RCCL leaves passangers in San Juan

[surfergirle]

Click here: Lost in Irene's Wake: Carnival, Royal Caribbean Strand 450 Passengers in San Juan - Various (http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=4584)

At least Carnival got the cruisers to the ship. That is what I would expect,

Shame on you RCCL, I have MANY cruises on RCCL, I will never cruise RCCL again. I might just book a Destiny cruise to show my support for Carnival.

Shame Shame.

I am sure some people will find ways to make this ok, but it really isnt OK.

[Megsie1000]

Carnival definitely comes out smelling like roses compared to RCCL.

[twodogmom]

This shows why it is good to sail on a Carnivale Corp ship. They do try to take care of their passengers above what is required by law.

[kazu]

I have to say I am very impressed by how Carnival handled it:) The ships had to leave, but they did make arrangements for their passengers - very nice:D

RCCL, on the other hand should be ashamed. It was not the passengers' fault that they missed the boat:mad:

[Goldryder]

erm...surely before anyone flies at the cruise lines with daggers drawn & sharpened...

How many of the pax left behind in San Juan did NOT have a passport?

Barbados is not a US territory, so anyone wishing to board in San Juan - which is a US territory - would NOT be able to travel to Barbados is they did not have a passport.

Getting a passport is not the responsibility of the cruise line...its your's amd mine as pax.

[Krazy Kruizers]

That was great what Carnival did for their passengers who couldn't make it to the ship.

Just one more reason why we will never sail with RCCI again -- we did one cruise with them many years ago and we were not impressed with them.

[Krazy Kruizers]

erm...surely before anyone flies at the cruise lines with daggers drawn & sharpened...

How many of the pax left behind in San Juan did NOT have a passport?

Barbados is not a US territory, so anyone wishing to board in San Juan - which is a US territory - would NOT be able to travel to Barbados is they did not have a passport.

Getting a passport is not the responsibility of the cruise line...its your's amd mine as pax.

Good Point!! Just another reason why everyone should get a passport.

That is why I always tell people to get a passport.

[world~citizen]

Good Point!! Just another reason why everyone should get a passport.

That is why I always tell people to get a passport.

There are a lot of good reasons to have a passport when you travel, even if you you can't think of a circumstance that might arise where you might need it.

Good advice.

Smooth sailing...

[Okie1946]

erm...surely before anyone flies at the cruise lines with daggers drawn & sharpened...

How many of the pax left behind in San Juan did NOT have a passport?

Barbados is not a US territory, so anyone wishing to board in San Juan - which is a US territory - would NOT be able to travel to Barbados is they did not have a passport.

Getting a passport is not the responsibility of the cruise line...its your's amd mine as pax.

Always nice to have a passport, but how many people carry it ashore when they are traveling with a cruise line. The cruise line takes care of all the visas etc, so it is not needed (when traveling to US ports and territories outside of the continental US) BUT HIGHLY SUGGESTED . My DH and I learned along time ago ( traveling with military), while traveling have a laminated copy of your current passport (DL license size) in your pocket when you leave the cruise ship. You have your passport numbers and info available and the consulate in that country can verify all necessary items.

[tangerinebunny]

We switched to HAL years ago after a major norovirus outbreak when HAL treated their passengers well and X didn't.

It pays to have a long memory.

[3rdGenCunarder]

erm...surely before anyone flies at the cruise lines with daggers drawn & sharpened...

How many of the pax left behind in San Juan did NOT have a passport?

Barbados is not a US territory, so anyone wishing to board in San Juan - which is a US territory - would NOT be able to travel to Barbados is they did not have a passport.

Getting a passport is not the responsibility of the cruise line...its your's amd mine as pax.

I'm not sure I see the relevance of this post. I agree with other posters that it's always a good thing to have a passport. But the issue here is that, regardless of passport status, RCCL pax were not given any assistance and Carnival pax were given a lot of assistance, much of it paid for by Carnival.


Always nice to have a passport, but how many people carry it ashore when they are traveling with a cruise line. The cruise line takes care of all the visas etc, so it is not needed (when traveling to US ports and territories outside of the continental US) BUT HIGHLY SUGGESTED . My DH and I learned along time ago ( traveling with military), while traveling have a laminated copy of your current passport (DL license size) in your pocket when you leave the cruise ship. You have your passport numbers and info available and the consulate in that country can verify all necessary items.

