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

[whatcruiseisnext]

I do not have any Caribbean cruises booked & received an email from Princess to a website they've created about itinerary changes. They will continue to update the information if things change but none have currently been modified.

 

 

 

https://www.princess.com/news/notices_and_advisories/caribbean_update/?cid=dm_email_info_internal_announcement_other_pe7ms130b_170915_hurricanerelief,notdirectlyaffected

 

 

 

Here's their current update & in addition to updates they have a FAQ section.

 

 

 

Updated as of 9/14/17, 8:45pm PDT

 

 

 

Princess Cruises can announce that none of its cruises to the Caribbean or Panama Canal will be cancelled as a result of Hurricane Irma. Furthermore, our private island resort at Princess Cays is ready to receive guests and all of our 7-day cruises to the Western Caribbean and all cruises to the Panama Canal are unaffected by Irma and will go ahead as planned at this time.

 

 

 

At Princess Cruises, we prioritize the safety and enjoyment of our guests and to that end, we are working with local ports in the Eastern Caribbean affected by the Hurricane to assess the situation and to determine if any itinerary changes are needed. Please check back on Monday, 9/18 for an update.

 

 

 

 

 

Not true... there are itineraries that HAVE already been modified. We were notified by email from Princess as well as the change showing up in our personalizer that St. Martin was being replaced by St. Kitts.

 

 

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[Astro Flyer]

Not true... there are itineraries that HAVE already been modified. We were notified by email from Princess as well as the change showing up in our personalizer that St. Martin was being replaced by St. Kitts.

 

Merely posted what Princess stated as of 9/14 with their next update scheduled on 9/18.

 

The Princess information may be helpful for passengers who are concerned about possible changes & haven't received emails. I've read questions about Princess Cay which they said is open. The FAQs also answer some of the commonly asked questions.

Edited September 16, 2017 by Astro Flyer

[reedprincess]

 

 

 

I am also wondering about Princess Cays and St Kitts, though I am not for one minute expecting our visit to St Kitts to be cancelled, just not sure whether we will be able to go over to Nevis.

 

 

So, to repeat.

1. WE ARE STILL COMING,

2. WE ARE NOT MAKING ANY CHANGES TO OUR PLANS,

AND

3. WE WILL CHEERFULLY ACCEPT WHATEVER CHANGES ARE FORCED ON US BY CIRCUMSTANCES OUTSIDE ANYONE'S CONTROL.

.

 

CM

St Kitts and Nevis sustained minimal damages and were up and running with days. You'll have no problems saiking over to Nevis if you want, exploring St Kitts itself and so forth

Princess Cays sustained very minimal damages also, no worries there. You'll hardly notice.

 

The main concern right now is Tropical Depression Fifteen, which is forecast to hit the islands starting late this weekend or into Monday/Tuesday and has potential to strengthen to a Tropical Storm.

And Tropical Storm Lee which is behind it, headed towards the northern Caribbean islands at this time, but has lots of time to change its path..

The season isn't over, by far.. Hopefully Irma will be the last of the destruction and these others pass on by leaving nothing in their wakes...

[CineGraphic]

Princess is currently addressing changes for October sailings and will eventually get to November and December sailings.

 

 

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[KevintheIrishDJ]

We booked on a cruise in Dec. 2017. It was “sold out”. Final payment is not for another month. I was very surprised to see our cruise listedtoday as a “sale” on the Princess website. It still listed the old itineraryand also stated that only one category (suites) is sold out. Did many people cancel already? I wonder if there will be big price discountsbe offered?

[tip]

We have a 14 day Caribbean cruise scheduled for mid-January and there is no way that we shall cancel even though stops include both St. Maarten and St. Thomas. Even if we just go to the beach and do some shopping there, the locals can use our money. And it will sure beat a New Hampsha winta!

[Grego]

We have a 14 day Caribbean cruise scheduled for mid-January and there is no way that we shall cancel even though stops include both St. Maarten and St. Thomas. Even if we just go to the beach and do some shopping there, the locals can use our money. And it will sure beat a New Hampsha winta!

 

Excellent attitude! We are on the CB Oct. 7 voyage as a B2B from the TA Western Europe. Our CB itinerary has had a couple of iterations since we first booked it and now we view it as our "Mystery Itinerary" voyage. St. Thomas was just recently replaced by PR because of Irma and now PR might be in harm's way because of Maria. It doesn't matter, Princess will find some island to visit if any of the current eastern ports are closed.

