Blondie419ag

43 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

 

Pretty much everything you like about the Serenity area on Sunshine is why I don’t like it. Like my wife said, there is nothing serene about the Serenity area on Sunshine. Personally I love the Serenity area on Spirit class ships...quiet area, pool, hot tub, large covered bar.  But I agree with  your last point about to each their own. 

I loved the Legend! I haven't been on any of the other Spirit class ships yet though. 

16 minutes ago, havanadaydreaming said:

Say what?  I'm on the same cruise, hadn't heard the itinerary change. 

 

That said, I'm a Margaritaville fanatic and now i'll visit three locations in 7 nights!

I got an e-mail around 1:30 today. Check your junk folder maybe? 

That's good at least! We did that once with Key West, Grand Cayman and Ochos Rios haha

1 hour ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

I don’t know if I would say never, but Sunshine is easily my least favorite Carnival ship of the 11 I have cruised on. 

I loved the Sunshine, mainly the Serenity deck. I love any ship with a pool on the Serenity or an adults only pool. I liked how you could still hear what was going on and see the large screen from the Serenity as well. I also loved the small bites in the Havana area. To each their own though 🙂

2 hours ago, Lottacruises said:

Did you get the email saying that or did you see it in your cruise manager. I know in the past it's been that email with a pdf.

It was an email, without an attachment. I checked my cruise manager as well and that was updated, too. 

"As you may know, Hurricane Dorian made landfall in The Bahamas a few days ago.  The storm's impact to Half Moon Cay was limited to beach erosion and debris. Clean-up work needs to be completed prior to welcoming guests for an enjoyable private island experience and this work is already in progress. However, since the ability to safely deploy resources for these efforts was delayed while the storm passed through The Bahamas, Half Moon Cay will not be ready for our scheduled call on September 9th. "

And then just the updated itinerary and info about pre purchased excursions being refunded, etc. 

I'm scheduled on the Magic on 9/8. Our stop at Half Moon Cay on 9/9 was replaced with Nassau. I got an e-mail about 45 minutes ago. 

"As you may know, Hurricane Dorian made landfall in The Bahamas a few days ago.  The storm's impact to Half Moon Cay was limited to beach erosion and debris. Clean-up work needs to be completed prior to welcoming guests for an enjoyable private island experience and this work is already in progress. However, since the ability to safely deploy resources for these efforts was delayed while the storm passed through The Bahamas, Half Moon Cay will not be ready for our scheduled call on September 9th. 

Fortunately, Nassau was minimally affected by the storm and is now ready to welcome visitors. We have a secured a visit to Nassau on Monday."

6 hours ago, Lottacruises said:

On another note we are scheduled to leave on the 14th to freeport, nassau, half moon cay, and key west. I spoke to someone at Carnival and he said that they would let us know about freeport on Monday, implying that they were either going to do a sea day or an alternative port. He also implied that nassau and half moon cay would be visited. 

I'm on the Magic, leaving on 9/8. We were scheduled to visit Half Moon Cay on 9/9 but are visiting Nassau instead. 

Did you go on your cruise yet? I was wondering the same thing.

We used Cortrans last year and this year and they were great. Both times we had to make last minute changes due to hurricanes and they were very accommodating. We are also using them next week. It is $40 roundtrip no special roundtrip rate.

They do provide a hairdryer. Some of them are rather old and small, but there's always been one in the room. Or I've read if there isn't one in the room you can request one.

YES DEFINATELY....we go on cruises in hopes for high winds and hurricanes so we can miss ports, I'm bad lol

Instead of hoping for a hurricane, you could just stay on the ship :) I've stayed on the ship during some port days (mostly Nassau haha) and it's been quite enjoyable, less people at the pools!

I love sea days but I think I might get a little restless if the weather wasn't good. I did a Boston to Bermuda cruise a couple years ago and we were delayed arriving into Bermuda and didn't have good weather (no bad rocking, just rain) so my friends and I were dying to get off the ship.

It is a Western Caribbean route and none of the ports have damage so it will not change.

So it appears that RC is going to look at port changes using a four week method. Not sure how far out Carnival is looking. Not sure why these two lines are waiting so long to change st Maarten as it will be months before they return if not longer. SJ and St Thomas are tougher as they could end up returning there by years end, thinking optimistically. I understand the logistics are not easy. You would think that the future cruises, oct thru Jan feb are going to be hard to sell when they continue to say it's going to st Maarten, etc. wishing them the best of luck during this difficult time of planning switching cruises.

Carnival cancelled 3 weeks worth of cruises out of San Juan and Barbados. They have only updated other itineraries through about 9/30. It seems they are going week by week, although I'm not sure if that will change now that Maria has passed and they have been able to properly access. The thought seems to be they are trying not to change if they don't have to by going week to week but as you said some are going to be out of commission for a lot longer.

NCL began sending emails out yesterday about itinerary changes THROUGH MARCH! Wish CCL would do the same.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2545505

Thoughts and prayers out to those in the hurricane's path, and to those involved in the Mexico earthquake.

