Bait & Switch - Itinerary Change

[VacationCharlene]

I bet you are alot of fun to be around for cocktails 🙂  Enjoy your cruise!

[BermudaBound2014]

The concept of Sustainable tourism is growing exponentially. 

[Wakepatrol]

7 hours ago, teh3505 said:

Just book my cruise last Friday - Key West, Falmouth Jamaica, Cayman Islands & Half Moon Cay,  This morning I wake up to email from HA telling me due to operational reasons the call to Key West has been replaced with Bimini, Bahamas.  I am not happy with the change.  I booked it because of the Key West stop.  I have never heard of Bimini before...Very Disappointed!!.  Also no on board credit to off set the itinerary change.  This is my first time cruising with HA and it will be my last.

Onboard credit? I think you should demand a free suite on the next world voyage

[ShipWalker]

32 minutes ago, Wakepatrol said:

Onboard credit? I think you should demand a free suite on the next world voyage

 

If the OP is lucky it might even stop in Key West.

Edited November 9, 2022 by ShipWalker

[Seasick Sailor]

11 hours ago, teh3505 said:

Just book my cruise last Friday - Key West, Falmouth Jamaica, Cayman Islands & Half Moon Cay,  This morning I wake up to email from HA telling me due to operational reasons the call to Key West has been replaced with Bimini, Bahamas.  I am not happy with the change.  I booked it because of the Key West stop.  I have never heard of Bimini before...Very Disappointed!!.  Also no on board credit to off set the itinerary change.  This is my first time cruising with HA and it will be my last.

 

I'm sorry for the port changes.  We've had several over our many cruises as well. It looks like you've had several cruises you were not happy with. Hope your next cruise is fabulous!

[Petunia1950]

It can get worse.  On my first cruise in moderm times, on RCL Liberty of the Seas in 2008, we had a family of Belizeans on board who were going to Belize for a family reunion.  We never learned why, but Belize was cancelled after we sailed and and Costa Maya was substituted.  As it turns out, we never got to Costa Maya either because of high seas in the port area.  So you just never know when  you book a cruise where you will end up.  

 

It is troubling though that Key West was taken off the itinerary just after you booked.  You might pursue some sort of OBC  in exchange.  It will probably not be given, but is is worth a try.

Edited November 9, 2022 by Petunia1950

[scottsol]

6 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

The concept of Sustainable tourism is growing exponentially. 

I thought exponential growth was the problem.

[RD64]

The question remains…. If Key West was such an integral component of your vacation experience - the one thing that was going to make you happy - why did you not just book a week long hotel stay in Key West? 
 

In 2019 the Veendam was scheduled to stop at St. Pierre e Miquelon as part of the transatlantic from Lisbon. Unlike Key West, SPetM is truly a one off marquee port which very, very few ships stop at during the year. When the stop was cancelled due to inclement weather ( this was a tender port) and replaced by a sea day, you did not see people going off the rails and complaining about a bait and switch, and asking for OBC etc. We got a refund of our port fees and enjoyed the sea day as we tried to outrun Hurricane Dorian.

Edited November 10, 2022 by RD64

[cicadas]

I know it's disappointing to have port changes, but wasn't Key West (and much of Florida) hit rather hard by a hurricane recently--and another may be on its way?

[Euby]

Did you get travel insurance?  I always get cruise specific travel insurance because it includes things like port changes.

[dwc13]

Cancelled ports/stops happen for all sorts of reasons or no apparent reason at all. It is what it is. 

 

In 2019, Maasdam skipped 2 ports during our @11 days aboard. After departing Eden, Australia late afternoon for Fiordland National Park (Milford Sound), New Zealand, and sailing through the night, the ship was turned around because of a medical emergency. Back to Eden we went. Absolutely understandable under the circumstances. The lost time meant something had to give in order to keep the schedule down the road. Unfortunately, that something was the visit to Milford Sound, the next scheduled stop. A huge disappointment because many -- and I'll bet most -- had really looked forward to cruising Milford Sound. What can you do? If only that individual had eaten dinner in Lido instead of MDR. 😁 Later during the cruise, a scheduled stop at Gisborne, NZ was cancelled on the account waves as big as a burrito (okay, perhaps bigger ones) made it unsafe for tendering. That was the official explanation. So we missed out on Maunga Hikurangi and its amazing carvings, among other things. At least we have a few more reasons to schedule another visit to New Zealand someday. 

 

Not to be outdone, last month Zaandam cancelled 2 ports during a 10 day repositioning cruise. On 10/1, we boarded Zaandam in Montreal, Canada for Fort Lauderdale. After final payment but well before the ship sailed, a previously scheduled stop at Sydney, Nova Scotia was cancelled and replaced with a visit to Cap-aux-Mueles, Quebec. Wait, where, you ask? No kidding. There was no explanation for the change from HAL; must have been above my pay grade. Since we were using this cruise to get us close to Miami (for a cruise aboard MSC Seashore), cancelling wasn't a viable option. Unfortunately for the passengers, replacing Sydney with Cap-aux-Mueles was a bad trade-off. If you want to be amused, go to that big travel site and look at the Top 10 things to do in Cap-aux-Mueles. At least we were able to walk around the village a bit and find a Tim Horton's (MSC doughnuts are way better). The rest of the time we spent Canadian dollars we had from previous travels buying lots of good chocolate and junk food to give to crew members we thought had distinguished themselves. Yup, making lemonade.

 

After we boarded Zaandam in Montreal, it was announced the scheduled stop at Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island (PEI) had been cancelled. While disappointing, this was not entirely unexpected because of damage to the port facilities caused by Hurricane Fiona. The cruise port reopened prior to Zaandam's scheduled arrival, but HAL determined it was better to remain in Quebec City overnight rather than make the scheduled stop in Charlottetown. Can't really second guess HAL on that call (skipping PEI). Would have been great if the ship had stopped at another east coast port such as NYC or Norfolk, or even remained overnight in Montreal, but extra time in Quebec was decent...except everything there closes by 9pm, lol. Montreal, on the other hand, has serious nightlife.

 

BTW, if after reading this you think I might be a jinx to HAL itineraries, we're looking at Alaska next year. Forewarned is fairwarned. 😜

 

 

 

[Mary229]

3 hours ago, Euby said:

Did you get travel insurance?  I always get cruise specific travel insurance because it includes things like port changes.

I think you are misunderstanding the terms of your insurance.   Itinerary changes are in the cruise contract and that is part of the equation.  Insurance will not cover normal business practices no matter your disappointment.

[gdy0354]

Just got notice this morning that Jan 14th NS first stop Key West replaced by Nassau. 
Not happy with two stops in the Bahamas. 
Oh well, still better than snow. 

[antmaril]

I received an email this morning changing two ports on a cruise we have booked on the NS in March, 2023.  This a cruise I booked when they were offering $1 deposits.  My friend and I had pretty much decided not to cruise because of the high cost of flying into Fort Lauderdale in Mid-March.  The port changes will make canceling the cruise a little easier. They have substituted Falmouth, Jamaica for Ocho Rios and Nassau, Bahamas for Key West.  
 

Nope.  

[LadyBerard]

On 11/9/2022 at 6:11 AM, teh3505 said:

Just book my cruise last Friday - Key West, Falmouth Jamaica, Cayman Islands & Half Moon Cay,  This morning I wake up to email from HA telling me due to operational reasons the call to Key West has been replaced with Bimini, Bahamas.  I am not happy with the change.  I booked it because of the Key West stop.  I have never heard of Bimini before...Very Disappointed!!.  Also no on board credit to off set the itinerary change.  This is my first time cruising with HA and it will be my last.

I feel  your pain.  We are booked on Nieuw Statendam for 1/14 and the main reason I booked it was because of the  stop in Key West.  LOVE Key West.  However, we also received an email yesterday that we are no longer stopping there and instead are going to Nassau.  We will just stay on the ship most likely.

[five.]

