Anyone back from Conquest?

[lsp]

We were on the Splendor in the Baltics and live 30 miles from Galveston. Our original flight left London and would arrive in Houston at 2:30 pm on Friday. We found out the flights were all cancelled as the airports shut down at 1pm. We managed to get a flight to Dallas, rented a car at 5:30 and drove home to Deer Park. We walked in the door at 10pm and the electricity went off at 10:15. I would like to assume the Carnival was hoping the port would be doable and no one would be inconvenienced. Galveston is in very bad shape and anyone who left their cars will find them about 5 blocks over at Willie G's parking lot where the floated en mass. Was really kind of neat in a very sad way when they showed it on the news. All of these cars left in a restaurant parking lot. They are all lined up, just parked in some crooked angle.

 

Galveston opened up the island yesterday for 6 hours for home owners to go down and look and leave to check on their property. We were lucky, we only waited 2 1/2 hours in traffic so we could check on our beach house. Any houses that had garages have lost the garage and everything in them. Almost all the homes on the West End are standing with minimal damages. The Strand district where the terminal is had about 10 foot of water in all the buildings so they are in bad shape. But Galveston will be back, it's just going to be a very long time. As of now, they cancelled the ability of people going down to check your property because the dangers. So, I was very fortunate to at least know we still have a home down there.

 

I am sorry for those of you that lost your cars down there but there's nothing anyone can do.

 

Linda

[sappygirl]

I am so tired of hearing you folks say That's what happens when you sail in Hurricane season. It should not matter. People need and have a right to know what is going on. If there was a problem with the ship while you were out, would you not want to know in a timely manner what is going on? I am very new to cruising and look forward to more cruises in the future with Carnival but if this is how they are going to handle diffucult situations in the future I may have to think about other options. For those of you who are so gung ho about Carnival remember you are paying them, not the other way around. If people would stop making excuses for them maybe they will see that and change the way they handle things in the future. My prayers are with everyone in this diffucult time. Hope everyone has a wonderful day.

[Luanne21]

I am so tired of hearing you folks say That's what happens when you sail in Hurricane season. It should not matter. People need and have a right to know what is going on. If there was a problem with the ship while you were out, would you not want to know in a timely manner what is going on? I am very new to cruising and look forward to more cruises in the future with Carnival but if this is how they are going to handle diffucult situations in the future I may have to think about other options. For those of you who are so gung ho about Carnival remember you are paying them, not the other way around. If people would stop making excuses for them maybe they will see that and change the way they handle things in the future. My prayers are with everyone in this diffucult time. Hope everyone has a wonderful day.

 

I agree with you, but others have already said that maybe you were told the same time that the Capt knew.

 

All the passengers needed was for a different story, every half an hour, like it was on here. Now that would have made me mad.

 

Let's just be glad that everyone survived, and move on.

 

No one ever said that Carnival was perfect, but I do think they try to do the best they can.

[big_duck]

People need and have a right to know what is going on. If there was a problem with the ship while you were out, would you not want to know in a timely manner what is going on?

 

Sure, but I also only want to get facts and not supposition and rumor.

 

Common sense tells me that in these situations there is a certain "fog of war" affect, and no one knows what is going on until someone knows what is going on.

 

Can you imagine what would happen if the CD told everyone she is pretty sure the ship is going to NOLA, and after everyone makes there arrangements the facts come down and they are going to Tampa instead?

 

These situations do not affect Carnival only, check the other boards every cruise line faces communication issues in these circumstances.

 

I dunno, maybe my 20 years in the service has just trained me to accept being treated like a mushroom.

[Cassandra]

Well, you heard it from one side of the coin, maybe someone from Carnival can add the flip side of the coin of the situation. I'm sure there was more going on behind the scenes than blaming Carnival for lack of communication. Unfortunately, people never take that into consideration and it just becomes a 'blame the cruiseline' because my personal needs are not being met. This was not a Thunderstorm, this was a major hurricane that bordered on a class 3.

 

As far as scrambling for flights, etc to get home. Be thankful you have a home to get to. You might be home late, but you have a home.

 

All the homes on Galveston Island are gone, Pets are dead, there's no food, water, electricity and like Katrina, some people will not be returning back to Galveston to rebuild. The smart ones anyway.

