Miracle itinerary change

[Grits53]

A little off topic, but I thought I'd ask here. We are booked on the Miracle out of Ft. Lauderdale for the southern itinerary in Oct. Do you ("You" meaning people who know about these things!) think there will be any changes in that itinerary? :confused:

[Cruise Cat]

A little off topic, but I thought I'd ask here. We are booked on the Miracle out of Ft. Lauderdale for the southern itinerary in Oct. Do you ("You" meaning people who know about these things!) think there will be any changes in that itinerary? :confused:

 

I think "no" only because I think they are really doing this just to save fuel. There are probably a few people who could swim between St. Thomas and Tortola. Currently, when Miracle leaves St. Thomas, she goes out far enough for shops and casinos to open and then does be circles all night (burning fuel). So, instead of doing circles, she goes to the Turks now. This cuts off 6 hours of cruising at full speed that she would have had to do after leaving Tortola. IMHO

[FabFourLover]

Has nothing to do with the engines, IMO. She was just in dry dock about a year ago. My money is they are trying to save fuel costs. In order to make it back to NYC, they really had to push the Miracle beyond normal cruising speed. This stop further north allows her to cruise at slower, more economical speeds.

Just a hunch, but I suspect there is more to the story than what we are hearing.

 

My DH said they are probably trying to save fuel when I read in an earlier post about the "engine problem" and said to him, "they KNOW they are going to have an engine problem FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR??" Kinda like calling in sick NEXT week! LOL:rolleyes: :D

[Grits53]

I think "no" only because I think they are really doing this just to save fuel. There are probably a few people who could swim between St. Thomas and Tortola. Currently, when Miracle leaves St. Thomas, she goes out far enough for shops and casinos to open and then does be circles all night (burning fuel). So, instead of doing circles, she goes to the Turks now. This cuts off 6 hours of cruising at full speed that she would have had to do after leaving Tortola. IMHO

 

Well, that makes sense.....or should I say dollars and cents? ;) I just hope we don't book excursions at ports that will be changed. :rolleyes:

[FabFourLover]

I'm not too fussed about Tortola since I've never been there, I've never been in Grand Turk either. But St. Thomas has me bummed.

 

I can't seem to get on the Carnival website to see what's available in Grand Turk but I have a catamaran (sp?) excursion booked in St. Thomas that isn't supposed to get back to the ship until 4:30. Do you think they will move the time up to accomodate the new departure time or cancel it outright? This was my only beach day and I was really looking forward to it.

 

As for Grand Turk, is there snorkeling there? We were really looking forward to that on Tortola. Also, my nephew is going to be really upset. He was looking forward to swimming with the dolphins.

 

Actually, I can get into My Documents on the website but I can't get into my reservation. I keep getting a server error.

[bluefintuna]

I think everyone is right on the money. We took the Tortola route early June and it was quite obvious we were backpeddling between St. Thomas and Tortola. When we sailed from Tortola back to N.Y. we were moving full speed it's a long haul back up. This is definately a move to save fuel. We were in Grand Turk in 2006 on Crown Princess and the ship docks right at the beach and everyone was partying at Margaritaville with the pool right there. The Miracle can move at 24 knots top speed and that is awesome when you look at your cabin t.v. and see this. We did that route last June and this June also. Why tell people Miracle is having engine problems? Who knows for sure; just go and have a great cruise and "leave the driving to them".

[PaulMedik]

We've never been to Tortala, but Grand Turk is a great port. Very similar to Costa Maya (Prior to Hurricane) in terms of port location, shops at the port and view, as well as swimming right by the ship.

 

As you can see, there's easy beach access on each side of the pier;

 

 

The Flowrider and pool are right by the pier and the ship makes a nice back drop for enjoying the day;

 

 

Where else can you swim and snorkel this close to the ship?;

 

 

The beach is a little rocky right next to the pier, but softer sand is just down the beach;

 

 

They also have a duty free shop at the end of the pier that you walk through to get to the port shops, pool, and Margarittaville;

 

 

As the other posters have stated, I too would prefer they just say that the port arrangement is to save on fuel costs instead of a 'top speed' issue. Regardless though, I'd not be at all upset over a Grand Turk port visit vs any of the Eastern ports other than Half Moon Cay.

[Quench]

I'm not too fussed about Tortola since I've never been there, I've never been in Grand Turk either. But St. Thomas has me bummed.

