HELP - Carnival changed our itinerary

[i3utterfli82]

From what I understand, something is wrong with the propulsion system and the ship can not go over a certain speed, which is why they are taking the shorter/slower itinerary.

 

We are only in Nassau from 8:30-2pm...so it's a short day. I've been to the blue lagoon and would definitely recommend for a family.

[SANDYJABS]

From what I understand, something is wrong with the propulsion system and the ship can not go over a certain speed, which is why they are taking the shorter/slower itinerary.

 

We are only in Nassau from 8:30-2pm...so it's a short day. I've been to the blue lagoon and would definitely recommend for a family.

 

Thanks, I was just reading the same info on CCL forums.

[firefly333]

I am one of the many who have a strong preference for the eastern Caribbean and that would include Tortola/Virgin Gorda as well.

 

I have a strong preference for Eastern, but I keep doing western!!! Eastern almost always costs more, and the deals I find are for western. Im going to get to Eastern again one of these days.

[smc0320]

Any idea why Carnival changed your itinerary? We are going next Saturday and did not know that this could even happen.......one more thing for me to worry about! LOL!

 

OK...this is JUST for information purposes...but I am AMAZED no one has posted this yet.....the itinerary can be changed at ANY TIME for ANY REASON....read your cruise contract....you can be ON THE SHIP and it CAN BE CHANGED on your way to the port!

 

I think I would not be happy.....especially after doing so much research on ports and excursions....but what can you do? Many people say "don't count on the ports"...others say "don't book for the ship, book for the itinerary....I say "you can't count on anything so just BE ON VACATION and have "a GREAT time."

[flyawayca]

St. Martin will probably forever be my favorite island. I absolutely loved it. It may be too late to book him now but I used Bernard's Tours. You can google that for more info. Or look in the ports of call info here on CC because that is how I found him :) If you don't have time or don't want a full island tour then I highly recommend spending the cab money (which shouldn't cost much) and go to Maho Beach. It is so amazing there watching the planes land. Your kids I bet would love it. You can Google pictures to get an idea. Plus there is a great beach there to swim in.

 

In St.Thomas if you are interested in snorkeling they have a location called Turtle Cove. We did a ship excursion here on a catamaran (The Cat) which took us out to the cove where we swam with sea turtles. We also saw manta rays, barracudas, and many fish there too.

 

I'm not a huge fan of Nassau but it is a good area if you want to shop for souvenirs. Or if you like to gamble Atlantis is great for that.

[CFort]

We are also going to be on the Dream this Saturday, July 9 - my wife and I are devastated that Carnival can just send an email and change your entire plan for a Family Vacation 3 Days prior to your Sailing Date. This is not right - almost like a "bait and switch."

 

First port is at Nassau from 8:30 to 2PM: We're travelling with our kids and when you're travelling with kids, you need more time - what can you do between those hours?

 

This is definitely not acceptable and we refuse to be FORCED to go to a place we didn't plan on going to - however, Carnival is saying that they cannot do anything about it.

 

We're flying in from California, made reservations for hotels and car rental that are all none refundable, even our flights are all non-refundable.

 

THIS IS DEFINITELY NOT FAIR - What can we do about this?

[LaurieHoffman]

We are also going to be on the Dream this Saturday, July 9 - my wife and I are devastated that Carnival can just send an email and change your entire plan for a Family Vacation 3 Days prior to your Sailing Date. This is not right - almost like a "bait and switch."

 

First port is at Nassau from 8:30 to 2PM: We're travelling with our kids and when you're travelling with kids, you need more time - what can you do between those hours?

 

This is definitely not acceptable and we refuse to be FORCED to go to a place we didn't plan on going to - however, Carnival is saying that they cannot do anything about it.

 

We're flying in from California, made reservations for hotels and car rental that are all none refundable, even our flights are all non-refundable.

 

THIS IS DEFINITELY NOT FAIR - What can we do about this?

 

We too are flying in from So CA (Ventura County) and have reservations for air that is non-refundable, hotel and rental car from airport. How old are your kids? Mine are 13 & 15. Unfortunately we will have to make the best of it. I do understand that ports can be changed at any time and since i have not been to St Thomas or St Martin I will have to force myself to get excited about it. I was so looking forward to the other ports - 4 total vs. 3 now. If you find out anything else please let us know.

