Meeting the ship in Labadee

[Tweety63]

Good morning everyone and thank you for all your responses! A couple things:

I have been in touch with RC and am waiting for their reply on this and a few other options. Two, we have checked air fares and they are certainly reasonable. Three, since we are a fairly large group, yes, the rest of us would keep this sailing. The main reason we don't want to cancel is, as was pointed out, this is a booking on the Harmony that was made over a year ago when the prices were fantastic! Changing to a different week at this point, triples the price. As I wait for an answer from RC, I was just curious to know if anyone on CC had any experience with this. Again, thank you and I will wait for an answer back from RC.

[didicruiser]

Good morning everyone and thank you for all your responses! A couple things:

I have been in touch with RC and am waiting for their reply on this and a few other options. Two, we have checked air fares and they are certainly reasonable. Three, since we are a fairly large group, yes, the rest of us would keep this sailing. The main reason we don't want to cancel is, as was pointed out, this is a booking on the Harmony that was made over a year ago when the prices were fantastic! Changing to a different week at this point, triples the price. As I wait for an answer from RC, I was just curious to know if anyone on CC had any experience with this. Again, thank you and I will wait for an answer back from RC.

 

Please post back RCIs reply :)

[time4u2go]

Good morning everyone and thank you for all your responses! A couple things:

I have been in touch with RC and am waiting for their reply on this and a few other options. Two, we have checked air fares and they are certainly reasonable. Three, since we are a fairly large group, yes, the rest of us would keep this sailing. The main reason we don't want to cancel is, as was pointed out, this is a booking on the Harmony that was made over a year ago when the prices were fantastic! Changing to a different week at this point, triples the price. As I wait for an answer from RC, I was just curious to know if anyone on CC had any experience with this. Again, thank you and I will wait for an answer back from RC.

 

I'm curious where you checked air fares to. The trip from Port-au-Prince to Labadee would be 6+ hours, while the trip from Cap-Haitien would be under an hour.

[CapeCodCruiser]

Cap-Haitien (CAP) is a much better choice for an airport, IF, BIG IF, they allow people to join from Labadee. That drive is an hour as compared to Port au Prince (6 hours). As others have mentioned Falmouth might be the option you have to chose. Labadee a guarded, cement walled, vacationer haven (sorry to put it so blunt)

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

Even if walled in I am certain there are gates & doors - people with the proper credentials can get in & out. If RCI were expecting someone to board from there I am certain the folks at the gate will made aware.

[Ocean Boy]

Even if walled in I am certain there are gates & doors - people with the proper credentials can get in & out. If RCI were expecting someone to board from there I am certain the folks at the gate will made aware.

 

Yes, there are gates with armed guards right by them.

[Desert Cruizers]

Tweety63, I hope everything can be worked out for your whole group and you can join up for a wonderful cruise together. Do keep us posted.:)

[jamesr3939]

We had a helicopter land on Ladadee and pick up two people while we were there. Seems a safer way to get there than overland.

 

Yes they will open the gates. First time we did the zip line we went outside the gates to get to the top.

Edited July 31, 2016 by jamesr3939

[CeeAngel]

Thank you, thank you. I'll be here all week. Try the veal.

 

:D

 

Too funny!

[constable145]

Good morning everyone and thank you for all your responses! A couple things:

I have been in touch with RC and am waiting for their reply on this and a few other options. Two, we have checked air fares and they are certainly reasonable. Three, since we are a fairly large group, yes, the rest of us would keep this sailing. The main reason we don't want to cancel is, as was pointed out, this is a booking on the Harmony that was made over a year ago when the prices were fantastic! Changing to a different week at this point, triples the price. As I wait for an answer from RC, I was just curious to know if anyone on CC had any experience with this. Again, thank you and I will wait for an answer back from RC.

Something pre-empting a cruise made that far in advance? Wow

 

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

[SherriZ366]

We had a similar situation with a family cruise in 2005 but the family members flew to Jamaica and met the ship there rather than Haiti the prior day.

[kjc852]

In April this year my daughter and her fiancee had this very issue. His grandmother died on the Thursday before they were scheduled on a Western Caribbean cruise on Oasis two days later. RCCI would not reschedule their reservation for a later cruise, so they had no choice, but to meet the ship at the second port on the ship's itinerary which was Falmouth, Jamaica. They made arrangements with RCCI to board in Jamaica and were provided with instructions to follow for obtaining their sea passes & being allowed to board. Naturally the one-way flights from NY to Jamaica and the ground transportation to the port were at their own expense. My understanding was Labadee, the first port, was not an option for joining the cruise.

