Port change with no notice

[May B]

18 hours ago, Keith1010 said:

I agree with you.

 

I did provide feedback recently about the importance of getting the word out on any change as soon as it is made.  They have done one part of this but I will go back and recommend that the notification goes out to both the TA's and the person(s) on the booking at the same time or at least on the same day.  This will ensure everyone who needs to know is notified is on the same page.

 

Keith

Actually, Keith, I disagree. Contacting just the TA allows the TA to explain it to the guest better. Sometimes, the TA might want to look into some of the specifics, before communicating with the guest.

 

In this case, the email mentions Phillipsburg, which was never in our itinerary. That’s something the TA might want to look at, before the guest gets more confused. In my case, I understood the email completely, but my husband and my friend were more confused by it.

 

I also was just informed by a friend that my June 24th Serenity has had a schedule change. I’m excited about the change! But any of my co-cruisers who were hoping to enjoy Portland, OR, will probably be disappointed.

[May B]

5 hours ago, skybluewaters said:

 

That email is just atrocious.  Shame on Crystal for such shoddy communication.

I'm guessing it was written by a bot or by someone for whom English is a fourth language. 

Very sad. I hesitated to post it, but I thought this time, they need to see a few of us, being appalled.

 

 

[May B]

5 hours ago, USC Adventurer said:

i've got my red pen out to correct that awful letter!

 

The teachers are poised!

[skybluewaters]

10 minutes ago, May B said:

I also was just informed by a friend that my June 24th Serenity has had a schedule change.

Pray tell, what is the change? 

[ChatKat in Ca.]

23 minutes ago, May B said:

 

I also was just informed by a friend that my June 24th Serenity has had a schedule change. I’m excited about the change! But any of my co-cruisers who were hoping to enjoy Portland, OR, will probably be disappointed.

No one told me about that!  I'll have to see what the change is.  Thank you May!

[May B]

8 minutes ago, skybluewaters said:

Pray tell, what is the change? 

We were supposed to be in Portland, OR, all day one day. Now instead, same hours, we’ll be in Port Angeles, WA. I’m actually excited about it!

 

On a separate note, I saw something interesting on an itinerary in Oct. 2025, NYC-NYC. At first glance, the port stops included Provincetown. When scrolling down, though, that day has the times of the stop listed but not the location! At first, I thought this perhaps meant it has not been confirmed. Then I thought it might mean nobody has written up the description yet.

 

Time will tell.

[ChatKat in Ca.]

I much prefer the Port Angeles stop to the Portland stop.

We've been there before on the way to Olympic National Park. So beautiful!

[Keith1010]

4 hours ago, May B said:

Actually, Keith, I disagree. Contacting just the TA allows the TA to explain it to the guest better. Sometimes, the TA might want to look into some of the specifics, before communicating with the guest.

 

In this case, the email mentions Phillipsburg, which was never in our itinerary. That’s something the TA might want to look at, before the guest gets more confused. In my case, I understood the email completely, but my husband and my friend were more confused by it.

 

I also was just informed by a friend that my June 24th Serenity has had a schedule change. I’m excited about the change! But any of my co-cruisers who were hoping to enjoy Portland, OR, will probably be disappointed.

Muriel, then we will agree to disagree.

 

I think two things are key; Getting the word out at the time the change is made (in out case the changes was on the web site for quite awhile and getting the word out to the TA's and guests recognizing that some TA's have lots of clients on some sailings so it is one less items that they have to get out to their clients.  And if possible providing more detail.

 

In my case, when we booked the cruise Phillipsburg, when we booked. Maybe your was not because of the time yo booked your cruise. While the explanation was the same as it was for most other itinerary changes "operational reasons", to me the letter is easy to understand. I suspect most people can understand the following and if they can't then they can simply ask their TA.  This way everyone hear's at the same time, is one less step that the TA has to do, and ensure everyone does get notification in case the TA fails to get it out to their clients.  I say this because there are times when I  read that someone says they didn't know about this.

 

Anyway, we don't disagree too often but we do on this.

 

Keith

=============================================================================

Thank you for choosing Crystal for your client’s upcoming voyage.

 

Due to operational reasons, we have made the difficult decision to change our deployment, with Marigot, Saint Martin replacing Philipsburg, St Marteen, and Gustavia, St Barthelemy, which will impact some voyages, including your client’s. Marigot is a charming town on the French side of the dual-nation island of St. Martin. You will find the revised itinerary and shore experiences in “My Account” on the Crystal Website.