In CCL's defense, NCL just sent an email saying they were changing itineraries through March but would send out actual changes within the next 2 weeks. Hopefully Carnival will do the same shortly. I imagine it's a logistical nightmare trying to change ports especially since they will be doubly crowded with all the current and potential port closures. I imagine CCL is also waiting to see the damage done by Maria before making any long term changes.

Leaving on Magic October 7. Was supposed to go to San Juan, Amber Cove, Grand Turk and St Thomas. We have no idea now. Im guessing the regular 7 day Western route of Cozumel, Costa Maya, Mahogany Bay and Belize. Grand Cayman could possibly subbed for Costa Maya based on what Im seeing for other ships that were doing the same Eastern itinerary we were supposed to do.

 

Mystery cruise at this point.

 

As far as people getting irate over people discussing their cruises while a hurricane is going on, thinking that its "cold" to do so, first and foremost this IS a cruise forum.

I am on the same cruise and wondering where we will be going as well, more out of curiosity than anything. I don't care where we go! I've been to all of those except Costa Maya. I was supposed to go there 10 years ago actually, but it was hit hard by a hurricane a few weeks before our cruise so we went to Progresso instead.

I agree, discussing a cruise isn't cold. You can still care about the people being affected and discuss your vacation. It's not an either/or situation.

ITINERARY UPDATES 9/20/2017 – 11:00 AM (EDT)

Carnival Fascination – September 24

We continue to monitor Hurricane Maria and will confirm our itinerary once the post storm assessment has been completed. To stay up to date, please text CCL1 to CRUISE (278473)..

As a result of damage caused by Hurricane Irma, we have modified the following itineraries in order to provide our guests with the best possible shore experience.

Carnival Ecstasy – September 20

Departing Charleston on a 5 day cruise to Nassau and Freeport.

Carnival Sensation – September 21

Departing Miami on a 4 day cruise to Cozumel.

Carnival Splendor – September 23

Departing Port Everglades on a 7 day cruise to Cozumel, Belize, Mahogany Bay and Grand Cayman.

Carnival Vista – September 23

Departing Miami on an 8 day cruise to La Romana, D.R., Aruba and Curacao.

Carnival Conquest – September 24

Departing Port Everglades on a 6 day cruise to Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman and Cozumel.

Carnival Magic – September 24

Departing Port Canaveral on a 6 day cruise to Cozumel, Belize and Costa Maya.

Carnival Pride – September 24

Departing Baltimore on a 7 day cruise to Half Moon Cay, Nassau and Freeport.

Carnival Paradise – September 25

Departing Tampa on a 5 day cruise for an overnight stay in Havana.

Carnival Victory – September 25

Departing Miami on a 4 day cruise to Cozumel.

Carnival Glory – September 30

Departing Miami on a 7 day cruise to Half Moon Cay, Montego Bay, Grand Cayman and Cozumel.

Carnival Sensation – September 30

Departing Miami on a 5 day cruise to Nassau, Half Moon Cay and Freeport.

Carnival Splendor – September 30

Departing Port Everglades on an 8 day cruise to Princess Cays, Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman and Cozumel.

Carnival Pride – October 1

Departing Baltimore on a 7 day cruise to Nassau, Half Moon Cay and Freeport.

Pre-purchased Carnival Adventures for cancelled ports, as well as any taxes, fees and port expenses will be refunded to your onboard Sail & Sign account. An email with detailed itinerary information will be sent to all guests scheduled to sail on these cruises. We sincerely apologize for the disruption the recent storms have caused and look forward to welcoming our guests on board.

At this time, all other future cruises will depart as scheduled.

Is it worth making the final payment and then possibly being rerouted or should we go ahead and cancel our December trip? Anyone else on the Carnival Sunshine in December 8-day cruise know what they are doing yet?

No announcement for Sunshine but the Magic was scheduled to have an 8 day cruise with your same itinerary on the 16th and they just swapped out St. Martin for Antigua.

Hello,

 

After having to reschedule our cruise, I'm having trouble finding another hotel with a MCO shuttle. The service we used it booked up for the new date we picked.

 

On a SUPER Positive note! Everyone I have dealt with has been wonderful and my family and friend are all safe in Fla.

 

Any advice?

 

Thanks!

I don't have any advice for hotels in Port Canaveral but we usually fly in the night before and stay at one of the hotels near the airport, there are 6 different Hilton brand hotels that have shuttles from the airport to the hotel and back. I think there's also a few under the Marriott umbrella as well. Then we use Cotrans shuttle from the hotel to Port Canaveral and then from Port Canaveral to the airport. I believe they will also drop you at a hotel in Port Canaveral the day before the cruise. Last year we were supposed to stay at a hotel in Port Canaveral but it was closed because of Hurricane Matthew and we originally had transportation from MCO to the hotel. They are great and on time!

Below and above are cabins.

Cabins are not above. It's the serenity deck and Camp Ocean.

Is it worth making the final payment and then possibly being rerouted or should we go ahead and cancel our December trip? Anyone else on the Carnival Sunshine in December 8-day cruise know what they are doing yet?

