was right for a room, breakfasts and dinners, and a chance to see so many islands in a week. We had not been to some of the island on this itinerary (including Dominica) and thought it would be a good way to chack out some new places to hopefully return and visit on a land vacation.

[cowgirlamy]

I think what they're trying to say is that the aggregate of port fees for all the ports to be visited has increased. When they then drop one port, the fees charged in the first place are enough to cover the remainder without remainder.

 

 

 

So then why are you booking with Carnival?

 

 

I already went on my cruise through Carnival and am NOT booking with them again if they are going to lie to their customers. Though I enjoyed the Victory, the ONLY reason I chose this cruise was the itinerary ( being in port everyday).

[jpg1747]

I already did the Southern Caribbean cruise with Princess a couple of years ago. I would switch back to Princess but at this point it would cost me an additional $230. Not sure if I want to do that. I'll have to watch the Princess pricing and see if it goes down.

[beach_lvr26]

oh my god people relax!! its just dominica. that port sucked anyways. you should just be happy your even going. some people arnt even fortunate enough to be able to go. so enjoy the other islands.

[superrupe]

oh my god people relax!! its just dominica. that port sucked anyways. you should just be happy your even going. some people arnt even fortunate enough to be able to go. so enjoy the other islands.

 

 

Well put!!!!

[Fourseventeen]

im still going. Not gonna let something like that ruin the rest of my trip. And port fees not being credited...so what, from what im told its only a couple of dollars for ports like Dominica anyway. Now if it was an Alaska port id be complaining since I hear those port fees are around 50.00 per person.

[sunseeker09]

oh my god people relax!! its just dominica. that port sucked anyways. you should just be happy your even going. some people arnt even fortunate enough to be able to go. so enjoy the other islands.

 

In your opinion only. Our opinion was that it was one of the best ports. First they dropped Antigua, which we really wanted to go to, now Dominica. They should've dropped St. Lucia. What a crap port that was! (In OUR honest opinion) It was absolutely hands down our worst day. We took the WORST excusion ever through Carnival, since there was so little to choose from privately. That's why they won't drop that port. So little privately to choose from. Dominica had too much competion from all the great private tour ops. They must've made no money on excusiosn there.

 

I think Carnival made a huge mistake and sales for the Victory will now go way down. Now that all the Southern Caribbean cruises have a sea day, there's so much more to choose from. We'll be looking elsewhere now.

[gjsmth]

oh my god people relax!! its just dominica. that port sucked anyways. you should just be happy your even going. some people arnt even fortunate enough to be able to go. so enjoy the other islands.

 

Actually Dominica did not suck for the many that have posted here. I myself enjoyed that port over the likes of St. Lucia where Carnival land/sea excursion was the worst and we've been to St. Lucia before aboard Carnival. I think most of the folks are just disappointed with the way Carnival is handling it, like telling people it's because of fuel costs (come on). Kind of reminds me of the Bon Voyage mess a few months ago.

[MargaritaPlease]

In your opinion only. Our opinion was that it was one of the best ports...They should've dropped St. Lucia. What a crap port that was! (In OUR honest opinion)

 

Well in MY HONEST, EDUCATED, and TRUTHFUL opinion, St. Lucia is a beautiful port! You got the Pitons, dockside shopping, nice walk into a great little village - I can't wait to go back there! I wish they'd drop St. Thomas - that port is CRAP! Nothing but a tourist trap! In MY opinion.

 

OK, Who's next? ;)

[sunseeker09]

Well in MY HONEST, EDUCATED, and TRUTHFUL opinion, St. Lucia is a beautiful port! You got the Pitons, dockside shopping, nice walk into a great little village - I can't wait to go back there! I wish they'd drop St. Thomas - that port is CRAP! Nothing but a tourist trap! In MY opinion.

 

OK, Who's next? ;)

 

Oh ya! You wanna fight about it?! ;) If they drop St. Thomas we'd lose St. John, which has beautiful Trunk Bay.

Ok, ok, we all have our opinions, and I stated mine... but from the reviews a lot of people did enjoy Dominica. I'm trying to think of any reviews I read where people didn't like it...

 

Regardless of port opinions, the fact is that this is two port changes in less than a year, and both times a lot of people were unhappy with how Carnival handled it.

[cruisingcouple2008]

In your opinion only. Our opinion was that it was one of the best ports. First they dropped Antigua, which we really wanted to go to, now Dominica. They should've dropped St. Lucia. What a crap port that was! (In OUR honest opinion) It was absolutely hands down our worst day. We took the WORST excusion ever through Carnival, since there was so little to choose from privately. That's why they won't drop that port. So little privately to choose from. Dominica had too much competion from all the great private tour ops. They must've made no money on excusiosn there.

