Wind!!!

[solocruzin]

About to cry...I missed Mahogany Bay last year due to Hurricane Harvey...I was just looking at the weather for my "do over" trip on the Paradise next Saturday the 12th, and the Weather Channel is predicting 25 mph winds the day we are supposed to dock in Mahogany Bay (Mon 14th).

 

Does anybody know if we will still be able to dock? Has this ever been a problem for anyone? I will be so disappointed. I also missed Ocho Rios in 2016. This could turn me off to cruising for a very long time:(

[cb at sea]

It really depends on the DIRECTION of the wind...25MPH isn't that bad!

[Towel Critter]

Also keep in mind how often forecasts are wrong a week out. I wouldn't freak out just yet.

[bakersdozen12]

The chance of missing ports is always a part of cruising. If that’s something you can’t live with, my suggestion is to do land vacations instead.

 

That said, try not to stress over your upcoming cruise too much. You will either make the port or you won’t. Weather is impossible to predict, so stalking the weather report won’t do you any good. It will just drive you nuts.

 

Best of luck, and enjoy your cruise!

 

 

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[GUT2407]

Depends on many factors, that wind shouldn’t be a problem, but so many other factors involved.

[coevan]

About to cry...I missed Mahogany Bay last year due to Hurricane Harvey...I was just looking at the weather for my "do over" trip on the Paradise next Saturday the 12th, and the Weather Channel is predicting 25 mph winds the day we are supposed to dock in Mahogany Bay (Mon 14th).

 

Does anybody know if we will still be able to dock? Has this ever been a problem for anyone? I will be so disappointed. I also missed Ocho Rios in 2016. This could turn me off to cruising for a very long time:(

 

 

The weather channel is somewhat generic weather. As a sailor we use windguru or wunderground. Windguru is very accurate with wind direction, swells, and precipitation. 25 mph is very manageable even in a 40' sailboat, wave height (swell) makes docking or anchoring more challenging.

[riclop]

About to cry...I missed Mahogany Bay last year due to Hurricane Harvey...I was just looking at the weather for my "do over" trip on the Paradise next Saturday the 12th, and the Weather Channel is predicting 25 mph winds the day we are supposed to dock in Mahogany Bay (Mon 14th).

 

Does anybody know if we will still be able to dock? Has this ever been a problem for anyone? I will be so disappointed. I also missed Ocho Rios in 2016. This could turn me off to cruising for a very long time:(

Wait till that day and you will find out.

[Micahs Grandad]

Would put zero credence in weather forecast 9 days out

[cajunfla]

Crying over missing a port? Really? I can understand being disappointed, but crying? Wow.

[SRQbeachgirl]

The chance of missing ports is always a part of cruising. If that’s something you can’t live with, my suggestion is to do land vacations instead.

 

 

Never a guarantee, though, even with a land vacation. We've gone on land vacations and been affected by tropical storms, hurricanes, wildfires, and landslides. We have a reputation as natural disaster magnets - none of our friends want to travel with us. :')

 

If we missed a port, I would just celebrate having an extra day at sea.

[DallasGuy75219]

As I recall, there's a specific issue with the narrowness of the channel the ships have to go down to dock at Mahogany Bay. So it's not so much of an issue with the actual act of docking but with the danger of going down that channel if the winds are too strong and/or from the wrong direction, as well as the size of the ship itself.

 

I almost missed port there once due to the wind but the Captain waited for the winds to improve and we were ultimately able to make port (albeit late) when when the wind died down.

[Lottacruises]

Too early to tell. That port isn' missed too often, should be fine

[ABQrobin]

The issue with the wind at Mahogany Bay is due to the fact the ship must back into the bay, which is narrow, and then pull up beside the dock. Especially if there are 2 ships that day, it can be quite a task. I have been there 3 times with no wind and marveled at how the ship's crew can do it, it is fun to watch. I can't imagine how hard it would be for a windy day though.

[Towel Critter]

We have a reputation as natural disaster magnets - none of our friends want to travel with us. :')

 

 

We have that same reputation, but mostly the disasters happen here on the mainland, or elsewhere, while we are away. It's just a coincidence I'm sure, but it really is odd how often it happens. For example, we were in Nassau on September 11, 2001. We were also on a cruise when Katrina hit.

 

Just this past Fall we had an Eastern Caribbean cruise booked and we both started having a bad feeling about it, so we changed the itinerary and dates. St. Thomas, St. Maarten, and San Juan were practically wiped out during the week of our previously booked cruise; all were on our previous itinerary.

 

But like I said, it's just coincidence... I guess.

 

One last thing... We have booked cruises to Aruba and Curacao four times now, the fourth time being currently. All three of the others had to be cancelled within 3 days of sailing because of either my mother or mother-in-law falling seriously ill. Hopefully our upcoming cruise will go as planned and nothing bad will happen to us or anyone else.:o

[2013CruiseBride]

We have a reputation as natural disaster magnets - none of our friends want to travel with us. :')

 

I guess I'm really lucky! We booked our wedding in 2013 on the Carnival Paradise. We got married on the ship but while it was in port in Grand Cayman. I knew the risk of missing it because it is a tender port but we got married in May so less risk of hurricanes. I also figured that the hell I had been through with my ex-husband was enough penance for fate to look favorably upon me for my 2nd wedding! Lol.

 

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[salty dingo]

Sort of pointless to worry about something you can't control.

[sgttami]

I was really looking forward to St. Kitt's one year since I'd never been there at the time.

 

Early that morning the captain announced we couldn't dock because of high winds. I was disappointed but went to the casino on the ship. Ten minutes later I won $2,000.

 

I was very happy I missed St. Kitt's after that...LOL

[IPlayWithString]

Crying over missing a port? Really? I can understand being disappointed, but crying? Wow.

 

I can believe it. A couple of years ago, we were on a Spring Break cruise and had to skip Belize because of the high winds and high waves making it difficult and unsafe to board the tender boats. DH, DS and I sat in the atrium chilling out. DS and DH were playing a game while I people watched and there was one lady who stood at guest services and threw a huge hissy for a good half hour, 45 min at least which there was nothing guest services could do but apologize. When she didn't get any satisfaction from guest services, she stomped around the atrium for a good hour or so on her cell phone (and probably racking up a hefty bill, I'd imagine) yelling at whoever answered the phone when she called Carnival's customer service number. It was quite a show.

 

I also got to watch a guy freak out because he'd paid for relatives to fly in from other parts of South America (I'm assuming) to watch him propose to his girlfriend in Belize. That was fun too. I've never seen anybody lose their mind like that. I felt bad for him but still...I was shaking my head. Maybe they were new cruisers, IDK. We've done the same route multiple times and I think we've only been able to actually board the tenders and go to Belize twice, maybe three times because all the other times, the weather made it too difficult to board the tender boats.

[salty dingo]

I also got to watch a guy freak out because he'd paid for relatives to fly in from other parts of South America (I'm assuming) to watch him propose to his girlfriend in Belize. That was fun too. I've never seen anybody lose their mind like that. I felt bad for him but still...I was shaking my head.

Hang out here long enough and you will run into the gal who thinks it would be great to get married during a port call... and just cannot understand why, if the cruise is advertised as stopping at a port, it would be skipped at the last minute.

 

Other than the pier runners, the missed port complainers are my favorite cruise clowns.

[IPlayWithString]

Yeah, Cell Phone Lady was yelling for eeeeeeee'rybody to hear that if she'd WANTED a cruise that only stopped at 2 ports, she would've taken one and therefore paid less money. But because she PAID to go to three ports and it was more expensive, then she was owed money for the port she missed.

[Doggielover68]

Don't worry, I was just there a few days ago and it was a beautiful day. In fact, the weather the week before the cruise forecasted thunderstorms and rain for several days and we didn't experience a single drop. The weather forecasts are really unpredictable. More than likely you will make it without a problem.

 

 

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[wikoffclan]

Just realize that a missed port is just an excuse to plan another cruise. We missed a port due to weather that was the focus of the cruise (Malta) and visited Sarande, Albania instead. We ended up doing another cruise a year later that included Malta. Both turned out to be Very memorable cruises.

[BEEZALAR]

I have never missed a port in 15 cruises....that in itself is amazing! But wouldn't everyone agree, missing half moon cay would be the worst thing ever. I've been there three times and never missed.....but heard lots of stories.

 

 

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[A&Jfamily]

About to cry...I missed Mahogany Bay last year due to Hurricane Harvey...I was just looking at the weather for my "do over" trip on the Paradise next Saturday the 12th, and the Weather Channel is predicting 25 mph winds the day we are supposed to dock in Mahogany Bay (Mon 14th).

 

Does anybody know if we will still be able to dock? Has this ever been a problem for anyone? I will be so disappointed. I also missed Ocho Rios in 2016. This could turn me off to cruising for a very long time:(

 

If you cruise enough, you will eventually miss a port here and there. The rule of thumb is cruise to cruise; if you want to visit a specific destination, plan a land based trip there. And if it is a Caribbean destination, plan the trip in the winter or spring to avoid hurricane season. But, even that isn't fool-proof - take St. Martin for example - this last hurricane season did a number on her and even in March, many hotels were still not open and may never re-open in their original state.

 

As a newer cruiser, I felt the same way as you, and was very upset when we missed Grand Cayman on our cruise there; my response was to book the same basic trip again the following year and hope we made it, and we did. On a relatively recent Bahamas cruise, they cancelled our shore excursion morning of in both Nassau and Freeport, which for us, was effectively like missing the ports as we have been there numerous times and don't need to to the same ole thing. But, we made the best of it - took a beach day at the Hilton and stayed on board in Freeport and relaxed. It just comes with cruising and you have to be prepared for a change in plans.

 

As for your cruise, you will just have to wait and see - often these calls are not made until the last minute. One time in St. Martin we watched the captain spend 45 minutes trying to dock; there were swells from a hurricane 400 miles off coast that ultimately made it impossible. The port was cancelled but in the end, they added Grand Turk which was relatively new at the time and a great find!

[evandbob]

I have never missed a port in 15 cruises....that in itself is amazing! But wouldn't everyone agree, missing half moon cay would be the worst thing ever. I've been there three times and never missed.....but heard lots of stories.

 

 

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This is also my experience. I've missed Belize once, never any other port that I recall, including Roatan, HMC, and Grand Cayman, which are the common ones cruisers posting on CC mentioned getting passed up. That's a total of 1 missed out of 45 week long or more sailings. At an average of 4.1 ports per cruise, that's missing one port out of almost 200. Percentage missed is .05%.

 

Now those #'s are accurate, if my memory serves me well.