Ray Castro's Waltons Appreciation Cruise

[clyde]

I can't believe a reputable company would not give you the option of canceling the whole thing since it's no longer the Waltons cruise that you signed up for. If it was my money out there, I would be getting some of those unanswered questions answered. Have you been told for sure that you can't cancel and get a refund based on this unforeseen circumstance?I I would be contacting everyone I could think of, including my lawyer!

[dagmargermany]

Jan, I am so sorry about what happened and I can totally understand how disappointed you are. How unfair to all the people who already have paid their trip !!!

I agree with clyde -there should be a possibility to cancel this Waltons Appreciation Cruise if there won´t be any cast members on board anymore.

I really hope for all of you everything turns out well. Good luck !!!

[daniela]

Jan,
I know how you and your hubby were both so excited to go. I'm really sorry to hear about the cancellation. I also believe that you should be given the option of cancelling on your part too. You did pay for a " Walton's Cruise". I hope you have a fantastic time, despite the dissapointement.

It really is not fair to you and the others who have paid for their tickets. I don't want to judge and make assumptions because I don't know the details, but it seems really mean that the cruise was cancelled so abruptly, and is still being advertised as a go. It really doesn't make sense. I hope you find the answers that might take the sting away a little.

[Jan]

No, this is NOT okay to do this to dedicated Walton's fans, especially this far into the game.   But as upset and disappointed as we both have been all weekend, we made the decision ourselves to go ahead and still cruise with NCL.  We set this time aside for US long ago.  The cruise line, itself, is not at fault here.  Yes, we have ALL been given a bum rap but we are still going and will do our best to have a good time.  Others may decide to try to fight it and that is okay.  Everyone needs to do what is best for them.  I am just extremely disappointed that a cruise with the Walton's name on it had to go down in this manner. 

[michelle]

So sorry regarding the cruise issue. I just clicked on the Facebook link that was attached to the opening post on this thread and there is a disclaimer indicating that "Walton cast members appearances are subject to change due to last minute scheduling conflicts." Those involved with this whole event would and could argue.that there was this disclaimer and that nothing was ever guaranteed regarding the casts' appearances.

I don't know much about it but there was another event that the cast was involved with in December, 2011. The event was organized by Ray Castro, and apparently some scheduled activities were not carried out and many of the fans were not to happy about it. However, I guess things do happen and unfortunately that's life. I hope that those who do go on the cruise have a blast anyway.

[Deleted]

I'm wondering if the reason nothing has been formally announced regarding the cancellation is because, maybe all hope is not lost here (yet). If they can get people to get their final payments in by early this week, it might still be on.  They may be waiting until that last minute to make the announcement on Facebook and other areas of advertisements.

I'll keep my fingers crossed for you, Jan!  By the way... Happy 40 years to you and your husband! Bless you both!!

[Jan]

Aug 4, 2013 20:19:41 GMT -5 @nickie said:

I'm wondering if the reason nothing has been formally announced regarding the cancellation is because, maybe all hope is not lost here (yet). If they can get people to get their final payments in by early this week, it might still be on.  They may be waiting until that last minute to make the announcement on Facebook and other areas of advertisements.

I'll keep my fingers crossed for you, Jan!  By the way... Happy 40 years to you and your husband! Bless you both!!

Thanks for your optimistic attitude, Nickie!     I just wish all hope wasn't lost, but unfortunately it is.  The cruise agency director I have worked with for months called me personally on Friday and said all the Walton cast had already backed out because there wasn't going to be enough money to pay their way...flight and cruise. She had 50 more to call with the dreaded news after me. The NCL full payment deadline is tomorrow (Monday), and they knew they didn't have enough reservations to meet the quota to get the cast there.  It's just a shame they waited so long.  Why no one in "the know" will speak out publicly or take down all the websites, Facebook page, and YouTube videos to advertise the cruise, makes no sense at all.  It probably is hard for all of you to believe this cruise is really cancelled with all the information still out there.  But, for all of us that got that shocking phone call on Friday..... it's real.  But...I'm an optimistic person, life is still good, and I'm not going to let this get me down.    

And...thanks for the early 40th anniversary wishes!  We'll figure out somewhere else special to go next spring!  

[Brenda]

Jan, I have to say, you have a great attitude about this whole situation. I do hope you and your husband have a wonderful trip, and I also want to congratulate you on your 40th anniversary. My husband and I celebrated our 41st last December. We didn't do anything special for our 40th, at least not around the time of our anniversary. December is not a good month for going on trips, and we were both still working at the time. I called our trip to California for the 40th anniversary of The Waltons our 40th wedding anniversary trip. The Homecoming was first shown on TV the month we got married, and The Waltons series began during our first year of marriage. So I thought a Waltons reunion trip would be appropriate.

[Jan]

Aug 4, 2013 21:54:39 GMT -5 Brenda said:

Jan, I have to say, you have a great attitude about this whole situation. I do hope you and your husband have a wonderful trip, and I also want to congratulate you on your 40th anniversary. My husband and I celebrated our 41st last December. We didn't do anything special for our 40th, at least not around the time of our anniversary. December is not a good month for going on trips, and we were both still working at the time. I called our trip to California for the 40th anniversary of The Waltons our 40th wedding anniversary trip. The Homecoming was first shown on TV the month we got married, and The Waltons series began during our first year of marriage. So I thought a Waltons reunion trip would be appropriate.

