Searching for Passengers left @ Port

[njs]

My DH and I are flying out of Toronto this Saturday (only 4 days away) to join the Glory in Orlando. We booked our flight and transfers through Carnival so that we wouldn't have any problems. We are transferring in New York and we are due to land in Orlando at 2 p.m.!! When we received out tickets, I e mailed Carnival (no reply) and I called my TA to express my concern about the tight time line. I was told that Carnival has this all fine tuned and there won't be a problem. Now I am very worried about what might happen. I don't want to miss the ship and have to be flown out to the first port on Monday. This worry is spoiling my anticipation of the trip especially after reading this thread. Any words of encouragement would be appreciated!!

"Carnival has this all fine tuned" Pretty impressive. I wonder when Carnival became God and became able to control the weather. We got the same answer on our first cruise when I called to challenge the cruiseline about the flight schedule. Too bad you dont have names of people from carnival giving you assurance that all is fine. Hopefully all will go well and you will have a great cruise

[tom C.]

:o ..PLEASE DONT FEED THE TROLLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Brneyznfl]

My DH and I are flying out of Toronto this Saturday (only 4 days away) to join the Glory in Orlando. We booked our flight and transfers through Carnival so that we wouldn't have any problems. We are transferring in New York and we are due to land in Orlando at 2 p.m.!! When we received out tickets, I e mailed Carnival (no reply) and I called my TA to express my concern about the tight time line. I was told that Carnival has this all fine tuned and there won't be a problem. Now I am very worried about what might happen. I don't want to miss the ship and have to be flown out to the first port on Monday. This worry is spoiling my anticipation of the trip especially after reading this thread. Any words of encouragement would be appreciated!!

 

Honestly what I would do is arrange my own transportation either by taxi or private limo/car service. I never have booked my air or transfers through the cruiseline because just for the fact I fear a screwup. I like to be in control as much as I can. You're getting in at 2:00 p.m., and by the time you get your luggage, it's cutting it pretty close AND that's assuming the flight gets in on time. It's about 45 min. to the pier from the airport. I would hop into a taxi and tell him to hurry up. It'll be a little pricey but at least you'll make it to the ship.

[Lakeman953]

Wow, I am so surprised that this thread wasn't named I WILL NEVER CRUISE CARNIVAL AGAIN!!!

Because no one here could blame you. I am surprised that you are taking this so calmly. koodos to you. And I am soory that they messed up and hope they reimburse you.

My Son went on that cruise with his mom/stepdad and 2 sisters so I will talk to them and see if they heard anything or saw anything when leaving port.

[bluefintuna]

Do you have anything like small claims court in Canada? If you don't get resolution from Carnival, perhaps you could go that route. Please post if you are compensated by Carnival; we will all be waiting.......

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Imagine how confused I am. I am still not getting the right answers on bus times. I am told 1:30, 2:00, 2:15 and 3:00 from different people who all work for Carnival!!! I will let you all know what happens, but from what I understand (and the calls I have made to Carnival's 1-800 #) I will not get much. Carnival is blaming American Airlines and vise versa. Thanks for your help. I will definately be visiting this site if I cruise again.

 

Typical cruise line pass the buck. If the ship wasn't going to wait what was the bus doing at the airport? The ship should have told the bus driver at a particular time to pull out with the passengers already on the bus. If the bus waited Carnival should be on the hook for this. I can't believe that Carnival or their reps at the airport aren't in communication with the terminal and ship.

 

Bill

[JulieMcCoy]

Yes, flying in the day before would have been a better idea. BUT, under the circumstances, being on a Carnival bus and being told you would make the ship and then waiting for others and not making it is horrible - and Carnival's fault, I would think. I would have been very mad.

[Knights on the Beach]

:o ..PLEASE DONT FEED THE TROLLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Who are you calling a troll??

[njs]

:o ..PLEASE DONT FEED THE TROLLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

please explain:confused: Are you inferring that the OP's experience isnt credible

because from my own sad experience I can tell you that sometimes unrealistic flights are booked by the cruiselines

[cdnprincess]

This is so unreal that this could happen, Im sure it did and thats pretty bad because Carnival reps have comms with the ship. I hope you got the names of the 4 Carnival reps that were on the bus with you to back up your claim. You should also send Bob Dickerson an email along with Guest Relations.

 

I guess anyone just arriving the airport around 2pm should just get a Cab.

 

Fred

 

Who is Bob Dickerson? Letters have been written to Carnival (a 4 pager!!) and AA. I am waiting to see what my Travel Agent can do with her Carnival rep and if nothing they are getting one too, because I had questioned the times and I was assured by her that I had enough time. She even called Carnival in front of me and they said I had enough time.

I was thinking of suing, but really it would cost more than the cruise itself. I always research my trips, because I always book on-line, but this time I put my faith in Carnival and my TA. What a mistake that was. Thanks

[LHP]

Who is Bob Dickerson? Letters have been written to Carnival (a 4 pager!!) and AA. I am waiting to see what my Travel Agent can do with her Carnival rep and if nothing they are getting one too, because I had questioned the times and I was assured by her that I had enough time. She even called Carnival in front of me and they said I had enough time.

