HMC- will it be cancel forever?

[CRUISING71]

Oh great...one of the reason we wanted to book the Freedom 4/7-4/15 was HMC. Now it cancel, we will have to go with Liberty for Western.

 

Freedom was $ 300 more than Liberty with 1 extra day. But we didn't mind the cost, because we really want to visit HMC.

[Snorkel2Much]

You are supposed to be given the option to cancel:

 

ITINERARY CHANGE PRIOR TO DEPARTURE:

If Carnival has adequate notice prior to sailing that a vessel will deviate from the published itinerary it will promptly – upon making the itinerary change -- notify guests of the change through their travel agents or directly, in the case of a direct guest booking.

If the itinerary change is for reasons within Carnival’s exclusive control, guests will have the opportunity to cancel their booking without penalty prior to sailing and within 24 hours of the guest notification, and in such an instance, guests will have the option to receive either a cash refund or a future cruise credit. In the event a guest does not cancel the cruise on a timely basis, no refund of any kind will be available.

[golfadj]

If there is one thing I have learned cruising it's never book a cruise because you want to go to a specific port....there are too many variables that could make you miss said port and "ruin" a vacation. Remember that mother nature does not care about if you do or dont make port at a scheduled destination.

 

You are correct but in this case mother nature has nothing to do with it . Shame to lose the stop so another cruise can go there twice in a week.

[VioletHorse]

They have also canceled HMC on the 2/4/2012 Liberty due to an HAL conflict with the Maasdam that is going there TWICE on their cruise. The kicker is they still have it listed as the port but if you check you itinerary on Carnival.com it says Nassau. John Heald also confirmed we are not going there. They are also still taking cabana resi's for HMC and haven't refunded those that already booked. We booked this with a group and chose this ship for HMC as we've been to Nassau a ton of time. It's ridiculous the way Carnival has handled this.

 

The Noordam, not the Maasdam, is scheduled to be at HMC on 2/4/2012. It is a 10 day Southern Caribbean Seafarer cruise which does not have 2 stops at HMC in its itinerary.

 

HAL does package longer cruises (14 days +) which may make multiple stops at some of the same ports including HMC. However most of those cruises also allow for booking segments (like 7 days), which would mean that the majority of cruisers on any given segment would be "new" to that segment. It's not unfair to include a stop at HMC on each of those segments.

 

I agree that the Carnival schedulers should pull out the HAL cruise calendar in order to properly coordinate stops at HMC so people could plan their cruises and choice of ports without any unpleasant surprises. If you cruise during the summer months you should be pretty confident that HMC will stay on the schedule since HAL sends its ships to Europe and Alaska at that time. The only thing that might have you miss a stop at HMC is the weather or unfavorable sea conditions since it's a tender port.

 

Here's another thought. Princess has a private "island" on Eleuthera which is very close in proximity to HMC. Maybe Carnival should coordinate with Princess to use that facility if HMC is not available. I've never been to Princess Cays, but it's got to be a better alternative than Nassau.

[momtoabowhead]

I've never been to Princess Cays, but it's got to be a better alternative than Nassau.

 

IMHO I'd rather visit Key West than Nassau. I'm not a fan of it, at all. I won't plan any cruises there myself. I'm going on a reunion cruise to Nassau - very happy to be cruising but less than thrilled with choice of port. Hard to coordinate huge groups, though.

[golfadj]

IMHO I'd rather visit Key West than Nassau. I'm not a fan of it, at all. I won't plan any cruises there myself. I'm going on a reunion cruise to Nassau - very happy to be cruising but less than thrilled with choice of port. Hard to coordinate huge groups, though.

 

Wonder why CCL does not share Princess Cay? Anything better than Nassau. Well maybe Freeport is a notch below Nassau.

[momtoabowhead]

Wonder why CCL does not share Princess Cay? Anything better than Nassau. Well maybe Freeport is a notch below Nassau.

 

I'd ask my PVP but he/she would probably just spend MORE time harassing me about the vacation insurance and never answer my questions. That's his/her standard response. I understand we aren't allowed to mention names or ask for a contact.....can I ask where I can find a PVP or TA with good customer service? Is there a section of the forum to find suggestions, reviews.....something?

 

Kinda off topic, but maybe you have more knowledge of this....

[Mary Ellen1]

Aaaaaah, Princess Cays! I LOVE that place. In my humble opinion, much better than Half Moon Cay. It's got really fabulous snorkeling right off the beach, with all kinds & colors of fish. Wonderful!

[golfadj]

I'd ask my PVP but he/she would probably just spend MORE time harassing me about the vacation insurance and never answer my questions. That's his/her standard response. I understand we aren't allowed to mention names or ask for a contact.....can I ask where I can find a PVP or TA with good customer service? Is there a section of the forum to find suggestions, reviews.....something?

 

Kinda off topic, but maybe you have more knowledge of this....

 

Next cruise ask around. We had a good PVP and he went on vacation and never came back so at the moment using a TA.

[CanWeGoYet?]

Shame to lose the stop so another cruise can go there twice in a week.

 

It bites. I would be so mad! We had a port stop at HMC on my eastern caribbean on the Liberty. It was so beautiful! You would think Carnival could work out some sort of cooperation, considering they own HAL and so technically own HMC as well.

 

I agree golfadj, why not use princess cay as an option too.

[Froufie]

Well one of the reasons I picked my January 2012 Liberty cruise (like a year and a half in advance) was cuz of the HMC stop!!! I would be VERY VERY UNHAPPY if it were to be cancelled!!! (esp since we missed HMC on my most recent Destiny cruise cuz of high winds and inability to tender in! :( )....hoping to finally get there in January!