Thank you for your kind words, Brenda.  Everyone here on the Forum is so supportive and expressive with their thoughts and suggestions.   It made me feel better  to come here and get the bad news off my chest on Saturday.  That call came in late Friday evening, so the timing was not conducive for a good night's sleep.  I just figure there is no other way to look at it.  The unthinkable has happened and there isn't a whole lot any of us can do to change it.  We have a completely paid up vacation to look forward to (even though it is not what we had hoped for), passports are ready, and we'll get to visit new places we have never been to before.  My husband I have said we will now hold tighter than ever to our memories of the outstanding 1999 cruise that Carolyn Grinnell planned for us all.  It can never be duplicated again, as it turned out to really be a once in a lifetime cruise with numerous cast present, several now gone from us.

I would say you spent a wonderful and very special 40th anniversary right along with the Walton's!  I would have loved to have been there with you all.  I am happy for everyone here that is planning the trip to Virginia this fall.   I know you will all have a wonderful time together.      

[Brenda]

This was posted on the Cruise Facebook page today:

Hello all Waltons fans, CruiseOne has been organizing the Waltons Cruise since July 2012. Unfortunately over half of the 250+ people who had said that they were traveling on the cruise have not & did not actually pay. Yesterday Sunday 4 August 2013 was the last day for the receipt of full payment, before guests who had paid, would have lost their deposit. That was a scenario that simply would not have been fair to those guests who had paid.

The Waltons fee element of the fare, was to be used to meet the cost of the six cast members traveling on the cruise. Because so many people had not paid, CruiseOne did not have sufficient funds to accommodate all the cast members & they in turn did not want a few cast members travelling on the cruise and the remainder left behind . Therefore it was decided after waiting as long as we could for guests to pay & with immense regret, that the Waltons element of the cruise would have to be cancelled.

We are extremely sorry about this however it was essential that those guests who had paid, had the option of getting their money back . As stated earlier, yesterday Sunday 4 August 2013 was the last day on which paid guests could request a full refund of the cruise payment. Hence CruiseOne could not wait any longer for those who had not paid & a decision had to be made.

The decision was not made lightly but the reality of the situation was, that the lack of payment made what was going to be a wonderful event, financially untenable.

CruiseOne extends its profound regret for the disappointment this decision is certain to cause all those Waltons fans who paid for the cruise and supported us in this venture.

We fully understand those who have expressed anger but sincerely thank those whose messages have been measured, reasonable & understanding.

CruiseOne would also like to thank all the Waltons actors who had agreed to participate in the Walton Appreciation Cruise.

[JeannePhx]

This is so sad. I'm so sorry Jan that this happened. I had wanted to go on the cruise badly but didn't have enough vacation time off at work nor funds this year to do it. I would've been crushed had I decided to go and then it got canceled like this. (It sort of brings back when Richard Thomas had to cancel attending last year's 40th anniversary event but this is worse.) My sympathies and hope you have fun on your celebration cruise anyway. Maybe Carolyn will be able to convince someone else to come and attend her reunion since they're now not going on the cruise, you never know.

[Jan]

Thanks for your kind words, Jeanne and topdog.  Jeanne it would be so nice for you all if some of the cast could come to Virginia.  Wouldn't you love to have Michael Learned?  

We had already purchased cruise insurance but were told we could get a refund anyway.  Well, we would have had to see about that.  However, we had to act by no later than 10:00 a.m. the next morning.... Saturday.  That's ALL the time my husband and I were given to make a decision of what to do after that fated call came in late Friday evening.  It was so unfair to lay this on everyone at the last minute.  Can you imagine the shock of a phone call like that, then trying to calm yourself down enough to decide what to do late on a Friday night?  We didn't purchase air fare insurance for our non-refundable tickets, so would have been out a chunk there.  We just made the decision to go anyway and have a good time regardless of what had just happened.  Topdog, as I mentioned in an earlier post, Carolyn Grinnell was involved in the 1999 Walton's cruise and it was a classy event all the way.  No one had any complaints about anything.  It all came off without a single hitch and we had the most wonderful time.  We've already said...No more of these group cruises and Virginia next year.  I want to meet all of you nice folks anyway!    

[ez]

BEWARE OF ALL RAY CASTRO EVENTS. I know because I payed for the VIP ticket for THE HOMECOMING REUNION 2 years ago in new jersey and the whole thing was a RIP-OFF.

[Heather]

I was afraid something like this would happen with this event. Maybe we'll see more of the cast at Carolyn's now. For those of you that were affected (boy, would I be UP-SET!), I'm really sorry...

[Deleted]

Maybe the best way to make sure this doesn't happen again is to not participate in the events Mr Castro organizes instead of putting this all on Mr. Hamner's 90 year old shoulders. 

I already believe that because of this situation, many people will be thinking long and hard before trusting him again.  The last thing Mr. Hamner needs is to stress out about something that, at this point, he cannot fix.