 

While we understand the adjustment may not align with your client’s original vision, rest assured we have orchestrated alternatives to ensure their voyage remains exceptional.

 

Please note any excursions that have been reserved and prepaid will be refunded.

 

We sincerely hope that your client will find our solution to their liking. Thank you for your understanding, and we look forward to welcoming your clients aboard soon.

 

Sincerely,

Crystal Guest Relations

 

============================================================================

 

[travelberlin]

I have been looking to my itinerary to see if I would need a visa for any of the port of calls for my cruise. On my Itinerary appears „St. John‘s“. But when I look at the internet „St. John‘s“ is not in the Caribbean. There is „St. John“, which apparently is in one of the US Virgin Islands. Or is there another „St. John‘s“ in the Caribbean?. 

 

Ivi

[Amber14]

5 minutes ago, travelberlin said:

I have been looking to my itinerary to see if I would need a visa for any of the port of calls for my cruise. On my Itinerary appears „St. John‘s“. But when I look at the internet „St. John‘s“ is not in the Caribbean. There is „St. John“, which apparently is in one of the US Virgin Islands. Or is there another „St. John‘s“ in the Caribbean?. 

 

Ivi

St. John is part of the Virgin Islands very close to St. Thomas.

St. John's is the capital of Antigua which is also a Caribbean island. This is where my cruise is going in January. No need for VISA in any Caribbean island as far as I know.

[travelberlin]

3 minutes ago, Amber14 said:

St. John is part of the Virgin Islands very close to St. Thomas.

St. John's is the capital of Antigua which is also a Caribbean island. This is where my cruise is going in January. No need for VISA in any Caribbean island as far as I know.

Thank you very much. I guess it will be Antigua then. I will have a look if a visa is needed for German citizens. 

Ivi

Edited September 24, 2023 by travelberlin

[Keith1010]

6 minutes ago, travelberlin said:

Thank you very much. I guess it will be Antigua then. I will have a look if a visa is needed for German citizens. 

Ivi

Ivi, you are fine.

 

No visa requited from several countries including German Passport Holders.

 

https://immigration.gov.ag/visa-services/countries-exempt-from-visa/

 

Keith

[travelberlin]

18 minutes ago, Keith1010 said:

Ivi, you are fine.

 

No visa requited from several countries including German Passport Holders.

 

https://immigration.gov.ag/visa-services/countries-exempt-from-visa/

 

Keith

Thank you Keith. It is good to know. Since I will be coming back to the Caribbean after many years, I am being careful to see if requirements have changed. Also in terms of vaccines. For example yellow fever vaccine is needed by several countries if you arrive from a risk country.

Ivi

[Keith1010]

3 hours ago, travelberlin said:

Thank you Keith. It is good to know. Since I will be coming back to the Caribbean after many years, I am being careful to see if requirements have changed. Also in terms of vaccines. For example yellow fever vaccine is needed by several countries if you arrive from a risk country.

Ivi

Ivi you are very wise to check all of this out so there are no surprises.

 

Changes can occur. For example, I know this is long in the making but USA citizens are supposed to meet the ETIAS to visit Europe sometime next year.  

 

And I remember precisely what you said about Yellow Fever Vaccine. I believe Barbados is one of those places that require a Yellow Fever Vaccine if coming from certain countries as a true example of what you are talking about.

 

Keith 

[travelberlin]

6 minutes ago, Keith1010 said:

 

 

And I remember precisely what you said about Yellow Fever Vaccine. I believe Barbados is one of those places that require a Yellow Fever Vaccine if coming from certain countries as a true example of what you are talking about.

 

Keith 

Thanks Keith. Several Caribbean countries apparently request the yellow fever vaccine if coming from countries considered risk countries. Also South Africa. I remember that there was a discussion on a thread of another cruise line about passengers not being able to disembark in South Africa, because they were previously in a port of call that was a risk country for yellow fever. 
 

Ivi

[tnm6217]

On 9/22/2023 at 3:52 PM, seasack said:

Wow that change was months ago! I still haven’t heard from Crystal about the change in other words no email for me yet. I asked my Travel agent about it a while ago she hasn’t heard anything back yet maybe now she will let me now?
 

Thanks for posting that. It’s really not giving me confidence it NC communications abilities!

 

I still don't have anything from my TA or Crystal on this, even though my TA sent in the inquiry back in August when this thread was initially posted. I don't understand why the email wasn't sent to everyone at the same time. 

