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8 Tips About Cruise Ship Vacations And Cruise Ship Maintenance

After fires this year on board Royal Caribbean cruise line's Grandeur Of the Seas cruise ship and Carnival cruise line's Triumph cruise ship, plus a 2012 fire onboard Costa cruise line's Allegra cruise ship, a reader asked what I thought about the cruise lines and cruise ship maintenance. These events severely interrupted passengers' vacations, and nobody wants to experience a ruined vacation.

This reader knows that my wife and I have completed 20 cruise ship vacations. We have sailed on many cruise lines: Carnival, Celebrity, Costa, Holland America, MSC, Norwegian, Princess, and Royal Caribbean. We have sailed to Alaska, Bermuda, the Caribbean, the Mexican Riviera, the Panama Canal, the Hawaiian Islands, portions of northern South America, and the Mediterranean Sea. My thoughts about cruise ship maintenance are numerous.

First, bad things happen. Bad things happen both at hotels on land, and on cruise ships at sea. It seems that the events regarding cruise ships more often gather news media headlines. Know that land-based hotels have events, too. You may not hear about them.

Second, the cruise lines frequently offer big discounts for unsold cabins on cruise ships; especially as the departure date nears. It's in their interest to keep their ships full because cruise ship staff rely on tips for income. If you get what appears to be a too-good-to-be-true cruise vacation deal, visit the cruise line’s website to learn when that ship was built.

If the cruise line's website does not disclose the year the ship was built, then visit Cruising.org, the official website of the cruise industry operated by Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA). In the left column, select the cruise line and then the specific ship you are considering. While at the website, consumers should also read the CLIA Passenger Bill Of Rights, so you know what to expect and what to demand.

There seems to be a somewhat higher risk with older cruise ships. I define "older" as a ship that was built 14 or more years ago, regardless of whether it has been renovated. The Grandeur Of The Seas was built in 1996. The Carnival Triumph was built in 1999, and renovated in 2008. The Costa Allegra cruise ship was built in 1992 and renovated in 2005. The ships are used heavily since they operate year-round with passengers, and sail during both good and bad weather.

Third, I advise consumers to learn about the ship you plan to sail on. One website I use is Cruise Critic, and specifically the message boards which include unfiltered comments by cruise ship passengers. This is an excellent way to learn about any recent problems on a cruise ship you are considering.

Experienced travelers use Cruise Critic, and I have found the comments informative for a couple reasons. The comments are timely as they are posted by passengers who have recently sailed on a cruise ship. The comments, both good and bad, are accurate because they are posted by experienced travelers. I researched the Grandeur Of the Seas cruise ship on Cruise Critic before we sailed on it from April 24 to May 3. To me, this is the benefit of a social networking website: unfiltered, accurate, and reliable comments. Sadly, the (marketing) websites by the cruise lines won't disclose this information.

So, we were aware of the specific problems (e.g., plumbing, odors) the ship had experienced previously; and that the ship had been renovated. Cruise lines periodically take a cruise ship out of service for a few weeks to fix problems, and to upgrade on-board amenities. So, we were comfortable sailing on the Grandeur OTS.

The Cruise Critic website has some gravitas. When I worked previously at a digital advertising agency, I worked on an account for one of the cruise lines. I can tell you that the cruise line executives definitely read the Cruise Critic website and comments by passengers.

Fourth, ask your travel agent. He or she might know, and suggest a different ship or different cruise line. Many consumers make their reservations directly at a cruise line's website. While this is a huge convenience, experienced travelers do more research first and often use a travel agent.

Fifth, customer service matters. Consumers can use the news reports to learn about how cruise lines respond when things go wrong on a ship at sea. You may or may not feel comfortable with the response. That can guide your choice of ship and cruise line. Again, comments by passengers at the Cruise Critic website will give you an idea of which cruise lines respond better than others.