[sharecruises]

Your cruise "contract" clearly says they can change anytime.

 

If it is "propulsion" problems, means that they may be going slower, can't make it to the (further) western ports until this is fixed. Just think...they could have canceled the cruise.

 

Eastern ports are really nice...and often cruises to the eastern ports cost more money. The ports are all piers too....no tendering

 

Check out the port boards....some will tout "Godfrey" and "Sonny" but really you can just grab an open air jitney and they are all about the same IMHO. Ours cost $25 negotiated at the pier...we went to the "New" Mountaintop (world famous...oh yeah LOL...banana daquari's)....went to a scenic overlook...and there was Monica Lewinsky, a donkey who wears a flowered hat...she was there some years ago when I visited....LOL...great little shopping place

 

The views are outstanding

 

We then went to Secret Harbpr which was great...so much less crowded than Megans, driver picked us up later as I arranged...total cost $25

 

here is my review from the Ports board

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1355901

[S.S.Oceanlover]

We too are flying in from So CA (Ventura County) and have reservations for air that is non-refundable, hotel and rental car from airport. How old are your kids? Mine are 13 & 15. Unfortunately we will have to make the best of it. I do understand that ports can be changed at any time and since i have not been to St Thomas or St Martin I will have to force myself to get excited about it. I was so looking forward to the other ports - 4 total vs. 3 now. If you find out anything else please let us know.

 

is there any way you can get a cabin on the Legend in Tampa? If they have one maybe you can negotiate a better deal because of the itinerary switch since they are offering $100pp OBC. Tampa isn't that far from Disney after the cruise and the Legend is doing the Western route. I believe it also leaves on the 9th.

 

Bill

[jessemon]

Just saw that my upcoming cruise, we leave THIS Sat July 9th, was changed from Western Carrib to Eastern Carrib. I had done so much research of ports and excursions and now I am lost. And I had to find it out on these board first!

 

What are some suggestions for St Thomas and St Martin and Nassau?

Two kids ages 13 & 15. Had planned an AI beach resort in Costa Maya and a island tour with Victor Boden in Roatan.......

 

UGH........

Had this same type of thing happen once with a group of us and it turned out to be one of the bestest cruises ever....So try not to fret....

St Thomas is Megan's beach and Paradise Point up the tram across from the ship. Beautiful view of the harbour....

Nassau Atlantis and they do have AI beaches on the island. Sorry can't help with those but my happy Irish white butt can't take beaches for long...

Now for the kids they might like Maho Beach in St. Maarten....Short taxi ride there.....This is always fun....

 

[preluder5]

I'm bummed about not visiting Roatan, Cozumel (Xcaret), and Belize!. I just hope that a brand new ship that already has "propulsion" issues, doesn't leave us stranded in the middle of the ocean. Anyways, can someone please tell me what my wife and I and our 2 year old daughther should do in St. Thomas? I'm considering going all the way over to Trunk Bay but don't know if it'll be too much hassle for us with our 2 year old daughter. Any thoughts?

 

Also, does anyone know if we can get a taxi over to Atlantis and purchase a pass at the resort to explore their water park and beach or if we can only purchase that through Carnival?

 

Finally, St. Martin we'll probably go over to the French side since it's cleaner than the Dutch side, not to mention, the Dutch side has alot of pot smokers on the streets. Can be scary at times.

[gail811]

On our stop in St. Thomas this year we went to Honeymoon Beach on Water Island. We grabbed a cab at the port, had him stop at the local grocery so we could fill a rolling Carnival bag with ice/beer/soda/water etc., then he took us to the ferry (ferry was walking distance from where the Oasis of the Seas was docked). Short 10 minute ferry ride, a 10 minute walk, and we had a beautiful beach all to ourselves (for a few hours anyway!) There are restrooms and there is a woman with a grill that makes delicious hamburgers! A few covered picnic areas are available too. Only thing I would do differently next time I go is to take bug spray; there were mosquitos when we were there in late April. The water was crystal clear and calm, lots of shells and sea glass, and the beach was mostly ours until a tour arrived a few hours later. Less time to get to than St. Johns (even though I love it there too!)

