Rerouted Mexican cruises frustrate some passengers
Is Santa Barbara the new Cancun? The city and other destinations have become stand-ins for several more weeks as the cruise industry reroutes its ships to avoid stopping at ports in Mexico because of the H1N1 (swine flu) outbreak.
L.A. Times staff writer Hugo Martin writes that stops such as Mazatlan, Cancun and Puerto Vallarta are being replaced with U.S. ports such as San Diego, Santa Catalina, Santa Barbara and San Francisco. (To read the whole story, go to “Cruise Lines Rile Passengers and Tourism Officials by Avoiding Mexican Ports.”)
“Erin Carone, a Seal Beach resident who was scheduled to take a Mexican Riviera cruise from San Pedro today [Friday] on the Sapphire Princess, said that, instead of snorkeling near Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas, Princess Cruises is offering to take her to Santa Barbara, Catalina, San Diego and San Francisco.
Carone, who grew up in Southern California and has family in Santa Barbara and San Francisco, said she has been to the California ports dozens of times.
“These places are not exotic or anything,” she said. “When you tell me you are going to take me to Santa Barbara and San Diego for $700, I can go there on my own.”
And then there are frustrations chronicled on Twitter.
“My parents were taking a mex. cruise next week but it got rerouted to San Fran, Seattle, and Victoria becuase of the swine flu. Stupid,” drcool73 tweets.
Gee, don’t you go on a cruise to chill out?
– Mary Forgione, Times staff writer
[Photo: The Carnival Splendor is rerouted from Mexico to San Francisco. Credit: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images]
5 Comments on “Rerouted Mexican cruises frustrate some passengers”
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May 4th, 2009 at 11:44 am
I read the full article in the LA Times. It never ceases to amaze me how people react to things like this: “Brian Capt, a passenger on Royal Caribbean’s Mariner of the Seas, who departed from San Pedro on Sunday for a seven-day cruise of the Mexican Riviera with his wife and four children, said via e-mail his family was offered only $150 in onboard credits as compensation for the changes.”
This is NOT true! He received a $250 onboard credit per STATEROOM, PLUS $100 per 3rd and 4th guest in a cabin. So if there were 4 of them in an inside or outside stateroom, they received a $450 credit, PLUS a future cruise credit on Royal Caribbean. The onboard credits went up, depending on the cabin category they were booked in. Not only that, this man had the option to cancel for a FULL REFUND! He’s the one who made the choice to continue on his cruise.
The other comment from the lady about living in California: “These places are not exotic or anything,” she said. “When you tell me you are going to take me to Santa Barbara and San Diego for $700, I can go there on my own.”
Again, OK, get the full refund! Where the hell else should the cruise line go?! It could just sail around Catalina Island for 3/4 days. Would that be any better?
I think the cruise lines are doing the best they can with what they’re being dealt. Mariner of the Seas just came into service on the West Coast to sail MEXICAN RIVIERA cruises. They made a managerial decision, a good one, NOT to sail where people may get sick, because we ALL KNOW that if they’d continue to sail and someone WOULD get sick, the cruise line would get SUED for not taking ACTION!
May 7th, 2009 at 7:42 pm
Well, what is wrong with Catalina Island? Each passenger from all the cruise ships that ‘had’ to visit us in Avalon was sad but loved our beautiful little city and said they would certainly come back and stay longer. I work retail on one ship day, and people love us.
If you have not visited Catalina, come visit. We are just an hour away!
May 11th, 2009 at 6:55 pm
Sorry but I was on the RC ship and the on board credit was per cabin only. No money was awarded to any 3rd or 4th passengers in the same cabin. The cabin awards started at 150 and went up to 250 for a suite. I might be satisfied if they had awarded it per person and awarded us a discount on a future cruise. DID NOT happen on the RC ship. I know, because I am stil yelling at them about it. I spent $2000 to sail home. This is fair?
I figure I got about half of my cruise, some strictly at the choice of RC. They still owe me.
May 13th, 2009 at 5:05 pm
Here’s another odd twist to the sad tale of the Carnival “Cruise to Nowhere” discussed above: I live in San Francisco and was prevented by an antiquated federal law from disembarking and going home once the Splendor docked in my home town. My quarrel now isn’t with the Carnival folks, because I believe they made the right decision in following the CDC advisory. The Jones Act, which dates back to the Truman era, prevented me from being home after short taxi ride and essentialy made me a hostage aboard the ship for the final three days of the cruise. And I know I’m not alone, having had conversations with many other Bay Area residents who would love to have sailed into San Francisco Bay and then been allowed to go home!
May 15th, 2009 at 9:14 pm
The problem with going to these ports is that many of us live in them and have been to all of them many times. And yes floating out in warm water & sunshine would have been better than what we got stuck with!
Princess & Carnival have since then given its passengers from that week a future cruise credit of 50% off of what they paid. But Royal Caribbean says it will not be following suit. They feel they do not need to please its past guests!