 

Be forewarned that upon arrival at the port, the taxi was not able to get close to the ship by port security and they had to walk about a half mile carrying their luggage. And since the port is not set up to receive arriving passengers, there weren't any porters so they had to carry their luggage onboard too.

 

I was shocked (almost livid) that Royal did not comp my daughter and her fiancee even a free drink for missing half of the 7-day cruise due to the death in the family 2 days before the sailing date. Cozumel was the only port they were able to enjoy.

 

What irked me the most about the way this was handled by RCCI is that our family (including my daughter & her fiancee) are booked on the 8/21 sailing of Allure with the two 2-bedroom Aqua Theater Suites on Deck 8 for which we have paid a small fortune. This has been booked for over a year. One would think someone in customer service would have recognized the cost, effort and anxiety of catching up to a ship mid cruise and all that they missed/did not use during the first half of the cruise, What would have cost the cruiseline to extend one or more minor perks to show appreciation to a loyal Royal customer who had several stressful and grieve stricken days day? All the more perplexing since all approval/arrangements to board the ship in Jamaica were confirmed 2-days before the ship left Ft. Lauderdale. So it was clearly not a case of simply being late to Port Everglades and missing the cruise.

[nimbex1970]

In April this year my daughter and her fiancee had this very issue. His grandmother died on the Thursday before they were scheduled on a Western Caribbean cruise on Oasis two days later. RCCI would not reschedule their reservation for a later cruise, so they had no choice, but to meet the ship at the second port on the ship's itinerary which was Falmouth, Jamaica. They made arrangements with RCCI to board in Jamaica and were provided with instructions to follow for obtaining their sea passes & being allowed to board. Naturally the one-way flights from NY to Jamaica and the ground transportation to the port were at their own expense. My understanding was Labadee, the first port, was not an option for joining the cruise.

 

Be forewarned that upon arrival at the port, the taxi was not able to get close to the ship by port security and they had to walk about a half mile carrying their luggage. And since the port is not set up to receive arriving passengers, there weren't any porters so they had to carry their luggage onboard too.

 

I was shocked (almost livid) that Royal did not comp my daughter and her fiancee even a free drink for missing half of the 7-day cruise due to the death in the family 2 days before the sailing date. Cozumel was the only port they were able to enjoy.

 

What irked me the most about the way this was handled by RCCI is that our family (including my daughter & her fiancee) are booked on the 8/21 sailing of Allure with the two 2-bedroom Aqua Theater Suites on Deck 8 for which we have paid a small fortune. This has been booked for over a year. One would think someone in customer service would have recognized the cost, effort and anxiety of catching up to a ship mid cruise and all that they missed/did not use during the first half of the cruise, What would have cost the cruiseline to extend one or more minor perks to show appreciation to a loyal Royal customer who had several stressful and grieve stricken days day? All the more perplexing since all approval/arrangements to board the ship in Jamaica were confirmed 2-days before the ship left Ft. Lauderdale. So it was clearly not a case of simply being late to Port Everglades and missing the cruise.

 

 

I cancelled a trip less than a week before sailing due to a house fire. I was charged $50pp, and had to fill out insurance paperwork. OK, back on topic... Please do get back to us.

Edited August 1, 2016 by nimbex1970

[Merion_Mom]

In April this year my daughter and her fiancee had this very issue. His grandmother died on the Thursday before they were scheduled on a Western Caribbean cruise on Oasis two days later. RCCI would not reschedule their reservation for a later cruise, so they had no choice, but to meet the ship at the second port on the ship's itinerary which was Falmouth, Jamaica. They made arrangements with RCCI to board in Jamaica and were provided with instructions to follow for obtaining their sea passes & being allowed to board. Naturally the one-way flights from NY to Jamaica and the ground transportation to the port were at their own expense. My understanding was Labadee, the first port, was not an option for joining the cruise.

 

Be forewarned that upon arrival at the port, the taxi was not able to get close to the ship by port security and they had to walk about a half mile carrying their luggage. And since the port is not set up to receive arriving passengers, there weren't any porters so they had to carry their luggage onboard too.

 

I was shocked (almost livid) that Royal did not comp my daughter and her fiancee even a free drink for missing half of the 7-day cruise due to the death in the family 2 days before the sailing date. Cozumel was the only port they were able to enjoy.

 

What irked me the most about the way this was handled by RCCI is that our family (including my daughter & her fiancee) are booked on the 8/21 sailing of Allure with the two 2-bedroom Aqua Theater Suites on Deck 8 for which we have paid a small fortune. This has been booked for over a year. One would think someone in customer service would have recognized the cost, effort and anxiety of catching up to a ship mid cruise and all that they missed/did not use during the first half of the cruise, What would have cost the cruiseline to extend one or more minor perks to show appreciation to a loyal Royal customer who had several stressful and grieve stricken days day? All the more perplexing since all approval/arrangements to board the ship in Jamaica were confirmed 2-days before the ship left Ft. Lauderdale. So it was clearly not a case of simply being late to Port Everglades and missing the cruise.

