I read that Dream misses Rotoan alot because of

[gladimhere]

weather and size of ship .Can anyone tell me if this is true? Also have read crowds are really noticeable in buffet line and show seatings wondering if this is a problem as well.This is situation currently have two cruises booked and need to cancel one of them,I love Carnival but found a great deal on NCL then the Halloween special had the very cruise I had been looking at for along time cheaper than my great deal.I am super thrilled with line ship and itinerary but started to research ship and these issues popped up alot.Thank you in advanced for anyone able to help.

[BigRed93]

Wind can affect the ability of the ship to dock, it's a very narrow channel at Mahogany Bay. We have been 3 times, even in bad weather, but not in high winds.

 

 

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[cruisexlife]

I cannot speak for the Dream, but I can speak for missing Roatan.

 

Roatan can be missed, no doubt about it. Channel is a bit small and docking must be hard with lots of wind. Especially if there is more than one ship there, and since the Dream has 2 sea days, and the other ships come from Belize, the Dream always gets the back space.

 

I wouldn't cancel the cruise, but if its between September-December I would think about the possible storms, as that's storm season, and how many ports you have, and how many of them could be missed.

 

You're in for a great crusie to Roatan, Belize and Cozumel :D

[RWolver672]

I cannot speak for the Dream, but I can speak for missing Roatan.

 

Roatan can be missed, no doubt about it. Channel is a bit small and docking must be hard with lots of wind. Especially if there is more than one ship there, and since the Dream has 2 sea days, and the other ships come from Belize, the Dream always gets the back space.

 

I wouldn't cancel the cruise, but if its between September-December I would think about the possible storms, as that's storm season, and how many ports you have, and how many of them could be missed.

 

You're in for a great crusie to Roatan, Belize and Cozumel :D

 

We went on the Dream in February and missed Roatan because of wind. So it isn't just Sep-Dec. As for long lines, to us the answer is yes. To others, most say no. On sea days, it was impossible to move around all of the people that were crammed in the smaller area by the Lido pool.

[cruisexlife]

We went on the Dream in February and missed Roatan because of wind. So it isn't just Sep-Dec. As for long lines, to us the answer is yes. To others, most say no. On sea days, it was impossible to move around all of the people that were crammed in the smaller area by the Lido pool.

 

 

Okay, well i highlighted those months because that's Atlantic hurricane season. So if one random day in January is 60 degrees, it doesn't mean summer is coming :D

[Illa Zilla]

We missed Roatan when we sailed in March 2010 due to high winds. Was disappointed but glad the captain didn't take a chance. Didn't give me a lot of confidence looking at all the shipwrecks around the port...

[Elmo31]

We have been on the dream twice. One time smooth as glass but the second time it was a little rough but the captain made it in ok. All depends on the wind and waves

[OCruisers]

We have always been to Roatan in the Jan/Feb time frame and have never missed a port stop there even when docking in Mahogany Bay. :)

LuLu

[LeisaH3067]

weather and size of ship .Can anyone tell me if this is true? Also have read crowds are really noticeable in buffet line and show seatings wondering if this is a problem as well.This is situation currently have two cruises booked and need to cancel one of them,I love Carnival but found a great deal on NCL then the Halloween special had the very cruise I had been looking at for along time cheaper than my great deal.I am super thrilled with line ship and itinerary but started to research ship and these issues popped up alot.Thank you in advanced for anyone able to help.

 

When we were there in April, our tour guide mentioned the larger ships miss the stop at times. He said there is hardly any room for error when docking..I believe he said just a few feet clearance which can be a problem when the weather doesn't cooperate. We have been on many Carnival cruises, one being spring break, and never really had huge issues with crowds. Just a fyi, Grand Cayman is also a stop frequently missed as well because it's a tender port.

[LREcruise02]

We missed Mahogany Bay on the Dream due to wind but were able to dock at the other port there sorry can't remember the name. But we still had a great day in Roatan. Never noticed bad crowds on the Dream and we went over Spring Break. We loved the Dream and are sailing on her again in 2015!

