Cruise cancelled

[Old As Dirt Mom]

......

 

Now consider your attitude at receiving a letter saying "So sorry, no cruise. Here's $100 for your trouble." No thought to the effect on your life, no offer to assist with change of plans.

 

.......

 

Yes, 2ofus, I agree with the scenario as you present it, but didn't HAL offer all the passengers a full refund of their fare, in conjunction with the extra $100? And, if they've booked air fare thru HAL, won't that be taken care of as well? (This is a genuine question; not trying to one-up you or take only HAL's side.) Thanks.

 

Karin

[Grumpy1]

OK, how about when the hurricane tore up the Mexican resort areas in 2005? Lots of people had vacations planned months in advance, air fare paid, etc. Do you think those hotels that were flattened were obligated to offer everyone a free vacation, change their airline arrangements to a different location and throw in some money to cover the incidentals?

 

Right now, there are more passengers available than there are berths on the ships on almost every cruise. As a Carnival Corp shareholder, I expect them to make money. I expect them to make wise business decisions. If the number crunchers tell them that they could cancel the cruise with a huge compensation package, no customers would be lost, and it would cost them $1,000,000 or they could go with minimal compensation, lose 500 customers, but there are still more than that waiting to take their place and the cost is only $300,000, well guess which route they will take? to do otherwise would not be a good business decision.

 

Has anyone considered what the unscheduled drydock is going to cost HAL in lost revenue? It's up in the millions!

 

Refunding the money AND offering a free future cruise works fine if your ships are sailing at less than capacity because you can fit the passengers in, a few per cruise and still get shipboard revenue from them. when the ships are sailing full, every one of those free vouchers that is excercized is a paying passenger that wasn't able to book, so the lose not only the fare they refunded but also the replacement cruise fare. It doesn't make business sense.

[hammybee]

OK, how about when the hurricane tore up the Mexican resort areas in 2005? Lots of people had vacations planned months in advance, air fare paid, etc. Do you think those hotels that were flattened were obligated to offer everyone a free vacation, change their airline arrangements to a different location and throw in some money to cover the incidentals?

 

Right now, there are more passengers available than there are berths on the ships on almost every cruise. As a Carnival Corp shareholder, I expect them to make money. I expect them to make wise business decisions. If the number crunchers tell them that they could cancel the cruise with a huge compensation package, no customers would be lost, and it would cost them $1,000,000 or they could go with minimal compensation, lose 500 customers, but there are still more than that waiting to take their place and the cost is only $300,000, well guess which route they will take? to do otherwise would not be a good business decision.

 

Has anyone considered what the unscheduled drydock is going to cost HAL in lost revenue? It's up in the millions!

 

Refunding the money AND offering a free future cruise works fine if your ships are sailing at less than capacity because you can fit the passengers in, a few per cruise and still get shipboard revenue from them. when the ships are sailing full, every one of those free vouchers that is excercized is a paying passenger that wasn't able to book, so the lose not only the fare they refunded but also the replacement cruise fare. It doesn't make business sense.

 

Gosh Grumpy, the resort thing is a great analogy and I completely agree with you. I often wonder how so many pax develop the mentality that they should be compsensated with a free cruise to overcome their dissappointment. There are far more significant things in life to become concerned about and I don't get how being dissappointed that one's cruise got cancelled is anything more than a blip in the big picture.

[hammybee]

bump

[fcorey]

HAL is really in a damned-if-you-do or damned-if-you-don’t situation here. For several weeks we’ve been treated to threads about HAL being irresponsible for allowing the Oosterdam to sail with only one azipod and now we hear the complaints when HAL cancels a cruise to fix the problem. Come on, give HAL a break!

 

I couldnt agree with you more. John's suggestion of contacting them with proof of expenses for non-refundable charges is a good idea. But alteast they were told now and not in 2 months. Three is still time to make changes and as others have stated this is just another example of why insurance is a good idea. As for the date, they would have inconvenienced someone....the deciding factor I belive was an opening in a Victoria drydock as close to their repositioning as possible.