We are going on a free cruise in March and are still excited. But the whole reason we picked the one we picked was Key West, because it was part of our honeymoon and haven't been back since 2010. The wife in particular was really looking forward to it. So I do understand your frustration. We got our email this morning and now going to Nassau. 👎

 

And that was after our whole itinerary got shifted away from the Saints to repeats with Royal and honestly we should have gotten some money back on that one or OBC since it's a more expensive cruise, when booking between the two itineraries. But no kind of compensation at all. So yea, itinerary changes are kind a bummer.

 

I had not heard what is in this thread about Key West residents disliking cruise ships. So I let the wife know that we'd know to go land based in order to enjoy Key West in the future.

[Florida_gal_50]

The whole key west situation has been on the radar for quite a while it seems.  I don’t understand the whole “bait and switch” theory.  That said, I don’t know why hal continues to keep it on itineraries when it’s likely to not get there.  Ports will get charged.  It’s part of cruising.

[1025cruise]

2 hours ago, Mary229 said:

I think you are misunderstanding the terms of your insurance.   Itinerary changes are in the cruise contract and that is part of the equation.  Insurance will not cover normal business practices no matter your disappointment.

There are policies that give compensation if there is a change in port.

[Mary229]

7 minutes ago, 1025cruise said:

There are policies that give compensation if there is a change in port.

Could you provide more information. I have never seen one. Exactly what would it give.  HAL already refunds port fees

Edited November 10, 2022 by Mary229

[Sea42]

20 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

Could you provide more information. I have never seen one. Exactly what would it give.  HAL already refunds port fees

Maybe prepaid shore excursions that aren't refundable? I can't think of anything else that would be a monetary loss.

[Mary229]

4 minutes ago, Sea42 said:

Maybe prepaid shore excursions that aren't refundable? I can't think of anything else that would be a monetary loss.

Yes. I think what insurance covers if you need to catch up with the ship.  And perhaps shore excursions - most quality shore excursion companies offer a free cancellation if your ship misses port   Insurance does not cover circumstances where you failed to arrive at the port on time because you were preoccupied only for unavoidable travel delays like flights. 

Edited November 10, 2022 by Mary229

[wdw1972]

11 minutes ago, Sea42 said:

Maybe prepaid shore excursions that aren't refundable? I can't think of anything else that would be a monetary loss.

A shore excursion booked through HAL would be refunded.  A shore excursion booked independently would not be their responsibility.  That's why people booking independent shore excursions generally don't prepay - they make arrangements with the tour provider to pay in person.

 

I also got an email last night changing Key West to Nassau.  Nassau is an armpit, so it's definitely a stay on the ship day for me.  Chances are I would have done the same thing in Key West, unless we docked at the very convenient piers.  When docking at the Navy pier I don't bother getting off the ship.  And yes, it's been known for many months (possibly years now) that Key West doesn't want cruise ships and although I think some law prevents them from banning ALL ships they're able to maneuver around & it seems pick & choose who they let in.  The bigger the ship, the less attractive that cruise ship is.  

 

Sue/WDW1972

[Diver2014]

Not that this will help the OP much but Key West just isn't what everyone expects it to be.  It's a tourist town with plenty of land travelers let alone a few ship loads of more tourists.  There's just not that much to see there.  You can wander around Duvall Street amongst the t shirt and sunglass shops or visit the aquarium or Mel Fisher's gold treasure museum but that's it.  Unless you want to sit on the waterfront and have cocktails and watch the boats go by all day.  Going on a cruise just to see Key West is setting oneself up for disappointment. IMHO.

[Cruise Suzy]

48 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

55 minutes ago, 1025cruise said:

There are policies that give compensation if there is a change in port.

Could you provide more information. I have never seen one. Exactly what would it give.  HAL already refunds port fees

 

Here is what is in my Allianz policy:

 

Missed Port of Call Coverage: Your cruise line skips or replaces a port of call listed on your
original itinerary. Maximum per port - $100.00
 

[Mary229]

11 minutes ago, Cruise Suzy said:

 

Here is what is in my Allianz policy:

 

Missed Port of Call Coverage: Your cruise line skips or replaces a port of call listed on your
original itinerary. Maximum per port - $100.00
 

I wonder if that is to cover port fees.  HAL usually returns those fees but not all lines do.   I doubt a claim would be successful unless you can show true economic damages