It's true that people don't always carry their passports ashore on a port stop. But this was an embarkation point. So the passengers left behind were in posession of all their belongings, including their passports (if they had them).

[gregdude]

Bad decision by RCI godd decision by Carnival. It will be interesting, over the next few days, to see how this plays out going up the east coast! It will also be interesting to see if RCI reverses their decision concerning San Juan!!

One also has to wonder if the mess created by Princess (another Carnival Corp. cruise line) after the earth quake in chile may have pushed them, this time, to make the right decision for their passengers.

[Goldryder]

I'm not sure I see the relevance of this post. I agree with other posters that it's always a good thing to have a passport. But the issue here is that, regardless of passport status, RCCL pax were not given any assistance and Carnival pax were given a lot of assistance, much of it paid for by Carnival.




It's true that people don't always carry their passports ashore on a port stop. But this was an embarkation point. So the passengers left behind were in posession of all their belongings, including their passports (if they had them).

OK....let me explain something here...

Firstly.....the ships were thrown out of port by the port authorities due to it becoming unsafe to be there with Irene stomping about and making a mess of things.

Secondly...those who travel without passports from the US to the Caribbean do so at their own risk...not just due to weather deviation but also the possibility of mechanical or medical deviation where they may require to fly either to a port outside of the US territories, or home from a port outside of the US territories.

Thirdly...even if the cruise lines had sent a text or email to pax who were flying in that day, it would not have been helpful, since there are many of us who do not use/own cellphones And not forgetting the basic safety issue when flying that uopon approach or during taxi or take-off all electronic gadgets MUST be turned off when aboard the plane and this rule is often in place until you get through customs/immigration at airports too. So even if they had a message sent to them, it is moot since they could not have accessed it anyway until they were in the cab from the airport to the port.

Fourthly.....fly in at least a day ahead of embarkation...golden rule, especially in hurricane season.

Finally....isn't it about time that people took responsibility for themselves to a degree? The cruise line were told to leave port, they could not do anything but leave port...everyone has seen the weather forecast...even those who live on Mars could not have missed Irene in the news in recent days.

Could the cruise lines done more...debateable....do YOU think they should have done more....well til you stand in their shoes, you cannot say one way or the other.

[gregdude]

I agree with Goldryder (above), but the issue is really two different cruise lines handled the situation two different ways. One comes out looking like gold and the other like........ Interestingly Carnival left 300 passengers, but contacted almost all about the situation, while RCI claimed they did not bother trying to contact the 150 they left behind!

While passengers should always carry passports and it is certainly advisable to arrive a day in advance, what about folks who did all of this but decided to to to the ship closer to sailing in order to avoid the crowds?

This storm did not just pop up, it was heading to San Juan for a few days. Why didn't both cruise lines notify passengers of the possibility of leaving port early on Friday or even Saturday? Why is HAL still waiting to notify Veendam and Maasdam passengers of issues for Boston on Saturday and NYC on Sunday? It would seem that good management would have some set of options ready for this weekend and giving passengers an idea of what might happen is better than waiting until the last minute.

[Trader Ron]

I'm sure RCCL will come to their senses and offer the stranded pax fifty percent off their next cruise or a free cruise. If they don't, it will be a bad move on their part.

[3rdGenCunarder]

OK....let me explain something here...

Firstly.....the ships were thrown out of port by the port authorities due to it becoming unsafe to be there with Irene stomping about and making a mess of things.

Secondly...those who travel without passports from the US to the Caribbean do so at their own risk...not just due to weather deviation but also the possibility of mechanical or medical deviation where they may require to fly either to a port outside of the US territories, or home from a port outside of the US territories.

Thirdly...even if the cruise lines had sent a text or email to pax who were flying in that day, it would not have been helpful, since there are many of us who do not use/own cellphones And not forgetting the basic safety issue when flying that uopon approach or during taxi or take-off all electronic gadgets MUST be turned off when aboard the plane and this rule is often in place until you get through customs/immigration at airports too. So even if they had a message sent to them, it is moot since they could not have accessed it anyway until they were in the cab from the airport to the port.

Fourthly.....fly in at least a day ahead of embarkation...golden rule, especially in hurricane season.

Finally....isn't it about time that people took responsibility for themselves to a degree? The cruise line were told to leave port, they could not do anything but leave port...everyone has seen the weather forecast...even those who live on Mars could not have missed Irene in the news in recent days.

