Aloha Lahaina

[Iccup7]

13 minutes ago, JessieL said:

I called RC Customer Service and got transferred to their resolution team. They keep saying the change of port is for security reasons which I completely understand but we are not asking to go to Maui, we are simply asking to go to somewhere equivalent (ex. Hilo or Kona). In my opinion, RC did not make the effort to find another port on another Hawaiian island. Victoria and Seattle is the cheaper and easier option for them. I don't want to pay tens of thousands of dollars to see Victoria and Seattle which I've been to many times. This is nothing compared to visit a Hawaiian port in October. If Norwegian can make arrangement to stop at Big Island, why not RC? Very disappointed...

When I asked about compensation, the person from resolution team said there's absolutely nothing they can do to compensate us in this case--no refund, no discounts, not even onboard credits....unbelievable. RC truly "cares" about their customers! 

He also suggested sending a complaint email to RoyalGuestRelations@rccl.com. I don't know if anyone will respond but I think we should all call them and email them so that they hear our feedback. 

Also, if you guys use Twitter (now X apparently), go and post @Royal Caribbean on their twitter handle and complain. Public pressure may be the only leverage we have. Also calling their customer service may also help, shot in the dark but who knows. 

[Matt]

1 minute ago, Iccup7 said:

Port of Call may not be under their control, but how they choose to communicate and compensate for this downgrade is entirely within their control.

Totally agree with you!

A very similar scenario played out for me this week when my Panama Canal cruise was rerouted and will not visit the Panama Canal at all. The disappointment with that decision (which we never got any explanation) was awful and poorly handled.

I was just trying to debunk the notion they have an obligation go somewhere.

[Iccup7]

20 minutes ago, Matt said:

Totally agree with you!

A very similar scenario played out for me this week when my Panama Canal cruise was rerouted and will not visit the Panama Canal at all. The disappointment with that decision (which we never got any explanation) was awful and poorly handled.

I was just trying to debunk the notion they have an obligation go somewhere.

Is your Panama Canal cruise also with Royal Caribbean? If so, there is a pattern emerging here . Also, I assume you cruise regularly enough that you are one of those ultra golden diamond cosmic elite status member, how can they not care about your cruising experience is beyond me. If I were a cruise company I roll out the red carpet for you every time you come near my ships. 

[twangster]

Terrible thing the fires in Maui.  I feel for the people who are directly impacted.  

Unfortunately there are not many alternatives.  There are very few Hawaiian Islands that have cruise ship capable cities and it is already a challenge to schedule visits with multiple competing cruise lines vying for space.  Throw in a natural disaster and there just isn't a place for all ships to go.  Ships can't just go anywhere they want, if the port of call is full, it's unavailable.  With only five seats in this game of musical chairs, when one seat is removed there is no alternative, the other ports of call are already booked by other lines.  

Like cruising in hurricane season when mother nature throws a wrench in the machine there isn't always another island to offer.  Disappointing?  Absolutely!  Just understand there is no other port to visit that can accommodate the largest cruise ships that visits Hawaii.

[Bmac]

We're sailing on Brilliance Sep24-Oct4. We just received notice of the itinerary change. I'm thinking Matt may be correct about the ship size being an issue. We will be overnight in Kona as a replacement for Oahu. I wonder if Kona can't dock larger ships. The fires are an unfortunate event out of the control of RCL and it is an inconvenience but the fires have leveled many of the residents homes and left them homeless which I would think is a much larger inconvenience than having a port change on a cruise. I've recently read somewhere that the reason for RCL skipping the Panama Canal is how long it's taking to fill the locks to get a ship through the canal due to the current drought conditions we're experiencing in many parts of the world from what I read the locks are filled from watershed that fills the rivers and lakes that the canal uses to fill the locks. This is the email I received.

