My wife is pissed at Carnival now.  Looks like they're trying to screw their customers while getting money from FEMA.  My parents had 2 cruises planned.  I know this isn't big in the grand scheme of things but you'd think they wouldn't screw their customers over.

From my wife:
Um, won't go on Carnival and neither will your Mom.  Apparently, when she called, her Nov. cruise that was on Ecst. is not on Elat.  No problem since they are same size ship and don't cost anymore.  Their 7 day in Feb. was booked on the Elation but now they all get refunds but to book the same cruise at the same time for the Conquest coming in to Galveston, they want to charge her $800 more.  This is the only 7 day going out of Galveston.  The people that have already made their reservations are getting screwed because they made their plans way ahead of time and Carnival has already had use of their money now they get to pay more.  Carnival is being rented to FEMA.  They are not free.  So, they are not really helping too much in my opinion.

I know this isn't big in the grand scheme of things but you'd think they wouldn't screw their customers over.

BOO HOO........    Let's see.  Vacation or Shelter from a devastating national, natural disaster.  I'll go with the people needing a place to stay since their homes were destroyed.  Carnival did a good thing you dip squats.


Lawdog

Quoted: My wife is pissed at Carnival now.  Looks like they're trying to screw their customers while getting money from FEMA.  My parents had 2 cruises planned.  I know this isn't big in the grand scheme of things but you'd think they wouldn't screw their customers over. From my wife: Um, won't go on Carnival and neither will your Mom.  Apparently, when she called, her Nov. cruise that was on Ecst. is not on Elat.  No problem since they are same size ship and don't cost anymore.  Their 7 day in Feb. was booked on the Elation but now they all get refunds but to book the same cruise at the same time for the Conquest coming in to Galveston, they want to charge her $800 more.  This is the only 7 day going out of Galveston.  The people that have already made their reservations are getting screwed because they made their plans way ahead of time and Carnival has already had use of their money now they get to pay more.  Carnival is being rented to FEMA.  They are not free.  So, they are not really helping too much in my opinion.

Let me get this right, you are complaining about not being able to go on a cruise because the ships are going to be used to house people that lost their homes due to the hurricane.  Is this right?  If so <removed>

Quoted: I know this isn't big in the grand scheme of things but you'd think they wouldn't screw their customers over. BOO HOO........    Let's see.  Vacation or Shelter from a devastating national, natural disaster.  I'll go with the people needing a place to stay since their homes were destroyed.  Carnival did a good thing you dip squats. Lawdog

+1 and...
For the author of this thread and his wife:

I'm not complaining about the not being able to go part, it's the jacking the price $800 part that gets me.  If they had canceled everything completely, that would be just fine.  I don't see price gouging because they are helping other people.  I also think it's great they are using their ships for people without any homes.

the ones who's paid reservations where cancelled should not have to pay a higher fee for the same trip but on a different ship.they should of gave them the cruise for the same price that they had reservations.

Then get your 100% refund and give your money to a company that isnt doing shit for the bigger problem at hand.

This is why you pay for the extra insurance of 225.00 for cancellation coverage and med insurance.

Sorry, I dont think you are gonna get any support here.

Quoted: Quoted: I'm not complaining about the not being able to go part, it's the jacking the price $800 part that gets me.  If they had canceled everything completely, that would be just fine.  I don't see price gouging because they are helping other people.  I also think it's great they are using their ships for people without any homes. it's not price gouging. fewer ships = fewer rooms = higher demand = higher price

Sounds like gouging. The company had an agreement with the customer. The company is choosing to not honor that agreement. They are raising the cost of a previously established price.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I'm not complaining about the not being able to go part, it's the jacking the price $800 part that gets me.  If they had canceled everything completely, that would be just fine.  I don't see price gouging because they are helping other people.  I also think it's great they are using their ships for people without any homes. it's not price gouging. fewer ships = fewer rooms = higher demand = higher price Sounds like gouging. The company had an agreement with the customer. The company is choosing to not honor that agreement. They are raising the cost of a previously established price.

