What should Carnival have done better?

Ever since Hurricane Ike devastated Galveston this weekend, Carnival has been racing to make arrangements for Carnival Conquest and Carnival Ecstasy, the line's two Galveston-based ships. Now that the ships are finally headed for their temporary new home in Houston, cruise travelers are wondering whether Carnival could have handled the situation better. You can read more about the situation in our news item.

What do you think? Did Carnival do all that it could to help passengers in this unusual situation? Please vote in our poll.

I think they should have NOT left for Houston until the ship channel was open.

http://www.phastatus.com "Continued electrical outages prohbit the Port of Houston Authority (PHA) from opening for business operations Thursday, September 18 at the Barbours Cut and Bayport Terminals."

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/6006021.html

"More than 100 vessels are waiting to enter the Houston Ship Channel to deliver goods but can't, in part because Hurricane Ike destroyed or moved maritime navigational aids.

Also, public terminals operated by the Port of Houston Authority remain closed because of cleanup efforts and no electricity.

"A range of serious complications due to the lack of electricity prohibits the Port of Houston Authority from opening for business operations Wednesday," the port said in a prepared statement late Tuesday.

The storm destroyed or blew away many navigational aids, and the Coast Guard has to sort things out before the Ship Channel can reopen, an agency spokeswoman said.

Coast Guard Petty Officer Victoria Bonk said 103 vessels ranging from oil tankers to container ships were waiting Tuesday to enter the Ship Channel. She added that it was impossible to say when traffic might start moving in again.

"They are trying to figure out how much damage has been done," Bonk said. "They have got to figure out the hazards."

Even in the best of times, the Houston Ship Channel is considered one of the world's most difficult waterways to navigate.

The Houston Pilots board ships, then bring them in to port.

The Port of Houston Authority is asking its maintenance, operations and Barbours Cut and Bayport terminal employees to report today.

<snipped>

"We are looking at Thursday as the first day to ship outbound cargo," he said.

bill.hensel@chron.com

Note: the article above was written before the new news release stating Bayport Terminal is closed Thursday, Sept. 18th.

Ever since Hurricane Ike devastated Galveston this weekend, Carnival has been racing to make arrangements for Carnival Conquest and Carnival Ecstasy, the line's two Galveston-based ships. Now that the ships are finally headed for their temporary new home in Houston, cruise travelers are wondering whether Carnival could have handled the situation better. You can read more about the situation in our news item.

 

What do you think? Did Carnival do all that it could to help passengers in this unusual situation? Please vote in our poll.

I think Carnival should have arranged bus transportation for all passengers to either the New Orleans airport, the Houston airport, or the Galveston cruise terminal. After all, even those who probably lost their cars parked at the Galveston terminal would at least want to go and check on them. The ship departed Galveston and was supposed to return to Galveston. Carnival should have gotten their passengers back there. I think it would have been OK to charge a reasonable fee for the bus ride, but Carnival should have helped everyone that wanted to go back to Galveston to get there.

Coast guard link: http://www.d8externalaffairs.com/go/page/425/22589/

Ship Channel

Release

Date: Sept. 17, 2008

Time: 3 p.m. CST

Contact: Public Information Officer

(832) 864-0002

Houston Ship Channel continues operations with restrictions

HOUSTON - The Houston Ship Channel is open at all times to ships with a draft of 16 feet or less, but will remain open for daylight transit only from the entrance of the Ship Channel to the Shell Oil and Chemical Facility in Deer Park, Texas, for ships with a draft of 38 feet or less.

Traffic is open for daylight transit only from the Shell Oil Chemical Facility to the Turning Basin for ships with a draft of 30 feet or less.

There are 118 ships waiting to enter the port.

Saving Lives and Guarding the Coast Since 1790.

I think Carnival should have arranged bus transportation for all passengers to either the New Orleans airport, the Houston airport, or the Galveston cruise terminal. After all, even those who probably lost their cars parked at the Galveston terminal would at least want to go and check on them. The ship departed Galveston and was supposed to return to Galveston. Carnival should have gotten their passengers back there. I think it would have been OK to charge a reasonable fee for the bus ride, but Carnival should have helped everyone that wanted to go back to Galveston to get there.

