changed itinery dissapointed to say the least

[sandian]

Our cruise Southern Carribean March 2010, it appears the itinery has been changed and we now cruise for three full days before landfall. How often does this happen? really dissapointed as we wanted to stretch our legs. This is only our second cruise last was several years ago:confused:

[madforcruising]

Our cruise Southern Carribean March 2010, it appears the itinery has been changed and we now cruise for three full days before landfall. How often does this happen? really dissapointed as we wanted to stretch our legs. This is only our second cruise last was several years ago:confused:

 

Itineraries change all the time. It has happened to me quite often sometimes way before the cruise like in your case where you still can decide to cancel and choose another itinerary, sometimes closer to saildate and sometimes as late as while actually on the cruise.

[Alexis]

With the price of oil changing all the time, the ships are changing their itineraries too. They can change everything about a cruise and we can not say a thing.

Your cruise is in 2010. That gives your plenty of time to search for other cruises you may like to change to. It is not like you are cruising next month.

I had a cruise change on me once, that almost every single island on our 11 night Southern Caribbean was changed months before we left. That was a shock. We had a choice of canceling or staying. We stayed.

You have a long time to decide.

[sandian]

Thanks for your replies have only been on one cruise before which we loved there was one itinery change but we were informed well in advance from the ta. We decided to stick with it and were not dissapointed. Why have we not been informed this time?. What happens if we decide to change do we lose any of our deposit?

Thanks

[39august]

You can certainly change to another sailing or cancel and get your money back up until the final payment date, which for March 2010 should be somewhere around January 2010. You may not have been notifed yet because this sailing is so far in advance.

[wrp96]

Just an FYI, noticed the OP is in Wales, which means that they could not cancel and get their deposit back.

[lynn247]

I've read that San Juan was eliminated from some 12 day cruises. As much as some people feel that it is a wasted port, I feel that San Juan is my "UH-OH I forgot to pack my...." port.

 

Last year my husband forgot to pack his bathing suit.:eek: The Ralph Lauren shop had a very nice one for him. We bought two. The Walgreen's had the Tums, the potato chips, and hair spray, and any other item we needed, wanted, or forgot.

 

So far it has not been eliminated from our 9 night nor from the 12 night we are waitlisted on. If they do, I'll just have to be sure that I pack extra carefully:rolleyes:

[sandian]

thanks again for all your comments, dont think I will risk cancelling as I have done loads of research on ghis cruise and am already really excited. I am sure we will enjoy

[Maraprince]

Somewhere in these threads is a posting addressing dropped ports. It involves the cruise line wanting to sailing to ports that are closer and do not use up as much fuel. The debate that is raging is that RCCL has already passed along some of the higher fuel costs with their surcharges and higher overall fares for 2009, so why are they now dropping ports!

 

With the sailings being in 2009 and 2010, passengers still have time to cancel and rebook with another cruise line.

 

However, what about the 2008 upcoming sailings that include these dropped ports? Will RCCL wait until we are boarding to addess the changes or will something show up on their main website?

 

One has to wonder why these changes are being made now.

 

 

MARAPRINCE

[LisaH]

Our cruise Southern Carribean March 2010, it appears the itinery has been changed and we now cruise for three full days before landfall. How often does this happen? really dissapointed as we wanted to stretch our legs. This is only our second cruise last was several years ago:confused:

 

 

Sea days are great. You can do as much or as little as you want. You can stretch your legs by doing a lot of walking on the ship - go to the gym, etc. You will have a great time in spite of the change. They happen frequently. So maybe when you get to your first port, it will be port after port and no sea days. Then you will wish for one to rest. HAVE FUN!!! I know you will. And just think, the casino will be open for 72 hours straight! - or close to it. Try "stretching" your legs in there as you can stand while playing slots. :)

[Sugar*Magnolia]

Somewhere in these threads is a posting addressing dropped ports. It involves the cruise line wanting to sailing to ports that are closer and do not use up as much fuel. The debate that is raging is that RCCL has already passed along some of the higher fuel costs with their surcharges and higher overall fares for 2009, so why are they now dropping ports!

 

With the sailings being in 2009 and 2010, passengers still have time to cancel and rebook with another cruise line.

 

However, what about the 2008 upcoming sailings that include these dropped ports? Will RCCL wait until we are boarding to addess the changes or will something show up on their main website?

 

One has to wonder why these changes are being made now.

 

 

MARAPRINCE

 

Okay, Im so confused about this! Was there a press release explaining the change or elimination of ports to displace the cost of rising fuel or is it speculation?

 

Im guessing I missed something, because I havent read the threads about it but I keep checking my Dec 21 itinerary. So far no change and Im hoping they dont eliminate ANYTHING.....5 islands plus Labadee...I sure hope they dont cancel any.

 

We had the Bahamas cancelled once....they had an accident and had to dredge the pier...I was VERY happy to have another sea day! :D

[lady_cruiser]

Our cruise Southern Carribean March 2010, it appears the itinery has been changed and we now cruise for three full days before landfall. How often does this happen? really dissapointed as we wanted to stretch our legs. This is only our second cruise last was several years ago:confused:

 

I really feel for you but take advantage of the extra days at sea to catch up on your sleep, read that novel you have been wanting to read, start a travel journal or take advantage of some of the classes that the ship has to offer (wine tasting, cooking, etc.)

 

Changes in itineraries are just part of cruising and we all get use to get. And so shall you. :p

[Canoeguy]

DW and I were all set to cruise RC again in 2009 and it is very disappointing to see they have dropped ports for Explorer. Not only are some southern ports missing, but I see they dropped Quebec City and other northern-most ports. What's next?- 200 laps around Ellis Island.

