Ship Change Notification for Port Canaveral

[OhJinkies]

I booked a cruise on the Carnival Valor for February and just received this email:

 

IMPORTANT NOTICE

CARNIVAL VALOR

CHANGE OF SISTER SHIPS

12/18/2016 - 04/30/2018

 

November 11, 2016

 

Dear Carnival Valor Guest,

 

We know you must be looking forward to your vacation, so we'd like to inform you of an important change to your cruise.

 

Carnival Valor will be changing her homeport to Galveston, Texas next month. This change is being made since Carnival Valor is better suited to operate at the higher speeds required for the four and five-day Mexico itineraries from Galveston.

 

Not to worry, Carnival Liberty will be sailing year round from Port Canaveral beginning December 15, 2016 and will take over scheduled itineraries given that she is well equipped to handle our short duration cruises from Central Florida. Prior to repositioning to Port Canaveral, Carnival Liberty will have just completed a dry dock and will be refreshed for our guests.

 

Built only one year apart, Carnival Liberty is a sister ship to Carnival Valor and has similar accommodations, public venues and Fun Ship 2.0 features including Guy's Burger Joint, BlueIguana Cantina, the RedFrog Rum Bar and BlueIguana Tequila Bar.

 

As a result of this repositioning, your reservation will be moved to a comparable stateroom aboard the beautiful Carnival Liberty. Your departure date and scheduled itinerary will remain the same.

 

Sit back and relax...we'll be doing all the work. Affected sailings are now temporarily closed in the system as our team prepares to make the necessary changes. This means that you, nor our contact center, will be able to make modifications to your reservation until it has been moved over to Carnival Liberty.

 

We will do everything possible to match your current accommodations. Fly2Fun flights, transfers and other vacation components such as dining, pre-paid gratuities, shore excursions, Fun Shop items and Spa reservations will be maintained on your booking.

 

We anticipate our work will be completed by the end of November. A confirmation with your stateroom assignment will be sent to you as soon as we have finished.

 

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your understanding.

 

We're looking forward to welcoming you aboard the beautiful Carnival Liberty for a FUN and memorable cruise!

 

Sincerely,

Denese Waiters

Sr. Director, Guest Services - Contact Centers

[JohnSpo]

I was hoping to go on Valor for my next cruise in January. I have already been on the sister ship Liberty and I like to go on different ships. Liberty is a great ship so the cruise will still be great.

[walkintheplank]

You got a free upgrade in my opinion!

 

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[krich_son]

Me too. My booking is not till Dec 2017 so now I will just have to start my ship research all over lol. Hopefully I get a cabin about where my original cabin was but I am sure it will work out ok.

[Drazil65]

That is actually good news for us, we have been on both and although very similar the Liberty is one of our favs. We will be glad to see it back in PC! :)

[pe4all]

Hmmm - wonder if this is due to the propulsion problems Liberty has been having? According to what I could find by doing a search, she wasn't scheduled for drydock:

Carnival Liberty 2005 Conquest Class last drydock: 2011 next drydock: Not Scheduled

[hpugirl27]

I just got this email as well and was wondering what everyone thought. Either way it would have been a new ship for us.

[prattmom]

Hmmm - wonder if this is due to the propulsion problems Liberty has been having? According to what I could find by doing a search, she wasn't scheduled for drydock:

Carnival Liberty 2005 Conquest Class last drydock: 2011 next drydock: Not Scheduled

 

SHe was already scheduled. Doesn't look like they are doing any more repairs. "Fixing" the problem by moving her...

[OhJinkies]

Thanks to those of you who have experienced both ships. One of the reasons I booked the Valor is that it was the first cruise I have been on with Carnival that actually has the Fun Ship 2.0 upgrades. I sailed on the Liberty back in 2005, and it was fine back then, but I'm sure quite a lot has changed. From the sounds of the letter, they must be planning to do additional refreshing during this drydock in January.

 

 

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[Momma1980]

The Liberty is one of my favorite ships. I'm glad she is coming back to Florida.

[sjcruiser]

Had been booked on the Valor for December 22nd, now changed to the Liberty. No big deal for us since its only a pre-Christmas weekend getaway.

[Turqoisblu]

Wow....good thing I saw this post. We sail out on the 18th of December. I booked under my mother in law. I saw this and told her to check her email. And there it was the same notification. Happy we saw it this early. Thanks for posting also.

 

First time cruiser

12/2016

Carnival Valor

[Desinico]

I'm booked on dec 11th sailing I'm supposed to be flying into Tampa and out of Orlando the 15th. Now we come back on the 14th. I'm gonna be paying a arm and a leg to change my flight! That's crazy they can just change it like that. [emoji58]

 

 

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Edited November 11, 2016 by Desinico

[lincok]

Hello!

