Liberty Thruster Issues changes itinerary

[agmomcruiser]

My daughter just got an email for this Saturday's cruise that the Liberty will be skipping Progresso and coming back to Galveston a day early to work on the thrusters. Guests can spend that day onboard in Galveston and receive a partial refund and $100 onboard credit. Sounds like the ship has been having some issues for awhile.

[spider211]

Went on the May 2 cruise and we missed Cozumel due to thruster problems, they gave each passenger $100 OBC. At least we did not have to go back to Galveston early.....Got to love Carnival..they run their ships no matter what just to make that all mighty dollar.

[cb at sea]

Wow...I don't like driving my car when the "oil change" light comes on! I'd hate to be on a ship with propulsion problems!

[poz222]

Well with thrusters the problem is not when it's moving... It's when it's parking... Sucks for those affected but hopefully this will fix the problem for future cruises...

[spider211]

Not propulsion problems only thrusters (forward)...had no problem going forward just not able to pull into port without a tug.

[ryano]

..they run their ships no matter what just to make that all mighty dollar.

 

Right, because Carnival is the ONLY cruise line to run their ships for weeks or even months at a time with propulsion problems

 

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=cruise+ship+propulsion+problems+

Edited May 19, 2016 by ryano

[cruzeluver]

ryano - I am going to need you to quit confusing people with facts. ;)

 

You are taking away all of their fun!!:p

[ryano]

ryano - I am going to need you to quit confusing people with facts. ;)

 

You are taking away all of their fun!!:p

 

My apologies :o I just cant stand blatant misinformation, constant unwarranted bashing and outright lies and this forum seems to have a few that get their kicks out of it. One especially.

 

We had a Chief Engineer explain yesterday, in detail, why its about impossible to just pull in and get these problems fixed in a day or so yet we STILL have some that insist Carnival is about the almighty dollar and could not care less about their guests. Well, if thats true, ALL cruise lines are the same :cool:

 

As long as the ship is deemed seaworthy, it sails. Propulsion problems do not make a ship unseaworthy most of the time. As far as missed ports goes, people need to read their contract.

Edited May 19, 2016 by ryano

[Micahs Grandad]

Went on the May 2 cruise and we missed Cozumel due to thruster problems, they gave each passenger $100 OBC. At least we did not have to go back to Galveston early.....Got to love Carnival..they run their ships no matter what just to make that all mighty dollar.

 

Perhaps they had to wait to get parts needed to fix the problem. They do make errors but sometimes cant fix things immediately and you do the best to make do in the meantime.

[b8nkr]

HEre is the letter....I for one am happy about it...didn't really care for progreso!

 

View this email online

Carnival.com

IMPORTANT ITINERARY UPDATE

CARNIVAL LIBERTY

MAY 21, 2016

May 19, 2016

 

Dear Carnival Liberty Guest,

 

We would like to take this opportunity to make you aware of some important information about your upcoming cruise on Carnival Liberty. The cruise will depart on Saturday, May 21 as scheduled, but will return to Galveston one day early on Wednesday, May 25. You are welcome to remain onboard and disembark on Thursday morning as originally scheduled. Unfortunately, this means we will have to cancel our call to Progreso.

 

We want to apologize for making this significant change to your cruise. However, Carnival Liberty has experienced a technical issue with the bow thrusters, which are used during docking maneuvers. In order to facilitate the required repairs, important work will need to be completed on Wednesday during the ship's stay in Galveston. This work will have no impact on any of the hotel services onboard or your guest experience.

 

Please understand the bow thruster issue will not impact the docking maneuvers in Galveston or Cozumel for your cruise. We have secured tug boat assistance in both ports and just wanted you to be aware of this in the event you see them during the cruise.

 

Below is our revised itinerary:

 

DAY PORT ARRIVE DEPART

SAT Galveston, TX 4:00 PM

SUN Fun Day @ Sea

MON Cozumel, Mexico 9:00 AM 6:00 PM

TUE Fun Day @ Sea

WED Galveston, TX 8:00 AM Overnight

THU Galveston, TX Disembark

If you elect to stay onboard Wednesday, you will be able to go ashore to explore Galveston and enjoy a fun-filled evening of entertainment onboard the Carnival Liberty. You will also have the option to disembark on Wednesday and proceed home.

