How should lines compensate Mexico travelers?

[blnord]

Im new here but I just have to say that I understand that the swine flu is noone's "fault" not ours or the cruise lines but they should at the very least give the passengers 2 options, the first to rebook at another time or the option of a full refund.

My first cruise is planned for June 14th to the "Mexican Riviera", it is a gift for my sons graduation..I have never had the desire to take a cruise and am solely doing it for him because he has never been to Mexico or on a cruise. He is disappointed thinking that he may not get to do either, currently our ship is being re-routed to Canada, now I personally do not want nor have ever wanted to visit Canada, nothing against it just not my thing NOR would I ever have paid the amount of money that I just paid to visit Canada especially on a cruise...the people that say that it's disappointing and part of life and oh well you still get a vacation are ridiculous...I personally would like the choice of getting a refund so that I can go and take my son on a memorable enjoyable vacation where we can do things and see things we want to do not be forced to "make do". I work hard for my money and this may be the only time I am fortunate to be able to do something like this for my family and I have no desire to cruise to Canada for 7 days!!! If other people do have at it, more power to them but don't say that the ones that don't are wrong in feeling that way and expecting too much or something for nothing.

[lysolqn]

Im new here but I just have to say that I understand that the swine flu is noone's "fault" not ours or the cruise lines but they should at the very least give the passengers 2 options, the first to rebook at another time or the option of a full refund.

My first cruise is planned for June 14th to the "Mexican Riviera", it is a gift for my sons graduation..I have never had the desire to take a cruise and am solely doing it for him because he has never been to Mexico or on a cruise. He is disappointed thinking that he may not get to do either, currently our ship is being re-routed to Canada, now I personally do not want nor have ever wanted to visit Canada, nothing against it just not my thing NOR would I ever have paid the amount of money that I just paid to visit Canada especially on a cruise...the people that say that it's disappointing and part of life and oh well you still get a vacation are ridiculous...I personally would like the choice of getting a refund so that I can go and take my son on a memorable enjoyable vacation where we can do things and see things we want to do not be forced to "make do". I work hard for my money and this may be the only time I am fortunate to be able to do something like this for my family and I have no desire to cruise to Canada for 7 days!!! If other people do have at it, more power to them but don't say that the ones that don't are wrong in feeling that way and expecting too much or something for nothing.

 

In the event of a total itinerary change where Canada is being offered instead of Mexico, I would have to agree that despite any caveat to the contrary noted in the cruise contract, pax should be given the option to re-book the same cruise at a later date or cancel for a full refund w/o penalty. Nothwithstanding, in the case where a US government advisory results in a missed port or one port being substituted for another, I don't think the cruise lines should be expected to shoulder the burden in the form of $$$ (other than refunded port fees) back to their pax to smoothe ruffled feathers, particularly feathers the cruise lines aren't responsible for ruffling. Just MHO.

[Skywench]

blnord, I wholeheartedly agree with you. Who knows, maybe by the time your cruise comes around all will be well. If not, I hope things work out the way you want. I was supposed to be on a Mexican Riviera cruise starting tomorrow. I got a full credit to put towards another cruise, which I am very satisfied with. No way would I be happy with the itinerary as it is now. I sure do not want to cruise somewhere chilly and wet when I had planned for months to go in the opposite direction! Had it been a Caribbean cruise where a port had been changed, then that would not have made much difference to me. However, the itinerary as it is now is not the vacation that I booked. I love going on cruises. It's my favorite way to spend my vacation time, but having said that, just being on a ship is not enough for me. For those that can live with the changes, then I hope they have a wonderful cruise:)

[blnord]

skywench, I agree, if they want to cruise me on to Hawaii, the Caribbean someplace warm Im all for it but I did not pay to cruise to cold boring Canada...and like I said re-booking may not work for us as 2 of my kids going will be starting college and jobs so I don't think that I am being unreasonable in requesting a full refund, nothing more nothing less. I do understand that this will cost the cruise industry millions of dollars and I do feel terrible about that especially in this economy but I definately think that they can afford it more than I can afford to eat the money I paid and if they don't do it for any other reason than good customer service I would probably never risk booking another cruise again.

