Carnival Dream Stranded in St. Martin

[bcnvcanada]

It is sad to see another ship having problems. I love to cruise, but I am begining to have second thoughts. The update is that Carnival is flying there guest home, and cancelling the next journey. So glad that it was at a port not a sea. It make everyone who choose not to take out insurance, to think it over.

[sail7seas]

They are planning to fly all guests home on charter and regular flights.

 

They will receive a refund for the percentage of days they are missing by not cruising back to Florida and 50% off a future cruise.

 

Next cruise is cancelled.

 

Hope everyone has a passport.

Next time we have the conversation about closesd loop cruises and not needing a passport, someone may remember this incident where a passport made international flying possible.

 

[world~citizen]

They are planning to fly all guests home on charter and regular flights....Hope everyone has a passport.

Next time we have the conversation about closesd loop cruises and not needing a passport, someone may remember this incident where a passport made international flying possible.

 

 

There will always be those who will want to save a few dollars...and will not hear anything to the contrary and worse, there will be those on this board who will advise that one IS NOT required.

 

At the end of the day, you can't protect people from their own foolishness.

[Irish Eyes Are Sailing]

They are planning to fly all guests home on charter and regular flights.

 

They will receive a refund for the percentage of days they are missing by not cruising back to Florida and 50% off a future cruise.

 

Next cruise is cancelled.

 

Hope everyone has a passport.

Next time we have the conversation about closesd loop cruises and not needing a passport, someone may remember this incident where a passport made international flying possible.

 

Amen to that....it used to be the slogan of the American Express Card (if I am correct): "Don't leave home without it". The same can now be said of your passport. Do not leave the shores of this country without your passport.....you may never know when you might need it!

[3rdGenCunarder]

They want to be able to account for who is on board and who is not - that s the official word. That system is down.

 

If they're having power issues, it is likely that the computers are not working properly. There's a potential security issue if they can't check returning pax. Does Carnival put your photo on your card? I haven't had my photo on my card in 5 years. They scan your card, and your photo comes up on the computer, so they can check that the person with the card is the right person. Yes, they can check photo ID like a license or a passport, but that would take more time and staff.

 

From Carnival's POV, keeping everyone on board makes sense. But if the problems continue, they're going to have to work out some way to let people leave the ship. I'm sure people are calling airlines and hotels to make arrangements for an "escape." I would.

 

edited to add: oops, missed the recent posts while I was typing. I'm glad people can get home--and yes, let's remember this the next time someone asks if they should get a passport.

 

I wonder where the ship will go for repairs?

[sail7seas]

Sorry....... I was typing while the posts above me were being posted.

[Boytjie]

It seems to me it would be good PR to let those who want to leave, leave, and pay for their flights home. That is, if people can get on a flight at the last minute out of St. Maarten.

 

And those that have passports! ;) Good luck to those that that only have a birth certificate or passport card.

[SwissMyst]

Update on Carnival Dream

March 14, 2013- 10:45 am

 

The Carnival Dream has a technical issue with the ship’s backup emergency diesel generator which our engineering team is currently working on. Yesterday, during regularly scheduled testing of the ship’s emergency diesel generator, a malfunction occurred. At no time did the ship lose power and the ship’s propulsion systems and primary power source was not impacted. The ship is at dock in St. Maarten. All guests are safe and comfortable. There were periodic interruptions to elevators and restroom services for a few hours last night. However, all hotel systems are functioning normally and have been functional since approximately 12.30am.

 

While personnel continue to work on the technical issue we are making arrangements to fly all guests home via private charter flights and scheduled flights from St. Maarten. Guests on the current voyage will receive a refund equivalent to three days of the voyage and 50 percent off a future cruise.

 

We are also cancelling the ship's next voyage which is scheduled to depart on Saturday, March 16. Guests scheduled to sail on this cruise will receive a full refund and 25 percent off a future seven-day cruise. Guests who re-book will have their current rate protected on the future sailing.

Additionally, any non-refundable transportation related expenses will be reimbursed.

 

Yesterday was a scheduled port of call visit to St. Maarten. Guests were able to spend the full day in port and have the option of continuing to do so until their scheduled return home. All of the ship's activities and facilities are fully operational.

