Carnival Apology For Bermuda Cancellations
Carnival Cruise Lines has apologised to Government for failing to notify local tourism officials it was planning to reduce its 2012 Bermuda itinerary.
In a statement issued by the Florida-based cruise line Carnival said it had conducted a review to determine why Government was not informed its Bermuda schedule was being cut back from 12 visits to just one.
“Although quite some time ago we had requested berths for several Bermuda calls in 2012, we ultimately only scheduled one voyage,” the company said.
“Therefore we did not cancel any cruises that were actually scheduled and open for sale. However we did just recently notify the relevant people in Bermuda that we would not be needing those slots as our ships will be operating alternate itineraries.
“We have conducted some internal research to determine why the notification was not made earlier and have implemented new processes to ensure that this does not happen again in the future. We apologise to our partners in Bermuda for not advising them of this situation sooner.”
On Sunday [Oct.30] Transport Minister Terry Lister said he had only been told the previous week that Carnival was dropping 11 of its 12 announced 2012 Bermuda cruises.
“We were surprised to only learn of the cancellations on Wednesday,” said Mr. Lister. “This has put us in a unfortunate position for next year, because it will be difficult to find suitable replacement ships at such a late date.
“We are extremely disappointed by this late notification by Carnival Cruise Lines, but we will make every attempt to fill some of the empty berths with ships from other cruise lines. It is highly unusual for cancellations to occur so close to the beginning of the season.”
A statement issued said, “Ministry of Transport generally finalizes cruise applications 12-18 months in advance of the actual sailings and the 12 Carnival cruises for 2012 were approved in late 2010. Carnival was notified of the approval soon after they applied for the berths.”
The RG story mentions St Maarten. I must say that my husband, family and I went on a cruise this Summer and we were married in St Maarten. The car that would transport us to our wedding location was allowed on the dock to collect us right from the disembarkation area. Our family and friends were escorted to an awaiting bus that was like new, and the resort that allowed us to use their beach was most accomodating. When we got back in the immaculate car with sand on our feet we were not given a broom to sweep them off or told to clean them perfectly before we got in; instead quite the opposite we were told not to fuss when we did try to remove all sand. The people were all friendly that we came in contact with from beginning to end. We were advised that they too are tackling an increase in violent crimes but this is obviously not stopping cruise lines from travelling there.
There are so many ways that our transportation situation could have been handeled differently here…but it all boils down to the number of buses currently out of operation, and us not having the money to pay for the required parts. Add to that the decrease in friendliness, the rise in crime against tourists and one need not wonder what factored into their decision.
We need honest answers as to why there are so many buses out of operation and why so many garbage trucks are not on the road to the point that it impacts the collection process (what tourist wants to see piles of 2 day old garbage). We then as a country need to hold those accountable for the reasons and demand that something be done differently. These are only a few things that IMHO contribute to the feeling of not wanting to return that tourists leave here with.
Our island is falling apart at the seams and yet we allow those doing the same things and giving us the same results to continue doing just that.
Why is Bermuda not owed late cancellation fees? Is this poor administration and planning?
Well well well, just another example of why we need to make gambling legal in Bda! I can see the comment cards now, NO GAMING on or off the ship.
And they have casinos right as you get off the ship and the French side of the island has great restaurants and a Euro feel…the weather is great year round…the nude beaches are interesting too….
Note that our government failed to follow up the 2010 “approval” of Carnival’s request for 12 births with a contract which would have included penalties for late notice of cancellation. So Carnival cannot be blamed for canceling 11 voyages that were never scheduled! It’s our government’s mistake – one that will cost us hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost visitor income and taxes. We cannot afford such mismanagement.
This story is not about gambling or casinos, nor is it about why we can’t get any money out of Carnival for cancelling the trips. It is about the bottom of the barrel and how we got there. Some years back Bermuda wouldn’t even have asked Carnival to sail here -too down market. Now, they have dumped us. Yes, transportation was a problem, but over all, the problem is our attitude. Few of us cared if they came or not. We don’t want to be inconvenienced in any way -including bus drivers and the traveling public. So soon, we wont have to care because no-one will come and then we can all fight and shoot each other and blame each other and hide in our increasingly secure homes and become just like those islands we said we would never be like. Only they are all moving ahead; they learned from their mistakes. We are just beginning our slide into poverty, and watch – we will have no friends. Nor do we deserve any.
Rite on Joe. Enum dahn natha….
Joe for Premier! So refreshing to hear from someone who CAN see the wood for the trees.
It’s nice of Carnival to offer an “apology”. I can assure you that it would not have been forthcoming had there been a contract in place.
Bermuda is slowly realising that you reap what you sow. The good that you do will come back ten fold, the bad that you do will come back to haunt you. First of all, why is there not a system in place to disallow a cruise line from cancelling 11 of 12 cruises to the island? They did it because they could. And if I am well within my rights to do something, I can’t say my actions would be much different to Carnival. Hey, at least they were polite enough to apologize, right? Poor Terry, caught him right off guard, a lot like all the other problems this island is starting to face. They won’t know what hit them!
Secondly, you can’t treat the tourists the way that you do, and expect them to want to visit this place? This blatent invasion of privacy that takes place on the cruise ships? Searching for an ounce or two if so much, of some Marijuana? It sounds like the police force is overstaffed to me, because with all the current crime this island is facing, you really have the man power to search the ships for some traces of “illegal substance”? And then you embarrass these very tourists in the court, fine them, and expect them to say wonderful things about your country or even think about returning? That’s just a drop in the bucket of reasons as to why Carnival’s passengers have no interest in coming back here.
Sometimes we need to be sensible and pick our battles. Terry, maybe next time you will be more thorough in your responsibilities……oh wait, there might not even be a next time for you right???
So yes, perhaps the “poor West Indian islands” may be the perfect example for Bermuda to learn from. How to achieve something from nothing and feel a sense of accomplishment, how to work hard for what you would like out of life unless of course you can inherit it all, how to not feel entitled just because you are born somewhere, how to work together and be proud of your culture and pass it down to your children, and how to lead by example.
the cruise lines is named carnival and we stamped that out of here. i must agree that the other islands are better than us now, and if you want a really great party, go check out some place no speaka no engleesh