Could the cruise lines done more...debateable....do YOU think they should have done more....well til you stand in their shoes, you cannot say one way or the other.

What you say is true, but it is not the point of this thread.

The point is that, in similar circumstances, one cruise line made a bigger effort to help passenegers than another.

Carnival's offer to fly pax to Barbados took care of those who had the sense/foresight/luck to have a passport. But even those without a passport got a couple nights in a hotel, which bought them time to arrange transport home. Pax on RCCL got a list of hotels and "good bye." That's a huge difference. It's probably all that's required. I do know that an airline owes you nothing if a delay is "weather related." So I think Carnival went way beyonod the minimum required effort.

Don't blame the passengers who got to the ships after they left. These people probably weren't negligent. They may have been arriving at schedule embarkation times. When lines "assign" embarkation times, these times may be as late as 2 hours before sailing. These ships left 3 (RCCL) and 4 (CCL) hours ahead of sailing time. Someone wanting to maximize the day in port, BUT STILL ARRIVING BY THEIR EMBARKATION TIME would have missed the ship in this case.

[twinkletoes4445]

Click here: Lost in Irene's Wake: Carnival, Royal Caribbean Strand 450 Passengers in San Juan - Various (http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=4584)

At least Carnival got the cruisers to the ship. That is what I would expect,

Shame on you RCCL, I have MANY cruises on RCCL, I will never cruise RCCL again. I might just book a Destiny cruise to show my support for Carnival.

Shame Shame.

I am sure some people will find ways to make this ok, but it really isnt OK.

Carnival left the bulk of the passengers behind (nearly 300). The port authority ordered the ships to leave. They had no choice. You can't blame RCCL for this decision. Below is the first paragraph in the story that explains what happened.

Nearly 450 cruisers were stranded in San Juan on Sunday when port authorities ordered Carnival and Royal Caribbean vessels to leave early to avoid Hurricane Irene.

Three hundred of those left behind had not yet boarded the 2,758-passenger Carnival Victory, which was ordered to leave at 6 p.m. instead of 10 p.m. Another 145 were left by Royal Caribbean's 2,112-passenger Serenade of the Seas, which departed at 5:30 p.m. -- three hours before the originally scheduled departure time.

I read John Heald's blog and FB page and according to him, Carnival Victory left San Juan (ordered to do so - the port was being closed - it's not Carnival's decision) with people being left behind. The ones with passports were flown to Barbados so they could catch the ship there, but the ones without passports, had to go home.

[jimmy2x]

We renewed our passports recently and spent the extra money to purchase the passport "ID" cards in addition to the regular passport. Am I correct in assuming that these cards would suffice to handle this type of situation anywhere in the Caribbean?

[3rdGenCunarder]

Carnival left the bulk of the passengers behind (nearly 300). The port authority ordered the ships to leave. They had no choice. You can't blame RCCL for this decision. Below is the first paragraph in the story that explains what happened.

I read John Heald's blog and FB page and according to him, Carnival Victory left San Juan (ordered to do so - the port was being closed - it's not Carnival's decision) with people being left behind. The ones with passports were flown to Barbados so they could catch the ship there, but the ones without passports, had to go home.

I don't think anyone blames either line for leaving early. In any business, things can go wrong. What separates a good business from a bad one is how they handle problems. Carnival took care of passengers, RCCL left them on their own.

[cruiseapril]

Has this happened before? With all the news about the hurricane, couldn't the cruise lines have prepared for this?

[gregdude]

Cheers HAL they posted, on there web site, preliminary plans for Veendam and Maasdam, at 7:00 AM this morning. I guess HAL did not want to get caught like Carnival or RCI. WAY TO GO HAL!!!

[CruiseAdict218]

We renewed our passports recently and spent the extra money to purchase the passport "ID" cards in addition to the regular passport. Am I correct in assuming that these cards would suffice to handle this type of situation anywhere in the Caribbean?

I'm pretty sure you would have been fine with just the Passports books? Both are the same but the book?(Is this what you mean by passports?) just has extra benefits vs the cards.

[CRUZBUDS]

RCCL just doesn't get it -- in the future I'd be much more inclined to trust a Carnival company, assuming they would step up as Carnival has proven.

Last year they did a tremendous job of taking care of their customers during and after the Splendor fiasco. The CEO was at the dock when she was towed in the San Diego.

