Rebuilding islands after a bad hurricane...Time to cancel cruises that are booked ?

[tbmrt]

Right now I'm doing heavy duty hurricane prep work for our home north of Tampa, FL. It appears that Irma is heading to FL and we will definitely be impacted. We aren't near the coast, but I'm still worried about the wind, etc.

 

Category 5 Irma will be hitting St. Martin and some of the other islands where our December, 2017 cruise is headed to. There will be lots of devastation at these places and I'm praying for the best for everyone there.

 

That being said, my final payment on my Celebrity cruise is due in just a few days and I'm wondering if I should cancel it and rebook another cruise.

 

I'm thinking that Celebrity will probably redo the itinerary for our 12/17 cruise so the ship will still sail, but with different ports which I may not be interested in.

 

Would appreciate your input on this.

[terri-eddie]

We are also sailing in December, to Grand Turk, St Maarten, St Kitts and San Juan. I am sure there will still be damage evident when we get there, if we are not re-routed. However, I booked this trip almost a year ago, and I will not cancel. I don't want to have to un-do all the arrangements....flights, hotels, excursions, vacation time. I really want my cruise to remain the same, but if I have to visit different ports, I can still have a good time.

[Keith1010]

It's a personal decision.

 

If it was me I would just go with whatever new itinerary they come up with if one is required.

 

Hoping that the impact is not as bad a being forecasted and no loss of life.

 

Keith

[leaveitallbehind]

At this point it is difficult to say what the damage will be or how long it may take for the islands to recover. With several months to go until your cruise who knows at this point what the cruise lines will do or what your itinerary will be. But certainly, as you are aware, if the intended ports of call are not suitable to call on at that time they will reroute the itinerary and should know and announce that well in advance of your sailing date.

 

Canceling and re-booking is entirely up to you and difficult for us to say as first of all we don't know where your current intended itinerary is or what ports of call you would not enjoy as alternatives. But more importantly as indicated, nobody at this point has any way of knowing or predicting what will occur with that itinerary at this point. You can only decide for yourself what you think you should do.

Edited September 6, 2017 by leaveitallbehind

[AdGuyMG]

Category 5 Irma will be hitting St. Martin and some of the other islands where our December, 2017 cruise is headed to. There will be lots of devastation at these places and I'm praying for the best for everyone there.

 

That being said, my final payment on my Celebrity cruise is due in just a few days and I'm wondering if I should cancel it and rebook another cruise.

 

I'm thinking that Celebrity will probably redo the itinerary for our 12/17 cruise so the ship will still sail, but with different ports which I may not be interested in.

 

So say you rebooked another cruise with an itinerary to the Western Caribbean ( Roatan, Belize, Cozumel)?

 

What guarantee do you have that a major storm will not be hitting that region in the next few weeks?

[Warm Breezes]

Right now I'm doing heavy duty hurricane prep work for our home north of Tampa, FL. It appears that Irma is heading to FL and we will definitely be impacted. We aren't near the coast, but I'm still worried about the wind, etc.

 

Category 5 Irma will be hitting St. Martin and some of the other islands where our December, 2017 cruise is headed to. There will be lots of devastation at these places and I'm praying for the best for everyone there.

 

That being said, my final payment on my Celebrity cruise is due in just a few days and I'm wondering if I should cancel it and rebook another cruise.

 

I'm thinking that Celebrity will probably redo the itinerary for our 12/17 cruise so the ship will still sail, but with different ports which I may not be interested in.

 

Would appreciate your input on this.

 

Tourism is the life blood of these islands. They will be back and running as soon as possible. We were on one of the first ships to Cozumel after Wilma sat spinning on top of them in 2005. It was one month after the devastating hurricane. They were still a work in process. The dock was gone and we had to tender in but they were up and running and welcoming the ships back as fast as they could.

[Nitemare]

If the islands are open they are going to need as much tourist revenue as possible. I'd keep my plans, understanding that there's a decent chance the port schedule will change

[Goosebear Mum]

Please don't cancel. If the islanders want us, then they need us. They rely on income from tourism. I think we ought to see islands 'as they are' and not just Summer holiday resorts... these people have to put up with a lot 'out of season'.

[voyager70]

Saw a Facebook video of St. Maarten this morning shortly after the eyewall hit. Damage looks very bad. That being said, we were in Cozumel a few months after it took a devastating hit from Cat 5 Wilma several years ago, and while the place was basically rebuilding from scratch we still had an enjoyable time, and the locals, as others have said, were so happy to see the cruise ships returning as this is a huge source of their economy.

[LHT28]

if your only reason it to see those islands then cancel & wait to see if there will be ships going to those hard hit islands

Or keep your booking & go with the flow

we will go where ever the ship takes us

[Itchy&Scratchy]

I just made a final payment on our Thanksgiving cruise to Cozumel/Jamaica/Costa Maya. I am not cancelling even if they get hit by Irma or whichever one is coming next.

[easyboy]

I would not cancel. If ever, we don't know yet the extent of damage it could cause. I saw the damage on Cozumel, compared with how it was a year before that. Yet, we still enjoyed our stay.

 

 

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[Krazy Kruizers]

A few years ago we were scheduled to do a back-to-back cruise -- Western Caribbean and Eastern Caribbean in October. Sure we knew it was hurricane season but we weren't worried. It's a cruise and our captain would take care of us.

We sailed out of Tampa and got to Key West the next day. We were scheduled to leave Key West at 6 PM -- but we just sat there.

At 8 PM we pulled out and I noticed that we were heading east -- not west. A couple of minutes later our captain came on and announced that Hurricane Paula had decided to change our itinerary. We ended up doing 2 different eastern itineraries with only a couple of repeat ports.