Houston airports were closed and the whole island of Galveston is closed.

I think Carnival did what it could with a difficult situation. Not only were that passengers having concerns but also the crew. Traveling during the hurricane season is always a risk and you never know what could happen. It is the passengers responsibility to be prepared should the need arise. We traveled with Gustavus heading toward us and our captain on the Holiday kept us as informed as he could of the situation. There are also tvs on the ships that are tuned to CNN and other stations you could watch. Passengers could find out the situation at any time and should have been aware on their own that they could not get back into Galveston. As far as Carnival going to NOLA I feel sure that it took a lot of logistcal work at getting that much accomplished.

I think all cruise lines react in much the same manner in the event of an interruption to itineries, whether because of a natural disaster or a mechanical failure or whatever. And this stems from a) the modern attitude that someone is to blame and has to pay; and b) the corporate lawyer's reaction that if we admit anything, we will be sued. Unfortunately this results in as a little information as possible being issued. Consequently passengers are annoyed and sometimes scared because they don't know what is happening. Next result is an ambulance chasing lawyer is demanding ridiculous amounts of compensation from the cruise company, and the chain of blame and recriminations go on and on.

I suspect the only way to change this is for the cruise lines to stick by the letter of their contracts, especially where natural phenomena are involved, but they must and I repeat must advise passengers as to what is happening.

Just a frequent cruisers opinion

Dave

I wanted to choose two options. I think the cruise on Ecstasy should have been cancelled when there was an evacution order and I also thought Carnival should have offered an option of a bus at a reasonable cost to return the passengers to Houston from New Orleans for those who were from the area or unable to change flight plans to depart from New Orleans.

Carnival should have helped the ones that flew in by providing help with transportation to the airport in Orleans and changing their flights.

They should have also provided some type of transportation to the ones that drove. They should have also cancelled the next cruise when Galveston was being evacuated............

Also this poll is of no help......as you see there are multiples that should be voted on IMO............so I can't vote........

I think Carnival should have HELPED people to make alt travel plans out of NOLA. NOT pay for the cost of getting them home or cost of flight changes rental cars etc.

But by HELPED I mean provide free internet & phone (from their staterooms)onboard so the passengers could make their own travel changes. And also provide shuttles (at a cost) to the airport.

I also think they should have debarked the whole ship in NOLA. Why go back to a port that has no electric?

Ever since Hurricane Ike devastated Galveston this weekend, Carnival has been racing to make arrangements for Carnival Conquest and Carnival Ecstasy, the line's two Galveston-based ships. Now that the ships are finally headed for their temporary new home in Houston, cruise travelers are wondering whether Carnival could have handled the situation better. You can read more about the situation in our news item.

 

What do you think? Did Carnival do all that it could to help passengers in this unusual situation? Please vote in our poll.

They should have only taken care of their air passengers as air is an option to purchase from them,therefor their assistance would be with their paying passengers only.Everyone else should have been educated enough to have travel insurance.If not,need I say more,especially during storm season.

Steve

Where the Conquest is concerned:

IF Carnival did not have intentions of going back to Houston...I believe they would have handled things completely differently.

IF Carnival was not going back to Houston and I was on this cruise, then I would have expect Carnival to bus me back to Houston.

However, since Carnival is returning to Houston...we would have been one of the 380 that would have cruised back with them.

If I did not want to do that, I would have gotten off in New Orleans and rented a car or flown home and would not have expected Carnival to pay for it. If I did not have travel insurance, I would have just paid for it.

For the Ecstasy:

I think Carnival should have given people the OPTION to cancel or sail.

