Anyone reschedualing or cancelling a Caribbean cruise this winter due to storm damage

I would assume (ass u me) that Princess recognizes that your final payment is due shortly (since your post was yesterday and you had 2 days to final payment it is due tomorrow) and that they would send out a notice today however, with that said, if it were me, if I had no notice by the end of the day today, I would search for another cruise departure date and cancel this one. It is hard to imagine what all the cruise lines must be going through, each trying to get their ships into open ports knowing the limitation of each port, how many ship can it handle at one time, time of docking and departing etc etc. And while we all consider changes to our vacation plans, let us not forget all those who have lost their lives, family members, their homes and businesses and are having to deal with months and months of hardship. Easy to sit at my desk and reschedule my vacation, not so with having to reschedule their entire lives. God bless them all!!

Well said!!!!:)

I’m hoping that Princess offers upgrades and upsells to those of us who didn’t cancel, before they offer low-ball deals to everyone else.

 

 

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Right! Like that will happen! We are passed final payment and we are on Caribe deck and there is lots of availability....those cabins many times go fast!!

I can understand your frustration but just what would you like Princess to do in this situation. If going to those exact islands is that important to you, then cancel & rebook for next year or select another itinerary that hasn't had a hurricane.

Your nastiness is not appreciated nor deserved. Going to the exact islands is not "that important to me," and I don't know why you would assume that's the point of my post. Do you generally give someone a few thousand dollars (non-refundable) without knowing what you're buying? I doubt it!

If I was going to be mostly unhappy with a replacement port and didn't want to take a chance that we would be going to the Western Caribbean and I hadn't made final payment yet, I would cancel and rebook another time.

Another good reason to purchase travel insurance that lets you cancel for NO reason.

Tony

I just made final payment for the Regal 12-17-17 thru 1-7-18. From a list of ports open and closed which was published in USA today two days ago, I believe the only ports we will

have replaced at St. Thomas, St. Martin and San Juan.

Interesting enough, the update Princess has as of 9/23 on there web site says the port of

San Juan may ready for the Oct. 6 sailing. I'd be surprised if that was the case.

Anyway, my view is I probably will get to most ports scheduled, I'll be on a beautiful ship with

no cooking, cleaning, etc. got a great cabin and it will be warm. I've been on cruises where

we were scheduled to port in a country, ie. Greenland, and had to be changed. Not the end

of the world with everything considered.

Pam

Celebrity is out with all their revised itineraries. St Thomas is replaced in October but is included in December sailing. St Martin is canceled for the rest of this year. San Juan does not seem to be affected at all.

Your nastiness is not appreciated nor deserved. Going to the exact islands is not "that important to me," and I don't know why you would assume that's the point of my post. Do you generally give someone a few thousand dollars (non-refundable) without knowing what you're buying? I doubt it!

I didn't think it was meant to be nasty. We did a 14 day E/W Caribbean that ended up being all Western because of a hurricane. Was I happy to switch? No, but I realized in the contract I agreed to, it was up to them. In my case I was already on the ship. I can't imagine if they started letting people change their minds at the last minute what a mess it would be. That said, if you have 'any reason insurance' you can choose to cancel. But no matter what cruise line or what itinerary you take it could happen again. We had a friend going to Bermuda, with all nice weather clothes packed who ended up in Nova Scotia.

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Another good reason to purchase travel insurance that lets you cancel for NO reason.

Tony

Right you are!

But to say you are going on a cruise to help the Caribbean out is nonsense. That money is going in Princess' pocket. This is your vacation and you need to know where you are going. I would never leave my vacation up to the whim of the cruise company. Paul

I agree with you. Monies directed to relief organizations are what is needed most for the islands. Princess may dock at some of the islands impacted by Irma because they are able to do so, but being able to visit the island during the recovery period is another matter. Going to an island that has been recently devastated by a hurricane is not a great situation. There are health and sanitation issues and other complexities that may not be obvious. If I had a cruise booked to the Eastern Caribbean this winter, I would defer to next year and go elsewhere.

I just made final payment for the Regal 12-17-17 thru 1-7-18. From a list of ports open and closed which was published in USA today two days ago, I believe the only ports we will

have replaced at St. Thomas, St. Martin and San Juan.

 

Interesting enough, the update Princess has as of 9/23 on there web site says the port of

San Juan may ready for the Oct. 6 sailing. I'd be surprised if that was the case.

 

Anyway, my view is I probably will get to most ports scheduled, I'll be on a beautiful ship with

no cooking, cleaning, etc. got a great cabin and it will be warm. I've been on cruises where

we were scheduled to port in a country, ie. Greenland, and had to be changed. Not the end

of the world with everything considered.

 

Pam

Love the way you think!

We booked our December cruise on the Regal to relax on the sea on a lovely floating resort. It is a much needed break before the holiday chaos. ;)

The itinerary was not important to the selection of the cruise. We are not canceling and look forward to the rest and relaxation.

It's going to be at least a year before some of the islands are really ready for visitors and I would also include the Florida Keys.

 

I don't have a cruise booked in the winter season, but have a 10 day Eastern Caribbean Voyager cruise booked for May 2018. Before Hurricane Irma, there was an itinerary change from Barbados to St. Marten due to propulsion issues with the Caribbean Princess. Would not be surprised to see one or more itinerary changes. With the propulsion issues along with the devastation on some of the islands, it may be a "No" for me. I'll wait until final payment in Feb. to decide.

 

In the meantime, I'm doing my own post hurricane cleanup at my home in Florida. Still many in my county are without power and some are struggling with flooded homes and structural damage. It's ugly enough here and I can only imagine the recovery necessary on some of the islands and in the Keys.

