New Carnival Announcement regarding Cuba Cruises

[Writerfl]

Just posted on Carnival.com:

 

Cuba Update - 06/05/19 – 8:00 AM (EDT)

The U.S. government has imposed a series of new sanctions on Cuba prohibiting travel via cruise ship and rescinding certain categories of authorized travel, which previously allowed U.S. citizens to visit Cuba under the People-to-People program.  Effective immediately, cruise ship travel is no longer allowed and we are required to cancel our visit to Havana. We have replaced our call to Havana with a replacement port to provide our guests with the best experience ashore.   

Guests currently aboard Carnival Sensation’s June 3rd sailing will be calling on Cozumel this Thursday instead of Havana.  We recognize Havana is a unique destination and may have been the reason for the selection of this itinerary.  Along with our apologies, guests will receive a $100 onboard credit posted to their Sail & Sign® Account.

We are in the process of notifying our other guests of their new itineraries and their options, in the order of sailing date proximity.  Mailings for sailings through the end of July 2019, are now in progress.  Guests will have the following options:

• Remain on the sailing and receive a US$100.00, per person, onboard credit (no need to call us if you are continuing with your plans to sail with us) 
• Move to another itinerary and receive a US$50.00, per person, onboard credit
• Cancel and receive a full refund

We are working as quickly as possible to secure alternative itineraries for the remainder of our Cuba voyages and expect to have information for sailings further out in the next 2-3 days. In the meantime, please check back on our website for further updates.  
 
We sincerely apologize to our guests for this unexpected change and thank them for their understanding.  We look forward to welcoming them on board a Carnival cruise in the near future.

 

*****

Personal Note: Well done, Carnival. Eminently fair.

 

Edited June 5, 2019 by Host Carolyn
Clarify

[Sean_B]

$100/person is pretty fair IMO, but I can see why some would be upset in missing the key port as the reason for them probably picking that itinerary.

[PhillyFan33579]

I fall into the group of people with a cruise that is now not going to Cuba. However, any day on a ship is a good day in my book, so I have no intention of cancelling the cruise no matter what changes itinerary wise. 

[elcuchio24]

Seems fair from CCL. Of course they would love to keep this itin open, not their fault, so I think its a good offer.

[cmukid87]

Am I interpreting this right?  That the following is only for sailings through July 2019?:

• Remain on the sailing and receive a US$100.00, per person, onboard credit (no need to call us if you are continuing with your plans to sail with us) 
• Move to another itinerary and receive a US$50.00, per person, onboard credit
• Cancel and receive a full refund

 

I sail in November.  I would move to a new itinerary but I certainly don't need any compensation, just my deposit back.  I hope that will be available to me.  

 

[Cruisegirl6]

Carnival is doing the right thing and they really have no choice, but, replacing Cozumel for Cuba I would not be happy at all, I feel bad for everybody who wanted to see Cuba (I am so glad I went last year and wanted to go back) but things happen for good reason.

[April42749]

Would the "full refund" include non-refundable deposits?  It sounds like "yes".

[xDisconnections]

32 minutes ago, Sean_B said:

$100/person is pretty fair IMO, but I can see why some would be upset in missing the key port as the reason for them probably picking that itinerary.

This is just bringing the cost of the cruise down from a Cuba cruise to a normal short cruise on Carnival. It isn’t as great as you think. Carnival is using this as an opportunity to show a higher RevPAR.

 

My Cuba cruise was only three nights so the only viable options are the Bahamas. While taking the time to sit back and evaluate my options, I’m lucky to have a fully refundable rate on what was my Carnival Victory cruise to Cuba and now a replacement cruise on the Independence of the Seas over the same dates.

Edited June 5, 2019 by xDisconnections

[Don Kehote]

13 minutes ago, cmukid87 said:

I sail in November.  I would move to a new itinerary but I certainly don't need any compensation, just my deposit back.  I hope that will be available to me.  

Thank you for being a reasonable person. You're the kind I'd like to cruise with.

[MT_Sea_Cruisers]

21 minutes ago, April42749 said:

Would the "full refund" include non-refundable deposits?  It sounds like "yes".