 

If you want photo's, go to MSNBC.com and look through the pictures. It'll make you sick at the devastation. The pictures of the frightened pets and abandoned animals with no place to hide alone will make you cry.

[Kurbanfan]

 

As far as scrambling for flights, etc to get home. Be thankful you have a home to get to. You might be home late, but you have a home.

 

All the homes on Galveston Island are gone, Pets are dead, there's no food, water, electricity and like Katrina, some people will not be returning back to Galveston to rebuild. The smart ones anyway.

 

If you want photo's, go to MSNBC.com and look through the pictures. It'll make you sick at the devastation. The pictures of the frightened pets and abandoned animals with no place to hide alone will make you cry.

 

Totally different topic. If you want to talk about this start your own thread:rolleyes:

[firefly333]

Well, you heard it from one side of the coin, maybe someone from Carnival can add the flip side of the coin of the situation. I'm sure there was more going on behind the scenes than blaming Carnival for lack of communication. Unfortunately, people never take that into consideration and it just becomes a 'blame the cruiseline' because my personal needs are not being met. This was not a Thunderstorm, this was a major hurricane that bordered on a class 3.

 

As far as scrambling for flights, etc to get home. Be thankful you have a home to get to. You might be home late, but you have a home.

 

Its posts like yours with no sympathy for those of us who were in the situation that have me just about in tears. So many who are blaming us the cruisers and cheerleading for Carnival. Every one who posted who was on the ship is saying the same thing, and yet you continue to say all of us are wrong and Carnival is not at fault in any way.

 

No matter what you lost, it hurts. I notice that the lack of sympathy is only from those who lost nothing. Makes it so easy to be a cheerleader doesnt it?

 

No one is upset because we are getting home late. We all have been saying Carnival could have communicated better. Like posted a copy of the path of the hurricane every 3 hours when its updated on the internet, not just the one at 8 am the day before the hurricane hit and then not again until after I ate dinner, by then the 7 pm update was up. Nothing all day and I was going by the map of the Conquest where they were posting the track of Ike. Its many little things like this we are talking about that Conquest should have done better.

 

I shouldnt be surprised, but I really am at the lack of sympathy from the cheerleaders. Its posts like yours that are making me think Carnival isnt a good choice in the future when folks keep posting that what happened and how Carnival handled it is just fine. (the old Carnival did the best they could line). Well sometimes the best they could is lacking and they need to be looking at ways to improve so it doesnt happen again.

 

Please folks get off your high horses. No one wants to lose their possessions, no matter if someone else lost more, it doesnt make our loss feel better.

[sappygirl]

Well, you heard it from one side of the coin, maybe someone from Carnival can add the flip side of the coin of the situation. I'm sure there was more going on behind the scenes than blaming Carnival for lack of communication. Unfortunately, people never take that into consideration and it just becomes a 'blame the cruiseline' because my personal needs are not being met. This was not a Thunderstorm, this was a major hurricane that bordered on a class 3.

 

As far as scrambling for flights, etc to get home. Be thankful you have a home to get to. You might be home late, but you have a home.

 

All the homes on Galveston Island are gone, Pets are dead, there's no food, water, electricity and like Katrina, some people will not be returning back to Galveston to rebuild. The smart ones anyway.

 

If you want photo's, go to MSNBC.com and look through the pictures. It'll make you sick at the devastation. The pictures of the frightened pets and abandoned animals with no place to hide alone will make you cry.

I'm not trying to blame the cruise line for anything except there lack of better communication with there passengers. This is an area they really should work on in the future. It didn't take a genuis to figure out there was no way those people could have gone to Galveston to deport. And by the way we were also affected by Ike here at home. No we did not lose our home thankfully, but I do know what it is like to go through this. We went through Rita which caused a lot of damage here in our hometown. I don't need to see pictures I saw it in person when Rita hit us.

[cherylandtk]

I know how frustrating it is to not be informed on a timely basis--Carnival could do a better job of that with their passengers, even if they just had regular updates saying "we still do not have an answer" or say what they DID know. As in "we are heading east but we don't know which port we are going to. It will probably be one of these two or three, but we have to get permission first" or something like that.