Dear Guest, Due to the devastating wildfires in Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, we’ll now visit Kauai (Nawiliwili) instead of Lahaina, on Day 10. We’re sorry for any inconvenience caused by this, nonetheless, the safety of our guests, crew, and the communities we visit are our highest priorities. To help make up for this change we’ve added an extra four hours to our visit in Kauai (Nawiliwili) and we’ll have an overnight in Kailua Kona – giving you more time to enjoy everything these beautiful destinations have to offer! Below, please find our revised Brilliance of the Seas September 24th, 2023 itinerary. Day Port of Call Arrive Depart Dock/ Tender Sun Vancouver, British Columbia   5:00 PM D Mon Cruising     C Tue Cruising     C Wed Cruising     C Thu Cruising     C Fri Cruising     C Sat Hilo, Hawaii 7:00 AM 5:00 PM D Sun Kailua Kona, Hawaii 8:00 AM   T Mon Kailua Kona, Hawaii   5:00 PM T Tue Kauai (Nawiliwili), Hawaii 8:00 AM 8:00 PM D Wed Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii 6:00 AM   D Shore Excursions Any pre-paid Royal Caribbean International shore excursions booked for Lahaina will automatically be refunded to your original form of payment. Our Shore Excursions team will automatically reschedule any pre-paid Royal Caribbean International shore excursions affected by this change. In the meantime, feel free to browse all the exciting shore excursion options for your sailing inCruise Planner to level up your vacation. Tendering All guests will be tendered to shore in Kailua Kona. Unfortunately, tender boats are not accessible to guests who are full-time mobility scooter or wheelchair users. Guests who are unable to take a few steps on stairs or walk across from the tender platform to and from the tender may be unable to go ashore. We’re sorry for the impact to your vacation, and we hope you understand that your safety and well-being comes first. Guests who use collapsible wheelchairs and who can take steps will be able to go ashore. Should you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at (866) 592-7225 or email special_needs@rccl.com. Thanks for your understanding. We can’t wait to welcome you onboard Brilliance of the Seas! Sincerely, Aurora Yera-Rodriguez AVP | Guest Experience Royal Caribbean International

 

[jaygee2729]

Since Ovation will not be stopping at any of the islands except Oahu to drop us off and our new stops are Victoria on Vancouver Island and Seattle we'll just have to make the best of it. As far as Seattle is concerned we plan on staying on the ship. 

[Darius14]

1 hour ago, Bmac said:

I'm thinking Matt may be correct about the ship size being an issue. We will be overnight in Kona as a replacement for Oahu. I wonder if Kona can't dock larger ships.

Kona can dock larger ships!  

Ovation of the Seas will be in KAILUA KONA, HAWAII during another cruise https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruises/itinerary/9-night-hawaii-from-vancouver-on-ovation/OV09HNL-1267482396?sail-date=2024-04-30&currency=USD&country=USA#step=0.

[Iccup7]

14 hours ago, twangster said:

Terrible thing the fires in Maui.  I feel for the people who are directly impacted.  

Unfortunately there are not many alternatives.  There are very few Hawaiian Islands that have cruise ship capable cities and it is already a challenge to schedule visits with multiple competing cruise lines vying for space.  Throw in a natural disaster and there just isn't a place for all ships to go.  Ships can't just go anywhere they want, if the port of call is full, it's unavailable.  With only five seats in this game of musical chairs, when one seat is removed there is no alternative, the other ports of call are already booked by other lines.  

Like cruising in hurricane season when mother nature throws a wrench in the machine there isn't always another island to offer.  Disappointing?  Absolutely!  Just understand there is no other port to visit that can accommodate the largest cruise ships that visits Hawaii.

What you say have a very high likelihood of being exactly what happened, but it actually is a perfect example of why we are so pissed. Why is Royal Caribbean not coming out and say this is the reason? Why does it take average people like us to try to analyze ship size and guess at why they changed to Victoria and Seattle instead of another Hawaiian island? If they don't say it, we can only assume it is not the reason, and the real reason is something they don't want to say, for example "Kona and Hilo were charging too much to dock a ship of our size and we don't want to pay that much, Victoria and Seattle are much cheaper ". 

All that aside, It could very well be true that there are no ports to accommodate Ovation. However our anger is the way RC chose to communicate and respond to the subsequent frustration. They could have easily put out a notice explaining that they tried their best to get a port in Hawaii but ultimately failing due to size, dock, whatever. But no, they decided to advertise Victoria a nd Seattle and try to make it sound like it is an adequate replacement when it is clearly not remotely equivalent. This description below is an insult to anyone who knows how rainy Victoria and Seattle could get in October. 