+1

valid point about being charged more

Having spent about as much time on cruise boards as DH spends here ....I got something to say  :)
I could go look up those 2 ships for specifics but I am betting the $800.00 difference is because of a different set of ports, a different type of room, and a different class of ship.  Possibly even more then that to be honest.

Some people had cruises shortened due to previous cruise being held out to sea til storms end.  Those who were waiting Carnival actually appeared to have the best reimbursement....offered 100% refund if they canceled even if they didnt have trip insurance.  (read the fine print natural disasters are exempt from the ships actually having to do anything....) or take the cruise and get a 50% refund (pretty good if you go compare what a 4 day cruise costs vs a 7 day....) and a credit to next cruise.
another lady who is a travel agent, posted that another line offered only the 50% refund if they canceled altogether and only credit to next cruise if they chose to go anyway.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I'm not complaining about the not being able to go part, it's the jacking the price $800 part that gets me.  If they had canceled everything completely, that would be just fine.  I don't see price gouging because they are helping other people.  I also think it's great they are using their ships for people without any homes. it's not price gouging. fewer ships = fewer rooms = higher demand = higher price Sounds like gouging. The company had an agreement with the customer. The company is choosing to not honor that agreement. They are raising the cost of a previously established price.

not necessarily....I dont think it is a demand thing...I think they type of cruise it would be changed to and type of ship is the cause of the price increase

Well here's some info in the ships in Galveston.  The docks where the port is planning to put the ships are silted up.  FEMA is going to have to pay for dredging before the ships can get into the planned docks.

And I do have a little concern over using US $$ to charter  foreign flagged vessels that pay no US taxes.

I seriously doubt they are offering their best boats.  The ones slated for the homeless are their older boats.  That could be one reason the cost is higher, due to better ships and accomodations.  But I understand you had a contract with them but I doubt anyone is going to be sympathetic towards you.  

The Ecstasy came into port today about 6:30 AM.

Quoted: My wife is pissed at Carnival now.  Looks like they're trying to screw their customers while getting money from FEMA.  My parents had 2 cruises planned.  I know this isn't big in the grand scheme of things but you'd think they wouldn't screw their customers over. From my wife: Um, won't go on Carnival and neither will your Mom.  Apparently, when she called, her Nov. cruise that was on Ecst. is not on Elat.  No problem since they are same size ship and don't cost anymore.  Their 7 day in Feb. was booked on the Elation but now they all get refunds but to book the same cruise at the same time for the Conquest coming in to Galveston, they want to charge her $800 more.  This is the only 7 day going out of Galveston.  The people that have already made their reservations are getting screwed because they made their plans way ahead of time and Carnival has already had use of their money now they get to pay more.  Carnival is being rented to FEMA.  They are not free.  So, they are not really helping too much in my opinion.

Ok I poked around...
Elation was a mexico tour....2 mexico stops, and 1 stop in belize.....
The conquest is Jamaica, Caymen Islands and cozumel, mexico....
Conquest is a larger ship...by about 100 feet and holds about 600 more people....
If you go compare prices of the 2.....the very basic conquest cabin is per person 200 more to start with.
and if you chose to rebook your elation cruise on the conquest.....they will give each person who rebooks $100 ship credit    

and for those transfering from ectasy to elation for the 5day you get a $50 per person ship credit

Screw carnival. They still owe me $150.

Glad they can help people that are now homeless, but they shouldn't screw over customers that already paid money. Guess they are good at that.

I have been told that 5200 Katrina evacuee's (sp) are expected to arrive at 0900 tomorrow.  Dredging is almost complete and the two ships (Ecstasy and Sensation) are here and waiting.

