Liberty Europe Cancelled; How do You Cruise in a Tough Economy?

[hansi]

Unfortunately I doubt that Carnival will refund anything other than monies paid to Carnival.

 

This is the reason it is not a good idea to book non-refundable you name it (hotel, air ...) more than 100 days out. And then it is a good idea to purchase insurance.

 

but if you don't book it this far in advance, you won't get it. Have you ever tried to book a hotel in Central London in August near the travel date??? And insurance won't cover that anyway. They would pass it back to Carnival!

[victory2020]

We have always been finacially conservative, so now we have plenty of money to scoop up the bargains. We are now cruising more in higher categories.

[Cuizer2]

but if you don't book it this far in advance, you won't get it. Have you ever tried to book a hotel in Central London in August near the travel date??? And insurance won't cover that anyway. They would pass it back to Carnival!

When I am concerned about needing a reservation early I don't make a non-refundable reservation. Yes, I know it is more expensive, but it is better than loosing a non-refundable reservation.

 

There is insurance that will cover your expenses when a cruise line cancels a cruise. If the insurance company then wants to try and collect from Carnival, that is the insurance company's choice. Nonetheless, if it is a covered loss, then the insurance company must reimburse you and then try to collect against the responsible party. Just because someone else might be responsible is not a reason that an insurance company can withhold payment.

[Times Prince]

We still find cruising the most economical way of taking a vacation. What we do is to continue to book the best cabin we can reasonably afford, plus we have found a good TA who helps some with lower prices.

 

On board we don't splurge or waste money, and we do not worry about costs of little things like soft drinks to the point where it bothers us and disturbs our enjoyment of the cruise..

[Cuizer2]

Somehow I am not surprised by this news Even if cruise prices go down ,the Euro and excursions in Europe become prohibitivaly expensive .

I read a review from someone who did an excursion in Egypt and Israel and spent 600$ pp for each one.... WOW Who has that kind of money for 2 excursions on a 12 day cruise???

 

Michele

 

Some people do have that kind of money, and if they want to spend $600 or more on an excursion, that is their choice. It doesn't mean you have to follow suit.

[world~citizen]

We will not change our cruising plans.

 

Wouldn't it be nice to catch a bargain or two for a change?

 

Smooth sailing to you...

[Times Prince]

Somehow I am not surprised by this news Even if cruise prices go down ,the Euro and excursions in Europe become prohibitivaly expensive .

I read a review from someone who did an excursion in Egypt and Israel and spent 600$ pp for each one.... WOW Who has that kind of money for 2 excursions on a 12 day cruise???How much did the rest cost!!!!

To me that is WAY over the top...and now that my poor dollar went KERPLUNK it makes it even more expensive .I have wanted to take my family to Europe for a LONG time as I use to spend summers there when I was in my 20's.....however it does not look feasable for many years .

 

Michele

We just got back from a 12 day cruise including Egypt. That $600 tour was a TWO FULL DAY tour, including an overnight at a luxury hotel in Cairo, and about 3-1/2 bus ride each way from the port. Yes the ship's excursion was a expensive, but there were other alternatives - and 80 people on our Cruise Critic Roll Call took one of them.

 

At all other ports we had excursions in the $39 - $69 pp range and all the major costs were in dollars - Euros were only needed for souveniers on shore.

 

Princess Cruises threw in a Bus tour of Rome for the cost of the transfer from the airport to the ship port - no extra charge.

 

We've paid more at times in the Caribbean for excursions.

[SunFunCruiser]

I find it interesting that Disney chose to go back to Europe in 2010. I wonder if they will fill the ship like they did last time. Therte is plenty of availabilty now, whereas last time they were selling like crazy when the rates first came out.

[browneyes7]

Was booked on Liberty for the Sept 2009 sailing from London to Rome. We will still sail in the Med but we'll probably sail again on Celebrity which we have done twice before. We just liked the ports in this London to Rome trip. Oh well thats how things go...sad because we were looking forward to Liberty

LFTM

 

We are (were) booked for the Nov. 2009 Med./Transatlantic on the Liberty. We saw this (London to Rome) cruise and were seriously considering changing ours to this one. I loved the fact that we could see some of Northern Europe and some of the Mediterranean on the same cruise. I am sick that these cruises have been cancelled. We are now considering the Carnival Dream cruise in Europe.

[LHP]

I picked "other".....because I have decided to spend my money before the Government gets ahold of it to "redistribute" to someone else!!

 

We have 6 cruises booked and paid for between now and the Blogger's cruise

in February. That looks like a pretty good schedule...I will just keep that up!! :D

[Goldryder]

I went for cruising less often. I have 2 cruises booked for 2009. Costa Fortuna transatlantic and Costa Classica in the Far East.

 

I am almost 99% sure that the Fortuna will bite the dust, but then I can do a transatlantic anytime.