When RC made the announcement, any competent team could have anticipated that customers will not be happy. But what they did do? They chose to have their customer service tell us:" you already paid for the cruise in full, there is nothing we can do for you". This means one of two things, 1. they thought customers would happily accept Victoria and Seattle as perfectly fine alternatives. or 2. they don't care because they know we can't get a refund according to their terms and condition. Either one reflects poorly on Royal Caribbean. 

Ultimately, there are things outside RC's control, but they can't even do basic customer service that is completely under their control. 

[EddieM]

Extremely disappointed in RC handling of this. I totally understand not going to Maui but Seattle?? Victoria is awesome (but i planned a trip to Hawaii). Been to Victoria it was my first cruise (on Ovation) the wife took me on to Alaska, which was the reason I chose this ship (Oct. 6th to 15th) to take her to Hawaii.

We generally take a couple cruises a year but after seeing how other cruise lines handled this I will not be giving RC anymore business. For a cruise line that I had thought of as top tier this now pacific coast cruise that stops in Hawaii is a bush league move. 

Already flying cross country now I wish I'd just flown to Hawaii and spent the days there now.

[EddieM]

https://www.cruisehive.com/guests-upset-by-cruise-change-royal-caribbean-responds/108585

 

Apparently enough people complained.

[steverk]

5 hours ago, Darius14 said:

Kona can dock larger ships!  

Ovation of the Seas will be in KAILUA KONA, HAWAII during another cruise https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruises/itinerary/9-night-hawaii-from-vancouver-on-ovation/OV09HNL-1267482396?sail-date=2024-04-30&currency=USD&country=USA#step=0.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but Kona can't dock cruise ships at all. It is a tender only port.

[bobroo]

35 minutes ago, steverk said:

Sorry to burst your bubble, but Kona can't dock cruise ships at all. It is a tender only port.

 

 

^^^Bing! Bing! Bing! WINNER!^^^

[smokeybandit]

46 minutes ago, steverk said:

Sorry to burst your bubble, but Kona can't dock cruise ships at all. It is a tender only port.

It can make a mean cup of coffee though.

[JessieL]

4 hours ago, EddieM said:

https://www.cruisehive.com/guests-upset-by-cruise-change-royal-caribbean-responds/108585

 

Apparently enough people complained.

Did anyone get this second email in the article about refund without penalty? Thanks! 

[Iccup7]

4 hours ago, EddieM said:

https://www.cruisehive.com/guests-upset-by-cruise-change-royal-caribbean-responds/108585

 

Apparently enough people complained.

Did anyone who booked the cruise actually got the second email from Royal Caribbean about cancellation? 

[MarvinS]

1 hour ago, Iccup7 said:

Did anyone who booked the cruise actually got the second email from Royal Caribbean about cancellation? 

Nope, so second email from RC yet for us...  Like many others, I'm very disappointed in the situation, too.  I wish RC would have been upfront and explained that "they tried" but couldn't secure alternate ports.  Trying to spin Victoria, BC and Seattle as equivalent substitutes is laughable.

We were already planning on staying in Hawaii another week after debarkation (spending time on Oahu and the Big Island), so we won't cancel (even with the supposed no-penalty offer as referenced on the cruise-hive link).  I do wish they would offer some OBC or something as a customer service gesture of understanding.

[Floski]

Meanwhile, 93 people are currently dead, with that toll sure to rise significantly.

 

Y'all....

[Iccup7]

14 hours ago, Floski said:

Meanwhile, 93 people are currently dead, with that toll sure to rise significantly.

 

Y'all....

With all due respect, if our attempt to hold Royal Caribbean to a higher standard of customer service is somehow, in your eye, offensive to the suffering people of Maui, then I really don't know how to explain this to you. All I can say is, the natural disaster and resulting trauma experienced by the people of Maui should NOT absolve Royal Caribbean (a for profit corporation) of their responsibilities to their customers. 

I am sorry we seem insensitive to you, many of us have donated to Maui relief effort and will be still going to Hawaii to do what we can for the local Hawaiian economy in general. Just talking about greedy corporate practices does not mean we have no compassion. 