 

I can't seem to get on the Carnival website to see what's available in Grand Turk but I have a catamaran (sp?) excursion booked in St. Thomas that isn't supposed to get back to the ship until 4:30. Do you think they will move the time up to accomodate the new departure time or cancel it outright? This was my only beach day and I was really looking forward to it.

 

As for Grand Turk, is there snorkeling there? We were really looking forward to that on Tortola. Also, my nephew is going to be really upset. He was looking forward to swimming with the dolphins.

 

Actually, I can get into My Documents on the website but I can't get into my reservation. I keep getting a server error.

 

 

I keep getting the same error message too.

[vizzle]

So did we do better with this one?

[dolfinmusic]

PaulMedik - thanks for the pictures!!! :)

[karen116]

We were also on the Miracle last summer when we were re-routed due to Dean. We loved grand turk

[karen116]

I'm not too fussed about Tortola since I've never been there, I've never been in Grand Turk either. But St. Thomas has me bummed.

 

I can't seem to get on the Carnival website to see what's available in Grand Turk but I have a catamaran (sp?) excursion booked in St. Thomas that isn't supposed to get back to the ship until 4:30. Do you think they will move the time up to accomodate the new departure time or cancel it outright? This was my only beach day and I was really looking forward to it.

 

As for Grand Turk, is there snorkeling there? We were really looking forward to that on Tortola. Also, my nephew is going to be really upset. He was looking forward to swimming with the dolphins.

 

Actually, I can get into My Documents on the website but I can't get into my reservation. I keep getting a server error.

 

Why are you bummed about St. Thomas?

[karen116]

I'm not too fussed about Tortola since I've never been there, I've never been in Grand Turk either. But St. Thomas has me bummed.

 

I can't seem to get on the Carnival website to see what's available in Grand Turk but I have a catamaran (sp?) excursion booked in St. Thomas that isn't supposed to get back to the ship until 4:30. Do you think they will move the time up to accomodate the new departure time or cancel it outright? This was my only beach day and I was really looking forward to it.

 

As for Grand Turk, is there snorkeling there? We were really looking forward to that on Tortola. Also, my nephew is going to be really upset. He was looking forward to swimming with the dolphins.

 

Actually, I can get into My Documents on the website but I can't get into my reservation. I keep getting a server error.

 

Why are you bummed about St. Thomas?

[FabFourLover]

Why are you bummed about St. Thomas?

 

Originally we were set to depart St. Thomas at 6pm. This new itinerary has us leaving at 4pm. We have a catamaran (sp?) excursion booked for 12 - 4:30. I don't know yet whether they will cancel this excursion or re-time it for a couple of hours earlier in the day. It's my only beach day and I am really looking forward to it.

9 years ago DH and I were on our only other cruise and we lost our beach day because the Princess island we were supposed to go on got blown away by some hurricane. I don't want to go tot he Caribbean 2 times in my life and never hit a beach.

[FabFourLover]

I think "no" only because I think they are really doing this just to save fuel. There are probably a few people who could swim between St. Thomas and Tortola. Currently, when Miracle leaves St. Thomas, she goes out far enough for shops and casinos to open and then does be circles all night (burning fuel). So, instead of doing circles, she goes to the Turks now. This cuts off 6 hours of cruising at full speed that she would have had to do after leaving Tortola. IMHO

 

I understand about having to go full throttle north to get from Tortola to NYC in the amount of time alloted. I fully understand that 18 hours extra time means they can go slower and save fuel. In this day we are ALL trying to figure out how to save gas.

 

But, and this may be a stupid question, but, even in the best of times when fuel was cheap why on earth would they go in circles for hours between St Thomas and Tortola? What a waste of fuel and time. Why not just stay in St. Thomas until 6am and dock in Tortola at 7am if it's so close together????

 

Obviously a moot point but I was just curious!

