pauleydm

What about airfare reimbursement, pauley?

There has been no indication that Carnival will refund airfare. However, if guests do not want to sail back to San Juan, Carnival will cover the airfare from St Thomas to their home destination. This was indicated on the form we were asked to fill out this evening.

Thanks for the update

 

 

It's not surprising that many are upset, this is the most port intensive cruise carnival offers and many probably had great tours that they were looking forward to enjoying.

 

 

Sorry you won't get to visit all the planned post on this cruise. Are you staying on board until Sunday?

 

so much to see and do in San Juan

I would look into maybe going to Culebra or Vieques..... driving up to see the Arecibo Observatory

or

checking out Luquillo Beach

Yes, we are staying until Sunday. Carnival is asking all guests to provide their original flight information. On the bottom of the form is the option to be flown from St Thomas to the guests home if they choose to not sail back to San Juan.

Perhaps some in the line were due to leave the ship in Barbados tomorrow and they need to find out about new flights etc. That would seem reasonable to me. Anyone else-just enjoy the time on the floating hotel!

The guests that were to disembark in Barbados are off the ship. Carnival has arranged flights from St Thomas to Barbados, and then those guests can resume their normal travels to their final destination.

This will be my one post that will have some emotion attached. Since the announcement was made, there are many upset guests. The line to Guest Relations is very long. We have additional guest services staff from the Glory onboard and a second guest relations desk has been set up on deck 5. I personally feel that Carnival has gone above and beyond considering the situation. The full refund and 50% off a future cruise, not forgetting the OBC already received, has been more than generous. We will definitely sail Carnival again.

This will be my one post that will have some emotion attached. Since the announcement was made, there are many upset guests. The line to Guest Relations is very long. We have additional guest services staff from the Glory onboard and a second guest relations desk has been set up on deck 5. I personally feel that Carnival has gone above and beyond considering the situation. The full refund and 50% off a future cruise, not forgetting the OBC already received, has been more than generous. We will definitely sail Carnival again.

Erika M from guest logistics at the Miami office is speaking with me. She is confident that we will sail to San Juan tonight. The reason that the laundry is being washed on the Glory is because the laundry room is next to the engine room that caught fire. The Carnival Liberty has 5 engines, 1 engine was affected by the fire and another one is not being used due to the proximity of the engine that caught fire. Fuel was, in fact being off loaded to balance the ship and to remove the fuel from the area where the fire occurred.

Here is the update...we will return to San Juan once clearance is granted. Guests are welcome to stay on the ship in San Juan until Sunday. All guests will receive a full refund of the cruise, all pre paid shore excursions and gratuities will also be refunded. Guests will also receive 50% off a future 2 to 7 day cruise. If we do not receive clearance from the coast guard by 9:00 pm, Carnival will arrange travel from St Thomas to our homes.

Hi Paulydm,

 

Thank you so much for your continued updates! If possible, can you try to give us updates from time to time throughout your sailing?

 

When I open this thread, I look for YOUR REPLIES ONLY.

 

You know how posts can get on here. I am sure many others are doing the same.

 

Thanks again for all of the updates you're providing.

 

 

:)

I will try to update as much as possible. All will depend on the upcoming announcement.

We are still waiting for the 4:00 pm announcement.

I cannot confirm if they are loading fuel or off loading fuel. I have heard both from other passengers. There has been no official announcement.

Just wondering if today's excursions were on Carnival or not. I too would be looking at hotels if I were scheduled on the next sailing. CYA and all that.

There has been some confusion about this. The statement made this morning only stated that the Shore Excursion desk was arranging shore excursions for those who wanted to take advantage of our second day in St Thomas. At no time did Carnival say that these shore excursions were free. The shuttle to the downtown area is the only thing that was stated to be free of charge.

pauleydm,

 

Is there any smell of smoke inside the ship? Thank you for your reporting.

No, we never smelled anything.

There are two fuel trucks on site. In approximately two hours we should have the next official update. The Fun Times lists all guests onboard by 4:00 pm, but there is no listing for an actual departure time or destination.

So, the vibrations felt this morning was not the engines, but in fact the thruster's. The ship was moved with a tug boat and the thrusters were used to keep.the ship next to the sea wall.

