Galveston weather concerns

[kevdad]

If you're basing that on a couple of posts making the (wrong) claim that they encouraged going to the port...you have been misinformed. A few other folks pointed out the error.

 

The exact opposite has been the case - a focus on safety. The ship was steered away from the hurricane, and those on the next cruise have been told to stay away for now. If you read back several posts....you'll see that Royal Caribbean actually told people NOT TO GO TO the Galveston port until further notice - the responsible thing to do.

 

Unfortunately this is exactly why reading posts with mis-information results in confused or misinformed consumers.

Why would anyone be heading to the port now anyway? I'd be boarding a plane (maybe) to fly to a hotel in a major disaster area. Call me crazy, but my preference would be to avoid that based on personal safety.

[Coopdog08]

If you're basing that on a couple of posts making the (wrong) claim that they encouraged going to the port...you have been misinformed. A few other folks pointed out the error.

 

The exact opposite has been the case - a focus on safety. The ship was steered away from the hurricane, and those on the next cruise have been told to stay away for now. If you read back several posts....you'll see that Royal Caribbean actually told people NOT TO GO TO the Galveston port until further notice - the responsible thing to do.

 

Unfortunately this is exactly why reading posts with mis-information results in confused or misinformed consumers.

 

Me thinks you are battling a cause by yourself...u seem to be the only one who feels RC has handled this properly.

[CRUISEFAN0001]

Not so.

 

,RCCL is holding thousands of hard earned dollars of customers money. They retain the ability to KEEP that money and not deliver the vacation product it was intended to provide....if the customer is not there...if and when they get there.

 

That is power.

 

And I submit an abusive power. They may say don't come...but as long as they have the power to keep your cruise money...the underlying threat is..."but if I get there and you don't...GOTCHA! Got your money! Get to keep it and don't have to provide the vacation you worked for and paid for!"

 

So of course, some people will try desperately to get there just in case. RCCL has their money! A great deal of it!

 

It is despicable customer service.

WOW.....just WOW...a good fiction writer can't come up with some of the stuff posted in this thread.

 

Maybe those folks need to summon Oliver Stone next to get to the bottom of things.

[CRUISEFAN0001]

Me thinks you are battling a cause by yourself...u seem to be the only one who feels RC has handled this properly.

My point is actually that judging how they are handling it...with the ship not likely back in port for another 1-2 days at the earliest is premature adulation for those who think they know what is going on.

[hazence]

And sure...if you have insurance...the insurance company may reimburse the customer. But RCCL makes big money by keeping these customers waiting, guessing, agonizing...on the phone trying to change flights, change plans, track a hurricane!

 

Oink, oink, RCCL. You have really revealed your corporate soul here.

[Cruiseathoning]

They say don't come to the port until further notice. Ok fine. But what if you have to decide what to do with a flight? Once there is a notice to not proceed to port, the option to cancel for credit or full refund should be automatic. Who disagrees with this? What are people supposed to do? Proceed into a flood zone to get close enough just in case there is a cruise?

 

As much as myself and my fellow Texans welcome tourists and genuinely appreciate you, we do not want 10,000 of you in a flood zone, risking your safety, ever, and especially when we are already tapping resources as far away as DFW in an effort to protect, rescue, and provide for our citizens.

 

The fact is don't proceed to port is corporate double speak minus an option to ease the burden on families and let them cancel. A waste of air.

 

Call it what it is.

[YlangYlangF9PB3E]

If you're basing that on a couple of posts making the (wrong) claim that they encouraged going to the port...you have been misinformed. A few other folks pointed out the error.

 

The exact opposite has been the case - a focus on safety. The ship was steered away from the hurricane, and those on the next cruise have been told to stay away for now. If you read back several posts....you'll see that Royal Caribbean actually told people NOT TO GO TO the Galveston port until further notice - the responsible thing to do.

 

Unfortunately this is exactly why reading posts with mis-information results in confused or misinformed consumers.

You either don't know the facts or are lying. Royal did not tell these people not to go to the port until TODAY, mid-afternoon. Up until this afternoon, as in this morning, they were telling them that if they weren't at the port on Sunday they would forfeit their fare. No ifs, ands, or buts. After being told to come on down, one of our CC members was on his way the airport only to get an alert that his flight was cancelled. Did you miss that post?