FYI, 1st Royal Caribbean ship called upon Key West today, per Key West Harbor cam.

I have the Feb 4 Regal under deposit, and it is not paid in full yet. However I have zero desire to do Aruba and Curacao if that is where they decide to go (went there earlier this year), so I booked a cruise on another line for those same dates. Curious as to when Princess is going to announce an itinerary change because the USVI are not able to receive visitors. Thought they might substitute San Juan and St Kitts, but these ports are also going to have problems. With final payments due in mid November, I still have some time to make a decision. But I don't care for a lot of sea days on Princess which means making final payment on that cruise is unlikely for me.

I have the Feb 4 Regal under deposit, and it is not paid in full yet. However I have zero desire to do Aruba and Curacao if that is where they decide to go (went there earlier this year), so I booked a cruise on another line for those same dates. Curious as to when Princess is going to announce an itinerary change because the USVI are not able to receive visitors. Thought they might substitute San Juan and St Kitts, but these ports are also going to have problems. With final payments due in mid November, I still have some time to make a decision. But I don't care for a lot of sea days on Princess which means making final payment on that cruise is unlikely for me.

We are booked on the October 26 sailing of the Regal. St Martin was dropped from our itinerary and replaced with St Kitts. We then received an email saying the St Kitts stop would be evaluated after Hurricane Maria. We just received another email saying that St Kitts is receiving cruise ships and that our stop there will take place as planned.

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Wow you guys are harsh!!! I'm quite happy to be on a cruise, and will happily go where they take me. My cruise in Nov 5th and so far it looks like St Thomas and Dominica are going to be a 'no" not sure about the Turks yet.

Just calling it the "mystery cruise":D

I agree totally it's kind of exciting to learn where we may go. I was hoping to see Dominica again but can always use a change from St Thomas.:D

I agree totally it's kind of exciting to learn where we may go. I was hoping to see Dominica again but can always use a change from St Thomas.:D

Any change from St Thomas would be welcomed, especially to a more secluded island.

Any change from St Thomas would be welcomed, especially to a more secluded island.

I have only one question. Will this cruis be for ever remembered as “The Magical Mystery Cruise”.

You can vote now one Smile for Yes😁 and two for No😁😁.

The Captain of The Rowboat,

Tony

I have only one question. Will this cruis be for ever remembered as “The Magical Mystery Cruise”.

You can vote now one Smile for Yes😁 and two for No😁😁.

 

The Captain of The Rowboat,

Tony

:d

...

Should we have t-shirts made up? :cool:

Mr. Kensington,

That’s a great idea. Don’t be surprised if you see me on the ship wearing one.

Thank you for your service Semper Fidelis!!!!!!

Tony

Wow you guys are harsh!!! I'm quite happy to be on a cruise, and will happily go where they take me. My cruise in Nov 5th and so far it looks like St Thomas and Dominica are going to be a 'no" not sure about the Turks yet.

Just calling it the "mystery cruise":D

I totally understand your point and can appreciate your perspective. You live up in chilly/cold Canada.

I don't. I live in hot/hotter South Florida. So WHERE I go on a Caribbean cruise actually matters, as I am not escaping for warmth and sunshine, but to see new and different ports.

I just hope Princess carefully chooses the replacement ports so as to not make matters worse for the damaged islands.

Example: On September 23 (after Maria had already devastated Puerto Rico), Princess informed people that for the Oct. 7th Caribbean Princess sailing, they still plan to go to San Juan (which itself was a replacement port for one of the Virgin Islands) on Oct 10th. Really? Why? What do they expect the passengers to do there? How? They can't even get medical/supply ships in because the ports are too damaged, so how do they get a cruise ship in?

I also hope Princess's Medical Center is ready for passengers having to be treated for a host of post-hurricane diseases. They'll have a lot more than norovirus to worry about on board with mosquitos swarming from all the pooled water, and no running water or waste disposal on the island. Here are just a few of the concerns that doctors have been discussing on TV: Zika, malaria, dysentery, e-Coli, Hep A, Hep B, typhoid. Also, God forbid any passenger has a serious health issue requiring hospitalization. The Puerto Rican doctors are reporting that hospitals still don't have any power so they can't perform surgeries, dialysis and many other life-saving procedures.

Simply put, Princess needs to be responsible here and put the residents of these islands and their recovery first, their passengers' happiness second, and their own bottom-line/shareholders' pockets last.

Those sailing on the October 7th cruise have already been notified that the St Juan Puerto Rico stop has been changed to a Sea Day.

I didn't but it sounds like Princess is looking mighty hard at who might not book or those that will cancel with possible reductions of prices to follow very shortly on some routes.

 

This might be the time to sit back & wait out some deals. ;)

I didn't get the survey either, but very strangely, less than 24 hours after I had cancelled our two cabins on the Dec. 9th Crown sailing, I got a call last night from a new Princess Personal Cruise Consultant wanting to introduce herself and help us books some cruises. LOL.

I’m hoping that Princess offers upgrades and upsells to those of us who didn’t cancel, before they offer low-ball deals to everyone else.

 

 

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Don't count on it. Those of us with final payment dates that came and went were not given any incentives to keep bookings. They'll eventually drop fares because they have to. For example, there are over 180 inside cabins still open for the Dec 9th Crown sailing.

Mr. Kensington,

That’s a great idea. Don’t be surprised if you see me on the ship wearing one.

Thank you for your service Semper Fidelis!!!!!!

Tony

Thanks, Tony.. See you onboard..