I was thinking of suing, but really it would cost more than the cruise itself. I always research my trips, because I always book on-line, but this time I put my faith in Carnival and my TA. What a mistake that was. Thanks

 

Bob Dickinson (note correct spelling for your letter) is the CEO of Carnival.

He has been with the company 35 years this year.

 

I do not believe a lawsuit will be necessary. I could have missed that post, but I did not read if you had travel insurance or not.

 

If you had travel insurance, than you should be covered by them.

 

If you did not have travel insurance, then all you need to do is write a well worded letter to Mr. Bob Dickinson at the address listed below:

 

Carnival Cruise Lines

Carnival Place

3655 NW 87 Avenue

Miami, Fl. 33178-2428

 

 

By "well worded" I mean that simply explain the situation in such a way that the person reading the letter can literally put themselves in your shoes. That is the quickiest way to convey your feelings about the situation. Avoid exaggerations or generalizations or judgments. A well worded letter will get them to "judge correctly" what went wrong and how it needs to be rectified.

 

I always do everything in writing as it leaves a documentation trail.

 

Give it several weeks and have reasonable expectations.

 

Again ( and I can not stress this enough) wording is the key. Simply describe the all the events of the day as they unfolded.

 

Giood luck.

[cdnprincess]

My DH and I are flying out of Toronto this Saturday (only 4 days away) to join the Glory in Orlando. We booked our flight and transfers through Carnival so that we wouldn't have any problems. We are transferring in New York and we are due to land in Orlando at 2 p.m.!! When we received out tickets, I e mailed Carnival (no reply) and I called my TA to express my concern about the tight time line. I was told that Carnival has this all fine tuned and there won't be a problem. Now I am very worried about what might happen. I don't want to miss the ship and have to be flown out to the first port on Monday. This worry is spoiling my anticipation of the trip especially after reading this thread. Any words of encouragement would be appreciated!!

 

The day my DH and I were to leave Orlando we went back to the Carnival counter where the buses were. I wanted to confirm when the last bus leaves the terminal. I was again told 3:00, by Mears Trans, but the Carnival Rep said now it has been changed to 2:15 because of what happened to us. I don't want to worry you but 2:00 does not sound like enought time. Make sure you get it in writing from whoever that 2:00 is acceptable in case you miss the boat. Can you let me know what happens. I would like to know if the ship waits at all.

 

We were told that the captain made the decision to leave because of bad weather coming in. I went on the internet and the only bad weather was north of Orlando where they had tornado warnings and nowhere near where the ship was going. It did rain at about 6:30ish but for about 15 min. while we were at the airport so I don't even know how far the ship was or if it rained in that area too.

[cdnprincess]

Bob Dickinson (note correct spelling for your letter) is the CEO of Carnival.

He has been with the company 35 years this year.

 

I do not believe a lawsuit will be necessary. I could have missed that post, but I did not read if you had travel insurance or not.

 

If you had travel insurance, than you should be covered by them.

 

If you did not have travel insurance, then all you need to do is write a well worded letter to Mr. Bob Dickinson at the address listed below:

 

Carnival Cruise Lines

Carnival Place

3655 NW 87 Avenue

Miami, Fl. 33178-2428

 

 

By "well worded" I mean that simply explain the situation in such a way that the person reading the letter can literally put themselves in your shoes. That is the quickiest way to convey your feelings about the situation. Avoid exaggerations or generalizations or judgments. A well worded letter will get them to "judge correctly" what went wrong and how it needs to be rectified.

 

I always do everything in writing as it leaves a documentation trail.

 

Give it several weeks and have reasonable expectations.

 

Again ( and I can not stress this enough) wording is the key. Simply describe the all the events of the day as they unfolded.

 

Giood luck.

 

Thanks for this info. I have not sent the letter yet because as you said in your post I don't want to exaggerate, or be mean I want to get my point accross.

[mrdood]

Thanks for this info. I have not sent the letter yet because as you said in your post I don't want to exaggerate, or be mean I want to get my point accross.

 

Did you purchase travel insurance???

[cdnprincess]

I keep forgetting to answer the insurance question. No I did not have insurance. I read the packages and thought I did not need it. I does not say that we are covered if we miss the ship only if we miss it for health reasons, or we are injured on the way, you are on jury duty, called into millitary service. I have Travel Health Insurance on my own, so I am covered that way.

 

The reps on the bus said we are ok if we have insurance, but one passenger said that it does not cover this and they just turned their backs like they did not hear the question.

[iluvdoxies]

So sorry that happened to you ! Hope you get a full refund.

[crusinpsychRN]

Did you have insurance?

[MizzCard]

I have never flown in the day before either so don't feel too bad. Most people don't.

I beg to differ....I do believe MOST people fly in the day before.

