Carnival to stop going to Antigua

[BnDcruisers]

Does anyone know why Carnival Cruise line is going to stop going to the island of Antigua?

 

We were there last December on a cruise and everything seemed fine. 🤔

 

Thanks 

[a1m1y9]

Seems to be a beef between Carnival and Antingua.  

 

"When you are giving these countries five or six dollars per head this cannot cover the capital costs for the infrastructure"  was a comment by the Prime Minister.  

 

It doesn't not seem to be crime or US Travel warning related.

 

Hope that helps.

[coevan]

definitely a money issue

[Aplmac]

I suspect the reason is

a compound of several problems major and minor!

 

Antigua's PM making "certain statements" yes..

but also a few locals acting-up against visitors in aggressive manner.

The latter factor happens now and then -this is not the first time

that Antigua has been knocked off itineraries.

[VentureMan_2000]

I was also interested as to why Carnival might just pull out.  The reply from the Antigua Tourist board lacked any details and they clearly gave themselves a spin as if they are being picked on, but done nothing wrong.  This seemed very suspect and one-sided, so I googled and found this blog from October 2013.  It did provide some insight.  

 

https://adventureantigua.com/cruise-executives-tell-antigua-whats-wrong-with-us/ 

[kitty2264]

https://www.foxnews.com/travel/carnival-cruise-line-will-no-longer-sail-to-antigua.amp

 

We found this news story about the pending departure.

[coevan]

1 hour ago, Aplmac said:

but also a few locals acting-up against visitors in aggressive manner.

 

 

While this might be true, we have been sailing the Caribbean for the last 10 years in a 40' sailboat. We have always considered Antigua as one of our favorite and safest anchorages. Now St. Vincent and the Grenadines are a different story, at least for safety.

[Aplmac]

4 minutes ago, coevan said:

While this might be true,

we have been sailing the Caribbean for the last 10 years in a 40' sailboat.

We have always considered Antigua as one of our favorite and safest anchorages.

 

Now, St. Vincent and the Grenadines are a different story, at least for safety.

.

The yachtie experience (much appreciated)  versus

the rich cruise-tourist experience

(as he is perceived by the locals trying to earn a dollar)

 

I bet yachties feel the genuine local vibe 10x what the cruise folk do!

[scpirate]

I noticed celebrity had taken Antigua off their southern itinerary too.i wanted to redo that one from Puerto Rico.so it must be a universal thing.

[coevan]

4 hours ago, Aplmac said:

.

The yachtie experience (much appreciated)  versus

the rich cruise-tourist experience

(as he is perceived by the locals trying to earn a dollar)

 

I bet yachties feel the genuine local vibe 10x what the cruise folk do!

 

 

guilty as charged, love the yachtie experience, cruise and resort as well.

[sfaaa]

Antigua's loss alone. There are plenty of other Caribbean ports cruise lines can sail to.

[jimbo5544]

14 hours ago, coevan said:

definitely a money issue

The only thing def is we do not know the reason..... any of us.

[Joebucks]

1 hour ago, jimbo5544 said:

The only thing def is we do not know the reason..... any of us.

 

Carnival did make an "official" statement. While you still may be correct, I tend to believe a corporation when they say it is because of money

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/3848/

 

March 13, 2019

 

(3:01 p.m. EST) -- Carnival Cruise Line has removed the port of St. John's, Antigua, from its upcoming cruise itineraries. Carnival Breeze, Carnival Legend, Carnival Magic and Carnival Pride will no longer sail to the island, as scheduled, when the winter season commences in November 2019.

The decision follows a new contract between Antigua and Global Ports Holding (GPH), a cruise port management company, which was announced in February.

"The cruise industry is concerned about the cost increases outlined in the new concession agreement making Antigua uncompetitive," a Carnival spokesperson told Cruise Critic. "In addition, the rhetoric coming from the government is clearly anti-cruise and ignores the significant economic impact the industry brings to the island. We have built strong positive relationships with many Caribbean countries and would clearly prefer to support those that have supported us."

Carnival is one of many cruise lines under the Carnival Corp. umbrella. Sister brands including Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn and more could follow suit. Other lines such as Royal Caribbean International, Norwegian Cruise Line, Celebrity Cruises and MSC Cruises also are scheduled to call on Antigua & Barbuda in 2019.

Cruise Critic has contacted the other cruise lines, as well as representatives for Antigua and Barbuda, the Caribbean Tourism Organization and the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association, for comment. We will update this story as more information becomes available.

[jimbo5544]

35 minutes ago, Joebucks said:

 

Carnival did make an "official" statement. While you still may be correct, I tend to believe a corporation when they say it is because of money

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/3848/

 

March 13, 2019

 

(3:01 p.m. EST) -- Carnival Cruise Line has removed the port of St. John's, Antigua, from its upcoming cruise itineraries. Carnival Breeze, Carnival Legend, Carnival Magic and Carnival Pride will no longer sail to the island, as scheduled, when the winter season commences in November 2019.

