Port change with no notice

[Keith1010]

I agree that as soon as the port change is made then at a minimum TA's need to be notified but my preference would be an email going out simultaneously to TA's and those booked.  I do plan to suggest this.  Better to get the news out on changes sooner rather than later.

 

At the same time while not an issue with Seasack, I agree with Patty and Vince. When you book a cruise things happen which can impact ports and that includes weather, terrorism, local port authority issues, and even accidents to name a few.  And for this and other issues it is built into the contract.  I do not expect Crystal or other lines to provide things like OBC for these changes. Technically the only thing the can do is net out the port charges for ports dropped and not replaced which the do on the ship for tings like weather.  

 

Keith 

[Keith1010]

Double post.

Keith

 

[Texas Tillie]

Remembering fondly what has been come to be known as the Flying Dutchman cruise. We missed the first port due to seas that didn't allow us into the port. After that we floated around the South China Sea looking for someone to take us. Thank you Singapore. Little did we know at the time what Covid would do to all kinds of plans going forward. The vast majority of the passengers just rolled with the punches and had a grand old time!

 

Patty

[BWIVince]

33 minutes ago, Texas Tillie said:

Remembering fondly what has been come to be known as the Flying Dutchman cruise. We missed the first port due to seas that didn't allow us into the port. After that we floated around the South China Sea looking for someone to take us. Thank you Singapore. Little did we know at the time what Covid would do to all kinds of plans going forward. The vast majority of the passengers just rolled with the punches and had a grand old time!

 

Patty

 

It vaguely reminded me of my experience of flying the morning of 9/11, and rolling with the couple dozen subsequent plans that kept changing for the rest of that week...  I felt bad for y'all being in limbo, but there were definitely worse places you could have been going through that than onboard Crystal at least.  🙂 

 

Vince

[skybluewaters]

3 hours ago, Texas Tillie said:

Remembering fondly what has been come to be known as the Flying Dutchman cruise. We missed the first port due to seas that didn't allow us into the port. After that we floated around the South China Sea looking for someone to take us. Thank you Singapore. Little did we know at the time what Covid would do to all kinds of plans going forward. The vast majority of the passengers just rolled with the punches and had a grand old time!

 

Patty

 

Yes, we were turned away from scheduled stops in Manila, Da Nang, Hanoi, and Hong Kong.  A total of ten consecutive sea days, I believe.  Then we were told we would disembark in Taipei instead of Hong Kong, but the next day that changed to Singapore after Taipei refused us.  Crystal was handing out N95s each time we got off the ship in Singapore, where we spent our last three days.  Mandatory temperature checks twice daily.  Ahhh, those were the days!  But it goes to show that itineraries can change for a multitude of unpredictable reasons, and you can still have a great time (we did) in spite of it all.

[occasional cruising]

So much of life is attitude —- we took a 10 day river cruise half a decade ago when the Rhine was overflowing. After day one, we bussed along the Rhine changing boats a few times. The cruise operator (not Crystal) never leveled with us that we were never going to cruise another full inch. ——- I think I was elected mayor of some small German outpost where they parked boat #1 for three days ——  the passengers without so much as a three minute meeting rallied and everyone just rolled with the punches —- made more lifetime friends than any other cruise —. High levels of repeated gallows humor

[ChatKat in Ca.]

18 hours ago, occasional cruising said:

So much of life is attitude —- we took a 10 day river cruise half a decade ago when the Rhine was overflowing. After day one, we bussed along the Rhine changing boats a few times. The cruise operator (not Crystal) never leveled with us that we were never going to cruise another full inch. ——- I think I was elected mayor of some small German outpost where they parked boat #1 for three days ——  the passengers without so much as a three minute meeting rallied and everyone just rolled with the punches —- made more lifetime friends than any other cruise —. High levels of repeated gallows humor

Well on my Non Crystal Rhine experience was river level too low to pass so we got a free bus pass to a restaurant that served us inedible food before sending us to another ship.  It was so poorly handled we said we will never go again on that line again

[travelberlin]

On my last Azamara cruise this year, we had a couple of problems with the weather. In one case we were supposed to go to Portofino and because of bad weather we couldn’t. The ship took passengers to Genoa. Those of us who were on ship’s excursions were taken by bus from St Marguerita to Genoa.

During the same cruise we were supposed to tender in Sanary sur mer. For some unclear reason, we were not able to tender there and the ship took us to the rather boring La Seyne. The cruise line arranged for free shuttle buses from La Seyne to Sanary sur Mer. It was inconvenient because we had to take the shuttle and there were lines, but imho the cruise line did a wonderful job finding the way to take us to that lovely port. So I guess it is possible to find that type of solutions sometimes.

 

Ivi

[Keith1010]

I think the key word that Ivi said is sometimes.

 

When you are on a cruise and miss a port and another one is substituted what can be done is dependent on the amount of  time available to coordinate the change, the shoreside operator and the specific port being substituted. These are all variables.

