Carnival Hellgend I mean Legend 5-3-09!

[LemurCat]

It's a cruiseship. It's not the Family Truckster. If it was so easy as to just stay a little longer in this port or just go to that port, don't you think Carnival would have had a little easier time with the whole Swine Flu epidemic?

[byoung70]

Thanks - I couldnt find a quick link for nautical miles - what site was that from?

This was from Distances.com

[PeggyMc]

...............................................................

First, I took a shuttle bus from Tampa Airport, and when we got to the Port of Tampa, we were all asked if anyone wanted to cancel their trip right then and there for a full credit good through 12/2010. Of course if you're looking at the ship, you're probably not in a position to ditch the trip, but they did give you the opportunity right up until the minute you embarked. I also received a recorded phone message several days before the trip informing me of the same thing.

 

Knowing this, we can safely assume everyone on the ship willingly boarded knowing we were not going to Cozumel and were being issued a $20 credit for the port charge. .........................................................................

 

Roy

 

Interesting, seems like they really did their best to communicate & offer a cancellation option regarding the Cozumel change.

[VOLLEYBALLDUDE2000]

This is what no One understands. the fact that we were lied to because they said they didn't know until 6pm the night before but the valor and liberty knew. Don't thye communicate? By the way Fox 13 tampa called me are you in the tampa area or have contat info of someone who is that was on the ship and wants to do an interview? If so send me your email address! I will forward you the contact.

 

If it says the Valor tried to dock, it must have been close to port before making a decision to abort.

 

As i said before we were sailing right by Grand Gayman when they made the decision that tendering was too dangerous.

[halos]

Well Done Carnival....looking forward to cruise 25 very soon!

 

Roy

 

Beautiful, common sense post. Thanks for restoring my faith in humanity :)

[AFsouth]

I was also on the 5/3 Legend Cruise. (BTW, PT is an excellent singer, performed as the highlight of the Legends Show). Anyway, we were disappointed by not being able to port in Roatan, as we booked this particular cruise because it was port intensive. However, this did not ruin our fun time. Met a lot of wonderful people on this cruise, many of whom are planning to sail together on our next cruise. I will say however that I understand the OP frustration, but missing ports is always a risk. Oh yea, I also witnessed the 500 or so unhappy passengers!:eek:

[ryano]

FWIW, I couldnt care less if the ships didnt go to ANY ports! :D I wish they done a 7 day Cruise to Nowhere! I would be all over it!

 

I know Im a noob here and my opinion means nothing but seriously, I took my first cruise because of it being on a boat. Even though she is an old boat, I had a wonderful time!

 

I guess what Im trying to say is, I would have been tickled pink if this had happened to me :D More time on the boat IMO!

 

If I want to see ports, I will fly down to a all inclusive resort and spend my vacation like that.

 

Like others have said, READ YOUR DANG CONTRACT! Its clear as can be!

 

This is NOT Carnivals fault IMO.

[canner2u]

After reading 5 pages of comments, I've come to a few conclusions. Has anyone noticed the difference in thought between an individual with only a few posts versus one with hundreds of posts? Another point I noticed is the consistent reference's to the "cruise contract". One poster said "you signed the cruise contract", while another posted "you agreed to the contract". Maybe I'm missing something but we've never "signed" any "cruise contract". Another observance is that you don't even see the "cruise contract" until AFTER you book the cruise and make the deposit. It's just an observance where I could understand confusion between a "newbie" and a "experienced" cruiser. Communications always goes a long way. It's possible that "communication" was lacking and caused frustrations among the non-experienced. It's possible that a bit more "tactful" approach on the captains part, could have alleviated much of the frustration. JMHO

OK someone may have posted this already, but, the "contract" is available to read online and in the catalogs for Carnival. Here is the link.

http://www.carnival.com/CMS/Static_Templates/ticket_contract.aspx

Also, it is interesting, if someone "defends" or "cheers" for carnival, we are most likely "employees". Hey I wish I were an employee, then I could cruise even more.

You have a right to be upset that things did not go the way YOU wanted, Carnival made no PROMISES, so therefore, no lies.

Another thing to consider, and this is something that many people to not, the "tactfull" approach is hindered by language. Communication, is hindered by language. I am sure that if you spoke the same language as the Captain, maybe you and he would have understood each other better. Granted, there should have been someone aboard that could have helped with this issue, but, in some cases, no matter how plainly and tactfully the situation had been explained, someone still would have been upset and complained.

[familia_solis]

I love extra days at Sea!