[blnord]

skywench, I misread your caribbean line but I think we all still get the point, getting what you paid for. And thank you, I hope that this works out for everyone affected to their own satisfaction.

[goingsailing]

I am speaking as one of those passengers that booked a cruise to Mexico with a couple of first time cruisers, not to mention their very first vacation! As we understand it, Princess knew before any of us even made it to the port to embark on the Star Princess for our voyage to Mexico that the decision was made not to port in Mexico anywhere. So, knowing that we were basically going to cruise very slowly to Ensenada, turn around and stop in Southern Californian Ports and not go to our predestinations, I think Princess was sneaky and sly, not giving us the right to choose whether we got on the cruise boat in the first place. We stayed on until the third day, when we stopped in San Pedro. My husband was not a happy man, just cruising around California, so we disembarked, for good. But Princess was not forthcoming with information on that day about disembarking passengers. We had until 1pm to get off the boat but we were not aware of that until we settled our bill at 15 minutes to 1:00. Then we were rushed! But we made it. So, with Princess being sneaky before the cruise, knowing we weren't going to Mexico, I think a full refund or partial (half) refund is what we need to get back. I don't think my husband will ever get on another cruise ship after this disappointment.

[jtoniva]

Im new here but I just have to say that I understand that the swine flu is noone's "fault" not ours or the cruise lines but they should at the very least give the passengers 2 options, the first to rebook at another time or the option of a full refund.

My first cruise is planned for June 14th to the "Mexican Riviera", it is a gift for my sons graduation..I have never had the desire to take a cruise and am solely doing it for him because he has never been to Mexico or on a cruise. He is disappointed thinking that he may not get to do either, currently our ship is being re-routed to Canada, now I personally do not want nor have ever wanted to visit Canada, nothing against it just not my thing NOR would I ever have paid the amount of money that I just paid to visit Canada especially on a cruise...the people that say that it's disappointing and part of life and oh well you still get a vacation are ridiculous...I personally would like the choice of getting a refund so that I can go and take my son on a memorable enjoyable vacation where we can do things and see things we want to do not be forced to "make do". I work hard for my money and this may be the only time I am fortunate to be able to do something like this for my family and I have no desire to cruise to Canada for 7 days!!! If other people do have at it, more power to them but don't say that the ones that don't are wrong in feeling that way and expecting too much or something for nothing.

 

U should get what you paid for; if not, U should get your money back. Have you called Carnival yet? My family and I hope to sail on Splendor on June 28 should the ban to Mexico be lifted; I've noticed that the prices for cabins are falling like rocks off a cliff for May sailings on Splendor at the *****.com site. That should make even lysolqn smile!

 

Let us know what happens,

 

John

[Genessa]

Im new here but I just have to say that I understand that the swine flu is noone's "fault" not ours or the cruise lines but they should at the very least give the passengers 2 options, the first to rebook at another time or the option of a full refund.

My first cruise is planned for June 14th to the "Mexican Riviera", it is a gift for my sons graduation..I have never had the desire to take a cruise and am solely doing it for him because he has never been to Mexico or on a cruise. He is disappointed thinking that he may not get to do either, currently our ship is being re-routed to Canada, now I personally do not want nor have ever wanted to visit Canada, nothing against it just not my thing NOR would I ever have paid the amount of money that I just paid to visit Canada especially on a cruise...the people that say that it's disappointing and part of life and oh well you still get a vacation are ridiculous...I personally would like the choice of getting a refund so that I can go and take my son on a memorable enjoyable vacation where we can do things and see things we want to do not be forced to "make do". I work hard for my money and this may be the only time I am fortunate to be able to do something like this for my family and I have no desire to cruise to Canada for 7 days!!! If other people do have at it, more power to them but don't say that the ones that don't are wrong in feeling that way and expecting too much or something for nothing.

 

 

This is not an attack on you or your beliefs but your post touched on many of the arguments most of the people have given to say the cruiselines should reimburse the passengers. For what it's worth, I don't think you will have any problem with swine flu by June 14th and I hope you have a fabulous cruise.

 

But, just a thought, say the cruise line gives you a full refund. And you make plans for a trip to a resort on "Fantasy Island". And then, a day or two before you leave for some completely unforseen problem it is not prudent to go (a volcano erupts, there is an invasion of killer bees, there is an outbreak of some other "new" illness, an earthquake, civil war) ... should the resort also then give you a full refund.