In my opinion I think everyone should have gotten off in New Orleans. The reason being is that I am not sure if the waters in Houston are safe to return to at this point. There is so much debris floating around that I would be scared to go back now. People are going to blame Carnival no matter what, but I feel this hurricane was at no fault of Carnival. I think they did the best they could with the situation they had. Ok so people are saying they should not have left Galveston when they had a chance of the hurricane hitting, but we are in Louisiana and we had the same chance. When people choose to cruise during hurricane season they know that they will always have a chance of a hurricane. We didn't get a direct hit here, but we have many homes damaged and flooded in Vermilion parish. It is only 5 miles from my house that it was completely flooded. This I might add is twice in three years to the same people. That is so heart-breaking to see. Please at a time like this let's not point the fingers at anyone because it was an act of God and not Carnival. I understand that everyone has an opinion and I am simply stating mine. I just want to send my deepest sympathy to everyone that may have lost a home, car or life.

I voted that the passengers that didn't book their flights thru Carnival should have made their own arrangements. Carnival was just as much a victim as the passengers and that's why it's advisable to purchase travel insurance to offset some of the costs associated with a change in plans, especially during hurricane season. It wasn't Carnival's fault that the hurricane hit Galveston or any other place.

My question is...How far do people want Carnival to go? It's up to us to insure our vacations. I will be on Carnival in August 2009, sailing out of Galveston and hope that nothing like this happens, but I've purchased the travel insurance and I'll be praying for the best and expecting the worse. Will I be disappointed if it isn't the great getaway I hoped, sure but I don't know of anyone who can control the weather. If I had a choice to travel outside of hurricane season I would, but the Summer months are the only time me and my family can do it, so we take our chances. BUY INSURANCE!!!!

Where the Conquest is concerned:

 

IF Carnival did not have intentions of going back to Houston...I believe they would have handled things completely differently.

 

IF Carnival was not going back to Houston and I was on this cruise, then I would have expect Carnival to bus me back to Houston.

 

However, since Carnival is returning to Houston...we would have been one of the 380 that would have cruised back with them.

 

If I did not want to do that, I would have gotten off in New Orleans and rented a car or flown home and would not have expected Carnival to pay for it. If I did not have travel insurance, I would have just paid for it

You seem to imply that folks knew there was a choice of going to New Orleans, which we did NOT know when we got off the ship. Had we known that then of course we would have stayed on the ship. The only other port mentioned was Galveston in some vague way by Sunday .... maybe and we had visions of them trying to get into Galveston when we made our choice.

As for Carnival having no implied contract, I disagree. I bought a cruise to and from Galveston, not from Galveston to New Orleans. I believe there is a implied contract with Carnival to fullfill this obligation which is what I paid for.

Anyone know the Carnival address to write to. I do intend to write when I get the address to address my letter to. I will include the good and the things I think they should try and improve upon.

Poll responses don't make a lot of sense in response to your question. If you are asking what their responsibility was, it is spelled out in the contract.

If you are asking for a moral judgement, there is no good answer.

If you are serious about asking what Carnival could have done better, why not wait until the verdict is in....we've heard a couple of negative comments and a couple of relatively positive comments from 4 or 5 people who were on the Conquest out of some 3000 or so.

Or, maybe of more value if you are intending to write a piece, why not ask Carnival themselves?

I wanted to choose two options. I think the cruise on Ecstasy should have been cancelled when there was an evacution order and I also thought Carnival should have offered an option of a bus at a reasonable cost to return the passengers to Houston from New Orleans for those who were from the area or unable to change flight plans to depart from New Orleans.

Why cancel at the time of evacuation? Hurricanes are notorious for not hitting where everyone thinks they might, and Ike could have moved to the east of Galveston, thereby sparing it completely from the damage it got. Cruise could have gone on as planned in that case.

Houston was, at that time and still to this day, a ghost town with limited electricity, water and sewer. Had everyone jumped on busses to Houston, there would have been no place for them to stay when they got there, no access at all to Galveston, and more misery piled on misery. Not a good choice.

Face it, Carnival tried to play the had it was dealt, and unfortunately they had too many twos to win.

You seem to imply that folks knew there was a choice of going to New Orleans, which we did NOT know when we got off the ship. Had we known that then of course we would have stayed on the ship. The only other port mentioned was Galveston in some vague way by Sunday .... maybe and we had visions of them trying to get into Galveston when we made our choice.

