Itinerary Change - no notice.

[Foxinspace]

Cruising on Pride in 2018.

 

So 5 days ago I got an email about a change to our Sail away time and our arrival time back at our main port. They both had moved back 1 hour. No big deal.

 

I went today to check the pricing of our room, and one of our ports has changed. Was Port Canaveral and now is Princess Cays.

 

Have to admit I am very disappointed. We've done this trip before and we really wanted to take our DD to visit Nasa in Port Canaveral. I'm sure that the private island is nice, but it's certainly not NASA! :(

 

On top of which I have yet to receive any notice of the change. Considering that they were kind enough to send me a notice that our ship was sailing 1 hour later, I'd expect notice of a port change!!

 

Might consider my alternatives now, since the 1 port I was excited about has been cancelled. Grrr.

[shof515]

can you change your sail date? they are other sailings that go to port canaveral

[Doggielover68]

Where are you sailing from? Maybe you could take a day trip over to Cape Canaveral if you're sailing from Florida.

 

 

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[crewsweeper]

Where are you sailing from? Maybe you could take a day trip over to Cape Canaveral if you're sailing from Florida.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

Pride sails out of Baltimore and usually stops at Port Canaveral. Princess Caye is Princess Lines PI. Surprise Carnival is using it as they usually use Half Moon Caye when in that area.

 

If you're doing the stops in Nassau and Freeport, I'd give them a call and find out. Nothing showing up on itineraries I'm seeing. But sites may not have been updated as quickly as emailed changes are sent out.

[sailor_jimc]

Well I am sure it's disappointing, they don't really have to send you a notice. We have had changes and didn't know until we were boarding. It would be nice of them to notify you but they don't always do.

[Micahs Grandad]

Sorry you do not like it but like the idea that Carnival will use Princess Caye.

 

Hoping they will do this more in the future.

[Wheatie59]

A cruise is not a good vacation choice if you REALLY want to visit specific locations. The cruise is the vacation, the ports are just lagniappe. Maybe they will stop at the scheduled ports, maybe somewhere else, maybe not at all. The contract you agreed to allows changes at any time. If that doesn't fit with your plans, choose a land vacation.

[crewsweeper]

A cruise is not a good vacation choice if you REALLY want to visit specific locations. The cruise is the vacation, the ports are just lagniappe. Maybe they will stop at the scheduled ports, maybe somewhere else, maybe not at all. The contract you agreed to allows changes at any time. If that doesn't fit with your plans, choose a land vacation.

 

I'm not reading the OP's complaint as booking a cruise to visit a certain place. Rather when in port X, partaking of our cruise lagniappe, we'd like to do #1 excursion. He's just disappointed that that won't happen and he should have heard about an itinerary change in a separate email. Rather he found it out by circumvention.

[evandbob]

The OP's cruise is at least a year away in 2018, so a call to Carnival about switching dates to get to his port of choice may work out.

[mechomper]

I just received an email from Carnival and I am booked on the Conquest in April 2018 and La Romana was taken out with Princess Cays going in. A little bummed because I picked the itinerary for La Romana. Only good thing now is our other port of calls have changed to better times.

[Cruisesfun65]

Cruises after March 2018 on the Conquest have been switched. Instead of La Romana they all go to Princess Cays. Nice change.

[Cruisin Dave]

John Heald made an announcement about the new itenerary this afternoon. Here's a copy of the announcement:

 

Great news for those who love private island ports of calls

 

PRIVATE BAHAMIAN DESTINATION OF PRINCESS CAYS ADDED TO

ITINERARIES OF SIX CARNIVAL CRUISE LINE SHIPS BEGINNING IN MAY 2017

 

 

Stunning Tropical Destination Offers Beautiful White-Sand Beaches and Wide Variety of Activities, Including Snorkeling, Kayaking, Watersports and More

 

Stunning Tropical Destination Offers Beautiful White-Sand Beaches and Wide Variety of Activities, Including Snorkeling, Kayaking, Watersports and More

 

 

 

MIAMI (January 10, 2017) – The private Bahamian destination of Princess Cays has been added to the itineraries of six different Carnival Cruise Line ships beginning in May 2017. Carnival Cruise Line ships are expected to make 40 calls to Princess Cays in 2017 and 98 the following year.

Located on the southern tip of the island of Eleuthera in The Bahamas and operated by Carnival’s sister company Princess Cruises, Princess Cays is a breathtaking tropical oasis where vacationers can relax on miles of unspoiled white-sand beaches and swim in crystal clear waters teeming with tropical fish. The facility includes a 40-acre complex highlighted by an observation tower offering panoramic views of the island, along with bars, restaurants and retail shops with local crafts, souvenirs and artwork. A complimentary barbeque lunch service featuring an array of delicious choices is also offered. Princess Cays is connected by a series of paved paths that lead to palm tree-dotted beaches where clamshells and private bungalows are available for rent. A variety of shore excursions – from dune buggy adventures and glass bottom boat tours to paddle boarding, windsurfing and kayaking – are also available.

