Carnival Magic late arrival. Cancelling St Thomas. Very upset

[naxer]

Well, I picked an Eastern cruise for last fall--looking forward to it for a year. Remember what happened to St. Thomas? and St. Maartin? last Fall? The whole cruise was turned into a Western. But, I enjoyed it anyway, and will get pack to the Eastern ports someday. This is how it goes with cruise vacations.

[jimbo5544]

come on, completely different situation, this was not weather related it was a decision Carnival made. They own the port, so they don't care, they get your money either way. Unless I do a dive, which I usually do, we stay on the ship. I have Cheers, don't need to spend $8 on a Land Shark.

 

 

 

Carnival owns st thomas?

 

 

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[winddawn]

Unbelievable . Instead of cancelling throw away ports like San Juan or Grand Turk, they cancel St Thomas, which is the only reason we picked this cruise. Here is the email

 

URGENT UPDATE. CARNIVAL MAGIC

JUNE 16, 2018

 

Dear Carnival Magic Guests,

 

I am back with an important update on our arrival time in Port Canaveral.

 

Although we did our best to make up for lost time, yesterday evening, we encountered an issue impacting our maximum cruising speed. Consequently, we will now be alongside in the early afternoon.

 

While our team completes the necessary work, we will be unable to sustain the required speed to deliver a four port itinerary. Consequently, we will need to cancel our call in St. Thomas. We know how much you were looking forward to your visit to this port of call and sincerely apologize for this unexpected change.

 

A 50 USD, per person, onboard credit will be posted to your Sail & Sign account. Additionally, any pre-purchased shore excursions for St. Thomas, and corresponding government fees and taxes, will be refunded to your onboard account. A letter with full itinerary details will be provided at check-in.

 

Please disregard your Arrival Appointment and plan to arrive at the cruise terminal between 3:00 PM and 6:00 PM. In preparation for departure, all guests must be on board by 6:00 PM.

 

A 15 USD, per person, credit will be posted to your Sail & Sign account so you can enjoy lunch on us today.

 

Once again, we apologize for this disruption and assure you our team will do everything possible to deliver an exceptional vacation experience.

 

We thank you for your understanding and look forward to welcoming you on board for a fun and memorable cruise.

 

Sincerely,

Denese WaitersForums

 

I'm sorry this happened to you and that you're disappointed. Part of cruising is being willing to go with the flow and make the best of these types of changes that can and do happen. There's no doubt you can still have a good time. Best wishes for a great cruise!

[ronandannette]

...This will probably be my last cruise on Carnival if they don't find a way to make this a great cruise despite the missed port.

I'm not sure what you have in mind or what you expect "them" to do, but the day of your missed port will be a Fun Day at Sea just like any other. Adjust your expectations of anything more now or you will end up angrier and more dissatisfied.

 

As to not sailing Carnival again, that idea does have some merit given that they have more propulsion-related problems than any other line I've ever heard of. We were 6 hours late returning on the Destiny several years ago and actually had to be tugged part of the way back to Miami. Pretty routine for that ship and there was absolutely no compensation offered. Lots of others here could tell similar stories.

 

Regarding your question about dinner tonight, my guess is they will operate both dining rooms as open seating for everyone. This is how they do it on departure night in San Juan where the all-aboard isn't until 8:00 pm. Regular dining arrangements commence on Day 2.

 

Best wishes that you enjoy your trip!

[Towel Critter]

Carnival owns st thomas?

 

 

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I believe he was referring to GT, judging from the post he was replying to. Carnival doesn't own GT either... just the most profitable part of it.

[coevan]

they picked St. thomas because it is the farthest away and they are having propulsion issues. How hard is that to understand?

Pat

 

 

 

farthest away from what? SJU and STT are very close, like 70 miles, same latitude of bout 18 degrees, so if going back to Florida, it's the same distance

[TEXASMUNK]

Utterly wrong! It is mechanical, nothing to do with saving fuel. Just another post with a mind set of the evil corporation. PS. Carnival, and all other cruise lines lose big money when a port is missed and the profits from tours goes down the drain.

[jsglow]

farthest away from what? SJU and STT are very close, like 70 miles, same latitude of bout 18 degrees, so if going back to Florida, it's the same distance

 

Respectfully, no it's not. By eliminating St. Thomas they reduce the miles traveled by 140 because one sails right past PR to get there. I'm not sure why I'm even having to point that out as I'm sure you can read a map. Now they could have decided to eliminate San Juan instead and not been overly impacted by the modest increase in distance required but that's not the decision management made.

[declansdad]

farthest away from what? SJU and STT are very close, like 70 miles, same latitude of bout 18 degrees, so if going back to Florida, it's the same distance

 

Not really the same distance. St Thomas is roughly a 70 nautical mile sail further than San Juan. They may be close to the same latitude but the distance is further.

[DallasGuy75219]

As to The muster drill with embarkation that late it would be done after dinner time or possibly even in the morning on the following day as was done on a Carnival Ecstasy sailing I was on out of Galveston several years ago that was delayed until late due to fog in the port.

 

As a result of the Costa Concordia accident, muster drill now must occur before the ship leaves port.

