Half Moon Cay Being Dropped from Panama Canal Full-Transit Cruises?

[What was that?]

When we sailed from San Diego to Fort Lauderdale in 2018, HMC was one of the port calls. I am looking to book it again going the other way, but HAL seems to be phasing it out as a stop on those itineraries - any ideas about this apparent change?

[CruiserBruce]

HMC isn't on all the Canal cruises. We have done 4...IIRC, HMC was on one or two sailing out of Ft Lauderdale, but not on the one we did from West Coast to Florida.

[oakridger]

I was booked on the Nieuw Amsterdam from Ft. Lauderdale to San Francisco in April 2021 and HMC was not on the itinerary.  The first port was Cartagena, Columbia.

 

~Nancy

[foodsvcmgr]

In the interest of fuel savings the cruise lines typically add a day (Hawaii) or drop a port to reduce speed.

[canadianbear]

It seems they have dropped HMC in recent years which is a shame.  Some love it but some don’t miss it.  

[CruiserBruce]

2 hours ago, foodsvcmgr said:

In the interest of fuel savings the cruise lines typically add a day (Hawaii) or drop a port to reduce speed.

Huh? For Panama Canal cruises?

[mskitty1]

Are they revamping the itinerary to fit requirements of the cruises being 7 days or less up until November 1, 2021?

[CruiserBruce]

7 minutes ago, mskitty1 said:

Are they revamping the itinerary to fit requirements of the cruises being 7 days or less up until November 1, 2021?

You can't do a 7 day Canal one way, unless you cut it to Costa Rica to Costa Rica. Or possibly Grand Cayman or Cartagena.  I doubt you could do a partial transit in 7 days with the required stop in a foreign country, although it would be very close. 

.

[What was that?]

Well, I could do without HMC, but my DW was quite impressed. But now I know not to promise it to her on the Canal cruise...

[USN59-79]

3 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

Huh? For Panama Canal cruises?

I suspect we are seeing an example of spell-check in action.

[What was that?]

11 hours ago, mskitty1 said:

Are they revamping the itinerary to fit requirements of the cruises being 7 days or less up until November 1, 2021?

I have been monitoring PC transit cruises since early 2020 and the trend was apparent then.

[TiogaCruiser]

15 hours ago, foodsvcmgr said:

In the interest of fuel savings the cruise lines typically add a day (Hawaii) or drop a port to reduce speed.

 

13 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

Huh? For Panama Canal cruises?

I think Foodsrvcmgr is saying that they add a travel day on Hawaii cruises so they can sail slower and get better fuel “economy”. Dropping a port on other itineraries could do the same.

 

That’s also 1 more day of potential onboard spending.

[broberts]

With Carnival using HMC I suspect demand for the "port" exceeds availability. Naturally ships that generate more revenue are going to be preferred. Missing the stop is less likely to affect bookings on a canal itinerary than a 7 day out of FL.

[cabinluvn]

15 hours ago, oakridger said:

I was booked on the Nieuw Amsterdam from Ft. Lauderdale to San Francisco in April 2021 and HMC was not on the itinerary.  The first port was Cartagena, Columbia.

 

~Nancy

We are booked on that cruise. Did they cancel you?  Pretty sure it won’t sail, but waiting for them to cancel

[foodsvcmgr]

Tioga you are correct, cruises that were once 14 days are now 15 or 16 with no additional ports.

[CruiserBruce]

1 hour ago, cabinluvn said:

We are booked on that cruise. Did they cancel you?  Pretty sure it won’t sail, but waiting for them to cancel

It can't sail under the current guidelines. It can be no longer than 7 days if it touches US ports.

[CruiserBruce]

1 hour ago, broberts said:

With Carnival using HMC I suspect demand for the "port" exceeds availability. Naturally ships that generate more revenue are going to be preferred. Missing the stop is less likely to affect bookings on a canal itinerary than a 7 day out of FL.

HAL always gets priority at HMC.

[What was that?]

11 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

HAL always gets priority at HMC.

That is pretty interesting to know.

FWIW, I figured the sea distance from Fort Lauderdale to Cartagena, Colombia - the first stop listed on the itinerary, and it is 1,111nm. Using the posted departure and arrival times gives 63 hours for this journey, so the ship would have to average well over 17kt to meet schedule. From that I conclude that the HMC stop is not possible without disrupting the schedule, except by adding a day and possibly skipping another port:

16 hours ago, foodsvcmgr said:

In the interest of fuel savings the cruise lines typically add a day (Hawaii) or drop a port to reduce speed.

 

[JeffElizabeth]

We were on Rotterdam last year in March and didn't get a stop at HMC for our Canal cruise. Aruba was our first stop after boarding in Fort Lauderdale.  Interesting theory about them trying to cut fuel costs by slowing down the boats. Fuel is pretty cheap right now. Anyone remember the days of fuel surcharges?

[rkacruiser]

2 hours ago, JeffElizabeth said:

Anyone remember the days of fuel surcharges?

 

I do.  If one wanted to cruise, it was simply something one had to pay.

 

I wonder once cruising resumes if we might see Covid prevention surcharges.  

[oakridger]

9 hours ago, cabinluvn said:

We are booked on that cruise. Did they cancel you?  Pretty sure it won’t sail, but waiting for them to cancel

Unfortunately, yes, I was cancelled by HAL on November 20, 2020.  This is part of the email from HAL:

 

"As we continue to prepare and develop our plans, we have made the decision to extend our pause in cruise operations for all departures through March 31, 2021, cruises of eight days or longer that call at a U.S. port through November 1, 2021, and select longer cruise itineraries departing this spring. As a result, we must cancel your upcoming voyage (Booking #XXXXXXX)"

 

I have decided to not book any more cruises with any line until sailings with passengers are actually going.  Five cancelled cruises was enough disappointment for now. 😔

 

Best wishes cabinluvn,

~Nancy

 

[Alberta Quilter]

I don't think this is anything new.  I was on a full PC cruise in 2009 and we didn't stop at HMC.  We sailed west to east and the last port was Aruba.

[rkacruiser]

23 hours ago, oakridger said:

I have decided to not book any more cruises with any line until sailings with passengers are actually going.  Five cancelled cruises was enough disappointment for now. 😔

 

 

You got the memo!  It amazes me the number of people that continue to book and supply money to any of the  cruise lines when the future is so uncertain!  It's illogical to me.  

 

But, as a shareholder of CCL and RCL, I thank those who continue to help keep my companies afloat.  

[T8NCruise]

On 11/28/2020 at 8:45 AM, Alberta Quilter said:

I don't think this is anything new.  I was on a full PC cruise in 2009 and we didn't stop at HMC.  We sailed west to east and the last port was Aruba.

 

I've done the full transit quite a few times since then, and HMC has always been on the itinerary.  In the earlier cruises, so was Curacao and Aruba.  In the past few years these have been missed, which is too bad as they are popular ports.  As HMC is so "iffy" and dependent on weather and calm seas for tenders, I believe HAL was planning a dock for the island.

[CruiserBruce]

1 hour ago, T8NCruise said:

 

I've done the full transit quite a few times since then, and HMC has always been on the itinerary.  In the earlier cruises, so was Curacao and Aruba.  In the past few years these have been missed, which is too bad as they are popular ports.  As HMC is so "iffy" and dependent on weather and calm seas for tenders, I believe HAL was planning a dock for the island.

If you are talking a full transit...west to east, or east to west, either the ABC islands or Cartagena is a required stop, to meet the "distant foreign port" requirement of the PVSA.