 

 

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[Kittybork]

Okay, well i highlighted those months because that's Atlantic hurricane season. So if one random day in January is 60 degrees, it doesn't mean summer is coming :D

 

The Atlantic Hurricane Season begins on June 1st and runs until the end of November.

[aggie182]

Missed Roatan a few years back on a Princess ship because of winds.

[cruisexlife]

The Atlantic Hurricane Season begins on June 1st and runs until the end of November.

 

I read on here that critical time, especially in the Caribbean, was between Spetember 1-December 1.

[andy.capitan]

Hurricanes don't know they have a season, but if there is a hurricane in the area, no ships will be stopping at Roatan. The same is true of other ports.

 

Ships back into the port at Mahogany Bay and it is a work of art how they do it. We have never missed a port stop at Roatan or Grand Cayman, but it can happen. Not as often as some might think.

 

The other port is Coxen Hole.

[meinnj4]

Can't speak for Roatan but, we were on the Dream and the only time we encountered crowds were the comedy shows. We spent all of our sea day on Deck 5 in the hot tubs and loungers, there were never more then 15-20 people down there.

[RuthlessBoss]

Hurricanes don't know they have a season, but if there is a hurricane in the area, no ships will be stopping at Roatan. The same is true of other ports.

 

Ships back into the port at Mahogany Bay and it is a work of art how they do it. We have never missed a port stop at Roatan or Grand Cayman, but it can happen. Not as often as some might think.

 

The other port is Coxen Hole.

 

We missed it on Dream in April a few years back because winds were getting the ship broadside. The channel was not only narrow, but the ship must back in. I think they've slightly widened it and since then there has been less complaints about it. For people wondering about why not widen it, it's because of the reefs that cannot be destroyed just to let ships in. We couldn't get to Coxen Hole, it was already occupied.

[redefinition]

We missed Roatan due to wind on the Magic this April and the Dream docked. I think they saw we were having issues and went to a differnet pier.

 

Docked there this Sept on the Magic, though.

[splintz]

We missed Mahogany Bay on the Dream due to wind but were able to dock at the other port there sorry can't remember the name. But we still had a great day in Roatan. Never noticed bad crowds on the Dream and we went over Spring Break. We loved the Dream and are sailing on her again in 2015!

 

 

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my cruise to Roatan on the dream did the same thing. worked out better because we had a private excursion that could pick us up right at the ship. if we docked in mahogany bay we would have had to walk off the private grounds and the van would pick us up outside.

[evandbob]

my cruise to Roatan on the dream did the same thing. worked out better because we had a private excursion that could pick us up right at the ship. if we docked in mahogany bay we would have had to walk off the private grounds and the van would pick us up outside.

 

I believe it is mainly the largest CCL ships that have difficulty docking in Roatan when there are high crosswinds. It doesn't matter if the ship is guided in stern or bow first. It is strictly a matter of how much "sail" these larger vessels have - sail being the term for surface area impacted by winds. The larger the sail, the harder it is to dock. It is also not only the narrow channel that turns a port day into a sea day. It is also the possible of the winds pushing the ship into the pier, damaging the hull structure.

 

I've been to Roatan maybe 12 times, never had a problem, always docked on Conquest size ships or the Paradise (back when Coxen's Hole was the main port).

[imluvncruzn]

We also missed Roatan while on the Dream. Another carnival ship was already docked there too. It was a beautiful

Sunny day but breezy I guess and Captain could not back her in there!

 

 

 

 

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[RuthlessBoss]

We also missed Roatan while on the Dream. Another carnival ship was already docked there too. It was a beautiful

Sunny day but breezy I guess and Captain could not back her in there!

 

 

 

 

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Ours was a sunny day too, but it was explained those breezes were hitting broadside. We waited quite a while in case of wind shift, but it didn't happen.