 

We are very sorry for this disruption to our guests' vacation plans and extend our sincere apologies. We look forward to welcoming them back on another Carnival cruise.

 

The Carnival Dream was on the last leg of a seven-day cruise and was docked in St. Maarten when the technical problem arose. The ship is based in Port Canaveral, Fla.

 

Thank you for this official report.

[sail7seas]

amen to that....it used to be the slogan of the american express card (if i am correct): "don't leave home without it". The same can now be said of your passport. Do not leave the shores of this country without your passport.....you may never know when you might need it!

 

 

 

yes, ^^^ that !!

 

[SwissMyst]

(provided from another poster on the other thread)

 

Update on Carnival Dream

March 14, 2013- 10:45 am

 

The Carnival Dream has a technical issue with the ship’s backup emergency diesel generator which our engineering team is currently working on. Yesterday, during regularly scheduled testing of the ship’s emergency diesel generator, a malfunction occurred. At no time did the ship lose power and the ship’s propulsion systems and primary power source was not impacted. The ship is at dock in St. Maarten. All guests are safe and comfortable. There were periodic interruptions to elevators and restroom services for a few hours last night. However, all hotel systems are functioning normally and have been functional since approximately 12.30am.

 

While personnel continue to work on the technical issue we are making arrangements to fly all guests home via private charter flights and scheduled flights from St. Maarten. Guests on the current voyage will receive a refund equivalent to three days of the voyage and 50 percent off a future cruise.

 

We are also cancelling the ship's next voyage which is scheduled to depart on Saturday, March 16. Guests scheduled to sail on this cruise will receive a full refund and 25 percent off a future seven-day cruise. Guests who re-book will have their current rate protected on the future sailing.

Additionally, any non-refundable transportation related expenses will be reimbursed.

 

Yesterday was a scheduled port of call visit to St. Maarten. Guests were able to spend the full day in port and have the option of continuing to do so until their scheduled return home. All of the ship's activities and facilities are fully operational.

 

We are very sorry for this disruption to our guests' vacation plans and extend our sincere apologies. We look forward to welcoming them back on another Carnival cruise.

 

The Carnival Dream was on the last leg of a seven-day cruise and was docked in St. Maarten when the technical problem arose. The ship is based in Port Canaveral, Fla.

[pms4104]

And those that have passports! ;) Good luck to those that that only have a birth certificate or passport card.

My guess is that those with passports may be booked on regularly scheduled flights, while those without will be permitted only on the charter flights ... and Carnival will have to jump thru hoops with CBP to get some sort of blanket waiver for those hapless souls.

 

After the Triumph, and now the Dream, perhaps it is time for a reassessment of the WHTI ... or perhaps for cruiselines to mandate passports. Well, except that would impact their bottom line.

[SwissMyst]

Triumph + Dream = CCL Nightmare

[RAYSAN11]

I should imagine that the reason they will not let people off the ship is with no power there are no computer systems and they would not be able to track everyone. The latest on CNN is that Carnival is trying to arrange charter and Scheduled flights to get passengers back to the States

[3rdGenCunarder]

My guess is that those with passports may be booked on regularly scheduled flights, while those without will be permitted only on the charter flights ... and Carnival will have to jump thru hoops with CBP to get some sort of blanket waiver for those hapless souls.

 

After the Triumph, and now the Dream, perhaps it is time for a reassessment of the WHTI ... or perhaps for cruiselines to mandate passports. Well, except that would impact their bottom line.

 

That has occurred to me, too. Can a cruiseline ask for more in the way of documentation than the government asks? At the least, cruise lines should point out that while a passsport is not required for a closed-loop, it's a very good idea to have one.

[KirkNC]

Not sure how many more of these Carnival can stand.

[IRL_Joanie]

[quote name='world~citizen']There will always be those who will want to save a few dollars...and will not hear anything to the contrary and worse, there will be those on this board who will advise that one IS NOT required.

