Some strange weather patterns have been circulating around Texas the last few weeks, and its caused some disruption among those traveling by air, land and sea. Fog in the Port of Galveston has forced several Carnival and Royal Caribbean sailings to be delayed – both departing and arriving. Passengers need to realize that when piloting a floating city, safety is going to come first and convenience second.
Carnival was forced to change it’s 7 day itinerary to accommodate the delay, canceling a stop in Jamaica and substituting a closer option: Progreso, Mexico. Carnival gave cruisers the option to cancel with a full refund, or receive 25% off this cruise AND a future similar sailing.
Some on board thought they should get to go on the adjusted itinerary AND get their money back.
“I would say it was a nightmare. We want the corporate office to either refund our money or take us to Jamaica,” said passenger Thuy Kau. “Progreso (Mexico) is not a consolation.”
Gadling.com editorialized the situation best:
Nothing is set in stone where safety of the ship, passengers and crew are concerned.
Carnival made the right move by modifying the existing itinerary to include a total of three ports that they had the time to visit. Had they not substituted Progresso, the same people might very well have moaned that they got shorted a port.
They did have options. They could have taken advantage of Carnival’s unique Vacation Guarantee
To further highlight the dangers of the foggy port – the very same ship was hit by a barge – further delaying it since the Coast Guard was called to inspect the ship. Please – don’t be too unreasonable when it comes to the safety of thousands. We’ve cruised on the Conquest before (happily), and are considering another sailing this year. Carnival should be commended for the way they handled this situation.