What would happen if your flight....

[RuthlessBoss]

What started this rant? :confused: My first thought was it's a first time poster, but it's not.

 

Back to my morning coffe:D

[PAPERBKWRITER]

Our October cruise on Spirit has had the itinerary changed (lost 2 ports and picked up 2 others) I'm disappointed because I have a cousin I was excited about seeing who lives in Mazatlan, Mexico. BUT, I realize that the safety concers Carnival has about certain ports are for pax and crew members. If someone has a destination that is a must I agree with another poster, fly and do a land based vacation.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Things happen and just be happy.

[Almost Packed]

my point being....why do we "allow it". sure it's our risk. isn't our "risk" when we fly somewhere.

 

why do we "allow" cruiselines to have it in their contract to change it as they see fit? yes, i would believe they change ports for our safety (safety first always). but people don't seem to be so eager to change airports and they demand that an airline compensate them, hotels, refunds etc. if an airport is closed due to weather or other situations. why do we not demand that from a cruise line? i'm just saying.

 

of course i could just fly to any port i wanted. that's not the point. why do cruisers allow the cruiselines to do whatever they want. i have read on these boards where the cruiselines has made big mistakes on their bills and posters on the boards have just basically said "oh well, mistakes happen, i wouldn't worry about it".

 

why do we have that mentality? yes, i'm happy to be on a cruise at any given time. but i'm not that happy that i'll allow them to take advantage of me and neither should anyone else.

 

i agree to go to a port when i give them my money. they agree to take me there via ship. in fine print after they have my money, they say they can change ports at anytime for any reason. gee, let's see another industry try that.

 

:cool:

[Almost Packed]

Seriously, none of your arguments make sense. For the record, nobody puts a gun to your head and forces you to cruise. Everything is layed out very clearly by Carnival. They try to make all their ports but can't guarantee weather or safety related matters won't change things. They are open about their policy on fuel surcharges and to their credit, Carnival has had plenty of opportunity to invoke those charges and have chosen not to do so.

 

I feel regret for the soldier's problems with the replacement port. I never did hear whether he got any resolution working through channels. For all I know, he may have been given permission to visit the port. Even if he didn't get permission, it was not a life altering event.

 

Your diatribe gets no support from me.

 

nope, nobody puts a gun to my head and forces me to cruise. kind of a silly statement to make imo. however CCL's policy, is NOT clearly layed out. you do not receive your papers until after you have paid. and even so, we would not tolerate it in other industry. why is ok here?

 

once an amount has been agreed upon, it should not be changed. the point we all had a fit over the fuel surcharge is one reason why they are not charging it now. And I will not book while they are charging.

 

it's no difference than airlines charging for bag fees. just go ahead and make the price of the cruise whatever the price is. don't "sneak" in or mask the cost.

[Almost Packed]

Are you related to the OP??? Both from Little Elm....go figure. Not to mention UT...gig-em.

 

PS You're wrong about cruise line contracts, as pointed out by a number of respondents. In fact your cruise contract specifically allows for deviations. Don't give up your day job to practice law.

 

 

umm, no, a bit ironic but have no idea who the other person is.

 

and my cruise contract doesn't COME TO ME UNTIL AFTER I HAVE PAID. then you get to read your contract. does anyone else get theirs before.

 

and yes, the ship is taking me from point a to point b.

[sloepoke]

i disagree that people won't change airports ... last winter, as i was flying to my cruise (the day before, thankfully), my flight was cancelled. it took a long time on the phone with the rep to rebook the flight -- remember those storms across the northeast. yeah.

 

i said, "get me to florida, and i'll get myself the rest of the way to fort lauderdale." and i meant it. the agent said they'd been hearing that a lot -- just get people as close as possible.

 

i also had that happen after a plane's engine caught on fire and we were diverted to a larger airport about 4 hours (by car) short of where we were headed. after they said it might take a day to get a new plane, we were just thankful the landing was successful, a bunch of us talked about getting a rental car and driving the rest of the way. we weren't upset -- we were thrilled to be no longer in a plane with an engine on fire.

 

same with a missed port for me ... if they have to miss it to avoid a hurricane, or to avoid something unsafe at port, then we miss the port. i'll be disappointed, but i know they're not doing it just to screw with us. so we'll sun ourselves and have afternoon tea.

[Almost Packed]

I completely get it folks! That's not the point of my post. I get it! Safety first always! (i'm an airline employee who flies for free but chooses to pay full price to cruise!)

