Carnival Canceling Antigua Port

[indygirl76]

16 hours ago, coevan said:

on a cruise? you really can not get a grasp of the island or it's culture in 6 hours. Bahamas gets a bad rap from cruise guests and island visitors adore the island. Martinique is magnificent. as in France, speaking french will help a lot or at least learning a few courteous phrases. To some St.Thomas people can be rude, but you get what you give. If you ask someone "where's the bathroom" you might get ignored. If you say "good afternoon, how are you today, can you show me the closest restroom" you will be answered with a smile.

QFT. Courtesy is free. Re "ugly American" stereotypes, I've been asked more than once where I'm from in Canada... 

[jimbo5544]

19 hours ago, indygirl76 said:

QFT. Courtesy is free. Re "ugly American" stereotypes, I've been asked more than once where I'm from in Canada... 

That is why we love that you allow us to be your neighbor, to show us the better way......and hockey of course......maybe the reverse.  Please do not hurt yourself with the back patting.

[BNBR]

6 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

That is why we love that you allow us to be your neighbor, to show us the better way......and hockey of course......maybe the reverse.  Please do not hurt yourself with the back patting.

 

The people who make ugly American comments, I tend to wonder if they have ever traveled at all. America is without a doubt one of the friendliest countries. 

 

I mean, this spawned from a comment about how to deal with the "cultural" rudeness of the islanders. Lol. You know, take an advanced French class so you can ask someone where a restroom is without them being rude to you. 

 

And clearly these people haven't spent any time around Fench Canadian travelers... Oh lord! 

Edited April 4, 2019 by BNBR

[hotsauce126]

On 4/2/2019 at 8:12 PM, BNBR said:

 

Thank you for reaffirming why these ports suck. "oh please sir, oh please sir, good afternoon, how are you? Family good? How's your dog? Please sir, please, oh lord street vendor, please would you direct me to the bathroom". 

 

Gosh, just the type of place I want to visit where you have to learn French or treat a vendor like a King to get bathroom directions....  God forbid you just expect decent hospitality and friendliness. 

 

You're visiting their country, they're not there to serve you

[BNBR]

5 minutes ago, hotsauce126 said:

 

You're visiting their country, they're not there to serve you

 

Lol. I can see your attitude from this and your other post concerning customer service and general decency. You need to take a class on the subject. Disney offers a great course... If I ran my business with your attitude I'd be living under a bridge.

 

By the way, their economy is entirely tourist based. In that respect, they are absolutely there to serve you. 

Edited April 4, 2019 by BNBR

[BlerkOne]

On 4/2/2019 at 6:06 AM, BNBR said:

 

I think it has a lot to do with Antigua not handling issues at the port facilities. 

 

I think Antigua wants Carnival to pay for improvements that mostly benefit Royal.

[BNBR]

1 minute ago, BlerkOne said:

 

I think Antigua wants Carnival to pay for improvements that mostly benefit Royal.

 

Carnival is definitely suggesting it's a monetary thing.  It's a battle Antigua can't win. Islands are dying for more ships, more private islands, etc. Carnival doesn't need Antigua one bit.

 

And as corrupt as these countries are, I don't believe for one minute that higher fees would go to port improvements.  There seems to be some standard with the fees and Antigua wants a lot more. Too bad for them.

[indygirl76]

1 hour ago, jimbo5544 said:

That is why we love that you allow us to be your neighbor, to show us the better way......and hockey of course......maybe the reverse.  Please do not hurt yourself with the back patting.

I'm American - people sometimes think I'm Canadian because I'm nice to people when I'm on vacation. Which says a lot about the stereotype, and how often it's true. And I do pride myself on being polite and kind to people in the hospitality industry; it shouldn't be a source of pride, it should just be a thing that everyone does. But I've seen (wayyyyyyy) too much completely unnecessary rudeness in my travels, to know that isn't the case.

[BNBR]

6 minutes ago, indygirl76 said:

I'm American - people sometimes think I'm Canadian because I'm nice to people when I'm on vacation. Which says a lot about the stereotype, and how often it's true. And I do pride myself on being polite and kind to people in the hospitality industry; it shouldn't be a source of pride, it should just be a thing that everyone does. But I've seen (wayyyyyyy) too much completely unnecessary rudeness in my travels, to know that isn't the case.

 

I don't believe you, to be honest. Living in South Florida with a massive snow bird population, and working in hospitality for a decade, it's well known the Canadians are stand offish and rude.  And poor tippers. And working South Beach for years, it's not a secret that our out of country visitors were pretty much always worse. Tables with Americans were fought over and not because of the tips (included on South Beach). 