 

I think almost everyone here works hard for their money. We don't have money to throw around and most of our cruises are dream vacations and we would be disappointed if we missed our planned ports of call, but we are completely aware that it might happen and that the contract we have made with the cruise line says that they can change the itinerary.

 

My dh & I live on the east coast. There are several cruise line options that involve sailing out of NY and, so far, we have taken none of them. WHY? Because, we know, that in the event of rough weather (hurricane from June 1 - November 30 for one cause), there is NO WHERE ALTERNATE to go. If there is a hurricane in the Caribbean your cruise ship will go to Canada. It has happened before.

If you are sailing from Ft. Lauderdale or Miami, though, the cruise line has other options.

So we pick cruises leaving from Florida or Puerto Rico, not from NY. Thousands leave from NY, but we don't want to be planning to go to the Caribbean and end up in Canada. So, I completely understand your feeling it is not fair, but not that you expect a full refund.

 

You (every one who has booked a cruise) had a chance before booking the cruise to choose a different itinerary. Or to purchase cancel for no reason insurance.

None of us can predict the future, nor can we control it.

 

As for those who say "just go with it" they are not ridiculous. When I was a teen, my family planned a camping trip. We planned it for months. During a torrential downpour we picked a site and left our cooler for of food for the week and went to dry our sleeping bags at a laundromat 15 miles away and the car engine blew up. We couldn't do any of the things we planned, spent 4 days in a motel in the rain, eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. My brother and I hitchhiked in the rain with our mother and my feet were green for 4 weeks as a result of blue socks and brand new hiking boots. The engine was rebuilt the afternoon before we had to return home. Our cooler had been stolen. It was one of our best vacations, EVER!

 

I think, if anyone is responsible for this whole mess it is the media. They have escalated this story to ridiculous proportions.

[blnord]

jtoniva, I have not contacted Carnival yet as we booked through a travel agent, I did contact her and she and I agree, thinks that's it still too early to tell, I am sailing the Splendor too and should the ban be lifted am looking forward to sailing to Mexico, don't get me wrong I do not want to get out of it I just want what I paid for, if the ship will sail to Mexico I will be on board. I am hoping that it will all have blown over by then.

Genessa, in your for instance case, yes if I get a refund and book another trip to "fantasy island" and before I leave some unforseen disaster happens it would totally depend on the circumstances, if they said you can still come here but there are portions of whereever that you cannot travel to depending on why I would be fine with that, if they said you have no choice and cannot come here under any circumstances for an indefinate time then I would expect a refund. The cruise lines are not giving us any choice other than to not travel to where we paid to travel to, we don't have the option of still going to Mexico but choosing whether we disembark or not...as for having the option before booking to choose a different itinerary, I don't even know what your point is I would feel this way if say I had booked Canada and were being told that I now had to go to Mexico if I personally never wanted to visit Mexico, I will say however that my travel agent did not explain about Carnival having the right to change the itinerary at anytime and I just received my final papers 2 days ago so if it does state this I was still not aware of that at the time I booked, moot point now and in the future I will be more proactive in asking better questions but since this is my first cruise I didn't even know about this to know to ask? Im glad that you and your family had memorable vacations in spite of unforseen happenings but I don't really think that you can compare that to this...just my opinion.

[navybankerteacher]

skywench, I misread your caribbean line but I think we all still get the point, getting what you paid for. And thank you, I hope that this works out for everyone affected to their own satisfaction.

 

Of course, "...what you paid for..." is a cruise as described in the contract - which provides for alternate destinations if required by circumstances beyond the line's control.

 

A "...full refund, no more, no less..." ,which another poster cited, leaves the line bearing all the cost, and the passenger none - despite the fact that the passenger entered into the contract.

 

The "make-me-whole" mentality, which leads some people to think that they must always get their way, or someone else must pay, is simply not grown up. Any compensation at all in this instance is more than the line is obligated to give - or the passenger is entitled to expect.

 

Learn to play by the rules you accept, or stay at home.