 

As for Carnival having no implied contract, I disagree. I bought a cruise to and from Galveston, not from Galveston to New Orleans. I believe there is a implied contract with Carnival to fullfill this obligation which is what I paid for.

 

Anyone know the Carnival address to write to. I do intend to write when I get the address to address my letter to. I will include the good and the things I think they should try and improve upon.

I think you meant to say Houston instead of New Orleans.

The press releases we were reading were saying all along that the ship would be returning to "Galveston" but gave no return date.

The same time that New Orleans was announced as a debarkation option, the option to stay on the ship and be returned to "Galveston" was offered. So I don't see how you can say you "did not know".

Monday when the letters that have been posted on this thread were received....it gave a specific date.

But the "intention" to return to "Galveston" was stated all along. There just was not a specific date.

Btw, the fact that 380 people are currently sailing back to Houston on the Conquest, I believe, shows that Carnival told everyone of their intention to return to "Galveston" . 380 people knew they were heading "home".

Unfortunately this was a tough situation with no clear answer. With somewhere around 5,000 passengers between the two ships, there's no perfect course of action. Chances are that many passengers would (and will)be inconvenienced.

With that said, Carnival:

- Kept everybody SAFE at all times

- Brought everybody back to land as soon as they could figure out the logistics of it all

- Provided guest wishing to go back to Galveston the option of returning to Texas onboard the ship

- Made arrangements for air/sea passengers to return home from New Orleans

I know that some feel that Carnival should've provided buses (either for free or for a fee) back to Galveston. But how?? At the time I'm writing this, nobody is being allowed back to Galveston island. The place remains mostly without running water, electricity and UNSAFE. The health hazard with human sewage mixed with standing water alone was probably enough reason for Carnival to steer clear of this option. As much as I sympathize with those passengers whose cars are parked in Galveston, I believe that Carnival's course of action was once again the safest and most prudent.

Should Carnival provide "assistance" with airline re-arrangements or transportation to the airport? NO. When passengers choose to book their own airfare, or not to get insurance, they are claiming full responsibility for their travel plans for the sake of saving some dollars. Why should Carnival bail them out now? Sorry if I'm blunt.

As frustrating as all of this may be, I believe that Carnival has found a way to bring things back as close to normal as soon as possible, and found a new home for these two ships and minimized future cruise disruptions in less than a week! Carnival didn't drop the ball. I believe that they did a formidable job!

I feel Carnival was obligated to take all pax back to Galveston. But what would they have been taking them to? Closed highways? Closed Public Transportation? Closed Airport?

Passengers that flew in for their cruise were better off leaving the ship in New Orleans. The airport was open, Hotel rooms were available, etc.

Carnival should have offered non Air/Sea pax assistance with air reservation changes. Tell the pax what amount will be due at the NOLA airport for the change and send them on there way.

It was a no win situation for Carnival.

Why cancel at the time of evacuation? Hurricanes are notorious for not hitting where everyone thinks they might, and Ike could have moved to the east of Galveston, thereby sparing it completely from the damage it got. Cruise could have gone on as planned in that case.

 

Houston was, at that time and still to this day, a ghost town with limited electricity, water and sewer. Had everyone jumped on busses to Houston, there would have been no place for them to stay when they got there, no access at all to Galveston, and more misery piled on misery. Not a good choice.

 

Face it, Carnival tried to play the had it was dealt, and unfortunately they had too many twos to win.

I said Carnival should have given people the OPTION to cancel or sail only because the people who drove down were putting their personal vehicles at risk.

You are correct in the fact that any time a cruise line like Carnival elects to support the Galveston economy 12 months out of the year instead of cherry picking only the months that will cause the least amount of headaches...they are going to have to deal with these kinds of issues. And I think Carnival does the best they can.

