Vision moving to Norfolk?

[BND]

19 minutes ago, Engineroom Snipe said:

I really want to make this cruise. I almost have my fabulous partner into the mood. I do not expect transportation or OBC.

 

I need to know that Royal owns this situation and starts to communicate what is happening in a fashion that makes me feel confident about a successful cruise experience.

 

Norfolk is saying, "We are open for business." Let us know where the parking is, when to arrive, here are the shuttles, let me know what I have to do to make this successful.

 

I need this from Royal, not from all of you loyal CC posters.Not from Norfolk City services which have been really great. I think Norfolk is owning this much more than Royal.

 

Royal is not communicating directly to me except for the minimum amount of information.

 

I have paid for the cruise and I am trying to make it work.

 

"Need Input." (Short Circuit, 1986)

Your choice whether you take the Norfolk.gov info or not.  The cruise port doesn't own or manage parking there.    I, personally prefer to be proactive and do my own research.  There is parking for Royal and for Carnival.  Both are on the Norfolk.gov site.  We don't need or enjoy the drama that some seen to require.  You seem to love drawing this out.

Edited March 30 by BND

[jcl410]

FYI -

 

  Here's the link to the City of Norfolk's page describing the upcoming cruises.... As of 3/29, not all the details are in place for the Vision cruises. (e.g.; shuttles from the parking garage)

 

 https://www.norfolk.gov/6030/Cruises

 

Aloha,

 

John 

 

[Engineroom Snipe]

8 minutes ago, jcl410 said:

FYI -

 

  Here's the link to the City of Norfolk's page describing the upcoming cruises.... As of 3/29, not all the details are in place for the Vision cruises. (e.g.; shuttles from the parking garage)

 

 https://www.norfolk.gov/6030/Cruises

 

Aloha,

 

John 

 

Yes, the City of Norfolk is doing a really great job compared to Royal.

[BND]

5 minutes ago, Engineroom Snipe said:

Yes, the City of Norfolk is doing a really great job compared to Royal.

What difference does it make if the info is available?  Does everyone need to be spoonfed?

[Starry Eyes]

Over the years whether we have flown or driven,  I’ve generally learned about parking and shuttles and local hotel and ground transportation options and so on mostly from the internet…cruise critic, port websites, various travel websites, etc.  Cruise lines (not just RCI) have provided pretty limited information.  Frankly better or more complete info has come from other sources.  If the passenger did not buy Air-Sea with transfers, Royal will tell them the port and the times; planning the transit to the port is on the passenger. Respectfully, I think you need to own it.  You are obviously very capable.  I hope you go and have a fabulous time.

[not-enough-cruising]

1 hour ago, Engineroom Snipe said:

I really want to make this cruise. I almost have my fabulous partner into the mood. I do not expect transportation or OBC.

 

I need to know that Royal owns this situation and starts to communicate what is happening in a fashion that makes me feel confident about a successful cruise experience.

 

Norfolk is saying, "We are open for business." Let us know where the parking is, when to arrive, here are the shuttles, let me know what I have to do to make this successful.

 

I need this from Royal, not from all of you loyal CC posters.Not from Norfolk City services which have been really great. I think Norfolk is owning this much more than Royal.

 

Royal is not communicating directly to me except for the minimum amount of information.

 

I have paid for the cruise and I am trying to make it work.

 

"Need Input." (Short Circuit, 1986)

What does Royal need to own? 
 

They have communicated that Norfolk is the new embarkation point; what more needs said?

Edited March 30 by not-enough-cruising

[Engineroom Snipe]

42 minutes ago, BND said:

What difference does it make if the info is available?  Does everyone need to be spoonfed?

I would appreciate being spoon fed with information.

 

Are you selling me a discounted vacation experience that I need to hunt for information regarding a major port change?

 

Is it too much to adjust a major itinerary port change and throw me a bone as to where I will park my car and expect it to be there with an out-of-state license tag after eight days when I get off the ship with my luggage?

 

My cruise line has only given me six days notice after booking it one year in advance. How am I being unreasonable in trying to pry some information from them.

 

If Royal wants to sell themselves as a discount cruise line, fine. This type of experience would be appropriate.

 

I do not think these expectations to be outlandish.

[Engineroom Snipe]

6 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

What does Royal need to own? 
 

They have communicated that. Or folk is the new embarkation point; what more needs said?

To date, Royal has not communicated any type of parking available at the new port.

 

Why not?

 

I had parking in Baltimore no problem. They have it on their website.

 

With the new change, why not include the new parking site.