[CRUISEFAN0001]

Why would anyone be heading to the port now anyway? I'd be boarding a plane (maybe) to fly to a hotel in a major disaster area. Call me crazy, but my preference would be to avoid that based on personal safety.

Agina (for the 3rd time now)...that's why airlines have been cancelling flights to the area as well already...unless one drives (and those folks on the ground are the best informed)...you can't get there by air anyway...and the port is in line with that reality.

[time4u2go]

Carnival had two ships that were supposed to come in today. Carnival and RCI each had a ship that was supposed to come in tomorrow. Days? Um, no.

Thank you! I'm glad I'm not the only one that thought this.

[RCThanksgiving2018]

I think most of us agree that the issue is RC not allowing EBFURR to rebook onto another sailing that is going to have an empty cabin they can take tomorrow.

 

Carnival is offering refunds rather than telling people that they have to fly into a dangerous situation or lose all their money and they have three ships out there, RC only has one!

 

That's the part that gets me. If they have room on another ship why not try to accommodate as many people as they can. This is a Cat 4 storm, not your run of the mill tropical storm so it isn't like they will be setting a horrific precedent.

[BarryH]

Completely inconsequential if the PORT is closed to MARITIME TRAFFIC and flights to nearby airports are being cancelled.

 

My new concern is getting trapped on Galveston island should we actually make it in to port. The official city site says a great deal of roads are impassable and are expected to worsen with additional rain. How are we supposed to disembark if we can't pick up our parked cars and/or reach Houston?

 

I hope they come to their senses and announce with the 7:00PM update we're diverting to New Orleans.

[CRUISEFAN0001]

You either don't know the facts or are lying. Royal did not tell these people not to go to the port until TODAY, mid-afternoon. Up until this afternoon, as in this morning, they were telling them that if they weren't at the port on Sunday they would forfeit their fare. No ifs, ands, or buts. After being told to come on down, one of our CC members was on his way the airport only to get an alert that his flight was cancelled. Did you miss that post?

It's obvious that if it's not an official airline or cruise line post...this thread is hardly the source of reliable data on the topic.

 

Your previous direct slam post of RCI demonstrates an agenda.

[Deptacon]

Apparently a few are confusing /misrepresenting the destination of the relocation with the reason they go there. :rolleyes:

 

By repositioning the ships, they continue filling ships with better-weather opportunities and servicing more than one continent as well.

 

No, you just dont seem to understand why ships re-position throughout the year. Its NOT for hurricane season. its for Europe, Alaska, and med Sea cruising.

 

You stated early they move ships out of the Caribbean for Hurricane season. that is completely inaccurate.

[CRUISEFAN0001]

My new concern is getting trapped on Galveston island should we actually make it in to port. The official city site says a great deal of roads are impassable and are expected to worsen with additional rain. How are we supposed to disembark if we can't pick up our parked cars and/or reach Houston?

 

I hope they come to their senses and announce with the 7:00PM update we're diverting to New Orleans.

In the end...one thing most of the posters here agree on is that Royal does what is safe above all...followed by making passengers "whole".

 

As some people have totally missed altogether is that this situation is fluid - conditions could still significantly change. Anyone who thinks any company would deliberately put their customers in harm's way is...well...you know.

[OSUZorba]

What a joke and hardly factual. Every action to date has been based on passenger safety.

 

Forcing people to travel into a disaster area, that is still being hit by the storm that made it a disaster area, shows a complete disregard for their safety and the safety of emergency responders that may now have to rescue them from flooded roads.

 

 

Even the airlines, which are always rated the second posted hated industry behind cable, have let prior reschedule free of charge. It's not RCL's fault the hurricane is there, but it is their fault for forcing people into a dangerous situation just so they don't lose a marginal amount of revenue.

[Jzx1103]

Lol a quick look at Cruisefan0001's profile, you can tell he/she is a huge RCL loyalist who probably won't even consider sailing with other lines. Thus the need to defend RCL so much. I've seen plenty of these kind of brand loyalists everywhere. Playstation vs Xbox, Honda vs Toyota, etc. You pretty much cannot say anything negative about their favorite brand, it's almost like saying something bad about their mother or child.

[EBFURR]

Since the general consensus seems to be that the ship won't dock on time tomorrow, you could always drive in. We drove back to Houston from Orlando last month in one day, not fun but we made it in 16 hours. Maybe look at what a one way rental will cost so that you can still fly back next week.

