Refund for missed port charges?

[islander2u]

Is there a CCL policy in place to reund port charges to us when the ship did not dock in Costa Maya (or other ports in the future)? RCCL, CCL, and another vessel all waited to dock but we were told "high seas" (NOT) prohibited docking. We assumed the real reason was not enough personnel showed up to secure the ships. This happened a couple of years ago. Never thought about it until I saw a post on one of the threads.

[Tapi]

That "real" reason sounds like a bad Cruise Critic rumor to me. I doubt that they would jeopardize losing thousands in lost revenue because they didn't have enough personnel.

 

About refunding taxes, you may see a couple of bucks back to your Sail & Sign account. Not a significant amount and one that you may not have even noticed (the one time we missed a port, we received a whopping $5.85).

Edited February 29, 2012 by Tapi

[islander2u]

I forgot to mention that I've seen rougher water in the bathtub than in Costa Maya that morning. 3 ships were waiting to dock and all left. We've been on dozens of cruises (Platinum for CCL) and have never missed a port, even in bad weather, except that calm morning.

[Tapi]

I forgot to mention that I've seen rougher water in the bathtub than in Costa Maya that morning. 3 ships were waiting to dock and all left. We've been on dozens of cruises (Platinum for CCL) and have never missed a port, even in bad weather, except that calm morning.

 

It can be an absolutely beautiful, wind less, clear morning with seas that look like glass, but if you have strong enough underwater currents that make it unsafe to dock, then you are not going.

 

This happened to us docking in New York City. Absolutely beautiful morning with calm water in the Hudson river that looked like glass, BUT the ship couldn't dock due to "high seas". We tried over and over and every time, the Captain would abort the procedure. Finally, after 6 hours, we finally docked (basically slamming against the pier and scraping the side of the ship). Believe me when I say that the experience made me realize how much people underestimate the power of Mother Nature. It was eye opening to see such a huge vessel almost uncontrollably slam against the pier in what seemed like perfect weather conditions.

 

A lot of people missed flights home and we were not entitled to any compensation since it was an act of Nature. Carnival did allow free ship to shore calls from the cabins so that people could make alternate travel arrangements.

 

Another time, going into Grand Cayman, we almost missed our call. Once again, we had a beautiful, clear morning with seas that didn't look rough at all, yet we couldn't anchor in front of Georgetown. We waited for a few hours while they coordinated and finally, they decided to anchor on the south side of the island at a place called Spot's Bay. From there, we were bussed to and from Georgetown.

 

And we were lucky that time. Grand Cayman is a port that's often missed if the weather conditions are not quite right. Another port of call that is often missed even on clear days is Roatan (it's a tight squeeze and even the slightest current can make docking there unsafe).

 

The livelihood of many of these destinations depends greatly on these cruise ships. Costa Maya is one of those ports of call whose source of income is solely the cruiser industry. Turning ships away because they didnt have someone to dock the ship would be absurd. It would mean voluntarily turning away thousands of passengers and thousands (if not millions) of dollars that they won't be able to recover, EVER. If they said that they couldn't dock because of high seas, currents, high winds, etc, most likely that's the explanation (sorry to the "conspiracy theory" people).

 

With that said, there have been times when there might be port disruptions due to riots, protests, etc, but you will definitely know if that's the case.

Edited February 29, 2012 by Tapi

[golfadj]

It is surprising how small the refunds are but it does not happen often.

[fliprcruzr]

Several years ago my RCI cruise couldn't 'dock' at Grand Cayman, tender port for that ship, seas too rough.

 

They gave us $200 cabin OBC to offset that missed stop. We didn't mind a bit.

[Ken076]

Several years ago my RCI cruise couldn't 'dock' at Grand Cayman, tender port for that ship, seas too rough.

 

They gave us $200 cabin OBC to offset that missed stop. We didn't mind a bit.

 

That's a bit high for one (or several) cabins; might have included refund for missed Carnival excursions? ken

[*Mach*]

We missed Grand Cayman two years ago and got $11.52 OBC for the taxes and fees...

:)

[linbobky]

we missed roatan on our dream cruise in january and received $9 dollars and change for each of us. refunded on our sail and sign card.:)

[firefly333]

Is there a CCL policy in place to reund port charges to us when the ship did not dock in Costa Maya (or other ports in the future)? RCCL, CCL, and another vessel all waited to dock but we were told "high seas" (NOT) prohibited docking. We assumed the real reason was not enough personnel showed up to secure the ships. This happened a couple of years ago. Never thought about it until I saw a post on one of the threads.

 

There is a policy in place to refund the TAXES on the port charges. You will never get port charges, which are embedded in the cruisefare these days and Carnival will never divulge how much they are per port.

 

A lot of people get this small amount, maybe on average $10 .. and say they got port charges back .. its a assumption and NOT what the policy says.

 

Used to get $25 per port and this changed just before a couple of hurricane seasons ago to the lesser amount. We got less than $10 for Jamaica, and more than $10 for missing Caymans for example.

