Itinerary changes.....All cruise lines

[pugsammy]

Can the western Caribbean handle all these ships? Just wondering......

[MrsWhite831]

That was my thought too. We're on the Escape 11/3, so we're a big group/ship to relocate!

[Sand and Seas]

Harvest Caye can't handle more than one ship. Some other ports can handle several ships at once, but are usually full with all the cruise lines that visit. I wonder if they will change hours at ports to 'double-book' some ports. NCL has had two different ships use the same pier at a port during a day.

[hawkman402]

They may have to send some ships to Belize in addition to Harvest Caye

 

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[BirdTravels]

They may have to send some ships to Belize in addition to Harvest Caye

NCL has total control over the Harvest Caye dock. And, NCL does not have that many ships in the Caribbean during this timeframe.

[pugsammy]

We are also on the Escape for the 10/21 sailing. Just want to know sooner than later on the port changes for planning purposes.

[brookie848]

Right now, NCL's main Western itinerary seems to rotate the ports of Costa Maya, Cozumel, Roatan and Harvest Caye. I wouldn't be surprised to see some ships heading to Jamaica (multiple port cities there, so that is a plus) or Grand Cayman.

 

For right now, everyone heading west isn't going to be that big of a deal. But once the winter season hits, if the Eastern ports aren't ready, I'll be curious to see how this all plays out.

 

We're on the first Southern out of San Juan in November. I know we won't be going to at least one of our ports (St. Maarten). I'm not sure about St. Thomas or St. Kitts. We're also on the Escape Eastern in February.

 

There's a fine line for all of these cruise companies. The islands desperately need our money, but they also have to be ready to handle thousands of people.

[NayRN]

I'm on the 9/23 Escape sailing! I'm just hoping Miami doesn't take too big of a hit and we can still board! I'll be OK with a 7-day cruise to nowhere....I just want to be on a ship! :(

[Despegue]

So far, only NCL has communicated that they will change their itinerary to a Western one.

There are more than enough islands in the Eastern part that are not affected by Irma. I am absolutely sure that most cruise lines will have ships sailing to Eastern Islands in October and November, including the cruise I am going on ( an 11 day Eastern Caribbean itinerary).

Western Caribbean is of absolutely NO interest to us.

[BermudaBound2014]

So far, only NCL has communicated that they will change their itinerary to a Western one.

There are more than enough islands in the Eastern part that are not affected by Irma. I am absolutely sure that most cruise lines will have ships sailing to Eastern Islands in October and November, including the cruise I am going on ( an 11 day Eastern Caribbean itinerary).

Western Caribbean is of absolutely NO interest to us.

 

Do you have information not available to cruise critic members? I'm not absolutely sure of anything, but if I were a betting woman, my money would be on most ships sailing western only.

[Despegue]

there are more Islands not affected then there are affected, but think what you want.

[Tricialy]

Posted today:

Hurricane Irma Update

 

 

 

 

 

Miami, Florida, U.S. - Sep 10, 2017

Updated 12:00 PM ET (4:00 PM UTC)

Norwegian Cruise Line is continuing to closely watch major Hurricane Irma and respond as necessary to ensure the safety of our guests and crew. Norwegian Escape is sailing at full capacity with approximately 4,000 displaced guests from both ships that were unable to secure flights back home. The ship is remaining alongside in Cozumel, Mexico today until 5 pm and then will go to sea. Once the storm has safely passed and PortMiami reopens, the ship will proceed towards Miami. Due to the devastating impact in the Caribbean from Hurricane Irma, all of Norwegian Escape’s upcoming Eastern Caribbean sailings until November will be altered to a Western Caribbean itinerary. All guests scheduled to sail on any affected cruises will be notified of the change.

[BermudaBound2014]

there are more Islands not affected then there are affected, but think what you want.

 

The schedule has little to do with whether or not an Eastern Island was effected, and everything to do with logistics. IMO, being "absolutely sure" of anything at this point is naive at best. Time will tell. I'll revisit this thread in October and November to see how things turned out for your sailing. I do wish you well.

[carrierae001]

I'm on the 9/23 Escape sailing! I'm just hoping Miami doesn't take too big of a hit and we can still board! I'll be OK with a 7-day cruise to nowhere....I just want to be on a ship! :(

 

 

We are on it with you. I am hoping that the hurricane moving to the west means that the port and the airport in Miami will be spared. Of course that means Irma went straight through my parents town, but they are safely on the couch with me right now.

 

That and I'm kind of excited about a return to Mr. Sancho's. If I can't go to a new port, at least I can return to my favorite excursion!

[NayRN]

We are on it with you. I am hoping that the hurricane moving to the west means that the port and the airport in Miami will be spared. Of course that means Irma went straight through my parents town, but they are safely on the couch with me right now.

 

That and I'm kind of excited about a return to Mr. Sancho's. If I can't go to a new port, at least I can return to my favorite excursion!

 

My nephew and his family evacuated from Tampa....I feel horrible for all in Irma's pathway.

 

BUT.....while I feel terrible, inquiring minds need to know.....what is Mr. Sancho's?!?!

[shof515]

BUT.....while I feel terrible, inquiring minds need to know.....what is Mr. Sancho's?!?!

its a resort in Cozumel http://www.mrsanchos.com/

[zqvol]

So far, only NCL has communicated that they will change their itinerary to a Western one.