 

Now in the old days when a port was missed completely aside from getting a credit for the port fees the lounges were opened and complimentary drinks served. This was a pre-curser to how lounges in the evening would go from being relatively quiet such as the Crystal Cove to becoming quite the place to go post inclusive.

 

In terms of notification prior to the cruise I don't believe anyone disagrees with guests and TA's being notified as soon as the change is made.

 

Once on the cruise we all have to remember that we are at the mercy of mother nature and other things which could occur. On a British Island cruise we missed four ports on I believe a 14 day cruise due to weather.  The weather pattern in August was more like October/November.  Some ports were substituted or rearranged and we also got another sea day.  

 

Keith

[travelberlin]

I have received the good news that St. Barts is back on the itinerary of my next cruise replacing Marigot. Well done for Crystal to be able to get again permission for that lovely island.

 

Ivi

 

[Amber14]

5 minutes ago, travelberlin said:

I have received the good news that St. Barts is back on the itinerary of my next cruise replacing Marigot. Well done for Crystal to be able to get again permission for that lovely island.

 

Ivi

 

Which cruise is this?

 

[travelberlin]

11 minutes ago, Amber14 said:

Which cruise is this?

 

January 5th. Crystal is working on excursions for St. Barts. In the original itinerary it was St Barts, but it was changed to Marigot. Now it is St. Barts again. My TA received the communication.

[Amber14]

2 minutes ago, travelberlin said:

January 5th. Crystal is working on excursions for St. Barts. In the original itinerary it was St Barts, but it was changed to Marigot. Now it is St. Barts again. My TA received the communication.

Ah, that is the same cruise I am on. I have been wondering why the excursions for Marigot disappeared a couple of days ago. I had an excursion booked for Marigot. I have not heard anything yet. We went to St. Barts last year with Oceania and just walked around. It is a beautiful place!

 

Edited December 6, 2023 by Amber14

[travelberlin]

Just now, Amber14 said:

Ah, that is the same cruise I am on. I have been wondering why the excursions for Marigot disappeared a couple of days ago. How did you find this out? I have not heard anything.

Oh that’s nice 😊. My TA informed me. She received the communication from Crystal. Have you booked via a TA?

[Amber14]

Yes. I am sure she will be sending me the news tomorrow. Thanks for the heads up. There was an excursion we wanted to do last year but it was sold out so I will be checking everyday.

[KenzSailing]

 

Interesting topic.  Irony is, I just posted about this same subject, different cruise line, on the Regent board.  Feel free to check it out, just make sure you've popped plenty of popcorn.

[pappy1022]

On 8/20/2023 at 11:17 PM, Keith1010 said:

Don't just complain here.

 

Ask you TA(s) to followup with Crystal if this change(s) was made and no notification was provided to the TA's and/or yourself.

 

They should find out if this was a recent change and notification was planned to be made or if it was a change and someone dropped the ball with respect to notification.

 

They can and should provide feedback to Marketing that when a change is made that both the TA and guest should be notified.

 

Please do this.

 

Keith

 

 

Complain? This is a legitimate concern and the lack of communication from Crystal shouldn’t be ignored as a legitimate issue. Itinerary changes happen but when they do, the cruise line should communicate those changes as soon as they know it. If a major itinerary change is made, customers should be offered the ability to change their minds as well as to whether the cruise is still desirable. 

[Keith1010]

1 hour ago, pappy1022 said:

Complain? This is a legitimate concern and the lack of communication from Crystal shouldn’t be ignored as a legitimate issue. Itinerary changes happen but when they do, the cruise line should communicate those changes as soon as they know it. If a major itinerary change is made, customers should be offered the ability to change their minds as well as to whether the cruise is still desirable. 

I have spoken with Crystal and they get it and know to send out updates via e-mail to agents and guests when there is a change.

In fact, we received one about a terminal change for boarding before we boarded this cruise.

 

My point was for people not to just post on a CC but to have their TA's get with Crystal directly. The concern was legitimate and thus my recommendation for feedback to go to Crystal from the TA's.

 

In any event, I expect communications will be going out for changes going forward.

 

Keith

[pappy1022]

Thanks. May I ask what your relationship is with Crystal? I am not asking to be critical of you. If there is a direct line of communication that is great. Someone from Crystal should be reviewing these boards to get feedback and to make changes where necessary. Continuous improvement. I understand that communicating to or through one’s TA is a good idea. I also think that discussing these things, good & bad, on these boards is very useful. Social media is a powerful tool for the consumer to determine if a supplier is right for them. If there are enough people having the same great experiences or poor experiences that can influence one’s decision to buy that product. If I were a new potential customer and all communication went directly to Crystal only, I wouldn’t know about the potential issues. In contrast, if I read great things about a cruise line then I may be inclined to choose them. If only one side of the story is given, it’s an unfair representation of the product. Transparency is key.

Edited January 3 by pappy1022

[skybluewaters]

8 hours ago, pappy1022 said:

If a major itinerary change is made, customers should be offered the ability to change their minds as well as to whether the cruise is still desirable. 

