windsor26 Posted July 26 #1 Share Posted July 26 Just wondering what we may have for ports during October on Carnival Splendor. Personally if we are not able to go to Vanuatu I would prefer to go along the Queensland coast nut we have not heard anything about the cruise from TA or Carnival Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aus Traveller Posted July 26 #2 Share Posted July 26 7 minutes ago, windsor26 said: Just wondering what we may have for ports during October on Carnival Splendor. Personally if we are not able to go to Vanuatu I would prefer to go along the Queensland coast nut we have not heard anything about the cruise from TA or Carnival Is there a problem with visiting ports in Vanuatu? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
windsor26 Posted July 26 Author #3 Share Posted July 26 18 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said: Is there a problem with visiting ports in Vanuatu? I understood the whole area has been off the radar since the revolt between the islanders and the French Government which caused the closure and damage to the airport?? I was hoping that we would not get the extra 2 sea days without additional stops to replace those cancelled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boeckli Posted July 26 #4 Share Posted July 26 1 minute ago, windsor26 said: I understood the whole area has been off the radar since the revolt between the islanders and the French Government which caused the closure and damage to the airport?? I was hoping that we would not get the extra 2 sea days without additional stops to replace those cancelled. That was /is New Caledonia, not Vanuatu. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDaze71 Posted July 26 #5 Share Posted July 26 New Caledonia is the issue not Vanuatu. They are still not going to New Caledonia (Lifou Noumea etc). But Mystery Island, Port Vila and Luganville (Santo) are all still accepting cruise ships. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
windsor26 Posted July 26 Author #6 Share Posted July 26 6 minutes ago, boeckli said: That was /is New Caledonia, not Vanuatu. sorry muddled BUT the itinerary also has New Caledonia for 2 stops at present time? so now I still need advices if anyone knows what will happen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MicCanberra Posted July 26 #7 Share Posted July 26 The cruiseline will alter the cruise and notify the passengers as needed. Picking a south Pacific cruise atm is not great unless you like sea days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Mycruiseobsession Posted July 26 #8 Share Posted July 26 (edited) 2 hours ago, windsor26 said: sorry muddled BUT the itinerary also has New Caledonia for 2 stops at present time? so now I still need advices if anyone knows what will happen Hi this thread may shed some light: https://boards.cruisecritic.com.au/topic/3008469-new-caledonia-locked-down/ Edited July 26 by Mycruiseobsession Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aus Traveller Posted July 26 #9 Share Posted July 26 2 hours ago, windsor26 said: I understood the whole area has been off the radar since the revolt between the islanders and the French Government which caused the closure and damage to the airport?? I was hoping that we would not get the extra 2 sea days without additional stops to replace those cancelled. New Caledonia is regarded as part of France but some of the indigenous people (Kanaks) want independence. Vanuatu has been independent for more than 40 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
windsor26 Posted July 26 Author #10 Share Posted July 26 The new itinery does not make sense it has changed to just 2 port stops Noumea and Mystery Island Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Mycruiseobsession Posted July 26 #11 Share Posted July 26 (edited) 29 minutes ago, windsor26 said: The new itinery does not make sense it has changed to just 2 port stops Noumea and Mystery Island I just had a quick look on the Carnival website and yes indeed Vanuatu seems to be off as a port visit for both the 8 day and 10 day. Well technically Mystery Island is Vanuatu but I have never been able to get there due to weather conditions. (Tried twice) Could be an administrative error? At this stage the Smartraveller website has New Caledonia in the orange - reconsider your need to travel. So there are currently no cruises going there however that "could" change by the time October comes. There's never a guarantee of any ports anyway since things like weather, mechanical break downs and communities in lockdown can occur unexpectedly. Edited July 26 by Mycruiseobsession Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare arxcards Posted July 26 #12 Share Posted July 26 (edited) As with all of the P&O and Carnival itineraries that have gone into the Pacific since the unrest started, losing Noumea means losing a port, as any other ports can't be reached in the same number of nights. These are quirky itineraries, with Noumea as 1st & last port. With no Noumea (or Isle of Pines) possible, they have indeed been doing these cruises with only 2 port stops. Of your original itinerary, Lifou and Noumea x 2 are New Caledonian ports, while Mystery Island is part of the Vanuatu group. So far, these itineraries have mostly been changed to Luganville and/or Port Vila, even dropping Mystery Island in favour of those two. I would consider it will be very unlikely that Noumea will reopen this year, but Carnival & P&O have been making their call on these itineraries a month at a time. I don't expect your changes will be confirmed until early September. PS: When I look at Carnival's site, it still shows the original itinerary - Noumea, Mystery Island, Lifou, Noumea. Edited July 26 by arxcards 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ceeceeDee Posted July 26 #13 Share Posted July 26 Our P&O cruise in December is still showing New Caledonia, but we're not banking on it being open. Fortunately, if we get extra sea days it won't worry us in the slightest. Noumea is not a great loss for us. Been there several times and didn't buy the t-shirt!😄 Our itinerary has 3 Vanuatu ports, Vila, Santo and Mystery. Incidentally, MyCruise, Mystery Island is still a Mystery to us. Maybe third time lucky. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Sparky74 Posted July 26 #14 Share Posted July 26 30 minutes ago, ceeceeDee said: Our P&O cruise in December is still showing New Caledonia, but we're not banking on it being open. Fortunately, if we get extra sea days it won't worry us in the slightest. Noumea is not a great loss for us. Been there several times and didn't buy the t-shirt!