Here's hoping the islands will have enough recovery by the time you sail and they will love to see you and the weather will be a whole lot better than New Hampsha!

[tip]

Excellent attitude... and the weather will be a whole lot better than New Hampsha!

 

That is why we spend a good chunk of time in Florida each winter. I notice that you are from Port St. Lucie. My wife loves botanical gardens and we toured the gardens in Port St. Lucie last winter. Were they badly damaged by the hurricane?

[KevintheIrishDJ]

That is why we spend a good chunk of time in Florida each winter. I notice that you are from Port St. Lucie. My wife loves botanical gardens and we toured the gardens in Port St. Lucie last winter. Were they badly damaged by the hurricane?

 

We are in Boynton Beach for the winter. The BB Police Dept. posted a one hour video the day after the storm. They went through our place (Sterling Village) and there was little apparent damage.

[Grego]

That is why we spend a good chunk of time in Florida each winter. I notice that you are from Port St. Lucie. My wife loves botanical gardens and we toured the gardens in Port St. Lucie last winter. Were they badly damaged by the hurricane?

We love those gardens as well. Haven't seen a specific report on them, but we had significant winds during Irma and I would guess there might be some damage.

[tothemall&beyond]

Well - I'M NOT CHANGING ANYTHING.

 

OK our cruise is three months out, (20th December on Caribbean) so hopefully things will be approaching normal in some places, but probably not all and we are still planning to spend 5 days in Key West before the cruise, flying down and driving back north / east.

 

Despite our cruise being three months away, in addition to sharing everyone's concern for the welfare of those affected by Irma, we have been following events from this side of the pond to assess the extent to which our vacation might be affected. Certainly, I would not be surprised if St Thomas (which, because of the much discussed propulsion problems on CB) was already a replacement for St Martin / Sint Maarten) has to be changed. However, if that is necessary, our view is that is a minor problem compared with those faced by the local population and if it is safe to visit and our visit helps to get the local economy working, then I think we can live with a little inconvenience.

 

I am also wondering about Princess Cays and St Kitts, though I am not for one minute expecting our visit to St Kitts to be cancelled, just not sure whether we will be able to go over to Nevis.

 

In terms of our visit to Key West then I will base my decision solely on whether or not the hotel is open. In other words, if it open and welcoming tourists (did Key West ever not welcome tourists?) we are going even if it may be a little more 'rustic' and laid back than usual,

 

As part of monitoring the situation for our Key Wat visit, we are keeping an eye on hotel booking websites and at the moment they are showing availability from 24th September. So, whilst I do question this date, given all the information we are hearing is that the hotels have sustained minimal structural damage, I am expecting the tourist industry to be functioning, if not exactly back to normal, long before we arrive.

 

Slight concern about the risk of availability of my pre-booked, and pre-paid one way rental car from EYW (we are flying down and driving back), but that is simply thinking ahead about what might go wrong and is not something which is demanding my attention.

 

So, to repeat.

1. WE ARE STILL COMING,

2. WE ARE NOT MAKING ANY CHANGES TO OUR PLANS,

AND

3. WE WILL CHEERFULLY ACCEPT WHATEVER CHANGES ARE FORCED ON US BY CIRCUMSTANCES OUTSIDE ANYONE'S CONTROL.

 

PS. Around 25 years ago I landed in LA for a business meeting two days after an pretty bad earthquake and was surprised at the number of people, all of whom were trying to carry on as normal, were surprised we hadn't cancelled, but we're pleased we hadn't cancelled.

 

CM

 

Although St. Martin and St. John are worse off, St. Thomas won't be ready for tourism by December either.

And sadly, it looks like some of the "replacement" ports including St. Croix, St. Kitts & Nevis, Puerto Rico (again) and Grand Turk (again) are about to be hit by yet another major hurricane - Hurricane Maria which is expected to be a Cat 4 when it directly hits many of the islands. The storm is also expected to dump torrential amounts of rain which, in addition to damage from wind, will cause devastation from mud slides.

 

Our local major South Florida newspaper just updated their website as follows:

"Maria’s status prompted hurricane warnings for the U.S. Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands, Saba and St. Eustatius, St. Martin/St. Maarten, St. Bathelemy and Anguilla. Hurricane warnings mean hurricane conditions are expected in the warning area within 36 hours.

