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Lost in Irene's Wake: Carnival, Royal Caribbean Strand 450 Passengers in San Juan

LauraS

By LauraS,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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bguppies

bguppies

Posted
Posted

Carnival apparently put up all 300 in at least a hotel for two days and offered to fly those smart enough to have a passport, on to Barbados.

http://travel.usatoday.com/cruises/post/2011/08/stranded-passengers-san-juan-royal-caribbean-hurricane-irene/416548/1

 

RCCL only took care of the 15 people who had airfare through them.

Left the other 150 stranded in Puerto Rico with no help, during a hurricane.

http://travel.usatoday.com/cruises/post/2011/08/stranded-passengers-san-juan-royal-caribbean-hurricane-irene/416548/1

 

At least Carnival offered to fly everybody along to the next port.

 

Not Carnival's fault that those who CHOSE to cruise in the heavy part of hurricane season, CHOSE to do so, without passports.

 

Ships do NOT stay in port during a hurricane. (if at all [possible)

Must safer for the ship to be in the open ocean.

 

When the port authority chose to close the port, RCCL and Carnival had no choice, but to go.

 

Bill

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atravellingman

atravellingman

Posted
Posted

Ships do NOT stay in port during a hurricane. (if at all [possible)

Must safer for the ship to be in the open ocean.

 

When the port authority chose to close the port, RCCL and Carnival had no choice, but to go.

 

Bill

 

I wonder if that is true for New York Harbor? Carnival docks at the Manhattan cruise port, which is on a relatively protected area. Do you think they would prefer to be at sea, off Long Island, right in the path of the hurricane, rather than in a slip?

 

The Carnival Glory is supposed to return to New York on Saturday morning, the 27th, and we depart at 5pm, shortly before the storm arrives. Any bets?

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DocF

DocF

Posted
Posted
Carnival apparently put up all 300 in at least a hotel for two days and offered to fly those smart enough to have a passport, on to Barbados.

http://travel.usatoday.com/cruises/post/2011/08/stranded-passengers-san-juan-royal-caribbean-hurricane-irene/416548/1

 

RCCL only took care of the 15 people who had airfare through them.

Left the other 150 stranded in Puerto Rico with no help, during a hurricane.

http://travel.usatoday.com/cruises/post/2011/08/stranded-passengers-san-juan-royal-caribbean-hurricane-irene/416548/1

 

At least Carnival offered to fly everybody along to the next port.

 

Not Carnival's fault that those who CHOSE to cruise in the heavy part of hurricane season, CHOSE to do so, without passports.

 

Ships do NOT stay in port during a hurricane. (if at all [possible)

Must safer for the ship to be in the open ocean.

 

When the port authority chose to close the port, RCCL and Carnival had no choice, but to go.

 

Bill

 

For all the griping I see on these boards about Carnival's customer service, I find it interesting that when it comes to spending money to serve customers, Carnival has it all over the other mass marketer of cruises.

 

Doc

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atravellingman

atravellingman

Posted
Posted
This is why it is a good idea to purchase travel insurance..................

 

My understanding is that travel insurance doesn't cover itinerary changes or cruise delays caused by weather. It will help if you can't get to the ship because of flight cancellations, but if the ship boards and just sits there, or just goes out to sea for five days, you are at the mercy of the cruise line's generosity. Personally, I don't care who's paying for them, I'm going to be drinking some serious rum drinks no matter what.

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BOSN

BOSN

Posted
Posted

Almost all SHIPS will set out to sea. They can handle things a lot better on the open water than in port. The ships will route themselves around the storms, possibly onto different itineraries. Also, if the COTP (Captain Of The Port) closes the port, they wil not have a choice, ALL ships will be ordered out of port.

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gadan1

gadan1

Posted
Posted
I wonder if that is true for New York Harbor? Carnival docks at the Manhattan cruise port, which is on a relatively protected area. Do you think they would prefer to be at sea, off Long Island, right in the path of the hurricane, rather than in a slip?

 

The Carnival Glory is supposed to return to New York on Saturday morning, the 27th, and we depart at 5pm, shortly before the storm arrives. Any bets?

 

I'll bet we leave New York on Saturday.

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nick_091909

nick_091909

Posted
Posted
For all the griping I see on these boards about Carnival's customer service, I find it interesting that when it comes to spending money to serve customers, Carnival has it all over the other mass marketer of cruises.

 

Doc

 

My thoughts exactly...

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DaytonCruiser

DaytonCruiser

Posted
Posted

They just updated the story

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=4584

 

Its pretty much the same as the usatoday article except this added bonus

 

De la Cruz said that any passenger who missed the Carnival Victory cruise will be refunded in the form of a future cruise credit.

 

That does take some of the sting away.

 

Seems Carnival really stepped up when they didnt have to do anything.

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GoRebels

GoRebels

Posted
Posted

I have to say that while Carnival may not be the most High Class Cruise line out there, they are by far the Best in Bang for Bucks and I do enjoy cruising with them.........I will stand by Carnival for sure and will be getting my Passport taken care of ASAP!!

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cuted126

cuted126

Posted
Posted
i think carnival deserves kudos for putting up passengers and flying those free to the next port ( those with passports) a future cruise credit is also good news for those who are on the ship and those left behind.

agreed!

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Cuizer2

Cuizer2

Posted
Posted

Both lines were put in the same position. Both lines were told to get their ships out of the port early.

 

That said, both lines did not react the same when it came to customer care. Carnival was definitely customer focused while Royal Caribbean apparently could care less.

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commspec1

commspec1

Posted
Posted

:p This will be my 2nd cruise the first was on NCL which I enjoyed a lot, but after what Carnival did for their passengers was way beyond expectations. I will be on the Liberty in October and now I am really looking forward to it. Keep up the good work Carnival you at least showed you were for the passengers not their money:cool:

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SmogMonster

SmogMonster

Posted
Posted

Great job Carnival. BOOOO RCCL.

 

The good will and new customers Carnival will get from the way they handled the situation will more than make up for any losses they incurred for the cost of airline tickets and hotel rooms for 300 people. RCCL on the other hand will lose alot more in good will and lost customers than what it would have cost them for Air and hotel rooms.

 

Good thinking RCCL :eek:

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