[maldenmusic]

We missed both ports a couple of years ago due to the swine flu and we got around $25 refunded. But due to the outrage of so many people (apparently) we were surprised when a few months later we got a voucher for 25% off a future cruise.

[firefly333]

That's a bit high for one (or several) cabins; might have included refund for missed Carnival excursions? ken

 

Ken RCL is not as cheap as Carnival and does refund a higher amount to satisfy customers. Not sure why you assume his amount he says he got on a RCL cruise is not for one cabin. RCL just is more generous.

 

You mention Carnival excursions .. maybe you missed it was for a RCL cruise.

[zqvol]

Ken RCL is not as cheap as Carnival and does refund a higher amount to satisfy customers. Not sure why you assume his amount he says he got on a RCL cruise is not for one cabin. RCL just is more generous.

 

You mention Carnival excursions .. maybe you missed it was for a RCL cruise.

 

 

Have to agree RCCL give much higher compensation for missed ports, than CCL which just refunds port charges.

[aggieastrosfan]

We boarded the Magic in December and the three of us each had a $10.83 credit on our inboard account. So it's not just for missed ports, if the amount goes down, it seems you do get it back. We made all our ports that trip.

[okgirl]

When we missed both MoBay and GC a couple of years ago we got a total of around $25, plus 25% off a future cruise, plus open bar for a couple of hours (premixed past guest party type drinks)

[LHP]

I forgot to mention that I've seen rougher water in the bathtub than in Costa Maya that morning. 3 ships were waiting to dock and all left. We've been on dozens of cruises (Platinum for CCL) and have never missed a port, even in bad weather, except that calm morning.

 

 

Yes, using the "sea" as a gauge can be very misleading.

 

These ships are so tall that they are literally catch the wind like a sail.

 

IF the ports (like Grand Turk) don't have the appropriate sized tug to help ease the ship in for situations like this, you will miss the port.

 

Happened to us on the Splendor. It was an absolutely beautiful day with calm seas.

[tjeffery]

We were on Regent Mariner beginning of June when somebody went overboard in the early morning. Due to the search and recue that went on we missed docking in Victoria. Regent are refusing to refund the port dues.

 

 

Does anyone know how we stand?

[shof515]

We were on Regent Mariner beginning of June when somebody went overboard in the early morning. Due to the search and recue that went on we missed docking in Victoria. Regent are refusing to refund the port dues.

 

 

Does anyone know how we stand?

1) the last post in this topic was about 6 years ago

2) this is the carnival forum. it is best if you create a new topic on the regent boards here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=176

[Micahs Grandad]

The more things change the more they stay the same.

[Elaine5715]

We were on Regent Mariner beginning of June when somebody went overboard in the early morning. Due to the search and recue that went on we missed docking in Victoria. Regent are refusing to refund the port dues.

 

 

Does anyone know how we stand?

You stand in the line of a**h**e* that forms at the rear.

[jmcathome]

I forgot to mention that I've seen rougher water in the bathtub than in Costa Maya that morning. 3 ships were waiting to dock and all left. We've been on dozens of cruises (Platinum for CCL) and have never missed a port, even in bad weather, except that calm morning.

We missed St Kitt on The Freedom Several years ago. They tried seven times to dock in high winds, and they finally gave up. Found out the reason they did not continue to try is that several month before and hit the dock and the boat had to be taken out of the water for repairs. They took us to Grand Turk instead, we missed St Luia on the same cruise because od a hurricane

[lostsoulcruiser]

Is there a CCL policy in place to reund port charges to us when the ship did not dock in Costa Maya (or other ports in the future)? RCCL, CCL, and another vessel all waited to dock but we were told "high seas" (NOT) prohibited docking. We assumed the real reason was not enough personnel showed up to secure the ships. This happened a couple of years ago. Never thought about it until I saw a post on one of the threads.

 

Last year, on the Dream, we missed one cruise port because of weather (left one day late due to possible hurricane). We received the port charge as an OBC (on board credit).

[Warm Breezes]

I've had 2 experiences with missed ports on Carnival. The first one was in 2005 on Carnival Inspiration we were refunded our port fees and excursion booked through Carnival for Grand Cayman. We were diverted to Progresso on that cruise due to high waves. The second one was in 2017 on Carnival Fantasy we ended returning to Mobile for a medical emergency on the first night causing us to miss Progresso. In exchange we were refunded our port fees, they extended our stay in Cozumel to an overnight stay since we arrived there early and gave us a 20% credit towards our next Carnival cruise. I'm not complaining.

[BlerkOne]

We were on Regent Mariner beginning of June when somebody went overboard in the early morning. Due to the search and recue that went on we missed docking in Victoria. Regent are refusing to refund the port dues.

 

 

Does anyone know how we stand?

 

I'm quite certain Carnival isn't going to compensate you. Perhaps try the Regent board?