City of Mobile Doing Damage control for Carnival

[MyImagination]

http://www.al.com/news/mobileregister/index.ssf?/base/news/110500688259122.xml

[L2J]

Sounds more like they are doing damage control for themselves

[rcicruiser]

Sounds like they are trying to make an excuse for Carnival. The ship should have been put out of service earlier.

[L2J]

Sounds like they are trying to make an excuse for Carnival. The ship should have been put out of service earlier.

How do you figure? Sure doesn't read like that to me.

 

In Mobile, city leaders are gearing up to offer discounts on tourist venues, hotels and other attractions in an effort to ease the angst of some Carnival ticketholders.

City officials are also trying to remedy some of the "negative publicity" spreading about cruising out of Mobile, according to an e-mail sent to area public relations people from city spokeswoman Gina Gregory.

 

"We have done so much to make cruising from Mobile a success, we cannot afford to let negative publicity ruin our chances of getting a second ship," the draft letter stated.

"While we're partners with Carnival, we're the port. We are not the ship. I don't want people blaming Mobile and saying, 'We'll never come back,'" she said.

 

 

[halos]

Mobile is covering MOBILE's butt.

 

They have to on several counts...first, that it's said the ship was damaged by pilings in the port there (or was it just outside the port??) AND, for other people who read about this, they're probably thinking like I am...

'OK...if I book a cruise, and I get to port and they tell me that there is damage, and give me the option to get on and float outside of Mobile, or take the refund...I'd maybe take the refund and go home....I certainly wouldn't take the refund and hang out in Alabama.' All this would make me think that it makes more sense to have my debarkation port in a more interesting (like NOLA) or warm (say...San Diego) place and would turn me off from cruising out of Mobile..If you were stuck in San Diego, or NOLA, or Tampa....that wouldn't be a bad thing....who wants to be stuck in or floating around Mobile??

[MyImagination]

The title of this thread was meant to be a bit tongue-in-check:rolleyes:

[Rescue156]

THIS SHIP NEEDS TO GO!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's just like Jubilee was before it left....problem after problem after problem after problem.

[halos]

I won't be booking it any time soon :eek:

It's a shame. I cruised on her back in Feb '02 and loved her..she was a little worn, and a but noisy, but in pretty good shape. I do think that now, her sailing days are at an end...or should be anyway. :(

[tef43]

The title of this thread was meant to be a bit tongue-in-check:rolleyes:

Oh, right, *that* explains everything.

[Mrs. Connie]

...who wants to be stuck in or floating around Mobile??

Wasn't that a Bob Dylan song? (Stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again...) :p

 

Hey, Mobile is not a bad place to be "stuck." Especially the Eastern Shore. My happiness is not in my geography; it is in me. I am planning to sail Holiday on Jan 31, and I am planning to take a good attitude. If the cruise gets cancelled, I'll sail Holiday another time, and still take a good attitude. I will expect to be treated decently, yes, but I do not give permission for Carnival, its staff, Cruise Critic members, past passengers, or the city officials to determine my level of joy. Thank you.

 

Connie

[jplewis]

Mrs. Connie, I agree with you completely. I would not be devastated to be stuck in Mobile area. As you say the Eastern shore is great (one of the best resorts I've been to is the Marriot Grand at Point Clear, Al) or go west to the Ms Gulf Coast.

We are on the same cruise as you for a small family reunion and we are of the same mindset - we'll have a good time being together. The only thing that would be devastating would be no air condition or no toilets. THAT would be cause for concern.

Patsy

[bonniemari]

Funny thing Mrs. Connie-I just got my docs this a.m. for our January 27 cruise on the Holiday-and I am from Memphis wanting to leave out of Mobile.

 

Like I said in my earlier post-if Carnival would let me know soon enough I wouldn't have a problem taking another cruise (the Inspiration out of Tampa same day). Would be nice to have some notice tho-we were planning on driving to Mobile and if we leave out of Tampa I will need to make flight arrangements before the airfare goes way way up as the day gets closer.

[Sharon Temple]

I'm sad that all of the publicity for HOLIDAY is bad right now, especially for those booked on future cruises. I sincerely hope all goes well for you. I wish I had been on CC before I drove down to Mobile. I might have been a little more prepared. Unfortunately, I was totally ignorant of any problems with HOLIDAY. You better believe I will check in with CC in the future. CCL just told me an hour or so ago that the Jan 3 group made it to Coz.

 

If we had had the option of taking a refund and staying in Mobile, we would have been screwed probably anyway, since our cruise was over the New Year's holiday. I imagine most resort or nice places to stay would have been booked. Will never know.

[KreuzNCruise]

I'm sad that all of the publicity for HOLIDAY is bad right now, especially for those booked on future cruises. I sincerely hope all goes well for you. I wish I had been on CC before I drove down to Mobile. I might have been a little more prepared. Unfortunately, I was totally ignorant of any problems with HOLIDAY. You better believe I will check in with CC in the future. CCL just told me an hour or so ago that the Jan 3 group made it to Coz.

 

If we had had the option of taking a refund and staying in Mobile, we would have been screwed probably anyway, since our cruise was over the New Year's holiday. I imagine most resort or nice places to stay would have been booked. Will never know.

 

I'm sad too..I was to be on the Jan 3 trip to Coz--after hearing about your New Years trip and possible dry dock, didn't want to chance a Mobile cruise or worse yet being stuck at sea just because CCL decided to attempt-a-gimp one more to Key West. We took the refund. Still glad we did, I think we would have felt so unsettled it might have been difficult to have fun. I hope all goes well for those on upcoming bookings on the Holiday.

 

IMHO CCL should stop that ship, temporarily run a different ship from Mobile and rebook Holiday's peeps to it until it has everything working repaired, tested and properly working. CCL would save face with EVERYONE involved.

 

You really can't blame Mobile for CYA themselves--they spent alot of money getting this deal in their Port and Carnival is not holding their end up.

 

Just wanted to add my 2 cents.:confused:

[neverenufcruising]

While I agree that Carnival dropped the ball big time on this one, it's not like they have a spare ship sitting around. If they moved another ship to Mobile, they'd have to cancel cruises for people booked on that ship and then you'd just tick off another set of people.

[KreuzNCruise]

While I agree that Carnival dropped the ball big time on this one, it's not like they have a spare ship sitting around. If they moved another ship to Mobile, they'd have to cancel cruises for people booked on that ship and then you'd just tick off another set of people.

Never, I agree with the ticking off of the other people however, CCL should GIVE a little a figure some way to minimize their loses--surely they can coordinate one that doesn't have very many travelers booked and create some kind of coastal scenic trip to get a ship over to Mobile long enough to stop booking one that just shouldn't be hauling anyone right now. I'm suggesting one round.

[TNtraveler]

While I agree that Carnival dropped the ball big time on this one, it's not like they have a spare ship sitting around. If they moved another ship to Mobile, they'd have to cancel cruises for people booked on that ship and then you'd just tick off another set of people.

 

Additionally, they make every effort to book every sailing as near to full as possible -- they can't just rebook 1,700 passengers on another ship. There is no space.

We sailed the Holiday as recently as October out of New Orleans, and had a great time. The ship had no problems -- crew were even installing new commodes in cabins on both port days.

But, after it ran into that pier in Mobile (in the Navy, captains get retired for that -- regardless of who's directly at fault, it's the captain's responsibility), Carnival undersold the necessity of repairs, and didn't fix it. If they had, there'd be nothing wrong with Holiday but some otherwise graceful age.

[GoinCruisin]

Never, I agree with the ticking off of the other people however, CCL should GIVE a little a figure some way to minimize their loses--surely they can coordinate one that doesn't have very many travelers booked and create some kind of coastal scenic trip to get a ship over to Mobile long enough to stop booking one that just shouldn't be hauling anyone right now. I'm suggesting one round.

 

How? Most ships are sold out weeks prior to sailing... should they toss all of those people off to accomodate others? It's still not fair. Like Never said, they don't have a spare ship lying around, so what would you suggest they do? I'm not saying they handled this well, but honestly, they don't HAVE another ship, that they could accomodate 2000 passengers on...

[KreuzNCruise]

How? Most ships are sold out weeks prior to sailing... should they toss all of those people off to accomodate others? It's still not fair. Like Never said, they don't have a spare ship lying around, so what would you suggest they do? I'm not saying they handled this well, but honestly, they don't HAVE another ship, that they could accomodate 2000 passengers on...

 

I do realize what your saying about not having a ship just sitting around--I didn't mean in the next three weeks--they could PLAN SOMETHING--aren't they going to have to drydock her eventually??? What are they going to do with those people then--CANCEL RIGHT!!!--THEY SHOULD BEING DOING SOMETHING NOW!!!--A LITTLE AHEAD OF TIME--SO AS TO NOT HAVE WHAT HAPPENED TO TEMPLE happen to another 2000 people. I'm just saying, they know it's coming and they really should do something to keep peeps from being stranded at sea on her. How many 2000 count shipfulls are they going to anger???? Not to mention they really are jeopardizing their relationship with Mobile Port aren't they?

 

I think by the time they payout credits, return flights and all other expenses involved that they would come out better to NOT have 2,3 or 4 trips full of unhappy peeps and cancel a few AHEAD OF TIME. NOT WHEN PEOPLE ARE IN THE PARKING LOT!!!!! They need to reschedule--starting with the trip that is suppose to leave Monday. They called US on a Thursday w/notice and options when we were suppose to leave on a Monday and what about when they decide her fate is such as the Jubilee??? Then what??? What about those people?

[Sharon Temple]

Someone on the ship told me (rumors abounded, but were they really rumors????) that, and bear with me, I'm not mechanical, one of the propellers was broken (we know that's true) and that if it wobbled it would bend the drive shaft, break, go into the engine, etc. and that would be ba-a-a-ad news. What if that happens to a group at sea?

[neverenufcruising]

KreuzNCruise - I don't think anyone really disagrees with what you're saying. I agree that they should try to pick a sailing as far out as possible to schedule the dry dock so as to give the passengers that will be on that sailing(s) as much advanced notice as possible. They need to be straightforward about the situation and make sure those passengers affected are handled properly. Then again, there's the possibility of the current "band aid" they have on the engines giving way while the ship is out to sea.

 

Unfortunately, I don't think their solution would be able to involve another vessel coming to Mobile. I do think they should try to give as many people as possible the option to sail from NOLA or Galveston once they have determined when she'll have to be dry docked.

[jewopaho]

We're talking about a ship that's twenty years old, technologically obsolete, and lacking most present-day amenities. Couple that with a port trying to establish itself as a pre- and post-cruise destination ... there's just so much at stake here, and the Mobile moguls are doing what they feel is necessary to negate (or at least minimize) the negative press.

 

Until recently, the Holiday was running three- and four-night itineraries out of Port Canaveral. It's now being used like its sister ship, the Celebration, to open new markets (it's currently in Jacksonville). The third ship in this set of triplets, the Jubilee, is now in Australia.

 

Carnival just can't fly another ship in to replace the Holiday (it's not as if there are a couple of spares berthed somewhere). The usual scenario is to bring in a larger (and newer) ship only after the market has been established, and when a new vessel joins the fleet - then it's "musical cruise ships."

 

We went through it here in Tampa (the Tropicale was a floating nightmare), and are now home to two ships year-round, including the brand new Carnival Miracle. New ports have also been established in New Orleans, Galveston, Charleston, Baltimore ... and there certainly are more to come. If there were no new markets to conquer, I'm certain that both the Holiday and Celebration would be gone from the Carnival fleet. But if we survived the weekly reports of backed-up toilets, malfunctioning air conditioning, soot covering sunbathing passengers, and other such mishaps (I told you the Tropicale was a nightmare), this too shall pass in Mobile.

 

Al