[momtoabowhead]

Well one of the reasons I picked my January 2012 Liberty cruise (like a year and a half in advance) was cuz of the HMC stop!!! I would be VERY VERY UNHAPPY if it were to be cancelled!!! (esp since we missed HMC on my most recent Destiny cruise cuz of high winds and inability to tender in! :( )....hoping to finally get there in January!

 

Best of luck!! I'd like to see it at some point!!

[CRUISING71]

I have never been to Nassau. How come a lot of posters doesn't like Nassau? Is it similar to Montego Bay?

[momtoabowhead]

I have never been to Nassau. How come a lot of posters doesn't like Nassau? Is it similar to Montego Bay?

 

It reminds me of Hialeah, FL.

[winddawn]

HMC hands down is nothing like Naci - completely different experiences

 

We have never had our HMC stop delayed or canceled - I think it is very rare

Cancelling the call at HMC is not rare at all! The last two cruises that we were supposed to spend a day at HMC were cancelled for us. We were very disappointed both times as HMC was the reason for booking those two cruises. We just had to make the best of it. As much as we love HMC, out next three cruises do not include HMC. We didn't want to get disappointed a third time.

[mikel24m]

What does evereyone do in HMC .I read that if you get off the ship the beach is right there and they have a free BBQ and alittle beach bar.I have read people treat it as a sea day just on the Island.I assume we need to not book anything as far as axcursions then right?

[sk84fungirl]

What does evereyone do in HMC .I read that if you get off the ship the beach is right there and they have a free BBQ and alittle beach bar.I have read people treat it as a sea day just on the Island.I assume we need to not book anything as far as axcursions then right?

 

There is 4 in our group for the 9/3 sailing. For us, it will just be a beach day. We're not planning any excursions. We are interested in parasailing and jet skis. But hoping to do that in St. Thomas.

[sk84fungirl]

If there is one thing I have learned cruising it's never book a cruise because you want to go to a specific port....there are too many variables that could make you miss said port and "ruin" a vacation. Remember that mother nature does not care about if you do or dont make port at a scheduled destination.

 

Great point! We just complete a Mediterranean Cruise with a planned Egypt stop. As you can imagine, that did not happen. Many were disappointed. But we had an awesome time!!! :D

[Chef P]

I am begining to think this REALLY is a bait and switch program Carnival is doing... Every one books the cruise based on an itinerary that includes Half moon cay and then they drop it...

[prt77]

The Noordam, not the Maasdam, is scheduled to be at HMC on 2/4/2012. It is a 10 day Southern Caribbean Seafarer cruise which does not have 2 stops at HMC in its itinerary.

 

HAL does package longer cruises (14 days +) which may make multiple stops at some of the same ports including HMC. However most of those cruises also allow for booking segments (like 7 days), which would mean that the majority of cruisers on any given segment would be "new" to that segment. It's not unfair to include a stop at HMC on each of those segments.

 

I agree that the Carnival schedulers should pull out the HAL cruise calendar in order to properly coordinate stops at HMC so people could plan their cruises and choice of ports without any unpleasant surprises. If you cruise during the summer months you should be pretty confident that HMC will stay on the schedule since HAL sends its ships to Europe and Alaska at that time. The only thing that might have you miss a stop at HMC is the weather or unfavorable sea conditions since it's a tender port.

 

Here's another thought. Princess has a private "island" on Eleuthera which is very close in proximity to HMC. Maybe Carnival should coordinate with Princess to use that facility if HMC is not available. I've never been to Princess Cays, but it's got to be a better alternative than Nassau.

 

Not that it matters I guess, but the Maasdam is the HAL ship in port on 02/05/2012. And yes, Carnival is absolutely pulling a bait and switch. There is no way they can not foresee the schedule conflict.

[MamaParrotHead]

bait and switch on the HMC itineraries. :cool: Hmmmm....kind of like holding off on the much anticipated roll out of 2012 itineraries to creat more buzz and pawning it off on an "IT glitch", going on 2 weeks later? s-h-a-d-y and it's getting really old. :cool: now the question is, how many of us are willing to take vacation dollars elsewhere in protest of crappy business ethics?

[golfadj]

What does evereyone do in HMC .I read that if you get off the ship the beach is right there and they have a free BBQ and alittle beach bar.I have read people treat it as a sea day just on the Island.I assume we need to not book anything as far as axcursions then right?

 

Not necessary to spend any extra dollars at all.

 

Beautiful beach and island with nice walking trail.

 

Lunch is included as well.

[ImmortalxKiss]

I do agree.. HMC and Nachi are not comparison. HMC is amazingly beautiful ..not to say that Nachi isn't, just the vibe is completely opposite.

 

I would be very upset if Carnival cancelled HMC ..it's the main reason we've sailed on Fascination 3 times :D

[Chef P]

bait and switch on the HMC itineraries. :cool: Hmmmm....kind of like holding off on the much anticipated roll out of 2012 itineraries to creat more buzz and pawning it off on an "IT glitch", going on 2 weeks later? s-h-a-d-y and it's getting really old. :cool: now the question is, how many of us are willing to take vacation dollars elsewhere in protest of crappy business ethics?[/quote]

 

I think you may see alot ....

[mikel24m]

Not necessary to spend any extra dollars at all.

 

Beautiful beach and island with nice walking trail.

 

Lunch is included as well.

 

Thanks