Galveston weather concerns

[payitforward]

Barry H.,

I am sorry your vacation didn't work out as planned, and I understand that you don't want to still be on the ship. I also understand that there were things that could/should have been handled differently. That said, you're still on an amazing ship, and are spending all of your time ranting about it instead of enjoying the activities, service and food. No matter how angry you get, you're not going to get off any sooner. Why not put the anger aside and try to enjoy the forced vacation?

[cherylandtk]

I've had those thoughts too. Based on the travel insurance policies I've read, I am not sure they would've really helped in this situation until the airports actually closed/cruise was cancelled.

You are correct, AND that airport closure clause only covered flight cancelations, not the full trip. If RCI had somehow managed to port in Galveston instead of canceling, booked passengers would have been required to attempt to join the ship up until the trip was at least halfway completed before canceling. Fly to the next port, etc.

 

FWIW, Galveston was only under a hurricane watch, not a warning, so the two companies that have specific hurricane "coverage" would not have covered cancelation due to Hurricane Harvey. Trip delay, yes. Interruption, probably. But not cancelation by the pax.

 

Also, with regard to an earlier comment about a state of emergency declaration; the policies I see require a 'mandatory evacuation order', not a state of emergency. There is no mandatory evacuation order for Galveston as of 10 minutes ago, so that clause would not have kicked in.

 

Since this is somewhat off-topic, anyone who wishes to discuss this further, go over to the Travel insurance forum and post. But a close reading of this page will open the eyes of anyone who thinks Trip Insurance would have covered a voluntary cancelation by the passenger:

https://tripinsurancestore.com/travel-insurance-bad-weather-and-natural-disaster-coverage/

[payitforward]

You are correct, AND that airport closure clause only covered flight cancelations, not the full trip. If RCI had somehow managed to port in Galveston instead of canceling, booked passengers would have been required to attempt to join the ship up until the trip was at least halfway completed before canceling. Fly to the next port, etc.

 

FWIW, Galveston was only under a hurricane watch, not a warning, so the two companies that have specific hurricane "coverage" would not have covered cancelation due to Hurricane Harvey. Trip delay, yes. Interruption, probably. But not cancelation by the pax.

 

Also, with regard to an earlier comment about a state of emergency declaration; the policies I see require a 'mandatory evacuation order', not a state of emergency. There is no mandatory evacuation order for Galveston as of 10 minutes ago, so that clause would not have kicked in.

 

Since this is somewhat off-topic, anyone who wishes to discuss this further, go over to the Travel insurance forum and post. But a close reading of this page will open the eyes of anyone who thinks Trip Insurance would have covered a voluntary cancelation by the passenger:

https://tripinsurancestore.com/travel-insurance-bad-weather-and-natural-disaster-coverage/

 

Every insurance company and policy is different. It's important to discuss it with your agent and determine what is, or is not covered. In many cases, as long as the hurricane was not predicted when the policy was purchased, you are able to cancel once it develops. There is also something called "cancel anytime" coverage that will refund 80% of your money if you cancel for almost any reason.

[Aquahound]

Every dimension is critical.

 

Exactly....and length is very critical when you have to turn around in a river, especially when there are typically barges (3-4 wide) on the bank just opposite from the cruise terminal. I've watched Dream turn around and it's a tight squeeze. Liberty is 108' longer.

 

Equinox, by the way, is 37' longer than Dream...which is still 71' shorter than Liberty.

[Cindy]

JIm Walker would probably be interested in this. I'm not suggesting using his services... I think he really would be interested in seeing this.

 

 

 

I have no interest in that, nor do I want someone to do it for me. I LIKE Royal Caribbean -- I just think they made some poor decisions with regards to this storm, then exacerbated them with their insistence that future passengers provide proof of flooding.

 

Honestly, my post only exists because I was sitting here watching on TV yesterday as my home city of 35+ years disappeared under endless gallons of floodwater. I was entertaining/distracting myself by reading CC and FB posts. What I was reading sickened me, so I saved the posts to show my husband.[emoji22]

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Milwaukee Eight]

What is the date and time New Orleans had tropical storm force winds? I'll wait.