 

The Far East cruise is a one-off, not to be missed at any cost type cruise and that is the one I am concentrating on. It's in October 2009 so I still have time to get the funds together. I do not have credit cards etc, just plain old cash, so saving up like someone demented is the only way I get to go away on cruises. As the finances are very limited I try to do cruises that are out of the way areas of the world where commercialisation has yet to ruin things. Yes, that usually means they are often more expensive but being a solo cruiser makes cruising expensive anyway, so the way I look at it is that I save for something really special...once a year :)

 

I am looking ahead to 2010 and a couple of cruises have come up trumps as far as destinations/cost, but I won't be booking til my October Far east is paid up.

[Yancey_Elsa]

We were booked on Carnival Pride for July 09 but just received an email from Carnival informing us that Pride is moving to Baltimore port and our reservation is being changed to Carnival Liberty out of Miami. I am not sure if this explains the sudden change from the Med./Transatlantic on the Liberty.[/font]

[browneyes7]

Well that is unfortunate and I understand how disappointed many of you must be that have cancelled cruises..

 

I am taking a Med. Cruise in a few weeks, Not on Carnival (even though I am a fan of Carnival) but all my friends have been laughing at my decision to go to Europe during the past year, giving me a rough time because prices and exchange rates were so bad. Well the whole time I said, I just have a feeling things will work out, and the dollar can't stay like this forever. I shopped hard for decent airfare, and planned to cruise back to the states on the NCL Jade Transatlantic, well NCL made a decision to keep the Jade in Europe and cancelled the Transatlantic (a move they will probably regret I think) so I was stuck either cancelling the whole thing or doing something else, so I went ahead and found a good deal on return airfare and a nice 7 day western med. cruise on yet a different cruise line combined with a land adventure involving London, Rome and Ireland. So

 

there you have it. In the long run I think this trip will turn out to be a

 

pretty good bargain since the USD is gaining against the GBP and Euro. I think if people want to go to Europe, now is a great time to go, if you are in a position financially. Shop until you find the price you want to pay, deals are out there if you look hard enough. I booked one way air for four people for $1084 Chicago to London on Virgin, and then found a similar deal returning on Air Lingus from Dublin. Get creative and think outside the box.

 

One man's obstacle is another's opportunity.

 

Is the $1084 the total price for all four of you? That is a fantastic price!!! We will have to check out those airlines for our next Med. cruise. Thanks for the tip.:)

[hubofhockey]

It's stupid I had my money and was ready to go. Terrible decision on their part

 

Carnival actually made Europe and the Med affordable. I bought one of those vouchers that they sell on board on my last cruise. You pay $100 and get much more than that in OBC. Now, I will be cashing that voucher in. Princess mainly does longer 12-14 day cruises out there. I am looking to book on RCI for my 2010 Med cruise now.

 

As far as the poll goes, I am not going to cheapen my vacation because things cost more. I will save in other discretionary areas (going out to eat less and conserving in other areas). For my next cruise, I took an AirTran flight that actually has a stop (not a change of planes though).

[BP99]

:mad:

Hi,

I had a very funny phone call today with a Carnival rep.

I was phoning to get my refund on a paid cruise to the Baltics

on the Liberty next year.

He told me several times that the cruise was NOT CANCELLED!!!

I told him that I read the news on CC, blogs etc and that Carnival did

Indeed cancel the Baltic cruises.

He told me that the cruise was not cancelled but it was leaving from Miami.

It was also changing its itinerary.

To bad that I had paid for airfare to London/Dover instead of Miami.

How did I ever make that mistake booking my plane?

This is the 2nd time within a year that Carnival cancelled on me.

Last time I booked a carb cruise with air online.

The next day they told me that they couldn’t do the cruise

Since the airfare could not be included (price increases etc).

I lost $70 in booking fees in 24 hours due to THEIR ERROR!!

I’m losing faith with this organization. I spend a lot of

Money, time and effort planning trips.

As you can see I’m not happy.

[Cuizer2]

:mad:

Hi,

I had a very funny phone call today with a Carnival rep.

I was phoning to get my refund on a paid cruise to the Baltics

on the Liberty next year.

He told me several times that the cruise was NOT CANCELLED!!!

I told him that I read the news on CC, blogs etc and that Carnival did

Indeed cancel the Baltic cruises.

He told me that the cruise was not cancelled but it was leaving from Miami.

It was also changing its itinerary.

To bad that I had paid for airfare to London/Dover instead of Miami.

How did I ever make that mistake booking my plane?

This is the 2nd time within a year that Carnival cancelled on me.

Last time I booked a carb cruise with air online.

The next day they told me that they couldn’t do the cruise

Since the airfare could not be included (price increases etc).

I lost $70 in booking fees in 24 hours due to THEIR ERROR!!

I’m losing faith with this organization. I spend a lot of

Money, time and effort planning trips.

As you can see I’m not happy.

 

Have you considered using a TA?

[SunFunCruiser]

Have you considered using a TA?

 

That wouldn't have changed anything, except that the TA would have had to give them the bad news instead.

 

CCL seems to be making the most changes to their intineraries. I asked a question to a CCL rep about a cruise in the brochure and she said not to pay any attention to the brochures because most of it has changed@@.