At the end of the day, [FONT=Arial Black][SIZE=4][U][B]you can't protect people from their own foolishness.[/B][/U][/SIZE][/FONT][/quote]

[SIZE=4][FONT=Arial Black][FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=4][COLOR=Blue][B]So true, sadly, so true.........Add to that, their being Cheap. And yes I said Cheap.....I know what it costs to get a Passport, but when you factor in all the horrible possibilities of "What if...?" The price is miniscule in comparison. But those who will be smart, will be and those that will be stupid (or just misers) will be:(

Joanie[/B][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/FONT][/SIZE]

[CoronaCRZR]

This is all really sad for the industry as a whole. It also shows to me the importance of proper maintenance, which appearently is now part of the cost cutting tricks of the cruise lines.
Too many ships are aging and as they do they will require more maintenance as these 24/7 machines are being run at 100% each and every day.

I am afraid as time goes on we may see more of this, unless some serious time & dollars are spend on keeping the infrastucture running properly.

Maybe when in drydock they should spend time upgrading the infrastucture and important equipment instead of adding another pay restaurant. JMO:mad:

[pms4104]

[quote name='3rdGenCunarder']That has occurred to me, too. Can a cruiseline ask for more in the way of documentation than the government asks? At the least, cruise lines should point out that while a passsport is not required for a closed-loop, it's a very good idea to have one.[/quote]
Yes, I believe the cruiseline can require more than the minimum mandated by the government. There is a current thread on the Princess board that, apparently, for solo adults traveling with minor children, Princess now will require all in that party to have passports. And I suspect that some lines, likely the premium ones, already require passports.

[mamaofami]

[SIZE=3]So, if Carnival Cruise line isn't doing the required maintenance on their ships, who is in charge of making sure that HAL is? Or , rather, how do we know that HAL ships are receiving the maintenance they should have?[/SIZE]

[SwissMyst]

[quote name='CoronaCRZR']This is all really sad for the industry as a whole. It also shows to me the importance of proper maintenance, which appearently is now part of the cost cutting tricks of the cruise lines.
Too many ships are aging and as they do they will require more maintenance as these 24/7 machines are being run at 100% each and every day.

I am afraid as time goes on we may see more of this, unless some serious time & dollars are spend on keeping the infrastucture running properly.

Maybe when in drydock they should spend time upgrading the infrastucture and important equipment instead of adding another pay restaurant. JMO:mad:[/QUOTE]

What do you mean "[B]apparent cost cutting tricks"[/B] of the industry?.

[Coolcruise02]

[quote name='sail7seas'][B]They are planning to fly all guests home on charter and regular flights.Hope everyone has a passport.
Next time we have the conversation about closesd loop cruises and not needing a passport, someone may remember this incident where a passport made international flying possible.[/B][/QUOTE]

Exceptions can be made! I read in an article about the people on the Costa Concordia and how they all flew home without passports because of the special circumstances. And, they all HAD passports but where on the sunken ship. just saying...................

[Boatdrill]

[quote name='English_in_Spain'][FONT=Georgia][SIZE=4]I don't understand how passengers can not be allowed off the ship. [/SIZE][/FONT]

[SIZE=4][FONT=Georgia]Are they being held prisoner or do they mean if they get off they can't get back on again?[/FONT][/SIZE]

[SIZE=4][FONT=Georgia]I would have thought that if I were on a cruise I would be able to leave any time I wanted to.[/FONT][/SIZE]

[/quote]

If the problem is fixed and the ship is ready to sail, how would you notify passengers ashore that the ship is leaving ? If they let passengers off, some will undoubtedly want to fly out of St. Maarten. How will the ship know who did that, and who is simply walking around town ? If you let passengers off, there will be no way to know how many are due back onboard.

Talk about a nightmare.

[Coolcruise02]

Sorry but it looks like the Passport issue is a non-issue.

As per John Healds Facebook post:

Some of you have been asking about passports and concerened about family members who traveled on the Carnival Dream without them. Let me assure you that we are currently interfacing with St. Maarten and U.S. authorities to work through that and do not anticipate any issues with guests re-entering the U.S. who do not have passports.

Thanks

[Boatdrill]

[quote name='3rdGenCunarder']. There's a potential security issue if they can't check returning pax. Does Carnival put your photo on your card? [/quote]

Carnival does not put your photo on the card.

[SwissMyst]

One wonders what is really going on behind all the lurid, accusatory rushes to judgement we often see, long before sufficient facts are ascertained.

Anti-Hal? Anti-corporation? Anti-CCL? Anti-establishmentarianism? :confused: