A tale of one storm and two ships

[suesnake2002]

This is a story of one big storm travelling up the east coast and it's affects on two ships, Anthem of the seas and Grandeur of the seas. And how rccl handled each differently. 

From the begining (days before)Anthem was given constant updates. That their cruise was being changed. Refunds offered 

Grandeur was told no changes. We are gonna keep your itinary. The day before our cruise after trying to reach out to rccl about changes i did recieve a phone call. It was explained Anthem was in a different zone, and storm affecting them differently, even tho we had the same intinary. And grandeur would try to make her stops. But updates coming in the morning. On our way to the cruise, about 9am got a text and an email. Pt canaveral was cancelled, we were anchoring up in chesapeake bay for a day. Coco cay and nassau switched days. And instead of getting to nassau at 10am it would be 1pm. 

Sounds good to me, we are at the mercy of the seas. And i would not want to be in 26 foot seas. 

This is what happened:

Anthem stayed tied up to the dock in bayonne til monday. People could come and go. Mostly to nyc. Their plans to change to bermuda was cancelled due to another storm. And they were switched back to coco cay with us. Once bermuda was cancelled they were offered a 100% refund to leave the boat, after 3 days of drinking and eating. Or continue on their cruise. 

On grandeur, we stayed anchored in the bay til late sunday nite. Then headed out. So by 8am monday morning we were in rough seas. Disclaimer: i don't get sea sick. Haters hate. It was so rough that one woman fell and fractured her shoulder. Another man fell over in the dinning room sitting in his chair. They just went over. A run away cart hit someones chair.While shopping in the stores things were falling off the shelves, racks of clothes fell over. They didn't close the stores so i kept shopping. 

Our arrival time to nassau was changed to 9pm to 1:30am. Actually arriving at 10:30pm. From what i was told the entertainment was switching ships, and we needed supplies. We were charged the port charges for this stop. This is my complaint, they stopped for the ship not us cruisers. And on to coco cay the next day. Which by the way is AWSOME. 

We on grandeur were given a one day future cruise credit. Alot of people were on a casino comp trip and got nothing. And the casino was closed the first 2 days. I felt for them. 

For being only about 200 miles apart each ship was treated very different. 

 

I heard a story of someone on grandeur fighting with guest services to get a refund for a shore excursion in nassau. Guest services claiming they did not cancel 24-48 hours before. 

All in all I was on a cruise. So I was happy. It was interesting to hear of anthems story at coco cay. 

This cruise was just different. And I have 4 more cruises booked. Just hoping my ta can apply my fcc to my 2021 cruise, cause the others are paid off already.  

[Biker19]

26 minutes ago, suesnake2002 said:

Once bermuda was cancelled they were offered a 100% refund to leave the boat, after 3 days of drinking and eating. Or continue on their cruise.

I believe everyone had the refund (for an FCC) option from day 1, not just the morning they finally left and Bermuda was cancelled - but I get your point that folks could have indulged for two days and still got a refund, whereas on Grandeur you were stuck.

[CruiseKeeper]

Was on the Anthem.  Can someone confirm those that left the ship ate and drank for 3 days for free?  We heard onboard that the refund was prorated if you left.  

[suesnake2002]

I wouldn't have considered myself stuck. Me and hubby said if we had chose anthem we would have stayed on. This cruise made us diamond. Before our b2b next april. 

Cruisekeeper i am going on info given to me by folks we spoke to at chill beach that were on anthem. Information may not be 100% accurate. 

[MaryL31]

I also considered leaving Anthem, but like you, suesnake2001, we also became Diamond on this cruise.  It was frustrating and yet, I am glad that they chose to keep us safe.  One point I have not seen anyone bring up about Anthem is that I feel they should also refund 2 days of Voom if you pre-purchased, as I did. 

[gatour]

By same itinerary do you mean that both the Grandeur and Anthem were leaving the embarkation port on the same day, arriving at the next port on the same day, etc.  By "next port" I mean the same port.  You mention Bermuda and Nassau.  Was one ship scheduled to go to Bermuda for the next port, while the other ship was scheduled to go to Nassau for their "next port".  There can be a big difference between the two in regards to storms. 

[CruiseKeeper]

Just curious Mary.  How much OBC did you get for port charge/tax refunds while onboard?  We got $26.36 each. I met someone onboard that only received $2 something.  I’m not sure (and is anyone?) what the breakdown on port charges/taxes are but I’d think that amount isn’t adjustable based on prices/promotion paid.   I suspect this is a secret they aren’t willing to share. 

[mugtech]

Anthem was scheduled for Bahamas, was switched to Bermuda last minute, then switched back to Bahamas.

[mskaufman]

Booked on Grandeur next month.  Hopefully, weather will be calm.

[MaryL31]

CruiseKeeper, we were in a Junior suite and we both received $13.78 as credit on our account.  I don't understand why some people got the port refund (in whatever amount) and also a $50 OBC.  Makes no sense. 

[MaryL31]

I believe both ships were to be in the same ports together, which were Port Canaveral, Nassau, and CoCoCay, although I don't remember which was supposed to be first- Nassau or CoCoCay.    The only difference, I believe, is that Anthem was coming from Cape Liberty and Grandeur was coming from Baltimore.   

[CruiseKeeper]

3 hours ago, MaryL31 said:

CruiseKeeper, we were in a Junior suite and we both received $13.78 as credit on our account.  I don't understand why some people got the port refund (in whatever amount) and also a $50 OBC.  Makes no sense. 

What is very clear is that I do not understand RCI math. We did not pay a lot for our cruise, we were in a last minute balcony guarantee and received $61 each as a future cruise credit.  I surmise it is bewildering on purpose.  

[reallyitsmema]

23 minutes ago, CruiseKeeper said:

What is very clear is that I do not understand RCI math. We did not pay a lot for our cruise, we were in a last minute balcony guarantee and received $61 each as a future cruise credit.  I surmise it is bewildering on purpose.  

 

The future cruise credit is based on your fare, so if you had a really cheap fare, then $61 makes sense.  If you had applied a balcony discount and/or a prior FCC, the FCC you just received will be based on that discounted fare.

 

As far as the differences in port fee refunds, port fees can change over time, so if someone booked a long time ago, they could have easily paid a different amount for port fees from you who just booked last minute.

[Merion_Mom]

4 hours ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

The future cruise credit is based on your fare, so if you had a really cheap fare, then $61 makes sense.  If you had applied a balcony discount and/or a prior FCC, the FCC you just received will be based on that discounted fare.

 

As far as the differences in port fee refunds, port fees can change over time, so if someone booked a long time ago, they could have easily paid a different amount for port fees from you who just booked last minute.

 

 

^^^This.

[Junkhouse]

14 hours ago, suesnake2002 said:

Cruisekeeper i am going on info given to me by folks we spoke to at chill beach that were on anthem. Information may not be 100% accurate. 

Thanks for clearing up. That is the problem with second hand knowledge or believing everything you see on the internet and news.

[suesnake2002]

Mary you are correct as to our itinary. 

[suesnake2002]

We were also in a junior suite. And recieved $18.16 back in port charges each. I believe i booked this feb 9, 2019. My shore excursion was given back in obc. It was booked and paid for long before the trip. And i recieved a $255 each fcc. We were all in with prepaid grats, taxes and port fees and insurence at $2213. 

We got a bit over $200 back out of our cash acct. 

[Milwaukee Eight]

18 hours ago, suesnake2002 said:

 

Cruisekeeper i am going on info given to me by folks we spoke to at chill beach that were on anthem. Information may not be 100% accurate. 

So, this is a “Presumption“ on your part?

 

Sorry, just had to say that. Lol

 

In my opinion 

[CruiseKeeper]

11 hours ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

The future cruise credit is based on your fare, so if you had a really cheap fare, then $61 makes sense.  If you had applied a balcony discount and/or a prior FCC, the FCC you just received will be based on that discounted fare.

 

As far as the differences in port fee refunds, port fees can change over time, so if someone booked a long time ago, they could have easily paid a different amount for port fees from you who just booked last minute.

Thanks, I did not realize port /air /tax  can change over time.   And, yep, the cruise was inexpensive even without any FCC involved so I’m not questioning the $61 FCC received. 

[sellwingri]

We were in a Grand Suite on Anthem and received $13.78 each for the missed port fees.  I agree; it makes no sense how the amount was calculated but getting anyone to explain it wasn’t possible.

[suesnake2002]

2 hours ago, Milwaukee Eight said:

“Presumption“

Better than an Assumption. Lol

 

That information was relayed to me by parties on the anthem sailing. 

[MaryL31]

11 hours ago, sellwingri said:

We were in a Grand Suite on Anthem and received $13.78 each for the missed port fees.  I agree; it makes no sense how the amount was calculated but getting anyone to explain it wasn’t possible.

Our friends were in a Grand Suite on Anthem and got the $24 and change each in refunded port charges.  They had this November 16th date booked at least a year in advance, although I am not certain the original booking was in a Grand Suite.  They may have upgraded at some point.  

[JupiterTwo]

On 11/24/2019 at 7:48 AM, suesnake2002 said:

Grandeur was told no changes. We are gonna keep your itinary. The day before our cruise after trying to reach out to rccl about changes i did recieve a phone call. It was explained Anthem was in a different zone, and storm affecting them differently, even tho we had the same intinary. And grandeur would try to make her stops. But updates coming in the morning. On our way to the cruise, about 9am got a text and an email. Pt canaveral was cancelled, we were anchoring up in chesapeake bay for a day. Coco cay and nassau switched days. And instead of getting to nassau at 10am it would be 1pm. 

 

You should read up on how Royal handled Hurricane Harvey and Galveston on the Liberty of the Seas sailing that week.

 

Royal refused to admit that the storm was coming and told people on the east coast that they must fly into the hurricane zone or lose their cruise - no refunds. Meanwhile, Carnival diverted ships to New Orleans.

 

We locals knew that even if Royal thought they could sneak into Galveston in a small window of opportunity, there was no way that dock workers, porters, parking attendants, and terminal operators were going to leave their homes in the late stages of hurricane preparation to service the ship. 

 

Royal finally announced that they were canceling the Liberty sailing on the morning that the hurricane hit, but some people had already traveled to Houston on Royal's insistence.

 

Not a good week for Royal.

[suesnake2002]

1 hour ago, JupiterTwo said:

Not a good week for Royal.

 

I remember reading that. And I thought it was just plain irresponsible of royal!!

I think I would not have cancelled, but just have been a no show. 

[gatour]

On 11/24/2019 at 5:56 PM, MaryL31 said:

I believe both ships were to be in the same ports together, which were Port Canaveral, Nassau, and CoCoCay, although I don't remember which was supposed to be first- Nassau or CoCoCay.    The only difference, I believe, is that Anthem was coming from Cape Liberty and Grandeur was coming from Baltimore.   

Thanks for the info.

 

The departure ports are 200 miles apart.  Living in Florida and dealing with major storms, that can make a world of difference between a catastrophe and just a bit of rain and wind.