[Here Kitty Kitty]

I thought I would let you know...HAL called last Friday to let me know the April 22 cruise was cancelled due to "engine" problems that needed to be fixed prior to the Alaskan sailings. I was told that I could reschedule the cruise for sailings in Febuary, March, or first 2 sailing dates in April. I rescheduled my cruise in March and was given $125 per person on board credit. I thought HAL was more than fair about the situation. :)

[Here Kitty Kitty]

:D I forgot to mention in the previous message...HAL upgraded our cabin for the rescheduled cruise. This reflects the difference in cost of the two cruises.

[caviargal]

My honeymoon cruise on Regent was cancelled with 72 hours notice. We had no choice but to go that same week as vacation days could not be changed and we had non refundable air, hotel and rental car (Priceline). We ended up on a ship that was everything I did not want for this trip:(.

 

I would have been thrilled to have three months notice so that I could have found a more acceptable substitute.

[madelinerose]

Amen. ;)

 

My honeymoon cruise on Regent was cancelled with 72 hours notice. We had no choice but to go that same week as vacation days could not be changed and we had non refundable air, hotel and rental car (Priceline). We ended up on a ship that was everything I did not want for this trip:(.

 

I would have been thrilled to have three months notice so that I could have found a more acceptable substitute.

[happy cruzer]

thanks for finding us and giving us your experience first hand, kitty kitty.

 

the friend of a friend report was probably just the standard first news until the cruiser can contact their TA or HAL to work out the problem.

 

Hope you enjoy your upgrade!:)

[kryos]

you would have to give examples of cruise lines offering free cruises when they cancel one and I don't think you can do that. It is too bad these things happen, but in this case the ship needs to be repaired; it can't be handled when it is in the water. There are lots of other good lines out there, doing the Mexican Riv; tell her to tell her friend to look for another one: Princess, RCI or NCL all have really nice ships sailing to Mexico. It isn't cheap at all of HAL> NMnita

I agree. Especially since the OP received plenty of notice of their cancellation. Now if an emergency forced HAL to cancel their cruise a week or two before it was to go, then I could see that some meaningful compensation would be in order.

 

I'd advise the OP to just get in touch with their TA and plan something else ... whether it be a cruise on a different line, or even a land vacation. There are certainly plenty of options out there that would avoid reshuffling dates.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[kryos]

Yes, 2ofus, I agree with the scenario as you present it, but didn't HAL offer all the passengers a full refund of their fare, in conjunction with the extra $100? And, if they've booked air fare thru HAL, won't that be taken care of as well? (This is a genuine question; not trying to one-up you or take only HAL's side.) Thanks.

If the airfare is booked by HAL, I'm sure it will be taken care of and the money refunded to the passenger. But if you book your own, it's pretty much on you. HAL may compensate a minimal amount for the change fee, but that's about it.

 

I like Grumpy's analogy too about a resort area. When a hurricane tears it up, that's called an Act of God and no one would expect the hotel to "compensate" the guests whose vacation was out the window with anything other than a full refund for the cost of their rooms. It's the same with a cruise ship. When a cruise has to be cancelled ... either because the ship was chartered by a group, or engines need to be fixed ... that's called an Act of King Neptune ... and we just have to deal with it. Especially when passengers are given plenty of time to make alternate arrangements, I don't feel the cruise line owes them anything other than a full refund on their fare, and maybe a little something to offset the cost of airline reservation changes.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[GoodAsGold]

My in-laws and some of their friends were booked on the April 21 sailing out of San Diego, as well. However, when their TA was given the news from HAL, she immediately held cabins for them on the Diamond Princess which is sailing the same day. Only it's even closer for them since it's out of San Pedro. So, there is a rainbow at the end of the storm. :p I know that the Diamond is a larger ship which my mother-in-law might not prefer. But, Princess has a way of making their larger ships feel intimate. Frankly, I would rather sail on the Diamond, myself. I love the Princess fresh water pools and how beautifully decorated their ships are. I'll be on the Golden Princess on April 12 sailing out of San Francisco down to Mexico.

 

I hope my in-laws and their cruising companions enjoy their "exchange cruise" on the Diamond Princess. I'm just glad there was a ship sailing on the same day. It was also less money. :p

 

We'll be on the April 14th cruise, right before she goes into dry dock.

 

I totally get the anger and frustration. However, HAL had to take the time "sometime!" Honestly, had it been our week I would have totally understood.....I wouldn't have been happy about it but, that said, I would have understood!

