Friday, May 1, 2009

Carnival Cruises Lines: Itineraries For Upcoming Sailings Altered To Bypass Mexico

Carnival Cruise Lines has cancelled all port of call visits in Mexico for 16 of its ships that were previously scheduled to stop in that country. Itineraries for vessels departing between Thursday, April 30 and Monday, May 11 that included stops in Mexico have been modified (see below). In many instances, the modification simply involved substituting an alternate port. Guests who do not wish to sail on a modified itinerary may opt to receive a refund in the form of a future cruise credit equal to the full amount paid for the voyage. The credit may be applied to an alternate sailing departing through the end of 2010. Compensation for missed ports/altered itineraries (where applicable) for guests who sail varies by itinerary. With 4- and 5-day cruises from Galveston and New Orleans that are being converted to 7-day voyages, those guests may opt to receive their refund in the form of a future cruise credit or money back. For cruises departing after May 11, an update will be provided in the near future.

Carnival Cruise Lines states that if you are currently booked on an adjusted sailing which departs on or before May 4, 2009, you must advise Carnival of the cancellation of your current cruise as soon as possible in order to be eligible for the future cruise credit. If you are currently booked on an adjusted sailing which departs between May 7, 2009 and May 11, 2009, you must advise Carnival of the cancellation of your current cruise by May 4th, 2009 in order to be eligible for the future cruise credit. Following are the latest itinerary revisions:

DEPARTING FROM MIAMI, FL:

Carnival Liberty on 05/02/2009
Instead of Cozumel, will call at Roatan

Carnival Valor on 05/03/2009 & 05/10/2009
Instead of Cozumel, will call at Key West

Carnival Triumph on 05/03/2009
Instead of Cozumel, will call at Belize

Carnival Imagination on 05/04/2009 & 05/11/2009
Instead of Cozumel, will call at Nassau

DEPARTING FROM FORT LAUDERDALE, FL:

Carnival Freedom on 05/09/2009
Instead of Cozumel, will call at Belize

DEPARTING FROM PORT CANAVERAL, FL:

Carnival Glory on 05/02/2009
Instead of Cozumel, Belize, Costa Maya, and Nassau, will call at Nassau, St. Thomas, St. Marteen

DEPARTING FROM TAMPA, FL:

Carnival Legend 05/03/2009 & 05/10/2009
Instead of Cozumel, will spend the day at sea

Carnival Inspiration on 05/04/2009 & 05/09/2009
Instead of Cozumel, will spend two days at Grand Cayman

DEPARTING FROM MOBILE, AL

Holiday on 05/04/2009
Instead of Cozumel & Calica, will call at Key West & Freeport

Holiday on 05/09/2009
Instead of Progreso & Cozumel, will call at Key West & Freeport

DEPARTING FROM NEW ORLEANS, LA

Carnival Fantasy on 05/02/2009
Instead of Progreso & Cozumel itinerary, will sail a new 7-day on 05/02/09 to Key West, Freeport, Nassau

Carnival Fantasy on 05/07/2009
SAILING CANCELLED

Carnival Fantasy scheduled to depart on 05/11/2009
Instead of Progreso & Cozumel itinerary, will sail a new 7-day on 05/09/09 to Key West, Freeport, Nassau

DEPARTING FROM GALVESTON, TX

Carnival Ecstasy on 05/02/2009
Instead of Progreso & Cozumel itinerary, will sail a new 7-day on 05/02/09 to Montego Bay, Grand Cayman

Carnival Conquest on 05/03/2009 & 05/10/2009
Instead of Cozumel, will spend the day at sea

Carnival Ecstasy on 05/07/2009
SAILING CANCELLED

Carnival Ecstasy scheduled to depart on 05/11/2009
Instead of Progreso & Cozumel itinerary, will sail a new 7-day on 05/09/09 to Montego Bay, Grand Cayman

DEPARTING FROM SAN DIEGO, CA

Carnival Elation on 05/03/2009 & 05/10/2009
Will only call at Catalina

Carnival Elation on 05/07/2009
Instead of Ensenada, will call at Catalina

DEPARTING FROM LOS ANGELES (Long Beach), CA

Carnival Paradise on 05/01/2009, 05/04/2009, 05/08/2009 & 05/11/2009
Will not call at Ensenada, will call at Catalina

Carnival Splendor on 05/03/2009
Instead of Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, Cabo San Lucas itinerary, will call at San Francisco, Victoria, B.C., Seattle

All other Carnival cruises in progress, that were scheduled to call on any Mexico port, have been re-routed and will no longer visit any ports in Mexico.

Carnival is offering onboard credits in varying amounts to compensate passengers for the revised itineraries. In addition, for the Carnival Splendor sailings, they ask that if the
itinerary change is not acceptable that you contact them as soon as possible. Carnival will provide a future cruise credit in the amount you paid for the cruise and you can sail with
then anytime prior to Dec 31, 2010. For additional information and details, see Carnival.com.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

WARNING: DO NOT BOOK WITH CARNIVAL CRUISE

I WOULD NOT advise booking a trip with Carnival Cruise Lines EVER. They tote themselves as being a customer service friendly organization, but once they have your money, all of that changes. Their customer service department is really not a customer service department at all.

The itinerary for our trip to Mexico has changed because of the swine flu outbreak and it won't be going to Mexico, but intead, Catalina. We agree with their decision, but we've been to Catalina numerous times and opted to cancel our trip.

Carnival WILL NOT refund our money under any condition, although other cruise lines going to Mexico are giving full refunds. Instead, they are offering a credit towards a future cruise which is unacceptable. Times are tough and our money is being held hostage until we choose to go on another cruse with them. We have absolutely NO desire to use Carnival again especially after this unpleasant experience with their "customer service" department.

Anonymous said...

Carnival is not offering any credits for the change of itinerary. We have no desire to go to Key West as we've been there numerous times but if we rebook our cruise we would incur hundreds of dollars in penalties from the airline if we tried to change our flight. Carnival has told us they are not responsibities for these fees nor will they give us anything in compensation.

Linda Coffman, AKA Cruise Diva said...

As their release states, the compensation varies by itinerary.