[coevan]

I'm sure the fuel charge would kill them. I doubt the distance is the reason. Docking and port fees, arrangements with the local governments, and basically which is more profitable.

[CallistaSkye]

I mean, things happen. It's frustrating sure. But even claiming a mechanical failure is Carnivals "Fault" is ridiculous. Sometimes things break even when properly maintained, and that's life. Make the best of it. See something different at those other ports. I'm sure the people that live there would appreciate the money, especially after the things they have been through recently. Calling their areas a "throw away" is rude. If you don't like visiting there, fine, but no need to have such a poor attitude towards things and bash places over it. You're still on a vacation traveling the world on a floating hotel that has tons of stuff to do. That's more than many people will ever even get to experience once.

[Ramokk]

Finally made it on board and just had a delicious burger!

 

FTTF really paid off since there was a huge outdoor line to get onboard that we largely went around and our stateroom was ready.

 

Discovered that having confirmed late dining with early dining requested actually means you get My Time dining so waiting to hear back if that can be fixed. Other than that and missing St. Thomas, looking forward to a great cruise!

[firemanbobswife]

Finally made it on board and just had a delicious burger!

 

FTTF really paid off since there was a huge outdoor line to get onboard that we largely went around and our stateroom was ready.

 

Discovered that having confirmed late dining with early dining requested actually means you get My Time dining so waiting to hear back if that can be fixed. Other than that and missing St. Thomas, looking forward to a great cruise!

 

That doesn’t make sense. Is that what your S&S card says? If you’re confirmed late then that’s what you should have.

[jimbo5544]

I believe he was referring to GT, judging from the post he was replying to. Carnival doesn't own GT either... just the most profitable part of it.

 

 

 

Got it.

 

 

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[jimbo5544]

What seems to be the problem with the Magic, as I’m booked on it in 2020 for a special occasion cruise with family? I know, it’s a long way off, but worried this ship is suffering from some mechanical issues that could be lasting.

 

 

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If the mechanical issues last two years ten it is pretty bad. I think you will be just fine.

 

 

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[coevan]

The $8 Land Shark and staying aboard should have lead you to GT. We love St.Thomas where they sell $2 beers, $10 Stoli, and some killer beaches.

[gerelmx]

$15 for lunch pp it's ridiculous, for that amount you will only find junk food

[AmazedByCruising]

But even claiming a mechanical failure is Carnivals "Fault" is ridiculous. Sometimes things break even when properly maintained, and that's life

 

Who is saying that?

 

Anyway, if a tire explodes, the cab driver would not charge me the fare. It's his problem. If a ship has mechanical failures so they can't visit a port, they should call their insurance company to compensate their clients. Whatever the contract says, and I know that it says that you may not visit any port at all, I think $50 is a very lousy compensation.

[Harrier1961]

To YOU SJ or GT are throw away ports, not everyone would agree.

I’d rather go to SJ than ST.

 

 

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[SRQbeachgirl]

I'll be on the Magic (western) next month. It wouldn't bother me in the least if we missed a port. As someone who had to be airlifted out of a foreign country due to a medical emergency during a vacation years ago, I know firsthand that missing a port is truly one of the most trivial things that could happen while on vacation.

[bingomamma19]

Who is saying that?

 

Anyway, if a tire explodes, the cab driver would not charge me the fare. It's his problem. If a ship has mechanical failures so they can't visit a port, they should call their insurance company to compensate their clients. Whatever the contract says, and I know that it says that you may not visit any port at all, I think $50 is a very lousy compensation.

 

You are not losing much by missing a port....you still have your room, food, entertainment, staff etc. Why would carnival reimburse anything for that?

 

In fact, they will now have to add things to that day--like more food that passengers will eat on board instead of eating at the port.

[jordanaire]

Years ago, we boarded the Paradise in Miami. The ship pulled away from the dock and headed out the channel. As soon as we got past the channel markers, the ship turned around and headed back to the dock. A couple of hours later, the Captain told us that there was an issue with one of the Azipods and our cruise was cancelled. Were we highly upset? No..things happen. You just go with the flow. Sure..we waited 2 years for this cruise then this happened. We stayed on the ship for 2 days waiting for Carnival to get us on a flight home. Meanwhile, we had food to eat and a place to sleep. Plus we were reimbursed quite nicely.

 

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[jimbo5544]

I'm sure the fuel charge would kill them. I doubt the distance is the reason. Docking and port fees, arrangements with the local governments, and basically which is more profitable.

 

 

 

Do you know that?

 

 

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[AmazedByCruising]

You are not losing much by missing a port....you still have your room, food, entertainment, staff etc. Why would carnival reimburse anything for that?

 

In fact, they will now have to add things to that day--like more food that passengers will eat on board instead of eating at the port.

 

Reasoning that way, any ship that offers room and food offers a nice cruise, even if they don't visit a port at all.

Obviously, by looking at how cruises are advertised, people are not buying a cruise to have a place to sleep and free food.

 

I can't feel very sorry for Carnival that they need to provide for more food, that is just one of the bad things that would happen after not being able to provide the service your guests expected and paid for. That's what you should get insurance for. Or, if you're as big as Carnival, you could insure yourselve. You can easily pay a decent amount when one cruise out of thousands went wrong. $50 is not a decent amount.