Carnival Liberty Evacuation

[AdrenalineRush]

Thanks for the updates

 

You may or may not know the answers to any of these random thoughts

 

Have you talked to anyone that was doing a Back to Back cruise?

 

If passengers had plans to stay in San Juan post cruise are they allowing guests to fly to SJ?

 

Do you already know what day you are flying out?

[Kayloves]

Those of us on Cruise Critic are probably the unpaid travel arrangers for their family and friends. I know my spouse tells me to just let her know the dates and what kind of clothes to pack, and I'm in charge of everything else.

 

 

 

For a moment, imagine your great aunt Zelda, for whom you set up this cruise on Liberty. Let's say aunt Zelda is cruising with a companion who is equally information-free. Now their cruise is being changed - a lot - and they literally don't know what to do with themselves.

 

 

 

If it were you or I, we would already know a bunch of things that we thought about doing in San Juan, but couldn't schedule time for, so we might be saying to ourselves that we might finally get on the bio-luminescence kayak tour, or we might have time to tour the jungle, or see an interesting museum in San Juan. Aunt Zelda did not consider a bunch of alternatives, and is now at loose ends about what in heavens they will do to amuse themselves for the rest of the cruise.

 

 

 

Some of the people in line at Guest Relations are somebody's aunt Zelda, and it will take some time for them to adjust to the new reality.

 

 

 

I know lots of us with more knowledge and experience are in a better position to roll with the changes, but i'm guessing that not everyone in line is a jerk. Some are just befuddled cruisers, feeling lost and needing both information and reassurance.

 

 

Exactly.

[pauleydm]

Thanks for the updates

 

You may or may not know the answers to any of these random thoughts

 

Have you talked to anyone that was doing a Back to Back cruise?

 

If passengers had plans to stay in San Juan post cruise are they allowing guests to fly to SJ?

 

Do you already know what day you are flying out?

 

Those doing back to back cruises have not been informed yet if the ship will sail on 9/13/15. The reason we are not going to sail back to San Juan is because the US Coast Guard has not cleared the ship.

 

Guests who have travel plans to stay in San Juan after the cruise notated those plans on the form we filled out tonight.

 

We do not know when we will depart St Thomas. Our group has requested to depart on Friday and only be flown to San Juan since we have secured a hotel until 9/13/15. We will then take our previously scheduled flights home.

[glentally]

Thanks for the updates

 

You may or may not know the answers to any of these random thoughts

 

Have you talked to anyone that was doing a Back to Back cruise?

 

If passengers had plans to stay in San Juan post cruise are they allowing guests to fly to SJ?

 

Do you already know what day you are flying out?

 

All good questions. Don't get in the guest relation line on the Liberty for fear of being flamed here!

[Oppalopa]

I'm sorry about your cruise. I know it has to be a big disappointment, but I admire the way you are handling things. Thanks for the awesome reporting. I would be honored to cruise with you some day--you are a class act IMHO.

Safe travels to all.

I agree :)

[Maleeni]

I was not going to play Debbie downer, but I at no time thought for a minute this ship was going to take passengers back to San Juan. I hope all or most prepped themselves psychologically that their cruise was ending in St Thomas. Yesterday was probably set aside just to do that.

 

Safe journeys home. Book that next cruise as soon as possible, just to get this all behind you.

[Jana60]

This is utter nonsense. CO2 is in the air we all breathe, as well as in beer and soda pop. It is breathed out in our own exhalations, every breath. It's non-toxic. Anything can be harmful in extreme quantities; breathing pure CO2 would suffocate you from lack of oxygen. But to hype it that it will supposedly "kill you dead instantly" is pretty irresponsible.

 

This is not entirely true. Whether you have enough oxygen or not if you build up too much co2 you will die. It's not an instant process but it will kill you. When you see movies in which someone blocks the outflow of the exhaust from the car directing it into the interior to commit suicide what they are dying from is co2.

[tlw440]

This is not entirely true. Whether you have enough oxygen or not if you build up too much co2 you will die. It's not an instant process but it will kill you. When you see movies in which someone blocks the outflow of the exhaust from the car directing it into the interior to commit suicide what they are dying from is co2.