[Princess of the Sea]

My husband and I have been on 8+ cruises and we select our cruises based on the ship, the itinerary, and the value for our money. We are not new to cruising and we understand cruiselines may make changes to published itineraries. We would certainly expect them to do so to ensure the safety of passengers, crew, and their ships for weather-related issues, civil unrest at a port-of-call, or for serious health concerns, etc. However, I find it inexcusable that a line would make a decision without full and credible disclosure. After making an inquiry, we were advised Miracle has an underperforming propulsion pod and the ship cannot travel at her top speed and Carnival wishes to avoid schedule adherence concerns on their end. I would fully support this if St. Thomas and Tortola were not so close in proximity. This fact leads me to conclude this change was made primarily to save Carnival fuel costs. We paid a fuel supplement, did we not? I would expect their operating issues to be handled more efficiently and any inconvenience to customers to be kept minimal. Why has their propulsion system issue now become mine? At the very least, I expect no less than complete honesty. Having visited Grand Turk, a 1-7 pm schedule is a faux paux in itself. VERY DISAPPOINTED.

[rcoaster809]

FabFourLover, if the ship would stay in St. Thomas the shops and casino could not open. Both of those create a lot of revenue for the ship.

 

Princess of the Sea, if it is a propulsion problem, the short distance from St. Thomas to Tortola isn't the issue, it is getting back to NYC on time after leaving Tortola. Grand Turk is kind of on the way back up to NYC, so once leaving St. Thomas the ship already heading closer to NYC. When I was on the Miracle in June we were going at 23 knots to get back and now they would not have to go that fast. If fuel costs are this issue, going at a slower speed would probably save them money.

 

Does anyone know when the Miracle got back into NYC today? If the ship left Tortola on time and arrived back in NYC on time I would have a hard time believing that the ship has propulsion problems.

 

Also, when I was on the Miracle the map did not show us doing circles at night between St. Thomas and Tortola, we just went straight out away from St. Thomas then turned around and came into Tortola at 6 knots.

[SJ]

A very good point about whether the Miracle returning on time to NYC today. I guess it's difficult to tell your customers you'll be saving fuel and continue to raise the fuel surcharge.

 

It seems like this decision was made without the Miracle ever arriving late back to NYC. They are insulting our intelligence by this charade of engine troubles. In the past if a ship really have trouble completing its itineraries, wouldn't it just go into drydock for a week to fix the problem?

[elliebelle]

We are sailing Miracle Sept 30 th... we did the same schedule last year.. although we thoroughly enjoyed Tortola and I was looking forward to shopping at the Sunny Carribe herb shop .. I for one am very very excited to have a new port. Grand Turk looks like it will be a lot of fun.. I would have preferred they just be honest ... if it is to conserve fuel.. fine with me.. I am all for conservation and lurking around all night from St. Thomas to Tortola doesn't make a lot of sense if you really are trying to save fuel so I am OK with the port change

BUT.. if there really is an engine issue I would think they should be able to have it taken care of by the end of the year ... but who knows

Sooo.... I have to go check out the Grand Turk threads to figure out what we are going to do...

[jessemon]

.....and was not too impressed with Tortola. Can anyone give a little review of Grand Turk. Is it possible that it is a better port to stop at?

 

:confused:

http://www.grandturkcc.com

 

PS: To all that look at this site you will notice that the Miracle is booked every week through October at this port now......

[zqvol]

Everyone seems to assume that Carnival is lying about the propulsion problems, but I think you are all wrong. The distance from Tortola is so long that if the ship is even 1 or 2 knots slow it is going to be 2 or 3 hours late.

 

The amount of fuel that is being saved is next to nothing, but that extra 14 - 18 hours sailing time north is critical.

 

To the one that ask about just going into dry dock it is not as simply as pulling into the local auto dealer for repairs.

 

Dry docks are scheduled weeks or months in advance, and the shcedules have to be coordinated between the yards and the lines. There are not a lot of extra dry docks sitting empty. Even more important there are simply not any extra pods floating around to replace the one that is not acting correctly. It will take between 4 and 8 months to fabricate a new one and ship it to the dock. Then a week or so to install it.

 

I guess carnival could have simply canceled all of the cruises while they waited on the parts, or they could have done way with the extra stop completely, or they could have done what they did and try throe best to accommodate as many people as possible.

 

If you are booked and don't really like the change, cancel your cruise and voice your displeasure with your wallet, after all there are other cruises and other lines available for you to cruise.

[Thirsty Cruiser]

My husband and I have been on 8+ cruises and we select our cruises based on the ship, the itinerary, and the value for our money. ... VERY DISAPPOINTED.

