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Carnival ship are pulled out of Belize this week

katiecat

By katiecat,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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SANDYJABS

SANDYJABS

Posted
Posted

Well now Im kinda depressed :( after reading this thread because I have never been to Belize or Costa Maya and our Dream Cruise stops at both of these ports (maybe)

Most ppl here say that neither port is worth visiting :confused: Maybe I need to book a different cruise with a different itinerary....

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ilovetheislands

ilovetheislands

Posted
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That doesn't work for us DREAM cruisers that have Belize & Costa Maya in our intineraries already!

 

Belize was the only stop we wanted to see as we've been to the others before.

If they turn it into another sea day will we be compensated for it?

 

 

Probably not. You will be refunded the port fees and taxes for Belize and sometimes they will give you at $20 OBC...that is about it. You are not entitled to any compensation for changes in itenerary.

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dclark

dclark

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so here is the official word regarding Belize. We have problems with the local tender operators and can only call on Belize with access to tenders that meet the requirements of our operation, in terms of safe, comfortable and efficient transport of our guests to/from shore, at competitive rates.



 

The local tender operators are in disarray and refuse to meet those requirements (which they can meet with the local tenders), so we are forced to cancel the call. In instances where we are unable to call in Belize, we will make every effort to substitute another Western Caribbean port

 

 

And we all know John would never lie, right? Last month, he said that in the beginning of January, we'd see some exciting changes to the platinum program and... oh wait, that never came to pass, did it?

Here's the cold hard facts- CCL has cancelled more ports due to $ in the last month than they have in the last 10 years (or ever!). They cancelled San Juan for the freedom starting in April, cancelled HMC for the Liberty as a "test" and now they are cancelling Belize but lack the honesty to admit why. I know someone on the Valor right now and seriously doubt that they will come on the pa and tell the cruisers that Belize is being canceled because CCL refuses to pay for the tenders!

There was a post about HMC being cancelled last week and I said that San Juan and HMC are just the begining, they will cancel more- I was right, they are cancelling Belize for $ reasons! In the past, ports were canceled only for political or civil unrest, bad weather, or engine failure, now they are cancelling for $. Any ship with a four port itinery is toast.

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gardn198

gardn198

Posted
Posted

I've been in contact with a nice guy who I'm booking my cave tubing excursion through (it costs half of what Carnival is charging, includes lunch, and is #1 on Tripadvisor.. anyways, I emailed him asking about this since I figured Carnival wouldn't say what it was REALLY about, this is what he said:

 

"Yes there is a current issue with Carnival, and we are hoping that it is resolved soon. The main concern is that Carnival wants everything their way. They already got to set up their own company to do all the tours on the main land, and now they want to use their own tender boats. The locals are standing up to the monopoly. They were paying the price and now proposed to pay less than half to the tenders.

 

I believe that something will be worked out. Let us hold on to make that deposit, OK. By all means we will do the tour for you and your friends, deposit or no deposit.

 

Let’s keep in touch and see how it plays out."

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dclark

dclark

Posted
Posted
Are you on drugs???????? Belize has the best diving in the world, next to the Great Barrier Reef

 

I was there last summer, did the same tour that I booked five years ago, with the same company. Back then, they called it "Sharks and Rays Snorkel". This time, the tour did not have sharks in it. I asked why and they said there are no more nurse sharks in the area, maybe the tenders scared them.

I also noticed a lot of dead coral. They said that compared to five years ago, half the coral has died in some areas.

I do like Belize though. Done Caye Caulker/snorkeling twice, cave tubed twice, would like to see the ruins. Belize City is an ugly pit, book a tour, get out and it is nice day, don't forget to grab a Belikin beer!

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CJHAN

CJHAN

Posted
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$2 a head difference doesn't seem like much, especially when you could literally lose so much when cruises are cancelled. Better they take the $5 a head for now, than lose thousands when cruise ships skip the port because of the dispute. Belize totally counts on tourism for it's main source of money. Many are going to suffer a giant lose of income because of this.:(

The artical said they cant operate on less the 7 bucks, if that is the case asking them to just suck it up seems pointless. The margins could be that thin, we tend to take advantage of those who need us most that seems to be the case here to me.

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thinfool

thinfool

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Posted

http://www.guardian.bz/component/content/article/54-highlight/2754-a-tender-condition-cruise-tenders-association-negotiate-prices-with-carnival

 

This article states that, while Carnival ships have been cancelled, an Aida ship will make a port call this week.

 

Guess who owns Aida?

 

John Heald claims there are safety standard issues with the tenders...according to his sources. The Belize press says it is all about money.

 

The longer I live the more I believe..."It's all about the money."

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futaba951

futaba951

Posted
Posted
http://www.guardian.bz/component/content/article/54-highlight/2754-a-tender-condition-cruise-tenders-association-negotiate-prices-with-carnival

 

This article states that, while Carnival ships have been cancelled, an Aida ship will make a port call this week.

 

Guess who owns Aida?