Former Carnival spokesperson suffers breakdown

Quoted: I have been told that 5200 Katrina evacuee's (sp) are expected to arrive at 0900 tomorrow.  Dredging is almost complete and the two ships (Ecstasy and Sensation) are here and waiting.

Where are they parking them?  Seems to me they could have paid Newpark for space on the Pelican Island side.  Would have also kept them from going very far if they got off the ship.  

Quoted: Quoted: I have been told that 5200 Katrina evacuee's (sp) are expected to arrive at 0900 tomorrow.  Dredging is almost complete and the two ships (Ecstasy and Sensation) are here and waiting. Where are they parking them?  Seems to me they could have paid Newpark for space on the Pelican Island side.  Would have also kept them from going very far if they got off the ship.

Piers 37 and 40 from what I have been told.  The dredge is down at Pier 40 now.  Pelican Island (shipyard) is also silted up and full of OSV's right now.  

I am wondering how this is going to play out.  Some of the cabins are pretty small (from what I have been told) and inside cabins have no windows.  What about kids?  Are they going to be enrolled in the GISD tomorrow?  I am glad people will have a safe place to stay, but who will insure it will be safe?  These are foreign flagged ships. I am curious to know if there will be security onboard. In the past, every person coming off of a foreign vessel had to clear US customs.  What about for these folks?   Can a local police officer go onboard a ship registered in another country, or is that left up to the USCG and other federal agencies?  If I learn anything, I'll  post it.


Here is the old Newpark facility at Pelican Island.  It's full of crap:



Here are the two Carnival ships:  Ecstasy in the foreground and Sensation in the background.  If you look closely behind the rig in the distance, you may be able to make out the dredge and the dredge pipe going across the channel (in front of the bridge).  That is where these two ships are supposed to dock with their survivors.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I have been told that 5200 Katrina evacuee's (sp) are expected to arrive at 0900 tomorrow.  Dredging is almost complete and the two ships (Ecstasy and Sensation) are here and waiting. Where are they parking them?  Seems to me they could have paid Newpark for space on the Pelican Island side.  Would have also kept them from going very far if they got off the ship.   Piers 37 and 40 from what I have been told.  The dredge is down at Pier 40 now.  Pelican Island (shipyard) is also silted up and full of OSV's right now.   I am wondering how this is going to play out.  Some of the cabins are pretty small (from what I have been told) and inside cabins have no windows.  What about kids?  Are they going to be enrolled in the GISD tomorrow?  I am glad people will have a safe place to stay, but who will insure it will be safe?  These are foreign flagged ships. I am curious to know if there will be security onboard. In the past, every person coming off of a foreign vessel had to clear US customs.  What about for these folks?   Can a local police officer go onboard a ship registered in another country, or is that left up to the USCG and other federal agencies?  If I learn anything, I'll  post it. Here is the old Newpark facility at Pelican Island.  It's full of crap: img.photobucket.com/albums/v633/cool-e/IMG_0129.jpg Here are the two Carnival ships:  Ecstasy in the foreground and Sensation in the background.  If you look closely behind the rig in the distance, you may be able to make out the dredge and the dredge pipe going across the channel (in front of the bridge).  That is where these two ships are supposed to dock with their survivors. img.photobucket.com/albums/v633/cool-e/IMG_0133.jpg

Didn't realize they had 2 more floaters at Newpark.  Last I saw it was a ghost town.  All they had was that POS that's been stripped and the Prospector.  If they're parking them by the Garden Banks, I hope they warn the people to look out for trains.  I know several people that have almost been hit there for not paying attention.  Ain't like you got much in the way of signals there.

I'm betting both of these ships will be ruined in the coming weeks.

You could not pay me to be stuck on a boat with the Superdome crowd.

ARH

Quoted: You could not pay me to be stuck on a boat with the Superdome crowd. ARH

Big 10-4 on that.  This should be interesting.  The area the ships will dock, as with most of the port,  is controlled access.  How long before these folks go stir crazy?  It would be about 15 minutes before I had to get the hell out.