Hurricane watches — meaning hurricane conditions are possible within 48 hours — are also now in effect for Martinique, Guadeloupe, Dominica, St. Kitts, Nevis and Montserrat.

Barbados, St. Vincent and the Grenadines would see tropical storm conditions within 48 hours.Forecasters expect tropical storm conditions in Martinique, Antigua, Barbuda and St. Lucia within 36 hours.

I live in an area where our sustained winds from Irma were only Cat 1, and yet some people still don't have power. We can all keep positive attitudes, but everyone also needs to be realistic about this year's Caribbean sailings.

[tothemall&beyond]

We have a 14 day Caribbean cruise scheduled for mid-January and there is no way that we shall cancel even though stops include both St. Maarten and St. Thomas. Even if we just go to the beach and do some shopping there, the locals can use our money. And it will sure beat a New Hampsha winta!

 

We are on same cruise you are. Waiting to see what replacement ports they'll go to. For sure, St. Thomas & St. Martin won't be on itineraries. You can't "just go to the beach or do some shopping there". These islands (and their beaches) look like war zones. They are wiped out. They don't (and won't for a long, long time) have power, water, sewers, running water. The ship channels need to be re-dredged before cruise ships can go there.

[Redwing55]

We are on same cruise you are. Waiting to see what replacement ports they'll go to. For sure, St. Thomas & St. Martin won't be on itineraries. You can't "just go to the beach or do some shopping there". These islands (and their beaches) look like war zones. They are wiped out. They don't (and won't for a long, long time) have power, water, sewers, running water. The ship channels need to be re-dredged before cruise ships can go there.

How do you know about the re-dredging need? I thought some ships are going in on humanity missions to pick up some people or drop off supplies.

 

But true, I don't expect St Martin to be "open" soon. As for St T, barring future hurricanes, I could see them open by Jan or even sooner- no one really knows today. Time will tell.

[Carolyn R]

Oh no! It looks like the more southern leeward islands that were spared during Irma are now being hit by Maria. It is hitting Dominica directly.

[Host CJSKIDS]

Oh no! It looks like the more southern leeward islands that were spared during Irma are now being hit by Maria. It is hitting Dominica directly.

 

Yes it is. They have stopped moving recovery supplies into areas because of the hurricane. The Army has pulled the soldiers in the medical unit from Fort Bragg off of St. Thomas and onto a Navy Carrier.

 

St. Croix is believed to being hit and Puerto Rico as a Cat 3 possible 4.

 

Heartbreaking doesn't begin to cover it.

[tothemall&beyond]

How do you know about the re-dredging need? I thought some ships are going in on humanity missions to pick up some people or drop off supplies.

 

But true, I don't expect St Martin to be "open" soon. As for St T, barring future hurricanes, I could see them open by Jan or even sooner- no one really knows today. Time will tell.

 

Re the dredging: you're right, I don't actually know for a fact that dredging is necessary in all the ports, but I am a former Marine and Terminal Operations Army Officer and in that capacity, led LCU (landing craft) boat units. I saw photos and footage of just such vessels being used to bring provisions and materials into these ports. That being the case, I am assuming that most ships can not simply pull up to whatever docks are may still be intact, and that the cruise ships may likewise be using tenders to assist. But, it would be wonderful if dredging is not necessary.

 

Re St. Thomas: sadly their recovery (as well as St. John's) was being staged from St. Croix and Puerto Rico, both of which are now themselves in the direct path of another major hurricane that is expected to hit them as a Cat 4.

The grief and misery just continue...

[beachmets]

We have a 14 day cruise Dec 3 to 17 on the Regal. St Maarten and St Thomas are 2 of the stops. We are still going...we are assuming these 2 ports will be replaced with other ports if those 2 ports are not open. We have to make final payment by tomo. Princess is also placing updates on their website..Should be another one today some time

[Hlitner]

We have a 14 day cruise Dec 3 to 17 on the Regal. St Maarten and St Thomas are 2 of the stops. We are still going...we are assuming these 2 ports will be replaced with other ports if those 2 ports are not open. We have to make final payment by tomo. Princess is also placing updates on their website..Should be another one today some time

 

You can take it to the bank that St Maarten will not be open by December. As to St Thomas it is not likely (we just saw some videos of the damage on that island) but possible. But if it is open in December you are going to see an island with lots of damage, lots of Blue tarps, etc. For several of these islands a full recovery will be measured in years.....not months. And as of today it looks like they will get hit with another Cat 4 storm..