[chitowngoose]

Just found out that they dropped Grand Cayman off of our Liberty cruise in Feb 2010. I would have rather dropped Cozy than GC. Or be offered to pay additional $. GC is one of our favorites.

That's 2 ports in 2 cruises that have been dropped in the past week or so. And with no RCL notification! The other was dropping PR from a Jan 2010 Explorer cruise.

Looks like they are really tightening their belt for cruises 1-1/2 years out.

[Gonzo70]

Okay, Im so confused about this! Was there a press release explaining the change or elimination of ports to displace the cost of rising fuel or is it speculation?

 

Royal Caribbean spoke about this during their conference call last month discussing/responding to second quarter earnings. They announced steps they are taking to deal with the increased expenses they are dealing with do to high oil prices. One such step they mentioned was adjusting some itineraries to enable the ship to use less fuel.

 

While it is true that they are passing some cost of high oil prices on via the fuel supplement, this does not cover their entire burden. Therefore they are using a combination of the fuel supplement along with some cost cutting measures to offset their increased costs. Missing out on ports is definitely upsetting to many, but I personally would rather this than further cuts in the level of service on board the ship. The closer to the sail date that they make the change, the more difficult it is to swallow as people may have already made non refundable travel arrangements and not be able to readily switch to a different cruise.

[Sugar*Magnolia]

Thank you Gonzo for the clarification. :)

 

I keep wondering if they will eliminate an island from our next cruise.....:o

[critterchick]

What I would LOVE to see is more overnights in ports. Surely that would lead to some good fuel savings, and you'd get to see some cities in depth instead of just a days' hit and run.

 

That's one reason we booked Azamara for Italy next year - 3 overnights, so we'll get to do some serious exploring without having to watch the clock on at least one day.

[Azure Moon]

What I would LOVE to see is more overnights in ports. Surely that would lead to some good fuel savings, and you'd get to see some cities in depth instead of just a days' hit and run.

 

That's one reason we booked Azamara for Italy next year - 3 overnights, so we'll get to do some serious exploring without having to watch the clock on at least one day.

 

I love the idea of overnights! They were terrific on our Hawaii cruise.

Staying overnight is a big attraction for the Bermuda cruises.

Doing an overnight in the Southern Caribbean would be sweet!

 

There are a couple of RCCL cruises I'm seriously looking at due to ports, but in another thread, I see one of them has been cancelled. Now I'm skittish of booking cruises then having the "centerpiece" of my dream itinerary taken away :(.

[editor@cruisecritic]

I love your perspective about San Juan being your "uh-oh forgot-to-pack port". It's totally true (though I've actually grown to enjoy San Juan on its merits though I wish we could have more daytime calls than just the nighttime ones.

 

Anyway, my first impression is that three full days at sea at the outset is a little bit unusual -- especially since all we're hearing on this end is how cruise lines want to put ships in to port every day so they can eliminate fuel costs. What is the itinerary now? What was it before? Please tell.

 

It could be that the cruise line wants to slow the ship down (and save fuel) hence the extra day at sea...but that seems kind of weird. Why not just alter the itinerary so ports aren't so far apart?

 

Anyway, I'd really like to know more....

 

Carolyn

 

Carolyn Spencer Brown

Editor in Chief

Cruise Critic

 

 

I've read that San Juan was eliminated from some 12 day cruises. As much as some people feel that it is a wasted port, I feel that San Juan is my "UH-OH I forgot to pack my...." port.

 

Last year my husband forgot to pack his bathing suit.:eek: The Ralph Lauren shop had a very nice one for him. We bought two. The Walgreen's had the Tums, the potato chips, and hair spray, and any other item we needed, wanted, or forgot.

 

So far it has not been eliminated from our 9 night nor from the 12 night we are waitlisted on. If they do, I'll just have to be sure that I pack extra carefully:rolleyes:

[tomko2]

Just found out that they dropped Grand Cayman off of our Liberty cruise in Feb 2010. I would have rather dropped Cozy than GC. Or be offered to pay additional $. GC is one of our favorites.

 

That's 2 ports in 2 cruises that have been dropped in the past week or so. And with no RCL notification! The other was dropping PR from a Jan 2010 Explorer cruise.

 

Looks like they are really tightening their belt for cruises 1-1/2 years out.

 

What!!!:eek: :eek:

Rushing to check our itinerary for the Liberty Jan. 2010. If they have dropped GC we will be switching cruises.

Thanks for the heads-up.

Kathy:(

[sandian]

still cant understand why we are not getting notified any ideas? it seems bad management, I know times are hard but from all my research RCCL seems to be a pretty good company to travel with am I wrong/:confused:

[sandian]

still cant understand why we are not getting notified any ideas? it seems bad management, I know times are hard but from all my research RCCL seems to be a pretty good company to travel with am I wrong/:confused:

[sandian]

still cant understand why we are not getting notified any ideas? it seems bad management, I know times are hard but from all my research RCCL seems to be a pretty good company to travel with am I wrong/:confused:

[Sun Lover]

I would love to have even one overnight someplace. We did the southern route last year, and it was great staying in Aruba until 1 a.m. Do they not do overnights because of docking fees to stay at the pier that long? That's all I can figure. Also, if RCI drops a port ahead of time, do you get any notification in advance? Shpuld I just keep checking my upcoming cruise to see if the itinerary has changed?

[tomko2]

I checked our Liberty of the Seas sailing for Jan. 2010 and sure enough Grand Cayman has been dropped. Very disappointing. Thanks to Chitowngoose for the heads-up.

Kathy