empress first 6 sailings canelled

[Scotty G]

So, since this is such an astronomical issue that you cannot divulge, do they still think that it can be fixed by the time the non-cancelled cruise sails or should we expect additional cancellations?

 

Sorry I have no knowledge of that, just the initial cause.

[anjomojo]

Exactly..how is it a deal going from a 5 night 4 night if you are in sane category. We ended up booking an 8 night on the Navigator instead leaving same day (April 16) that our Empress was sailing prior to bring cancelled. We ended up paying a little over $400 but got three more nights/2 more ports....now to just figure out flight mess for flight home. RCCL will only reimburse up to $200 and it will surely cost more to change. Argh.

Edited March 18, 2016 by anjomojo

[anjomojo]

I agree! I was on Navigator back in October. I'm not going to stress. Things happen. Luckily there were options.

[ShannonSC2]

Exactly..how is it a deal going from a 5 night 4 night if you are in sane category. We ended up booking an 8 night on the Navigator instead leaving same day (April 16) that our Empress was sailing prior to bring cancelled. We ended up paying a little over $400 but got three more nights/2 more ports....now to just figure out flight mess for flight home. RCCL will only reimburse up to $200 and it will surely cost more to change. Argh.

 

Your deal sounds like a much better deal. I mean $400 extra for 3 more nights and 2 additional ports. I wish we could do this but our only time frame was the week of march 28th. The Oasis has rooms but RCCI won't even consider any kind of help with that ship. You would think they would want a full ship! Plus it is the week of spring break!!

 

Good luck with the airfare mess. Did you get travel insurance?

[cruisequeen4ever]

Uh that is not very nice compensation!! They should receive free upgrades to the next category to be used on ANY available future comparable sailing! Many don't have flex travel schedules, especially at the last minute.

 

 

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[John&LaLa]

I guess I am a little confused as to what you are paying for the cruise on Majesty that enables you to save over $600 on the Majesty cruise fare from the cancellation of your Empress sailing.

 

I believe he means that the price he has from Empress is $600 less than the current price on Majesty. Really no savings on what he originally paid. The deals in the beginning were quite good on Empress as I recall.

 

The problems generally occur with the JS cabins since they are so limited.

 

In both my cancelled Rhapsody cruises, we could never find a JS or GS available on the replacement offers, so we were SOL

[kruzerci]

Our TA was able to get ours switched from April 11 5 night to Majesty on April 4, 4 night with 3 ports of call. Since there was no additional cost we saved over $600 on the Majesty cruise fare. Reason being we had the C&A special on deck 8 cabins.

 

Disregarding the rest of that gibberish, I'm just fascinated by how you could possibly be happy about that situation. Losing a night on a newly enhanced, unique ship and being placed on Majesty.

 

Are you saying that they refunded you $600 to switch? Or it would have cost $600 more to book Majesty at today's rates than you paid for Empress? If its the latter, let me try to sell you some of my oceanfront property in Arkansas :rolleyes:.

[nvs36]

We had an Owners suite booked for April 11 sailing, changing dates would be very difficult for us (and due to work schedules) contacted Royal was offered Grand Suite on Majesty for same sail date, but 4 nights instead of 5 nights

So we are downgraded a room, lose 1 night of sailing and now have to pay for hotel and meals for the extra day we have to stay as the cost to change our flight from Sat to Friday was $571 per person ( Royal only offering to cover $200 of that) not sure I'm feeling WOW'd about this deal

[kruzerci]

I believe he means that the price he has from Empress is $600 less than the current price on Majesty. Really no savings on what he originally paid. The deals in the beginning were quite good on Empress as I recall.

 

That's how I'm reading it, too. I wouldn't even pay $600 base fare to sail on the Majesty before dry dock (or maybe even after), but there's a one born every day if they think they came out ahead.

[kruzerci]

We had an Owners suite booked for April 11 sailing, changing dates would be very difficult for us (and due to work schedules) contacted Royal was offered Grand Suite on Majesty for same sail date, but 4 nights instead of 5 nights

So we are downgraded a room, lose 1 night of sailing and now have to pay for hotel and meals for the extra day we have to stay as the cost to change our flight from Sat to Friday was $571 per person ( Royal only offering to cover $200 of that) not sure I'm feeling WOW'd about this deal

 

I'd be livid. So you got downgraded, you lost a night, got put on the Majesty, and they basically aren't covering the flight change.

