Destiny broke a propeller

[big_duck]

But you haven't figured in the drag of a non operating propeller. Now Carnival roams the Seas with two lame ships, The other being the QUEEN MARY 2 with propulsions problems. Fact not fiction. Metrowon

 

Not quiet ... QM2 belongs to Cunard which is owned by Princess which in turn is owned by Carnival Corporation not Carnival Cruise Lines.

[habby]

They have to find a drydock, that's available 1st, and one that is close. This could be an out of service problem that last weeks, not days. They may not cancel your cruise, just don't exspect what you exspected. The cruise line should be very generous if your trip is affected, and your next try with them should be seriously discounted. Sorry, about the news. I hope whoever started this thread is not creating unnesasary panic. A broken prop is not a quick fix. Metrowon

 

The only people causing unnecessary panic are those who are being totally negative about this whole situation without knowing all the facts.

 

Yes, it's tough on the passengers, present and future. Think about how the crew had to improvise on a moment's notice, handling luggage, cleaning cabins, total disruption in galley schedules, etc. You're right. Sometimes "SHIP happens", but we don't have to be totally negative about it.

 

We can only take things one day at a time. My goodness, this is not a disaster!!! People may be inconvenienced. Some will handle it better than others.

[zydecocruiser]

Not quiet ... QM2 belongs to Cunard which is owned by Princess which in turn is owned by Carnival Corporation not Carnival Cruise Lines.

 

Not quite. Carnival Corp purchased a controlling interest in Cunard in 1998 - a few years before they purchased Princess.

[zydecocruiser]

They have to find a drydock, that's available 1st, and one that is close. This could be an out of service problem that last weeks, not days. They may not cancel your cruise, just don't exspect what you exspected. The cruise line should be very generous if your trip is affected, and your next try with them should be seriously discounted. Sorry, about the news. I hope whoever started this thread is not creating unnesasary panic. A broken prop is not a quick fix. Metrowon

 

Nope. No drydock required. Not a broken prop.

[Journey21]

Habby I am with you. I spoke to my PVP yesterday and according to an email she read to me that was sent to them the problem has been fixed. I think this entire situation is getting blown way out of proportion. As you said everyone handles everything differently.

[habby]

Habby I am with you. I spoke to my PVP yesterday and according to an email she read to me that was sent to them the problem has been fixed. I think this entire situation is getting blown way out of proportion. As you said everyone handles everything differently.

 

Thanks,

 

This will be our third year in a row on the Destiny. We've already had one minor disappointment in the decreased time in Barbados. From here on, whatever happens, happens. I just get really frustrated with scare tactics (which is how I have interpreted some of the above posts.)

[big_duck]

Not quite. Carnival Corp purchased a controlling interest in Cunard in 1998 - a few years before they purchased Princess.

 

Correct, I meant: QM2 belongs to Cunard which is managed by Princess

[Newfie-BB]

I just got home from this cruise, and it's a VERY long story indeed, which I will post later. Suffice it to say that part of it was beyond Carnival's control and part of it was, and the part of it that was, was the victim of corporate facesaving and a failure to tell not only the passengers getting of this cruise and the passengers getting on the next cruise what was really going on but also senior staff. I think you will get the picture if I tell you that the Cruise Director was only told of by the Captain of our navigational situation at the end of the debarkation lecture and the Cruise Director was visibly blindsided.

In brief, Friday night a woman slipped and fell in the casino and fractured her ankle, but also went into cardiac arrest. Since we were only 40 miles out from Aruba they decided to turn around and take her back to a hospital. In the course of performing this manuever, bearings around a propeller shaft failed and we traveled at ten knots for quite awhile on Saturday. Based on this assumption, the cruise folks in home office in Miami were planning for us to stay on the ship on Sunday night and to accomodate those getting on the 3/19 cruise. However, the ship's engineers fixed the problem overnight on Friday night and we got in at 3 PM on Sunday. The result was absolute chaos, and yes, a near riot, but no, to my knowledge, the police were not called.

The problem resulted from the fact that no one, neither we on the 3/12 sailing, nor those on the 3/19 sailing, who stood in the streets of San Juan for hours to get on their cruise, were told what was really going on.

I'm too tired to give you the whole story which is rather complicated, but will try to post more later in the week.