 

Remember that several posters on this thread don't think that the weather or the situation here is that bad...

 

First off, we used to buy the insurance every time. We have not lately because we are supposed to have some travel coverage on the card. Like most insurance, when you get into the fine print there are a lot of conditions and even the rep I talked to was not clear. I did not pursue that heavily at that point because first, I could not really explain what was going on at that point because I did have a flight scheduled (later cancelled) and RCI was saying everything was hunky dory. I decided that was going to be a last resort and concentrated on getting there.

 

Within the last hour or so they sent a message to not go to the port until they say so. There were still a couple of flights tomorrow AM, but we just cancelled since we do not know when the ship will be in. At least they finally acknowledged the inevitable and dropped the "all systems go" line. Now we can just wait and see what comes forth without struggling to try to make the "ghost" sailing. Essentially by saying the everything was on schedule they were encouraging travel into a federal disaster area which is really not a good idea.

 

Before anyone piles on us again, remember some wise advice:

 

"Don't criticize someone until you have walked a mile in his shoes. If he gets mad you will be a mile away and he will be barefoot."

[BarryH]

Your previous direct slam post of RCI demonstrates an agenda.

 

Stop defending them. Van Fleet was the same idiot that sent the Anthem where it never should have been. Having him make calls on what happens to the Liberty certainly doesn't give me the warm fuzzies.

 

This could have a happy ending and I hope it does. But my confidence is waning with each less confident update both from RCI and official entities on the ground.

[CRUISEFAN0001]

No, you just dont seem to understand why ships re-position throughout the year. Its NOT for hurricane season. its for Europe, Alaska, and med Sea cruising.

 

You stated early they move ships out of the Caribbean for Hurricane season. that is completely inaccurate.

Interesting that an 8-year VP at RCI in their marine services department (who I've known for more than 12 years through my job} has repeatedly and clearly stated the opposite...but what would he know? :rolleyes:

 

The principal reason (but not the only one) is to avoid hurricane season and the sweltering Caribbean during that time period.

 

Where they are repositioned is determined for business / economic reasons. The two get blurred together by some folks.

[CRUISEFAN0001]

Stop defending them. Van Fleet was the same idiot that sent the Anthem where it never should have been. Having him make calls on what happens to the Liberty certainly doesn't give me the warm fuzzies.

 

This could have a happy ending and I hope it does. But my confidence is waning with each less confident update both from RCI and official entities on the ground.

We share the hope it ends well and "right" for everyone.

 

Time will tell if they learned anything from the Anthem debacle, which is not defensible.

[Aquahound]

Carnival had two ships that were supposed to come in today. Carnival and RCI each had a ship that was supposed to come in tomorrow. Days? Um, no.

 

I apologize. That's my mistake. I thought Valor was scheduled to return yesterday.

[kevdad]

Agina (for the 3rd time now)...that's why airlines have been cancelling flights to the area as well already...unless one drives (and those folks on the ground are the best informed)...you can't get there by air anyway...and the port is in line with that reality.

Both airports are completely shut down?

So, the cruise line knows that a ton of its passengers can't arrive a day early into a major disaster area and is still not willing to work with them at this point?

[Cruiseathoning]

I want to know if someone cancels right now are they being guaranteed future cruise credits.

 

Yes or no? Because ANYTHING less is may result in thousands of people entering a FEDERAL DISASTER area.

 

Now tell me, pretty please with sugar on top, what about THAT statement is incorrect?

[reallyitsmema]

I want to know if someone cancels right now are they being guaranteed future cruise credits.

 

Yes or no? Because ANYTHING less is may result in thousands of people entering a FEDERAL DISASTER area.

 

Now tell me, pretty please with sugar on top, what about THAT statement is incorrect?

 

If someone cancels right now and are sailing Carnival, they are guaranteed future cruise credits. Royal Caribbean has yet to make that determination.

[LMaxwell]

Interesting that an 8-year VP at RCI in their marine services department (who I've known for more than 12 years through my job} has repeatedly and clearly stated the opposite...but what would he know? :rolleyes:

 

The principal reason (but not the only one) is to avoid hurricane season and the sweltering Caribbean during that time period.

 

Where they are repositioned is determined for business / economic reasons. The two get blurred together by some folks.

 

Ah a personal vested interest beyond merely being a stockholder. Much clearer now.