CNN reporting another Carnival Ship having trouble (The Dream)

[dwjoe]

Right with you. Not really explaining myself, just answering one of the milder posts here (not even a one alarm fire). Competition is always a good thing. Unfortunately, the cruising public has been treated to the "zero down time" record of the past few years, but with more ships and more equipment, something is going to fail. Why more Carnival than others (though there is no empirical data to support that, on a passenger mile basis)? Law of averages, random chance, take your pick. The only true measure of a ship's or shipping companies breakdown record is which P&I club they are insured in. The better the record (less payouts for repairs, cancellations, etc by the club), the better group you will be invited to join.

Does P&I club refer to a ship insurance tier? I don't suppose any of that is public information?

 

I'd like to find an online resource where I can get good data about cruise line safety records if possible. Can you recommend anything?

[Crusin6]

I checked and I found over 400 rooms available near the Orlando airport checking in tomorrow and out on Saturday. I don't know why anyone would need to stay overnight in PC. They'll fly in to MCO and if they parked at PC, they'll be bused to their car and sent on their way. If they have to wait for their scheduled flight on Saturday, they'll have hotel rooms near the airport. Vacationers don't tend to stay near MCO, those rooms often go empty on weekends because they are used primarily by business travelers. If that isn't enough rooms, I'm sure there are more that can be found in the resorts area. They will be expensive, but that's not the passengers problem.

I find it amusing how sure you are about everything.

[halos]

I do find it interesting that now the headlines are changing from "Nightmare Cruise" to "Troublesome Cruise", funny how a few actual facts change the whole story.

 

Media...what cane you do??

 

The people on board that ship may not be too upset (depending on how tough it is for everyone to get home) and I do feel awful for the people booked on the next sailing.

BUT, the biggest loser here isn't any of these passengers. It is CCL.

 

Yes, this might not be as bad as the Triumph but let's face it, CCL has had way too much publicity lately and none of it good. Perception of this line is trashed. It will take a lot to clear it up and a lot of time for these headlines to fade from the vacation-planner's mind.

Fans can spin this all they want but I wager people in corporate are right now swallowing huge bottles of antacid, doubling up on blood pressure meds and looking for jobs elsewhere. It's been a hell of a bad couple years for Carnival and I can't imagine working for corporate right now.

It's gotta be U G L Y.

[RaeBay]

Not at all. She knew she'd need it to get out of Germany. Germany checks passports and stamps them on the way out. The US doesn't look at them until you arrive in the US. I'm not sure how that is such a difficult concept for you to comprehend.

 

No I never travel without a passport but cannot drive to any other country anyway. (Australia) but find this a strange statement as yes when you fly into Germany you get your passport stamped but if leaving by ship/ferry, train or road it is not checked. Last time I was in Germany we entered and left Germany by road (I drove) and Ferry a total of 8 times over a 3 month period and never had passport checked except at airport on arrival and cannot remember being stamped on exit just checked that ID matched ticket.

 

Not worth risk to go out of ones own country without passport. I am leaving from FLL in a couple weeks for a cruise. I hope this does not happen to the cruise ahead of us as would of already left home and mine is not a closed circuit cruise so fly out from another port. Would be stuck with a very expensive trip to nowhere (yes I have travel insurance)

[MrPete]

John Heald

 

As a special treat and a special thank you to our Carnival Dream guests for their understanding tonight we will present a special show for them

 

 

Wow! Jealous! Been a fan for 21 years!

[ducklite]

I find it amusing how sure you are about everything.

 

I wasn't sure. Like I said, I checked. Then I was sure.

[3dog]

People returning from the Dream are returning from a closed-loop cruise, just not on the original vehicle. Their flight is not a separate and independent voyage.

 

A closed-loop is returning to the same port in the same vessel, so this is no longer a closed-loop as it meets neither requirement.

 

However, there will be procedures in place to deal with this situation, as it should be considered a possibility for every closed-loop cruise. CCL has the manifest as well as the information about the identification methods of their passengers. They will be able to expedite the appropriate documentation for all the pax when they arrive in a US port.

 

So in theory, it may be a little more inconvenient for pax without passports, but it wouldn't be that significant and certainly won't be an issue (and doubtful it would be any more inconvenience than they may have experienced already).