 

I cancelled a trip less than a week before sailing due to a house fire. I was charged $50pp, and had to fill out insurance paperwork. OK, back on topic... Please do get back to us.

 

Yes. This.

 

Insurance Insurance Insurance.

[Biker19]

I was shocked (almost livid) that Royal did not comp my daughter and her fiancee even a free drink for missing half of the 7-day cruise due to the death in the family 2 days before the sailing date.

What you and many others fails to appreciate is that RCI is no small business that can provide individualized service like that. The folks that handled the front end issue will not talk to the folks on the ship. The folks that handle the downline embarkation likely won't talk to anyone on the ship that would make such a gesture. Expecting any kind of perk is an invitation to disappointment.

[Capt_BJ]

The trip from Port-au-Prince to Labadee would be 6+ hours, while the trip from Cap-Haitien would be under an hour.

 

Do you speak from experience or are you just looking at the distance?

 

I have been driven from CH to near Lab and it was 4 wheel drive most of the way on a "road" that more closely resembled a goat path up the mountain side ...

 

there is a 'resort' at Comier Plage ... about 3 miles straight line from the pier at CH ... and about an hour trip. A real "e-ticket" ride. From here I saw Labadee too, by boat.

[BeachChik]

In April this year my daughter and her fiancee had this very issue. His grandmother died on the Thursday before they were scheduled on a Western Caribbean cruise on Oasis two days later. RCCI would not reschedule their reservation for a later cruise, so they had no choice, but to meet the ship at the second port on the ship's itinerary which was Falmouth, Jamaica. They made arrangements with RCCI to board in Jamaica and were provided with instructions to follow for obtaining their sea passes & being allowed to board. Naturally the one-way flights from NY to Jamaica and the ground transportation to the port were at their own expense. My understanding was Labadee, the first port, was not an option for joining the cruise.

 

Be forewarned that upon arrival at the port, the taxi was not able to get close to the ship by port security and they had to walk about a half mile carrying their luggage. And since the port is not set up to receive arriving passengers, there weren't any porters so they had to carry their luggage onboard too.

 

I was shocked (almost livid) that Royal did not comp my daughter and her fiancee even a free drink for missing half of the 7-day cruise due to the death in the family 2 days before the sailing date. Cozumel was the only port they were able to enjoy.

 

What irked me the most about the way this was handled by RCCI is that our family (including my daughter & her fiancee) are booked on the 8/21 sailing of Allure with the two 2-bedroom Aqua Theater Suites on Deck 8 for which we have paid a small fortune. This has been booked for over a year. One would think someone in customer service would have recognized the cost, effort and anxiety of catching up to a ship mid cruise and all that they missed/did not use during the first half of the cruise, What would have cost the cruiseline to extend one or more minor perks to show appreciation to a loyal Royal customer who had several stressful and grieve stricken days day? All the more perplexing since all approval/arrangements to board the ship in Jamaica were confirmed 2-days before the ship left Ft. Lauderdale. So it was clearly not a case of simply being late to Port Everglades and missing the cruise.

 

It's not the cruise lines fault that they had a personal issue nor is it their fault that they didn't purchase trip insurance. Why should they give you anything when others spend the extra money for insurance to be covered in situations just like this.

 

What irks me is that we live in a world where people think they are owed things they aren't. If they accommodated everyone that contacts them with a sad story they would lose a ton of money. If they hadn't been cheap and spent the extra $100-200 they could have filed an insurance claim and got all their money back.

 

Personal responsibility is seriously lacking in this situation.

[swoopy2110]

It's not the cruise lines fault that they had a personal issue nor is it their fault that they didn't purchase trip insurance. Why should they give you anything when others spend the extra money for insurance to be covered in situations just like this.

 

What irks me is that we live in a world where people think they are owed things they aren't. If they accommodated everyone that contacts them with a sad story they would lose a ton of money. If they hadn't been cheap and spent the extra $100-200 they could have filed an insurance claim and got all their money back.

 

Personal responsibility is seriously lacking in this situation.

 

Seeing more and more stories like this recently. There's a good one on the RCI facebook page posted by someone thinking they deserve the world too!

 

If you spent $10,000 on a holiday, why wouldn't you get travel insurance to cover you in the event of things like this happening. The cruise line is under no obligation at all to give you anything.