 

We booked our cruise knowing full well about the "pod" problem, we also knew that eventually she would have to quit, to repair.......who knew when....it was a crap shoot! I think their being fair!

 

Maybe the week of the 21st was very lightly booked and that's why they chose it as opposed to the 14th. Who knows.

 

Book another one........we can't let these interruptions get in our "cruising" way! !@#* Happens!!!!! :o

 

How horrible can life be? We HAVE to re-book a cruise! :eek:

 

In the big sceme of things....called life....this is not so bad! ;)

 

Move on........................

[bankerbabe]

Couldn't they just fly out of Victoria?

 

Victoria is very nice that time of year (I've been several times). If one doesn't want to fly out of Victoria, you can also take the Victoria Clipper down to Seattle (It's a very fun, fast trip and if you go in the morning you can get a nice brunch on board) and fly from there.

[wizard-of-roz]

GoodAsGold: They we're given the Diamond Princess as an exchange cruise?.......what a SMART, SMART TA!!!!

The Diamond is a glorious cruise ship. She is definetly one of my very favorites!!!

Your in-laws will have a wonderful time......Princess truly knows how to treat their passengers....and, I've heard so does HAL!

I can't wait to board the "O" in April and make the very best out of a "lop sided" situation! :p

[Grampy]

We were canceled on the Oosterdam twice in the last two weeks. We were booked on the 10/13 sailing and they called and said the ship was chartered. We then chose the 10/6 cruise. They called again and told us the ship was chartered again.:( This time they offered us a suite. I said great, I would like Lisa's cabin. Sorry, we can only give you a regular suite.

 

We love our aft cabins and we are now booked on the 09/29 sailing. They did give us OBC though.:D

 

We just want to get back on the Oosterdam again.

[wizard-of-roz]

OMG - What does a person have to do to get on a ship?

Your patience and persistence will pay off! :rolleyes:

[jtl513]

I was told that I could reschedule the cruise for sailings in Febuary, March, or first 2 sailing dates in April. I rescheduled my cruise in March and was given $125 per person on board credit. I thought HAL was more than fair about the situation. :)

 

:D I forgot to mention in the previous message...HAL upgraded our cabin for the rescheduled cruise. This reflects the difference in cost of the two cruises.

 

With terms like that, I would like to be bumped from my upcoming Sep cruise! Of course, being retired, I'm much more flexible in schedule than the "friend of a friend" might be.

[nabby]

That Oct. 13 charter sounds interesting, actually. It's a Legendary Blues cruise, lots of old-time blues performers on board. Yes, I'm already thinking about the NEXT cruise!

[Grampy]

That Oct. 13 charter sounds interesting, actually. It's a Legendary Blues cruise, lots of old-time blues performers on board. Yes, I'm already thinking about the NEXT cruise!

 

 

We would have loved to go on this one but not for almost $5000 for two people in a VA.

[Nghthawke]

There are other HAL ships in the fleet that sail to Alaska. I think if my May Oosterdam cruise was cancelled I would just pick another itinerary -- same week/pretty much same destination/different ship.

[constructiondude]

The only way HAL could really pull this off is to do it during repositioning. They would have upset a lot more people if they pulled the ship in the middle of the Mexico season which would have meant cancelling 2 to 3 cruises. And according to Mr. Deering, Alaska is prime money-making time for HAL, he said Alaska cruises are known for attracting big spenders. Their not going to risk going into Alaska on the chance that the other azipod might break down considering the dismal performance record of azipods.

[bepsf]

Their not going to risk going into Alaska on the chance that the other azipod might break down considering the dismal performance record of azipods.

 

The "dismal record" is for the Mermaid Azipods manufactured by Rolls-Royce/Alstom for the Celebrity M-Class and RSSC Mariner.

The ABB Azipods on HAL, Carnival, Costa, RCCL & NCL ships have been exceedingly reliable. These have been used for over two decades on ice breakers and other non-passenger ships with few issues until the current one on Oosterdam.

As someone posted on another thread earlier - the sure bet is that when they open up the disabled pod in drydock, they're gonna find a lost hammer/screwdriver/wrench in the casing that shorted out the electrical motor inside the pod.