The loading of evacuees did not happen yesterday as many balked at getting on the ships, preferring to stay where they were.  Why someone would want to sleep in the middle of the Astrodome rather than in a cabin with a bed and private bathroom, is beyond me. One USCG official on TV last night stated a "fear of water" that many of the people had along with post traumatic stress.

Here is a copy of the newpaper article:

FEMA: Plan for cruise ships delayed

By Laura Elder and Marty Schladen
The Daily News  

Published September 7, 2005

GALVESTON — Despite reluctance by some Katrina survivors to leave Houston shelters, federal officials are pushing ahead with an unusual plan to move nearly 4,000 storm evacuees to cruise ships docked in Galveston.

The operation could get under way today.

By chartering cruise ships for use as “floating shelters,” the federal government is entering untested waters, officials say.

By agreeing to offer refuge to thousands, the island is putting its resources to the test.

City officials Tuesday were sorting out the costs and logistics of supplying water, police, school buses and transportation services to thousands of people that would essentially form small communities on public docks for six months or more.

Federal agencies will reimburse the island for shelter-related expenses, Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas said.

Katrina survivors were supposed to begin arriving on the island by bus Tuesday.

But people being housed at the Astrodome and Houston’s other shelters balked at the idea of leaving their temporary homes.

Refusal of flood victims to board buses for island cruise ships surprised some organizers and federal officials, who thought they would have preferred private accommodations to mass shelters.

But some storm survivors said they had forged friendships in the Houston shelters, while others still were trying to reconnect with family and some were seeking a sense of normalcy and routine after their lives were so brutally disrupted.

Some were unwilling to take up residence in another city vulnerable to hurricanes.

“The dome is home to them,” said Lt. Joe Leonard of the U.S. Coast Guard. “For residents, another immediate relocation is simply too much, too soon.”

Randy Welch, a spokesman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said many of the evacuees destined for island cruise ships were elderly and most traumatized by the storm.

“They’re the ones most cautious about making another move,” Welch said. “At the same time, they’re building a community of friends in the Dome; it may seem odd to you and me, but it’s a comfortable and safe place to stabilize.”

New territory

The use of cruise ships for emergency shelters is a new strategy for federal agencies, Welch said.

Miami-based Carnival Cruise Lines’ ship Ecstasy, which normally sails out of Galveston for four-and five-day cruises, and Sensation, which normally sails from New Orleans, will house people left homeless by Katrina.

Normally, federal agencies move people displaced by storms into neighborhoods of manufactured homes or encourage them to move to rental housing already available in their cities. But Katrina’s destruction was so devastating, rental housing in New Orleans wasn’t an option, Welch said.

Using cruise ships, an idea the federal agency mulled after Florida hurricanes, made sense, Welch said.

“They can immediately provide good accommodations for people who need it,” Welch said. “They’re less expensive than some alternatives, such as building manufactured home parks.”

A good idea?

While some people have questioned the wisdom of sending storm victims to Galveston during hurricane season, federal officials say it makes sense. If a storm is heading toward the island, the cruise ship can sail away, Welch said.

“People can evacuate on a cruise ship much faster than 4,000 people on the highway,” he said. “They’re already packed.”

Still, the irony of Galveston as a hurricane shelter hasn’t escaped city officials.

“The city of Galveston did not make this decision,” Mayor Thomas said. “The federal government chose Galveston as a place to shelter evacuees.”

Still, the island is prepared to take on its new residents, Thomas said.

Evacuees age 60 and older, who are able to walk, along with their family members, have been given first priority on cruise ships, with single parents or guardians with young children and then two-parent families.

School questions

Neither federal officials nor city officials could say how many school-age children would board the ships.

The number of new students displaced by Katrina now attending class at Galveston schools continued to grow Tuesday.

“We’re up to 200 kids, and the ship doesn’t have even one person on it,” GISD Superintendent Lynn Hale said.