We have a booking with a non-refundable deposit.  I just tried to cancel online and U would have forfeited the $200 deposit.   This sailing is not until October 2020 so I plan to keep the booking and be patient to see what happens 🙂

[HUNNY BUN]

We are booked on the August 31st sailing , which already has a stop in Cozumel.  I saw on another site that Havana might be replaced with Grand Cayman, but not confirmed.

 

And I agree with PhillyFan33579, any day on a cruise is going to be a great day.  I booked equally for Cuba and for the dates coinciding with my birthday, so I really don't mind where we go.  Will miss doing the vintage cars, but not upset about it.

 

 

[April42749]

12 minutes ago, MT_Sea_Cruisers said:

We have a booking with a non-refundable deposit.  I just tried to cancel online and U would have forfeited the $200 deposit.   This sailing is not until October 2020 so I plan to keep the booking and be patient to see what happens 🙂

Since the process just started I would assume you'd need to call (Carnival or TA) as they are still selling the cruise as a "Cuba Cruise".   I don't really care too much about the $200 per se....but I don't want to spend so much time on sea days.  If they don't substitute a good itinerary I have another one in mind.

[ProgRockCruiser]

We had a cruise booked to Cuba for this September - booked it in early 2018.  We swapped it for a cruise to Bermuda late last year when personal circumstances changed where traveling to Cuba was "not recommended".

 

So I feel for the folks who had looked forward to the port - there is a lot of interesting history to explore.  I hope one day things can get better between the US and Cuba so that personal pleasure travel will be a normal thing again.  But I am thinking it will be another decade or two, and probably require changes in both nations.

[future1sttimecruiser]

I was scheduled for the Carnival Paradise June 8 sailing. This is the notice I just received. Two sea days UGH, no Key West (really they couldn't fit that in?),  plus a CHEAP $100 per person OBC means that I will most likely cancel.  The $100 OBC is cheap and that money goes back to Carnival and NOT to me - they are extremely stingy, especially with RCI's more favorable compensation that allows the unused OBC back to the original form of payment. 

 

My son will probably be disapointed but UGH.

 

June 5, 2019    Dear Carnival Paradise Guest,    We want to provide you with important information regarding your upcoming trip to Havana, Cuba.     The U.S. government has imposed a series of new sanctions on Cuba prohibiting travel via cruise ship and rescinding certain categories of authorized travel, which previously allowed U.S. citizens to travel to Cuba under the People-to-People program.  Effective immediately, cruise ship travel is no longer allowed and we are required to cancel our visit to Havana. We have replaced this stop and made other changes to our itinerary to provide you the best experience ashore.    Below is the revised itinerary:

DAY PORT ARRIVE DEPART Sat   Tampa, FL   4:00 PM Sun   Fun Day @ Sea     Mon   Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands 8:00 AM 3:00 PM Tue   Cozumel, Mexico 10:00 AM 8:00 PM Wed   Fun Day @ Sea     Thu   Tampa, FL 8:00 AM

Pre-purchased Carnival shore excursions for Havana and Key West will be automatically refunded to the original form of payment.   We recognize Havana is a unique destination and may have been the reason for your selection of this particular cruise, however, our team is committed to providing you with an exceptional vacation experience with an alternative itinerary.  We hope you will continue with your plans to sail with us and due to this change, we are offering the following options:   Remain on the sailing and a US$100.00, per person, onboard credit will be posted to your Sail & Sign® account. No need to call us as we will automatically post the credit on your account. Move to another Carnival sailing and a US$50.00, per person, onboard credit will be posted to your Sail & Sign® account. Cancel your reservation and receive a full refund, which will be automatically processed to your original form of payment. If you decide to move to another sailing or cancel your cruise, please call our Guest Services Department at 1-800-CARNIVAL or your Personal Vacation Planner at 1-800-819-3902 within 48 hours of the date of this notice to let us know your decision.  If you are booked with a travel agent, we have asked them to contact you to review your options so they can let us know by this deadline.     We look forward to having you sail with us for a FUN and memorable vacation.

[havanadaydreaming]

I've always wanted to go to Cuba, i can sympathize with those affected by new policy. 

 

in this case I feel for Carnival also.  

 

bummer all around, plenty of lemons for everyone.  

