Question regarding RCCL Grandeur in December

[LuvMyBasset]

I want to start this by saying I almost feel a little sheepish asking this question, considering all of the devastation in the southern states. My heart is with the people of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and all other regions affected by Hurricane Katrina. I can't even begin to imagine what they are going through.

 

My question is regarding the December sailings of the Grandeur, which were scheduled to go out of New Orleans. DH and I are booked on the 12/03/05 sailing, which I believe is the first one that was scheduled to go from there for RCCL. I can't imagine that the port would be running by then, and I certainly hope the focus is on saving as many lives and getting as many lives back to normal as possible, instead of getting the cruise port running again.

 

I called Royal Caribbean, and they said that they have not currently made a decision regarding our sailing, nor will they probably make a decision for a while.

 

My final payment is due this month, in about two weeks, and they can't even promise that they will let us cancel and get our money back if they change the sailing after we make final payment.

 

My question is for all those who are more experienced cruisers than DH and I, or who might have been in a situation similar to this one. I'm not asking anybody to predict the future, but based on past experience or an educated guess, etc., what do you THINK RC might do? Will they cancel us, maybe? Move us to another port? Is there any possibility they would move our sailing to Tampa rather than Texas? We were going to drive to the port from Atlanta, and Texas would be out of range for us. We're sort of hoping for Tampa. Does anyone have any educated guesses what we should expect? We haven't been cruising for long, and have never been in this situation.

 

Again, my prayers for the people affected by Hurricane Katrina.

[Boxer_Mom]

I spoke with RCI on Sept 3rd and got "we dont know, call back next week"

 

We cruise out on Dec 10th, we live 40 miles south of New Orleans and I'd really prefer not to drive to Galveston (which will be SO BUSY now) or Mobile. BUT, I will do it if I have to. I just hope I can get my cruise paid (by Oct 1st) since we had to use some of our stash to evacuate.

And I think it is crappy that RCI isn't making an exception. This is a national freaking disaster, not just a run o the mill hurricane. I have been through many in my day (all 29 yrs of them ;) ) and it doesnt take a genius to tell that this one is just a tad bit different! I'd love an answer ASAP from them and I plan to call again tonight or tomorrow. If they told you they won't make a decision for a while, what the hell kind of customer service is that?????

I want to be on my cruise, in my OS, watching the waves go by while sipping a Mango Tango and cursing Katrina as the sun goes down :D

[dewayneg]

LuvMyBassett

 

I am on the same cruise as you, and I recently recieved a notification from my travel agent that final payment is due Sept 24th. I thanked them for the reminder, and let them know that although I understand that Royal Caribbean was trying to assess the situation, I would expect some kind of commitment before I made final payment. Thier response was to let me know that the cruise line was in touch with them and would likely have something to say later this week. I'm not a betting man, but I am guessing that they will move all cruises for the remainder of the year to another port.

 

In my opinion, Royal Caribbean has to make some kind of decision about cruises that are coming up on final payment, or people are going to cancel. I have booked my flight and hotel in New Orleans, and of course New Orleans is where I would like to go (its why I booked this particular cruise). Since it is highly unlikely that they will know this week whether or not the city will be ready for cruises in December, the cruise line is going to have to give us ample time to make other arrangements.

 

Anyway, in a nutshell, if Royal Caribbean doesn't make a decision by final payment, I am going to have to cancel this cruise.

[cruisinkeri]

We have 16 family members going on the Jan. 7 cruise that was supposed to be out of NO. We have already purchased air tickets for some people (on our own) and some of us are going to drive. Our final payment is in about 4 weeks so we are starting to wonder what to do. We were thinking about switching to another cruise, but like the way we have our JS cabins all together and there is not much left on any other ships for that date. We have heard rumors of Mobile, Houston, Tampa, and Galveston. RCCL was somewhat rude on the phone, "we have no idea yet" and when asked about air, "you are on your own with that." This doesn't seem fair, if anyone hears something, please post it!! Our travel agent promises to let us know as soon as she does.

[TPKeller]

I don't think any reasonable person would expect you to make a final payment (and the associated commitment) for such a large purchase without having the most important detail (where you are leaving from!) solidly defined.

 

Personally, if it were me, I would politely inform all involved parties that you will be withholding final payment until they can get their ducks in a row, and if they cancel the cruise on you because of this, they better prepare for those actions to be well exposed to the cruising public through all means at your disposal.

 

Everybody understands these are unsettled times. Reasonable accomodations are not unexpected.