Only one of the ports is not open, St. Martin. If you planned your cruise to specifically go to St. Martin then that's something to think about. But I can't imagine them changing the itinterary completely when 3/4 ports are up and functioning more than 2 months before your trip. I'm on the Magic with stops in Grand Turk, San Juan, St. Thomas and Amber Cove. I wouldn't be surprised if we both ended up doing a cruise with Grand Turk, San Juan, St. Kitts and Amber Cove.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/cruises/2017/09/13/irma-fallout-st-thomas-st-martin-could-off-cruise-schedules-weeks-maybe-months/660863001/

I would think if only one island (or two even) was affected on the itinerary then they will either replace it with a different island or have only 3 stops instead of 4. As people have mentioned, in the case of one less stop you would be refunded the port fees.

They probably wouldn't want to divert the full cruise because the Western Ports might not have the space for all of the Eastern cruises to go there too, and also places that still sustained damage but have an open port such as Grand Turk and San Juan would welcome the tourism revenue. Not sure if it's true, but someone told me once that Carnival paid to help build up the terminal in Grand Turk so they would have a vested interest in keeping cruise ships going there. And obviously to Amber Cove as well.

I'm scheduled on the Magic on 10/7 to San Juan, St. Thomas, Amber Cove and Grand Turk. I heard that St. Thomas might be replaced with St. Kitts.

Cruise costs in June, July and August are usually about the highest of the year and this is in hurricane season.

 

 

This year there were eight named storms in those three months. None of them affected embarkation ports in Florida.

 

The lowered cost of cruises in September is because summer vacation time is over and families with children stay home due to school being in session. It is not due to fear of hurricanes as that did not stop cruises from being full in June, July and August when there were those eight named storms.

5 of those named storms were in June/July and none of them became hurricanes. I've noticed looking at prices for July through September, the price goes down weekly, a 3 day I'm looking at on Carnival is $349 on 7/19 and goes $339, $314, $304, $269 and to $254 through the end of August. I'm not saying that prices don't decrease because of school (same as they increase during vacations) but I don't believe that is the only reason.

If you look at the top damaging hurricanes in the Atlantic most of the top ones are August - October. Only one in the top 20 was in July.

Did their Twitter feed say when commercial flights would actually start and when a full regular schedule will be operated?

I think it depends on the airline. When I was at MCO last week some of the smaller airlines cancelled flights on Thursday and Friday even though the airport was open until Saturday. I just did a search from Boston to FLL and all 4 direct flights are currently cancelled on Thursday. 5 out of 8 connecting flights are scheduled and currently listed as on time though.

Again, this is only the second hurricane (out of many) in the past 12 years that affected Florida embarkation ports. So it is really not a big risk to book a cruise during this time.

 

Do you also suggest not booking a Caribbean cruise during winter because there is a good possibility that snow storms in the north and northeast will keep you from flying to make your cruise?

I didn't suggest not booking a cruise. I simply meant we take that chance. I live in New England and book vacations all year round. In February we had snow for 5 straight days and I flew to Jamaica on the 6th day. But I had insurance and was mentally preparing for my vacation to be cancelled or shortened.

Also, in case anyone thinks I'm just speaking from behind the safety of a computer. I was sent in early last week from my cruise. We were refunded 25%. That was nice but I still had to pay for a hotel room Thursday night before my flight so even with the refund still had to pay out of pocket.

I have to laugh at some of the comments above that my comments present an "I'm better than you" attitude. Several posters have dropped comments like this one from Blondie into the thread and I've said nothing that was anywhere near as close to being offensive as what Blondie posted here. I don't post "better than you". As I said before, I post, "This is integrity." I don't say whether I'm better at it that anyone else. That would be irrelevant.

Wasn't trying to be offensive. And I apologize to those that I offended. I let the anger get the better of me after watching the reports of all the destruction and then reading things here. Still maintain most of us can use a little perspective in our arguments. Good luck to those with affected trips and rebooking. I hope that the FCC is honored for as long as necessary to book another trip. I'll be purchasing insurance for all future trips, just in case.

Isn't a company responsible to provide the product paid for by the consumer?

 

In this case, the cruise line chose to offer a cruise during hurricane season. If they can't deliver what was advertised and bargained for then it should be in them.

 

If the cruise line elected not to insure losses in cases like this, then that's a risk they took.

 

Looks like they are now trying to mitigate damages while the consumer suffers.

Isn't the cruise line delivering their product? If you choose the shortened product, you are being refunded for a portion of your cruise. If you are not able to make it, you are receiving a full refund to use on a future cruise.

And yes, the cruise line chose to offer the cruise during hurricane season, but no one made the consumer book it.

Take some responsibility. You booked a cruise during the height of hurricane season. And you're surprised when a hurricane disrupts your vacation? The strongest hurricane to ever be in the Atlantic just demolished plenty of places and people are upset they're not getting whatever they think they should get. It amazes me how much some people complain when there are people who lost their lives, and all of their possessions and people are upset because the cruise line is doing more than they have to but people want more (direct quote from someone here). You're either getting a refund, or you're getting a discount and FCC. No one is cheating you out of anything.