 

Checking past weather in NOLA at the time of CCL docking, wind was 15 mph, I still don't think bringing Liberty to NOLA was NOT an option,

 

So lets just assume NOLA was not an option for Liberty, then the only four choices was Galveston, Miami, FLL, even PC. Galveston and Miami were the closet two. Let's say, Liberty decided to go to Miami, they get there yesterday. I'm guessing people will still be upset.

 

I am curious, where are the local passengers going once they get off in NOLA knowing what we see on the news from Houston and surrounding areas?

[skid10]

Barry H.,

I am sorry your vacation didn't work out as planned, and I understand that you don't want to still be on the ship. I also understand that there were things that could/should have been handled differently. That said, you're still on an amazing ship, and are spending all of your time ranting about it instead of enjoying the activities, service and food. No matter how angry you get, you're not going to get off any sooner. Why not put the anger aside and try to enjoy the forced vacation?

Excellent post and great attitude!

[ducklite]

Those are his opinions and his opinions can be right or wrong based on his experience.

 

You missed the point. He must state that they are his opinions, otherwise it can be construed as libel.

[6rugrats]

You missed the point. He must state that they are his opinions, otherwise it can be construed as libel.

For the attorney wannabes - defamation is a common-law tort. You defame a person (or company) if you communicate something that will hurt the person or company's reputation by slander (spoken) or libel (written) statements.

You can certainly be sued for expressing your opinion.

That said, highly doubtful RCI is going to sue someone for posting on CC. They'd have to be able to prove what was said/written wasn't true, and they'd have to show how they suffered damages as a result of the statement. Defamation is hard to prove, and RCI has so many people talking and writing about this fiasco, I'm sure they aren't going to seek out individuals and file actions. That would be pretty bad publicity and proving one individual's comments caused any measurable damages would be next to impossible.

[Cruiseathoning]

One of the concerns in this situation is that not all facts can be ascertained at this time. For example we do not know RCI's reasoning or internal debate. Therefore we can not at this time determine their thinking or motivations for their decision making. There is broad consensus that this was not handled optimally, however one can not credibly make a claim against RCI's handling that questions their commitment to passenger safety. Assumption is no substitute for evidence. Whatever is said in an interview must factually reflect individual experience. The urge to speculate or extrapolate should be resisted.

[Traciewatson]

Advice please..

We are scheduled on Royal Caribbean this Sunday out of Galveston. I was just contacted by Southwest Airlines wanting me to change my flights to either Dallas or San Antonio. They are not I repeat not saying that the Houston airport will not be open on Saturday they are just saying that due to flight delays it would be easier. I'm not opposed to driving the extra amount of time to get there I just want somebody who's there to tell me if it's even going to be possible to Galveston? I know nobody knows for sure, just looking for some guidance pleases Royal Caribbean has pretty much told me unless I do everything I can to try to get there I'll get no refund if the ship does not sail.

[Milwaukee Eight]

Advice please..

We are scheduled on Royal Caribbean this Sunday out of Galveston. I was just contacted by Southwest Airlines wanting me to change my flights to either Dallas or San Antonio. They are not I repeat not saying that the Houston airport will not be open on Saturday they are just saying that due to flight delays it would be easier. I'm not opposed to driving the extra amount of time to get there I just want somebody who's there to tell me if it's even going to be possible to Galveston? I know nobody knows for sure, just looking for some guidance pleases Royal Caribbean has pretty much told me unless I do everything I can to try to get there I'll get no refund if the ship does not sail.

 

I think this is all about a new possible thread. Who knows at this time?

[cherylandtk]

... In many cases, as long as the hurricane was not predicted when the policy was purchased, you are able to cancel once it develops. There is also something called "cancel anytime" coverage that will refund 80% of your money if you cancel for almost any reason.

What policy do you have that gives this coverage?

[reallyitsmema]

Advice please..

We are scheduled on Royal Caribbean this Sunday out of Galveston. I was just contacted by Southwest Airlines wanting me to change my flights to either Dallas or San Antonio. They are not I repeat not saying that the Houston airport will not be open on Saturday they are just saying that due to flight delays it would be easier. I'm not opposed to driving the extra amount of time to get there I just want somebody who's there to tell me if it's even going to be possible to Galveston? I know nobody knows for sure, just looking for some guidance pleases Royal Caribbean has pretty much told me unless I do everything I can to try to get there I'll get no refund if the ship does not sail.

 

Really too early to tell. Houston airports are closed until August 30th and August 31st as of now.

 

http://www.fly.faa.gov/flyfaa/usmap.jsp

 

If you accept the change Southwest is offering you now, you will at least have a better shot of flying in, but how are you going to get from Dallas to Galveston? Can you even get a rental car to get you there or some kind of car service? Will the port of Galveston even open by then and be accepting cruise ships?

 

Really a tough decision with too many variables at this time.:(

[Cuizer2]

As to whether or not a Freedom class ship can dock in New Orleans, I did some research on this yesterday. You'll find the information in post # 996. As to draft, around New Orleans the water depth is around 190 feet, so that is a non-issue.

 

None of this says a Freedom class ship can dock in New Orleans. All I have posted is information about the river at New Orleans and a couple of pictures. I was cruising on the Navigator of the Seas the day after the posted pictures were taken.

[LMaxwell]

STOP.

 

I do not work for nor have any relatives working for RCI, nor to I have to appease you condescending views.

 

We all have a right to our opinions.

 

Step away from the keyboard please...

:halo::halo::halo:

 

Yes - that was said in jest...

 

Is your livelihood at all connected to the cruise industry?

[CRUISEFAN0001]

Is your livelihood at all connected to the cruise industry?

Not whatsoever, nor is this about me...so let's kindly keep it that way please.

[LMaxwell]

Not whatsoever, nor is this about me...so let's kindly keep it that way please.

Do you have any indications as to status of next scheduled sailing?

[CRUISEFAN0001]

My, oh my. That hit a nerve.

Nope...all smiles here.

 

Just don't accept bullying on it's face value.

 

Happy Happy Happy sailing....

 

:D:D:D:cool::cool::cool:

[Steelers0854]

They were telling people to come to the port or lose their cruise fare, well after the area was under flood, storm surge, tornado and hurricane warnings. Period.

 

No offense, but your handle makes it kinda clear you can't think about this in an unbiased way.

 

 

 

Actually this is incorrect. They stated when they were going to attempt to dock, weather and port conditions permitting. Each of the updates I read specifically stated to stay away from the port until they advised to do so.

[CRUISEFAN0001]

Do you have any indications as to status of next scheduled sailing?

We all have access to the same information that the next Liberty Galveston cruise has been cancelled.

 

Beyond that depends on the Houston & Galveston weather local flooding conditions and reopening of Galveston port. No one will be able to have firm answers on that for days and perhaps longer.

 

Based on the gentleman from FEMA sitting next to me here/now at a major airport...forecasting the rebound timeframe features little optimism for the near future.

[kevdad]

I was just scrolling through the continued horrendous news stories from Houston when this headline caught my eye: "Southwest Airlines flew stranded travelers out of Houston for free". Five airplanes worth. That's the type of smart corporate action I love to see during a crisis. Bravo.

[setsail]

Is your livelihood at all connected to the cruise industry?

 

Max, you started this with http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=53912756#post53912756

 

We will be expecting you to now do an interview like Barry, so you can give us all your.........facts;p

[kevdad]

Just don't accept bullying on it's face value.

Please define bullying, that is not a term to throw around lightly.

[Ocean Dancer]

We all have access to the same information that the next Liberty Galveston cruise has been cancelled.

 

.

Link please??:*