 

I am sailing on 12/22 also and received the same email about the change of ships. I do see that the Liberty is the same class of ship and the layout looks pretty much identical to the Valor, which is great! :)

 

My only concern is that I chose my cabin number SO carefully (we're talking days of research), haha! Has anyone ever experienced a change of ship before and knows how they handle the cabin reassignments? Ideally, they put us in the same cabin numbers (they look identical, again, from what I see).

 

Thanks for any input you can give!

[poz222]

One thing you might consider... unless the 6j and 6k scenic ocean view cabins are being added to the Liberty this drydock, the Liberty does not have them... which means if you were booked on the Liberty and have been moved to the Valor there is a chance if you call that you might be able to snag one of those cabins... Alternatly, if you were on the Valor booked in that cabin catagory you will be moved....

[cheermomof2girls]

We are the opposite, booked on Liberty, changed to Valor. I'm disappointed because I just wanted the Liberty again. But my PVP said our rooms would not be changing. We booked next door to inlaws and have a kid in each, so I wanted to be sure we were still next door. AND, we picked our rooms exactly what we wanted. :)

[zdcatc12]

I'm booked on dec 11th sailing I'm supposed to be flying into Tampa and out of Orlando the 15th. Now we come back on the 14th. I'm gonna be paying a arm and a leg to change my flight! That's crazy they can just change it like that. [emoji58]

 

 

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Why don't you just stay in Florida an extra day? I'm sure that a motel room for one night, even with food, is cheaper than your change fees will be. Oh yeah, they can change it like that, because you agreed to it!

Edited November 11, 2016 by zdcatc12
Added

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Hmmm - wonder if this is due to the propulsion problems Liberty has been having? According to what I could find by doing a search, she wasn't scheduled for drydock:

Carnival Liberty 2005 Conquest Class last drydock: 2011 next drydock: Not Scheduled

 

Good question.

 

If they are sister ships why is it that one ship can go at faster speeds than the other?

 

Bill

[poz222]

Good question.

 

If they are sister ships why is it that one ship can go at faster speeds than the other?

 

Bill

 

Because the Liberty is still broken and will not be completly fixed in drydock (not enough time for equipment) and since it has problems with a few of their motors/alternators and the shorter Bahama runs only require 3 engines whereas the longer runs out of Texas require more power that the fully operational Valor has.

[lincok]

Thanks! That's encouraging to hear, about the room assignment!

Edited November 11, 2016 by lincok

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Because the Liberty is still broken and will not be completly fixed in drydock (not enough time for equipment) and since it has problems with a few of their motors/alternators and the shorter Bahama runs only require 3 engines whereas the longer runs out of Texas require more power that the fully operational Valor has.

 

Ah OK I thought it might have been fixed during the week when they canceled the one cruise. I guess she needs to go to drydock to get it fixed correctly.

 

We were booked on the Sensation years ago when the same thing happened and they switched ships because of the speed problems.

 

Sent the Sensation to the Bahamas to do the shorter runs.

 

Bill

[pe4all]

SHe was already scheduled. Doesn't look like they are doing any more repairs. "Fixing" the problem by moving her...

Ah - now I see - one site had her not scheduled, and one did:

Carnival Liberty dry dock: 12/01/16 - 12/16/16

In addition to routine hotel maintenance and cosmetic enhancements in lounges and public areas such as new carpeting, wall coverings, tile work and lighting, the following will take place:

[avenger71]

I'm booked on dec 11th sailing I'm supposed to be flying into Tampa and out of Orlando the 15th. Now we come back on the 14th. I'm gonna be paying a arm and a leg to change my flight! That's crazy they can just change it like that. [emoji58]

 

 

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We are on the same cruise. Carnival is paying up to $200 per person for flight change fees, if you provide them documentation of the change fees. We are so disappointed. I'm not a fan of 3 day cruises and was looking forward to the day at sea since I've been to Nassau and Freeport many times already.

[avenger71]

I'm booked on dec 11th sailing I'm supposed to be flying into Tampa and out of Orlando the 15th. Now we come back on the 14th. I'm gonna be paying a arm and a leg to change my flight! That's crazy they can just change it like that. [emoji58]

 

 

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EMail I received from Carnival today

 

If you purchased independent air transportation and need to make changes to accommodate our new return, we will reimburse up to 200 USD per person for airline change fees so long as documentation is provided. Please submit supporting documentation via email to airreimbursements@carnival.com. If you purchased Fly2Fun, your flights will be changed automatically.

[indie]

I just emailed my TA last night to try to book the Valor for a family cruise after Thanksgiving and 8 rooms. I specifically wanted Grand Scenic Oceanview 9201 which isnt on Liberty.

 

:(