What was that? Posted November 26, 2020 #1 Share Posted November 26, 2020 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? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiserBruce Posted November 26, 2020 #2 Share Posted November 26, 2020 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oakridger Posted November 26, 2020 #3 Share Posted November 26, 2020 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare foodsvcmgr Posted November 27, 2020 #4 Share Posted November 27, 2020 In the interest of fuel savings the cruise lines typically add a day (Hawaii) or drop a port to reduce speed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canadianbear Posted November 27, 2020 #5 Share Posted November 27, 2020 It seems they have dropped HMC in recent years which is a shame. Some love it but some don’t miss it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiserBruce Posted November 27, 2020 #6 Share Posted November 27, 2020 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? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mskitty1 Posted November 27, 2020 #7 Share Posted November 27, 2020 Are they revamping the itinerary to fit requirements of the cruises being 7 days or less up until November 1, 2021? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiserBruce Posted November 27, 2020 #8 Share Posted November 27, 2020 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. . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
What was that? Posted November 27, 2020 Author #9 Share Posted November 27, 2020 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... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USN59-79 Posted November 27, 2020 #10 Share Posted November 27, 2020 3 hours ago, CruiserBruce said: Huh? For Panama Canal cruises? I suspect we are seeing an example of spell-check in action. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
What was that? Posted November 27, 2020 Author #11 Share Posted November 27, 2020 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare TiogaCruiser Posted November 27, 2020 #12 Share Posted November 27, 2020 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. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare broberts Posted November 27, 2020 #13 Share Posted November 27, 2020 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. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabinluvn Posted November 27, 2020 #14 Share Posted November 27, 2020 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare foodsvcmgr Posted November 27, 2020 #15 Share Posted November 27, 2020 Tioga you are correct, cruises that were once 14 days are now 15 or 16 with no additional ports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiserBruce Posted November 27, 2020 #16 Share Posted November 27, 2020 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiserBruce Posted November 27, 2020 #17 Share Posted November 27, 2020 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. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
What was that? Posted November 27, 2020 Author #18 Share Posted November 27, 2020 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. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffElizabeth Posted November 27, 2020 #19 Share Posted November 27, 2020 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? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkacruiser Posted November 27, 2020 #20 Share Posted November 27, 2020 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. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oakridger Posted November 28, 2020 #21 Share Posted November 28, 2020 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 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alberta Quilter Posted November 28, 2020 #22 Share Posted November 28, 2020 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. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkacruiser Posted November 29, 2020 #23 Share Posted November 29, 2020 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. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T8NCruise Posted November 30, 2020 #24 Share Posted November 30, 2020 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiserBruce Posted November 30, 2020 #25 Share Posted November 30, 2020 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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