Celebrity by all accounts did a horrible job when the Century had rudder problems in the Med. Read the boards on that -- people were abandoned by Celebrity in a foreign port.

Carnival realizes the value of good will - RCI does not. Sad -- :mad:

[sail7seas]

We renewed our passports recently and spent the extra money to purchase the passport "ID" cards in addition to the regular passport. Am I correct in assuming that these cards would suffice to handle this type of situation anywhere in the Caribbean?


No.
The passport cards are not sufficient for international air travel.
The passport cards are, for the most part, good for driving across U.S. borders to Canada and Mexico.

[Cuizer2]

I'm not sure why Carnival and Royal Caribbean are being discussed on a HAL board. That said, both lines were put in the same position. Both lines were told to get their ships out of the port early.

That said, both lines did not react the same when it came to customer care. Carnival was definitely customer focused while Royal Caribbean apparently could care less.

[sail7seas]

Be interesting if RCI changes their unpopular stance after word spreads throughout the internet of the way they handled this situation vs. the way Carnival did.

Which would you choose for 'next time'? ;)

[3rdGenCunarder]

Be interesting if RCI changes their unpopular stance after word spreads throughout the internet of the way they handled this situation vs. the way Carnival did.

Which would you choose for 'next time'? ;)


Well, since my two favorite cruise lines are under the Carnival umbrella, I feel very good about how Carnival handled this. I would hope their sibling lines would do as well in a difficult situation.

[Mary Ellen]

We've been looking at X, but what has thus far kept us from booking is way the way they handled the passengers (or lack thereof) when one of their ships had problems in the Med. and also RCI's poor response other times. This is head to head situation showing the differences between how the two corporations handle unexpected situations will only continue to keep us from actually booking them.

If we ever break down and book a X cruise (we do like their smoking policy), we will have a GOOD travel insurance policy in hand. Our TA's office, home, and cell numbers are already on my cell (he's family ;) ). We'd probably be depending upon him for help rather than waiting for any help from X if the situation would arise.

[vbmom87]

Why is HAL still waiting to notify Veendam and Maasdam passengers of issues for Boston on Saturday and NYC on Sunday?

They did post an advisory this morning.

[George C]

RCCL might be losing some loyal customers over this, might be some law suits also, I find this very suprising they would do this ( have sailed rccl 11 times ).

[lettienets]

I was in Catalina Is once on Carnival Elation and we were tendered off the ship. We were told if bad weather was coming the ship horn would blow a warning sound to tell people to come back to the ship.
In this case, in San Juan, particularly Old San Juan could those ships not have at least warned the passengers within distance of OSJ to come back to the ship? At least to help get a few more people onboard. Just wondering if anybody else has been in a situation like that.

[vbmom87]

RCCL might be losing some loyal customers over this, might be some law suits also, I find this very suprising they would do this ( have sailed rccl 11 times ).]

Maybe they will lose a few, but most will never hear about this. I found very few people on my cruises who ever heard of online cruise sites like CC. They will be oblivious to how cruisers were handled in unfortunate experiences and continue to book on the lines that appeal to them. Yes, a few on the forums my be skewed to stay away, but overall, I don't think it will hurt the cruiselines' bottom lines.

[3rdGenCunarder]

]

Maybe they will lose a few, but most will never hear about this. I found very few people on my cruises who ever heard of online cruise sites like CC. They will be oblivious to how cruisers were handled in unfortunate experiences and continue to book on the lines that appeal to them. Yes, a few on the forums my be skewed to stay away, but overall, I don't think it will hurt the cruiselines' bottom lines.

I think this will hit facebook at some point, and then more people will know.

[Robin7]

Be interesting if RCI changes their unpopular stance after word spreads throughout the internet of the way they handled this situation vs. the way Carnival did.

Which would you choose for 'next time'? ;)


Last year we sailed on the Serenade from San Juan. The year before we sailed on the Valor from Miami. I really, really liked both of those cruises. (I even found them to be more formal on all nights, including 'elegant' night, than our last few HAL cruises.) But after reading about this incident, I'm not sure we'd choose RCI for our next cruise. The lack of caring about their customers in the wake of a hurricane is appalling. Good for Carnival!

Robin

[Loonbeam]

There's nothing to sue over. RCCLs contract of carriage is quite clear, they are not responsible for weather related issues beyond their control (if they CHOSE to leave port early, different matter). The terms of the Contract are all they are legally required to uphold.

