Carnival Firenze ~ NEW Inaugural Sailing

[jsglow]

The company just announced a new, and earlier, inaugural sailing for Firenze. So instead of the original sailing date of May 2, 2024, an earlier sailing scheduled for April 25, 2024 has been added. John Heald is attempting to placate the masses with some line about '2 fabulous inaugural sailings' and is getting absolutely flamed.

 

How can you sit around a conference room table in Miami and not know this will happen? This is completely different from a delay in the inaugural which can be filed under 'crap happens'.  Absolutely brutal. And as most of you know, I'm usually a CCL defender.  

Edited November 8, 2023 by jsglow

[geckoaz]

My wife and i were excited to be on our first inaugural cruise but now it is the second. Will miss festivities and big wig corporate guests on the 2nd cruise. What was real reason the cruise was moved up? Now it is 7 day as oppose to our 5. No first time at port celebrations. Left over cake and party supplies. Thanks carnival for popping our inaugural balloon. 

 

[CruiseAdict218]

10 minutes ago, geckoaz said:

My wife and i were excited to be on our first inaugural cruise but now it is the second. Will miss festivities and big wig corporate guests on the 2nd cruise. What was real reason the cruise was moved up? Now it is 7 day as oppose to our 5. No first time at port celebrations. Left over cake and party supplies. Thanks carnival for popping our inaugural balloon. 

 

They probably would carry over festivities on both sailings especially if people are going to be that upset. But Venezia basically had two inaugurals, the Transatlantic and the first sailing from NYC and Christine Duffy stayed on for the second cruise. Both had inaugural gifts as well. 

[geckoaz]

Leftovercake and extra party favors are not the same. Not going to pay 800 more for same plus 7 day costs. Funny most of ship is already sold out and it was just announced.

[BlerkOne]

Carnival did this with Freedom.

[geckoaz]

Freedom? Changed date of inaugural sailing in us?

[KyloRen]

This is bull crap. I want to go on the Inaugural sailing! I booked this thing almost a year ago *****

[BlerkOne]

45 minutes ago, geckoaz said:

Freedom? Changed date of inaugural sailing in us?

Carnival Freedom in 2007 added a pre-inaugural. I was on it.

[RD64]

1 hour ago, KyloRen said:

This is bull crap. I want to go on the Inaugural sailing! I booked this thing almost a year ago *****

Things change - inaugural sailings are often delayed - this one happens to be moved up. No guarantees in life.

[KyloRen]

47 minutes ago, RD64 said:

Things change - inaugural sailings are often delayed - this one happens to be moved up. No guarantees in life.

A massive company like Carnival, that operates multiple other cruise lines and has 25+ ships just in carnivals fleet announced an Inaugural Sailing, 

 

let that sink in. A billion dollar company now decided to F off those people who paid for a cruise 8+
months ago by saying “oh no biggie we are PUSHING UP the date adding a 7 day cruise. 
 

If it was moved back? I get it. I totally understand. I’ma huge carnival fan,  I’m booked on 6 carnival cruises this year alone. I’m Plat. This isn’t my first rodeo, but to pop in a 7d “inaugural” sailing?? After announcing 8 months ago and us just basically finishing off paying to announce this?? Wow.  There’s no justifying this. 
 

I’m feeling LIED TO. We can

make Excuses for the billion dollar company and I don’t care if I am downvoted for my comment but I am freaking PISSED. I can’t even change the date on my “inaugural cruise” I’m basically paid off at this point. 

To be very blunt

i would not have booked this cruise if it was not the inaugural. The point was is that it was inaugural. Call me weird but I was very excited for that aspect. Moving up is not a “things changed”

 situation. It’s a crappy cash grab at two “inaugural sailings”  and frankly I’m pissed because I’m getting her sloppy seconds on a cruise we paid premium for due to the “inaugural”sailing claim.

 

i could take the cruise the week after for half the cost or take one of the other 5 boats in La harbor for 1/3rd the cost. 
 

 

Edited November 9, 2023 by KyloRen

[jimbo5544]

9 hours ago, KyloRen said:

A massive company like Carnival, that operates multiple other cruise lines and has 25+ ships just in carnivals fleet announced an Inaugural Sailing, 

 

let that sink in. A billion dollar company now decided to F off those people who paid for a cruise 8+
months ago by saying “oh no biggie we are PUSHING UP the date adding a 7 day cruise. 
 

If it was moved back? I get it. I totally understand. I’ma huge carnival fan,  I’m booked on 6 carnival cruises this year alone. I’m Plat. This isn’t my first rodeo, but to pop in a 7d “inaugural” sailing?? After announcing 8 months ago and us just basically finishing off paying to announce this?? Wow.  There’s no justifying this. 
 

I’m feeling LIED TO. We can

make Excuses for the billion dollar company and I don’t care if I am downvoted for my comment but I am freaking PISSED. I can’t even change the date on my “inaugural cruise” I’m basically paid off at this point. 

To be very blunt

i would not have booked this cruise if it was not the inaugural. The point was is that it was inaugural. Call me weird but I was very excited for that aspect. Moving up is not a “things changed”

 situation. It’s a crappy cash grab at two “inaugural sailings”  and frankly I’m pissed because I’m getting her sloppy seconds on a cruise we paid premium for due to the “inaugural”sailing claim.

 

i could take the cruise the week after for half the cost or take one of the other 5 boats in La harbor for 1/3rd the cost. 
 