[jtoniva]

jtoniva, I have not contacted Carnival yet as we booked through a travel agent, I did contact her and she and I agree, thinks that's it still too early to tell, I am sailing the Splendor too and should the ban be lifted am looking forward to sailing to Mexico, don't get me wrong I do not want to get out of it I just want what I paid for, if the ship will sail to Mexico I will be on board. I am hoping that it will all have blown over by then.

Genessa, in your for instance case, yes if I get a refund and book another trip to "fantasy island" and before I leave some unforseen disaster happens it would totally depend on the circumstances, if they said you can still come here but there are portions of whereever that you cannot travel to depending on why I would be fine with that, if they said you have no choice and cannot come here under any circumstances for an indefinate time then I would expect a refund. The cruise lines are not giving us any choice other than to not travel to where we paid to travel to, we don't have the option of still going to Mexico but choosing whether we disembark or not...as for having the option before booking to choose a different itinerary, I don't even know what your point is I would feel this way if say I had booked Canada and were being told that I now had to go to Mexico if I personally never wanted to visit Mexico, I will say however that my travel agent did not explain about Carnival having the right to change the itinerary at anytime and I just received my final papers 2 days ago so if it does state this I was still not aware of that at the time I booked, moot point now and in the future I will be more proactive in asking better questions but since this is my first cruise I didn't even know about this to know to ask? Im glad that you and your family had memorable vacations in spite of unforseen happenings but I don't really think that you can compare that to this...just my opinion.

 

We, like U, hope we'll be able to sail to the Mexican Riviera in June; I'd bet that unless the ban is lifted quickly you'll be left hanging until the very last minute by Carnival. There are only two ships doing strictly Mexico on seven day cruises; one RCI & one Carnival. This is such a small % of the total cruise business that I can't understand why there is such an outcry against the passengers who are affected by the situation; one can only assume that they are not booked on any of the cruises? I don't see it as a money-grab or someone trying to get something for nothing although I'm sure there are a few of those as well. Those that don't want compensation should just say NO and turn it down.

 

P.S. Don't tell Genessa, who is booked on a March 2010 cruise to Hawaii, that Kīlauea Volcano has been erupting since 1983; she may want a full refund!

[Genessa]

I don't see it as a money-grab or someone trying to get something for nothing although I'm sure there are a few of those as well. Those that don't want compensation should just say NO and turn it down.

 

P.S. Don't tell Genessa, who is booked on a March 2010 cruise to Hawaii, that Kīlauea Volcano has been erupting since 1983; she may want a full refund!

 

 

Hawaiian ports of call are sometimes missed. If it turns out that we will miss ALL our ports of call, I will be disappointed, but would not expect a full refund, or a refund of anything other than the port charges. If we end up spending 14 days at sea - so be it. If we are scheduled on a cruise to tender somewhere and can't, we'll enjoy the day on the ship.

 

Now, if I wasn't offered ANY cruise ... if I booked and paid for 7 or 10 or 14 days of a CRUISE ... and was not allowed to board the ship ... THEN I would feel I was entitled to ... still not a full refund, but a full credit for another sailing. ;) .

 

And, I personally don't see you or anyone who wants a refund as a money grabber or trying to get something for nothing ... your disappointment over not going on the cruise you planned is real and personal. However, it just doesn't seem logical to me to expect the cruise line to voluntarily go against their contract.

[Genessa]

Genessa, in your for instance case, yes if I get a refund and book another trip to "fantasy island" and before I leave some unforseen disaster happens it would totally depend on the circumstances, if they said you can still come here but there are portions of whereever that you cannot travel to depending on why I would be fine with that, if they said you have no choice and cannot come here under any circumstances for an indefinate time then I would expect a refund. The cruise lines are not giving us any choice other than to not travel to where we paid to travel to, we don't have the option of still going to Mexico but choosing whether we disembark or not...as for having the option before booking to choose a different itinerary, I don't even know what your point is I would feel this way if say I had booked Canada and were being told that I now had to go to Mexico if I personally never wanted to visit Mexico, I will say however that my travel agent did not explain about Carnival having the right to change the itinerary at anytime and I just received my final papers 2 days ago so if it does state this I was still not aware of that at the time I booked, moot point now and in the future I will be more proactive in asking better questions but since this is my first cruise I didn't even know about this to know to ask? Im glad that you and your family had memorable vacations in spite of unforseen happenings but I don't really think that you can compare that to this...just my opinion.