[flippr5657]

well that was most entertaining, but my popcorn is gone and the house work is waiting lol lol

[simplycruizen]

I'm just glad everyone is safe. I would not have wanted to read about you in the news. Thank you Captain for being safe and not sorry.

[brandylaw]

I think what the main issue was, at least for my small group, was that it APPEARED that our ship was left high n' dry while the other Carnival ships sped by onto other ports.

Yes, we knew the $20.00 contract rule, but how about doing a 'happy hour' like drinks 1/2 off for an hour or two, or some sort of EXTRA incentive. I am aware that the situations for those 2 ports are not Carnival's fault and have no beef with them canceling for our safety and in fact I am quite happy with their decisions on that alone. And I am sure there are logistics that I can't even begin to comprehend on whether we could make Key West or not. But how about staying an extra day at Belize?!! Going back to Grand Cayman?!! Of course the medical emergency happened, but that happened hours later in the middle of the nite, or so we were told. And yes, I was there when the guy yelled out "Go back to Tampa" and of course I was like initially...no! But I've never had the opportunity to stay in Tampa, and they have a Bush Gardens, an aquarium, a zoo and other fabulous things that I would have well taken advantage of if given an opportunity. I tell you, I was really, really impressed with Tampa, for it was so pretty and clean.

I think what was mostly frustrating for me was the ship was just so small in comparison to the other 2, that after 5 days at sea, I was a little bored.

But I've learned, made the most of it, and moved on. What I've learned from this one, we make my next one better yet! :D

[firefly333]

I think what the main issue was, at least for my small group, was that it APPEARED that our ship was left high n' dry while the other Carnival ships sped by onto other ports. :D

 

There were those on Conquest who said why are the ships out of Florida getting more ports than us?? We only are getting 2 ports, not fair. I heard some comments like this last week because Carnival didnt route Conquest to Roatan or Belize but Florida got them added.

 

.... not everyone got more ports added.

[zqvol]

i completely agree with you. Carnival screwed us over!!

 

I also wonder how many carnival employees were told to refute your review.

 

The beef is that carnival knew about the civil unrest in roatan on sunday may 3rd. Despite that no alternate arrangements were made for the legend.

 

But made for the valor and liberty. How is that fair?! They had the same contract as us...!

 

I was one of the 700 people that did not riot or protest. We had a get-together to voice our opinion and be heard and get some answers. And because we had a valid argument, we had such a hugeturnout. Thanks to the guys who initiated the entire thing, and the lady with them.

 

The captain was asked why he didn't consider docking at belize another night, becuase of the civil unrest at roatan. His answer was "we didn't consider it." i have the video on camera and will post it soon.

 

So carnival can "consider" another "fun day at sea" but not another day at belize!! Why? Because they make more money with 2500 passengers on board than at shore!! And had we docked at belize another night, those that had wanted to stay on ship could have done so!

 

By the way cdc (center for disease control and prevention) took off cozumel, mexico from it's travel advisory destinations on may 2nd.

 

The other options were jamaica, key west.

 

None of those were considered!!

 

So all you narrow minded, ignorant carnival backers, please get your facts straight. That was my first and last time with carnival.

 

$20 was an insult and i hope to god this incident bites carnival so bad one day, to make them realize not to take advantage of innocent customers such in the future.

 

Oh yes, one more thing. Not only were none of given the slightest hint of what was going in roatan when we boarded the ship on may 2nd, but also the fellows boarding the legend may 10th (and i spoke to a few of them) had no idea.

 

Shame on you carnival! I hope one day you suffer the same fate as the bankers who paid themselves fat bonuses after writing shamful contracts and fleecing innocent customers!!

 

Shame on you!!

 

Pretty good, creating a second screen name and replying to your own post.

[connor4313]

Hi all!!! I was on the Legend last week. here is a quick overview of what happend!! Enjoy!!!

 

 

FLC

 

[Socref124]

Perhaps this is why RCCL can offer extra happy hours or free drinks or some money back.

 

I have had a cruise booked on the Liberty for 5/2/09 that was booked a year ago.

 

Rate was $5,636 for 2 balcony cabins (D2) on Deck 9 minus deposit put down. I also had reservations for 2 inside cabins as there is a group of 8 going. If anything the fares have gone up for the balconies and now a sale on every other cabin.

 

That being said I reluctantly switched to Carnival and paying $1,571 for a balcony on the 8th deck for the same exact ports.

 

I cannot justify the $1400 difference to stick with Royal for a cabin that is smaller than those on Carnival.