 

John Heald claims there are safety standard issues with the tenders...according to his sources. The Belize press says it is all about money.

 

The longer I live the more I believe..."It's all about the money."

 

It's also about insurance, which the tenders are balking at. 2 million dollars is not a lot of coverage for the exposure that a tender operator would have. In our business we are required to carry 1 million just to walk around a house and inspect it. In fact we are required to carry 3 different types of coverage, all with a 1 million dollar minimum. I don't think Carnival is out of line here in their demands. If the operators don't show proof of insurance, guess who pays for the insurance, unless Carnival is self insured, which they very likely may be.

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PaulMedik

PaulMedik

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Posted
I always wondered how cold the water is. Im kinda a warm bath baby about swimming.... is the water cold? I will be there next January, if not before.

 

 

FireFly,

 

Cold. We were there in April of 09 and that cave tubing river water is very chilly. The guides said the water temps keep the snakes out of the water which is FINE by me! ;)

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thinfool

thinfool

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It's also about insurance, which the tenders are balking at. 2 million dollars is not a lot of coverage for the exposure that a tender operator would have. In our business we are required to carry 1 million just to walk around a house and inspect it. In fact we are required to carry 3 different types of coverage, all with a 1 million dollar minimum. I don't think Carnival is out of line here in their demands. If the operators don't show proof of insurance, guess who pays for the insurance, unless Carnival is self insured, which they very likely may be.

 

While I agree that insurance is necessary, it is beyond my comprehension that Carnival, or any other cruise line, would have been operating all of this time without comprehensive coverage in place. Indeed, why is Aida continuing port calls if this is an issue? :confused:

 

I guess that I haven't seen the insurance issue raised in anything that I have read. It's all been about the per passenger rate that the operators want.

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futaba951

futaba951

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While I agree that insurance is necessary, it is beyond my comprehension that Carnival, or any other cruise line, would have been operating all of this time without comprehensive coverage in place. Indeed, why is Aida continuing port calls if this is an issue? :confused:

 

I guess that I haven't seen the insurance issue raised in anything that I have read. It's all been about the per passenger rate that the operators want.

 

In one of the articles that were linked in this thread or another one about this issue I recall reading that Carnival was requiring 2 million in coverage, which is not a lot. If I was the operator, I wouldn't feel comfortable with that little coverage at all. One mishap could easily use that up with one claim, let alone a hundred claims.

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Onearmbandit

Onearmbandit

Posted
Posted
Well now Im kinda depressed :( after reading this thread because I have never been to Belize or Costa Maya and our Dream Cruise stops at both of these ports (maybe)

Most ppl here say that neither port is worth visiting :confused: Maybe I need to book a different cruise with a different itinerary....

 

Because they didn't make it past the gates.....typical.

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samikitty

samikitty

Posted
Posted
Carnival is making a killing on the backs of the little guy. I cannot imagine how much it costs in fuel, labor and materials to run those tenders back and forth for hours. Carnival is the big bully on the block and even after 8 Carnival cruises, this type of action and more and more ports being built and controlled by Carnival is making me rethink my cruise line of choice.

 

Make sure you stay away from Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Seabourn, P&O Cruises, Cunard, AIDA, Costa Cruises, Iberocruceros. That is Carnival Corp.

 

 

BTW I hope you don't own a taxi or a store and have Carnival tell you how much you can charge, even if you have to do it at a loss.

 

At a loss? Really? You know this how? Is CCL strong-arming the vendor? Sure. Isn't that what every buyer in every corporation everywhere does? Get the most out of your vendors you possibly can for the lowest possible cost. The vendor is digging in, and CCL is moving on. Each is doing so by choice.

 

I am not a tender operator, so I have no idea what their costs are, but I feel pretty comfortable that their operating costs have not increased 40% since the last contract negotiation.

 

I am a CCL shareholder, and a frequent cruiser. From those perspectives, I am glad the CCL is not giving in to the strong-arm from the vendor.

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hankandteri

hankandteri

Posted
Posted
Wow. I hope this gets resolved. I booked my cruise in May specifically because it went to Belize. My DH and I have been so looking forward to seeing the Mayan Ruins.

 

I'm on the same cruise and for your sake I hope this is resolved quickly. The Mayan ruins in Belize really are beautiful.

 

My bet is that this will be over by Tuesday, the tender operators will get the required insurance and the per head charge will go to $6.

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westmich

westmich

Posted
Posted
Cave tubing in Belize is my favorite shore excursion of all that I have taken.

 

OMG! I totally agree. We went with a private company. I can't remember their name:rolleyes:, just that they always called out, "butt up" :eek: and sold shirts with that on it!

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westmich

westmich

Posted
Posted
FireFly,

 

Cold. We were there in April of 09 and that cave tubing river water is very chilly. The guides said the water temps keep the snakes out of the water which is FINE by me! ;)

 

The temp was chilly, but once you got used to it, it was fine. We are from Michigan, so I would compare it to a Michigan river in the summer - not a swimming pool.

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