 

I absolutely would not settle for that. I'd call back and if nothing else request a total refund and book with somebody else or stay in Miami.

[LMaxwell]

We had an Owners suite booked for April 11 sailing, changing dates would be very difficult for us (and due to work schedules) contacted Royal was offered Grand Suite on Majesty for same sail date, but 4 nights instead of 5 nights

So we are downgraded a room, lose 1 night of sailing and now have to pay for hotel and meals for the extra day we have to stay as the cost to change our flight from Sat to Friday was $571 per person ( Royal only offering to cover $200 of that) not sure I'm feeling WOW'd about this deal

 

Where do you end up if you just flat cancel?

 

Are you at least even?

 

I wouldn't pay addtl for that sort of move.

[Merion_Mom]

Any of yours get canned?

 

{crossing fingers}. May 14 & May 19.

[midnight sushi]

may 9th for me

[chengkp75]

Our TA was able to get ours switched from April 11 5 night to Majesty on April 4, 4 night with 3 ports of call. Since there was no additional cost we saved over $600 on the Majesty cruise fare. Reason being we had the C&A special on deck 8 cabins.

 

For those badmouthing RCI, I have info from an inside source that this was caused by an issue that no one in RCI could have predicted. It is not a marineside issue but is astronomical in size.

 

RCI has been on top of the issue from the time it became known with additional experienced resources brought in from the fleet. Based on the nature of the problem sourcing replacement equipment is probably the tall pole.

 

Sorry I cannot reveal the rest of the story but the problem would have been much worse had US Coast Guard found the problem(s) and shut everything down in Miami.

 

My heart goes out to those who are having their vacation, marriage, honeymoon or other special plans ruined by this.

 

I'm just a little confused. If your source says the issue is not "marine side", then what would the USCG have to do with anything? The only things not "marine side" on this ship are the hotel facilities, and even many aspects of these areas and systems are regulated by the IMO (not the USCG). And anything the USCG may have shut the ship down for in Miami would have been what is known as a "no sail" item from the shipyard, because the flag state, the class society, and the port state would not have allowed the ship to sail.

 

And I don't buy the "no one could have predicted" part either. Either someone failed to check the current regulations, or failed to "walk the jobsite" prior to planning the shipyard to see what systems needed to be upgraded or repaired to meet standards.

 

And when you find that a long lead time replacement item is required, you start your planning at that point, and the cruises should have been cancelled then, based on the manufacturer's delivery estimates.

[north29]

I do feel for the booked cruisers, I had one cancelled for next fall, and then it reappeared from another port.

For RC to do this is costing them big time. I would guess, that the infrastructure of the ship was way out of date, and need upgrades, much more than the engineers expected. Or possibly they were not getting the newer equipment on time. I even think it is a possibility that more cruises will be canceled.

Edited March 18, 2016 by north29

[Merion_Mom]

I do feel for the booked cruisers, I had one cancelled for next fall, and then it reappeared from another port.

For RC to do this is costing them big time. I would guess, that the infrastructure of the ship was way out of date, and need upgrades, much more than the engineers expected. Or possibly they were not getting the newer equipment on time. I even think it is a possibility that more cruises will be canceled.

 

"anything is possible"

 

;)

[poz222]

There are many non "marine" delays possible... The shipyard might have issues... Logistics (critical parts being delivered), waiting on parts, retrofit issues, bridge electronic issues, safety items fabrication, retrofit for environmental safety now that they will be operating out of USA port... Many... But for those affected, it sure does stink.

[gadaboutgal]

:mad:We have the canceled April 21 cruise and the April 25 cruise booked back to back, We are now stuck with a short cruise out of Miami-horrible as we are left with a drive of 5 hours to get to the port for a 5 day cruise! Royal would only let me rebook the April 21 cruise June 20, would not let me rebook the April 25 cruise. So now we have to make two separate trips down and back to Miami-horrible.