 

And we are supposed to believe the hosptialy folks in the Caribbean confuse all the nice, well tipping Americans for Canadians? Lol. Right. 

Edited April 4, 2019 by BNBR

[indygirl76]

2 minutes ago, BNBR said:

 

I don't believe you, to be honest. Living in South Florida with a massive snow bird population, and working in hospitality for a decade, it's well known the Canadians are stand offish and rude.  And poor tippers. 

 

And we are supposed to believe the hosptialy folks in the Caribbean confuse all the nice, well tipping Americans for Canadians? Lol. Right. 

I can't speak for the tipping part, and if Canadians tend to be bad tippers, then I agree that part sucks! 

[BNBR]

1 minute ago, indygirl76 said:

I can't speak for the tipping part, and if Canadians tend to be bad tippers, then I agree that part sucks! 

 

Once you pick up payment and see the CIBC logo on the card, your heart drops. Lol.  Glad those days are behind me! 

[jimbo5544]

I have learned that the government of Antigua has issued a statement saying they have resolved the issues with the cruiselines and cruises will begin stopping in Antigua again.  The letter basically looked like they accepted blame for the actions.

[PhillyFan33579]

1 hour ago, jimbo5544 said:

I have learned that the government of Antigua has issued a statement saying they have resolved the issues with the cruiselines and cruises will begin stopping in Antigua again.  The letter basically looked like they accepted blame for the actions.

 

Never imagined that response from Antigua LOL

[Joebucks]

That was faster than expected

[Shaded Lady]

On 4/4/2019 at 9:07 AM, indygirl76 said:

I can't speak for the tipping part, and if Canadians tend to be bad tippers, then I agree that part sucks! 

 

As a dual citizen of the US and Canada for almost 20 years (I've lived full time in the US since 1995) I can say that perhaps at one time the reputation of Canadians being poor tippers was well-earned... it had, however, more to do with the way the hospitality industry paid their staff back home, necessitating smaller tipping amounts... when we first moved to the US (Florida by the way) we heard all the jokes, but at the same time were surprised at the amount of tipping that was expected. We quickly adjusted and tipped according to the local expectations. These days when we visit Canada now we find that the tipping is pretty much on par with the US, and therefore Canadians are more likely to tip appropriately when they travel.

 

I think the reputations of the 'cheap Canadians' and the 'ugly Americans' are more cultural hyperbole today than actual fact. I have many friends and family in the hospitality industry in both Florida and Canada, and their observations are more on people in general (some are nice, some are rude, some are cheap, some are generous) rather than on a geographic level.

 

On topic with this thread, I'm glad that the Antigua issue has been resolved, both for the people of Antigua who are dependent on the tourist industry for their livelihood, and for cruisers like me who would love to visit it one day!

Edited April 11, 2019 by Shaded Lady

[sfaaa]

7 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

I have learned that the government of Antigua has issued a statement saying they have resolved the issues with the cruiselines and cruises will begin stopping in Antigua again.  The letter basically looked like they accepted blame for the actions.

Carnival's response to Antigua 'You lose'.

Edited April 11, 2019 by sfaaa

[BigDoug]

More info can be found here.

http://www.caribbean360.com/business/carnival-to-continue-some-of-its-cruise-calls-to-antigua

ST JOHN’S, Antigua, Thursday April 11, 2019 – Carnival Corporation and the Antigua and Barbuda Government have reached an agreement that will see the cruise company reversing its decision to cancel some of its calls to the twin-island republic.

The details of the agreement have not been made public, but in a joint statement issued on Monday after a second round of talks in Miami last weekend, the two sides said the deal provides a foundation for Carnival to continue to operate in Antigua for many more years to come.

“While some calls were rescheduled, other calls that were being considered for cancellation will now call as planned and both parties agreed to continue discussions on the possibility of having more summer calls,” the statement disclosed, although it did not state which calls were rescheduled or which would continue as planned.

[jimbo5544]

25 minutes ago, sfaaa said:

Carnival's response to Antigua 'You lose'.

Well, I doubt they said it quite like that, but.....

[myjillian]

I love Antigua ...booked on an NCl in Jan out of San Juan...if it's cancelled I will cancel the cruise...maybe...it's 11 days on a balcony for $1900 total for 2...ins included...of course it's the Epic and everything has been happening to the Epic lately !!