Tropical storm itinerary changes

[riclop]

Has anyone had Carnival change their itinerary for a tropical storm before? We are cruising from NOLA to Cozumel and Progreso on Monday, and we're anticipating a lot of bad weather.... Any idea what Carnival would do if the seas are too dangerous?:confused:

 

Don't worry they will keep you safe.

[bunnyette]

So what happens if you have excursions that aren't through carnival? That you pay for, at least partially.

 

Actually no, I have a private booked on St. Thomas and they have already said if the ship does not make it to port, they will refund my money.

 

Once our itinerary got changed on a Western Caribbean and Cozumel was put to the end and Nachi Cocum already changed our beach day (I found out when I emailed them). The private operators like the cruise ship passengers business too!

[mapsmith]

Get all the complainers on one ship and just sail it into the middle of a storm. Then we can listen to them complain on why the itinerary wasn't changed.

 

 

Didn't Royal sail directly into a storm last year. Anthem of the Seas maybe. How many complainers were on that one.

[tandemcruzr]

From what I have read here on Cruise Critic, reputable local tour companies will refund your money, in the case that your ship does not dock/port for any reason.

 

Ditto this. Every excursion we have booked with local tour companies have stated this.

[cruzn buckeye]

A couple years ago I was on the Liberty during Hurricane Cristobal. We were headed east and it was headed west and we were moving straight for it. They took the ship South and sailed around it, and we hit all the same ports but in reverse order, following the storm all the way.

something similar happened to us. We were going out of San Juan. Back then, I never paid attention to the storm warnings.. didn't even think about it. It was only my fourth cruise. We were headed to 5 ports, with the furthest away being Barbados. We were headed to the to the ship in a bus. Carnival transfer. We noticed lots of people boarding up windows:eek: then a rep on the bus, said not to worry, we would be leaving early because of the storm headed our way. Sail time was 10pm. Unfortuneatly for some people, we left at about 5:30 and they missed the ship. It was headed straight for us. So we went a different route, around Puerto Rico and down the other side to avoid the storm, and were doing a backwards itinerary.

lo and behold, the hurricane wasn't having any of that:D . It turned also and we had to go right through the outer bands. That first night was scarey. I had my lifejacket out, ready to head to lido. We had an oceanview and could see and feel all the waves and rocking.

Once we got through that first night, it was smooth sailing all the way.

Peurto Rico ended up with power outages and lots of damage.

Our captain kept us safe, even when we had no choice, but to go through part of a hurricane that had a mind of its own, just like most do:D

Edited June 5, 2016 by cruzn buckeye

[quickrate]

Most third party companies follow these changes and if you make the port will take care of you. If you don't make the port you usually will have to request a refund somehow. It is usually included in the paperwork.

24 Carnival cruises, 1 Carnival excursion, the rest privately booked. When changing ports or not making a port, have always been reimbursed for any cash out of pocket.

Pat

[poobears]

All of the private ones I have booked have in the contract they will refund if the ship misses port for some reason. That's the difference between a reputable company and a sleezy one.

 

I would be thrilled if they diverted one of progresso stops when we cruise we never even get off there LOL Just another sea day would be ok with me :D

[oldvato]

We are suppose to leave sunday out of Galveston for our 6 carnival cruise. Just got the letter that the schedule may change. We have had it happen before on the way back but never to start. Do yall think they will delay it a day.. Having to drive to Galveston thru floods is already a challenge. Now I'm starting to worry.. what do you think would be more likely to happen since we haven't left yet.. thanks for any ideas...

 

That's a hard one to answer. Its possible that your ports could be missed or changed. A ship will not come into port if the waters are rough or if visibility is poor. A ship will not stay in port if a storm is approaching. A ship moored to the dock can be damaged pretty bad against the dock if waters are rough. They prefer to ride out the storm at sea but will try to get out of it's way.

 

If you are driving in Texas check the TEXDOT road maps. They will show clear roads and flooded roads. http://drivetexas.org/#/10/29.1660/-95.5600?future=false

 

Cruise cams show the Breeze in port. Don't know about Liberty or if it's scheduled to be in Galveston today. http://www.galveston.com/cruisecam/

Edited June 5, 2016 by oldvato

[alpal1993]

Leaving out of any port in the Gulf does limit where you can go. The storm is coming straight up the Gulf from the south and is looking like it will cover the entire western stops. It is much easier to reroute from Miami or any eastern Fla Port. We leave next Saturday on a Western Itinerary and the weather is still predicted to be rain and thunderstorms. Take a poncho and umbrellas and up your drink package if necessary.LOL

[erinm03]

All of the private ones I have booked have in the contract they will refund if the ship misses port for some reason. That's the difference between a reputable company and a sleezy one.

 

I would be thrilled if they diverted one of progresso stops when we cruise we never even get off there LOL Just another sea day would be ok with me :D

 

Haha we thought the same thing! We just did these same ports in March but booked this cruise with family. No problem at all if they have to mix it up or keep me at sea.

[La_Souris]

Did it ever happen during a Bahamas cruise? I wonder what the alternative ports would be. I guess it would be a good idea to get to know the ports where we could possibly be going in case of bad weather? (In order to find something to do) It's always good to have a plan B.

 

Will be sailing in the Bahamas during the first week of October.

Edited June 5, 2016 by La_Souris

[xkritter]

My parents, and oldest son are currently on the Carnival Freedom and they are changing the order of ports around on them due to the tropical depression.