 

Next time' date=' and please let there be a next time, try for a flight that lands either the day before or no later than 10 or 11 a.m. the morning of departure.[/quote']

 

Again, no guarantees this flight wouldn't be delayed and they'd still miss the ship.

My recommendation: Fly down the night before...get a nice hotel and begin your vacation a day early :D

[LHP]

Did you have insurance?

 

No...y'all must have been posting at the same time. See above post.

[mrdood]

I beg to differ....I do believe MOST people fly in the day before.

 

 

 

Again, no guarantees this flight wouldn't be delayed and they'd still miss the ship.

 

My recommendation: Fly down the night before...get a nice hotel and begin your vacation a day early :D

 

AMEN - of course depending... if you live an hour flight away, and there are 200 other flights and you try an early AM flight, you might be just fine. From where I live to the east coast, there is no option to fly in "day of"...

[big_duck]

I beg to differ....I do believe MOST people fly in the day before.

 

I don't think so. Don't base that on what you see here, only a very small portion of the cruising public posts online.

 

The vast majority of cruisers especially newbies will just follow along with whatever gets booked without thinking twice that the experts could be leading to disaster.

[LHP]

I beg to differ....I do believe MOST people fly in the day before.

 

 

Again, no guarantees this flight wouldn't be delayed and they'd still miss the ship.

My recommendation: Fly down the night before...get a nice hotel and begin your vacation a day early :D

 

I have never seen a study. But in the good ole days, everyone flew in the day of the cruise.

 

The only time we flew in the "day of" as a family of four was when we flew to San Juan. And an Airbus went out for mechanical problems LOADED with cruisers headed to San Juan. Fortunately, we got to the airport literally at 5AM before the counter opened and Jean (Northwest agent in New Orleans who I will always be indebted to) got us 4 First Class tickets on American from NO to Dallas to San Juan and we made with ship with about 45 minutes to spare. Our friends did not make the cruise until the 2nd day.

 

There are now less huge airlines and the airlines are flying "tighter" so if there is a mechanical problem, the air seats are just not there to pick up the stranded passengers. More people are flying. Add the fact of Security issues today that can literally "lock down" an airport at any time...and I personally feel like it is foolish to fly in the day of a cruise any longer. But everyone has to make that call.

 

We live about 5 -6 hours away from New Orleans and we always drive in a day ahead.

 

Actually the number of people driving to a port has jumped more than anything...which is why cruise lines are adding ports.

[Guest CRUZIN' SUZIN]

I beg to differ....I do believe MOST people fly in the day before.

 

 

 

Again, no guarantees this flight wouldn't be delayed and they'd still miss the ship.

 

My recommendation: Fly down the night before...get a nice hotel and begin your vacation a day early :D

 

Since you fly in the day before I imagine you have never seen hum of activity at the airports the morning and early afternoon of a cruise. I have no hard facts but since I am always at the airport the morning of the cruise, I judge my comment on the activity I see at the airport and the people I meet on the ship. I meet more people on the ships that say they came in the day of the cruise than those that spent the night in the port town. I believe that is why Carnival staffs the airports with buses. Unless, of course, people check out of their hotel, return to the airport just to catch the shuttles to the ships? :eek:

 

However, my comment was to the OP to let her know that it is not unheard of that people fly in the day of the cruise. May be ill advised but not unheard of at all.

 

The day before is good but may not be feasible. If you have to work on Friday and the ship leaves on a Saturday, there may not be a flight available after work.

[nrdsb4]

Thanks for this info. I have not sent the letter yet because as you said in your post I don't want to exaggerate, or be mean I want to get my point accross.

 

 

I think the best strategy for your letter would be to make it as short and to the point as possible while still including pertinent details. I don't think a four page letter is the best tactic. Be sure to state exactly what it is you want them to do to remedy your situation. Leaving it open will probably only get you the minimum or nothing. Be sure to use spell check and have a friend read it over in order to catch any mistakes you might have missed. Studies have shown that well written complaint letters usually get the best results.

 

Good luck! I think you have a very legitimate complaint.

[linda8892]

I keep forgetting to answer the insurance question. No I did not have insurance. I read the packages and thought I did not need it. I does not say that we are covered if we miss the ship only if we miss it for health reasons, or we are injured on the way, you are on jury duty, called into millitary service. I have Travel Health Insurance on my own, so I am covered that way.

 

The reps on the bus said we are ok if we have insurance, but one passenger said that it does not cover this and they just turned their backs like they did not hear the question.

 

Unfortunately too many people feel that they do not need travel insurance...do you have any idea how much it costs to be airlifted off of an island in a medical emergency and how many personal health insurance policies do not cover it??? Young or old anything unexpected can happen...at one point I never took travel insurance, but after reading some bad stories here on the boards I never go without it...I am traveling on the Carnival Freedom next week and purchased insurance as I did for my Carnival Glory cruise 2 yrs ago...

 

Good luck with your situation...I do not blame you for being upset...when I took an Alaskan cruise a few yrs back I also flew in the day before as I am doing for my Med. cruise...too many things can go wrong especially when bad weather is involved.