 

I thought that was carbon monoxide CO.

[kmc500]

This is not entirely true. Whether you have enough oxygen or not if you build up too much co2 you will die. It's not an instant process but it will kill you. When you see movies in which someone blocks the outflow of the exhaust from the car directing it into the interior to commit suicide what they are dying from is co2.

 

Sorry to veer off topic, but not true at all. People who direct exhaust into the interior to commit suicide (and are successful) are dying from CO poisoning (Carbon Monoxide). The main difference between the two gasses is CO's toxicity. CO does not occur naturally in the atmosphere (it is the result of oxygen starved combustion) and will kill with concentrations as small as 700 ppm.

 

Although high concentrations of CO2 can kill (due to asphyxia), CO2 does occur naturally in the atmosphere and concentrations as high as 5000 ppm are allowed in the workplace by OSHA. It can take as much as 80,000 ppm to be life threatening.

 

Kevin C

[jimbo5544]

Or to get as much positive PR as is possible given the circumstances. With Valor, Triumph, and now Liberty Carnival is developing a bad reputation.

 

 

Yeah, let's scuttle a ship for good PR....that sounds like a good idea. Their rep is fine, just more fodder for the bashers......

[jimbo5544]

Pauley, I'm so very sorry for you and the other passengers having to fly home from St. Thomas. I have been RIVETED while reading all of your updates. Safe travels to you and yours.

 

 

 

PAULEYDM FOR PRESIDENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

I agree, nice job, much thanks for keeping us up to date.

[jimbo5544]

And such clauses by cruise lines have been invalidated by courts before. Much of it is there to scare you away from trying to go the court route and just accept whatever pittance they are offering.

 

No need for the courts other than the ambulance chasing lawyers, I seem to recall that all cases (which were dismissed btw) for the Triumph were done in Florida......

[Jana60]

This is not entirely true. Whether you have enough oxygen or not if you build up too much co2 you will die. It's not an instant process but it will kill you. When you see movies in which someone blocks the outflow of the exhaust from the car directing it into the interior to commit suicide what they are dying from is co2.

 

Correction to the above: in the car example you would be dying from carbon monoxide rather than carbon dioxide however the results are similar except that carbon monoxide binds more forcefully to the hemoglobin than carbon dioxide and therefore is more difficult to reverse.

[AmazedByCruising]

All good questions. Don't get in the guest relation line on the Liberty for fear of being flamed here!

 

The situation is more complicated now then it was when the ship would just return to SJ with many days to find information and make new plans.

 

But I do feel sorry for aunt Zelda.

 

Sidenote: at my pharmacy if you need a bit more information they take you to a seperate room. I think aunt Zelda would like to be invited to a private room as well, to sit down, get an explanation and go through the options. Similar to booking a new cruise on board which also happens in a more quiet environment than standing at a desk.

[Son of a son of a ...]

Another PR black eye for Carnival. They are having terrible luck with ships breaking down.

 

But ... lemonade out of lemons ... hopefully, Carnival will have to lower prices to attract travelers!! We will be back.

[KatieCharlotte]

I am completely sympathetic to the disappointment cruisers must be feeling.

 

It's important to keep in mind that many people can't simply take another vacation next month. Most employed people have a limit on vacation days, may have to save them for illnesses or family issues, and may have to request months in advance. Many feel they can't be away from work too often, even if they have vacation time. I am self-employed, but vacation time for me is unpaid. Arranging child care to cruise without children also involves complicated planning.

 

This is not to say that Carnival has done anything wrong. They seem to have done everything that could be expected under the circumstances. I'm going to assume that they communicate all the information they have as soon as possible to those cruising on the Liberty in the next few weeks.

[gtalum]

Another PR black eye for Carnival.

 

Meh. They've handled this situation well, so I don't think it's going to hurt them in the PR department. After Triumph, they ended up doing the right thing but had tried to be cheap, first. This time they pretty quickly went to full refund and large future cruise discount and are working to get everyone home as quickly as possible.

[jam82]

I feel sorry for all the people who planned a 7-10 day vacation and only ended up getting a long weekend. I wonder why Carnival won't let them stay until Sunday. Getting a full refund is a nice start but it can't make up for the lost vacation days. I hope the passengers were given a choice of when to go home.

