i remember the inspiration was the boat leaving at the same time from miami as the boat i was on at the time

it was a nice boat. it had a mini golf on the top and a huge slide in the kids area. it was remodeled in 2004 I think it was put into service in 1996 but I may be a little off on that date.

given this new information (about all the other cruise lines following suit) I don't really look down on carnival as much as I did. I do wish that there was some sort of guarantee. carnival does have a guarantee but to take advantage of it, you have to act before you get to the first port-of-call.

I have always had a good time on carnival cruises. I may go on another one. I will wait until all the swine flu scare dies down though. maybe next year.

I've been trying to work out how I feel about their actions and I'm still a bit conflicted. It's not like it was their idea to cancel at the last minute. I certainly see where you're coming from, though.

Almost makes me wonder if there should be a form of insurance for such things. :)

I actually did get insurance (which the travel agents always recommend). it gives you a full refund if you don't go on the cruise regardless of the reason.

the minute I stepped on the boat, that insurance didn't matter.

and actually it was their idea to cancel (I'm not saying it was a bad idea). I am not sure the organization (I don't think it was the CDC but can't remember who) were making recomendations at the time that you don't do any "non-essential travel to mexico". it was just a recomendation but then the SUE factor kicks in after that.

I think it could have been handled better but they were between a rock and a hard place. as a cruiser, I feel we should have gotten more but as a manager of CCL (carnival cruise lines) they have to look at the whole picture and you are right about that. it would have been a huge loss in revenue. there were several boats going to mexico when they cancelled all their trips.

if there were specific insurance for missed ports of call, I would purchase it (depending on price of course). that may be something to look into.

My ex wife had a trip to Barbados all arranged and fell seriously ill a week before (bedridden for more than a year). Lost almost all her pre-paid arrangements. They wouldn't budge an inch. Guess she should've gotten some insurance! I almost never travel so I'm pretty ignorant of such things. Good to know.

Out of curiosity, what sort of payout and cost would such port of call insurance be worth to you?

I have always heard that the port tax and port fees accounted for close to $100 per person per port. I would think that if it were a descent percentange of that (maybe 10-20%) it would be reasonable.

I think the insurance we got for the entire cruise was only 50-100 dollars (that is per person though).

why? thinking of starting a business?

Nah, just trying to put the inconvenience into perspective. Idle curiosity.

I have gone from completely ticked, screw carnival, never dealing with them again.....

to, well, it is policy and that is more than others did (other cruise lines) I have had 3 other enjoyable experiences. might as well give it another try.


another family that went with us on the cruise (first time cruisers) has already put a deposit on a cruise for july of '10 (2010). they saw the potential of a good vacation despite the experience and maybe I should do the same.