 

Guests who sail will be provided with the following:

 

• One day refund of your cruise fare to be processed within three weeks to your original form of payment

 

• $100 per person onboard credit

 

Carnival shore excursions for Cozumel will operate as normal. Pre-purchased Carnival tours for Progreso, as well as any related taxes, fees, and port expenses will be automatically refunded to your onboard Sail and Sign account.

 

Additionally, should you change your return flight for Wednesday, we will reimburse you for any airline change fees you may incur, up to $200 per person. Please submit your receipts to guestcare@carnival.com so we can process a refund.

 

In the event you elect to cancel your cruise (and we hope you don't), we will provide you with a full refund of your cruise fare. Please call 1-800-CARNIVAL or your travel professional to let us know if you wish to cancel.

 

Most importantly, we want to say how sorry we are for making this change to your cruise. We know how precious your vacation time is and sincerely regret we are unable to provide you with the cruise experience you expected. Rest assured our officers, staff and crew will do everything possible to provide you with a fun and memorable cruise aboard the beautiful Carnival Liberty.

 

We look forward to welcoming you onboard.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

Arlene Marichal

Sr. Director, Guest Services - Contact Centers

 

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[ryano]

Sounds very reasonable to me. Even letting people cancel last minute which they absolutely do NOT have to do.

 

Id rather be on that cruise than sitting this office.

[texhockey]

Sounds very reasonable to me. Even letting people cancel last minute which they absolutely do NOT have to do.

 

Id rather be on that cruise than sitting this office.

 

I think it is very reasonable. I imagine Carnival is losing a lot of revenue on this cruise with the refunds, OBC and probable cancellations not to mention losing a full day of Casino revenue.

[chengkp75]

Okay, here's my take on this, based on having done a similar repair in Hawaii a few years back. I'm assuming that it is an underwater problem, though if its the motor, they may have been waiting for a new one, and it will take two days to rig the new one into place.

 

They may have had to wait for parts to repair, and they probably needed the thruster manufacturer's engineer to be available, and also to have a team of divers (Miami Divers have done a lot of these) available.

 

Given that they will now have two days in Galveston (Wed and Thu as turn-around), they can get quite a lot done. This repair will be done completely underwater. What doesn't get done in Galveston, they will strap the parts into the thruster tunnel (propeller blades, etc) and wait for the next port, when the divers will go down and continue. This will continue for as many ports as necessary to complete the work. The dive team and the tech engineer will travel with the ship.

 

We did this, and it took 7 days and 4 ports to complete. Before we got underway, I had to go watch the diver's video to confirm that everything was strapped in tight, and wouldn't come loose before the next port. Amazingly, the thruster's gearbox oil was displaced with sea water, and the internal parts were exposed to sea water for 7 days, with no adverse effects.

 

Hopefully, someone can tell us if there are divers down in Galveston.

Edited May 19, 2016 by chengkp75

[bakersdozen12]

Got to love Carnival..they run their ships no matter what just to make that all mighty dollar.

 

 

Oh for crying out loud. You're complaining about Carnival doing their best to continue on despite problems, yet if they started taking ships out of service every time there was a problem, and started cancelling cruises left and right, the uproar from their customers would be horrendous. They can't win no matter what. They are doing their best. Itinerary changes happen, and yes some are suck more than others, but it's better than having your entire vacation cancelled.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[WLHyatt]

Hopefully, someone can tell us if there are divers down in Galveston.

 

I will be there Saturday watching the Liberty sail out, not sure if they will bring the dive team in on Saturday or not, but if they do I'll let you know.

 

We're sailing on the Breeze the next morning.

Edited May 19, 2016 by WLHyatt

[b8nkr]

No complaints here. Already had a $100 OBC now with 4 in the cabin now have $500 and a partial refund. We will be staying overnight on the ship in Galveston. It's still a 5 night vacation! Ready to go.

[jesch3]

Since they will be back in Galveston early, I wonder how that affects the Cheers package for that Wed.