And now that we've rebooked the April 21, I just bet they end up canceling the next the April 25 and we will not be able to rebook before or after the June 20 cruise.

Not only that--but they required that I pay an additional $29 in taxes for the rebooked cruise. Waaaa-not happy with Royal right now!!!!:(

[Scotty G]

I'm just a little confused. If your source says the issue is not "marine side", then what would the USCG have to do with anything? The only things not "marine side" on this ship are the hotel facilities, and even many aspects of these areas and systems are regulated by the IMO (not the USCG). And anything the USCG may have shut the ship down for in Miami would have been what is known as a "no sail" item from the shipyard, because the flag state, the class society, and the port state would not have allowed the ship to sail.

 

And I don't buy the "no one could have predicted" part either. Either someone failed to check the current regulations, or failed to "walk the jobsite" prior to planning the shipyard to see what systems needed to be upgraded or repaired to meet standards.

 

And when you find that a long lead time replacement item is required, you start your planning at that point, and the cruises should have been cancelled then, based on the manufacturer's delivery estimates.

 

I have a great deal of respect for your knowledge and input to CC. I heard some specific information and knowing it was not on the marine side I so stated. I unfortunately said US Coast Guard when I meant a US Inspection. Not familiar with other than USCG that inspect vessels.

 

I don't believe RCI had enough time to properly do the preps for this drydock after a quick business decision to return Empress to the fleet. Chances are they were planning solely on the cosmetic upgrades and not any deeper that. The work they were doing obviously disclosed a new problem for them. If anyone in Pullmantur would or should have known is another matter.

 

Again thanks for your input.

[chengkp75]

There are many non "marine" delays possible... The shipyard might have issues... Logistics (critical parts being delivered), waiting on parts, retrofit issues, bridge electronic issues, safety items fabrication, retrofit for environmental safety now that they will be operating out of USA port... Many... But for those affected, it sure does stink.

 

Maybe I'm not understanding his definition of non-marine. Not sure about some of your points, as things like bridge electronics and safety equipment are marine concerns. There is no retrofitting necessary for environmental regulations in the US. The only thing they need to do is switch fuel, but if they needed to modify existing fuel systems or install scrubbers, this should have been planned well in advance, not be something "not predictable".

[Ocean Boy]

:mad:We have the canceled April 21 cruise and the April 25 cruise booked back to back, We are now stuck with a short cruise out of Miami-horrible as we are left with a drive of 5 hours to get to the port for a 5 day cruise! Royal would only let me rebook the April 21 cruise June 20, would not let me rebook the April 25 cruise. So now we have to make two separate trips down and back to Miami-horrible.

And now that we've rebooked the April 21, I just bet they end up canceling the next the April 25 and we will not be able to rebook before or after the June 20 cruise.

Not only that--but they required that I pay an additional $29 in taxes for the rebooked cruise. Waaaa-not happy with Royal right now!!!!:(

 

You don't sound like you are whining. Your situation stinks. RCI should have let you re-book the second week of your BtoB. They could be a bit more flexible considering the mess they have caused for people.

[coaster]

Rebooked our April 11 cruise for last published sailing in July. Paying extra for port charges also. I really don't know where the blame lies. Not my original plan to take a cruise in the middle of summer when temperatures are high and kids are out of school. I would not be surprised if they boot us off in July to change destination to Cuba.

 

 

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[ILCTCRUISER]

Just rebooked our B2Bs for April 25 and April 30. Same intineraries. Pushed to get more than the $100 OBC for each cruise but they pretty much drew the line in the sand.

 

Inconvenient and I can imagine for some, without the ability to change, this could be disastrous! RCL should have done more. Poor service recovery on RCL's part.

[ZoeyVictoria]

I wonder if all of the remaining Caribbean sailings might be cancelled or changed to Cuba instead. I am interested in cruising to Cuba someday, but don't want to be one of the first. I am already looking at alternatives for May 28; there aren't many.

[stevesing121]

My partner and I were on the March 30th sailing and we ended up cancelling. I tried to get a supervisor to switch us to the 4 night Independence sailing on 3/31 but they were asking for an extra 749 dollars for a similar category room and 1 less night!!!! Guess we will rent a car and go down to Key West on our own. So disappointed :-(