 

Water taxi information.

 

 

The hill is steep, but even the 80 year old in our group made it!

 

 

 

View of the beach as we started down the hill

 

The beach...

 

[gail811]

And the price for the ferry

 

 

And a view from the water of our picnic area

 

[tkpro]

OK...this is JUST for information purposes...but I am AMAZED no one has posted this yet.....the itinerary can be changed at ANY TIME for ANY REASON....read your cruise contract....you can be ON THE SHIP and it CAN BE CHANGED on your way to the port!

 

I think I would not be happy.....especially after doing so much research on ports and excursions....but what can you do? Many people say "don't count on the ports"...others say "don't book for the ship, book for the itinerary....I say "you can't count on anything so just BE ON VACATION and have "a GREAT time."

While I agree on your post...we are a family of 6 celebrating my daughters Sweet 16...lots of research and $$$$$ has been spent to go to ports that we have not yet been..if I wanted Eastern I would have booked Eastern..been there a gazillion times, tshirts, sweathshirts with western ports printed on them..people coming from out of town to travel with us...furthermore...if propulsion is the problem do I really want to be on that ship? my fear is that is not the problem at all....and the fact that carnival is giving it's passengers $100/pp on board credit is a joke...that will be gone with tips at $70 pr day and then some...we have no choice but to take this cruise due to schedules of those travelling and vacation time...it's just sad that 4 days before we are set to sail they spring this on us...work it out Carnival,, we will have a great time no matter, it's just disappointing...my daughter is so upset that we are not going some place different is all...as we all are....way too much $ for what we have already done..just say'n

[clearwatergirl]

I feel bad for all on this cruise due to the itinerary switch. I would feel the same way.

 

However, the contract you agreed to states changes could happen. Many cruises have to change or even cancel a port of call due to weather or medical emergencies etc.

 

I guess you'll just have to make the best of it. It's all good. Yes, have to switch gears and change excursion plans but you'll still have a great cruise.

 

the Eastern caribbean is beautiful. St. Thomas is one of my favorite ports. So much to do. St. Marteen is beautiful as well. Orient beach or Maho are great. I would search the ports of call board for more ideas at each stop

 

Hope you enjoy you cruise. :)

[flcruiser4]

I would be trying to get them to switch me to the Legend if it were me. I'm too paranoid to go on a ship with any type of apparent mechanical problems, regardless of how big or how small. But then again I live in FL so it's easy for me to switch ports and even sailing dates if needed.

[richg35]

It's definitely a bummer. We're on the 7/23 sailing for Western and I hope these issues are resolved by then because the Eastern itinerary is far less interesting than the Eastern. Have already been to St. Thomas and Nassau and was looking forward to seeing new places.

[Cheri_pie_rn]

Everyone, from the port in Nassau you can catch a short ferry to Atlantis, they run all day, you can visit the Atlantis aquarium, most beautiful and largest I have ever seen. You can also catch buses for a couple of dollars each way to other areas! Shopping is directly off the port! St Thomas and St Martin are two of the most beautiful ports in eastern carribean! Cruised last year on Victorty from San Juan to st kitts, Barbados, St Martin,St Thomas, Barbados, Dominica and St Martin/St Thomas were my fav ports. Parasailed in St Thomas and walked on ocean floor in St. Martin. So many excursions it's hard to decide! Taxi at every port with knowledgeable local drivers.

[ibcnusoon]

On our RCL cruise next November (2012) we are going to St. Maarten and St. Thomas.

On St. Maarten we plan on going to Maho Bay in the afternoon and watch the huge jumbo jets land.

On St. Thomas, we are going to take the ferry to St. John and visit Trunk Bay. I've been to St. John before and loved it, so happy to see I'll be back after all these years (hoping they don't change MY itinerary!)

[CruisersNC]

We're supposed to be sailing the Dream Western route on the 23rd......we'll be disappointed if its changed to Eastern....we've spent so much time researching and planning the Western ports. But if its changed we'll make the best of it. Of course I'm hoping they'll fix this problem by the 23rd...but i'm wondering how they can do that when the ship is travelling port to port every single day.....maybe they can fix it on the fly. :cool:

[debster11]

[quote name='S.S.Oceanlover']is there any way you can get a cabin on the Legend in Tampa? If they have one maybe you can negotiate a better deal because of the itinerary switch since they are offering $100pp OBC. Tampa isn't that far from Disney after the cruise and the Legend is doing the Western route. I believe it also leaves on the 9th.