Hale said that it was little more than a guess, but she estimated that 400 more students would be enrolling in island schools.

How the district will provide the students with transportation and instruction will be the topic of an emergency school board meeting scheduled for 6 p.m. today.

Hale said that the Texas Education Agency has notified the Galveston district that it would pick up some portion of the cost of educating and transporting storm victims, but the agency had not specified how much.

The children will be classified as homeless, qualifying them for federally financed breakfasts, lunches and school uniforms, Hale said.

Security costs

The cruise ships will berth at piers 37, 39 and 40. City officials will extend bus routes to the cruise ships.

Federal agencies will reimburse the city for transportation costs and police costs, say city officials.

To provide police for the ships will cost more than $388,000 a month, said Steve LeBlanc, city manager.

Each ship will require about 175,000 gallons of water a day, LeBlanc said. The Port of Galveston, which already provides water to cruise ships that sail from here, was working to get water lines to the ship shelters.

Federal officials will provide cruise-ship residents with money. Residents will be able to come and go from the ships and assimilate in the city, Thomas said.

“This group of evacuees will find their ways into our school system and many will get jobs,” Thomas said. “They’ll each have a debit card and money to spend.”

When the displaced would begin to arrive in Galveston was unclear. They’ll be processed on the ships and their needs assessed through medical screenings, she said.

“This group of evacuees will not be a burden on our community,” Thomas said. “Visitors will integrate into our community and get all the help and services that we can provide.”

+++

Volunteers Needed For Evacuee Processing

Volunteers are needed beginning 9 a.m. today, Thursday and Friday to help check in storm victims that will be arriving for cruise ship shelters docking in Galveston.

Volunteers will gather at Pier 25. Volunteers are asked to wear red, white or blue polo shirts, jeans and tennis shoes.

For more information, contact Amy Hervin, Worldwide Shore Services, (409) 763-8800.

Quoted: Sorry, I dont think you are gonna get any support here.

He has my support.  I think he has a right, as a consumer, to be upset about this increase in the price.  Of course, as a consumer, he has the right to take his business elsewhere and tell others about it.

They where probably paid to do a good thing.

Quoted: I know this isn't big in the grand scheme of things but you'd think they wouldn't screw their customers over. BOO HOO........    Let's see.  Vacation or Shelter from a devastating national, natural disaster.  I'll go with the people needing a place to stay since their homes were destroyed.  Carnival did a good thing you dip squats. Lawdog

Quoted: Quoted: I'm not complaining about the not being able to go part, it's the jacking the price $800 part that gets me.  If they had canceled everything completely, that would be just fine.  I don't see price gouging because they are helping other people.  I also think it's great they are using their ships for people without any homes. it's not price gouging. fewer ships = fewer rooms = higher demand = higher price

EXCEPT ON AN AGREED UPON CONTRACT!!!!!!!!!!!!

Quoted: I'm betting both of these ships will be ruined in the coming weeks.

+1 Just be glad that your cruise wasn't AFTER they were done with it.

Go find a ship with a German or Italian crew...it will be much better than the shite Carnival et. al. are trying to pass off as a cruise these days.

Quoted: they all get refunds b.

SO what's the PROBLEM???  

Quoted: Quoted: Sorry, I dont think you are gonna get any support here. He has my support.  I think he has a right, as a consumer, to be upset about this increase in the price.  Of course, as a consumer, he has the right to take his business elsewhere and tell others about it.

I wouldnt expect LESS from a "Flaming Pie-Sexual" Of course he has the right to take his business elsewhere and he should if he feels he needs to.

If he got the insurance though, All of this argument would be irrelevant.

If people want to contribute to the effor that's fine, they shouldn't be forced to contribute because  government took over their vacation ships. That whole situation is BS. I would expect an upgraded berth and covered additional expenses for re-scheduled trip. Carving out vacation time isn't easy.