Quebec Cruise Changed Due to Fuel Costs

[yogimax]

We had been booked on Explorer, October 1, 2009, 9 nights to Quebec.

 

Unfortunately, RCCL changed the itinerary to a bland New England cruise. The reason cited was to save fuel costs.

 

On well... it all worked out as I changed the booking to some new ship with a silly name:)

[Annieeee]

We are leaving on the Explorer, Canada/Quebec itinerary next week. I think we got lucky, so far no change in itinerary. SOrry you had yours changed. I don't understand it, if they have the fuel supplement, why change the itin?

 

Annieeee

[WehoAtlantis]

I agree, the fuel supplement should secure the itinerary. We leave for Canada and Quebec on October 9th, 2008 and haven't heard of any change. Fingers crossed. Sorry your cruise changed and maybe there is enough time to find another one. Weird.

[WehoAtlantis]

I just realized you did switch. Happy cruising,

 

Mike

[yogimax]

 

I agree, the fuel supplement should secure the itinerary. .

 

The thing is that they collect the very same fuel surcharge whether the itinerary is 1500 miles or 3000 miles. So I understand why they changed it. I Just think they should have offered some sort of compensation for holding the deposit. Even $50 off the booked cruise or a future cruise would have been nice

[Florida_cruisers]

We had been booked on Explorer, October 1, 2009, 9 nights to Quebec.

 

Unfortunately, RCCL changed the itinerary to a bland New England cruise. The reason cited was to save fuel costs.

 

On well... it all worked out as I changed the booking to some new ship with a silly name:)

 

I would be so mad, I have looked at that cruise before because I have been wanting to go to Quebec. But if they cancelled that specific port on me, I think I would cancel the cruise. That is just me...

[negc]

I might be disappointed (something similar is happening to our TA next year where they have dropped Newfoundland for the same reason) but I can hardly be mad when it is something happening more than one year from now. As far as the fuel surcharge goes, the surcharge we paid when we booked will likely be much less than the fuel surcharge that they will be charging next year to people who book this same cruise, so if fuel prices continue to climb to new heights, what we paid will hardly cover their increased cost of operation, hence reducing the number of ports of call so that they can conserve fuel. I seriously doubt that the people who plan the itneraries intentionally make these changes to anger their customers, and when they make changes more than a year ahead of time, at least everyone has plenty of notice and can make alternative arrangements with a minimum of inconvenience. Now if the changes were made just prior to the sailing date, anger might be a more appropriate response, but mostly I think we all need to recognize that "Stuff happens".

[RareBird]

my TA told me about this last week!

 

I'm very dissaponted and already moved to another itinerary, the whole point for use was to see Quebec and the fijords.

[isles1]

Sorry to hear about that. Losing Quebec City would be a deal breaker for me. Not that New England is not beautiful in its own right, but QC is quite unique for a city on this side of the pond.

[Lightsluvr]

The pom pom squad will excuse (defend) any disappointing decision made by RCL. You were lucky you had not already committed to other non-refundbale charges such as air fare, etc.

 

Cheesh.

 

LL

[yogimax]

 

Sorry to hear about that. Losing Quebec City would be a deal breaker for me.

 

It was for us too! That was the reason we booked the cruise. My sense is that the new cruise will either have to be drastically discounted or go out half empty.

[cruisePRN]

When a port is dropped you have the right to ask for a refund of the port fees.

[yogimax]

When a port is dropped you have the right to ask for a refund of the port fees.

 

Maybe so... but the port(s) was(were) changed to those much less desirable :(

[critterchick]

I would be disappointed, too. We've been looking at Canada/NE itineraries and right now Princess has the better offerings - since they're one way it would be difficult for them to drop Quebec City, which to me would be the highlight (I'm from NE and have seen most of the other ports already).

 

But as another poster said, at least you're not out the airfare or other non-refundable expenses yet.