 

The Carnival ship is also called the Liberty (HAHA). I Have traveled on Carnival before and the only thing I disliked were the amount of strollers on that cruise.

 

I'm guessing that until Royal lowers their rates to something reasonable more people like me will do a switch. Don't get me wrong I love Royal (have done cruises on the EOS and AOS) but not at almost double the price.

 

Please don't bash me I will come back when the prices get reasonable.

 

Brinda

 

As for me, I would rather have the extra $1400 in my pocket and no free drinks or extra happy hours.

[PaulMedik]

.................

 

I admit I did not read all the posts here, so I'm sorry if I'm saying some thngs you may have read already, but I had enough reading and had to chime in.

 

......................., for those of us who didn't want this trip to end. Again... Carnival did the right thing.

 

Well Done Carnival....looking forward to cruise 25 very soon!

 

Roy

 

 

Roy,

 

I read most of the posts in this thread and can say you aren't missing much. ;) Some are like yours and make quite a bit of sense.

 

I always wonder why people book a cruise and look at the cruise portion of their journey as being a method of transportation. If they're looking for transportation, they should look elsewhere instead of cruising.

 

I'm sure your 25th will be enjoyable regardless of what happens. Your attitude will guarantee it.

 

 

Hi all!!! I was on the Legend last week. here is a quick overview of what happend!! Enjoy!!!

 

 

FLC

 

 

 

connor4313,

 

Funny. If I were the captain and heard it, I'd also think it was amusing. If I heard any more than that or heard it more than once, I'd be finding some place to pull in to offload the revelers. :cool:

[Socref124]

Hi all!!! I was on the Legend last week. here is a quick overview of what happend!! Enjoy!!!

 

 

FLC

 

 

Weren't we at an anti war protest together in 68??:confused: LOL:D

[AFsouth]

FWIW, I couldnt care less if the ships didnt go to ANY ports! :D I wish they done a 7 day Cruise to Nowhere! I would be all over it!

 

I know Im a noob here and my opinion means nothing but seriously, I took my first cruise because of it being on a boat. Even though she is an old boat, I had a wonderful time!

 

I guess what Im trying to say is, I would have been tickled pink if this had happened to me :D More time on the boat IMO!

 

If I want to see ports, I will fly down to a all inclusive resort and spend my vacation like that.

 

Like others have said, READ YOUR DANG CONTRACT! Its clear as can be!

 

This is NOT Carnivals fault IMO.

 

Well ryano, that's the good thing about freedom of choice. I was on this cruise and generally, I book my cruises for the ports. If you like sea days, then stay on the ship while in port and I'll go ashore. This is a win-win situation, period.:)

[JoeyJoeJoeJr]

I'm surprised at the number of people coming to Carnival's defense on this issue. Not because Carnival should be blamed for the missed ports, but because of Carnival's reaction (or lack thereof) to the issues.

 

I don't believe anyone thinks Carnival should have taken any risks in dropping people off in Roatan. It is their planning and response to these unexpected events that shows a lack of foresight and judgment.

 

First, I understand that many people cruise just for the experience on the boat. Cruise lines offer cruises catered to these folks called "cruises to nowhere". They are generally cheaper than cruises that visit other ports of call. To imply that destinations are not part of the package and just a bonus is being disingenuous.

 

Second, service shouldn't always be measured from the view of when everything goes right. Equally important is how things are handled when things go wrong. It seems the cruise industry in general is very poor in making contingency plans. Things seem to be decided after a problem is encountered, instead of having a backup plan ready in the event of problem. Is it unreasonable for passengers to expect the company to have alternate arrangements if one port is a bust?

 

Third, $20 of onboard credit is a joke. In exchange for your inconvenience and it's failure to deliver what it sold you, Carnival has taken the $20 it was going to give to the Honduran government for you and put it in its own coffers. Yes, Carnival stands to make money off a missed port. It's slightly insulting to consider this a reparation.

 

If Carnival actually wanted to make a nice gesture, they could offer cash back. They could have tried for another port. They really seem to have done the absolute minimum to compensate people for delivering a vacation that few on the ship wanted. "But it's not their fault!" you say? I don't buy it. If a company makes money by selling ports of call in third world countries with known civil strife concerns, that should be a risk born by the company, not the passenger. The alternative is to indemnify Carnival from delivering on almost anything that it has promised, which I think few here would go along with.

 

I'm looking forward to sailing the Legend on 5/17, but color me unimpressed with the way Carnival has handled this issue.

[mariemorgan]

Geez this thread isn't dead yet .. PEOPLE LET IT GOOOO.

[brandylaw]

I'm surprised at the number of people coming to Carnival's defense on this issue. Not because Carnival should be blamed for the missed ports, but because of Carnival's reaction (or lack thereof) to the issues.

 

I don't believe anyone thinks Carnival should have taken any risks in dropping people off in Roatan. It is their planning and response to these unexpected events that shows a lack of foresight and judgment.

 

First, I understand that many people cruise just for the experience on the boat. Cruise lines offer cruises catered to these folks called "cruises to nowhere". They are generally cheaper than cruises that visit other ports of call. To imply that destinations are not part of the package and just a bonus is being disingenuous.

 

Second, service shouldn't always be measured from the view of when everything goes right. Equally important is how things are handled when things go wrong. It seems the cruise industry in general is very poor in making contingency plans. Things seem to be decided after a problem is encountered, instead of having a backup plan ready in the event of problem. Is it unreasonable for passengers to expect the company to have alternate arrangements if one port is a bust?

 

Third, $20 of onboard credit is a joke. In exchange for your inconvenience and it's failure to deliver what it sold you, Carnival has taken the $20 it was going to give to the Honduran government for you and put it in its own coffers. Yes, Carnival stands to make money off a missed port. It's slightly insulting to consider this a reparation.

 

If Carnival actually wanted to make a nice gesture, they could offer cash back. They could have tried for another port. They really seem to have done the absolute minimum to compensate people for delivering a vacation that few on the ship wanted. "But it's not their fault!" you say? I don't buy it. If a company makes money by selling ports of call in third world countries with known civil strife concerns, that should be a risk born by the company, not the passenger. The alternative is to indemnify Carnival from delivering on almost anything that it has promised, which I think few here would go along with.

 

I'm looking forward to sailing the Legend on 5/17, but color me unimpressed with the way Carnival has handled this issue.

 

Exactly. You were able to sum this up perfectly, and it is the way I believe most of us who were on this particular trip....the reasonable ones anyway :p, feel.

 

I remember someone shouted out during one of the 'gatherings' that we should cancel the gratuities. I was absolutely APPALLED. I cannot commend the staff enough. We had the MOST attentive and sweet crew that I cannot sing their praises enough. But I also had the same experience with the crew members on my RC cruise. I still actually remember some of their names 6 yrs later. Carnival would not have lost any sleep whatsoever on the crew getting screwed out of their tips. They will however lose some future patrons, it may not be alot, but it will be some.

[DG2004]

I am often quick to criticize Carnival, but you are so out of line that it is incredible.

 

You missed Cozumel because the US government has said that you should not travel to Mexico unless it is essential. I hate to tell you but a cruise is not essential.

 

You missed Roatan because there has been civil unrest. This is not new, it has been going on for months and any stop at Roatan is a like shooting craps, no telling what will come up.

 

If there were five hundred of you in the Atrium, it was a riot and security should have escorted all of you to your cabins. If the passengers behavior is as described, then it was unacceptable.

 

You got all that you are entitled to by contract and should not expect more.

 

 

I am right there with you...I would have gone to the top of the attrium with a bucket and watched the people makes fools of themselves

[AFsouth]

Geez this thread isn't dead yet .. PEOPLE LET IT GOOOO.

 

Were you on this cruise? If not, then let those who were or will be affected vent. I'm not being snarky, just real.

[PaulMedik]

............ Is it unreasonable for passengers to expect the company to have alternate arrangements if one port is a bust?

 

...............

 

 

 

JoeJoeJoeJr,

 

Yes. It is unreasonable. Carnival Legend's track record is well over 95% in making scheduled stops (Yes, that's a guess.) Most of the 5% would be Grand Cayman due to heavy seas or high winds preventing tendering. Why would a ship that sails every week to the same ports have alternate arrangements in place? How in the world would a ship that suddenly finds that planned ports are closed have a plan in place that would also account for the fact that EVERY other ship scheduled to call in Mexico also has to find alternative ports? My guess is they followed the plan that worked best; get alternative ports for the ships you can and have the other ships remain at sea. What other possible options could you come up with? NONE.

 

You suggest that Carnival should give you 'cash back.' Your suggestion has no merit. You booked a cruise, not a vacation in Roatan or Cozumel. Carnival will give you a cruise which is all that you paid for. If you simply wish to visit Cozumel or Roatan, get in your car and drive there. Ferry service runs daily to both islands whether civil strife or swine flu is present. Driving your own car would also be quite a bit cheaper.