 

But, I do think they (Carnival) were not really kept informed either, and agree with the above post that said perhaps they turned the ship earlier even thought they did not know which port they were headed to.

 

At 2 pm on Sunday, Carnival posted that the Galveston port was closed and they were cancelling the next week's cruises. Many on these boards wondered what took them so long...it was obvious from news reports that there was substantial damage to the area. Perhaps Carnival had to wait for official word of the closure before they can re-route. That seems to be about the time that the ship turned.

 

Pax were informed at 5 pm Sunday about the two ships heading to NOLA.

 

At 5:58 pm, Cruise Critic posted the NOLA update. Given how fast things tend to appear here on CC, I think that perhaps Carnival did not make the decision and get approval until that late hour (and this is somewhat supported by the grousing of the port workers about the late notice, too.)

 

It seems to me that Carnival chose not to say anything to the pax until they had the full and complete answer. I think all the pax would have been better served if they had been given regular updates, even if the update was to say 'we still do not know if we have a port to go to'.

 

Apparently Carnival's opinion was that they are unwilling to give partial information, probably to minimize speculation and rumor. It is unfortuante that they did this in a way to add frustration and confusion instead of minimizing it.

[Luanne21]

Darn that High Horse. Every time I get up here, I get a nose bleed.:)

[firefly333]

Let's just be glad that everyone survived, and move on.

 

No one ever said that Carnival was perfect, but I do think they try to do the best they can.

 

:( :( :( :( :(

[Kurbanfan]

Its posts like yours with no sympathy for those of us who were in the situation that have me just about in tears. So many who are blaming us the cruisers and cheerleading for Carnival. Every one who posted who was on the ship is saying the same thing, and yet you continue to say all of us are wrong and Carnival is not at fault in any way.

 

No matter what you lost, it hurts. I notice that the lack of sympathy is only from those who lost nothing. Makes it so easy to be a cheerleader doesnt it?

 

No one is upset because we are getting home late. We all have been saying Carnival could have communicated better. Like posted a copy of the path of the hurricane every 3 hours when its updated on the internet, not just the one at 8 am the day before the hurricane hit and then not again until after I ate dinner, by then the 7 pm update was up. Nothing all day and I was going by the map of the Conquest where they were posting the track of Ike. Its many little things like this we are talking about that Conquest should have done better.

 

I shouldnt be surprised, but I really am at the lack of sympathy from the cheerleaders. Its posts like yours that are making me think Carnival isnt a good choice in the future when folks keep posting that what happened and how Carnival handled it is just fine. (the old Carnival did the best they could line). Well sometimes the best they could is lacking and they need to be looking at ways to improve so it doesnt happen again.

 

Please folks get off your high horses. No one wants to lose their possessions, no matter if someone else lost more, it doesnt make our loss feel better.

 

You have waaay more patience then I ever will lol! Some of these chearleaders will never change their line of thinking until they end up and experience a situation such as yourself.....

[firefly333]

You have waaay more patience then I ever will lol! Some of these chearleaders will never change their line of thinking until they end up and experience a situation such as yourself.....

 

Ill be honest, I now have tears streaming down my face reading these posts and trying not to bawl over people who I dont know and probably arent folks Id want to know in real life either.

 

I know part is Im still unable to sleep, was up most all night from being so stressed out. I was with two handicapped ladies. I can manage one, but not two when I was feeling so bad. My sister had petit mal seizures all day on Sunday and throughout the night and there I was having to leave her by herself in the cabin to go stand in line for hours to make a phone call to get her out of the mess. No of course its not all Carnival's fault, but they could have done better by us. Im entitled to my feeling too.

 

thank you for seeing how we feel too. I appreciate it.

[Debe7ing]

I'm not trying to blame the cruise line for anything except there lack of better communication with there passengers. This is an area they really should work on in the future. It didn't take a genuis to figure out there was no way those people could have gone to Galveston to deport.

