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

[Dan Askin]

Will Carnival be offering compensation for passengers booked on the Liberty out of Dover?

 

Hey hansi,

In touch with Carnival over the compensation and they've told us the following about those booked on Carnival Liberty Europe cruises.

*Carnival will cover the full cost of non-refundable air if guests cancel their Europe vacation.

*If you still want to cruise Europe on your specific dates, you'll have the opportunity to book a sailing on one of Carnival's sister lines, like Holland America or Princess. We couldn't get specific details on how much extra, if any, you'll have to pay to do so, but it's likely that the original cost of your Carnival cruise can be applied to the new booking.

 

*Guests booked on the Carnival Liberty Europe cruises will receive a $50 per stateroom onboard credit if they rebook on the 2009 Carnival Dream Europe cruises or any other 2009 Carnival cruise. There are some specific requirements for groups which have been communicated to all existing group bookings.

Anyone try to take up Carnival on a rebooking offer yet?

[Cuizer2]

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@@.

 

A good TA could have prevented many of these problems before they became problems and also would have done the leg work for the client.

[bluwes]

Ok heres a perspective from the UK.

My wife and I have sailed 6 times previously with Carnival, mainly in the Caribbean, but also the Mexican Riviera. We did the Med last year on the Freedom and thought it was fantastic.

We could'nt cruise this year as we had two long haul land trips arranged. However we had decided to try a trip from Dover this time making it easier to get to the ship, with a short train journey into London, couple of nights in a hotel to take in a West End show then onto Dover for a relaxed emabarkation, instead of rushing through airport terminals minus half our luggage to get to the ship before she departs.

Now that is all ruined. Nobody has told us officially yet that the season has been cancelled I have only found out through John Heald blog and this forum

We are looking to re-book with Carnival, but the only cruise we can do is on the Dreams inaugral cruise,however its the same itinerary we did last year,which is'nt too much of a problem as we enjoyed the likes of Venice, Cannes, Rome etc, but we like to sail so that we can celebrate our wedding anniversary which doesnt occur with the Dreams sailing date.

I know the financial crisis we are all suffering at the moment but surely the dollar/ pound rate has fallen to such a level that for our American friends the price becomes competitive again, epsecially as fuel surcharges are also being removed by a number of airlines and cruise companies.

I will let you know how we go on re-booking. I read elsewhere that Carnival are offering $50 per cabin credit.....whoooopeee

[browneyes7]

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.

 

Thanks for the info. We have flown back from Europe twice after a cruise, but have never gotten that good of a deal!!:)

[browneyes7]

Ok heres a perspective from the UK.

My wife and I have sailed 6 times previously with Carnival, mainly in the Caribbean, but also the Mexican Riviera. We did the Med last year on the Freedom and thought it was fantastic.

We could'nt cruise this year as we had two long haul land trips arranged. However we had decided to try a trip from Dover this time making it easier to get to the ship, with a short train journey into London, couple of nights in a hotel to take in a West End show then onto Dover for a relaxed emabarkation, instead of rushing through airport terminals minus half our luggage to get to the ship before she departs.

Now that is all ruined. Nobody has told us officially yet that the season has been cancelled I have only found out through John Heald blog and this forum

We are looking to re-book with Carnival, but the only cruise we can do is on the Dreams inaugral cruise,however its the same itinerary we did last year,which is'nt too much of a problem as we enjoyed the likes of Venice, Cannes, Rome etc, but we like to sail so that we can celebrate our wedding anniversary which doesnt occur with the Dreams sailing date.

I know the financial crisis we are all suffering at the moment but surely the dollar/ pound rate has fallen to such a level that for our American friends the price becomes competitive again, epsecially as fuel surcharges are also being removed by a number of airlines and cruise companies.

I will let you know how we go on re-booking. I read elsewhere that Carnival are offering $50 per cabin credit.....whoooopeee

 

We have re-booked on the Carnival Dream, but it is costing us a lot more than what we were paying on the Liberty. On the Liberty, we were getting the military rate, but the Dream doesn't offer a military rate. We plan to look for other European cruises and possibly change to another line. I, too, feel that we should be offered more than a $50 per cabin credit!!

[SunFunCruiser]

A good TA could have prevented many of these problems before they became problems and also would have done the leg work for the client.

 

Leg work, yes I agree about the phone calls, problems no. This person's cruise was canceled, a TA can't prevent that. TA's get their info from CCL ,and they are consitently wrong with their info. Many find out more info from here and other travel sites before CCL gets top them. This is what happened when CCL canceled my Med. Freedom cruise.

[Cuizer2]

Leg work, yes I agree about the phone calls, problems no. This person's cruise was canceled, a TA can't prevent that. TA's get their info from CCL ,and they are consitently wrong with their info. Many find out more info from here and other travel sites before CCL gets top them. This is what happened when CCL canceled my Med. Freedom cruise.

 

A TA would not have been able to prevent the cruise from being cancelled, but a good TA would have taken care of the following problems (in red) from the list that BP99 posted ...

 

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.

 

That is about half the list, and thus about half the unhappiness.

[SunFunCruiser]

A TA would not have been able to prevent the cruise from being cancelled, but a good TA would have taken care of the following problems (in red) from the list that BP99 posted ...

 

 

 

That is about half the list, and thus about half the unhappiness.

 

 

I'm sure you have your opinion, but I can tell you that there have been plenty, no many times when CCL reps tell TA the wrong info, like above. TA or not, wrong info, like the first three, maybe even four items in your red list. But yes the client would not have to deal with it and I do suggest everyone use a TA, but that doesn't mean you will get correct info from CCL, they stink. I know first hand.