Some laundry is being offloaded and being washed on the Carnival Glory.

I was just informed that the US Coast Guard is here and inspecting the engine room. At this point, we are waiting for clearance to sail. As stated earlier, all guests must be back on the ship at 4:00 pm. We will receive an official update at that time.

I spoke to three crew members that said the Liberty was moved by its own propulsion. Bare in mind, that the ship only moved half a length to accommodate the two ships that arrived this morning. I was told that one of the six engines was affected by the fire last night, but no official statement has been made by the captain or the cruise director. Carnival is.providing passengers free shuttle service to the downtown area for any guest that wishes to explore the city.

Thank you Pauley for the great wealth of information you have been giving us.. How are most of the passengers holding up ? Is everyone "playing" nice or are there some screaming, yelling, threatening to sue etc ? Who is your CD and has he been seen/heard/ trying to make everyone happy?

 

I hope this all works out for you one way or another but even last night I said I think they let you all back onto the Liberty only because Carnival couldn't find rooms/hotels for 4,000 people...

 

Have a great day in St Thomas, please keep us up-to-date and enjoy as much as you can.. The good thing is that you're still on vacation while most of us keeping up with you are at work :( Given the choice, I'd rather be where you are :)

Everyone seems to be in a good mood. There was not a long line at guest services last night as some may expect. This morning passengers are waiting in line for breakfast and the energy seems to be positive. Since last night, the hotel aspect of the ship has been fully functional and the restaurants and bars stayed open into the late evening.

And, yes the on-board shops and casino will remain closed, but I know the St. Thomas shops will be making the most of their captive audience!

The fun shops were closed last night, but the casino was open.

I do not know for certain if the ship was moved by self propulsion or by tug. We are in bow of the ship on the Riviera deck. We did feel the vibrations, as if we were moving on our own, but I cannot say for certain that those vibrations were not caused by the testing of the engines. I will try to get a definitive answer.

We now have three ships in port. The Carnival Glory is arriving as I type. The Liberty was moved to accommodate the other ships.

Guests without ID's were treated the same as those with ID's. Since we did not have our sail and sign card swiped when we left the ship, when our cards were swiped going in, a small alarm sounded, but they kept us moving through security. Once the guests who chose to stay in port versus going to the Marriott where back on the ship, the guests from the Marriott started to arrive.

Good morning. This mornings announcement is happening right now. Today will be a port day in St Thomas. All guests must be back on board by 4:00 pm. A $150.00 on board credit will be posted to each passengers sail and sign card as reimbursement for any meals purchased in port yesterday. At 4:00 pm, the captain will update all guests as to how the cruise will proceed in the future. Guests that embarked in Barbados are asked to meet in the Victoria Lounge at 9:30 for further information. The cruise director is in the process of finalizing the fun times today and the shore excursion team is putting together tours for any guest that would like to go on one. Since 7:00 am, the engines have been on and off intermittently but have not been running since the announcement.

We have a letter in our cabin that states we will not be leaving St Thomas until at least 8:00am tomorrow morning. We have to go to Barbados next since we have passengers disembarking and new passengers embarkng. Beyond that, there is no further information as to how our itinerary will be modified. At the moment, Carnival has opened the restaurants and is providing free wifi and free in cabin phone service.

Sorry, my battery died. For the last hour, Carnival was passing out food to those who chose to stay in the port versus going to the Marriot. Carnival also went into the cabins of those who needed their medications and they gave them to them while we waited. The all clear was given around 8:00 and my spouse and I and our two friends were the first four passengers back on ship. Those who chose to go to the Marriott have not arrived yet. I just want to say that although it was not the day we planned, Carnival did a great job in trying to care for us. Crew members were walking all around port with ice water. They were asking us if we were doing ok. Two trucks full of palates of bottled water was brought in about 5:00. Carnival also brought in pizza at that time. Once the kitchen staff was allowed back on, Carnival brought out hot food which consisted of fried chicken, dinner rolls, burritos and I think burgers from Guys burgers. No announcement has been made of when we are officially leaving St Thomas or if our itinerary will be modified at all. My best guess is that Carnival will make an announcement once all passengers are back on board and we leave.