 

If you can afford the holiday, you can afford the travel inusrance to go with it!

[island lady]

We had a similar situation with a family cruise in 2005 but the family members flew to Jamaica and met the ship there rather than Haiti the prior day.

 

That would make a WHOLE lot more sense to me also Sherri! :)

Edited August 1, 2016 by island lady

[Big_G]

 

I was shocked (almost livid) that Royal did not comp my daughter and her fiancee even a free drink for missing half of the 7-day cruise due to the death in the family 2 days before the sailing date. Cozumel was the only port they were able to enjoy.

 

What irked me the most about the way this was handled by RCCI is that our family (including my daughter & her fiancee) are booked on the 8/21 sailing of Allure with the two 2-bedroom Aqua Theater Suites on Deck 8 for which we have paid a small fortune. This has been booked for over a year. One would think someone in customer service would have recognized the cost, effort and anxiety of catching up to a ship mid cruise and all that they missed/did not use during the first half of the cruise, What would have cost the cruiseline to extend one or more minor perks to show appreciation to a loyal Royal customer who had several stressful and grieve stricken days day? All the more perplexing since all approval/arrangements to board the ship in Jamaica were confirmed 2-days before the ship left Ft. Lauderdale. So it was clearly not a case of simply being late to Port Everglades and missing the cruise.

 

Good info about meeting a ship in Jamaica mid-cruise but to me this part is just bizarre.

Edited August 1, 2016 by Big_G

[wolfegizmo]

Due to a very sudden injury that resulted into having an operation

[wolfegizmo]

Due to a sudden injury that resulted into an operation, we cancelled a cruise on the day it was departing. Because we had insurance, we were reimbursed for the cruise. We always take out insurance!

[SherriZ366]

That would make a WHOLE lot more sense to me also Sherri! :)

It did make a lot more sense. I think it was a lot of work for the TA but she booked a group of 22. I think they went to Ochos Rios and spent the night and got on soon after we docked there. That was the cruise for my son-in-law's grandparents' 60th anniversary where we met you and Bucky on Mariner.

[island lady]

It did make a lot more sense. I think it was a lot of work for the TA but she booked a group of 22. I think they went to Ochos Rios and spent the night and got on soon after we docked there. That was the cruise for my son-in-law's grandparents' 60th anniversary where we met you and Bucky on Mariner.

 

Oh yeah! I remember you had quite the group. Did not remember having to go

through what they all did, but it did work out for you all! :)

 

That was our very first RCI cruise, celebrating my half century birthday! :)

[Thetrail]

In April this year my daughter and her fiancee had this very issue. His grandmother died on the Thursday before they were scheduled on a Western Caribbean cruise on Oasis two days later. RCCI would not reschedule their reservation for a later cruise, so they had no choice, but to meet the ship at the second port on the ship's itinerary which was Falmouth, Jamaica. They made arrangements with RCCI to board in Jamaica and were provided with instructions to follow for obtaining their sea passes & being allowed to board. Naturally the one-way flights from NY to Jamaica and the ground transportation to the port were at their own expense. My understanding was Labadee, the first port, was not an option for joining the cruise.

 

Be forewarned that upon arrival at the port, the taxi was not able to get close to the ship by port security and they had to walk about a half mile carrying their luggage. And since the port is not set up to receive arriving passengers, there weren't any porters so they had to carry their luggage onboard too.

 

I was shocked (almost livid) that Royal did not comp my daughter and her fiancee even a free drink for missing half of the 7-day cruise due to the death in the family 2 days before the sailing date. Cozumel was the only port they were able to enjoy.

 

What irked me the most about the way this was handled by RCCI is that our family (including my daughter & her fiancee) are booked on the 8/21 sailing of Allure with the two 2-bedroom Aqua Theater Suites on Deck 8 for which we have paid a small fortune. This has been booked for over a year. One would think someone in customer service would have recognized the cost, effort and anxiety of catching up to a ship mid cruise and all that they missed/did not use during the first half of the cruise, What would have cost the cruiseline to extend one or more minor perks to show appreciation to a loyal Royal customer who had several stressful and grieve stricken days day? All the more perplexing since all approval/arrangements to board the ship in Jamaica were confirmed 2-days before the ship left Ft. Lauderdale. So it was clearly not a case of simply being late to Port Everglades and missing the cruise.

and sorry to hear about the circumstances but INSURANCE is the key to any unforseen incident. Don't blast RCL. It's business not personal....K.O.:rolleyes:

[PCHENG]

Reminds me of the story a while back about some guy who missed the ship after getting lost in the mountains due to an earthquake. He ended up spending the night in a hotel before flying out to Haiti and board the ship in Labadee.