 

Why must we fend for ourselves with the City of Norfolk giving us far more information then what Royal is providing?

 

Royal Corporate is not impressing me at all.

[not-enough-cruising]

1 minute ago, Engineroom Snipe said:

To date, Royal has not communicated any type of parking available at the new port.

 

Why not?

 

I had parking in Baltimore no problem. They have it on their website.

 

With the new change, why not include the new parking site.

 

Why must we fend for ourselves with the City of Norfolk giving us far more information then what Royal is providing?

 

Royal Corporate is not impressing me at all.

Nearly 100 cruises under my belt and I have NEVER had any cruise line communicate port parking options to me. 

[Engineroom Snipe]

1 minute ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Nearly 100 cruises under my belt and I have NEVER had any cruise line communicate port parking options to me. 

I am not talking about the ORIGINAL cruise parking expectations which are posted.

 

This was an involuntary change into an unknown or planned port.

 

I do not have "100 cruises under my belt". I have much less than you.

 

I do know that for each and everyone cruise I have taken, I knew exactly where I was parking for I had planned that parking with that cruise reservation in most cases one year in advance.

 

Norfolk was not a planned one year in advance reservation. It was a last minute change due to an extraordinary situation. I got it.

 

How would it be so difficult to send new secure parking space instructions with the coordination of the City of Norfolk?

 

 

[HBE4]

2 minutes ago, Engineroom Snipe said:

How would it be so difficult to send new secure parking space instructions with the coordination of the City of Norfolk?

 

I get what you're saying and do not disagree with you.  It is possible that since Royal has not used Norfolk in a few years, they may not have the most up-to-date info available at their fingertips.  

 

Try the Departure Ports forums section of CC.  Lots of valuable information there & resources to ask. I found it most helpful when trying to find parking when sailing out of Galveston.  Hopefully the Norfolk folks are just as helpful.

[Engineroom Snipe]

1 minute ago, HBE4 said:

 

I get what you're saying and do not disagree with you.  It is possible that since Royal has not used Norfolk in a few years, they may not have the most up-to-date info available at their fingertips.  

 

Try the Departure Ports forums section of CC.  Lots of valuable information there & resources to ask. I found it most helpful when trying to find parking when sailing out of Galveston.  Hopefully the Norfolk folks are just as helpful.

The Norfolk folks have been extremely helpful. There are posters on this website that have given great links.

 

I will be OK.

 

Just so ironic that the experienced posters on this site citing all of their phenomenal cruise experience always say "suck it up" because they know it all but will have no compassion for a "newbie" who might not know it all.

 

I have cruised for 35 years and I do not need to pontificate on how many cruises I have been on.

 

That might not help the person who is on their second or third cruise from Baltimore and got stuck in this fiasco.

 

Is it not what CC is suppose to be about? Sharing information and trying to help people instead of just saying "learn by your mistakes and go through 100 cruises so you can be as experienced and as smart as I am."

 

@HBE4, thank you for at least being considerate and polite with your response.

[AshleyDillo]

7 hours ago, BND said:

The posts are: Why are we paying for an 8 night cruise if we're only getting 7 (12Apr)  Um, OBC which is more than port fees and taxes

 

To be fair, Royal has in the past for shortened cruises given pro rata OBC for the missed day(s) based on your cruise fare, same as they are doing for the cruise planner purchases. I'm sure the $75 OBC is far less than that for most.

 

5 hours ago, LB_NJ said:

Except for Cancel for any reason insurance (almost double the cost and you only get back 75% of your loss) travel insurance probably won't cover what happened.

 

True. My travel insurance policy would cover whatever costs the $200 Royal is offering wouldn't cover to get to/from the new embarkation/debarkation port along with reimbursement of any non-refundable pre-paid flights/hotels/excursions. But it wouldn't cover my decision to cancel.

[HBE4]

@Engineroom Snipe

 

Last minute scrambling can definitely be stressful for all parties involved. Hopefully all that stress melts away the second you step on the ship.

 

For some reason, I thought the North American Homeports forum had a separate sub-forum for each departure port but i was wrong. They are lumped by coast, with the exception of Florida.  Here is the link to East Coast Departures, I'm sure if you create a thread regarding parking/shuttle info in Norfolk, you'll get some replies, either from people that live there or Carnival cruisers, many who are in the same situation as you. Best of luck! 