[Cuizer2]

I'm sure you have your opinion, but I can tell you that there have been plenty, no many times when CCL reps tell TA the wrong info, like above. TA or not, wrong info, but yes the client would not have to deal with it and I do suggest everyone use a TA, but that doesn't mean you will get correct info from CCL, they stink.

TA's usually have a contact within Carnival that is more knowledgeable than the costumer service reps. As a result the good TAs many times provide accurate information before the costumer service reps (CSR) do.

 

For example, the TA would likely have known about the change in Liberty's schedule before the general public or the CSRs. I have received notice from my TA of changes that were to be made public at a later date. As I said, the TA could not change the cancellation, but the TA could have lessened the impact. For example, advising not to buy non-refundable airfare nine months ahead of time, or suggested the purchase of insurance to cover a cancelled cruise. Or the TA might have realized the problem with the air and the Caribbean cruise and informed the client before any money was spent on a mistake.

 

The person says they spent a lot of time planning their vacation and things are not going too well. Perhaps a knowledgable TA would be helpful in this case.

[dopeyngrumpy]

We returned from a cruise on Thursday to a call to tell us that out Liberty cruise booked July 2009 was cancelled - really disappointed as it was for our sons completion of high school. We've found 2 alternatives but they are £400 to £600 more for the 3 of us (approx $1000). Carnival's only offer is to cancel or book another and get $50 onboard credit between all 3 of us - wow!

 

So we will be moving to another company - since then we've found out they are dumping their UK Ocean Village brand (the ship we were on last week) so its not all rosy for Carnival in the UK.

[spikester]

I actually have been cruising so much lately because it is an affordable vacation option for me. Going on a cruise is cheaper than a land vacation for me. I would love to go to Europe (for example) 2 or 3 times a year, but with the exchange rates being so crazy I just can't.

 

I love to travel and have been all over the world. I keep an eye on my flights and usually keep a price in mind that I want to pay, so if I see a fare about that range I get it.

I also book the cheapest cabin I can, because I just don't care too much about what cabin I am in.

[calicruise74]

We returned from a cruise on Thursday to a call to tell us that out Liberty cruise booked July 2009 was cancelled - really disappointed as it was for our sons completion of high school. We've found 2 alternatives but they are £400 to £600 more for the 3 of us (approx $1000). Carnival's only offer is to cancel or book another and get $50 onboard credit between all 3 of us - wow!

 

So we will be moving to another company - since then we've found out they are dumping their UK Ocean Village brand (the ship we were on last week) so its not all rosy for Carnival in the UK.

 

I did not know about the droppping of Ocean Village?? wow!

[Mellany]

I am cruising more.............but closer to home I was on the Monarch in July, and I am cruising the Ryndam next month and I'm on the Spirit in March. I think you get a big bang for your buck with cruising. I was hoping to go to Peru in March but the flight was soooo expensive 1200 from LAX to Lima, I said the heck with paying that much for airfare. I will book a cruise....lol

[bunnyette]

I for one am quite sad that they are dropping their Europe Cruises (or drastically reducing them). Their prices were reasonable and IMO you got what you paid for. I could not have got a similar land tour for the price I paid.

 

We cruised the Freedom in 2007 and I was thinking about a Baltic Cruise this summer - but now will postpone.

 

Carribean cruising doesn't really interest us as we are more sight-seers then sun-worshippers. I know the economy is tough, however this is a mistake.

[CanadianMommyof2]

Great question, CruisePup, sorry we didn't answer it outright. Carnival Liberty is going to stay Miami-based (as it is through the winter) but will shake up its rotating Eastern and Western Caribbean routes a bit for the spring and summer....

 

Starting April 25, the "exotic Eastern Caribbean cruise" will call Half Moon Cay, a private Bahamian island; St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos Islands. The western route will visit Ocho Rios, Jamaica; George Town, Grand Cayman; and Cozumel.

 

But "exotic" is clearly marketing speak here. There's nothing exotic about those ports. So ignore the hyperbole and have fun if you go but Carnival must think we're all rubes to buy its "exotic" positioning.

 

Carolyn

 

Carolyn Spencer Brown

Editor in Chief

Cruise Critic

 

Mexico

 

I'm confused then, we received a call from Carnival saying that our 8 day Exotic Eastern Caribbean cruise was also cancelled! We were given the option of the Freedom out of Fort Lauderdale with two of the ports changing....

[izzyvet]

I answered "other" as my cruising plans have not changed, in fact I have 2 booked now, the prices are good. I have my first 2 week cruise booked, so the economy hasn't affected my cruising plans. So far the ecomony hasn't affected our family too much and with gas prices down, life is good again.

[kennetro]

Hey Teach2Travel. I, too, was booked on the May 9th Baltic cruise. If it helps you any, Celebrity is doing the exact same trip, departing the exact same day, with only one difference. It's roundtrip from Amsterdam, rather than Dover. We rebooked on that one, got a MUCH larger room for a cheaper price, and didn't have to change a single airline ticket or hotel reservation. We will simply take the train from Paris to Amsterdam instead of Paris to Dover (very little difference). Hope to see you on the Celebrity Century!!

[hansi]

For any Brits who have requested refund of deposits on cancelled cruises, how long do Carnival take to pay out?

[hansi]

Got my refund through today. Now to book another cruise!

[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.

 

Insurance won't pay out such a small amount. Anyway, I am pleased to report that following my letter sent to Carnival (via my TA),they have refunded the total cost of my non refundable hotel bill. Result!

[Cuizer2]

Insurance won't pay out such a small amount. Anyway, I am pleased to report that following my letter sent to Carnival (via my TA),they have refunded the total cost of my non refundable hotel bill. Result!

That is a great result. Perhaps the cruise lines are beginning to understand customer service should not end at the pier.