 

 

from what I understand, if they are still not disembarking passengers in Mexico in June, when you sail, the cruise lines will still be giving you what you paid for - a cruise - just a different cruise.

And that was my point about not booking a cruise from NY to the Caribbean. As there is a chance that instead of going to the Caribbean I could go to Canada - which there is if you book during hurricane season, which I don't want to do, I DON'T book cruises from NY to the Caribbean. (And I love and have visited Canada many times - which has no point except to not offend any Canadians reading this post). We booked our cruise to Hawaii knowing that we might not be getting the Hawaiian cruise of our dreams. We might have 4 miserable days over and 4 miserable days back and miss all our ports. But, it's a risk we are taking with our eyes open.

 

Your issue should be with your travel agent. The travel agent should have explained to you when they explained port charges, that the cruise line had a right to change your itinerary.

 

As for my unforeseen happenings on my vacation - we were a family who saved aluminum cans - they were 1/2 a cent for each can at the time - and received vouchers for gasoline for recycling - and that is how we were paying for the car gas to go camping. We were camping at a National Forest, which was free at the time. We had borrowed much of our equipment and the cooler that was stolen was 35 years old. We had to have money wired to us to pay for the motel and for the car to be fixed, money my parents borrowed from my grandparents. It was a HUGE disappointment, a tremendous deal to us. The aluminum cans we "saved" weren't from sodas we drank. We spent hours all summer long walking the beaches collecting other people's dirty cans, picking them out of the garbage, then brought them back to our friends' house, washed them off, then smashed them, and packed them and brought them to a recycling center every week.

 

This was going to be all the vacation we were getting so we made the best of our new experiences, our first stay in a motel, watching tv and playing cards. And my father practically kissed the mechanics who replaced the engine, thankful the engine blew in a place where it was so cheap to get a rebuilt one.

 

I didn't write all that to bore anyone or to have anyone feel sorry for me.

I wrote it so that you could see that I understand and empathize with your disappointment. Of course you are upset about possibly missing the ports of call you signed up for and I don't think anyone would argue with that.

 

Again, I hope you get to go on the cruise you have been planning and that you enjoy it!

[blnord]

Im really not trying to be argumentative and yes, I agree that I need to take up the issue of not being explained the cruise lines policy of reserving the right to change an itinerary with my travel agent, which I plan on doing if for no other reason than to make sure she explains it fully to future customers. That said, I guess this is where it just comes down to a matter of opinion because I don't feel that the cruise line will be giving me what I paid for if come June I am taking a cruise to Canada and not Mexico. I paid for a cruise to Mexico, I want to go zip lining in Mexico, I want to swim with the dolphins in Mexico among other things, now if you happen to know of places in Canada where I can do this and enjoy 80ish degree weather please do tell otherwise I would like people to stop saying that I am getting what I paid for!!!!! I guess for the people that say they book their cruises knowing that they may or may not make it where they intended to go and if they spend 4 miserable days getting there and 4 miserable days getting back or would not mind spending 14 days at sea all i have to say is god bless you, you are a better person than me!!! And this is why I will most likely NEVER book another cruise.

[Skywench]

I don't think that the majority of us "want something for nothing". In the Carnival brochure, under Change in Itinerary, it states that Carnival will offer the chance to cancel the cruise without penalty within 24 hrs. I cancelled mine just hours after I found out the cruise was going Northbound.

[fauxhawk]

I think it is pretty sad to read from people who were not on board or not signed up for an affected cruise that is is ridiculous and childish to expect compensation for what happened. I agree that what Carnival is doing for passengers disembarking this week and on future cruises is appropriate but sadly we were on Ecstasy from 4/26-5/2 and just like others only received port fees back.

 

Just getting the fees back is minor to how things were handled by Carnival. Before we ever boarded, flights were already being canceled to Mexico so to act oblivious to the problem is ignorant. In fact no mention was made of any thoughts of changes until Tuesday morning. Changes should have been discussed before we ever left, long before Tuesday came around. I understand that ports have schedules and if attempts were made to find another destination to no avail then why hide it? Let us, as passengers know that you made attempts but could not find an open port. No mention was made of any attempts.