 

EXACTLY!!! If you notice, those of us that WERE onboard KNOW that the communications was totally lacking...and that is our only complaint. Again, if you are willing to fly with an airlines that has safety/maintenance/ communications issues that have not yet created a problem, you are entitled to....but we that were onboard and KNOW that we were not informed as we should have been are only sharing with those of you it might affect in future cruising ventures what we experienced. I don't think that it is fair for you to attack us for stating that there ARE issues that we felt made a difficult situation on all of us even MORE difficult than it needed to be.

 

It appears that they tell them at 5pm vs 11am meeting might have been a revenue generating issue...less people would have been spending money on drinks/casino/shops if they KNEW they were going to have to deal with transportation cost home now wouldn't they?

 

I do not think that ONE of us that was actually affected complained about or felt it was the cruiselines job to get us home...but I think I speak for all of us onboard when I state that with the 5pm announcement, it almost became a "thats all folks" kind of mentality from Carnival.

 

It really does not matter where you sail from anymore...bottom line is IF it is between 1 June and 30 Nov (official hurricane season) there is always the potential for storm related issues....I only ask that you keep ME informed of what is going on concerning MY cruise.

 

I think those that were suppose to sail to NOT be told it was a wash knowing they were not going to be able to get into port were just as much a victim of "holding information to potentially make money" as we onboard were.

[connergirls]

All the homes on Galveston Island are gone, Pets are dead, there's no food, water, electricity and like Katrina, some people will not be returning back to Galveston to rebuild. The smart ones anyway.

 

I wish people would not post things like this. It's a gross over dramatization and just not factual, not to mention off topic for this thread.

 

It isn't all bleak. This is a post from a member at Glaveston.COMmunity:

 

i went to the island yesterday and am happy to report it is better than the media laid it out to be. We have lots of pictures. Many people stayed and did not even flood. The roads are clear and cleanup is underway. We cleaned out our fridge and freezers and put up a storm shutter a tree limb had bashed off. We are very lucky. It will depend on who you are and where your located. We did see some homes knocked down and destroyed. Most condos and apartments made it ok. I will try to post pics soon... but I have limited e-mail time. The look and leave policy as far as I can tell was canceled after 6pm tuesday. People were being turned away right after we got on. This is bad news as I was ready to clean up our yard and get things back to "normal". The main power lines to the island looked fine so they should have a good starting point for electric. In fact, They should have that up ASAP with all the power trucks on the island. There are probably more people on the island right now than live on the island full time. Good luck to all!

[connergirls]

Ill be honest, I now have tears streaming down my face reading these posts and trying not to bawl over people who I dont know and probably arent folks Id want to know in real life either.

 

I know part is Im still unable to sleep, was up most all night from being so stressed out. I was with two handicapped ladies. I can manage one, but not two when I was feeling so bad. My sister had petit mal seizures all day on Sunday and throughout the night and there I was having to leave her by herself in the cabin to go stand in line for hours to make a phone call to get her out of the mess. No of course its not all Carnival's fault, but they could have done better by us. Im entitled to my feeling too.

 

thank you for seeing how we feel too. I appreciate it.

 

Hang in there firefly! Don't let the opinions of people who weren't even there upset you. Take care of yourself and get some rest.

[magictam]

firefly333 & Debe7ing Welcome Home!

 

Don't let some of these posts get you down.

 

Get some rest and hopefully you'll be planning another cruise soon (if you're not already). :D

[we2cruze]

Ill be honest, I now have tears streaming down my face reading these posts and trying not to bawl over people who I dont know and probably arent folks Id want to know in real life either.

 

I know part is Im still unable to sleep, was up most all night from being so stressed out. I was with two handicapped ladies. I can manage one, but not two when I was feeling so bad. My sister had petit mal seizures all day on Sunday and throughout the night and there I was having to leave her by herself in the cabin to go stand in line for hours to make a phone call to get her out of the mess. No of course its not all Carnival's fault, but they could have done better by us. Im entitled to my feeling too.

 

thank you for seeing how we feel too. I appreciate it.

 

It sounds like you've had a rough time of it. I believe that anyone who stops to think about it will realize that admitting that those on the ship had a difficult time arranging to get home and then actually getting home, some even arriving home to deal with storm related issues at home does not in anyway diminish the sympathy we feel for those whose homes and livelihoods were directly affected by the storm. Apparently some can only empathize with one group at a time and some maybe can only empathize with frightened pets.;)

I hope you can relax and get some sleep, because that will make everything seem a bit better.