[RuthlessBoss]

I am completely sympathetic to the disappointment cruisers must be feeling.

 

It's important to keep in mind that many people can't simply take another vacation next month. Most employed people have a limit on vacation days, may have to save them for illnesses or family issues, and may have to request months in advance. Many feel they can't be away from work too often, even if they have vacation time. I am self-employed, but vacation time for me is unpaid. Arranging child care to cruise without children also involves complicated planning.

 

This is not to say that Carnival has done anything wrong. They seem to have done everything that could be expected under the circumstances. I'm going to assume that they communicate all the information they have as soon as possible to those cruising on the Liberty in the next few weeks.

 

Does anyone know how long the 50% off is good for? Either way, these people are fully reimbursed even though their current vacation has been very altered. Whether their "coupon" is used, that's optional to the passenger.

[PortSideCruzan]

Hi Pauleydm,

 

Thank you!! Your updates have been outstanding!

 

You're doing a terrific job keeping us informed.

 

Please continue to do so.

 

:)

This is part of the letter we received in our cabin.

 

*Guests who are scheduled to return home on our first wave of flights on Wednesday will receive flight detail information in their stateroom at 10:00am.* You should expect to depart the vessel no later than 1:00 pm.

 

*All other guests scheduled to depart on later flights Wednesday afternoon will receive flight details in their stateroom no later than 1:00pm.* You will be scheduled to disembark no earlier than 5:00 pm.

 

*Remaining guests who are scheduled to depart on Thursday or Friday will receive their flight details no later than Wednesday evening.

Those doing back to back cruises have not been informed yet if the ship will sail on 9/13/15.* The reason we are not going to sail back to San Juan is because the US Coast Guard has not cleared the ship.

 

Guests who have travel plans to stay in San Juan after the cruise notated those plans on the form we filled out tonight.

 

We do not know when we will depart St Thomas. Our group has requested to depart on Friday and only be flown to San Juan since we have secured a hotel until 9/13/15.* We will then take our previously scheduled flights home.

[RuthlessBoss]

I feel sorry for all the people who planned a 7-10 day vacation and only ended up getting a long weekend. I wonder why Carnival won't let them stay until Sunday. Getting a full refund is a nice start but it can't make up for the lost vacation days. I hope the passengers were given a choice of when to go home.

 

Some will be there till Friday, depending on how fast they can book 3,000 people out of there. If and when the ship moves, they likely don't want passengers aboard in case another emergency arises while at sea. The ship might be there till Sunday or not. And Carnival likely won't be too thrilled running a fully operational ship for a few passengers who'd want to stay.

[cubbiesgal21]

I hope the people booked on the next sailing are looking at alternate arrangements. I hope they sail as planned, but looking less and less likely. And the notice that the sailing is cancelled probably won't come till late in the game.

[gone_cruisin]

I hope the people booked on the next sailing are looking at alternate arrangements. I hope they sail as planned, but looking less and less likely. And the notice that the sailing is cancelled probably won't come till late in the game.

 

 

Until Carnival makes the announcement, there really are no other arrangements. We have several thousands of dollars tied up in this cruise and cannot just book something else.

[Podna's]

Another PR black eye for Carnival. They are having terrible luck with ships breaking down.

 

 

 

But ... lemonade out of lemons ... hopefully, Carnival will have to lower prices to attract travelers!! We will be back.

 

 

A minor black eye, maybe. Terrible luck with ships, your way off. With 23 ships in the Carnival fleet and a couple thousand cruises departing every year I think they are doing an outstanding job maintaining their ships. These things are going to happen.

As for price drops because of this incident, I wouldn't count on it.

[sweetsixteencruisers]

Does anyone know how long the 50% off is good for? Either way, these people are fully reimbursed even though their current vacation has been very altered. Whether their "coupon" is used, that's optional to the passenger.

 

When we were on the Dream in January 2014, we missed a few ports because of weather couldn't dock or tender. To our surprise they gave us all a 25% off our next cruise.. Woohoo!

 

It was good for 2 years! Had to sail before the expiration date.