 

Instead we got bombarded by announcements to make it up in OUR casino and by playing OUR bingo and by buying OUR over priced drinks. To use this "pandemic" as a means to sell further services is ridiculous and childish, not the desire for compensation from the passengers. It is clear to us that Carnival abused this outbreak as a means to create further revenue rather than take care of their customers.

 

Even more frustrating is to get back and hear that the next cruise has been extended 2 days and itineraries have been adjusted! How can we see that and not expect compensation. Carnival had plenty of time to look into changes prior to debarking as concerns about this outbreak having been covered for weeks.

 

Yes, their contract is extremely thorough to cover their ass but sometimes taking care of your customers is just plain better. Instead they now have 2000 unhappy cruisers who will spread word to not cruise Carnival again. But I guess we are all just ridiculous children!

[lysolqn]

It is clear to us that Carnival abused this outbreak as a means to create further revenue rather than take care of their customers.

 

Never thought I'd find myself defending Carnival but that has to be the most outrageous statement ever made by any member in any post in any thread on any board on CC!

[melbloch]

There are some things that are "force majure", beyond the control of the cruise lines, and indeed the airlines. After working for a major European airline for over 25 years, we know when we are liable and when not. In this instance the Cruise lines are NOT liable, and any action towards the passengers is for goodwill purposes only, and should be appreciated by all.

One thing I dont understand is why Carnival has a policy different from other companies in their stable?. That too is their perogative.

Oh, I dont work for the cruise lines, nor airline any more!

Happy cruiseing!

[jtoniva]

There are some things that are "force majure", beyond the control of the cruise lines, and indeed the airlines. After working for a major European airline for over 25 years, we know when we are liable and when not. In this instance the Cruise lines are NOT liable, and any action towards the passengers is for goodwill purposes only, and should be appreciated by all.

One thing I dont understand is why Carnival has a policy different from other companies in their stable?. That too is their perogative.

Oh, I dont work for the cruise lines, nor airline any more!

Happy cruiseing!

 

Love your use of the word "stable" and agree that "goodwill" is the best reason to close out this "force majure" for not only the "Fun Ships" of Carnival but for all the cruise lines as well!

 

 

Happy cruising,

 

John in Virginia, USA

[jtoniva]

I think it is pretty sad to read from people who were not on board or not signed up for an affected cruise that is is ridiculous and childish to expect compensation for what happened. I agree that what Carnival is doing for passengers disembarking this week and on future cruises is appropriate but sadly we were on Ecstasy from 4/26-5/2 and just like others only received port fees back.

 

Just getting the fees back is minor to how things were handled by Carnival. Before we ever boarded, flights were already being canceled to Mexico so to act oblivious to the problem is ignorant. In fact no mention was made of any thoughts of changes until Tuesday morning. Changes should have been discussed before we ever left, long before Tuesday came around. I understand that ports have schedules and if attempts were made to find another destination to no avail then why hide it? Let us, as passengers know that you made attempts but could not find an open port. No mention was made of any attempts.

 

Instead we got bombarded by announcements to make it up in OUR casino and by playing OUR bingo and by buying OUR over priced drinks. To use this "pandemic" as a means to sell further services is ridiculous and childish, not the desire for compensation from the passengers. It is clear to us that Carnival abused this outbreak as a means to create further revenue rather than take care of their customers.

 

Even more frustrating is to get back and hear that the next cruise has been extended 2 days and itineraries have been adjusted! How can we see that and not expect compensation. Carnival had plenty of time to look into changes prior to debarking as concerns about this outbreak having been covered for weeks.

 

Yes, their contract is extremely thorough to cover their ass but sometimes taking care of your customers is just plain better. Instead they now have 2000 unhappy cruisers who will spread word to not cruise Carnival again. But I guess we are all just ridiculous children!

 

 

YES, I agree, Carnival has made good use of this situation to increase their bottom line in the future! Isn't it amazing how 3 & 4 day cruises have now been turned into seven day BINGO & CASINO junkets; I can't believe how they are able to get so many passengers to pay so much for bingo cards and be able to win so little. They rake in tens of thousands and pay out $600, $700 or $800 as a jackpot prize & then there are those scratch cards; let's not get lysolqn started on that one!

