Adding It Up (Cancelled Sensation)

[Forchunut1]

I'm glad things worked out for you Joe and I hope you have a wonderful cruise. As a mom to 3 sons between 18 and 23, I can say that your mother must be very proud of you.

 

Thank you for what you've done for our country and I hope that you truly enjoy your hard earned vacation.

 

Don't let the responses of some narrow-minded people here affect your vacation. I hope you have a fabulous time. :D

[chopper825]

You go Joe! Well said. All those people with their high and mighty attitudes needed to be put in their place. You did a great job of that. Have a great cruise and I am really glad it worked out for you.

[notseasick]

Forgive me if this comes across the wrong way - but with everything that is happening I can't for the life of me see how an employer would say NO to someone wanting to change their vacation dates. I am not blasting the posters - only thinking that since is this the weekend how can anyone be so sure that their employer will not be more compassionate about their employees misfortune. It's not like these people have a choice - their vacation just isn't there.

I believe it would depend on the employer. I work retail and believe its not easy getting a vacation no less changing it. Especially with the holiday season right around the corner. I've been reading so many posts I do believe the starter of this thread works retail. so not so easy and not so understanding is the retail world. We must be open for all.

How many peo;e had alternative plans for their wedding? Not us. I hope everthing works out for all.

[surfsup]

Joe,

 

First of all, THANK YOU for serving our country. That, in and of it's self, was a wonderful thing to do.

 

I want to personnaly tell you to go and enjoy your well deserved vacation and have a blast. Everyone has their opinion on things and unfortunatly are willing to share it even when they are not asked.

 

It's easy to sit at a computer and play God and tell everyone this is wrong, that is wrong. Please don't let this affect the enjoyment you deserve out of your vacation. Have a blast!!! Thanks for your heartfelt donation to the Red Cross and enjoy yourself.

 

I am from Brandon, MS, right outside of Jackson, MS and yes, we have received our share of damage. We appreciate everything everyone is doing for our state but please, leave this guy alone. He was serving our country when some of you were on your luxery cruises, probably myself included, who is now going on his first vacation. Let's all wish him well.

[K.T.B.]

I've yet to see one person criticize me who had an affected cruise.

 

Joe, no I do not have an affected cruise thanks to Katrina and Carnival's decision, but I do have an affected New Year's Eve. I originally had plans to spend a few day over the holiday (Dec. 28 - Jan. 1) down in New Orleans..... That obviously has gotten blown away thanks to the hurricane.

 

Katrina didn't just cause problems with cruising. I'm ticked at Mother Nature and concerned about the people down there. Having travel insurance means I don't lose a dime though. But please do not think you're the only one affected by the storm or by whatever decisions are being made to help people.

 

Yes, it sucks your having such a limited time in which to plan a vacation. Been there, done that. The thing is though, you could have made other plans that did not involve cruising. I'm glad you found another cruise though.... Perhaps when things calm down a bit, you can give Carnival a call and tell them your situation. At worst, you keep what you have; at best, they may be wiling to do a bit more for you, especially with you losing your military discount. Right now, they're dealing with tens of thousands of people who are upset.

[Cruiser#5]

Good for you Joe. I'm glad this finally worked out. Being your first cruise, it will be a beautiful experience.

As previous posters have said, forget what was said and just go and have a blast. :)

[Sablerose]

Joe, I'd like to say thank you for having been active duty and giving your time for your country, and I'd also like to say I'm glad you were able to rearrange. We're in a slightly similar situatin and just paid $300 more to adjust our cruise also. We weren't offered any military discounts, as they were all used up on the people who booked the ship earlier in the year.

 

Hang in there and try to enjoy your cruise. Don't let the high horses get you down. I just know you're going to have a great time.

[clc6p]

just for the record, many of the airlines are refunding tickets that were affected for the time period prior to 10/31. I am sailing on the Conquest 10/16. The port was moved to Galveston. Delta changed my airfare to Houston without a change fee. Carnival also gave me the option of cancelling the cruise and Delta said that they were refunding most non-refundable tickets. Carnival is even giving us a $50pp onboard credit due to the port change. I was very happy with this... Knowing how Carnival has dealt with cancelled cruises in the past, I am suprised they are not doing more for people more who were booked on the 3 ships that were cancelled. Seems unlike them....

[sea_u_onboard]

I believe it would depend on the employer.

Yes - that is true. Not everyone is going to be able to change their vacation time an dmy response wasn't directed directly at the OP. I've read several times on the boards where people were discussing how this is their vacation time and I just feel there has to be some situations were times can be swapped or changed. I understand that it is going to depend on several factors.

 

 

PS Joe - I'm a vet and my DH is a Navy retiree - so I know the sacrifices that the military people have to make. It is nice that Carnival offers a military discount and I agree that it stinks - they should at least be able to give you a little more credit - since you did not create this situation - Mother Nature did. I agree with those who have said that once things calm down you may be able to find a sympathic ear at Carnival. Carnival may even rethink their postion without you calling and you may still see a discount. Would I hold my breath? No, but I think some time needs to pass so that Carnival can take care of the initial reactions before anything can be sorted out. Good luck and have a great cruise.

[SeaBrz]

...And here is some irony!

 

A friend and I are booked on the Sept 17 sailing of the Glory out Port Canaveral. My friend cannot go now because of business reasons directly related to Katrina.

 

I just got off the phone with Carnival and the rep was not at all interested in my offer to cancel the cruise. In normal times, I am very aware that I would receive no reimbursement for cancelling at this late date, nor would I expect any. However, considering that a couple displaced guests from one of the three out-of-service Carnival ships might be able to enjoy this cruise, I am a little surprised by the snappy, quick response from the rep. It was obvious that she knew the policy well.

 

I asked her if Carnival had considered waiving cancellation fees for upcoming cruises since cabins could be used for bumped passengers on the other ships, but she was not the least bit interested in even discussing this.

 

Here's the final two options she gave me:

 

1. Find another friend to travel and pay $50 to change the name from Friend #1 to Friend #2.

 

OR

 

2. Sail alone and they will reimburse me $181 in port charges for Friend #1.

 

Again, before anyone thinks about flaming me ... I know about trip insurance, and know that I gamble without it, and I completely understand the various deadlines for cancelling trips and the reimbursement policy. I only write this because I think it would have been a win-win-win for me, some other bumped guests, and for Carnival in positive Customer Service.

 

Anyway ... I'm sorry that some of you here couldn't have used the cabin, but I guess I'll find out what it's like to sail solo with a big balcony all to myself. :)

[Cruising89143]

[quote name=JoeTN I've dug down deep' date=' put a little more on my credit card then I should've, and now I'll be sailing on the Fantasy out of Port Canavaral on Oct 30th for a 4 night Bahamas Cruise. Cost me a good deal more, since I didn't get my discounts, and I had to pay more then I had on Sensation, and caus I'm a single occupant, but, it's all gonna work out, now I just need to research my ports a bit.

 

Thanks again for everyone who gave me advice, and for those of you who think I'm so horrible, I hope the thought of my cruising and not doing something "better" makes you sick to your stomach.[/quote]

 

 

Joe, glad that things worked out for you. The Fantasy is a great ship. I have sailed on this ship four times now. If you have any questions please let me know and I will try to answer. I also have some photos of the ship in my link below.