Triumph's Five Day cruise to NOWHERE? 10-11-2010

[Carol1560]

This morning I just got off Triumph in NO. We had left on 10/11 and everything looked good. We received a letter from the captain that they were monitoring a depression in the gulf. No port changes at this time, okay no biggie. Then the announcement came, ok, there is a hurricane near Progresso and Cozumel, so we cannot go there. I do not believe we were out of the River yet. Okay, I dont want to go near a hurricane. I understand nature, make your best call. Well, Carnival made their best call, they rerouted us, which was understandable. We got to go to Key West, still inside of the United States and we received a 1.97 credit per passenger, oh and yes the 20% discount if you booked another cruise.

 

Okay, y'all I know you all read this forum on a daily basis, I know what my gut feeling is about their decision, but what do you think they could have done that would have been better?

 

I appreciate the fact that Carnival is looking out for their guests, and hmm let's not mention their ship. Our disembarkment was horrible, they had employees yelling at us, etc and telling us that we would not be able to get off the ship that customs would not clear us if we werent in the Rome Lounge, Heck, we did not even have to go through customs?

 

Do ya think I should write a letter or call? Let me know your thoughts I would appreciate it.

[CRZCRAZY]

It might be worth while to write the head office to ask why everyone had to wait for customs when the ship never went to any foreign ports. It could be that it is still necessary since you were on a foreign flag ship?

[lady_cruiser]

I have heard people receiving $25.00 back with an offer for a percentage off their next cruise (I'll take a discount anyday) but I have never heard of receiving $1.97 back. If you find out how CCL came to the conclusion that $1.97 was a fair amount please come back and let us know.

 

BTW - wasn't Key West awesome. We went there for the first time this year and loved it. Especially Duvall Street.

[nytraveller53]

I have heard people receiving $25.00 back with an offer for a percentage off their next cruise (I'll take a discount anyday) but I have never heard of receiving $1.97 back. If you find out how CCL came to the conclusion that $1.97 was a fair amount please come back and let us know.

 

BTW - wasn't Key West awesome. We went there for the first time this year and loved it. Especially Duvall Street.

 

$1.27 is the exact port price that was refunded. Every time a ship comes into port, the line has to pay a port tax. Divide by # of guests, voila, port tax per person. Since they didn't go to Progreso and cozumel, it was refunded. :)

[boaterette]

Can you tell us what Carnival's options were and then maybe we could tell you what they could have done. I have no way of knowing how much time they need to reschedule ports or how much it would cost. So basically I have no knowledge on what they could or could not do. Maybe if I worked in their management I would know these things.

[Traveler353]

I wish that they really did have 5 day cruises to nowhere. I would book it in a heart beat. If the ports are important fly. When cruising during hurricane season common sense must prevail. Unfortunetly common sense is not so common these days.

[GRANT2702]

Can you tell us what Carnival's options were and then maybe we could tell you what they could have done. I have no way of knowing how much time they need to reschedule ports or how much it would cost. So basically I have no knowledge on what they could or could not do. Maybe if I worked in their management I would know these things.

 

 

The forecast was for the system to meander and move ENE toward all of the other possible ports. The only viable was Veracruz but they stood a chance of coming into contact w/ the system ? I am not defending CCL but seems to make the most sense as to why they only went to Key West.

[Molly BPOE]

I wish that they really did have 5 day cruises to nowhere. I would book it in a heart beat.

I am with you on this one! I'd love a 7 day cruise to nowhere. The only reason I do ports is for my DH.

[happy cruzer]

I would just forget about it. And remember the good parts of your cruise.

 

Any ship's disembarcation can be a mess if the passengers are not cooperating. The staff will have to yell to be heard in many cases. You were getting off of a short cruise that probably 90 per cent drove to and they probably mainly carried off their luggage. They expected to just be whisked off early, all two thousand at exactly the same time. It can be a mess.

 

Now you know not to count on any particular port to be visited.

 

And if possible wait about 2 hours in a quiet area before trying to debarc.

 

Hope all the rest was good.

[Lv2Camp&Cruise]

What else would you like to have seen from Carnival? Not trying to be rude, but they refunded the charge for the port, they kept you safe and gave what the contract promised you. What else would you want?

[JRock59]

This morning I just got off Triumph in NO. We had left on 10/11 and everything looked good. We received a letter from the captain that they were monitoring a depression in the gulf. No port changes at this time, okay no biggie. Then the announcement came, ok, there is a hurricane near Progresso and Cozumel, so we cannot go there. I do not believe we were out of the River yet. Okay, I dont want to go near a hurricane. I understand nature, make your best call. Well, Carnival made their best call, they rerouted us, which was understandable. We got to go to Key West, still inside of the United States and we received a 1.97 credit per passenger, oh and yes the 20% discount if you booked another cruise.

 

Okay, y'all I know you all read this forum on a daily basis, I know what my gut feeling is about their decision, but what do you think they could have done that would have been better?

 

I appreciate the fact that Carnival is looking out for their guests, and hmm let's not mention their ship. Our disembarkment was horrible, they had employees yelling at us, etc and telling us that we would not be able to get off the ship that customs would not clear us if we werent in the Rome Lounge, Heck, we did not even have to go through customs?

 

Do ya think I should write a letter or call? Let me know your thoughts I would appreciate it.

 

 

Well, Key West means you did go some where and 20% off next Cruise is pretty nice in my book. The folks on the Ecstasy had the same problems execpt they went to Vera Cruz http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1290836&highlight=ecstasy not sure if they were offered anything off their next Cruise haven't read anything about it. On the subject of customs YES write a letter to Carnival even if it's something they've never done before (ship not going to foreign port) and it's a different way of clearing you all, Carnival employees ahould have stayed calm and civil. Could it have been other people getting off the ship were not doing as asked and everyone got frustrated? But I have been reading now and then that disembarkation in NOLA is not always easy due to employee attitudes. I know in Galvestion it's usually pretty good but every now and then we hit a customs person who makes you feel like your a wanted person. If nothing else writing a letter will make you feel better about the whole thing. Good luck and smooth sailing on your next Cruise!

[CorvetteLady]

We were on the 9/25 cruise on the Triumph during TS Matthew. At first we were going to Key West instead of Belize but then the weather changed and we went to Belize. All the cave tubing excursions got canceled because the caves were flooded, some snorkeling was also canceled. It was a cloudy overcast day.

 

The next day was Roatan and it got canceled because of weather, we each got a $9.80 credit. We did not get offered a 20% discount on our next cruise, that would have been nice.

 

We did get a beautiful day in Cozumel. Some people were unhappy but not many. We had a great cruise, we missed a port, it happens.

 

We did not have any problems with debarkation. I have had debarkations when it seems like they are yelling but that is usually because someone is not paying attention. If you feel it was egregious you should write to Carnival, they can't fix it if they don't know about it.

[nybumpkin]

Coming out of NOLA on a 5-day cruise, if you can't go west I don't think you have too many options other than Key West. (I'm kinda surprised they could stop at Key West without an additional foreign port, but that's another story.) A five-day cruise doesn't allow enough time to get to the Bahamas. But I would let them know the problems with debarkation.

[firefly333]

If you went to Key West, you did not go no where ... that is a port.

 

We missed two ports on our 7 day conquest and got 20% off. I thought it was a great deal, what more is it you want?

 

The new policy is you only get the taxes on the port fees back. We got hit with that one too. The policy USED to be $25 pp when we booked, but Carnival changed a few months back .. other than that, you got what you paid for.

 

We had some upset people on our cruise too ... all the ones I talked to were newbies ..how many cruises have you had. From Galveston and New Orleans, there just arent many ports you can get to. Where would you have Carnival take you?? To me complaining about the weather is showing a lack of cruising knowledge. Were there other things wrong?? If so then yes you have a gripe, but not for getting 20% off a future cruise .. I said SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET.

[firefly333]

What else would you like to have seen from Carnival? Not trying to be rude, but they refunded the charge for the port, they kept you safe and gave what the contract promised you. What else would you want?

 

Carnival has NEVER done this .. nor will they ever in my opinion.

 

Port charges are over $50 per port when they used to break them out in the old days, now they are wrapped into your cruisefare so you dont know how much they are.

 

The policy as I said used to be a flat $25 pp, which I was happy with. Now they give you the government taxes on the port charges back.

 

Carnival needs work in the disembarkation of a lot of ships. One of the few things they dont do well. Iv now had 3 long disembarkations from New Orleans.

[Traveler353]

A five-day cruise doesn't allow enough time to get to the Bahamas.

 

Opinion vs Fact: Actually it does. I have two 5 day cruises out of New Orleans that were scheduled to go to Mexico diverted to Freeport, Bahamas and Key West, FL. One for storm avoidance and one diverted because of the Swine Flu. So there is plenty of time to go to the Bahamas from New Orleans.

[Wardenru]

This morning I just got off Triumph in NO. We had left on 10/11 and everything looked good. We received a letter from the captain that they were monitoring a depression in the gulf. No port changes at this time, okay no biggie. Then the announcement came, ok, there is a hurricane near Progresso and Cozumel, so we cannot go there. I do not believe we were out of the River yet. Okay, I dont want to go near a hurricane. I understand nature, make your best call. Well, Carnival made their best call, they rerouted us, which was understandable. We got to go to Key West, still inside of the United States and we received a 1.97 credit per passenger, oh and yes the 20% discount if you booked another cruise.