 

So book the earlier one, make it a b2b double inaugural, or just enjoy your cruise.  We booked the inaugural for the Mardi Gras 7 times and then had to miss the “real” one.   That was 7 OBC’s I had to reuse.  Go enjoy your “inaugural”.      

[thesmiths]

11 hours ago, RD64 said:

Things change - inaugural sailings are often delayed - this one happens to be moved up. No guarantees in life.

I agree

and

also like leftover cake!

 

[luv2cruz@sea]

I too am very very disappointed about the change.  Not even being advised by Carnival but just happened to read an article last night about it.  And to my amazement I too was very shocked that the ships availability was very limited already.  I certainly did not book the 02MAY as well as a B2B sailing because of the ports I wanted to be on the inaugural sailing as I have a lot of personal memories of sailing with Costa.  I kept waiting and watching for the books to open and booked immediately when they opened up.  Maybe it could have been handled better by Carnival by at least letting those already booked that they were moving up the inaugural sailing by a week and giving us the option to change giving us the same cabin and some kind of price protection, but also being mindful that it is now a 7day. Yes, I will enjoy myself on what I have booked but just very disappointed that am no longer on what I originally booked as being the inaugural......Just a BUMMER!!!!!

[jsglow]

One of the challenges I think is that the new April 25th cruise is a 7 night while the original May 2nd is a 5 night. So I get the reluctance of simply 'moving' people over. In his little 4 minute video this morning, Heald promised to be on board and for it to be treated like an Inaugural in every way. Well, except for that part about being the 2nd cruise. 🙄 

[kdr69]

Wouldnt the pre sailing be a maiden voyage and not the Inaugural sailing?

[kdr69]

And come to think of it this is not a new ship how many Inaugural sailings can it have to begin with?

[mz-s]

1 minute ago, kdr69 said:

And come to think of it this is not a new ship how many Inaugural sailings can it have to begin with?

 

It's all marketing gobbledygook - it's a used ship that Carnival wire-wheeled the name COSTA off of in some places and painted CARNIVAL in its place. Still, it's probably going to be the closest to "new" Carnival gets for years and years - since it will debut after Jubilee. There are no further new builds expected for Carnival for quite some time after Jubilee.

[jsglow]

5 minutes ago, mz-s said:

 

It's all marketing gobbledygook - it's a used ship that Carnival wire-wheeled the name COSTA off of in some places and painted CARNIVAL in its place. Still, it's probably going to be the closest to "new" Carnival gets for years and years - since it will debut after Jubilee. There are no further new builds expected for Carnival for quite some time after Jubilee.

In fact, exactly ZERO on the entirety of the build calendar.

[geckoaz]

Funny this used to be cruise critic. Those not scheduled for may 2 appear to be cheer. Anyway Heald says he will be on both and this is a tacit admission of the screw up. We seldom get an inaugural cruise on west coast. I like putting bait on rod when fishing in the sea. However I do not like bait and switch. 

[mz-s]

18 minutes ago, geckoaz said:

Funny this used to be cruise critic. Those not scheduled for may 2 appear to be cheer. Anyway Heald says he will be on both and this is a tacit admission of the screw up. We seldom get an inaugural cruise on west coast. I like putting bait on rod when fishing in the sea. However I do not like bait and switch. 

 

We do not criticize Carnival here under any circumstances, despite the name of the site.

[Haljo1935]

1 hour ago, mz-s said:

 

It's all marketing gobbledygook - it's a used ship that Carnival wire-wheeled the name COSTA off of in some places and painted CARNIVAL in its place. Still, it's probably going to be the closest to "new" Carnival gets for years and years - since it will debut after Jubilee. There are no further new builds expected for Carnival for quite some time after Jubilee.

Same as was done for Venezia.

[jsglow]

27 minutes ago, geckoaz said:

Funny this used to be cruise critic. Those not scheduled for may 2 appear to be cheer. Anyway Heald says he will be on both and this is a tacit admission of the screw up. We seldom get an inaugural cruise on west coast. I like putting bait on rod when fishing in the sea. However I do not like bait and switch. 

I'm not sure people actually 'cheered'. I think it was more the attitude 'I don't care so you shouldn't', though I find that inappropriate too. Frankly, I think we have a huge problem with this in modern society. What I personally think is the only correct way to think and if you think differently, you are at a minimum wrong and possibly even evil.

Edited November 9, 2023 by jsglow

[mz-s]

12 minutes ago, jsglow said:

I'm not sure people actually 'cheered'. I think it was more the attitude 'I don't care so you shouldn't', though I find that inappropriate too. Frankly, I think we have a huge problem with this in modern society. What I personally think is the only correct way to think and if you think differently, you are at a minimum wrong and possibly even evil.

 

Common criticism here, "I don't eat bacon so I don't care that it goes on bacation" "I don't use the bathroom so I don't care that the toilets on the Triumph didn't work and people were flooded with sewage" etc.

 

At best it's pathological narcissism. 

Edited November 9, 2023 by mz-s

[KyloRen]

1 hour ago, Haljo1935 said:

Same as was done for Venezia.

Did they pull the same crap?  Claim a first cruise and then book one in front of it 6 months after everyone booked for the inaugural sailing? Cause if so Dang that’s shady! 

[Haljo1935]

5 minutes ago, KyloRen said:

Did they pull the same crap?  Claim a first cruise and then book one in front of it 6 months after everyone booked for the inaugural sailing? Cause if so Dang that’s shady! 

Oh not sure about that. I was referring to calling anything an "inaugural" sailing when the ship was not new, had been in service w/many sailings on its log and just rebranded to Carnival.