We enjoyed it.

So go and be prepared for whatever happens and wherever you go. Enjoy

[sail7seas]

I just made a final payment on our Thanksgiving cruise to Cozumel/Jamaica/Costa Maya. I am not cancelling even if they get hit by Irma or whichever one is coming next.

Very early to be thinking of cancelling IMO. Why not at least wait and se where the storms ultimately hit and what the damage may or may not b e. This is a good time to wish all those who may be facing this monster storm well and good luck. They have not yet suffered damage which may not happen. Wish them well and worry about canedlling when or if there is a reason. Sorry but that is just the way I see it.

 

 

I heard a great comment the other day in regard to worryin g about something that may not happen. If you worry in advance of the event, IF it happens, you will worry twice about the same issue. It HAS NOT happened yet. It is so easy to fall into a trap of worrying our lives away.. All who may be in Irma's path, stay safe, take no chances and let us know after that you and yours are okay.

[navybankerteacher]

We are scheduled for two weeks on St. Maarten in January. Of course we are going to watch things - but it is highly unlikely that maximum rebuilding efforts will not be undertaken immediately. Worst case: our place might not be habitable by January, so we will have to play it by ear.

 

But, there will be plenty for cruise ship visitors to see/do - so thoughts of cancellation, certainly at this time, are terribly premature.

[Strophic]

We are scheduled to cruise to San Juan and St Maarten in early December—I don't plan to cancel or reschedule. They are going to need the money brought in by the tourists.

[janetz]

We set sail in 49 days and one stop was 12 hours in St. Maarten which we were pretty excited for. We have made all kinds of plans for the day.

I doubt we will be heading there now.

We will cruise to where ever Princess decides to take us.

[slidergirl]

Instead of worrying that your cruise pleasure will be diminished by porting in locations devastated by the upcoming hurricanes, think about helping a little. Find out the local rescue organizations, see if you can donate a little time. Instead of filling your suitcases with tuxedos and gowns and 3 changes of clothes/day, use some of that room to take clothes, toys, kitchenware to donate. Take that case of bottled water you brought because you find the ship's filtered water unacceptable to the local PD or firehouse to distribute to those who have no potable water at all.

 

Just me. I'd be a little embarrassed to be vacationing as usual, with thousands of the locals around me trying to rebuild, mourning losses... Try a little person-to-person interaction.

[Keroppi2011]

Slidergirl, this is me - pressing the "like" button.

[LHT28]

If the islands are badly damaged it is unlikely the ships will be porting there

 

If you want to help find an organization that will be "boots on the ground" helping rebuild the homes etc...

JMO

[money4me]

Slidergirl, this is me - pressing the "like" button.

 

Me too . Pressing it twice for good measure. Try looking up non profits that assist on the islands, such as "beyondthebeach" I am sure that they would love you help or your dollars

 

 

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[geoherb]

We've had two cruises affected by hurricanes. On the first one, Princess Cays was damaged about a month before our cruise. Princess decided to send us to Nassau instead. That wasn't our first choice, but we treated it like a day at sea--stayed on the ship.

 

On the second one, we also missed Princess Cays but due to Hurricane Bertha hitting the Bahamas during our cruise. The captain announced shortly after sailing that he would be steering the ship away from the hurricane to give us a smooth ride. It was hard to imagine that a hurricane was just a few hundred miles away. We had a beautiful sunny and calm day at sea.

[navybankerteacher]

If the islands are badly damaged it is unlikely the ships will be porting there

 

If you want to help find an organization that will be "boots on the ground" helping rebuild the homes etc...

JMO

 

A lot of people want to cruise to St. Maarten in December through March to be on a warm island with great beaches - and the island wants and needs their business and are likely to get beach facilities up and running as quickly as possible. A lot of the infrastructure may take many months/years to repair - but a lot can be done in a couple of months- and the cruise industry can (and likely will) help by bringing people in as soon as possible.

[GonzoWCS]

Instead of worrying that your cruise pleasure will be diminished by porting in locations devastated by the upcoming hurricanes, think about helping a little. Find out the local rescue organizations, see if you can donate a little time. Instead of filling your suitcases with tuxedos and gowns and 3 changes of clothes/day, use some of that room to take clothes, toys, kitchenware to donate. Take that case of bottled water you brought because you find the ship's filtered water unacceptable to the local PD or firehouse to distribute to those who have no potable water at all.

 

Just me. I'd be a little embarrassed to be vacationing as usual, with thousands of the locals around me trying to rebuild, mourning losses... Try a little person-to-person interaction.

 

Class Act here Slidergirl!

[slidergirl]

A lot of people want to cruise to St. Maarten in December through March to be on a warm island with great beaches - and the island wants and needs their business and are likely to get beach facilities up and running as quickly as possible. A lot of the infrastructure may take many months/years to repair - but a lot can be done in a couple of months- and the cruise industry can (and likely will) help by bringing people in as soon as possible.

 

I'll disagree to a point. A place still reeling from a massive hurricane (or two) should first worry about their personal infrastructure and getting the population back to normal as much as possible. Dumping several thousand tourists, expecting those beaches and beach huts with beer and other beverages and expect to be served and catered to by locals is not, IMHO, "helping". That will overtax the remaining infrastructure and stress out what facilities are available. Imagine someone having to decide between working on rebuilding a house for his family to get out of the shelter or a tent vs. driving some tourists from the port to Orient Beach. Allow them to get back structurally and emotionally before we descend on them and take over what little area is ready to take on the public.