😄 Our itinerary has 3 Vanuatu ports, Vila, Santo and Mystery. Incidentally, MyCruise, Mystery Island is still a Mystery to us. Maybe third time lucky. I think it took us 3 cruises to make it to Mystery Island as it kept getting cancelled from our itinerary. We made a similar comment about it remaining a mystery. 🤣 It’s a nice little island but having been there numerous time now I’d prefer to return to Champagne Bay. We’ve only been there once or twice. We've had some great port days in Noumea but I always tell people you need to have a plan. If you just get off the ship and wander around town it can seem a bit "blah". But we’ve been snorkelling there. (Not that we’re very experienced or proficient. "Look! A fish!" LOL) If you want to see the fish without getting wet the aquarium is great and quite affordable; no need to book a tour, just catch the local bus. And once we went kayaking on the river. It was manageable for us even though we’re fat not fit! Don't write off Noumea but do your research and go with a plan. 😁 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MicCanberra Posted July 26 #15 Share Posted July 26 I have been numerous times, have missed it just the once due to risk of beetles from overnighting in Vila Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
windsor26 Posted July 26 Author #16 Share Posted July 26 Thanks everyone for your replies I do not really care where we go as I may not be able to rush around in a port being post hip operation (I think) but needed to know really Just a thought The original price for the cruise obviously included port taxes when they cancel ports as they have to recently do we get those charges back as obc? It would not be much for each person but multiplied by 3000 passengers it can add up to a profit for Carnival Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MicCanberra Posted July 26 #17 Share Posted July 26 18 minutes ago, windsor26 said: Thanks everyone for your replies I do not really care where we go as I may not be able to rush around in a port being post hip operation (I think) but needed to know really Just a thought The original price for the cruise obviously included port taxes when they cancel ports as they have to recently do we get those charges back as obc? It would not be much for each person but multiplied by 3000 passengers it can add up to a profit for Carnival Yes, there should be some refund for the port taxes. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ceeceeDee Posted July 26 #18 Share Posted July 26 We've done excursions in Noumea, still not a favourite. Our only plan this trip was to do the little tchou tchou train/trolly only because that's one thing we haven't done. I can live without it. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare arxcards Posted July 27 #19 Share Posted July 27 The best spots in Noumea are well away from the port. Some like Amadee Island, but the best time we have had is a kayak & swim on the Dumbea river. Apart from that, we would walk a few blocks to the chocolatier for some tastings and not-so-cheap macaroons. Many of those places will be struggling to exist without our tourist dollars. The only real annoyance I have had with Noumea is that just about every cruise called there, so the current itineraries could be considered a bit more lux than usual. Personally, PNG and Fiji are presently much more interesting parts of the Pacific, and it would be nice to see some more options heading those ways. It just seems that any Pacific cruises over 10 days doesn't sell well enough for them to become a staple. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ondine Posted July 27 #20 Share Posted July 27 4 hours ago, MicCanberra said: Yes, there should be some refund for the port taxes. When we missed Wellington last January on Pacific Explorer they refused to refund the port fees. Said it was not P&O policy. Quite a few passengers asked and no it was not replaced by anther port, just another sea day. We have always got them back as refundable OBC from Princess. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ondine Posted July 27 #21 Share Posted July 27 Just checked my invoice from Grand Princess which was 2 weeks prior to Pacific Explorer in Jan when we also missed Wellington and Princess refunded both myself and son $49.70 each in Refundable OBC. Not a small amount when you consider the number of passengers. P&O are really money hungry. People were not happy. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MicCanberra Posted July 27 #22 Share Posted July 27 2 hours ago, Ondine said: When we missed Wellington last January on Pacific Explorer they refused to refund the port fees. Said it was not P&O policy. Quite a few passengers asked and no it was not replaced by anther port, just another sea day. We have always got them back as refundable OBC from Princess. We have never had that happen on any line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MicCanberra Posted July 27 #23 Share Posted July 27 2 hours ago, Ondine said: Just checked my invoice from Grand Princess which was 2 weeks prior to Pacific Explorer in Jan when we also missed Wellington and Princess refunded both myself and son $49.70 each in Refundable OBC. Not a small amount when you consider the number of passengers. P&O are really money hungry. People were not happy. I would have visited guest services and encouraged anyone and everyone else to do the same. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare arxcards Posted July 28 #24 Share Posted July 28 (edited) The port charges and taxes are collected by the cruise line, but don't belong to them. Carnival didn't directly refund any port charges for us missing Moreton Island early this month, but they did goodwill everyone $100 OBC. There would be pilotage involved, but I suspect Moreton Island is otherwise cheap for port fees. Those who have been on an affected Carnival itinerary to date can probably confirm, but I believe there was OBC included at the time each itinerary change was announced. Edited July 28 by arxcards 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ceeceeDee Posted July 28 #25 Share Posted July 28 Will be interesting to see what happens on our P&O December cruise. I can't see us getting to New Caledonia. Current itinerary includes Noumea and Lifou. Frankly, we'd be quite happy with 'good will' OBC but I'm not holding my breath. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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