 

My son said they are now doing Nassau on Tuesday, Freeport on Wednesday, and Key West on Thursday. (It was suppose to be Key West on Monday, Freeport on Tuesday and Nassau on Wednesday.)

 

They have independent excursions booked in Nassau and Freeport and have already been in touch with the companies and they are simply moving the days around for them - no issues.

[Homosassa]

Our local area has the storm moving across Florida (west to east) and being out of here in the next 36 hours. Anyone leaving from New Orleans on Monday will probably miss most of the storm.

[Quilcruisers]

:rolleyes: Lol, implying that booking 3rd party is mistake is silly. Booking an outside vendor saves money and generally gives a better experience. I'm OK with losing a small deposit, just didn't know if anyone had experienced this issue before.

 

I booked with a third party once and it was a small deposit that I would not have been upset to lose. I agree that people should not count on a cruise ship to get them to a particular port at any time. If it's that critical they should fly. With that said I know things happen and a lot out of anyone's control so I am happy that the people in charge would steer clear of a storm instead of just trying to make everyone happy.

 

I am happy being safe. We had people complaining about the issues this morning at the port of Galveston. I am sure Carnival was not happy to not be able to check people in at 10 and could not start making money. But people were upset at carnival, the port, the weather, etc. I was just happy to be on vacation and can be patient when it is most important.

[dominichunter]

http://www.myfoxhurricane.com/custom/plots/gulf_wave_heights.jpg

[Myscruf]

I would always rather be safe than sorry. A day on a cruise is always good day. Go with the flow and relax and enjoy. Life is short.... enjoy it!!!

[CottonLuv2Cruise]

Any changes for Liberty my best friend and her family boarded yesterday

[Lew Port]

The first cruise we took was in 2005 when Hurricane Wilma hit. Our western Caribbean itinerary quickly became a Eastern Caribbean trip. I had no problem with this as the safety of passengers has to be maintained. Several peeps did complain, but the ports we were supposed to go to were severely damaged by the storm. On the second cruise we had an extra day at sea as the ship sailed around a large storm.

[T2C]

Has anyone had Carnival change their itinerary for a tropical storm before? We are cruising from NOLA to Cozumel and Progreso on Monday, and we're anticipating a lot of bad weather.... Any idea what Carnival would do if the seas are too dangerous?:confused:

 

We have due to a hurricane. It was in the Gulf so everything changed as we went around the other side of Cuba to avoid it.

 

Lousy because we booked it just for 1 stop, which we never got to. Good because it was the 1st time I ever saw Cuba with my own eyes, from a distance but it still was exciting to me.

Also Good because heck, we were on a cruise and I've loved everyone, even the one I had a heart attack on, CCL is fun

[cdamion]

So what happens if you have excursions that aren't through carnival? That you pay for, at least partially.

 

I have had weather screw up a couple of third party excursions. They just refunded my deposits. I do make sure the vendors agree to do that ahead of time. Ship excursions are too crowded and too expensive.

[TullMan]

You might guess by looking at my sig line that an uneventful cruise is boring to me. I got chased out of Mobile by Hurricane Dennis in '05. Wilma rocked my world in '05. I decided to try spring cruising and avoid the storms on Star Princess in '06. I'll take the wind and waves over smoke and fire. Fall cruising is OK so long as you remain flexible.

[lizzyplague]

TS Erica tried to turn our Southern into a Western last year but during the muster drill, they changed it back to Southern. Well, probably way before that.. but.. in the terminal, they were handing out the itinerary change sheet, and not 4 hours later, we were back on for Southern. :)

 

They had emailed the night before as well to state we were changing.

[KirstyGee1978]

Yep! We were on a 7 day out of Port Canaveral last November. We were supposed to go to St. Thomas after the Bahamas, but there was a tropical depression and we were diverted to Amber Cove, Dominican Republic. It didn't bother us much, only 1 in our group had been to DR before, and a different area. We just spent the day at a resort nearby. It was nice. There was a little bit more movement on the ship that night, but nothing that bothered any of us.

 

Although there was a group on the ship who were not happy... They were supposed to be in St. Thomas for a wedding. I don't think they were getting married, I think the bride and groom were already there, this group was just meeting them there. Either way, no matter what, their trip was definitely screwed up, but that's what happens. I would never leave such an important even to such chance like that. Ships get diverted and changed pretty often it seems.

 

 

Hi

 

I was on this cruise too!

 

We enjoyed Amber Cove as the replacement.

 

The bridge and groom were onboard with lots of guests to get married at St Thomas I'm sure even a guest flew into St Thomas to meet them, they ended up having their wedding onboard the ship, Carnival helped make their day really special.

[evandbob]

:rolleyes: Lol, implying that booking 3rd party is mistake is silly. Booking an outside vendor saves money and generally gives a better experience. I'm OK with losing a small deposit, just didn't know if anyone had experienced this issue before.

 

Yes, if a ship cannot make a port, a 3rd party vendor will usually refund any deposit you may have given them. I've never been burnt this way and have gotten several refunds from independents.

[evandbob]

I had my 1st B2B booked as an eastern week followed by a western week. A hurricane around St Thomas and San Juan didn't agree and the Captain announced an itinerary change during embarkment boarding. My B2B turned into 2 western weeks.

 

Oh well, many left before the Conquest even sailed, so there was more room on the ship for me.