Carnival Liberty Evacuation

[pauleydm]

We now have three ships in port. The Carnival Glory is arriving as I type. The Liberty was moved to accommodate the other ships.

[Maleeni]

Not sure what for :). They are back on the ship, safe. They will have to port in Barbados to embark / debark passengers. Any other changes will see their port fees returned.

 

I would not personally expect / demand anything more.

 

You're pretty optimistic. The ship is running as a hotel due to the second generators the ships has to install after the reveal of the Splendor/triumph breakdowns. Whether that engine room can actually move a ship remains to be seen. They will wait as long as possible to make that announcement. The fact that the ship is in port tells a story that's not been published yet.

[mikem5]

We now have three ships in port. The Carnival Glory is arriving as I type. The Liberty was moved to accommodate the other ships.

 

 

Was the Liberty able to move under her own power? Or was she tugged?

[fourcruisin]

First of all, thank you Pauleydm for your updates and posting facts and not speculations! I'm so thankful that no one was hurt and I hope that everyone is still making the best of the situation and having a good time!

 

This is our fear right now...we are super stressed waiting to hear if we will even have a cruise on 9/20. We booked this nearly a year ago and I've been working all kinds of overtime all year to have the money for this trip. We have an extra week planned in Puerto Rico, 4 days before the cruise and 3 days after...we are hoping this doesn't turn into a 2 week stay in Puerto Rico. We have non refundable plane tickets and non refundable condo rental. I have already tentatively booked a hotel for the week of the cruise (that we have up until the 17th to cancel), so that if the cruise is canceled we have a back up plan. But this is nail biting!

 

I'm sorry for you and everyone else that is waiting for news. That would be so disappointing if the cruise has to be cancelled. Good for you though for making contingency plans in the meantime. I'll keep thinking good thoughts that the ship can be repaired and you will be sailing on the 20th as planned.

[Maleeni]

I'm wondering if the Barbados pick up is still going to happen? At this point, they are going to be 2 days behind. So the Barbados passengers will have a 5 day cruise?

 

I'm betting this will be Carnivals first cancel.

 

Which will create a conundrum for those that embarked last week and are looking to debark. They may be getting an extended vacation.

[tafische]

Which will create a conundrum for those that embarked last week and are looking to debark. They may be getting an extended vacation.

 

I have had one cruise cut short due to weather...I am still waiting to get "stuck" on a boat for an extended vacation!

Edited September 8, 2015 by tafische

[Maleeni]

A full refund or a future cruise credit is not warranted. They were inconvenienced for a couple of hours. At least they are on the ship and are safe. An OBC would be reasonable at this point.

 

If that's all your willing to accept, I'm fine with that. But I'm sure your tune would change if you got OBC and found out others were getting full refunds and maybe more. Breakdowns usually do just that; a full refund plus % off toward a future cruise.

 

Again, I would advise them, off line of course, what my expectation is.

[bubbakirk43]

Got an update from a friend that is on the liberty ,the ship is still in st.thomas ,everyone on board can leave the ship ,but must be back by 4pm for an update ,Each one is being given 150 dollars in OBC .

[Maleeni]

I hope you have passports incase you need to be flown home. Which doesn't look to out of the question right now. It would really expedite the process for you.

 

You still don't need a passport to go from one part of the US, to another.

[pauleydm]

I do not know for certain if the ship was moved by self propulsion or by tug. We are in bow of the ship on the Riviera deck. We did feel the vibrations, as if we were moving on our own, but I cannot say for certain that those vibrations were not caused by the testing of the engines. I will try to get a definitive answer.

[gone_cruisin]

Which will create a conundrum for those that embarked last week and are looking to debark. They may be getting an extended vacation.

 

 

They're probably making arrangements now to get those passengers back to Barbados by Wednesday.

[idiebabe]

Good morning. This mornings announcement is happening right now. Today will be a port day in St Thomas. All guests must be back on board by 4:00 pm. A $150.00 on board credit will be posted to each passengers sail and sign card as reimbursement for any meals purchased in port yesterday. At 4:00 pm, the captain will update all guests as to how the cruise will proceed in the future. Guests that embarked in Barbados are asked to meet in the Victoria Lounge at 9:30 for further information. The cruise director is in the process of finalizing the fun times today and the shore excursion team is putting together tours for any guest that would like to go on one. Since 7:00 am, the engines have been on and off intermittently but have not been running since the announcement.