[Kenswing]

Per Associated Press Maria is now a cat 5 storm..

[Host CJSKIDS]

Per Associated Press Maria is now a cat 5 storm..

 

It is. Just can't believe it.

[tothemall&beyond]

This is the most recent update from Princess (emphasis added):

 

UPDATED AS OF 9/18/17, 5:50PM PDT

 

The following sailings are being adjusted due to Hurricane Irma:

Caribbean Princess: October 7 Caribbean Cruise

We have replaced the call to St Thomas on Tuesday, October 10, 2017 with a call to San Juan from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM on the same date. Since the time we made this decision, the path of Hurricane Maria is likely to affect Puerto Rico, therefore an update to the call to San Juan will be provided after the storm passes.

Guests who booked Princess shore excursions for St Thomas will receive a refund to the original form of payment. Shore excursions for San Juan will be available within the next two weeks or may be booked on board.

Regal Princess: October 26 Caribbean Cruise

We have replaced our call to St Maarten on Monday, October 30, 2017 with a call to St Kitts from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM on Tuesday, October 31. As a result of this change, we will now call to Antigua on Monday, October 30. Since the time we made this decision, the path of Hurricane Maria is likely to affect St. Kitts, therefore an update to the call to St. Kitts will be provided after the storm passes.

Guests who booked Princess shore excursions for St Maarten will receive a refund to the original form of payment. Shore excursions for St. Kitts and Antigua will be available within the next two weeks or may be booked on board.

For remaining 2017 Eastern Caribbean ports of call, we are currently assessing itinerary impacts and an update will be provided by the end of the week. We sincerely encourage guests with current reservations and anyone considering a Caribbean cruise to move forward with their plans. There is no better show of support for the area and the people than to continue to visit.

We look forward to welcoming you onboard.

I just got off the phone with Princess C/S to ask about any changes to their policy regarding final payment dates. There aren't any, and final payments are still non-refundable unless you have Princess Vacation Protection which would allow you to convert it to a future cruise credit.

We each have to make our decisions based on our own comfort levels with uncertainty.

[MadMouser]

We're booked on the Regal, departing on the 17th. We'll be on it regardless of where the ship goes, and will have a good time. If we do get to some of the islands that got hit, we'll be spending more money there to get some cash back in to the local economies.

[travellovers2]

This is the most recent update from Princess (emphasis added):

 

UPDATED AS OF 9/18/17, 5:50PM PDT

 

We sincerely encourage guests with current reservations and anyone considering a Caribbean cruise to move forward with their plans. There is no better show of support for the area and the people than to continue to visit.

We look forward to welcoming you onboard..

 

I wonder what support Princess is going to show for the passengers that do decide to cruise to show their support to these islands. Discount maybe? Too much to expect. I know.

[Corfe Mixture]

I wonder what support Princess is going to show for the passengers that do decide to cruise to show their support to these islands. Discount maybe? Too much to expect. I know.

 

Definitely not. IMHO, a discount for passengers would be totally inappropriate.

 

Far better that they passed any discount they were considering offering passengers over to the appropriate authorities on the island.

 

A good way of Princess showing support of the islands on behalf of their clients.

 

If my cruise is affected by the consequences of Irma, and we get offered a discount, then I will pass any discount I receive on to the appropriate authorities myself. To do otherwise would not seem right as I would feel I was profiting from other's misfortune.

[travellovers2]

Definitely not. IMHO, a discount for passengers would be totally inappropriate.

 

Far better that they passed any discount they were considering offering passengers over to the appropriate authorities on the island.

 

A good way of Princess showing support of the islands on behalf of their clients.

 

If my cruise is affected by the consequences of Irma, and we get offered a discount, then I will pass any discount I receive on to the appropriate authorities myself. To do otherwise would not seem right as I would feel I was profiting from other's misfortune.

 

I agree about donating to them directly. But instead of arriving there on a ship in the middle of their struggle and devastation, I would take the money I was going to pay for the cruise and donate it to these islands.

 

Our thoughts and prayers are with all the beautiful people of the Caribbean. Thinking of our friends in PR :(