 

I think Carnival made a huge mistake and sales for the Victory will now go way down. Now that all the Southern Caribbean cruises have a sea day, there's so much more to choose from. We'll be looking elsewhere now.

 

 

I agree with the part about Dominica being the best and St Lucia being the worst. We did private on both days and Levi Bumping THE ABSOLUTE BEST IN DOMINICA, but St Lucia another VERY WELL KNOWN guide, that was the worst we were rushed non stop and didnt enjoy it at all. I would be upset now if I was to lose Dominica but thats only because I know how wonderful it is.

[Fourseventeen]

I love st thomas! a quick boat over to st john makes for a beautiful day! And diving in and around st thomas is top notch!

 

I have never been to Dominica but I heard (and have seen many youtube videos) and it seems like a beautiful place...guess ill never know.

[lacubana1]

We were booked on the Victory; we received a call yesterday (not a letter) that Dominica was being dropped. Dominica was one of the two ports we really wanted to go to (Barbados being the other) and since they were swapping this for a day a sea (which we did not want) vs. another port...this made it a deal killer for us. So I called Carnival and stated (in a nice, but firm way) my dissatisfaction and if there would be any compensation for the change. I got no where. The only "consolation" I received is being able to get my deposit back in full...if I made my decision by the end of business today! Thanks, Carnival for being soooo very understanding! Ha!

 

What the rep told me was that Carnival lost their contract with Dominica and were no longer allowed to dock there. That is far from the "fuel savings" I keep reading on here. What is the real story? Bottom line, we are looking at switching ships to a schedule that goes to more places we want to go now that one of the two "jewels" of Victory's schedule is gone. But, that is just our preference. We will still be in the Caribbean, so life will still be good! :-)

[cruisingcouple2008]

We were booked on the Victory; we received a call yesterday (not a letter) that Dominica was being dropped. Dominica was one of the two ports we really wanted to go to (Barbados being the other) and since they were swapping this for a day a sea (which we did not want) vs. another port...this made it a deal killer for us. So I called Carnival and stated (in a nice, but firm way) my dissatisfaction and if there would be any compensation for the change. I got no where. The only "consolation" I received is being able to get my deposit back in full...if I made my decision by the end of business today! Thanks, Carnival for being soooo very understanding! Ha!

 

What the rep told me was that Carnival lost their contract with Dominica and were no longer allowed to dock there. That is far from the "fuel savings" I keep reading on here. What is the real story? Bottom line, we are looking at switching ships to a schedule that goes to more places we want to go now that one of the two "jewels" of Victory's schedule is gone. But, that is just our preference. We will still be in the Caribbean, so life will still be good! :-)

Im going to email our tour guide and see what he says

[Ken076]

We were booked on the Victory; we received a call yesterday (not a letter) that Dominica was being dropped. Dominica was one of the two ports we really wanted to go to (Barbados being the other) and since they were swapping this for a day a sea (which we did not want) vs. another port...this made it a deal killer for us. So I called Carnival and stated (in a nice, but firm way) my dissatisfaction and if there would be any compensation for the change. I got no where. The only "consolation" I received is being able to get my deposit back in full...if I made my decision by the end of business today! Thanks, Carnival for being soooo very understanding! Ha!

 

! :-)

 

You did see post #1 in this thread?

 

ken

[pokergirl34]

We are also booked on the Victory. Even with the loss of Dominica and the concessions Carnival is offering, I doubt we'll switch. I think switching air would be a pain in the behind. Plus, the Victory itinerary is the only 7 day Carnival offers with only 1 sea day. Since we already have air paid for, we would need the $200 for change fees, and I bet it's offered as an OBC on another cruise (I could be wrong, but I think they did that when they dramatically altered Spirit's itineraries.) And we used a Future Cruise Certificate for this sailing that we'd have to go through the process to get back. With those reasons in mind, we are stuck with Carnival no matter what.

 

Plus we still want to see the other islands. I'm certainly not going to let it ruin my vacation and I'll probably still spend money on the sea day. We plan on sailing Carnival again anyway regardless of this experience. Occasionally we all are disappointed by a company's change in policy. With this economic climate, I'm sure even Carnival is having issues even if it's just with expenses (not loss of revenue). I'm just happy I can get a balcony cabin for the low price we paid.

 

I am glad we have this much notice to get used to the change in circumstances.