[EjS]

I read that after much pushback, RC is offering a refund on the October 6 Ovation cruise. Ovation can only be accommodated at two other ports in Hawaii, and they are already scheduled by other ships those days. So ovation can’t dock in Hawaii. Not happy either about itinerary change. Oh well, first world problems. 
 

https://www.cruisehive.com/guests-upset-by-cruise-change-royal-caribbean-responds/108585#

[born-to-cruise]

This is just a hunch, but I doubt RC will send out an email offering Ovation cruisers free cancellation.  Cancellation will most likely be honored only for those who call RC asking for their payment to be refunded.  They don't want to sail out of Vancouver with an empty ship.

[NWCruiser]

I find it interesting the only ports Royal could find were within a stones throw of Vancouver.  I happen to live between the two cities and also am not happy about the ports chosen.  I understand why it is impossible to stop at Lahaina sympathize with the people of Maui. 

But, I wonder about the Miami executives that made this decision.  Would they be happy to have paid $3,000-$10,000 for their family's cruise vacation only to find out shortly before sailing from Miami to their planned exotic Caribbean Island that all their plans had been changed and that they instead would be docking in Fort Lauderdale the first day, Bocca Raton the next day, then having 6 sea days before being let off at their final destination.  I'm sure there were other ports they could have considered...San Francisco, CA (even if it was for only one day), Astoria, OR, or other stops along the West Coast.  At the very least, it would be away from their guests home in NW Washington and lower BC Mainland.  Seattle, Victoria and Vancouver are only a couple hours drive away from each other.  If we wanted to go to these places an excursion would have sufficed.

[twangster]

6 hours ago, NWCruiser said:

I find it interesting the only ports Royal could find were within a stones throw of Vancouver.  I happen to live between the two cities and also am not happy about the ports chosen.  I understand why it is impossible to stop at Lahaina sympathize with the people of Maui. 

But, I wonder about the Miami executives that made this decision.  Would they be happy to have paid $3,000-$10,000 for their family's cruise vacation only to find out shortly before sailing from Miami to their planned exotic Caribbean Island that all their plans had been changed and that they instead would be docking in Fort Lauderdale the first day, Bocca Raton the next day, then having 6 sea days before being let off at their final destination.  I'm sure there were other ports they could have considered...San Francisco, CA (even if it was for only one day), Astoria, OR, or other stops along the West Coast.  At the very least, it would be away from their guests home in NW Washington and lower BC Mainland.  Seattle, Victoria and Vancouver are only a couple hours drive away from each other.  If we wanted to go to these places an excursion would have sufficed.

Royal doesn't call on San Francisco or Astoria so they have no contracts or vendors in place to support a visit.   There is a lot more to creating a new port of call for a company than making a phone call.  It took a long time for Quantum class to be certified to call upon Victoria even though Royal had made stops with smaller ships there.  A pier needed to be extended and work completed before it could happen.  

[NWCruiser]

2 hours ago, twangster said:

Royal doesn't call on San Francisco or Astoria so they have no contracts or vendors in place to support a visit.   There is a lot more to creating a new port of call for a company than making a phone call.  It took a long time for Quantum class to be certified to call upon Victoria even though Royal had made stops with smaller ships there.  A pier needed to be extended and work completed before it could happen.  

Thank you...did not know that they stopped entirely.  We have sailed round trip from Vancouver to San Francisco for a couple nights on the Explorer in 2018. The ship sailed full and we thoroughly enjoyed our time.  The itinerary included stops at Astoria and Victoria.  Unfortunately, Royal stopped the route after that and we along with others here have been (and still are) hoping they will return the itinerary as it was one roundtrip sailing close to home that went to a warmer climate for a few days.

[Vancity Cruiser]

4 hours ago, NWCruiser said:

Thank you...did not know that they stopped entirely.  We have sailed round trip from Vancouver to San Francisco for a couple nights on the Explorer in 2018. The ship sailed full and we thoroughly enjoyed our time.  The itinerary included stops at Astoria and Victoria.  Unfortunately, Royal stopped the route after that and we along with others here have been (and still are) hoping they will return the itinerary as it was one roundtrip sailing close to home that went to a warmer climate for a few days.

I know this is a Royal forum but FYI Princess does this itinerary once a year in the fall. 10 night roundtrip from Vancouver with 4 stops in California.

[Iccup7]

15 hours ago, born-to-cruise said:

This is just a hunch, but I doubt RC will send out an email offering Ovation cruisers free cancellation.  Cancellation will most likely be honored only for those who call RC asking for their payment to be refunded.  They don't want to sail out of Vancouver with an empty ship.

You are correct. RC will refund you if you call customer service and insist on a refund, the first level reps who answer the phone may not do it immediately, but if you ask for the resolution desk, they will give you the refund. They still don't recognize or unwilling to admit the fact that the quality of the cruise has now degraded to the point where it is no longer worth the original price they charged. So they refuse to issue any credits. Basically still a take it or leave it stance. Disappointing, but I am glad the public pressure at least forced them to allow full refunds. Hopefully I am not speaking too early and the refunds actually show up. 

 

[twangster]

Just to reiterate my thoughts are first with the people and tourists in Maui impacted.  I have a loved one who was there just two days prior who flew home having enjoyed her visit to Maui.  The resort where she stayed just a few days prior was lost in the fire.   Having sailed on an Ovation Hawaii cruise myself that spent the night in Lahaina the news and pictures are so sad.  It's all strikes very close to my heart and home.  There are few words.  

Having had a number of cruises altered or cancelled over the years I completely feel for everyone who has had a cruise impacted by the wildfires on Maui.  Those experiences have taught me there are stages to manage through with a cruise impacted like this.  Disappointment, anger, upset, bitterness,  etc. will make way to acceptance and the realization that sometimes there is just nothing that anyone could have done to effect a different outcome.  We may not like the manner it's handled, or the communication, but at the end of the day the outcome is the same.   Could they have handled it better?  Absolutely, yet the outcome would still be the same. 

I was fortunate that my Ovation itinerary included The Nāpali coast,  Lahaina and Kailua-Kona.  Even that was a little light on Hawaii compared to the typical Radiance class itinerary back in 2018 and 2019.  As Royal often does with repositioning cruises they seem to put on emphasis on getting there quickly so the ship can can back into full production at its new home port as quickly as possible.  The recent Hawaii itineraries have been less appealing to me for the lack of stops and the "get-there-itis" mentality that many transatlantics also seem to suffer from these days.   

That is one of the issues here and now with just one Hawaiian port of call visit on the current itineraries before debarking in Honolulu.  It should also serve as a note for future consideration for any cruise itinerary with a single critical port of call that defines the cruise.   Stuff happens completely out of anyone's control including the cruise line and in places like Hawaii there just is no way to recover or make up an equivalent experience.  Note to self.

I'm glad to see refunds are being offered.   Hopefully those impacted can manage through this and cruise to Hawaii another time.

[steverk]

On 8/15/2023 at 5:46 AM, twangster said:

Royal doesn't call on San Francisco or Astoria so they have no contracts or vendors in place to support a visit.   There is a lot more to creating a new port of call for a company than making a phone call.  It took a long time for Quantum class to be certified to call upon Victoria even though Royal had made stops with smaller ships there.  A pier needed to be extended and work completed before it could happen.  

Perhaps they are restarting, at least for repositioning purposes.

I'm booked on Radiance of the Seas Sept 27, 2024 "8 night Pacific Coastal Cruise," which is part of a reposition from Alaska to Tampa.  It departs Vancouver and hits Victoria, Seattle, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Catalina Island and ends in Los Angeles.

[twangster]

1 hour ago, steverk said:

Perhaps they are restarting, at least for repositioning purposes.

I'm booked on Radiance of the Seas Sept 27, 2024 "8 night Pacific Coastal Cruise," which is part of a reposition from Alaska to Tampa.  It departs Vancouver and hits Victoria, Seattle, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Catalina Island and ends in Los Angeles.

Radiance had shore power capability and is small enough to get into many ports that Q class can't.

[Pattycruise]

On 8/13/2023 at 10:20 AM, Bmac said:

I've recently read somewhere that the reason for RCL skipping the Panama Canal is how long it's taking to fill the locks to get a ship through the canal due to the current drought conditions we're experiencing in many parts of the world from what I read the locks are filled from watershed that fills the rivers and lakes that the canal uses to fill the locks

 

Interesting. I had the repositioning cruise in April from Panama to Miami.  I was emailed in December of a change, the ship would be ending in Ft Lauderdale and I was offered the option to cancel.  I kept the cruise because I didn’t care where we ended.  Turns out what their lengthy email failed to mention was the ship was no longer doing the lock, it no longer showed on the port stops they sent but they had left that tidbit out of their details. I was fortunate to catch on to that the week after the “decide by” deadline and my travel agent was able to get my deposit refunded.   

[EddieM]

Aug. 25th is the deadline to cancel and we had to call. Tried to change to a earlier cruise on Brilliance of the Seas and were told we couldn't change the cruise that way. We could take the refund and wait for it and book the other cruise separately.  

[JimnKathy]

Over several decades I've had several land vacations throttled/disrupted/scuttled by hurricanes, and while each time was highly irritating in the moment, I looked back after getting safely home and was extremely thankful I didn't live in a place where lives and property were demolished. 

This disaster in Maui is unprecedented in nature and scope. My prayers go out to everyone who lost family and friends in this devastation.

[Doug_Texas]

The Lahina loss is so sad.  We have been several times for extended periods of time.  So much beautiful color and culture.  The loss has to impact at least a couple of years.  The nearby resorts at Kaanapali with continue but the port-of-call needs to change.  My hope is that Kauai is quickly developed as a replacement port.  I am surprised RCL is still advertising Lahina. 

[steverk]

On 9/1/2023 at 10:34 AM, Doug_Texas said:

The Lahina loss is so sad.  We have been several times for extended periods of time.  So much beautiful color and culture.  The loss has to impact at least a couple of years.  The nearby resorts at Kaanapali with continue but the port-of-call needs to change.  My hope is that Kauai is quickly developed as a replacement port.  I am surprised RCL is still advertising Lahina. 

Yes, very sad.

I just read an article that NCL is going to resume sailing into Kahului on Maui. 

Perhaps that will be an option for Royal as well. 

[Wul142]

Changing the route is so disappointing. However, cruise fair I just looked online has dropped a lots. We paid around $3500 for 2 adults and 2 kids with guaranteed balcony room. Now it’s only $2330. I think because many people requested for refunds/credit and it’s less than 30 days close to the cruise date. Many staterooms become vacant. It really hurts people who paid at regular price. Cannot do anything about it. Disappointed 

[Wul142]

On 8/17/2023 at 7:07 PM, EddieM said:

Aug. 25th is the deadline to cancel and we had to call. Tried to change to a earlier cruise on Brilliance of the Seas and were told we couldn't change the cruise that way. We could take the refund and wait for it and book the other cruise separately.  

How long does it take to get refund to your credit card? Is this too late to request the refund? 

[MG028]

On 9/9/2023 at 1:18 PM, Wul142 said:

 

Changing the route is so disappointing. However, cruise fair I just looked online has dropped a lots. We paid around $3500 for 2 adults and 2 kids with guaranteed balcony room. Now it’s only $2330. I think because many people requested for refunds/credit and it’s less than 30 days close to the cruise date. Many staterooms become vacant. It really hurts people who paid at regular price. Cannot do anything about it. Disappointed 

Same here, we paid the same amount for guaranteed balcony room and now, it will only cost $2100. It feels so disguised that RC is not willing to provide any sort of compensation to their customers who actually decided to stay along and support the company by continuing to choose to sail with them. I have escalated this matter to their resolution team and talked to a few supervisor, each person has different reasons. I feel like that if there are enough people to complaint or seek group legal actions again them, they may barge. But the cruise is just leaving in a few days, I won't be sailing with RC again, so diappointed. 

[Captwife1]

We are on the Ovation of The Seas Hawaii trip from Vancouver to Oahu right now and this is the biggest joke!   This is not a Hawaiian cruise thus is a repositioning cruise.   We are beyond pissed that we spent the entire day on the shores of Kawaii going in circles - literally the ship went in circles for 12 hours.   And because we were within 3 miles of shore no shops or casino was open.   We had no idea that we were not stopping in Kawai until our shore excursion was cancelled as we boarded.  Like many others we made many calls to RCCL and no consideration was given. They told us since we paid in full no refund or cancellation was possible.   We cannot wait to get of. This ship tomorrow.    I do believe that passengers all should push back on RCCL for some type of Compensation.  And like others. Stops in Victoria and Seattle just don’t cut it.    12 hours of looking at Hawaii but not being able to get off the ship is beyond frustration.   I