Carnival should have cancelled the Ecstasy cruise as the Island was in evacuation mode. Yet at the same time, those folks who sailed on it should have made arrangements, someway, somehow to keep their car off Galveston. It would be tough, I realize that but I wouldn't head to the area with my car with that great of knowledge. And I would be more than prepared to be able to get home from NOLA or Mobile.

And Carnival may of or may not of kept their passengers informed as much as possible. We will never know.

I would think that Carnival gave phone and internet access to their passengers on this ship. Do have a co-worker who was on Ecstasy when Gustov came through and the port was closed just in case for a few days.

I don't think it would of been wise to bring passengers to Houston and certainly not Galveston by bus. Houston is still under curfew and still has massive electrical outages. And Galveston is just totally devestated and I don't believe anyone but recovery people are even allowed to get into Galveston. I also think that Carnival only owes help to those passengers who booked air throught them. It always cost more to do it but in this case it paid off for some.

Yes, it is tough on the passengers and on Carnival. Not getting back to where you were suppose to and losing a car is tough. But those are small losses compared to what many many have lost. And not to mention the lack of basic services for days.

Stuff happens, buy insurance. IMHO.

I think you meant to say Houston instead of New Orleans.

 

The press releases we were reading were saying all along that the ship would be returning to "Galveston" but gave no return date.

 

The same time that New Orleans was announced as a debarkation option, the option to stay on the ship and be returned to "Galveston" was offered. So I don't see how you can say you "did not know".

 

Monday when the letters that have been posted on this thread were received....it gave a specific date.

 

But the "intention" to return to "Galveston" was stated all along. There just was not a specific date.

 

Btw, the fact that 380 people are currently sailing back to Houston on the Conquest, I believe, shows that Carnival told everyone of their intention to return to "Galveston" . 380 people knew they were heading "home".

You missed my point, yes I didnt mean New Orleans. Most of us knew that the ship could not return to Galveston any time soon. Iv been thru 3 hurricanes and knew enough to know it wasnt a possibility soon. So yes of course I knew they offered the option of staying onboard and going back to Galveston, which is not the same as Houston. Had we know Houston was a remote possibility then many of us would have chosen differently and there would have been more than 380 returning on the ship.

I would think that Carnival gave phone and internet access to their passengers on this ship. .

.... again. Carnival told us that the internet was run by a 3rd party, so they could not give us any access for free. I was willing to pay for it, had I been able to get to the internet cafe, which was way backed up. Yes, we were allowed to phone, but there were so few lines that standing in line for hours for one phone call which turned out to not be a solution didnt help much, and I had to try again at 2:30 am. The phone line at the purser's desk was hours long, all the way back to the theater and around.

The cruise itself was fine. I liked the food, the folks I meet, loved my dinner table companions, it was just the hurricane handling that Im objecting to. Its frustrating to read comments by folks who just dont get what was the reality at the time. You sit here and assume we could get on the internet and that giving us the option to phone was all that was needed. I know Carnival cant prepare for stuff like this and put in more phone lines, but it wasnt nearly as great as you make it out to be.

Ever since Hurricane Ike devastated Galveston this weekend, Carnival has been racing to make arrangements for Carnival Conquest and Carnival Ecstasy, the line's two Galveston-based ships. Now that the ships are finally headed for their temporary new home in Houston, cruise travelers are wondering whether Carnival could have handled the situation better. You can read more about the situation in our news item.

 

What do you think? Did Carnival do all that it could to help passengers in this unusual situation? Please vote in our poll.

I might get blasted for this but, I cannot believe an Associate Editor from Cruise Critic would even post this type of poll. The people (passangers and crew) on these cruises were kept out of danger and had to go to a different port. They were allowed to stay on these ships at no extra fee. The people who live in Galveston have not even been allowed to see if they still have homes yet abd might not be allowed to live in this area for a long time.

This is the time where people need to understand for about $75.00 per person that trip insurance is worth every penny....The only time it is any cruiselines responsibility to arrange shore travel is if the ship has a problem. Other than that as in the airline industry the customer is by contract on their own.

In answer to the Associate Editors poll....Yes, Carnival did everything they were obligated to and then some....