 

I'd like to say thank you, too, for all the great updates! :) Hope all goes well after the Assessment Inspections and there will be good news by the Captain at 4:00 p.m.!

 

Have a great day! :)

[gtalum]

A full refund or a future cruise credit is not warranted. They were inconvenienced for a couple of hours. At least they are on the ship and are safe. An OBC would be reasonable at this point.

 

It depends on what happens with the rest of the cruise. If it's cancelled, a full refund is definitely warranted and a future cruise credit in addition would be a good gesture.

 

If they leave St. Thomas this evening and continue the cruise on an altered itinerary, $150pp OBC may be satisfactory compensation for most.

[Maleeni]

Got an update from a friend that is on the liberty ,the ship is still in st.thomas ,everyone on board can leave the ship ,but must be back by 4pm for an update ,Each one is being given 150 dollars in OBC .

 

Yes, that's been posted upthread.

[pghsteelerfan]

First of all, thank you Pauleydm for your updates and posting facts and not speculations! I'm so thankful that no one was hurt and I hope that everyone is still making the best of the situation and having a good time!

 

This is our fear right now...we are super stressed waiting to hear if we will even have a cruise on 9/20. We booked this nearly a year ago and I've been working all kinds of overtime all year to have the money for this trip. We have an extra week planned in Puerto Rico, 4 days before the cruise and 3 days after...we are hoping this doesn't turn into a 2 week stay in Puerto Rico. We have non refundable plane tickets and non refundable condo rental. I have already tentatively booked a hotel for the week of the cruise (that we have up until the 17th to cancel), so that if the cruise is canceled we have a back up plan. But this is nail biting!

 

Like you, we're also stressed waiting to hear whether we will be cruising on the 20th or not. And just a few days ago our concerns were weather, specifically hurricanes. We are pretty much in the same situation, non refundable plane tickets and have decided to spend the time in PR if our sailing would happen to be cancelled. I've talked to DH and he suggested waiting to see for sure whether we will be cruising or not before jumping the gun and booking the hotel for a week, but I'm afraid that would be too late. I told him I think we should book, let the hotel know the reason and see if they could tentatively book without penalty for cancellation if the cruise goes on as scheduled. I'm sure there are many others on our sailing with non-refundable airfare that might also be looking for a place to stay in PR for the week.

[Jeepenfun]

$150 will buy a good amount of alcohol. :D

[ImaginationCruiseBride]

If that's all your willing to accept, I'm fine with that. But I'm sure your tune would change if you got OBC and found out others were getting full refunds and maybe more. Breakdowns usually do just that; a full refund plus % off toward a future cruise.

 

Again, I would advise them, off line of course, what my expectation is.

 

 

 

I have to agree. There is absolutely no reason to make an issue of it onboard while everybody is stressed, but the fact is that you didn't get what you paid for and it's Carnival's fault you didn't. Weather is not Carnival's fault, but the blame for this is directly at Carnival's feet. Somebody missed something during maintenance or whatever, but regardless, you paid for something, due to a situation that Carnival is responsible for, you didn't get what you paid for and I'm going to guess many guests even lost some money because of this...what about prepaid shore excursions (I'm talking about independent tours not through Carnival), not to mention the inconvenience of being stuck with no money, no medication, in a wet bathing suit. Yes, it's great that everybody is well and nobody is hurt, and hey if you have to be stranded, St. Thomas is a great place for that! Anyway, I would wait until I got home and then sent a nice letter explaining what my damages were and request what I would consider fair compensation. I don't think a free cruise is reasonable, but I would expect to be reimbursed for any financial obligations that I lost, and then I would have to think long and hard what the general inconvenience entailed....most likely the $150 OBC that has already been reported would do....but yes, I do believe Carnival should responsible this financially.

[Maleeni]

$150 will buy a good amount of alcohol. :D

 

A full refund will buy a lot more.