 

Very good summation of the problem. I agree 100%, the biggest issue here is lack of communication. Your right Skippy was quite surprised, and when you talked to staff on board, they often said, you know just as much as we do.

 

Looking forward to the rest of your review.

[vic from vic]

I spoke to my PVP yesterday and according to an email she read to me that was sent to them the problem has been fixed. I think this entire situation is getting blown way out of proportion. As you said everyone handles everything differently.

 

Some say it's fixed, some say it's still limping. Katie is on the cruise and still says they are shortening ports. All this rumour and conjecture can make a girl's head spin! :eek:

 

I just wanna go on holidays..........I'm into single digit days. I suppose at this point - que sera sera. Pack the bags and make the best of it (and of course report back once I get home! )

[TwoPointDoe]

I just had my TA call Carnival to find out the scoop. She was read the "official" email over the phone. It stated that the problem was fixed and they are not leaving any ports early.

 

So there we have it! (I hope)

 

Hey Vic.......12 more days!!!!

[derf5585]

Maybe Carnival thinks we can't handle the truth

 

You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way, Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon, and stand a post. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to.

[vic from vic]

I just had my TA call Carnival to find out the scoop. She was read the "official" email over the phone. It stated that the problem was fixed and they are not leaving any ports early.

 

So there we have it! (I hope)

 

Hey Vic.......12 more days!!!!

 

Leaving Victoria in 9 days! As long as I get on the ship, I don't care if I never get back off of it!!! :D

[Sue L]

Hey Vic,

 

Remember to take care of my room!!!!

 

Sue

[Kpstill]

Just off the phone with Carnival and email with the famous Dominica guide. Destiny was in Dominica 12-6 today. Barbados regular time. Destiny is leaving Aruba early at 8:00 on Friday. It doesn't appear the problem is fixed.

 

I wonder what time she will get to San Juan on Sunday!

 

What should we do with our bags all day if the ship is late??

[sdirector77]

Maybe Carnival thinks we can't handle the truth

 

You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way, Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon, and stand a post. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to.

 

If this is a trivia game I win, "A few good men"

right?

[vic from vic]

What should we do with our bags all day if the ship is late??

 

KP, from what I've read on here, you should make sure they are sturdy bags and use them for seating while you wait to get on!!! :D

 

Sue, I can't promise to take care of the room. But I can say that I will definitely appreciate the new mattress! ;)

[mnovak61]

If we get the times we are in the ports cut short will Carnival give us any shipboard credit to make up for their problems?

[Kpstill]

If we get the times we are in the ports cut short will Carnival give us any shipboard credit to make up for their problems?

 

That is a maybe, maybe not.

[Tara3]

I keep reading that the Destiny got fixed and then I keep hearing that it didn't. I wasn't sure so I called Carnival and they told me that it HAS gotten fixed. :D Good to hear.. I'm so ready for vacation April 9th. Hopefully nothing else happens.

[derf5585]

I wasn't sure so I called Carnival and they told me that it HAS gotten fixed. :D

 

They fixed it

[mzloolue]

Sorry

Double Post

[mzloolue]

My DS and BIL were on the late cruise.

They're still not home.

 

She was not happy with the way that Carnival was handling the whole thing.

 

Apparently, after they docked at 4:00, she had dancers telling her that she would make her flight at 5:30 because they "do things differently in San Juan".

 

Well the fact is, they won't let you on a plane in San Juan any faster or with any less regard to security measures than anywhere else in the US.

 

When I talked to her last night Carnival had offered nothing for her trouble, even though she had spent one whole precious vacation day just sitting on a closed down ship waiting for Carnival to find them somewhere to go. After they finally got her into a hotel she felt better, but when she went to bed last night she still didn't know when she would be able to get a flight.

 

Maybe she'll post herself, but she was one mad lady. Not at the actual situation, but at the chaotic response and seeming lack of organization and planning demonstrated.

[Loriana]

Our family of 4 just returned home and everything Greg said was right on.

The chaos happened when we got back to port.

 

The real problem for our family was Monday morning at the airport...Carnival chartered a plane for miami to leave at 8:00 a.m.

When we got to the airport, nobody knew what we were talking about...that no flight 100 existed. There were about 100 of us in the airport and we were very calm, but very concerned because this flight we were supposed to be on "didn't exist". (that was the most horrible feeling that I ever felt...I was travelling with my daughter and handicapped son who were quite exhausted from getting up so early after a late night).