[NCTribeFan]

It will be interesting to see what other cruise lines are offering their passengers.  This doesn't just affect Carnival you know!

 

I am so VERY GLAD that I went a couple of weeks ago (I just knew this would happen).  But also sad because I loved Havana so much I booked on Sunrise for next April.  Pretty sure I booked ES so, hopefully, they'll waive the penalty on that one because I certainly am not flying to FLL to take a generic Western 5-night sailing.

 

I know how disappointing this is for the other Americans who wanted to go to Cuba.  I had wanted to visit there all my life (mostly because I wasn't allowed to go) and it was everything I had hoped it would be.  This makes me very sad😥.

[meanjean80]

I am on the Paradise this Saturday.  In our case, we chose this cruise because the length, travel date, and departure port worked for us, so we're not really upset. Since Carnival is allowing folks to cancel, my fingers are crossed for a really uncrowded ship!

[Can'tWait2SetSail]

This sucks, but is not Carnival's fault at all. 

[EMOSEA]

2 hours ago, HUNNY BUN said:

We are booked on the August 31st sailing , which already has a stop in Cozumel.  I saw on another site that Havana might be replaced with Grand Cayman, but not confirmed.

 

And I agree with PhillyFan33579, any day on a cruise is going to be a great day.  I booked equally for Cuba and for the dates coinciding with my birthday, so I really don't mind where we go.  Will miss doing the vintage cars, but not upset about it.

 

 

Last night we rebooked our Jan 11th on the Sunrise to this cruise. I'm hoping we still get to go to Cuba, but at least this one is Mexico instead of Nassau in case Cuba gets canceled. 

[lovelights]

3 hours ago, Sean_B said:

$100/person is pretty fair IMO, but I can see why some would be upset in missing the key port as the reason for them probably picking that itinerary.

IMO it might be fair for those that booked an inside room, however, to compensate an OBC to be the same for those that paid for an inside room, compared to those that paid for a suite or a balcony room, is not fair at all. They should have tiered the OBC based on what type of room you paid for.

 

[cmukid87]

7 minutes ago, lovelights said:

IMO it might be fair for those that booked an inside room, however, to compensate an OBC to be the same for those that paid for an inside room, compared to those that paid for a suite or a balcony room, is not fair at all. They should have tiered the OBC based on what type of room you paid for.

 

That seems a bit ridiculous to me.  You mean because someone paid more for their cabin, they are going to be affected more?  This isn't a refund of your fare, this is compensation for a missed port.  

Edited June 5, 2019 by cmukid87

[Purvis1231]

One reason that many people book Cuba is that it is a port of call that is different than other the other ports that are all too similar. I also notice the Cuba cruise tend to be more expensive so I hope the compensation balances out. 

[MarilynR26]

3 hours ago, April42749 said:

Would the "full refund" include non-refundable deposits?  It sounds like "yes".

 

I spoke with someone at Carnival this morning who said that yes, the refund will be in full if you elect that option. My cruise was to be August 4th - she told me they are working with guests in sailing order and are up to July 29th or so. Basically the gist of it is - they will email you with a notice similar to the one posted above - at that time you can choose what option you want and call them to proceed. She was very nice and apologetic, stating that a lot of people are very upset and understandably so - so are they, obviously - but they are trying hard to handle things as quickly as possible. 

 

 

[MarilynR26]

Per

1 hour ago, Can'tWait2SetSail said:

This sucks, but is not Carnival's fault at all. 

Exactly. Personally I'm really bummed about this but I don't want or expect compensation...just my money back so I can make other arrangements for that time I already set aside to go out of town. From having made a little small talk with the rep earlier that I spoke to, she said that a lot of people are calling and are very upset which again, understandable - but definitely can't blame them for this.

It's a rough week to work at Carnival, to say the least. 

[Sean_B]

1 hour ago, lovelights said:

IMO it might be fair for those that booked an inside room, however, to compensate an OBC to be the same for those that paid for an inside room, compared to those that paid for a suite or a balcony room, is not fair at all. They should have tiered the OBC based on what type of room you paid for.

 

 

It's based on the port being missed, not cabin category; nor should it be based on cabin category! Do you think suite or balcony guests are more important than inside cabin guests if they're all missing the same port?? Jesus, some people will complain about anything.