Anything over that is customer service oriented (the point of this discussion). In short, it would be good service for RCCL to provide accommodations but they were in no means obligated to...

RCCL might be losing some loyal customers over this, might be some law suits also, I find this very suprising they would do this ( have sailed rccl 11 times ).

[picture]

We have only sailed once with RCCL and mostly likely the last time.

They way they treated their guest is terrible.

they should have found a way to contact them.

[Kooolmomma]

I for one do not travel in hurricane season in the Caribbean, but that being the case it is my preference.

The reason for my reply is to mention that Carnival Corp. has a vote of confidence on my part, too.

In 2007, we had reservations on Carnival. we traveled to Florida on Friday before a Sunday departure. On arrival in Florida, we received a phone call from home that my father-in-law passed away. Needless to say, we left for home immediately, foregoing the cruise. We wrote to the company a couple of weeks later explaining the situation. Carnival gave us credit on another cruise. We did not believe that they would be so generous, since we did not have insurance, (we now don't go on cruises without it) and did not expect reimbursement. So long story short--we love the way Carnival treats its customers!

Mary Lou

[jhannah]

... but how many people carry it ashore when they are traveling with a cruise line. I always do unless the ship has collected them due to procedures in that region. I have copies, too, but copies are not valid for passage.

[sail7seas]

Last year we sailed on the Serenade from San Juan. The year before we sailed on the Valor from Miami. I really, really liked both of those cruises. (I even found them to be more formal on all nights, including 'elegant' night, than our last few HAL cruises.) But after reading about this incident, I'm not sure we'd choose RCI for our next cruise. The lack of caring about their customers in the wake of a hurricane is appalling. Good for Carnival!

Robin


People do remember and in this internet and social networking age, 'word' gets out. Years ago, the numbers who would hear of actual poor performance by a cruise line in this sort of situation would have been neighbors, relatives and friends of the passengers. TODAY, it's all over the word 'live while it happens'. I'm surprised there isn't YouTube of someone standing at the dock holding their suitcase.

RCI and "X" have been shown to be lacking when these sort of conditions arise.

I had no plans to sail them and nothing they have done has urged me to change my mind.



I for one do not travel in hurricane season in the Caribbean, but that being the case it is my preference.

The reason for my reply is to mention that Carnival Corp. has a vote of confidence on my part, too.

In 2007, we had reservations on Carnival. we traveled to Florida on Friday before a Sunday departure. On arrival in Florida, we received a phone call from home that my father-in-law passed away. Needless to say, we left for home immediately, foregoing the cruise. We wrote to the company a couple of weeks later explaining the situation. Carnival gave us credit on another cruise. We did not believe that they would be so generous, since we did not have insurance, (we now don't go on cruises without it) and did not expect reimbursement. So long story short--we love the way Carnival treats its customers!

Mary Lou




That's a wonderful Carnival story, Mary Lou. Thank you for sharing that with us. Sorry for the loss of your F-I-L but wow, did Carnival step up to the plate. I wouldn't expect that to happen these days though.


We sailed Canada/New England last August/September and had half our cruise cancelled due to Hurricane Earl.

The two HAL cruises we're discussing here are Canada/New England (and a disembarkation for a transatlantic returning from Europe. Hurricane can travel into the Canadian Maritimes. :eek:

[IRL_Joanie]

I was in Catalina Is once on Carnival Elation and we were tendered off the ship. We were told if bad weather was coming the ship horn would blow a warning sound to tell people to come back to the ship.
In this case, in San Juan, particularly Old San Juan could those ships not have at least warned the passengers within distance of OSJ to come back to the ship? At least to help get a few more people onboard. Just wondering if anybody else has been in a situation like that.

This was not a Port of Call. San Juan was the starting point for the cruise. So the horn would not have made a difference. I think most people would have been in Taxi's, on airplanes, in their hotels etc.

Joanie

[m steve]

Doesn't mean you should not have a passport unless the only stop is in the USVI. I expect that the cruise line would require a passport to disembark at any fooreign port. RCCL did a bad job on this departure but It's about what I would expect from them.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

This was not a Port of Call. San Juan was the starting point for the cruise. So the horn would not have made a difference. I think most people would have been in Taxi's, on airplanes, in their hotels etc.

