Pride dry dock wishlist

[Eli_6]

As an aside, I am not trying to be an alarmist because it may go forward. At this point, I would give it a 50/50 chance.  All I am suggesting is that I would consider alternatives if it gets canceled and you have already booked airfare and made other arrangements.  We are either going to switch to the Venezia which departs a day later or take an MSC cruise out of Barcelona.    

[TxTeach79]

12 minutes ago, Eli_6 said:

To put off having to provide the refunds.  Or to postpone it until after final payment. They did the same thing with Europe 2021.  Royal, NCL, etc. had all canceled their sailings and John Heald was saying it was a definite go.  But the writing was on the wall.  I don't think John is purposefully lying. I think he just repeats what the "beards" tell him.

 

And who knows? Maybe it will go forward.  But why is Venezia on the port schedule and Pride isn't?  Why is Pride on the port schedule in Dover for the rest of the summer but not on ours?  And why is ours the ONLY Europe cruise that has been removed from the website for 2+ months?  My opinion is that I don't think they could get the dry dock for when they wanted or they suspect it will run behind schedule so they have pulled it from the ports and the website. 

 

Also, the fact that they are offering room upgrades means the sailing is NOT sold out!!!  They keep saying it isn't on the website because it is sold out but clearly that isn't the case.

 

And I feel your pain.  4 business class roundtrip airfare tickets booked from Houston to London.  And 4 more tickets booked from London to Barcelona.  Even using miles for upgrades, we still have about 9k-10k (or maybe more) invested. And we have my husband's alternative coverage for his medical practice arranged.  

 

Agree. PVPs have been telling guests that it's "sold out" because it doesn't appear on their booking engines and don't know better. People are getting upgrades and it's been completely removed from booking engines, unlike other sold out sailings. 

 

Feels like a major CYA move to not cancel but have zero confidence this cruise will happen. 

 

Something is rotten in Denmark. 

[TxTeach79]

10 minutes ago, Eli_6 said:

As an aside, I am not trying to be an alarmist because it may go forward. At this point, I would give it a 50/50 chance.  All I am suggesting is that I would consider alternatives if it gets canceled and you have already booked airfare and made other arrangements.  We are either going to switch to the Venezia which departs a day later or take an MSC cruise out of Barcelona.    

 

Totally agree. The problem is that the longer we hold out hope on this sailing, the more scant those alternatives become. 

[EllieinNJ]

Unfortunately I don't have that alternative.  Our June 9th Norway cruise was booked with FCC from a cancelled cruise during covid with $600 OBC and non refundable deposits.  When Carnival had their 50% off sale back in April we added the May 28th cruise.  We already have the Venezia booked for February 2024. 

[Eli_6]

1 minute ago, TxTeach79 said:

 

Agree. PVPs have been telling guests that it's "sold out" because it doesn't appear on their booking engines and don't know better. People are getting upgrades and it's been completely removed from booking engines, unlike other sold out sailings. 

 

Feels like a major CYA move to not cancel but have zero confidence this cruise will happen. 

 

Something is rotten in Denmark. 

Yup. I just looked and I currently have an upgrade offer on BOTH of my balcony cabins for this cruise. How is that possible when the cruise is sold out?  And I recall looking a few months back shortly before it disappeared from the website to see if the Deck 4 Vista suite with adjoining balcony (we like adjoining rooms) was available and while those particular rooms were not, there was a plethora of other rooms available in every category. Then, almost overnight, it disappears and is "sold out."  Nope. Not buying it.  

[Eli_6]

1 minute ago, EllieinNJ said:

Unfortunately I don't have that alternative.  Our June 9th Norway cruise was booked with FCC from a cancelled cruise during covid with $600 OBC and non refundable deposits.  When Carnival had their 50% off sale back in April we added the May 28th cruise.  We already have the Venezia booked for February 2024. 