[ducklite]

No I never travel without a passport but cannot drive to any other country anyway. (Australia) but find this a strange statement as yes when you fly into Germany you get your passport stamped but if leaving by ship/ferry, train or road it is not checked. Last time I was in Germany we entered and left Germany by road (I drove) and Ferry a total of 8 times over a 3 month period and never had passport checked except at airport on arrival and cannot remember being stamped on exit just checked that ID matched ticket.

 

Not worth risk to go out of ones own country without passport. I am leaving from FLL in a couple weeks for a cruise. I hope this does not happen to the cruise ahead of us as would of already left home and mine is not a closed circuit cruise so fly out from another port. Would be stuck with a very expensive trip to nowhere (yes I have travel insurance)

 

When you FLY out of Germany to a non-Schengen Zone they check and stamp your passport.

[vegasjim123]

Mechanical Failure Ends Carnival Cruise; Next Sailing Also Canceled

[/url]

 

(2:45 p.m. EDT) -- Weeks after a fire left Carnival Triumph adrift in the Gulf of Mexico, mechanical issues cut short another Carnival cruise amid reports of non-working toilets and elevators.

 

The 3,646-passenger Carnival Dream suffered a technical issue with the ship's backup emergency diesel generator Wednesday while docked in St. Maarten. "During regularly scheduled testing of the ship's emergency diesel generator, a malfunction occurred," the line said in a statement. The ship was scheduled to depart St. Maarten Wednesday at 5 p.m. local time and conclude its week-long Eastern Caribbean cruise Saturday in Port Canaveral.

 

Dream remains docked in St. Maarten's Great Bay while personnel continue to work on the issue. The line said it is making arrangements to fly passengers home via private charter flights and scheduled flights from St. Maarten. Carnival spokesman Vance Gulliksen said it doesn't anticipate issues repatriating passengers sailing without passports. "We are currently interfacing with St. Maarten and U.S. authorities to work through that."

 

"While the ship's propulsion systems and primary power source were not impacted," Gulliksen said in an e-mail, "in an abundance of caution, we prefer not to sail with guests on board without an operational back up emergency generator."

 

Carnival also announced compensation for affected passengers.

 

Passengers on the current voyage will receive a refund equal to three days' cost of the canceled voyage and 50 percent off a future cruise. Carnival has also canceled Dream's next cruise, scheduled to depart from Port Canaveral Saturday, March 16. Impacted passengers will receive a full refund and 25 percent off a future seven-day cruise. Those who re-book will have their current rate protected on the future sailing. Additionally, any non-refundable transportation related expenses will be reimbursed, the line said.

[reallyitsmema]

Media...what cane you do??

 

The people on board that ship may not be too upset (depending on how tough it is for everyone to get home) and I do feel awful for the people booked on the next sailing.

BUT, the biggest loser here isn't any of these passengers. It is CCL.

 

Yes, this might not be as bad as the Triumph but let's face it, CCL has had way too much publicity lately and none of it good. Perception of this line is trashed. It will take a lot to clear it up and a lot of time for these headlines to fade from the vacation-planner's mind.

Fans can spin this all they want but I wager people in corporate are right now swallowing huge bottles of antacid, doubling up on blood pressure meds and looking for jobs elsewhere. It's been a hell of a bad couple years for Carnival and I can't imagine working for corporate right now.

It's gotta be U G L Y.

Exactly! I have yet to fly Carnival because DH sees everything in the news and says forget about it. I almost had him convinced to do a Carnival cruise this summer and then Triumph had its problems. This will be the last straw for him for a few years.

[chengkp75]

Does P&I club refer to a ship insurance tier? I don't suppose any of that is public information?

 

I'd like to find an online resource where I can get good data about cruise line safety records if possible. Can you recommend anything?

 

Yes, P&I is Property and Indemnity. The companies in the club look at the insurance pay outs for the past year, divide this by the number of ships in the club, and that is how much each member pays. So really, the shipping companies are self-insured. But if other members have to pay extra for Carnival's problems, they will force them into a different club that has higher premiums.

 

Not sure if the underwriters post safety records publicly or not. Lloyds, DNV, Bureau Veritas, ABS, Germanischer Lloyd are a few you might check. CLIA (the cruise line association) may post some of this, but it could be skewed a little.

 

Possibly professional associations like SNAME, or the Navy League might have information. Because it is an international industry, gathering all the ducks together is not real easy.