Joanie
Also San Juan sailings leave much later. The Serenade departs normally at 8:30pm and the Victory departs at 10pm allowing for people to have late arriving flights so it is very possible you could have a flight arrive in San Juan at 7pm and still bake the ship, especially the Carnival ship. So I am guess the remaining passengers ere those that were still en-route to the ship.

[kazu]

People do remember and in this internet and social networking age, 'word' gets out.


We sailed Canada/New England last August/September and had half our cruise cancelled due to Hurricane Earl.

The two HAL cruises we're discussing here are Canada/New England (and a disembarkation for a transatlantic returning from Europe. Hurricane can travel into the Canadian Maritimes. :eek:




I'm afraid Sail is right - Hurricane Irene is expected to hit New England and/or the Canadian Maritimes:eek: current track shows it landing in near Fredericton New Brunswick (a little bit too close for us). Stay safe all

[3rdGenCunarder]

Doesn't mean you should not have a passport unless the only stop is in the USVI. I expect that the cruise line would require a passport to disembark at any fooreign port. RCCL did a bad job on this departure but It's about what I would expect from them.

I think there's an exception to the passport requirement if the cruise just goes to the Caribbean and begins and ends in a US port. A "closed loop" cruise or something like that.

As this situation shows, relying on that exception is risky. I wouldn't go on a cruise without my passport.

[jimmy2x]

No.
The passport cards are not sufficient for international air travel.
The passport cards are, for the most part, good for driving across U.S. borders to Canada and Mexico.

Well, as they say, that is that.:( Thanks for the prompt info, but have to say I regret spending the extra money for the cards.

[Okie1946]

I think this will hit facebook at some point, and then more people will know.

It has - that is how I found the thread so early this morning.

[Okie1946]

Well, as they say, that is that.:( Thanks for the prompt info, but have to say I regret spending the extra money for the cards.

They are very handy to have should your passport be stolen. Speaking from experience - Several years ago, I traveled as a college student with a large study group and the instructor/guide had all of our passports in her bag. She set it down for a moment and the bag was stolen. There were 20 people who did not have a passport (1 instructor and 19 students). One student had a father who insisted that she carry a photo copy of the passport with her at all times. Because my dad was so forward thinking - I was the only one who did not have to spend 3 extra days in Rome waiting for the consulate to process us new passports.

Now my DH, and two DS call carry a passport card with them when they travel outside the US:)

[surfergirle]

Carnival left the bulk of the passengers behind (nearly 300). The port authority ordered the ships to leave. They had no choice. You can't blame RCCL for this decision. Below is the first paragraph in the story that explains what happened.



I read John Heald's blog and FB page and according to him, Carnival Victory left San Juan (ordered to do so - the port was being closed - it's not Carnival's decision) with people being left behind. The ones with passports were flown to Barbados so they could catch the ship there, but the ones without passports, had to go home.


My post had NOTHING to do with passports, or the Port Authority. Carnival helped, went above and beyond, RCCL DIDNT. I was an RCCL cruiser, many cruises, too many to name, and now NEVER again. It just all comes down to effort. Carnival showed effort RCCL didnt. My post was not about passports or Port Authority, it was about effort. Peroid.

I will never cruise RCCL again, and the one I had booked is getting cancelled tomorrow.

[surfergirle]

I don't think anyone blames either line for leaving early. In any business, things can go wrong. What separates a good business from a bad one is how they handle problems. Carnival took care of passengers, RCCL left them on their own.


Kathy,
you are SO RIGHT
That was the purpose of my thread.

[surfergirle]

I'm not sure why Carnival and Royal Caribbean are being discussed on a HAL board. That said, both lines were put in the same position. Both lines were told to get their ships out of the port early.

That said, both lines did not react the same when it came to customer care. Carnival was definitely customer focused while Royal Caribbean apparently could care less.

I created this thread, to show my distate for poor RCCL customer service VERSUS Carnival. I used to be an RCCL cruiser, never again.

[jimmy2x]

They are very handy to have should your passport be stolen. Speaking from experience - Several years ago, I traveled as a college student with a large study group and the instructor/guide had all of our passports in her bag. She set it down for a moment and the bag was stolen. There were 20 people who did not have a passport (1 instructor and 19 students). One student had a father who insisted that she carry a photo copy of the passport with her at all times. Because my dad was so forward thinking - I was the only one who did not have to spend 3 extra days in Rome waiting for the consulate to process us new passports.