We had one person on the payphone with carnival on hold forever...

 

Finally, someone from the airport did some checking around and the plane was available from North American Airlines but we would have to wait some time...that was okay...we just wanted to get to the mainland USA. (the people who were arranging for the charter said they got the call from Carnival the night before and many staff from North American airlines were called in to work...We all thanked them for coming in on their day off to accomodate us!!!)

 

Once in Miami, my husband and I called our travel agent to arrange a flight home asap from Miami as we had a quickly deteriorating child(my son was starting to have seizures which is part of his condition when he is quite fatigued). Carnival had booked a flight for us leaving Miami at 8:00p.m. and arriving in Detroit at 11:30p.m. which is way too late for our situation. We also needed to get back to Buffalo which would have meant another hotel night and another day of travelling. (when I told the purser on the ship that the flight was to late...she said there might be a bus to take us to Buffalo from detroit....I don't think so!!!)

 

Carnival did their best...hotel accomodations, booking flights the best they could although I think their main goal was to get people to mainland USA.

(Many quite far from home). Then passengers were on their own to get the rest of the way home...although I think Carnival would cover the cost there too with receipts sent in.

 

 

Our cruise was very good, great excursions, but having been on 4 carnival cruises, both my husband and I agreed the food was not up to par...not sure what happened there...

 

I'm sure the propulsion system is being looked after and things will be fine for you future cruisers....

 

A word of advise...make sure you fill in your fun pass online completely...those who didn't had more difficulty getting their flights home from Carnival as Carnival needs this info to send you home if this were to happen again.

 

I'm going to sleep now.

L;)

[phroggie]

Maybe Carnival thinks we can't handle the truth

 

No, I think Carnival wants us to hold the broken propellor between our knees.

[rpplano]

I feel fortunate to be home and looking at my vacation pictures. Great cruise, great ports. I watched us sail away from Aruba from my aft balcony....TWICE.

Once at 10:30pm and again at 5:30am! OOPS! Yeah, the silence from no engines woke me up, looked out of the window and saw ARUBA again. We knew something major was wrong. Heard the wash of the props start, then stop, then start again several times. Finally went to sleep knowing we would be off schedule getting to San Juan. Next morning we get the bad news over the intercom. Medical emergency during the night, went back to Aruba to offload the patient, a propusion problem developed when we started back up. We were cruising on one unit at 8 knots (guy had GPS on next balcony) and attempting repairs en route. Earliest expected arrival would be after 10pm on Sunday unless something got fixed. Sometime on Saturday late or Sunday early, I noticed that our wake had increased. The Sunday morning announcement confirmed that partial repairs were successful and we were moving faster, ETA 3pm. When we docked, our color was called second to go to the Palladium Lounge for travel info. We didn't need any Carnival assistance since we had already scheduled for Monday travel on our own. This confused the staff on the ship, since we only wanted to disembark and be away from the chaos. There was major anger and unhappiness amoung the passengers in that room. Carnival did announce on the ship that they were re-scheduling air travel and hotels for everyone affected, not just Carnival booked airlines. That's very ambitious considering that San Juan is a destination, not a hub airport, and it's spring break when all airlines run full flights anyway. Some people we met on the ship had booked a three city-three airline set of cheap tickets through Priceline. That's not anything I'd want to re-schedule during a spring break. To each is own, I guess.

 

Anyway, great cruise, great ports, very average food in the dining rooms, very nice ship staff and an extra day at sea. AND confirmation of my policy to NEVER fly on embarkation & debarkation days. Final insult was a combination of weather and a mechanical problem on the last leg of our flight. We got diverted into Shreveport, LA at night and broke a main gear upon landing there. Delta Airlines actually found a motor coach to charter at midnight. I ended up loading the bus with everyone's luggage and guiding the driver from Shreveport to DFW airport since she had never been there before. I learned that it is a $80 cab ride from DFW airport to my home, but at 4:30am and 25 hours into the day, "Frankly Scarlet, ............"

 

We are beginning to plan our next cruise tomorrow. "Plane, Trains and Automobiles" was only a movie. We were living the real thing! Life is always an adventure!