Bill[/quote]

I was going to say the same thing. With the itinerary change they should be able to cancel and rebook without penalty. Smaller ship but Tampa is awesome to leave out of and I love the Legend.

But truthfully, the Eastern ports are fabulous. St Thomas is great. I think you would enjoy them.

[LHP]

[quote name='debster11']I was going to say the same thing. With the itinerary change they should be able to cancel and rebook without penalty. Smaller ship but Tampa is awesome to leave out of and I love the Legend.

But truthfully, the Eastern ports are fabulous. St Thomas is great. I think you would enjoy them.[/QUOTE]

I too would think they would allow a transfer to the Legend as long as this ship is not sold out...

since Tampa and Port Canaveral are both an easy drive from Orlando....

for those who really don't want to do the Eastern...I would at least ask.

[smc0320]

[quote name='tkpro']While I agree on your post...we are a family of 6 celebrating my daughters Sweet 16...lots of research and $$$$$ has been spent to go to ports that we have not yet been..if I wanted Eastern I would have booked Eastern..been there a gazillion times, tshirts, sweathshirts with western ports printed on them..people coming from out of town to travel with us...furthermore...if propulsion is the problem do I really want to be on that ship? my fear is that is not the problem at all....and the fact that carnival is giving it's passengers $100/pp on board credit is a joke...that will be gone with tips at $70 pr day and then some...we have no choice but to take this cruise due to schedules of those travelling and vacation time...it's just sad that 4 days before we are set to sail they spring this on us...work it out Carnival,, we will have a great time no matter, it's just disappointing...my daughter is so upset that we are not going some place different is all...as we all are....way too much $ for what we have already done..just say'n[/quote]

Oh, I gotcha! I haven't wanted to do an Eastern yet which is why I haven't....we're booked on the Dream in December to do same itinerary as we had on the Legend (my FAVORITE ship) 2 years ago, We LOVED Belize & Roatan...and Cozumel is always fun. I would be PI$$$$$$ED off too....but knwoing it is in the contract that it can change, I just don't get my hopes up. NOW, after realized that the problem is with the Dream (because I didn't "get that" yesterday, I am nervous about my cruise...though it is several months away.

All I have ever heard about the Bahamas is how nasty they are and how ensafe people feel...why go there? SEA day for me!

so sorry this happened so close to sailing......I do hope you find some FUN!

[S.S.Oceanlover]

[quote name='smc0320']Oh, I gotcha! I haven't wanted to do an Eastern yet which is why I haven't....we're booked on the Dream in December to do same itinerary as we had on the Legend (my FAVORITE ship) 2 years ago, We LOVED Belize & Roatan...and Cozumel is always fun. I would be PI$$$$$$ED off too....but knwoing it is in the contract that it can change, I just don't get my hopes up. NOW, after realized that the problem is with the Dream (because I didn't "get that" yesterday, I am nervous about my cruise...though it is several months away.

[COLOR="Red"]All I have ever heard about the Bahamas is how nasty they are and how ensafe people feel...why go there? SEA day for me![/COLOR]

so sorry this happened so close to sailing......I do hope you find some FUN![/QUOTE]

I was lead to believe that when I first started cruising but it's a beautiful island if you get away from the dock area. We always head over to Cable beach and have a great relaxing day.

Bill

[TNCruiselover]

We were on the Dream, western itinerary, last week and we noticed several times that it felt like we hit something. My husband mentioned that it sounded like something was not right. I am assuming now that he may have been correct. We had rough seas due to a tropical storm. We ended up not being able to dock at Mahogany Bay in Roatan (we docked at another location) and completely missed Costa Maya due to high seas. We are all up very early and ready to get off the ship at 7:00 am, but about 7:45 the captain announced that we would not staying. The sun was shining, but they said it was too dangerous to allow the passengers to use the gangway and that conditions were forecasted to get worse. I can appreciate that he has to make the decision that will keep everyone safe. You will still have a wonderful time. Enjoy!