 

But like the uproar with passengers and airplanes (i agree with) passengers were being taken advantage of and treated poorly in some situations by some. Customers got together and said "hey we aint gonna take it" pretty much. Rules and laws changed for the benefit of customers.

 

All I'm saying is that sometimes the cruiselines seem to take advantage of people and then just say "it's in our contract".

 

Just because you can doesn't mean it's right. I choose my cruises based on ports I'd like to visit. I plan to arrive in those ports.

 

I'd hate to order off of a menu only to see in fine print that the chef may substitute anything at any time and i'm stuck with it with no recourse. Gee, I can see it now. Yes, I realized you ordered a sirloin sir, but we decided the chicken would be best for you. it's written right here in fine print for you...in our contract on your check you just recieved. Ridiculous yes.

[sloepoke]

i think that you're comparing apples to oranges, though ... leaving a full plane stranded on the tarmac without food or working toilets for -- what was it? 14 hours? -- is a very different and much more uncomfortable situation than saying "it's not safe to dock in Cozumel because of rough seas that would capsize the tenders."

 

if something like the airplane situation were to come up (think: Splendor last year), Carnival would respond in a way that matched the seriousness of the situation.

[tef43]

What would happen if you purchased your airfare for a particular city and the airline decided to change it?

It happense, what's your point? :confused:

 

A contract should be a contract

It is, which is why everything you are complaining about is *IN* the contract. Don't like the terms? You are free to not cruise.

***getting off soap box now***

Still not certain exactly what your issues are. :confused:

[Almost Packed]

Exactly. Doesn't work well for the military family but like the original poster said, "a contract is a contract and they shouldn't be allowed to change it. it." Carnival is not changing it. They are enforcing it.

 

No, incorrect. CCL changed ports. They originally were planning on stopping in one port in which the military man could get off the ship. Then CCL changed the port in which this man cannot get off of the ship. They booked a cruise with ports for them to get off and enjoy. The cruiseline changed ports (who cares what the reason is for) and now this family cannot enjoy the port and are paying for it with no recourse. For the whole well being of the ship, I agree with doing what's best for safety. However, they should make an exception for this family-stand by our service men and women and do the right thing. Just because they can hide behind their contract, doesn't mean they should.

[CourtneyLovesCruising]

Why do we allow the ships to just change things at their discretion at any time.

 

You're right, we should all rush the Captain's orders and demand that our civil liberties be upheld. "Give me that wheel!!!" :rolleyes:

[okwriter]

umm, no, a bit ironic but have no idea who the other person is.

 

and my cruise contract doesn't COME TO ME UNTIL AFTER I HAVE PAID. then you get to read your contract. does anyone else get theirs before.

 

and yes, the ship is taking me from point a to point b.

 

You can go to Carnival's website and read it free any time.

http://www.carnival.com/cms/static_templates/ticket_contract.aspx

[Almost Packed]

What started this rant? :confused: My first thought was it's a first time poster, but it's not.

 

Back to my morning coffe:D

 

what started this? I was angry because I read about a military member who had a family vacation planned. CCL changed ports after this family has paid for their airline tickets etc. Now because of this military member's security, he cannot go to this new port. Therefore he may or may not be allowed to just stay on the ship. The family purchased insurance for this, but it's not covered either.

 

I don't know this family...but it makes me angry. CCL isn't going to reimburse them for their $'s and I think it's wrong. My point about the ports were that we all choose a cruise for whatever reason. Some want more sea days, some want certain ports, some just go where ever they don't care as long as they are onboard. But people put thought and consideration in to what they choose. I'm not saying a refund should be given to every single person because of this. I am saying that this military family should be reimbursed for their charges incurred by this cruise if they chose not to take it because of the change. It's a special situation.

 

BTW, I just booked a cruise, and do not have any paperwork except my confirmation telling me to go online to view my contract. That's after I have paid. What if I was sailing next week? i wonder if I could still cancel after reading the contract.

[Almost Packed]

You're right, we should all rush the Captain's orders and demand that our civil liberties be upheld. "Give me that wheel!!!" :rolleyes:

 

I think you know what I mean.

[sloepoke]

what started this? I was angry because I read about a military member who had a family vacation planned. CCL changed ports after this family has paid for their airline tickets etc. Now because of this military member's security, he cannot go to this new port. Therefore he may or may not be allowed to just stay on the ship. The family purchased insurance for this, but it's not covered either.

 

 

i may be mis-remembering, but i thought the issue was that the military family member didn't have a passport, and the id he brought wasn't sufficient to let him disembark in the new port?

