Just got email from RCCL that Anthem Thanksgiving cruise will skip Port Canaveral

[JaneStarr]

4 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

I received this directly from Royal

Which sailing(s)?

[punkyhunky]

I got the same for Oct 30th sailing

[GimmeOcean]

8 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

For more context, one of the ship's four engines requires maintenance which impacts our speed. While this impacts our ability to deliver on the original itinerary, we're confident that it will still be an exceptional cruise vacation.

 

Well that confirms the reason. Glad they're acknowledging it.

[pyrateslife4me84]

This will get very costly for Royal. At what point do they just cancel a sailing to fix the issue? I’m sure some intern was tasked with finding which sailing over the next several months is going to make the least profit so they can cut it. 

[Ourusualbeach]

5 minutes ago, JaneStarr said:

Which sailing(s)?

Oct 30 and Nov 12

[iscruisingdunzo]

9 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Here is the e mail in its entirety.

 

Dear Travel Partner,

We clicked `Send' a little too quickly on our last email and missed some very important details.

Compensation

While your clients still get to enjoy their day onboard Anthem of the Seas, to help make up for the missed port, we will provide you with a one-day (1) cruise fare refund in the form of an Onboard Credit. This will automatically be added to your SeaPass account on boarding day. Any unused portion will be refunded to your credit card associated with your onboard folio.

 

For more context, one of the ship's four engines requires maintenance which impacts our speed. While this impacts our ability to deliver on the original itinerary, we're confident that it will still be an exceptional cruise vacation.

 

In case you missed the original guest email, the updated version is below for your reference. We're very sorry about this change to your itinerary. We look forward to seeing you onboard.

 

---

To maintain a safe and comfortable speed along our journey, we'll now have a sea day instead of visiting Nassau, Bahamas. We're sorry for any inconvenience caused by this. To help make up for this change, we're giving you an extra two and a half hours (2.5 hours) in Orlando (Port Canaveral), Florida to enjoy everything this amazing destination has to offer! Additionally, we'll now visit Perfect Day at CocoCay on Day 5. Below, please find our revised Anthem of the Seas November 12^th, 2023 itinerary.

 

Day	Port of Call	Arrive	Depart
Sun	Cape Liberty, New Jersey		3:00 PM
Mon	Cruising
Tue	Cruising
Wed	Orlando (Port Canaveral), Florida	6:00 AM	4:30 PM
Thu	Perfect Day at CocoCay	8:00 AM	5:00 PM
Fri	Cruising
Sat	Cruising
Sun	Cape Liberty, New Jersey	6:00 AM

 

Your Day at Sea

Anthem of the Seas has you covered for adventure and relaxation! Thrill seekers can get in on all the speeding, swerving, spinning action driving bumper at SeaPlex®, the largest indoor activity space ever to set sail. Chill seekers can grab a drink in the North Star Bar and step inside the observation capsule to take in panoramic views of the surrounding sea and shores as you ascend over 300 feet above the waves. Whatever you decide to do, we know you'll have a memorable sea day!

Compensation

While you still get to enjoy your day onboard Anthem of the Seas, to help make up for the missed port, we will provide you with a one-day (1) cruise fare refund in the form of an Onboard Credit. This will automatically be added to your SeaPass account on boarding day. Any unused portion will be refunded to your credit card associated with your onboard folio.

Shore Excursions

Any pre-paid Royal Caribbean International shore excursions booked for Nassau will automatically be refunded to your original form of payment. Our Shore Excursions team will automatically reschedule any pre-paid Royal Caribbean International shore excursions affected by this change. In the meantime, feel free to browse all the exciting shore excursion options for your sailing in Cruise Planner to level up your vacation.

 

Thanks for your understanding. We can't wait to welcome you onboard Anthem of the Seas!

 

Sincerely,

 

Aurora Yera-Rodriguez

AVP | Guest Experience

 

Royal Caribbean International

Can you tell me which sailing this is on since I still have not been contacted by anyone from RCL.

[GimmeOcean]

2 minutes ago, pyrateslife4me84 said:

This will get very costly for Royal. At what point do they just cancel a sailing to fix the issue? I’m sure some intern was tasked with finding which sailing over the next several months is going to make the least profit so they can cut it. 

 

Dec. 3rd? Hahaha (sob).

[Ourusualbeach]

1 minute ago, pyrateslife4me84 said:

This will get very costly for Royal. At what point do they just cancel a sailing to fix the issue? I’m sure some intern was tasked with finding which sailing over the next several months is going to make the least profit so they can cut it. 

While not common it is not rare either to take one of 4 engines offline for maintenance.  Definitely cheaper to give some OBC than to cancel an entire sailing.

[Ourusualbeach]

Just now, iscruisingdunzo said:

Can you tell me which sailing this is on since I still have not been contacted by anyone from RCL.

I received notices for Oct 30 and Nov 12.  I would assume that all sailings with a cancelled port will receive the same compensation.

[pyrateslife4me84]

1 minute ago, Ourusualbeach said:

While not common it is not rare either to take one of 4 engines offline for maintenance.  Definitely cheaper to give some OBC than to cancel an entire sailing.