[jonbgd]

Wow! Jealous! Been a fan for 21 years!

I wonder if he was vacationing on STX

[Branman]

It's really hilarious to read people in this thread calling for better maintenance when this failure occurred during routine maintenance. Performing routine tests is specifically done in order to find these faults and fix them. What is happening on the Dream is the exact opposite of shoddy maintenance.

[chengkp75]

It's really hilarious to read people in this thread calling for better maintenance when this failure occurred during routine maintenance. Performing routine tests is specifically done in order to find these faults and fix them. What is happening on the Dream is the exact opposite of shoddy maintenance.

 

Exactly what I've been saying. And the comment that the CEO had just mentioned that they will be stepping up maintenance shows that the maintenance is sloppy is just wrong. Of course, since they had a PR and financial nightmare due to a mechanical problem, they will step up the maintenance of that equipment. Does this mean that everything onboard is not maintained, no. It means that they will institute NEW inspections and procedures. Who sets these inspections and procedures? The equipment manufacturer, and the insurance surveyors.

[HowardK]

Shouldn't they give a whole refund since it wasn't a whole cruise? I wonder how many Carnival cheerleaders are gone today.

[ducklite]

Yes, P&I is Property and Indemnity. The companies in the club look at the insurance pay outs for the past year, divide this by the number of ships in the club, and that is how much each member pays. So really, the shipping companies are self-insured. But if other members have to pay extra for Carnival's problems, they will force them into a different club that has higher premiums.

 

Not sure if the underwriters post safety records publicly or not. Lloyds, DNV, Bureau Veritas, ABS, Germanischer Lloyd are a few you might check. CLIA (the cruise line association) may post some of this, but it could be skewed a little.

 

Possibly professional associations like SNAME, or the Navy League might have information. Because it is an international industry, gathering all the ducks together is not real easy.

 

You can garner a little info out of AIG's annual reports.

[glr068]

My wife and I have sailed Carnival four times since 02 and this has just about pushed us over the edge of ever sailing with them again. Realizing this is probably a fluke and just bad luck and could happen to any other line but it seems to be happening to Carnival more often. We are looking to book our next cruise and when I saw this, I'm not even looking at Carnivals deals.

[RRLLAL]

Please don't worry about the flaming arrows. They are common in this neck of the woods. I won't sail Carnival any more either- not until they get their product back up to where it was even a few years ago.

 

Thanks for your post.

 

Lol. As common as the vultures who show up to stir things up with their lies and embellishments. Do people forget what board they are on?

 

Sent using my Commodore 64

[dwjoe]

I fail to see why CBP should expend the resources for additional screening of some (my estimate) 1,000 people returning in an unusual manner from a closed-loop cruise. People for whom CBP has a record of departure including travel documentation details.

 

People returning from the Dream are returning from a closed-loop cruise, just not on the original vehicle. Their flight is not a separate and independent voyage.

The closed loop exception to the document requirements does not apply.

 

From US regulation 22 CFR § 53.2 (b)(2):

 

Exceptions.

(b) A U.S. citizen is not required to bear a valid U.S. passport to enter or depart the United States:

(2) When traveling entirely within the Western Hemisphere on a cruise ship, and when the U.S. citizen boards the cruise ship at a port or place within the United States and returns on the return voyage of the same cruise ship to the same United States port or place from where he or she originally departed. That U.S. citizen may present a government-issued photo identification document in combination with either an original or a copy of his or her birth certificate, a Consular Report of Birth Abroad issued by the Department, or a Certificate of Naturalization issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services before entering the United States; if the U.S. citizen is under the age of 16, he or she may present either an original or a copy of his or her birth certificate, a Consular Report of Birth Abroad issued by the Department, or a Certificate of Naturalization issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services;

Emphasis added. However, it will not matter much because CBP and the State Department have the authority to waive the passport requirement in extenuating circumstances and undoubtedly will in this case.

[RRLLAL]

Mechanical Failure Ends Carnival Cruise; Next Sailing Also Canceled

[/url]

 

(2:45 p.m. EDT) -- Weeks after a fire left Carnival Triumph adrift in the Gulf of Mexico, mechanical issues cut short another Carnival cruise amid reports of non-working toilets and elevators.