 

EDIT: Duh, forgot the link

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/317-east-coast-departures/

 

 

Edited March 30 by HBE4

[LB_NJ]

1 hour ago, AshleyDillo said:

 

True. My travel insurance policy would cover whatever costs the $200 Royal is offering wouldn't cover to get to/from the new embarkation/debarkation port along with reimbursement of any non-refundable pre-paid flights/hotels/excursions. But it wouldn't cover my decision to cancel.

Does your policy specifically cover a change of embarkation/debarkation ports?  I would like to know which insurance carrier covers that circumstance.

[AshleyDillo]

2 hours ago, LB_NJ said:

Does your policy specifically cover a change of embarkation/debarkation ports?  I would like to know which insurance carrier covers that circumstance.

 

It's considered changing the itinerary. This is my Allianz annual travel insurance policy.

 

Edited March 30 by AshleyDillo

[LB_NJ]

4 hours ago, AshleyDillo said:

 

It's considered changing the itinerary. This is my Allianz annual travel insurance policy.

 

Interesting, my insurance policy doesn’t have that, however, it looks like that only covers airline change fees, not the cost of a new ticket or any other costs related to the change of itinerary.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

I posted this a couple hours ago in the wrong thread. If this is a duplicate, I apologize. I thought I would move it here. I can answer many questions if you have them. Our DS lives in Virginia Beach  and used to live in Norfolk near Old Dominion University.

2 hours ago, DragonOfTheSeas said:

Norfolk is a Navy town. They rally around when anything goes wrong.
 

I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the area around the dock. It is known as waterside, and it is a very popular section of the city. If you are able, go down a day early to enjoy, the scenery and the restaurants. Check out Nauticus on the Internet and see if you would enjoy visiting that. It’s just beside the cruise ship terminal. There’s also a small park right on the waterfront and they often have events there. You might want to check the schedule for the city.

 

if it was me, I would stay at either the Hilton or the Marriott. Each of them is only a block or two from the port.

 

If you drive down and have transportation, you might want to go to Virginia Beach for the afternoon before. It’s a very family friendly beach. Very modern and clean. There is a boardwalk and there are hotels adjacent to the boardwalk but It is less commercial than Ocean City, for example. 

[RocCruisers]

So, what cruises have been notified of the change to Norfolk?  
ALL of April's?  Any in May or June?  July, August, etc feels too early to change yet - right?  (Ours is July 6). 

[DragonOfTheSeas]

6 minutes ago, RocCruisers said:

So, what cruises have been notified of the change to Norfolk?  
ALL of April's?  Any in May or June?  July, August, etc feels too early to change yet - right?  (Ours is July 6). 

There are only two cruises in April. They leave on the fourth and 12 April. And then the vision goes to drydock until May. It’s too early at this point to decide what to do with those cruises.
 

Officials keep saying it’s only going to take a few weeks not months. But I don’t think anyone knows that until they actually get in there and start seeing the particulars.

[shipgeeks]

Here's something I just saw on the Carnival board, re a parking option at Norfolk:

"Asphalt Lots" in Chesapeake, VA is a veteran-run parking garage, with shuttle service to the port on cruise days, and reportedly cheaper than Carnival's parking option. 

[Skydome1]

Has anyone received a new arrival time for the Norfolk Cruise. The letter says boarding is between 1230 and 1530 but I have yet to see any new specific times. My original time is 1100-1130. Is it just going to be a free for all? I have watched some videos and the lines at the port are very large. Without a specific boarding time it will most definitely be a cluster.

[Skydome1]

There are 4 large cranes that just arrived at the bridge collapse site. MD governor says work will start soon but says it could take months to clear. The Army corps of Engineers are evaluating what the project will require. The ship is the first thing they say will need to be dealt with. The latest videos show 55galon drums that are no longer in their containers laying on the front of the ship. Once hazmat gets involved the whole process will come to a halt until it can be removed. No is willing to make the call on when the channel will be clear. 

[Biker19]

10 minutes ago, Skydome1 said:

Is it just going to be a free for all?

Given the circumstances, assume this.

[BND]

1 hour ago, Skydome1 said:

Has anyone received a new arrival time for the Norfolk Cruise. The letter says boarding is between 1230 and 1530 but I have yet to see any new specific times. My original time is 1100-1130. Is it just going to be a free for all? I have watched some videos and the lines at the port are very large. Without a specific boarding time it will most definitely be a cluster.

The ship that I've seen videos for is Carnival Magic which holds 4400 so basically twice the capacity of Vision.  Crowds shouldn't be as bad, especially as there have been some cancellations also.  Our arrival time is also 1100 and we have lunch reservations in a specialty for 1230. We plan to be there between 1130 and 1200. We are being dropped off by family