 

Okay, y'all I know you all read this forum on a daily basis, I know what my gut feeling is about their decision, but what do you think they could have done that would have been better?

 

I appreciate the fact that Carnival is looking out for their guests, and hmm let's not mention their ship. Our disembarkment was horrible, they had employees yelling at us, etc and telling us that we would not be able to get off the ship that customs would not clear us if we werent in the Rome Lounge, Heck, we did not even have to go through customs?

 

Do ya think I should write a letter or call? Let me know your thoughts I would appreciate it.

 

 

I too was on this cruise! I won't even start with my rant about the 2.00 slap in the face port fee that we got back. 20 % off on a future cruise...no thanks, I'll take OBC for my cruise scheduled in January. I'll be calling CS come Monday and see what I can do about that. I was monitoring this storm at the start of the cruise and knew the potential. Heck, I knew the potential for sailing in October. As far as the employee yelling...I am not defending Carnival here nor am I a cheerleader, but it was a CLUSTER _ _ _ _ this morning by the Rome lounge! People did not want to take their butts inside and sit down! They wanted to wait in the aisles and create a even bigger mess. The CD should have came on the loud speaker and made some announcements. The little lady should have had some back up and people should have tuned to Channel 17 and watched the debarkation talk. Debarkation would have been so much easier had people not blocked the halls and sat in the lounge as directed. I heard folks complaining that a movie or something should have been on...I've sailed with Carnival long enough to know that come debarkation day, your not entitled to anything but breakfast and to hurry up and get off the ship so they can serve the next set of guests...my two cents for what's it worth...

[Conwaycruiser]

I was also on this cruise. I have no complaints. I think if you schedule a cruise during hurricane season then you should just understand the risk of missing ports due to the weather. By the way, we had beautiful weather and very calm seas! The debarkation was not unusual. (Including hearing passengers complaining, "That's not what I was told" and "No one told me") The letter that was sent to the cabin the night before clearly stated the instructions.

As with anything else in life, the more prepared you are..the happier you'll be.

[sharecruises]

Not much to do

 

you chose to cruise during hurricane season

 

and then you chose to cruise out of New Orleans

 

look at a map..there is nowhere to go from NO or Texas

not even great choices from Tampa

 

in 5 days?? where do you think they could go??

 

yeah we get hurricanes in Florida but at least when you cruise from

south florida the ships can go east/west...up/down

and avoid bad weather and still make ports

 

now ..granted...the ports might not be the ones you sign up for

but still better than what you get when you cruise from texas or NO

 

it is a matter of distance and time and space..

I don't think Carnival can bend all those rules, change the distances do you?

 

where do you think they could go anyhow??

[sharecruises]

LOL>> Freeport...the little puddle jumpers go over there daily, it is 50 miles from Fort Lauderdale..same weather and not as pretty as here and less to do

more expensive too....enjoy yourself Mon LOL

 

Congrats to Conwaycruiser for having a good attitude

 

if you cruise this time of year be aware of might happen..

 

they were able to get to Key West, not able to get to Freeport

 

Nassau would probably have been too far

 

Key West is more interesting than Freeport IMHO

 

from now on sail out of Florida or take your chances

 

I am really getting sick of reading about these lackluster cruises from NON florida ports..there is a reason that so many ships sail out of here and have been sailing out of here for years

 

look at a map...look how close the tip of Florida extends down to where the destinations are....

 

this new idea of "home ports" is good for those who don't want to fly

and good I guess for new cruisers

 

but ..when you see a Gulf coast cruise to nowhere from Texas or NO....or .when you see people in winter coats for 2 days sailing from Baltimore in January then you might wish to come to south florida for a cruise

 

Places to go from here.....St Thomas, St Martin, Nassau, Freeport (Yawn), Key West, Cozumel, Costa Maya,Grand Cayman, Grand Turk, Half Moon Cay, Antiqua, Jamaica, Belize, Roatan, Panama, Costa Rico, St Kitts, St Lucia, Tortola, Aruba, curacoa, bonaire, San Juan, Bermuda, Dominican Republic...St Croix *(tho not many go there now)

 

*(non carnival >>> Labadee Haiti, other private islands)

 

and probably more places I have not thought of

 

not to mention...the 10 and 11 and 12 night cruises on Princess, HAL etc..they go to even more islands

 

and yeah you COULD go to Cuba LOL>> it is 90 miles away from Key West :)

 

So a South Florida cruise has many options and can "outrun" a storm

[MrPete]

Personally, I would LOVE a 5 day cruise to no where.

 

OP.YoOu have a boat, You have a bunch of passengers. The weather is bad. You sail where you can.

 

What do you owe your passengers that are NOT using your ship for transport, all while feedind. Entertaining, and boarding them, all which is covered by their fare?