Now my DH, and two DS call carry a passport card with them when they travel outside the US:)

Now I feel a bit better:D. Thanks for the info.

[Boytjie]

No.
The passport cards are not sufficient for international air travel.
The passport cards are, for the most part, good for driving across U.S. borders to Canada and Mexico.

And sometimes for arriving in the US aboard a ship.

From the State Dept website:

PURPOSE
The U.S. Passport Card can be used to enter the United States from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda at land border crossings or sea ports-of-entry and is more convenient and less expensive than a passport book. The passport card cannot be used for international travel by air.

[Yes We Can]

OMG! I am reading this for the first time.

[piscesgal223]

Why even bring this up since a) It's not Holland America, b)the situation has been settled.


I'm not boycotting RCI because of this. They have a better deal on the cruise I want to go on next year. TBH, the OP has a history of complaining about less than perfect service- and complains about a situation that she wasn't even involved in?

[desertr0se]

We switched to HAL years ago after a major norovirus outbreak when HAL treated their passengers well and X didn't.

It pays to have a long memory.


I see you are a HAL fan too. In the future, all my cruises will be on HAL. They are just better. I especially like the food better on HAL.

[Typhoon1]

I have to say I am very impressed by how Carnival handled it:) The ships had to leave, but they did make arrangements for their passengers - very nice:D


The best arrangement would have been to not leave passengers behind.

[ASIWISH]

I always do unless the ship has collected them due to procedures in that region. I have copies, too, but copies are not valid for passage.

Jim: Why ius necessary to carry copies? We always do, but I assumed it would work in an emergency if the original got lost.

[Howasaur]

Always nice to have a passport, but how many people carry it ashore when they are traveling with a cruise line. The cruise line takes care of all the visas etc, so it is not needed (when traveling to US ports and territories outside of the continental US) BUT HIGHLY SUGGESTED . My DH and I learned along time ago ( traveling with military), while traveling have a laminated copy of your current passport (DL license size) in your pocket when you leave the cruise ship. You have your passport numbers and info available and the consulate in that country can verify all necessary items.

I also carry a photo copy of our passports with us whenever we leave the ship

[jhannah]

Jim: Why ius necessary to carry copies? We always do, but I assumed it would work in an emergency if the original got lost.I carry a copy only as a form of identification. (I've never needed it, though. I just feel better being able to prove who I am if needed.) In the event the ship has my passport and has to leave without me, my passport will be left with the local port agent for me to pick up. The contact information for the agent is found in the ship's port flyer that's left in your cabin. The passport will be necessary for air travel. A copy will not be accepted.

Should a passport become lost, having a copy will make replacement easier once you get to the U.S. Consulate.

[Cuizer2]

Why even bring this up since a) It's not Holland America, b)the situation has been settled.


I'm not boycotting RCI because of this. They have a better deal on the cruise I want to go on next year. TBH, the OP has a history of complaining about less than perfect service- and complains about a situation that she wasn't even involved in?

'cause Carnival owns HAL. :p

[piscesgal223]

The whole "Carnival did this and RC didn't" thing is ridiculous.So what?No cruise line is perfect. Even(dare I say it) Holland America(even if people might not want to hear that).


When you cruise during hurricane season, the thing to remember is "Buyer beware". You could not pay me enough to cruise then. A very reduced fare for a 7-day-Caribbean cruise in the height of hurricane season?I'll pass,thanks.

[surfergirle]

'cause Carnival owns HAL. :p

Hi Cruizer2-

You got it- because Carnival owns HAL, :)

And because I had a RCCL cruise booked for later in the year. It was how they didnt try and contact cruisers, and how they did not comment on how it was handled, when contacted that did it for me. I have cruised RCCL ALOT- Instead they just stayed quiet to see how big it got.
I had to cancel. I only have one Carnival cruise to date, but I am booking a Destiny cruise just to show support. They came out smelling like roses. Its not about what goes wrong it is about what the company does to make it right. Too bad for me, we really will miss the Radiance, esp after her 20 mil makeover!!

About the offhand comment- Don't pay attention to Picesgal, when it comes to my threads and posts, she stalks me all over this board, do a search (if it is working) and you might see. :p

[piscesgal223]

Holland America has its good points. I'm sure Royal Caribbean does too. I'll find out next year. But I seriously doubt that HAL passengers would quit cruising with HAL like some RC passengers have(I believe that that is only a small, disgruntled minority.)