 

The 3,646-passenger Carnival Dream suffered a technical issue with the ship's backup emergency diesel generator Wednesday while docked in St. Maarten. "During regularly scheduled testing of the ship's emergency diesel generator, a malfunction occurred," the line said in a statement. The ship was scheduled to depart St. Maarten Wednesday at 5 p.m. local time and conclude its week-long Eastern Caribbean cruise Saturday in Port Canaveral.

 

Dream remains docked in St. Maarten's Great Bay while personnel continue to work on the issue. The line said it is making arrangements to fly passengers home via private charter flights and scheduled flights from St. Maarten. Carnival spokesman Vance Gulliksen said it doesn't anticipate issues repatriating passengers sailing without passports. "We are currently interfacing with St. Maarten and U.S. authorities to work through that."

 

"While the ship's propulsion systems and primary power source were not impacted," Gulliksen said in an e-mail, "in an abundance of caution, we prefer not to sail with guests on board without an operational back up emergency generator."

 

Carnival also announced compensation for affected passengers.

 

Passengers on the current voyage will receive a refund equal to three days' cost of the canceled voyage and 50 percent off a future cruise. Carnival has also canceled Dream's next cruise, scheduled to depart from Port Canaveral Saturday, March 16. Impacted passengers will receive a full refund and 25 percent off a future seven-day cruise. Those who re-book will have their current rate protected on the future sailing. Additionally, any non-refundable transportation related expenses will be reimbursed, the line said.

 

If that Carnival statement is factual, it once again proves the media and some posters try to embellish problems to benefit their own agendas.

 

Sent using my Commodore 64

[Seago2]

Lol. As common as the vultures who show up to stir things up with their lies and embellishments. Do people forget what board they are on?

 

Sent using my Commodore 64

 

Wait! I thought this was the (Commodore 64) Cunard board!

 

The Carnival forum is for anyone, my friend, and I would say especially for those who have sailed Carnival multiple times. I don't have to be in love with the way it has gone, or is going, to post here- far from it. Accountability is key. One way or the other they will get the message that the product they are turning out now is miles away from what it once was. It's a death by a thousand cuts and it's a good thing people are here to call them out on it.

[bakerman]

well according to usa today they have cancelled next weeks cruise.

:(

[zenful6219]

By now I'm sure most people on Cruise Critic's Carnival board is aware of the Carnival Dream incident. A frequent thought expressed on this board is that people will not let these kinds of incidents influence their decision to cruise.

 

Guess what....no one's saying you shouldn't cruise. I don't want to stop cruising! What I want is the cruise line companies, like Carnival, to be more open and transparent regarding their maintenance programs. They're too secretive and misleading.

 

We all know (or at least we should) that most cruise ships are not registered in the United States. Therefore, they are not subject to more stringent maintenance regulations, like those imposed on the airline industry. Chances are, they never will be.

 

In the aftermath of Concordia, Splendor, Triumph, and now Dream, Carnival's hurting. They really can't afford NOT to be more transparent. The entire cruise industry is hurting. If you don't believe it, check out the price drops on Carnival's itineraries.

 

They're not dropping prices because they want to. They're doing it because they need to fill their ships. It's getting hard to do so because fewer people are choosing a cruise for their vacations. And these maintenance-related incidents are a significant factor in their decision not to cruise.

 

The cruise line industry, including Carnival, can fix this, but the consumer must demand transparency. It's time to stop playing the odds every time you step aboard a ship.

[swedish weave]

I have read many comments about Carnival cutting back on maintenance and having failures as a result. The comments have no basis !!!

 

The cruise lines (all of them that call on US ports) are required by USCG to maintain records and the records are subject to inspection by USCG at any time with or without notification.

 

Jumping on a cruise line for failures is one thing, but making false statements about the reasons for failures is not acceptable and leads to degradation of the CC boards as a source of information.

[Tbay-eh]

Lol. As common as the vultures who show up to stir things up with their lies and embellishments. Do people forget what board they are on?

 

Sent using my Commodore 64

 

I have only sailed Carnival but I find your comment offensive - IT is an open board and open forum. I have gone to other boards to see what is going on and GOD FORBID I have even commented on them - are you saying that it is against some sort or law or rule. I have taken a break from cruising not because I am afraid or do not like the product but cannot afford the airfare - it costs us MORE to fly than it does to cruise. Just got back from an awesome All Inclusive that cost less than just the airfare but does not mean |I won't cruise again.