And for those who think it's fun to flame people who have had a difficult experience and are responding to a thread that asked them to share... have a heart and be glad it wasn't you.

[Georgiagolfer]

For all of those on Conquest, welcome back. No matter where you live or faced once you got home, there is always a crash when that finally happens. We spent an extra 2 days at sea out of Tampa 1 year and we too worried about our vehicle, getting home, when will get off, etc? The best I recall, we were told the evening before we returned to Tampa that we would dock early the next morning. Never could get info prior to that.

 

Communication, if only known facts are given, is still far better than no communication. Each person posting is saying the same thing, they had no info from Carnival. So, even if someone feels Carnival is the best thing since sliced bread, give it a break. I don't read anything from any of the posters stating how bad the crew, service, food, ship, etc. was, instead voicing the facts that Carnival failed to properly keep their passengers aware of the situation.

[Earthworm Jim]

A likely scenario, the Captain pointed the ship in the general direction of NOLA using his experience, knowing it was the most likely destination the Conquest is too large for Mobile, and I believe too tall for Tampa. Once it was official it was announced.

 

That's certainly a plausible explanation. The more cynical among us might think that Carnival knew they were going to New Orleans those 3 hours before the 5 pm announcement and used that time to grab what flights they needed to get people who booked air through Carnival home, before telling everyone else and causing a big rush to get those flights.

[sappygirl]

EXACTLY!!! If you notice, those of us that WERE onboard KNOW that the communications was totally lacking...and that is our only complaint. Again, if you are willing to fly with an airlines that has safety/maintenance/ communications issues that have not yet created a problem, you are entitled to....but we that were onboard and KNOW that we were not informed as we should have been are only sharing with those of you it might affect in future cruising ventures what we experienced. I don't think that it is fair for you to attack us for stating that there ARE issues that we felt made a difficult situation on all of us even MORE difficult than it needed to be.

 

It appears that they tell them at 5pm vs 11am meeting might have been a revenue generating issue...less people would have been spending money on drinks/casino/shops if they KNEW they were going to have to deal with transportation cost home now wouldn't they?

 

 

I do not think that ONE of us that was actually affected complained about or felt it was the cruiselines job to get us home...but I think I speak for all of us onboard when I state that with the 5pm announcement, it almost became a "thats all folks" kind of mentality from Carnival.

 

It really does not matter where you sail from anymore...bottom line is IF it is between 1 June and 30 Nov (official hurricane season) there is always the potential for storm related issues....I only ask that you keep ME informed of what is going on concerning MY cruise.

 

I think those that were suppose to sail to NOT be told it was a wash knowing they were not going to be able to get into port were just as much a victim of "holding information to potentially make money" as we onboard were.

Whoa there! In no way was I attacking anyone. All I was stating was that Carnival should have known that there was no way they could have ported in Galveston. Do they not have alternative plans for situations like these? They also know they are sailing during hurricane season. You would think they would have a plan b for these situations. I think you need to get some rest and clear your head.

[madiandcindy]

Its posts like yours with no sympathy for those of us who were in the situation that have me just about in tears. So many who are blaming us the cruisers and cheerleading for Carnival. Every one who posted who was on the ship is saying the same thing, and yet you continue to say all of us are wrong and Carnival is not at fault in any way.

 

No matter what you lost, it hurts. I notice that the lack of sympathy is only from those who lost nothing. Makes it so easy to be a cheerleader doesnt it?

 

No one is upset because we are getting home late. We all have been saying Carnival could have communicated better. Like posted a copy of the path of the hurricane every 3 hours when its updated on the internet, not just the one at 8 am the day before the hurricane hit and then not again until after I ate dinner, by then the 7 pm update was up. Nothing all day and I was going by the map of the Conquest where they were posting the track of Ike. Its many little things like this we are talking about that Conquest should have done better.

 

I shouldnt be surprised, but I really am at the lack of sympathy from the cheerleaders. Its posts like yours that are making me think Carnival isnt a good choice in the future when folks keep posting that what happened and how Carnival handled it is just fine. (the old Carnival did the best they could line). Well sometimes the best they could is lacking and they need to be looking at ways to improve so it doesnt happen again.