 

That is covered in the cruise contract (Booking Terms and Conditions) that we all sign (but don't necessarily read):

 

"Crystal may in its sole discretion and without prior notice change, substitute, postpone, cancel or deviate from any scheduled sailing, itinerary or call at any port, and may substitute another vessel for the ship, and shall not be liable for any loss or damage incurred by a Guest as a result of any such change, substitution, postponement, cancellation or deviation."

[Keith1010]

11 hours ago, pappy1022 said:

Thanks. May I ask what your relationship is with Crystal? I am not asking to be critical of you. If there is a direct line of communication that is great. Someone from Crystal should be reviewing these boards to get feedback and to make changes where necessary. Continuous improvement. I understand that communicating to or through one’s TA is a good idea. I also think that discussing these things, good & bad, on these boards is very useful. Social media is a powerful tool for the consumer to determine if a supplier is right for them. If there are enough people having the same great experiences or poor experiences that can influence one’s decision to buy that product. If I were a new potential customer and all communication went directly to Crystal only, I wouldn’t know about the potential issues. In contrast, if I read great things about a cruise line then I may be inclined to choose them. If only one side of the story is given, it’s an unfair representation of the product. Transparency is key.

A loyal customer who over the years has been able to provide and receive feedback from various levels of management and senior management of Crystal. I did discuss this specific item with them just before we boarded and learned that someone has been assigned to get notification out to TA's and to those booked when changes are made. That didn't happed early on.

 

Social media such as CC is good and it is certainly read by people at the cruise lines including Crystal.  I do believe though that a TA having direct communication with one or more specific people who have responsibility for an item via telephone and/or e-mail is very important.  

 

As to a consumer like all of us sites such as CC, Trip Advisor along with others provide the potential to get lots of information and opinions. In my case, if I haven't experienced a product I go with the 80/20 rule (assuming a large base of opinions). In other words, if 80% of the people like or dislike a product or a component of a product I take that as fact unless I have experienced it myself.  I always know that not every experience is the same either.  The two hotels we stayed at before this trip (one at our local airport where we hadn't stayed at for 5 years and one at Miami which we hadn't stayed at since November of 2021 had some reviews which would make me not want to stay at them. Yes, I did have the benefit of staying at them before but each one coincidentally was renovated. Using the 80/20 rule helped a great deal as in both cases I did consider alternatives.  

Finally, even my own views change overtime about a product. Could be that the product gets better or I learn how to enjoy the experience more, or my views changes as I age, or the product degrades.

 

Keith

[pappy1022]

14 hours ago, skybluewaters said:

 

That is covered in the cruise contract (Booking Terms and Conditions) that we all sign (but don't necessarily read):

 

"Crystal may in its sole discretion and without prior notice change, substitute, postpone, cancel or deviate from any scheduled sailing, itinerary or call at any port, and may substitute another vessel for the ship, and shall not be liable for any loss or damage incurred by a Guest as a result of any such change, substitution, postponement, cancellation or deviation."

I understand that and legally they can do whatever they want and we are at their mercy to decide how to change an itinerary and whether they offer any sort of compensation. Morally and long term customer allegiance is a different story. I understand the port or 2 missed because of weather or safety concerns. What people are talking about are pre cruise decisions to dramatically change the itinerary. At minimum, cruise lines should tell us about these changes and tell us why these changes are being made. To hide behind their legal rights and then tell us it’s an “operational issue” is not good customer service in my opinion. BTW, this isn’t just a Crystal issue. Regent is having the same issues and I’m sure other cruise lines are doing the same. Something is going on in the industry as a whole as to why so many significant itinerary changes are happening well before the cruise happens. Seems like cruise lines are stepping on each other for port access, etc. I don’t know because the cruise lines won’t tell us the truth.

[Texas Tillie]

3 minutes ago, pappy1022 said:

I understand that and legally they can do whatever they want and we are at their mercy to decide how to change an itinerary and whether they offer any sort of compensation. Morally and long term customer allegiance is a different story. I understand the port or 2 missed because of weather or safety concerns. What people are talking about are pre cruise decisions to dramatically change the itinerary. At minimum, cruise lines should tell us about these changes and tell us why these changes are being made. To hide behind their legal rights and then tell us it’s an “operational issue” is not good customer service in my opinion. BTW, this isn’t just a Crystal issue. Regent is having the same issues and I’m sure other cruise lines are doing the same. Something is going on in the industry as a whole as to why so many significant itinerary changes are happening well before the cruise happens. Seems like cruise lines are stepping on each other for port access, etc. I don’t know because the cruise lines won’t tell us the truth.

 

I generally agree but think there are times when it should be obvious to the cruiser - the Middle East these days, for example. Having to adjust there might affect numerous cruises afterward. With the low water in the Panama Canal, I would guess some cruisers knew about the situation before changes and others didn't. Changing an embarkation, disembarkation port from Miami to Fort Lauderdale is no big deal as the distance from the Fort Lauderdale port to the Miami airport is closer than many ports to airports around the world. It is good that Crystal is now going to notify guests and travel agents.

 

Patty