[Almost Packed]

It happense, what's your point? :confused:

 

It is, which is why everything you are complaining about is *IN* the contract. Don't like the terms? You are free to not cruise.

Still not certain exactly what your issues are. :confused:

 

 

My point is you purchase something to go from a to b.

 

The contract is crappy. It's basically we can change anything we want at anytime we want because we can. and you cannot do anything about it once we have your money.

 

my issues are the fact that we as consumers have allowed a crazy contract to exist....the right to change anything anytime basically as we see fit. we can add a fuel surcharge anytime. even if you have paid. we can move you from the cabin you choose, if we see fit. we can change ports if we see fit. we can leave out early if we see fit. we can come in late if we see fit. we can take lobster off the menu, close the pools, or just cruise in a circle if that's what the cruise line wants. my point being is that the contract is a bit ridiculous. if i'm bound by a contract, they should too...and a contract that's not so crazily abstract as to change anything to where it's a meaningless contract except for their (cruise lines) advantage.

[Almost Packed]

i may be mis-remembering, but i thought the issue was that the military family member didn't have a passport, and the id he brought wasn't sufficient to let him disembark in the new port?

 

nope, unless you are referring to another incident. and either way, a passport is not required if it's a close loop cruise.

[Almost Packed]

I guess my whole point is that the cruise lines can do whatever they want with us and they don't care.

 

They will refer you back to the paper.

 

Why do we allow it? We should not allow them to move us at their free will just because they can. That's how we can be taken advantage of.

 

I heard of a woman who booked a particular aft wrap balcony only to be moved to another deck. yes, still an aft wrap, but we all know location location location. is that okay at any time? I don't think so.

 

the cruiseline wanted to squeeze one more person to an aft wrap balcony so the lady who booked early, to get the cabin she wanted on the deck she wanted was moved up two decks below the pool so she and her dh could hear chair scraping all morning. fun! yep, that's fair and all in the contract that they can move you if they need to. that's being taken advantage of.

[EastTex]

You can go to Carnival's website and read it free any time.

http://www.carnival.com/cms/static_templates/ticket_contract.aspx

 

 

Bless your heart....you beat me to it. It took not much more than a minute for me to find it on the Carnival website. Not much respect for folks who complain they're not given the information they need to make a decision only to find that they were too lazy to look for it.

[Almost Packed]

Bless your heart....you beat me to it. It took not much more than a minute for me to find it on the Carnival website. Not much respect for folks who complain they're not given the information they need to make a decision only to find that they were too lazy to look for it.

 

nope, not lazy. the first time i cruised, my docs were mailed to me, and there i rec'd my contract.

[CourtneyLovesCruising]

OP, I'm sure there is something deeper here.. maybe some sort of heightened military empathy.. I dunno. I think you are personalizing Mother Nature and then projecting that onto the cruise line. Sometimes things happen, courses change and life happens. If you spend your life trying to have control of everything, you'll find yourself more often than not, upset about something. Relax :)

[Almost Packed]

wow, there are some rude people on here. Why?

 

why be rude for me asking why is it acceptable for the cruise lines to change things at anytime just because they can?

 

why the hating? :eek:

[Almost Packed]

OP, I'm sure there is something deeper here.. maybe some sort of heightened military empathy.. I dunno. I think you are personalizing Mother Nature and then projecting that onto the cruise line. Sometimes things happen, courses change and life happens. If you spend your life trying to have control of everything, you'll find yourself more often than not, upset about something. Relax :)

 

I just hate being taken advantage...or seeing someone being taken advantage of. Just because you are following the rules, doesn't mean it's okay. Just like the 500lb woman wearing a bikini. just because she can, should she?

 

I was booking a cabin last night on the phone with CCL and after i chose my cabin-for it's location, she came back and told me that at any time CCL could change me. So yes, it's a gamble I accepted. But why do we accept it? Why should we allow CCL or any other cruise line to think it's okay to just have their way with us. I paid for that cabin. If not, then why bother allowing me to choose which one I wanted in the first place.

 

No difference if we picked out a seat we wanted on an airplane, only to get there and then they tell us they have moved us. Why bother allowing me to choose which seat if it doesn't matter.

[Almost Packed]

Yes I love cruising. That's why I put up with it. Yes, for the most part, I love the people.

 

Yes, I'm a happy go lucky, loving, caring person. I'm not mean spirited, rude or hateful (or not intentianly)