There are more than enough islands in the Eastern part that are not affected by Irma. I am absolutely sure that most cruise lines will have ships sailing to Eastern Islands in October and November, including the cruise I am going on ( an 11 day Eastern Caribbean itinerary).

Western Caribbean is of absolutely NO interest to us.

 

An 11 day cruise would be able to get far enough south to possibly do an Eastern itinerary, but will have move sea days than planned. The Virgin Islands (both USVI and BVI) are not going to be hosting any cruises any time soon (at least 6 - 8 months). St. Maarten is out for at least as long if not longer. Antigua is probably 3 - 4 months before it can take visitors. The islands south of that point had relatively less damage, but they do not have the infrastructure to handle very many ships, and certainly not any large ships.

 

Whether the Western Caribbean is of any interest to you or not you have a good chance of going there.

 

I am absolutely sure that most cruise lines will NOT have ships sailing to Eastern Islands in October, November, or December on any seven day cruise out of the US.

 

there are more Islands not affected then there are affected, but think what you want.

 

Unfortunately for the people that live in the Caribbean you are sadly misinformed. There are a number of islands that were not severely impacted, BUT they are not islands that can accommodate cruise ships. Everything from Guadeloupe norht has damage of varying degrees, and many are totally destroyed. If you think anything else you are deluding yourself.

Edited September 10, 2017 by zqvol

[Despegue]

Incorrect.

I don't know what websites you are visiting, but I have first hand info due to my profession.

 

Examples:

St. Kitts is ok. No structural damages

Guadeloupe: no major damages to infrastructure

Martinique: no major damages to infrastructure

Barbados: no damages

St Lucia: no major damages

Antigua: no major damages to infrastructure

Grenada: no major damages

 

All islands with good tourist infrastructure and deep water ports suitable for post panamax sized vessels.

As I wrote before, there is NO REASON for longer cruises to avoid the Eastern/South Caribbean.

I am not talking about 7 day cruises, but the majority of cruise lines do longer cruises also.

 

Regards,

 

Despegue

Captain.

[BirdTravels]

Incorrect.

I don't know what websites you are visiting, but I have first hand info due to my profession.

 

Examples:

St. Kitts is ok. No structural damages

Guadeloupe: no major damages to infrastructure

Martinique: no major damages to infrastructure

Barbados: no damages

St Lucia: no major damages

Antigua: no major damages to infrastructure

Grenada: no major damages

 

All islands with good tourist infrastructure and deep water ports suitable for post panamax sized vessels.

As I wrote before, there is NO REASON for longer cruises to avoid the Eastern/South Caribbean.

I am not talking about 7 day cruises, but the majority of cruise lines do longer cruises also.

 

Regards,

 

Despegue

Captain.

 

Carnival hurricane relief is scheduled to deliver supplies to St. Kitts later this week via Carnival Fascination which is homeported in San Juan. Carnival has a delivery of supplies scheduled to arrive soon in Grand Turk. Carnival is communicating with officials in many of the Caribbean islands and working on a plan to begin delivering supplies on both an immediate and sustained, longer-term basis.

[brookie848]

Incorrect.

 

As I wrote before, there is NO REASON for longer cruises to avoid the Eastern/South Caribbean.

I am not talking about 7 day cruises, but the majority of cruise lines do longer cruises also.

 

But the problem with this line of thinking is that the majority of the cruises from Florida offered by the mass-market cruise lines in the winter ARE 7-day cruises. Is there enough time for them to hit the Southern islands? And even if there is, while the ports can handle ships, can they handle that MANY ships?

 

You can figure that many lines will choose to head west to ports that have the capabilities of handling many large ships at a time.

 

 

We're on a Southern itinerary in November (from Puerto Rico) and I'm figuring two of our ports are not happening. I'm hoping that we have at least one other Southern island added, but at this point I'm not too concerned.

[carrierae001]

My nephew and his family evacuated from Tampa....I feel horrible for all in Irma's pathway.

 

BUT.....while I feel terrible, inquiring minds need to know.....what is Mr. Sancho's?!?!

 

 

Mr. Sanchos is a cute little resort that has great service. Last year we were there after getting horrible sunburns in Belize - I was absolutely miserable for days. We booked the romance package, so we had a covered bed on the beach, and the waiters came by on a regular basis to bring us food and drinks. Our waiter and the lovely view made our vacation, and we are still talking about them a year later. I couldn't recommend them highly enough.

[riclop]

Can the western Caribbean handle all these ships? Just wondering......

Probably not but they will be more sea days.

[newmexicoNita]

We are also on the Escape for the 10/21 sailing. Just want to know sooner than later on the port changes for planning purposes.

don't blame you for wanting to know, but as has been pointed out over and over, right now NCL probably has no honest clue until they can totally determine the damage and that is not number one on their minds right now. The next few weeks is their main concern. That being said, it does look like,at least the Escape will be heading west for the foreseeable future. I know right now they are saying November, but when in November who knows?

Edited September 11, 2017 by newmexicoNita

[pinkheart247]

We are also on the Escape for the 10/21 sailing. Just want to know sooner than later on the port changes for planning purposes.

i called ncl, that is the same cruise im on and they said its now western which ports will be honduras, belize, costa maya and cozumel.