[luvscruising2007]

How did you find out that Quebec was dropped from your itinerary and what port did they substitute? we are taking that cruise on Sept 11 and as far as I know they haven't dropped Quebec from our port list. If it truly is because of the fuel cost wouldn't they drop Quebec from all of the cruises?:confused:

[Jerboy]

We're discussing 2009 cruises to Quebec...

 

I think they thought it was far in advance, so it wouldnt disappoint too many by changing just the 2009 cruises...

[Gonzo70]

I don't understand it, if they have the fuel supplement, why change the itin?

 

Annieeee

 

The fuel supplement helps Royal Caribbean to recover some of the expense of providing fuel for the ship, but it does not cover anywhere near the entire cost. Although it is often very frustrating to have a port cancelled for this reason, at least in this case they did it with lots of notice. Royal Caribbean is in the difficult position of trying to keep people happy while dealing with increased costs that fuel prices are causing them; they have to delicately balance how much of this cost they pass on to passengers and how much of this cost they cope with by enacting some cost savings measures. Decreasing the miles the ship has to travel on several of their itineraries is one such cost saving strategy they have decided to put in motion.

[realtreebar]

When a port is dropped you have the right to ask for a refund of the port fees.

 

how much are the average port fees if they take a stop away? how much would you get back?

[The Big Booper]

We had booked the Explorer Sept 2009 sailing because of Quebec and now have canceled the trip. We have been to all the other stops 3-4 times.

 

I was looking at the Connie for fall 2009 which does a 14 nite rt from Bayonne to QC and back. 5 days at sea is a bit much on X as sushi demos and wine blending seminars don't float my boat.

[cruisePRN]

how much are the average port fees if they take a stop away? how much would you get back?

It happened to me so long ago I don't remember but i do remember we were able to ask for our port fees back. If they substituted a different port then I wouldn't think so.

[LongTimeTvlr]

We lost a port call to Belize in January due to weather and were refunded $7.21 per person. Bought a glass of wine to celebrate our newfound wealth.

That blew that windfall.

[realtreebar]

It happened to me so long ago I don't remember but i do remember we were able to ask for our port fees back. If they substituted a different port then I wouldn't think so.

 

I put an email into crown&anchor inquiring as to the port fees have to wait and see what they say! will post when I find out!

[Shipyard Cruiser]

The fuel supplement helps Royal Caribbean to recover some of the expense of providing fuel for the ship, but it does not cover anywhere near the entire cost. Although it is often very frustrating to have a port cancelled for this reason, at least in this case they did it with lots of notice. Royal Caribbean is in the difficult position of trying to keep people happy while dealing with increased costs that fuel prices are causing them; they have to delicately balance how much of this cost they pass on to passengers and how much of this cost they cope with by enacting some cost savings measures. Decreasing the miles the ship has to travel on several of their itineraries is one such cost saving strategy they have decided to put in motion.

 

Just wondering...

 

Where do you work at Royal Caribbean?

[DeepWaterMariner]

It isn't that unusual for itineraries to be changed a year in advance of sailing or longer. In this case there is time to cancel without penalty if you don't like the new itinerary and go with HAL or Princess which still offer cruises that call at these Canadian ports. We've had ports dropped at the last minute, but those were for unavoidable problems like weather, engine problems, taxi driver strikes, etc. Dropping a port or ports at the last minute due to fuel costs would be a far dicier issue.

[negc]

Just wondering...

 

Where do you work at Royal Caribbean?

 

Not everyone who cares to view things objectively and explain that dropping a port is sometimes necessary and not part of a nefarious plot by the cruiseline to anger its guests, has to be an employee of the line. At times it helps people understand what has happened and why. If you prefer to demonize the line for whatever reason, you are free to do so, but to impute an ulterior motive to someone who has a position that differs from yours is both irrational and unfair. In this instance we are talking about something that will not occur until more than a year from now. No one has been harmed by the decision, disappointed I am sure, but otherwise, "no harm, no foul". There is plenty of time to make other plans, and any deposit that has been made will be fully refunded.:rolleyes: