We are going on August 31 and we are concern about the hurricane Gustav and the impact in our trip.

Does anyone knows what they do in a case like this because it looks like is going the same path that the cruise is going.

Thanks

Mio

Hi,

We are on the Liberty 8/30/08. I am very nervous. This is cruise #5 for me. I think the would probably devert the cruise to the eastern caribean. Lets keep our fingers crossed this storm decides to do something else.

Safe Cruising,

Melinda

What happens if Carnival does re-route a cruise and you've paid for shore excursions? Do you get a refund on that? 

 Also what if they re-route to Mexico, or another small carribean country and we only have proof of citizenship by birth certificates?  We were told we didn't need passports until like June of 09.  Can you still get off at these ports and get back on the ship with only having birth certificates & the Sign & Sail Cards?  We didn't have time to order the passports.  PVP told us & gov. website said birth certs were good and Okay until that date.

Barb

We are leaving from Galveston on the Conquest on the 31 so we don't know exactly is Gustav will be there by then.

Mio

If you get re-routed, and you purchased your excursion through Carnival, then you will get your money back. Generally they will just apply credit to your S&S card. Do not worry about getting off/on the ship in other ports. You only need your passport/bc to get on the ship at embarcation and when you return to your home port. Other than that you only need take your S&S card and your drivers license when leaving the ship.

Thanks for the information on the excursions and the birth certs!  Makes me feel at ease now!  I guess you could use the credit from the excursions on the sign and sail cards to purchase other excursions at whatever port you end up at due to a tropical storm or hurricane that caused you to be re-routed.  Correct? 

Also I've read that occassionally you might get an extra day at sea if your port isn't availabe due to a storm out there.  What happens if you have a flight to catch or something like that? I know the captain has the best interest for his passengers & the ship for their safety. 

Barb

It actually happened on my first cruise. We could not return to the port we left from (Tampa) and stayed out an extra day before returning to Miami. By the time we reached Maimi Carnival had changed everyone's flight reservations regardless whether the flights were booked through Carnival or not. Thats what I call service. Buses were waiting to take us to the airport the next morning.

Jcnbarb4RN:

We didn't have time to order the passports.

I've heard so many horror stories about people ordering their passports 8 months in advance and not receiving them until a few days prior to needing them.  I applied for my passport on July 30th.  By August 5th it was processed and mailed to me.  It took less than a week!  I applied with only 45 days until my cruise.  I also did standard service vs. expedited.  I feel bad for all those people paying extra for expedited service when it's so not necessary.

You will be fine with just your birth certificates.  Here is the link for information on what kind of documentation you need and when that will change.

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html

We have had cruises re-routed twice.  Once was due to weather and they basically just reversed the whole cruise.  We didn't end up having a day of rain on the entire cruise and was kind of nice that they were able to make the most out of the bad weather.  The only thing that we weren't able to do was to go to Grand Cayman since they tender you into shore so they gave us an extra stop in Mexico.

 The second itinerary change we had was due to another ship that was on fire.  We were the closest vessel to it so according to maritime law (or whatever they told us), we had to stay near it in case the passengers needed to come on board.  We ended up missing our stop to Grand Cayman since we were just parked out at sea for a day.  I was a little irritated at first at we missed our port, but then after I saw the 20/20 show on what the people on board the other ship experienced, I was very grateful it wasn't us.

 So basically - it worked out just fine in both cases, just be sure to be prepared to go with the flow.  They have dealt with it a lot and will make it work.

Have a fun time!  We aren't sailing for another 2 months.

I was told by Carnival if the Hurricane is real bad, they will cancel the trip, you can reschedule or get a full refund.  I think we should know more by Friday or Sat on what is going on

My TA emailed me today and said as of today Carnival has decided to reverse the order of the intinerary for Liberty cruise leaving out of Miami on Saturday. So those who have excursions may want to check on this.

Hi Barb,

I for some reason find myself in this scenario everytime I am gearing up for a criuse. I am a native Texan,  and cruise often. Anything that is spent with Carnival for excurions will be credited back to you. Although the ports are great, an extra day at sea may have to take place for a port. The captain does any rerouting that is needed to keep everyone in the sunshine and most importantly safe. I have a sneaky suspicion that it'll all work out. (It better, I have in laws flying all the way from Seattle to get on this big boat with me)

See you on board!

Dena

My son works on the Conquest.  Yesterday they went to Cayman (which is closed today), today they are in Cozumel and tomorrow Progresso, Mexico.  They will then stay west as they head back in to Galveston.  What they will probably do is head that way on Sunday and do Progresso, Cozumel and then depending on if Cayman and Jamaica are open whether they will go there or give extra sea days. 
They will adjust shore excursions as this is not a new thing for them.  The most important thing for passengers is to remember Carnival will do what they can to keep you safe and ensure you have a good vacation.  People get upset when they change ports but if Montego Bay is flooded and no power, why would you want to go there?  My son says that people really get angry when things change and my feeling is I would rather go to a different port than be miserable.  Actually just give me sun, a drink and the lido deck and I am a happy person.

Enjoy all!