If it is canceled, you could do an MSC cruise for a week out of Barcelona to the med then take a cheap flight up to London and catch the Carnival Norwegian Fjords cruise.  MSC has some really affordable rates and it has 2 or 3 ships going out of Barcelona.  

[Eli_6]

4 minutes ago, TxTeach79 said:

 

Totally agree. The problem is that the longer we hold out hope on this sailing, the more scant those alternatives become. 

EXACTLY!  That's why they need to be honest about the state of affairs of this cruise.  Already, the Venezia cost has gone up about 1k from the Black Friday sails so if I do change over, I lost a good rate because of Carnival not letting us know. 

[TxTeach79]

10 minutes ago, Eli_6 said:

EXACTLY!  That's why they need to be honest about the state of affairs of this cruise.  Already, the Venezia cost has gone up about 1k from the Black Friday sails so if I do change over, I lost a good rate because of Carnival not letting us know. 

 

I know this is a foolish and naive statement, but I wish there was a way to either speak to someone up the food chain who could give us actual answers or otherwise draw attention to this so that they had to address it. Yet sadly it seems like it'll just be a hurry up and wait. 

 

I just wonder... if it's simply an issue of the drydock running long or not, how far in advance COULD they know that?!? This is ENTIRELY within their control, unlike COVID regulations or acts of God. 

[Eli_6]

I just talked to my TA. She has contacts in Carnival. She told me to reschedule to Venezia and implied without directly saying it that the 28th was going to be canceled.  However, she DID say the rest of the summer sailings were going forward.  

[kwokpot]

Just now, Eli_6 said:

I just talked to my TA. She has contacts in Carnival. She told me to reschedule to Venezia and implied without directly saying it that the 28th was going to be canceled.  However, she DID say the rest of the summer sailings were going forward.  

I'm wondering why you didn't do that earlier, when for all intents and purposes the Venezia is a superior ship all the way around?  Is the Pride a better itinerary for you? 

[Eli_6]

5 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

I'm wondering why you didn't do that earlier, when for all intents and purposes the Venezia is a superior ship all the way around?  Is the Pride a better itinerary for you? 

Well, we booked the pride and the air fare before we knew anything about the Venezia sailing.  If I change to the Venezia, I then have to try to get back my return air fare.  Plus, there are substantially more ports on the Pride sailing.   

[TxTeach79]

3 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

I'm wondering why you didn't do that earlier, when for all intents and purposes the Venezia is a superior ship all the way around?  Is the Pride a better itinerary for you? 

 

Not to speak for @Eli_6, but for us, absolutely. My girlfriend is more of a port person than a sea day person for one, and this Pride 12 day is a port intensive itinerary that visits multiple ports in Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium, ends in London, gives us a chance to see many places we haven't before, and honestly while I love the Vista class, we enjoy the Spirit class very much. 

 

Venezia offers NINE days at sea. It's a completely different vacation. Plus, let's be honest; this would be Venezia's very first sailing for Carnival post drydock as well. Who's to say the same thing doesn't happen?

[kwokpot]

8 minutes ago, TxTeach79 said:

 

Not to speak for @Eli_6, but for us, absolutely. My girlfriend is more of a port person than a sea day person for one, and this Pride 12 day is a port intensive itinerary that visits multiple ports in Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium, ends in London, gives us a chance to see many places we haven't before, and honestly while I love the Vista class, we enjoy the Spirit class very much. 

 

Venezia offers NINE days at sea. It's a completely different vacation. Plus, let's be honest; this would be Venezia's very first sailing for Carnival post drydock as well. Who's to say the same thing doesn't happen?

TBH I didn't look at either itinerary, so I wasn't familiar with the differences in the sailings. 

[staceyglow]

This type of situation is why I always get trip cancellation/interruption insurance.  I just purchased a policy for an upcoming 14-day cruise and it cost less than $85 for both me and DH.  It doesn't have any medical - we have a separate annual policy for that - but for the price of a couple of bottles of wine, I don't have to worry about stuff like this.

[Eli_6]

8 minutes ago, TxTeach79 said:

 

Not to speak for @Eli_6, but for us, absolutely. My girlfriend is more of a port person than a sea day person for one, and this Pride 12 day is a port intensive itinerary that visits multiple ports in Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium, ends in London, gives us a chance to see many places we haven't before, and honestly while I love the Vista class, we enjoy the Spirit class very much. 

 

Venezia offers NINE days at sea. It's a completely different vacation. Plus, let's be honest; this would be Venezia's very first sailing for Carnival post drydock as well. Who's to say the same thing doesn't happen?

Oh geez.  Didn't even think of that!!!  I have more faith in that one going forward, though, because at least she is on the Port schedules.  When a cruise is not on the website AND is not on any of the schedules for her ports of call, that is suspicious.  Highly suspicious. 

[TxTeach79]

1 minute ago, staceyglow said:

This type of situation is why I always get trip cancellation/interruption insurance.  I just purchased a policy for an upcoming 14-day cruise and it cost less than $85 for both me and DH.  It doesn't have any medical - we have a separate annual policy for that - but for the price of a couple of bottles of wine, I don't have to worry about stuff like this.

 

I totally get the value of insurance, but it doesn't help us here unfortunately.

[Eli_6]

3 minutes ago, staceyglow said:

This type of situation is why I always get trip cancellation/interruption insurance.  I just purchased a policy for an upcoming 14-day cruise and it cost less than $85 for both me and DH.  It doesn't have any medical - we have a separate annual policy for that - but for the price of a couple of bottles of wine, I don't have to worry about stuff like this.

The trip insurance doesn't help my situation.  Even if I got an insurance policy that covered airfare, it will not cover the fact that my husband has to find and pay another physician to cover his practice and 5,000 patients for the 2.5 weeks we will be gone.  Due to his specialty, he usually has to arrange this a year in advance.  

 

Being gone for 4 days is one thing. Being halfway around the world for 2.5 to 3 weeks where cell service is questionable is another. 

Edited December 13, 2022 by Eli_6

[TxTeach79]

2 minutes ago, Eli_6 said:

Oh geez.  Didn't even think of that!!!  I have more faith in that one going forward, though, because at least she is on the Port schedules.  When a cruise is not on the website AND is not on any of the schedules for her ports of call, that is suspicious.  Highly suspicious. 

 

I completely agree, and I'm sure it's just me being gunshy after all this, but our cruise showed up for a long time too! (I also have more faith in the Venezia because it has to get to NYC, but still)

[staceyglow]

5 minutes ago, TxTeach79 said:

 

I totally get the value of insurance, but it doesn't help us here unfortunately.

I believe it would help you get your airfare back.

[Eli_6]

1 minute ago, TxTeach79 said:

 

I completely agree, and I'm sure it's just me being gunshy after all this, but our cruise showed up for a long time too! (I also have more faith in the Venezia because it has to get to NYC, but still)

Well, I completely admit that I am gun shy as well because I have literally had Carnival do this to me before back in 2021. The ONLY good thing about that situation is because it was still at the height of Covid and many (like kids) weren't even elligible for vaccines yet, hotels and British Airways was allowing people to book tickets with free cancellation so I got my $$$ easily on the airfare.  But it is a different situation now.  

[TxTeach79]

3 minutes ago, Eli_6 said:

The trip insurance doesn't help my situation.  Even if I got an insurance policy that covered airfare, it will not cover the fact that my husband has to find and pay another physician to cover his practice and 5,000 patients for the 2.5 weeks we will be gone.  Due to his specialty, he usually has to arrange this a year in advance.  

 

Plus, if the cruise isn't cancelled until March or even later, insurance does next to nothing for us rescheduling, etc.