IMO Grand Turk is a trade up from Tortola. Tortola was 7 am to 1 pm, which meant getting up very early and traveling over an hour (total time) to get to the beach. We wound up catching a taxi at around 8, then only had a few hours at the beach before we had to head back. Plus since it was morning I couldn't enjoy the outstanding deals they had on "adult beverages" (Ok, so maybe I had a few :o) My point is that although Tortola is a beautiful island, this was an early, short stop, which didn't really work well as a port of call. Grand Turk is an afternoon stop, and has facilities that don't require traveling to the other side of the island to visit.

 

Also, when I was on the Miracle the map did not show us doing circles at night between St. Thomas and Tortola, we just went straight out away from St. Thomas then turned around and came into Tortola at 6 knots.

 

Not circles, but not really a direct path either, and at a very slow speed. Tortola is very close to St. Thomas and definitely does not take 13 hours to reach (the current time between the two ports), so they have to burn off time between the two ports with a slow, indirect route.

 

 

The amount of fuel that is being saved is next to nothing, but that extra 14 - 18 hours sailing time north is critical.

 

Where did you get this information? I would think that there would be a huge difference in fuel savings sailing at cruising speed compared to sailing at full speed for two days.

 

 

 

 

If you are booked and don't really like the change, cancel your cruise and voice your displeasure with your wallet, after all there are other cruises and other lines available for you to cruise.

This is not a viable option for anyone who is beyond the penalty date for their cruise (myself included). For others, this is the only Carnival ship sailing to the caribbean out of NYC, and they may have selected this ship specifically for the ports. Personally, I think this is an improvement over Tortola, but for folks who wanted this specific itinerary, I can understand their disappointment.

[FabFourLover]

Anyone able to get onto their reservation on the Carnval site yet? I'm assuming they are updating everyone according to departure date and since I'm still 15 days away, they haven't gotten to me yet. If you're getting a "server error" it's probably because you have an Internet Explorer 6.0 or older. DH's laptop has 7.0 and he gets Carnivals "I'm sorry, we are down for maintenance" screen. I don't think 6.0 can get that far so it gives you a "server error". At least, that's what I think.

 

Those leaving tomorrow or next week, are you able to access your stuff on the site? I would like to see what excursions are available in Grand Turk but I can't get into the site that far. Thanks!

[UpstateCruizer]

We've done both of these ports and loved the time we spent at both of them. They are completely different and at this point I'd suggest letting go of what you may have lost because of the change and focus on what you are getting instead. There's nothing you can do about the change and Carnival is within their rights for whatever reason they choose to tell everyone. Don't waste your time and energy on the negatives.

 

The positive with Grand Turk is that most likely everything you will choose to do is right there when you get off the ship! I have read reviews where people have rented golf carts and explored the island beyond the immediate port area. Here's a post on CC that offers details on that http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=699387

 

MY dh absolutely loved Grand Turk because it was easy and there was no stress in figuring out where to go and how long we could stay etc. A pointer for those who might prefer the "fun atmosphere" when you get off the ship people will hurry along to the beach to get "prime location". Not sure what is considered prime location on the beach but we opted to walk back to Margaritaville after we saw everyone on the beach. We grabbed loungers for all 4 of us and an umbrella for shade. We spent the entire day there and had a great time. The pool area was large enough to cool off and they have a swim up bar. On the far side of the bar closer to the building they had a dj of sorts and many contests through out the day. It was extremely lively and alot of fun. Now don't get the wrong idea you can still relax on the other side of the pool area and not be in the middle of it all. The music and entertainment was great through out the day. My dh thought all Margaritaville's were like this one ....not the case at all as we have found since.

 

If you have a balcony or are on the outside decks of the ship facing the beach area you will see the horses in the water at different times during the day. We saw no fences and the horses pretty much stayed within one area.

 

Bring a beach ball along if you have little ones as we saw many kids playing with them on the shore area and in the pool. Enjoy your stop :)

[DisneyNutMary]

I am pretty excited about this port change. I think Grand Turk will be more fun for my kids- especially the teenager, who I am going to book on a Flowrider excursion.

 

I was just thinking about something, and I can be completely wrong, but isn't it a smoother sail at slower speeds? I will gladly change ports for a smooth sail home.

I only say this because on one of our DCL cruises, we were literally outrunning a hurricane back to Port Canaveral, so the ship could empty and get back out to sea to avoid the storm. That was a very bad trip, and many7 people were sick. One of the cruise staff -Que- told us that the captain could not use the stabilizers at maximum speed, and that was why it was so rocky.