[seasack]

4 hours ago, tnm6217 said:

 

I still don't have anything from my TA or Crystal on this, even though my TA sent in the inquiry back in August when this thread was initially posted. I don't understand why the email wasn't sent to everyone at the same time. 

I’m still in the same boat as you! As of this moment no email and will now be bringing this up again with my TA to let her know that certain people seem to have been contacted just recently directly from Crystal. If it wasn’t for following cruise critic I wouldn’t have even known of the changes. This is certainly a concern to me for sure!

[tnm6217]

1 hour ago, seasack said:

I’m still in the same boat as you! As of this moment no email and will now be bringing this up again with my TA to let her know that certain people seem to have been contacted just recently directly from Crystal. If it wasn’t for following cruise critic I wouldn’t have even known of the changes. This is certainly a concern to me for sure!

 

My TA forwarded it to me shortly after I posted (of course). It doesn't appear they ever responded to his request that I get some extra onboard credit for their handling of the change...although my TA did tell me not to hold my breath when I requested he ask about the OBC for me.

[occasional cruising]

Interesting. We are June 24 from San Diego to Vancouver. We could not care less about trading Portland for Port Angeles, but interesting that neither Crystal nor our TA have said word one. Of course, now we can tell family members in Portland that we are cruising up the coast —- 

[TER777]

7 hours ago, occasional cruising said:

Interesting. We are June 24 from San Diego to Vancouver. We could not care less about trading Portland for Port Angeles, but interesting that neither Crystal nor our TA have said word one. Of course, now we can tell family members in Portland that we are cruising up the coast —- 

Thanks for the heads up. 

[seasack]

I finally heard from my TA yesterday with the port changes for 2023 holiday and segment after that. Attached to the email we received from my TA was a copy of what Crystal sent to our TA on our behalf and a new copy of the invoice with the changes to the itinerary. 
 

We are still pursuing with her why it took so long and why it is being relayed to us in this manner. We have not yet received this information directly from Crystal as of this moment like others have stated to on this thread. Again I found out about these changes in July and have been looking for some type of explanation from Crystal as to why it’s taking so long to inform passengers to these changes ever since.

[Texas Tillie]

I've read the Terms and Conditions. Crystal can take you anywhere or nowhere on a cruise. My philosophy is that if you absolutely have to get to a specific place, don't try doing it on a cruise. Most of the time it works, on occasion it doesn't. Same with weather. You can check the "average" for a specific date, but you pay your money and take your chances.

 

Patty

[seasack]

 

25 minutes ago, Texas Tillie said:

I've read the Terms and Conditions. Crystal can take you anywhere or nowhere on a cruise. My philosophy is that if you absolutely have to get to a specific place, don't try doing it on a cruise. Most of the time it works, on occasion it doesn't. Same with weather. You can check the "average" for a specific date, but you pay your money and take your chances.

 

Patty

 

I totally realize there can be changes. I’ve been subject to many of them over the many years I’ve been cruising. 
 

I’m currently having an issue in the way Crystal is communicating those changes!

[BWIVince]

I agree with Patty 100%...  Interim port calls are not guaranteed in any way, shape or form, and are subject to change.  That's just life, and if you lower expectations on that, you'll be a lot less disappointed with cruising.

 

I'll also add that while there are exceptions, the general rule in the travel industry is that it's better not to share the details for advance changes, other than to say it's an operational need.  If you go too much further into it with clients or agents, it just creates arguments between the parties that the cruise line shouldn't have given in to the port, or should have sued, or some other unrealistic response that at the end of the day really doesn't matter and is just a waste of everyone's time and money.  I know the operational need answer isn't very satisfying, but at the end of the day it's the only thing that matters.

 

Vince

[seasack]

3 minutes ago, BWIVince said:

I agree with Patty 100%...  Interim port calls are not guaranteed in any way, shape or form, and are subject to change.  That's just life, and if you lower expectations on that, you'll be a lot less disappointed with cruising.

 

I'll also add that while there are exceptions, the general rule in the travel industry is that it's better not to share the details for advance changes, other than to say it's an operational need.  If you go too much further into it with clients or agents, it just creates arguments between the parties that the cruise line shouldn't have given in to the port, or should have sued, or some other unrealistic response that at the end of the day really doesn't matter and is just a waste of everyone's time and money.  I know the operational need answer isn't very satisfying, but at the end of the day it's the only thing that matters.

 

Vince

I agree with everything you said. I understand everything you said. 
 

My issue is with how long it’s taking and how the communications are being handed down from Crystal to there customers.