The decision follows a new contract between Antigua and Global Ports Holding (GPH), a cruise port management company, which was announced in February.

"The cruise industry is concerned about the cost increases outlined in the new concession agreement making Antigua uncompetitive," a Carnival spokesperson told Cruise Critic. "In addition, the rhetoric coming from the government is clearly anti-cruise and ignores the significant economic impact the industry brings to the island. We have built strong positive relationships with many Caribbean countries and would clearly prefer to support those that have supported us."

Carnival is one of many cruise lines under the Carnival Corp. umbrella. Sister brands including Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn and more could follow suit. Other lines such as Royal Caribbean International, Norwegian Cruise Line, Celebrity Cruises and MSC Cruises also are scheduled to call on Antigua & Barbuda in 2019.

Cruise Critic has contacted the other cruise lines, as well as representatives for Antigua and Barbuda, the Caribbean Tourism Organization and the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association, for comment. We will update this story as more information becomes available.

Lol, that is fair advice.  My point was

that when people say things like def a money....  the sad thing here and much more important then who is right or wrong is that this is an island with mostly good people who will not be better off as a result of all this.  

[ProgRockCruiser]

16 hours ago, VentureMan_2000 said:

I was also interested as to why Carnival might just pull out.  The reply from the Antigua Tourist board lacked any details and they clearly gave themselves a spin as if they are being picked on, but done nothing wrong.  This seemed very suspect and one-sided, so I googled and found this blog from October 2013.  It did provide some insight.  

 

https://adventureantigua.com/cruise-executives-tell-antigua-whats-wrong-with-us/ 

 

That is a very interesting read.  Puts it into context very well, IMHO.  

 

Also interesting is that the cruiselines really do want to stop at ports and sell excursions, etc.  So when a ship misses a port because of weather, they really aren't doing it just to keep you in the casino longer.  They (corporation-wise) wanted to stop there more than the passengers, perhaps!

[jimbo5544]

24 minutes ago, ProgRockCruiser said:

 

That is a very interesting read.  Puts it into context very well, IMHO.  

 

Also interesting is that the cruiselines really do want to stop at ports and sell excursions, etc.  So when a ship misses a port because of weather, they really aren't doing it just to keep you in the casino longer.  They (corporation-wise) wanted to stop there more than the passengers, perhaps!

It is an interesting article, as I mentioned, there is no winner here.... another good point is about why cruise lines miss a port...and what is NOT the reason.  Nice post.

Edited March 14, 2019 by jimbo5544

[Butterbean1000]

I can honestly say we won't miss it.  To us, it was pretty much like any other island in the area. 

[coevan]

1 hour ago, ProgRockCruiser said:

 

That is a very interesting read.  Puts it into context very well, IMHO.  

 

Also interesting is that the cruiselines really do want to stop at ports and sell excursions, etc.  So when a ship misses a port because of weather, they really aren't doing it just to keep you in the casino longer.  They (corporation-wise) wanted to stop there more than the passengers, perhaps!

 

 

I completely agree. 👍

[asalligo]

Dropping Antigua is no loss. Has been my least favorite Island in the Eastern Caribbean. Only reason to stop there was cheaper porting, there are just better islands if you are being pushed to pay more anyway. 

[coevan]

Have you ever vacationed in Antigua, like a week at a resort? Because 6-8 hours off a cruise ship, you really don't know the island. Same as Nassau which has a poor cruise ship reputation, however land visiters love it.

[CruzCrazy]

I for one will miss Antigua as a port.  We were there on the Breeze in 2016 and loved it.  We did venture away from the pier and took a 30-minute cab ride to Sheer Rocks (restaurant/bar/grill) which is perpetually in the top-rated restaurants in the Caribbean.  The views from this place are unbelievable, as it sits atop a rocky ledge at Cocobay Resort (hence the name Sheer Rocks). 

 

Still, if it doesn't make good business sense for Carnival to continue making it a port of call, then that's that.  If we ever get the opportunity to do a land vacation there, I'd jump at the chance.

[Joebucks]

2 hours ago, coevan said:

Have you ever vacationed in Antigua, like a week at a resort? Because 6-8 hours off a cruise ship, you really don't know the island. Same as Nassau which has a poor cruise ship reputation, however land visiters love it.

 

Great point. Our last two times at Nassau, we stopped at Sandals. The resort is gorgeous, the beach is gorgeous, the food is great, the service is great. Yet the overwhelming theme on these forums is poo poo on Nassau because the straw market annoys them. These islands all have a lot to offer.

[elcuchio24]

2 hours ago, coevan said:

Have you ever vacationed in Antigua, like a week at a resort? Because 6-8 hours off a cruise ship, you really don't know the island. Same as Nassau which has a poor cruise ship reputation, however land visiters love it.

 

Same can be said for basically all the ports. We have had great AI vacations in Jamaica, which typically garners poor grades for cruise ports...

[coevan]

Love Negril 😍 , the Jamaican people are over the top friendly

[OCruisers]

It is a MONEY issue ... not a SAFETY issue.