[themnms]

Some people do have that kind of money, and if they want to spend $600 or more on an excursion, that is their choice. It doesn't mean you have to follow suit.

the $600 excursion is the one in Egypt..I was researching it,the cruise was going to Alexandria and the excursion was an overnight one, hence the pricetag....oops just read another poster who explained this!!! just a note, I would have paid it for the overnight to see the pyramids!!

[Cuizer2]

the $600 excursion is the one in Egypt..I was researching it,the cruise was going to Alexandria and the excursion was an overnight one, hence the pricetag

My favorite was a $1,000+ excursion I saw in some European port (I don't remember which). After spending several thousands on a European cruise, I found it hard to believe that someone would choose for an excursion - another cruise (aboard a yacht - which is why it is so expensive).

[dthompsond1]

There are too many large ships sailing out of England next year. I always wondered where the crowds would come from to fill them. Personally, with less than a $1.60 to the £1, I will only sail on a cruise line that uses the £ stirling on board ie P and O or Fred Olsen. Was looking at Grand Princess to Norway next year but am now changing it to Fred Olsen mainly because of the exchange rate. Also FO dont add 15% to all onboard drinks which makes a big difference to the final bill.

[hansi]

I think I'll stick with Princess for the "Elite" perks and the advance OBC!

[Single Cruiser]

From my experience in the UK we have the same problem with fly cruises to the Caribbean. I notice the price gap between a 2-week med and 2-week Caribbean this season have shot up due to the air fares.

 

Carnival own brand rarely get seen in the UK, all the ads are P&O, Ocean Village and I've also seen a RCL ad on telly.

 

Obviously the first two have all the usual UK-orientated, prices on-board in £ rather than $ through to simple things like not having to take loads of travel adaptors to plug chargers in on cabins that only have US voltage etc..

[MrsLeo]

Is the $1084 the total price for all four of you? That is a fantastic price!!! We will have to check out those airlines for our next Med. cruise. Thanks for the tip.:)

 

I got the outbound Virgin Flights through http://www.1800flyeurope.com

Of course the deal is there that they will not tell you what airline you are purchasing until after you have bought it. They do tell you flight times etc... prior though. I could not have been happier though. $1084 was the total price with taxes and everything for the four of us. I wish I had know at the time I booked it that we would be flying back because I could have gotten a round trip ticket for just a few hundred more. It really was a steal though because I went to Virgin's website and at the time had I booked it directly through them it would have cost 3-4 times as much. Another thing to keep in mind is that you can often save money flying to and from Europe if you are flexible where you arrive and depart from. I really didn't care as long as I got across the pond and the more I got to see, the better. We are also travelling with two kids so I wasn't relishing a 13 hour flight from Chicago to Rome. So we will fly non-stop from Chicago to London, spend the day we arrive sightseeing and exploring. Then the next day about 12:00 we catch a bus at our hotel which connects to another bus at Heathrow, to take us to London Stansted Airport. We will then fly on Ryanair (very inexpensive flights within Europe, just watch your baggage allowances) to Milan Italy and then on to Rome. Our Hotel in Rome is sending a car to pick us up when we arrive, after spending the night we'll hop on a train to the port and board our ship and cruise the western Med for a week. We'll arrive back in Rome a week later, get off the ship, take the train to the hotel, drop off our luggage, spend the day sightseeing and having fun, wake up the next morning, have breakfast then take the train to DaVinci Airport, fly to Belfast, Ireland on aer Lingus, take a bus to Dublin and sightsee for the rest that day and part of the next day, then fly home to the states on Aer Lingus.

 

Finding the flights to and from Europe is the tricky part. Getting around within Europe is pretty inexpensive if you stick with the budget carriers like Ryanair and Easy Jet. I was surprised how much money I saved flying into Belfast rather than Dublin or London and then taking an inexpensive bus ride, but do know what your baggage allowances are and when calculating the whole price be sure you have purchased adequate baggage allowances and cut back on what you are carrying. Don't bring your entire closet.

 

Hope that helps you save a few dollars.

[Dan Askin]

the $600 excursion is the one in Egypt..I was researching it,the cruise was going to Alexandria and the excursion was an overnight one, hence the pricetag....oops just read another poster who explained this!!! just a note, I would have paid it for the overnight to see the pyramids!!

 

I concur. Actually just took a similar excursions -- an overnight to Cairo -- during and NCL cruise. Prices was roughly $500 (that was for single and not double occupancy), and though it added a hefty chunk to the cost of the cruise, it was one of those one-off purchases that people refer to. The package was pretty extensive and I think certainly worth the price. It included tranportation to and from Cairo (about 3 hours), visits to the Pyramids at Giza, the Egyptian Museum of Antiguities, ancient Sakkara necropolis, Memphis, hotel accommodations (at a pretty decent hotel, the Conrad) and a Nile River dinner cruise.

 

Economic concerns being what they are, it's still not something I could have possibly passed up. Regret would have outweighed debt.

[BlueC5Kitten]

I don't typically change anything with regard to my cruising...since I only have recently started cruising and only usually go on one a year, it isn't a huge out of pocket expense, especially if I have a roommate, like this year!

 

I would probably make more sacrifices in my other activities of daily living before I would give up a hard won vacation, honestly.