[ampc007]

I have a question if anyone can tell me, Under circumstances like this, when an emergency evacuation is happening, If you had kids in the kids club are you able to get to them or a meeting point outside of the ship?? Just curious as this is something I never have thought of , and we are traveling first time with small children soon. Thanks for any input.

[pauleydm]

And, yes the on-board shops and casino will remain closed, but I know the St. Thomas shops will be making the most of their captive audience!

 

The fun shops were closed last night, but the casino was open.

[gtalum]

I have a question if anyone can tell me, Under circumstances like this, when an emergency evacuation is happening, If you had kids in the kids club are you able to get to them or a meeting point outside of the ship?? Just curious as this is something I never have thought of , and we are traveling first time with small children soon. Thanks for any input.

 

In a lifeboat situation parents are instructed to go to the cabin and grab the life vests, including the children's, and meet the children and club staff at our assigned muster stations. I'm not sure what protocol would be in this situation though, but hopefully it was addressed in the evacuation announcement.

[DaytonCruiser]

If they do cancel, it's going to take between 10 and 20 charter flights to get everyone home. That along with refunds will cost Carnival a pretty penny!

 

I'm glad (and I bet CCL is too) that this one happened in port rather than at sea, though.

This is from the article I linked in post #242 oh how it was handled on Dream a much larger ship.

 

 

Truly a logistical headache

Carnival has arranged for a combination of about 50 commercial and private chartered flights to take the 4,363 Carnival Dream passengers home, the line said in its most recent statement.

 

According to Cruise Industry News, those flights began departing St. Maarten 9 a.m. today and will continue through Sunday. A total of 10 Delta Airlines flights are expected to carry more than 2,000 passengers today, while another six Delta flights will take some 1,300 passengers Saturday. The last group of passengers will be flown out on four flights Sunday.

 

 

Still hopeful they can resume this cruise at some point this week.

 

 

Guess the one good thing is a hurricane isn't bearing down on them.

Edited September 8, 2015 by DaytonCruiser

[valentinebaby1]

Like you, we're also stressed waiting to hear whether we will be cruising on the 20th or not. And just a few days ago our concerns were weather, specifically hurricanes. We are pretty much in the same situation, non refundable plane tickets and have decided to spend the time in PR if our sailing would happen to be cancelled. I've talked to DH and he suggested waiting to see for sure whether we will be cruising or not before jumping the gun and booking the hotel for a week, but I'm afraid that would be too late. I told him I think we should book, let the hotel know the reason and see if they could tentatively book without penalty for cancellation if the cruise goes on as scheduled. I'm sure there are many others on our sailing with non-refundable airfare that might also be looking for a place to stay in PR for the week.

 

I booked the Courtyard Isla Verde, no deposit, can be canceled until the 17th at no charge. I was able to snag a few of the days at a "friends & family" discount so I figured it wouldn't hurt to have a backup plan in place!

[pauleydm]

Thank you Pauley for the great wealth of information you have been giving us.. How are most of the passengers holding up ? Is everyone "playing" nice or are there some screaming, yelling, threatening to sue etc ? Who is your CD and has he been seen/heard/ trying to make everyone happy?

 

I hope this all works out for you one way or another but even last night I said I think they let you all back onto the Liberty only because Carnival couldn't find rooms/hotels for 4,000 people...

 

Have a great day in St Thomas, please keep us up-to-date and enjoy as much as you can.. The good thing is that you're still on vacation while most of us keeping up with you are at work :( Given the choice, I'd rather be where you are :)

 

Everyone seems to be in a good mood. There was not a long line at guest services last night as some may expect. This morning passengers are waiting in line for breakfast and the energy seems to be positive. Since last night, the hotel aspect of the ship has been fully functional and the restaurants and bars stayed open into the late evening.

[ajtaylor29]

We just did this cruise about a month ago. Tuesday is their only sea day, with the ship taking it's time cruising (slowly!) from St. Thomas to Barbados. If they determine everythings fine and the ship sails later today, my guess is that they will get to Barbados tomorrow and easily get back on schedule for the rest of the cruise.

I hope so for all the passengers. What a GREAT cruise and itinerary!!!