Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

St Maarten stop replaced by St Kitts

loman

By loman,
in Royal Caribbean International

 Share

Recommended Posts

BND

BND

Posted
Posted

Just because a cat 2 or 3 hurricane is projected to go over St. Kitts does not mean it's out of the cruiseport business (temporarily). They have done pretty well during other storms and no one is projecting Maria to hit there as as Cat5, which is what took St. Maarten and St Thomas out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Dennis#1

Dennis#1

Posted
Posted
Even now people are trying to get off the island that have lived there for years and years. They are saying the infrastructure is just to far gone and they are wanting to start over somewhere else. This storm cannot be compared to any others. There is no money coming in (tourism is their life blood) other than from governments. It will be at least a year if not longer.

 

So sad. St. Maarten is one of our favorite ports.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
OSUZorba

OSUZorba

Posted
Posted
Been on two RC sailings that they used their boats. After a while they all run together but I know one was Belize and it was a mix of a couple of their lifeboats and the tenders they had their contract with. The other, I am almost positive, was Cozumel after hurricane Wilma (the piers were taken out by Wilma and you had to tender in).

 

That is interesting. I had to tender in Cozumel after Wilma as well, but it was definitely a shore based tender. They were the biggest tenders I've ever been on. Was on Mariner of the Seas.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
rum & monkey

rum & monkey

Posted
Posted
That is interesting. I had to tender in Cozumel after Wilma as well, but it was definitely a shore based tender. They were the biggest tenders I've ever been on. Was on Mariner of the Seas.

 

 

 

Probably depends on how many ships in port. We were on Rhapsody.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites
boscobeans

boscobeans

Posted
Posted
Why do people assume these ports/islands are all going to be destroyed by a cat 2 or 3 storm? It's as if some think there won't be anywhere in the Caribbean to port, which is just not true.

 

https://www.wunderground.com/hurricane/atlantic/2017/tropical-storm-maria

 

Current projections are for this (MARIA) to strengthen to a cat #4 and cause damage to Guadaloupe St Kitts and St Croix with a direct hit on San Juan as well as other Islands already damaged by Irma. The Islands and the people of what is referred to as the Eastern Caribbean are in danger of having to start from ground zero, trying to rebuild their lives let alone their businesses.

 

bosco

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Jenjer

Jenjer

Posted
Posted
Why do people assume these ports/islands are all going to be destroyed by a cat 2 or 3 storm? It's as if some think there won't be anywhere in the Caribbean to port, which is just not true.

 

 

Its not that there are not ports, its that there are not ports able to take on 6 or 10 or 12K people in one day. Its that the ports are not deep enough for cruise ships.

 

Not to mention these island have already taken a HARD hit with Ira and so damaged buildings can more easily be destroyed by a cat 3 or cat 4 storm maybe even just a cat 2. 100MPR winds can do a lot of damage. There will also be more debris to blow around.

 

Its heartbreaking to see island we know and love take such a beating, people whos lives will never be the same.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
baileybrad

baileybrad

Posted
Posted
Why do people assume these ports/islands are all going to be destroyed by a cat 2 or 3 storm? It's as if some think there won't be anywhere in the Caribbean to port, which is just not true.
Based on the lack of direct hurricane landings in most of the Caribbean over the past decade or so.........many seem to have forgotten what a Cat 2 or 3 storm can do to the poor construction practices on many of these islands.

 

If Maria hits where she has been forecasted, (including Puerto Rico taking a direct hit), there will be very few places to port on the Eastern side of the Caribbean leaving from Florida. Not sure how someone could really believe otherwise. The 2 best stops on the Eastern side are the US Virgin Islands and St.Martin.......both now off the table for an extended period of time.

 

Just hope that the full time islanders are able to protect themselves when Maria hits since so many of their domiciles have been leveled or heavily damaged.........especially on St.Martin.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
SherriZ366

SherriZ366

Posted
Posted
https://www.wunderground.com/hurricane/atlantic/2017/tropical-storm-maria

 

Current projections are for this (MARIA) to strengthen to a cat #4 and cause damage to Guadaloupe St Kitts and St Croix with a direct hit on San Juan as well as other Islands already damaged by Irma. The Islands and the people of what is referred to as the Eastern Caribbean are in danger of having to start from ground zero, trying to rebuild their lives let alone their businesses.

 

bosco

Maria is now a Category 5. Praying.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Clarea

Clarea

Posted
Posted
If anyone has had past experience with this type of damage from hurricanes, will RCI go to these ports if only some areas of an island are rebuilt or would they have to be completely restored before they will dock there?

Hard to answer, depends on many factors.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
BND

BND

Posted
Posted
If anyone has had past experience with this type of damage from hurricanes, will RCI go to these ports if only some areas of an island are rebuilt or would they have to be completely restored before they will dock there?

 

Virtually impossible to have everything restored 100%. Decisions will be based on infrastructure (water, roads, electricity), safety, if it's possible or safe to do anything away from the port itself and other factors that would affect a port/island visit. St. Maarten for example was a port with many water and beach excursions as well as shopping. With all the damage to beaches, roads, boats and stores, it'll take a while to get those back in service.

 

We were in Labadee less than 3 months after the earthquake in 2010 and while Labadee only had some residual damage to a couple of the cabanas, the rest of the island was a mess with water borne illnesses and damaged buildings. The difference there is Labadee is isolated from the rest of Haiti and the infrastructure alone was vastly different between the two.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
CRUISEFAN0001

CRUISEFAN0001

Posted
Posted

At this point, it appears Martinique island escaped major damage. They did get some flooding near the port area, but overall...damage is primarily downed power lines and trees. Local reports are that the port should be restored to operational conditions within a matter of a week or less.

 

We had the good fortune to visit this wonderful island in April 2016, and actually had low expectations...only to find it both charming and full of friendly/welcoming residents.

 

It's fair to assume their cruise port traffic will increase in the near term as a replacement itinerary port.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Ocean Boy

Ocean Boy

Posted
Posted
At this point, it appears Martinique island escaped major damage. They did get some flooding near the port area, but overall...damage is primarily downed power lines and trees. Local reports are that the port should be restored to operational conditions within a matter of a week or less.

 

We had the good fortune to visit this wonderful island in April 2016, and actually had low expectations...only to find it both charming and full of friendly/welcoming residents.

 

It's fair to assume their cruise port traffic will increase in the near term as a replacement itinerary port.

I have found that to be the case with many of our travels. Our interactions far exceeded, in a positive way, what I was expecting from various reviews that I might have read.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
jamesboat

jamesboat

Posted
Posted
At this point, it appears Martinique island escaped major damage. They did get some flooding near the port area, but overall...damage is primarily downed power lines and trees. Local reports are that the port should be restored to operational conditions within a matter of a week or less.

 

We had the good fortune to visit this wonderful island in April 2016, and actually had low expectations...only to find it both charming and full of friendly/welcoming residents.

 

It's fair to assume their cruise port traffic will increase in the near term as a replacement itinerary port.

 

Theyre part of France (as Hawaii is part of the US, not a territory), so they certainly have more resources than most. I agree with your assessment.

 

 

Seems like the western routes may get a lot of traffic if Maria doesn't change her path

 

Unfortunately RCL only has like 4 port options on the western routes. Carnival and NCL have many more choices.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Coopdog08

Coopdog08

Posted
Posted
Any updates on when RCI cruise ships will be able to visit St. Maarten?

It won't be anytime soon. I have heard that many land vacations have been cancelled thru 2017 and I am pretty sure some cruise lines have cancelled thru November. My personal opinion is it will be at least one year if not longer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...