[Carol1560]

Apparently, since some of you are looking at this as an opportunity to bash, shame on you!!

 

NO this is not my first cruise, nor my second, nor my third, and no not my fourth, henceforth I am an experienced cruiser.

 

Secondly, I was not complaining about the weather, I know that Carnival has NO control over the weather. I am thankful that everyone was kept safe.

 

I love to go out of the New Orleans terminal, I am a proud resident of Louisiana. I will continue to cruise out of New Orleans. I know about hurricanes and the problems that they cause. I know what season the hurricanes come in.

 

I was very concerned about how the employees misinformed us about alot of things on the cruise, why even put custom forms in your room? When they know we are not even going through customs?

 

Another question I had was, why give us instructions on how to do "self Disembarkment" and then not follow them? I was early and I was sitting in the Rome lounge as instructed planning on getting off the ship as instructed and they changed the plan. The employees that were working the disembarkment were very rude to us and they really messed up the disembarkment.

 

There are people on this board who are self proclaimed experts at everything including being on the cruise and sitting in the Rome lounge with me. I think that is absolutely amazing!! I think it is a shame that a bunch of you (and you know which ones I am referring to) have nothing to do but jump up and point the finger at someone and tell them what they should feel.

[Wardenru]

Apparently, since some of you are looking at this as an opportunity to bash, shame on you!!

 

NO this is not my first cruise, nor my second, nor my third, and no not my fourth, henceforth I am an experienced cruiser.

 

Secondly, I was not complaining about the weather, I know that Carnival has NO control over the weather. I am thankful that everyone was kept safe.

 

I love to go out of the New Orleans terminal, I am a proud resident of Louisiana. I will continue to cruise out of New Orleans. I know about hurricanes and the problems that they cause. I know what season the hurricanes come in.

 

I was very concerned about how the employees misinformed us about alot of things on the cruise, why even put custom forms in your room? When they know we are not even going through customs?

 

Another question I had was, why give us instructions on how to do "self Disembarkment" and then not follow them? I was early and I was sitting in the Rome lounge as instructed planning on getting off the ship as instructed and they changed the plan. The employees that were working the disembarkment were very rude to us and they really messed up the disembarkment.

 

There are people on this board who are self proclaimed experts at everything including being on the cruise and sitting in the Rome lounge with me. I think that is absolutely amazing!! I think it is a shame that a bunch of you (and you know which ones I am referring to) have nothing to do but jump up and point the finger at someone and tell them what they should feel.

 

It's called a message board for a reason. If you don't want people to comment after you, then I suggest you write a blog or better yet a review where comments cannot be posted. Not everyone is going to be so nice and agree with you on these boards.

[B&R626]

We were on this cruise also, kind of an extended family thing. We had a great time, with weather that couldn't be better every day.

 

Key West isn't our favorite port, but we went on a snorkeling trip that went out to the reef. We got involved in many of the ship activities (two were in the passenger talent show), and basically really enjoyed the trip.

 

I'm not saying there wasn't some disappointment when we heard the hurricane was causing us some grief. I had my shopping, excursions, margaritas, and food decisions all planned! However, we've already called our PVP for help planning the next one and he indicated he can get a supervisor to apply the 20% to our booking by looking at our cruise history. How easy is that!?!

 

Now - here's the really disappointing thing about the trip. While I was at the pool, I overheard a man telling his wife "I didn't pay for a trip that stayed in the states". He went on further to state that he removed the tips from all six of the passengers they were traveling with. He was so angry.

 

Later, my brother was at the purser's desk when someone else was complaining and wanting some kind of refund. The only thing offered was to remove the tips. I asked our room steward if this often happened (removing the tips) when ports were cancelled. He reluctantly acknowledged that it did. He said there was an employee meeting to discuss it and bascially encourage them all to "hang in there" and continue with the good service.

 

Since our family had three rooms in a row, none removed tips, and all tipped extra for him and his assistant (and the dining staff), I hope that helped. Believe me, they all deserved it.

 

I really don't understand that "I'm not getting what I want, so I will take it out on someone else" attitude. That was more disappointing than the port change. The cruise ship workers are some of the hardest working folks. They had nothing to do with our itinerary change.

[firefly333]

 

Now - here's the really disappointing thing about the trip. While I was at the pool, I overheard a man telling his wife "I didn't pay for a trip that stayed in the states". He went on further to state that he removed the tips from all six of the passengers they were traveling with. He was so angry.

 

Later, my brother was at the purser's desk when someone else was complaining and wanting some kind of refund. The only thing offered was to remove the tips.

 

We saw the same thing in spades on Conquest. I suspect these people also kick their dogs when they get home from a bad day or they beat up on their wives and kids when they are frustrated. They take things out on someone else. I would not want to be associated with these types personally.