 

Please folks get off your high horses. No one wants to lose their possessions, no matter if someone else lost more, it doesnt make our loss feel better.

I am booked for the cruise that is sailing on the Conquest this Sunday out of bayport. First Cruise for us. I have to say I agree with you. It doesnt take a genious to see that Carnival played things to their convenience as much as possible. Letting you guys know things until the very last minute is awful. They knew where they were going. I dont care how people here want to ignore the facts, they are there! Also the cruise that got cancelled last minute on Sunday morning, what a joke. EVERYONE in their right mind knew that they could NOT get into Gavleston and there was NO power in Houston. They waited till the last minute to avoid loss as much as possible. They did not care about the passengers and it shows, they didnt even let people apply the cruise fare they have collected a long time ago to another booking but instead told them they would get their refund in 3 weeks. What a kick in the rear end. I have not even been on their cruise yet and I will NEVER sail with them again. Not because of the hurricane, that can happen anywhere but their lack of communication and consideration for their passengers is awful. And we know that they had a lot of things on their plate, so save that comment, because fyi that is THEIR JOB. I am amazed at how many people here beat up the one's who are upset with Carnival. How dare you? If you want to cheerlead for Carnival that is your problem but not everyone has to kiss Carnival's rear end. Pathetic.

[madiandcindy]

Totally different topic. If you want to talk about this start your own thread:rolleyes:

I agree. Its as if EVERYONE who is on these cruises should go into mourning and forget everything they have planned. I feel DEEPLY for all those affected by this devastating hurricane and have already made plans to donate a significant amount to Red Cross and other funds. I dont NEED to be reminded by these ridiculous comments of what has happened, you arent guilting me into anything. Its ridiculous.

[Longin2cruise]

Ill be honest, I now have tears streaming down my face reading these posts and trying not to bawl over people who I dont know and probably arent folks Id want to know in real life either.

 

I know part is Im still unable to sleep, was up most all night from being so stressed out. I was with two handicapped ladies. I can manage one, but not two when I was feeling so bad. My sister had petit mal seizures all day on Sunday and throughout the night and there I was having to leave her by herself in the cabin to go stand in line for hours to make a phone call to get her out of the mess. No of course its not all Carnival's fault, but they could have done better by us. Im entitled to my feeling too.

 

thank you for seeing how we feel too. I appreciate it.

 

My feelings are that Carnival is probably micro-managed & Carnival employees on board were waiting to hear from the "big boys". I once had a problem with Carnival which was insignificant as compared to a hurricane. A decision that should have taken a day max to be resolved took 3 grueling weeks. Like some of the others have said, I imagine the captain changed course as soon as he realized that docking in Galveston was out of the question. After all, he knows more about hurricanes, ports, & sea conditions than someone sitting in a corner office. That being said, I am also assuming that sailing a ship into a port is not like driving a car into your favorite parking lot. I'm thinking that Carnival would have had to have gotten permission from the New Orleans Port Authority before they were allowed to make an unscheduled stop. Considering that the Port Authority is a bureaucracy, I'm sure it would have time consuming.

 

I'm sorry that all of you had to go through this experience & I totally agree that communication was not what it should have been. I also feel sorry for the Carnival employees who were there on the front line so to speak. It couldn't have been easy for them either.

[madiandcindy]

I am so tired of hearing you folks say That's what happens when you sail in Hurricane season. It should not matter. People need and have a right to know what is going on. If there was a problem with the ship while you were out, would you not want to know in a timely manner what is going on? I am very new to cruising and look forward to more cruises in the future with Carnival but if this is how they are going to handle diffucult situations in the future I may have to think about other options. For those of you who are so gung ho about Carnival remember you are paying them, not the other way around. If people would stop making excuses for them maybe they will see that and change the way they handle things in the future. My prayers are with everyone in this diffucult time. Hope everyone has a wonderful day.

Well said. I feel like an a$$ because I had heard Carnival was the Walmart of cruises but REALLY didnt want to put my 2 kids under 5 on a plane to florida! This is why I took a chance but I am kicking myself right now. NEVER AGAIN.