We are led to believe this issue is ongoing since at least May. This suggests it needs maintenance that cannot occur with guests on board. 
 

7 compensated cruises is equal to just canceling one. The calculus gets worse if this stretches into December. Those 12/24 and 12/31 cruises cost a lot. Losing 1/7 of their funds will be significant. I’m sure they hope everyone will live large and blow it all in the arcade but we shall see…

[elizabethbp]

IMPORTANT UPDATE!   I  just got another email which explained the reason for all this- issue with one of the engines, and we are getting an OBC worth one day's fare.

 

[Ourusualbeach]

6 minutes ago, pyrateslife4me84 said:

7 compensated cruises is equal to just canceling one.

A lot more than that.  A lot of the OBC will be spent on things that cost a lot less than what the OC was issued for.  Cruise fare is in real; $, OBC is in Marked up $ not to mention the extra revenue brought in by guests being on board the extra day and naturally spending more.

 

If it has been going on since May it was obviously very minor and only affected a couple of itineraries.  They may have had to wait for parts or waited for the itineraries that would be the least impacted to take the engine offline for a few weeks.  

[gavvy]

It sounds like the same issues that caused us to only stop at PC for 2 hours in march. Anthem has been very unlucky with engine issues over the years it seems.

We too got OBC equil to 1/7th of cruise faire paid and it was refunded to card on file at end of cruise.

Unfortunately I was on a casino comp so got back $17 which I assume we're port taxes!

[Tatka]

30 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

I received notices for Oct 30 and Nov 12.  I would assume that all sailings with a cancelled port will receive the same compensation.

 

We received it for Thanksgiving one.

One day will be compensated.

[Tatka]

13 minutes ago, gavvy said:

It sounds like the same issues that caused us to only stop at PC for 2 hours in march. Anthem has been very unlucky with engine issues over the years it seems.

We too got OBC equil to 1/7th of cruise faire paid and it was refunded to card on file at end of cruise.

Unfortunately I was on a casino comp so got back $17 which I assume we're port taxes!

 

We will soon sail on her for #10 (Thanksgiving) and #11 November.

 

We skipped port twice. Both PC. Thanksgiving and Christmas of 2021. Both time some sort of storm was involved. Nothing else

 

3 cruises were to Caribeans

6 to Bahamas and PC.

[mets123]

Got the same notice for our 11/26 sailing. Skipping PC.

[iscruisingdunzo]

12 minutes ago, mets123 said:

Got the same notice for our 11/26 sailing. Skipping PC.

haha. The most ironic thing about that is I originally had that date scheduled and noticed that the Nassau stop had abbreviated and shortened hours, so I changed dates. Now I am getting hosed, losing the only stop I wanted to go to and am pretty much stuck on a cruise to nowhere. Lucky you!

[sadiwest]

Got another email explaining more and advising of compensation.  Check your email.  

[sowhat]

2 hours ago, RedIguana said:

Cruisemapper AIS has had her at about 18.2 to 18.3 knots for the last half hour. She might be down a generator.

Talking to the captain and hotel director in the Concierge lounge tonight, there is no problem with the ship as reported by people on Cruise Critic whom make up issues up. 

The ship is capable of maximum speed as required. 

[iscruisingdunzo]

3 minutes ago, sowhat said:

Talking to the captain and hotel director in the Concierge lounge tonight, there is no problem with the ship as reported by people on Cruise Critic whom make up issues up. 

The ship is capable of maximum speed as required. 

I guess the Captain and HQ are not in contact. RCL just continuing to lie to all of us!

[GimmeOcean]

7 minutes ago, sowhat said:

Talking to the captain and hotel director in the Concierge lounge tonight, there is no problem with the ship as reported by people on Cruise Critic whom make up issues up. 

The ship is capable of maximum speed as required. 

 

18.6 knots is not maximum speed, and they've acknowledged there is an issue in their email to TAs and customers.

[sowhat]

6 minutes ago, GimmeOcean said:

 

18.6 knots is not maximum speed, and they've acknowledged there is an issue in their email to TAs and customers.

Please read the post correctly. 

Capable of maximum speed when required !!!

 

[GimmeOcean]

11 minutes ago, sowhat said:

Please read the post correctly. 

Capable of maximum speed when required !!!

 

 

Your picture is not evidence of that. And multiple people here and on Facebook have shared the email directly from RCI stating that one of the ship's engines requires maintenance to explain why they are cancelling some ports this fall. This isn't speculation.

Edited September 28, 2023 by GimmeOcean

[Starry Eyes]

29 minutes ago, sowhat said:

Talking to the captain and hotel director in the Concierge lounge tonight, there is no problem with the ship as reported by people on Cruise Critic whom make up issues up. 

The ship is capable of maximum speed as required. 

Well, that picture does not tell us if one of the four engines needs maintenance, and that certainly would not be the hotel director’s area of expertise.  Maybe you could corner the chief engineer next.

[mkmaj]

23 minutes ago, sowhat said:

Please read the post correctly. 

Capable of maximum speed when required !!!

 

Please read your own post correctly 😂. You stated that there is no problem with the ship when RCI sent an email stating that there is indeed a problem with the ship. I'm not sure why people need to be so rude to each other on here.