[Foolds]

We are booked on this cruise and are pretty unhappy about htis.. This is my Bachelor party with me and 4 other guys. This is the second change to Itinerary they have done in the past 3 weeks. Now removing the port and coming back to home port early.

 

Not sure how exciting the ship will be sitting in dock in Galveston.. There isn't anything much to do as far as an Excursion in Galveston, and if you treat it like an at sea day, the Casino is closed, Shopping with either be closed or have to pay Galveston Sales tax. Drinking.. Well more tax on that as well. So some of us the $100 OBC isn't going to cover the sales tax of being at port.

[ryano]

 

Not sure how exciting the ship will be sitting in dock in Galveston..

 

The same activities will go on just as if it was floating out in the ocean. No casino or shops open though.

 

They are offering a 100% refund for all cancellations. I think this is wonderful as they certainly did not have to offer that. Its in the contract no one ever reads :)

[Princess_K]

I'm booked on this cruise and actually think carnival is being fair. They could choose to kick us off the ship wendesday morning instead of allowing us to stay on board since they are giving us a refund for that day. The on board credit will be pretty nice as well. I belong to a roll call on another website and I'm happy to say most people on it are pretty cool about the change. Positive chatter still going on over there so I'm also happy there is at least a large group of people ready to turn these lemons into lemonade.. or as I like to say, turn limes into margaritas... we, for the most part, are not about to let this ruin our vacation!

[Wheatie59]

We are booked on this cruise and are pretty unhappy about htis.. This is my Bachelor party with me and 4 other guys. This is the second change to Itinerary they have done in the past 3 weeks. Now removing the port and coming back to home port early.

 

Not sure how exciting the ship will be sitting in dock in Galveston.. There isn't anything much to do as far as an Excursion in Galveston, and if you treat it like an at sea day, the Casino is closed, Shopping with either be closed or have to pay Galveston Sales tax. Drinking.. Well more tax on that as well. So some of us the $100 OBC isn't going to cover the sales tax of being at port.

 

They're offering you a 100% refund if you want to skip it. You're dealing with a large mechanical device. Things break. Disappointing, but, as always, when you travel if you will only be happy if things go 100% as you planned, you're probably going to be unhappy.

[RuthlessBoss]

We are booked on this cruise and are pretty unhappy about htis.. This is my Bachelor party with me and 4 other guys. This is the second change to Itinerary they have done in the past 3 weeks. Now removing the port and coming back to home port early.

 

Not sure how exciting the ship will be sitting in dock in Galveston.. There isn't anything much to do as far as an Excursion in Galveston, and if you treat it like an at sea day, the Casino is closed, Shopping with either be closed or have to pay Galveston Sales tax. Drinking.. Well more tax on that as well. So some of us the $100 OBC isn't going to cover the sales tax of being at port.

 

The closed casino would be a bummer for me. I think I'd survive though.

[deborahjo]

Wonder if they will only charge for 5 days on Cheers of this is a 6 day cruise or 4 if a 5 day since no alcohol can be sold while in Galveston

[Princess_K]

Wonder if they will only charge for 5 days on Cheers of this is a 6 day cruise or 4 if a 5 day since no alcohol can be sold while in Galveston

 

This was original a 5 day cruise. Cheers cannot be ordered on the first day out of Galveston due to Texas laws. So if anything, they would only charge for 3 days.

[Galatz]

Sounds very reasonable to me. Even letting people cancel last minute which they absolutely do NOT have to do.

 

Id rather be on that cruise than sitting this office.

No complaints here. Already had a $100 OBC now with 4 in the cabin now have $500 and a partial refund. We will be staying overnight on the ship in Galveston. It's still a 5 night vacation! Ready to go.

 

 

I agree completely. If I was booked on this cruise I would be extremely happy about this offer. In my mind I would consider their offer me getting a free hotel room for the night, without having to move my luggage, because there is no way the change of airfare would be under $200.

 

The refund but ability to stay on the ship, and the OBC, it sounds like a big win considering the facts. Sure it sucks the you miss a port, but all things considered its great.

 

I wonder if they still give you the full night for your VIFP. In someone would become platinum on the last night of the cruise, and they chose to just go home, did they lose their benefits for the trip?