 

Best regards,

 

John

[melbloch]

Love your use of the word "stable" and agree that "goodwill" is the best reason to close out this "force majure" for not only the "Fun Ships" of Carnival but for all the cruise lines as well!

 

 

Happy cruising,

 

John in Virginia, USA

John hi - glad to know someone out there agrees with us - actually, my DH wrote the post!

Melanie

[millineumwoman]

we were on the cruise cruising from key west to cozumel when the came on and changed to nassau. we did not have the option of disembarking, nor did we recieved and obc. we got nada! (carnival imagination), i was disappoint to go to nassau as i could have booked a trip with that itenery for a lot cheaper than what we paid. basicall 1/2 the price. even if they gave us money for a free deposit on a future cruise may be nice, then maybe i would book with them again.

[serendipity1499]

We're booked on a HAL Panama Canal round trip cruise in Nov. with six ports scheduled in Mexico..Final payment is due in Aug.

If there should be another flu outbreak in the fall, I would expect that HAL would give us a chance to either rebook or give us a full refund without penality...Of course we would loose the $$ paid for insurance, but that's a chance we have to take...Perhaps we can ask if the Insurance Company will give us credit toward another cruise..

However, if we were on board & weather problems or another flu out break caused us to miss ports, then port charges should be refunded..

We would hope that HAL would find a couple of alternate ports to visit..

A small OBC of $100 would be lovely, but certainly is not required...The Cruise Line is not responsible for acts of God or Nature..

JMO..

[easyshi]

I just got back from a cruise-Supposedly Mexican Riviera. We left on the 26th of April and were told that the ports we would visit were not involved in any Swine Flu cases and we would proceed on our normal itinerary. After stopping in Cabo, Royal pulled the plug on the other 2 ports and sent the ship to San Francisco. What a Travesty!! How could they just arbitrarily do this without telling us before we embarked, since the conditions in the ports of call had not changed and there was no government mandate to stop us from going to Mexico. It seems to me that this plan was in the works before we left and all of the other lines were pulling the exact same b.s. Now they give us $200 that can only be used on the ship and sent us San Fran where its' raining all day and foggy. I along with others saved up good money and paid around $2000, and they just keep the money. Where I come from that's called a RIP-OFF! Then they turn around and offer the next weeks cruise passengers options to cancel, with refunds and or re-booking options and we get virutally nothing. If they don't make it right by me I will never use them again and I will make sure everyone I know gets the low down on this Rip-Off company.

I could see them making a change of ports if the government had banned all Mexican travel, including air and land but that did not happen. The borders are still open and the only ones that got screwed were the ship passengers on the cruises that left the week-end of the 26th. This should not be allowed to stand and every passenger should complain and bad mouth them until they make it right. I know Carnival and Princess SCREWED there customers also. ROYAL CARIBBEAN WE WANT JUST COMPENSATION FOR BEING CHEATED. You say how good you are to your customers' "PROVE IT!"

They should have known that the San Fran option was bad. Over 1300 people canceled the trip for this weekend. BAD,BAD option. Give Me Back My Money....

[StevieG]

We're booked on a HAL Panama Canal round trip cruise in Nov. with six ports scheduled in Mexico..Final payment is due in Aug.

 

If there should be another flu outbreak in the fall, I would expect that HAL would give us a chance to either rebook or give us a full refund without penality...Of course we would loose the $$ paid for insurance, but that's a chance we have to take...Perhaps we can ask if the Insurance Company will give us credit toward another cruise..

 

However, if we were on board & weather problems or another flu out break caused us to miss ports, then port charges should be refunded..

 

We would hope that HAL would find a couple of alternate ports to visit..

 

A small OBC of $100 would be lovely, but certainly is not required...The Cruise Line is not responsible for acts of God or Nature..

 

JMO..

 

My problem with all this is that the cruise line obviously knew that cancelling the Mexican ports was a distinct possibility and chose to keep this information from their passengers, in fact they said on numerous occassions the flu outbreak should not affect the cruise. That type of deception is certainly actionable and I'm sure suits are coming unless the lines step up to the plate to avoid them. On the Splendor an attorney was passing out his cards at the purser's desk so you know a class action is coming.