Jewel westbound transatlantic itinerary scrubbed

[Motorman23]

Just got the following email for my trip that leaves this Monday. Booked it because I had never been to these ports now I'm going to ports I've been to, oh well hopefully it was the best thing they could do.

 

Dear Guest,  

We look forward to welcoming you onboard Jewel of the Seas this Monday, November 5th, 2018. We have an important itinerary update to share with you below. 

Along with our Chief Meteorologist, James Van Fleet, we have been closely monitoring the trajectory, speed and size of multiple storms covering the Northern Atlantic Sea. Unfortunately, this unforeseen circumstance will affect our crossing to San Juan, Puerto Rico, and we will be unable to visit Valencia, Spain, Lisbon, Portugal, and Ponta Delgada, Azores. Instead, we will avoid the inclement weather and visit Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Tenerife, Canary Islands, and Philipsburg, St. Maarten. We are sorry for this unexpected change and the impact to your vacation. Please know, we evaluated all options, and determined this was the best decision to ensure your safety and comfort, and avoid unpleasant weather. 

Although not the ports planned, these three new destinations provide a vast range of exciting activities. From exploring volcanic craters on 4x4s, hiking hidden valleys, and sipping on Spanish wine, to kicking back on a sandy beach and admiring crystal clear, turquoise waters. You’ll savor each and every moment! 

Below, please find our updated itinerary. 

If you have any Royal Caribbean International pre-purchased shore excursions in Valencia, Spain, Lisbon, Portugal, or Ponta Delgada, Azores, you will receive a credit to your onboard SeaPass account. You’ll also receive any taxes and fees associated to missed ports as an Onboard Credit on your SeaPass account. Please visit the Shore Excursions Desk on Deck 4, should you have any questions or if you’d like to make new reservations. 

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. Please contact us at 1-800-256-6649 if you have any additional concerns, or once onboard, please visit Guest Services on Deck 4. We will continue to monitor the weather, and you can expect daily advisories from our Chief Meteorologist onboard. Please know, your safety and comfort is our top priority and we are confident once onboard, you’ll have a wonderful time with us! 

Sincerely,

 

Royal Caribbean International

[Blizzard54]

Although I am not familiar with what is going on with the storms I assume it would be an issue to take the original route.  It is not uncommon for changes to avoid hurricanes and I assume it is a similar issue. 

[Coralc]

WOW. I am very sorry to hear about your itinerary changes. We would have been looking forward to the original ports as well. Storms, safety, etc. etc. These things can't be predicted.  It will still be a nice relaxing cruise with all of those sea days, though. 🙂

Edited November 3, 2018 by Coralc

[firstcarib]

Navigator totally changed route too. Missing Boston, NYC & Pt Canaveral. Substituted  Zeebrugge, Le Havre overnight & Gran Canaria. Horrible industrial ports of Zeebrugge & Le Havre certainly no match for Boston & NYC😩😡

Lots of anger on FB, mainly due to theory about the broken stabiliser issue, added to the storm brewing. Of course we fully understand that safety is the major priority, but most passengers are very unhappy about staying in Zee & Le H.

[Coralc]

What a shame. I feel bad that you will be missing ports. I read about the Navigator *incident* and altered itinerary. It happens sometimes. And it is really disappointing for us, when we fly a long ways and hope to see unique ports, and then we can't visit them. The transatlantics are still nice cruises though. 🙂

Edited November 3, 2018 by Coralc

[kernow]

We are also on this sailing. We haven't even had the email, I checked the roll call this morning and saw your (and others) post and it was the first I'd heard of it.

 

We disappointed to miss the Azores as we've never been but don't mind too much as we love the Canaries. Hopefully it will also be much warmer for the sea days. 

 

I wonder why those on Navigator have been offered compensation and we've been offered nothing, seems strange.

 

Julie

[Motorman23]

37 minutes ago, kernow said:

We are also on this sailing. We haven't even had the email, I checked the roll call this morning and saw your (and others) post and it was the first I'd heard of it.

 

We disappointed to miss the Azores as we've never been but don't mind too much as we love the Canaries. Hopefully it will also be much warmer for the sea days. 

 

I wonder why those on Navigator have been offered compensation and we've been offered nothing, seems strange.

 

Julie

Fortunately we leave today so we can pack for warmer weather. We only booked this cruise to catch ports we haven't been too but this means more time to relax I guess. See you on board.

 

mike

[John&LaLa]

Very similar to our Rhapsody TA next month.

 

We, however, have been to Azores several times, first time in the Canaries.  We have a minor port change. Nassau in lieu of Coco Cay

[jaykayham]

Always SAFETY FIRST! Yes, that't true!

BUT, what a poor customer service again by RCL! Despite having my contact details entered in the Manifest, I was NOT contacted by RCL - instead, most obviously, an email was send to my travel agent (which is useless, giving the fact that It is weekend)!  Also, I logged into my Profile on RCL and found NO Information or whatsoever, NO updates about the new itinerary. I am so happy that I have you guys in this forum - otherwise I would have been lost!  

I am very lucky that I visited the Azores and other ports before, but I know many people are now left in the rain with useless non-refundable car rentals on the Azores, tickets for museums etc.! I hope, but knowing the poor customer service received in the past cruises I doubt it will happen, RCL will compensate with some free amenities, like a voucher for one free speciality Dining or something else.

Nevertheless, the re-routing was the right decision, but the handling to inform the passengers and offering assistance were again a nightmare. In three words: sad, sad, sad... 

[TBurr]

The e-mail also stated that any paid for cruise tours and port taxes would be refunded to your on board account, NOT the credit card which paid cash for those tours and taxes. Basically, RCCL is keeping your money if you do not have any on board charges. Totally unacceptable.

[Biker19]

^  that OBC should be refundable.

[Blizzard54]

4 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

Very similar to our Rhapsody TA next month.

 

We, however, have been to Azores several times, first time in the Canaries.  We have a minor port change. Nassau in lieu of Coco Cay

I am not particularly happy with that change.

[Covepointcruiser]

If you would rather go through the storm and are already I. Southampton, the QM2 leaves today and her next port is NYC.    She was built for the storms, however, she may still deviate around the worse of it.    We were on her in 45 ft seas and Force 10 winds and she was stable, although all outside decks were closed off for safety.

 

We left Southampton yesterday and are headed south instead of the northern route.   We are arriving one day late in all ports and we are missing Nassau.   We have 18 ft. seas and she is definitely rolling around.   The captain says the weather will continue to be bad tomorrow.   If this ship was in 35 ft. Seas it would be horrendous.    It is also around 56 F and we are in rain squalls.   So you should still expects several days of cool weather.

[FLACRUISER99]

20 hours ago, Blizzard54 said:

I am not particularly happy with that change.

And I am extremely happy, was at CoCo Cay yesterday and it a giant construction zone. It was noisy and reaked of diesel.

[Wine-O]

We won't take any TA's out of Southampton anymore.  Too many issues with the Bay of Biscay.  🌊🌊🌊