Various operational enhancements, including the addition of larger, more efficient tenders to facilitate getting guests ashore quickly and comfortably, are currently underway.

Princess Cays will be featured on the following Carnival itineraries in 2017: select seven-day cruises aboard Carnival Pride from Baltimore; five-day voyages aboard Carnival Ecstasy from Charleston, S.C.; eight-day sailings on Carnival Conquest from Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; five-day voyages on Carnival Elation from Jacksonville, Fla.; four- day voyages aboard Carnival Liberty from Port Canaveral, Fla.; and four-day cruises aboard Carnival Sensation from Miami.

“At Carnival, we’re always looking for new and exciting destinations for our guests and Princess Cays is a beautiful island paradise with gorgeous beaches and an array of ‘fun-in-the-sun’ activities that our guests will really enjoy experiencing on their vacation,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.

Princess Cays is one of several private destinations and cruise facilities operated by Carnival Corporation. Others include Half Moon Cay (Bahamas), Grand Turk (Turks & Caicos), Puerta Maya (Cozumel), Mahogany Bay (Roatan) and Amber Cove (Dominican Republic).The

[serene56]

You should be able to make changes to your reservation for no fees because of the change-- see if there is another week

[Wheatie59]

I'm not reading the OP's complaint as booking a cruise to visit a certain place. Rather when in port X, partaking of our cruise lagniappe, we'd like to do #1 excursion. He's just disappointed that that won't happen and he should have heard about an itinerary change in a separate email. Rather he found it out by circumvention.

 

Well, the OP is saying they are considering cancelling because the itinerary no longer includes a specific port. That seems like that specific port really matters. Even if the itinerary does include that port when the ship leaves it may not actually make it there. If that's make or break for their happiness, a cruise may not be the best choice.

[Foxinspace]

Got the email notice late yesterday afternoon.

 

Here is my issue with the change...

 

There are only 3 ports on this trip. Port Canaveral (now Princess Cays), Nassau and Freeport.

We've done this trip before and I know from experience that Freeport can barely be called a Port stop. Arrive at 7 am and ship leaves at 1:30pm. We tried a quick trip to a nearby hotel last time and we barely got an hour in the pool. Between the time to transit, walk in, line up to use the 1 little change room, find a deck chair, we had 1 hour before we had to change and leave to make the ship. NOT worth even getting off the ship IMO. So to me Freeport is a throw away stop.

 

I don't mind "throw away" ports, I've had one on every trip. A place you go and make the best of it because it doesn't really interest you but your there anyways so might as well.

 

However with the change Princess Cays AND Freeport will be "throw away" ports (for me and my family anyways). So that leaves only Nassau. Now Nassau is lovely and there are several things we didn't do last trip we can do this one, however it's hardly a destination worthy (IMO) of paying for a seven day trip. If I wanted to cruise just to Nassau, I'd take one of the short little jaunts out of Florida.

 

So where does that leave me? If they had cancelled Freeport for Princess Cays I would have celebrated and counted myself lucky. However now I'm loosing a Port I really was looking forward to for a Port I don't much care for.

 

As for changing weeks, I need to sail that week as that is March Break for my DD.

 

I want to sail from Baltimore because the flights are so much cheaper than going to Florida.

 

So... Not entirely sure where that leaves me.

 

I might decide to rebook for late August 2018 once the New York to Canada East Coast goes on sail.

 

Thanks for letting me rant, everyone. I'm grateful for the opinions and suggestions.

 

Lastly.... I booked this as a surprise for my family so I can't even consult them to see what they think without letting the secret out. Le Sigh...

[Foxinspace]

PS. I wouldn't consider 1 port Make or Break to being happy. We may still take this trip. Had the change come a few days before OR even as we boarded, I would have been disappointed but willing to go along and make the best of things. However I have the time to reconsider my options so I plan on doing so. Besides if we can't do Nasa on this cruise, we will do it in a few years during our Disney trip instead!

[sparks1093]

We're on the Pride in February next year and I would have much preferred swapping Freeport for Princess Cays but am fine losing Pt Canaveral, although DW is disappointed. I have seen some photos and the island does look beautiful (but that could be because it's 12 degrees outside my window right now).

[crusinpsychRN]

Check your junk mail. I just found a letter from them about staggered boarding in junk.

[Micahs Grandad]

Check your junk mail. I just found a letter from them about staggered boarding in junk.

 

We have also gotten mail from Carnival in our spam folder

[The4Cruisers]

I can't believe they didn't call everyone on the cruise first to make sure it was OK to change the itinerary! :eek: :D