[Eli_6]

Been texting with my TA.  My TA is calling Carnival to TRY to get a straight answer from them on if the May 28th Pride cruise is going forward.  Apparently they are still being evasive in giving a definite answer, but she seems to think that the writing is on the wall the 28th is not going forward.  She seems to think it has to do with the dry dock scheduling.  I wish I knew more about how long a ship was typically in dry dock.  3 or 4 weeks doesn't seem like it would be long enough for the Pride to get the overhaul she needs...but, then again, I don't know a thing about dry docking. 

 

[Eli_6]

I am seriously contemplating going ahead and depositing the Venezia because I want a terrace Carnivale corner balcony directly across from an inside room and there is only ONE set of those left.  Bummer part is I think the deposit is $800 for all of us.  And I have like $1600 FCC plus deposits plus some amount in deposits (either $400 or $800) plus like $1200 in FCC on the Pride May 28th sailing. So, if the Pride goes forward, I would lose that $800 deposit on the Venezia.

 

I have to have the inside room directly across from the balcony because Carnival has a rule that kids can only be booked in an INSIDE room directly next to or directly across the hall from parents.  And I can't book them in my balcony room because it is the Terrazzo Carnviale whatever rooms are 12 and up and neither of them are 12.  In actuality, the 9 year old will sleep with us in our room and the 11 year old will stay by himself in the inside room...that is exactly what happened on our Alaskan cruise and on our European cruise.

 

My other option is to just wait and see what happens but then the rooms will probably book up. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TxTeach79]

16 minutes ago, Eli_6 said:

I am seriously contemplating going ahead and depositing the Venezia because I want a terrace Carnivale corner balcony directly across from an inside room and there is only ONE set of those left.  Bummer part is I think the deposit is $800 for all of us.  And I have like $1600 FCC plus deposits plus some amount in deposits (either $400 or $800) plus like $1200 in FCC on the Pride May 28th sailing. So, if the Pride goes forward, I would lose that $800 deposit on the Venezia.

 

I have to have the inside room directly across from the balcony because Carnival has a rule that kids can only be booked in an INSIDE room directly next to or directly across the hall from parents.  And I can't book them in my balcony room because it is the Terrazzo Carnviale whatever rooms are 12 and up and neither of them are 12.  In actuality, the 9 year old will sleep with us in our room and the 11 year old will stay by himself in the inside room...that is exactly what happened on our Alaskan cruise and on our European cruise.

 

My other option is to just wait and see what happens but then the rooms will probably book up. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm sorry. That's an incredibly crappy gamble you have to make. Might be right there with you soon. 

[Eli_6]

15 minutes ago, TxTeach79 said:

 

I'm sorry. That's an incredibly crappy gamble you have to make. Might be right there with you soon. 

Ugh. This sucks. They have a couple of adjoining or side-by-side inside rooms, too...but then not only would we not get the Terraza area, but we would be stuck in an inside room for NINE sea days. I swore after taking a 6 day cruise in an OV with my stinky boys I would never again book a room without a way of opening the door to air it out.  It looks like all of the suites are booked up and I am not seeing much else in the way of adjoining rooms other than inside rooms.

 

I even contemplated booking my kids in a room with my Mom under her booking number and having her no show. Not sure what Carnival would do about that...  Once, they moved my children (who were in their own room) completely across the ship (like from forward to aft and port to starboard) from our room when we had a ship change. We had to call and get them to change it. So, I am not sure how much they truly care about the "directly across the hall" rule beyond booking.  This past summer, they also asked us when we checked our kids into Camp Ocean on our Europe cruise if we wanted to allow the kids to be able to check themselves out...even though we were going to be off the boat for the day.  "Umm, no.  I do not want my elementary aged kids wandering around the ship on unsupervised while I am on land."  I then went and looked at the rule and apparently kids over 8 can check themselves out of Camp Ocean if the parent allows it.  What??? That's a terrible rule! No wonder they have to now have an employee constantly monitoring the ice cream machine...   

Edited December 13, 2022 by Eli_6