 

Theron

[beachbm213]

Not trying to be negative, but cruiselines make decisions for their own reasons and not necessarily from a strong Customer Service Committment IMO-we were bumped several years ago by Bill Gates. Our family of 4, kids then too young to have their own cabin, cruised in March and booked the next cruise in April and had to be waitlisted to get what we wanted. Come October and we were off on a long weekend and our TA got the call that our cruise was canceled and she had NO clue how to reach us so she did what she thought best. We were the lucky ones-we got upgraded to a suite and price was dropped something like $500PP and we ended up sailing with almost all families with kids our age, etc.... Bad news was for people who couldn't change their vacation times, people who had air and hotels booked. We were lucky and it worked to our advantage but most times it doesn't.

Good luck all!

[cupidbaby99]

I am also on the same sailing as you and our final payment date is Oct 31. I have paid our cruise off but I still wonder when RCCL will make the decision on where we are leaving from. I am so hoping it's Gaveston or Mobile.That way we can still drive. Othewise I will be looking into airfare and hotel if we don't cancel. I don't want to cancel that is for sure..

Also check in on the roll call board we have a good thread going for the meet and mingle if we happen to be able to go.

[VaCruzers]

I certainly don't have any information nor could I predict what any of the cruise lines might do, but I am aware that it is unlikely Tampa could be a substitute port for many ships due to a bridge which must be cleared in order to reach the port. I don't recall the name of the bridge, but it is of fixed height & there are few ships which can sail beneath it. We sailed out of Tampa a couple years ago on Nordic Empress (now Empress of the Seas) which was delayed in arriving to port. We had lots of time to chat with staff on the pier & picked up some information regarding the port. Not only is there the bridge issue, but only one ship at a time can navigate certain parts of the channel making it a logistical challenge for cruise ships to share with commercial shipping.

[MariTenor1]

oops... a duplicate

[MariTenor1]

We are on the Grandeur repo cruise that is set to debark in NO on 12/3. Our final payment date is only days away. Our problem is a little different in that our airfare is already tricky with our starting and ending points being different. We can't afford to wait until the last minute to try and get a one-way ticket home from somewhere. I certainly hope they make a decision soon. Even if it's only for the Dec cruises for now whose payments are due soon.

[dewayneg]

MariTenor

 

I am on the 12/3 Grandeur, and it is not a repositioning cruise. It is supposed to start and end in New Orleans.

[PSCruiser]

The 12/3 by MariTenor is the debark.

[dewayneg]

My appologies, MariTenor, I thought the Grandeur moved back to NO in November.

[TPKeller]

Missing the point... the catch was that he said he disembarks (or debarks) on 12/3, which means he embarks in November sometime, so you are correct. He gets off the ship the same day you get on. Everyone is mostly right. :D

 

Theron

[IMNiles]

I and sixteen more of my closest friends are on the 12/3 sailing as well, and although I also feel a little sheepish about worrying about a vacation when there is so much misery in New Orleans right now, I'm trying to safeguard a lot of other people's money here. My bet is that they will relocate the December sailings to Galveston, but I really wish they'd let us know soon. We're already screwed on our airfare, and I'd hate for it to get worse.

 

I am anxious to visit New Orleans and contribute to their economy as soon as they are on their feet.

[Murphy]

My TA called RCCL today and was given no information at all. They even implied that there would be no reason to cancel or relocate this cruise. It appears they really have no clue!!!

[dewayneg]

I just called Royal Caribbean and spoke to Paul and he said that the

ship is still scheduled to leave New Orleans in early December. He said

that the port is open to limited activity and is expected to open up to full

activity.

 

So, it sounds as if they are hoping that the cruise can still leave out of New Orleans, which although I hope also, don't really have any reason to believe. I think that they are probably under pressure to contribute to the rebuilding of the economy, which is why they are waiting to make a decision.

[Lynnees]

I would very much doubt there will be any ships sailing from N.O. for at the least the next 6 months and probably much longer. They are trying to get the port usable for freighters and aid ships. There are navy ships and a coast guard ship on their way from Canada. They have to be berthed or at least get to where they can be unloaded onto smaller boats.

 

I would really doubt they want any cruise ships for some time to come. It doesn't even make sense. It's going to take 36 to 80 days to drain the water. The city itself is toxic. Before they will allow anyone in they have to scour the city. There will not be any hotels available. They also have to be repaired, if that's possible. Once they can start that, it will take 6 months to a year to make them habitable.