Royal Caribbean posted the following message on its website:

"Unfortunately, the damage caused by the fire on Grandeur of the Seas will require us to cancel the rest of the current sailing. We are currently working on making the necessary arrangements to return all guests to Baltimore, Maryland, tomorrow... Unfortunately, due to the time needed to repair the damage caused by the fire, it is necessary to cancel Grandeur of the Seas’ next voyage, which was scheduled to depart Baltimore, Maryland, on Friday, May 31."

Royal Caribbean announced on its Facebook page:

"The May 31st sailing of Granduer of the Seas has been cancelled. All booked guests will receive a full refund of the cruise fare as well as a 50% future cruise certificate. We will provide an update regarding future sailings on Grandeur of the Seas by the end of this week."

Is this customer service response sufficient? That only you can decide for yourself. In my opinion, it is sufficient and makes the best of interrupted vacation plans.

Sixth, buy travel insurance. Most cruise lines offer this and it is available through independent insurance carriers such as Travel Guard. Travel insurance covers a lot of things, including but not limited to lost luggage and interrupted travel. The price varies, based on the total cost of your trip. When I travel, I always buy travel insurance. Peace of mind is important to me. And, the insurance might cover items the cruise lines don't. For example, when Costa cruise line's Concordia cruise ship sank in the Mediterranean, some passengers died but most who lost luggage had to buy replacement clothes and personal items. Travel insurance would usually cover this.

Seventh, it may be helpful to know that Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian are largely entry-level cruise lines -- the cruise lines first-time travelers typically sail on. Just like land-based hotels, there are different tiers of cruise lines. You might consider one of the mid-range cruise lines: Celebrity, Princess, or Holland America.

Eighth, when researching your cruise ship vacation look for unfiltered reviews of cruise ships. There are many websites with cruise reviews, but many filter their reviews. While I like Cruise Critic, you may also like Cruise Addicts. Whatever you do, find a website with unfiltered reviews submitted by experienced passengers.

Comments

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Andre' Robinson

George - My wife and I had the pleasure to sail with you and Allie recently on Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas. It is only the third cruise that I experienced, but, thanks to your extensive research, I will be better informed the fourth time around. Thank you!

Kprelosky

I have friends who absolutley swear by cruise vacations, but after all this bad press I would think twice before I booked a ticket.

Nancy Karwatka

George - I think your article is very well written. I agree with everything you said. As you know, we typically travel on Celebrity. Occasionally we sail on Royal Caribbean and Princess. Normally we choose to cruise on newer ships because we like their feel and a newer ship has more updated safety features.

For example, we recently went on the Celebrity Eclipse while the Carnival Triumph had its fire in their engine room. During a presentation, the engineer told us that the Eclipse would never have the problem the Triumph had because the Eclipse had two completely separate engine rooms and if need be the ship could be powered with just one engine room. They also have a generator in a completely different area to power the "vacuum" system, meaning the toilets would always work, unlike the Triumph's.

Another way to check on a cruise line is to do a search on the ship. For example, we will be sailing on the Celebrity Summit and when I did a search on the ship, I found that it has failed a CDC sanitation inspection. My hope is that this will be corrected by the time we sail, but knowledge is power and I will continue to check on the status of corrective actions taken by Celebrity.

The bottom line is that I would personally travel on any cruise line given the right circumstances. With anything you do there is a risk, but considering how many cruise ships there are and the tens of thousands of people cruising at any given time, it is clear the risk is minimal. I am much safer on a cruise ship than I am driving down the interstate. Since I live near Baltimore, when the Grandeur comes back on line and if I see a good deal, I would not hesitate to take it and sail on the Grandeur.

George

Readers who are interested in the Vessel Sanitation Program, can learn more at the Centers For Disease Control (CDC) website:

http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/

Nancy: thanks for the comments about the Eclipse. It is good to know what amenities and safety features the newer ships have. BTW, we sailed on the Summit in 2007 during a Panama Canal crossing from Fort Lauderdale to Los Angeles. Very comfortable ship. Great food.

George
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