 

And how would they be able to get the ship loaded with petrol and provisions?

 

I can't imagine anyone going from the airport to the dock and then enjoying a vacation with what would be seen.

 

Personally, I think RCCL is just putting off the inevitable while they make arrangements for the Grandeur to port elsewhere for the season. That takes time. And they have a bad habit of not letting that information drift down to the paying customers too quickly.

 

I just can't imagine using the Port of New Orleans this season.

[LDR]

I'm on the ship when it leaves December 10th. It is really hard to imagine

things being ready by then, much less planning time in the city before or after.

It would be great, but unless there's a miracle, how can they! It is so

heartbreaking to see the pictures out of there :(

 

My DH and I have had pretty much the same reply from RCI, "we don't

know, check back in a week." Every other cruise line that has a ship

in NO or is scheduled to have one there in the next month or so has

already made their decision, why can't RCI? Are they waiting for

an invitation or is their new leader incapable of making decisions? I plan on keeping up the nagging even though it may not do any good.

[Boxer_Mom]

We called RCI last night and the CSR said we should plan on everything remaining the same.

 

We live 40 miles south of N.O and just saw a taped report from the port of N.O. and the guy said they want to have it open by next week with limited activity as the above poster mentioned. The 2 piers they mentioned were not the Julie St wharf that we use last year for hthe GOS ( I assume it will be the same this year).

I too do not see how there will be any hotels for people flying in to stay at. Everything needs to be CLEANED! I heard on the report as well about getting aide in and out. They made mention of Norweigan and Carnival but not RCI!

We are debating on calling, raising 10 kinds of hell and trying to get our OS on another ship at the same price. BUT!!! That means we must drive at LEAST 10 hours or fly. GRRRRR! I'd rather NOT fly, I dont like having my luggage away from me and possibly misplaced. I am anal about that. We would drive. That would suck.

[LDR]

RCI just told me that nothing has been cancelled out of NOLA.

I'm all for optimism, but can they get it back together in the 3

months left till our cruise?

[Lynnees]

I wouldn't be inclined to believe that. Actually, it isn't even up to them whether or not they can sail from there. However a reasonable person would not expect that to happen anyway.

 

RCCL is famous for there lack of communication with the client. Personally, I would not even consider making final payment on a cruise out of N.O. You can be sure they will change their home port. Think of it like this, if you've made final payment and they change the home port you have little choice due to their contract. You are going to have to go to the new port or risk the loss of your cruise.

 

When they have told their own citizens to expect to be gone for up to a year how much sense does it make to tell tourists they can go there in 3 months.

[LuvMyBasset]

I called again yesterday, too, and the people I'm speaking with at Royal Caribbean are getting progressively more rude and unhelpful about this, even though I've been very nice each time I've called. (I love Royal Caribbean and have always received excellent customer service from them before--They must be getting a lot of calls and getting aggravated.) It's starting to get very frustrating, and I will definitely call again today. The lady I spoke with yesterday told me that they received a memo that said not to give out any information about it! I hardly believe that, but still...I asked her what else the memo said. :) They're starting to act a little strange about this whole thing.

 

I can't imagine leaving of out of New Orleans with all that has happened. It would be nice to be able to help contribute to New Orleans' economy, so if they can pull it off I will still definitely go. One other thing, though...what about parking at the port? Wasn't the parking structure damaged and a bunch of cars left stranded? Have those passengers that were parked there from other cruiselines been able to get their vehicles out yet? I imagine probably not...

[CruisinCouple]

We are booked on the repo cruise that brings the Grandeur to New Orleans ending on Dec 3. We too are wondering what will be our final destination. We know it will leave Baltimore it has to for the winter, However where it will sail from for the winter season ???????

 

We have not booked our air yet....... not sure where we will be coming home from! its a problem although not a problem like they are going through. I will take these problems all day long if you know what I mean.

[cruzingracie]

We are a family group of 30 booked on the Jan. 7 cruise out of NO. We were all planning to drive and spend a pre-cruise night there (obviously that won't happen).

 

RCI has said the same to us -- no info, call next week. Our TA told us definitely not to make the final payment until they have made a decision on the port -- and I cannot imagine NO being ready even by then! If we don't have a decision, we will cancel.

 

I think it's terrible client relations for RCI to withhold info/not make a decision. Other cruise lines have done it already.

 

Hopefully, someone from RCI monitors this forum and is seeing the discontent here.