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Substitutions for Key West

bessinfl

By bessinfl,
in Celebrity Cruises

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bessinfl

bessinfl

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Posted

I know that ships aren’t calling at Key West right now and may not in the foreseeable future. Does anyone know where Celebrity is going instead? I’m looking at an Equinox sailing for May 2022, which also goes to Cozumel and Grand Cayman. It’s just a six-day, so it seems the likely other port to replace Key West would be Nassau. Are there any other obvious choices?

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DCPIV "Live from...." Rare

DCPIV

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Jamaica could be one, but right now I'd put my money on Nassau. 

 

Of course, that's assuming that the Cayman Islands have opened back up to cruise ships by that time. I believe that's the plan, but . . . .

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nocl

nocl

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Also keep in mind that Grand Cayman, which was planning to build a cruise ship pier, has changed their minds and will not be constructing one. 

 

The cruise lines had told them before Covid that the lack of a pier will limit the size of ships that will call there (the larger the ship the more difficult tendering) so the new really large ships from several of the cruise lines will probably not be calling there even when it reopens.

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jalves

jalves

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We are on the Reflection 7-night end of January sailing.  Originally It was Key West, Falmouth Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel.  Got an email last week that it has been changed to Nassau, Belize, Honduras and Cozumel.    

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ChucktownSteve

ChucktownSteve

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Posted (edited)
On 11/3/2021 at 11:43 AM, bessinfl said:

Thanks. I could do without Nassau ( but we’re happy to stay on the ship and enjoy a deserted solarium). I guess I should look into Costa Maya. Never been there.  

 

We had a Celebrity Mercury itinerary that included Costa Maya.  If you're into independent tours I would recommend you look into The Native Choice.  It was authentic and we enjoyed it very much.

 

We took the Mayan Experience tour which included the Chacchoben Ruins and a homemade lunch at a family's small hut and garden.  It was 5.5 hours and only costs $75pp now. Back it 2010 they charged us  $70pp. 

https://www.thenativechoice.com/tours/mayan-experience-tour

Edited by ChucktownSteve
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Cinerama

Cinerama

Posted
Posted
On 11/2/2021 at 9:37 PM, bessinfl said:

I know that ships aren’t calling at Key West right now and may not in the foreseeable future. Does anyone know where Celebrity is going instead? I’m looking at an Equinox sailing for May 2022, which also goes to Cozumel and Grand Cayman. It’s just a six-day, so it seems the likely other port to replace Key West would be Nassau. Are there any other obvious choices?

 

Some cruise ships are being allowed to go to Key West.

 

"Two cruise ships returned to Key West on Nov. 27, one at Mallory Pier and one at Pier B. Another is due to arrive on Thursday, Dec. 2 at Pier B.

 

 

The Azamara Quest docked at 7:30 a.m. Saturday at Mallory Pier. With a 1,094-person capacity (686 passengers, 408 crew), the ship meets the voter-approved cruise ship size and capacity limits. It is one of 11 smaller ships that are eligible and scheduled to visit Key West in 2022, and, according to a Tweet by Safer Cleaner Ships, “is a good fit for Key West” due to its smaller size and shallow draft. 

 

At 9 a.m. Saturday, the Crystal Serenity arrived at Pier B. With a total capacity of 1,695 people (1,040 passengers, 655 crew), the ship, when full, would exceed the city’s new prohibition of ships that carry more than 1,500 people. But the Crystal Serenity arrived Saturday with only 476 passengers. 

 

The third ship, Oceania Cruises’ M/S Marina, arrives Thursday. It has a total capacity of 2,030 (1,250 passengers and 780 crew), but the ship is arriving with fewer than 400 passengers and all crew is remaining aboard the ship when it’s in Key West, said John Wells of Caribe Nautical, the ships’ agent that schedules and provisions cruise ships in Key West."

 

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drowelf

drowelf

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Posted
On 11/2/2021 at 11:27 PM, nocl said:

Also keep in mind that Grand Cayman, which was planning to build a cruise ship pier, has changed their minds and will not be constructing one. 

 

The cruise lines had told them before Covid that the lack of a pier will limit the size of ships that will call there (the larger the ship the more difficult tendering) so the new really large ships from several of the cruise lines will probably not be calling there even when it reopens.

I read an article that Covid taught Grand Cayman, that they are not as quite dependent on the Cruise Industry as they thought they were. After looking at their financial for the intervening period, they decided that they don't want/need as much cruise traffic as the lines would like to give them. 

 

I say,  good for them. From all the reports I read, many of the Caribbean destinations are way too crowded during the height of the cruise season anyway.  

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D C

D C

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2 hours ago, drowelf said:

I read an article that Covid taught Grand Cayman, that they are not as quite dependent on the Cruise Industry as they thought they were. After looking at their financial for the intervening period, they decided that they don't want/need as much cruise traffic as the lines would like to give them. 

 

I say,  good for them. From all the reports I read, many of the Caribbean destinations are way too crowded during the height of the cruise season anyway.  

I don't believe that the Caymans ever thought there was a reliance on cruise ships.  They're one of the richest nations on the planet.  Ships are just *more* money for them. 

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D C

D C

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7 hours ago, Cinerama said:

 

Some cruise ships are being allowed to go to Key West.

 

"Two cruise ships returned to Key West on Nov. 27, one at Mallory Pier and one at Pier B. Another is due to arrive on Thursday, Dec. 2 at Pier B.

 

 

The Azamara Quest docked at 7:30 a.m. Saturday at Mallory Pier. With a 1,094-person capacity (686 passengers, 408 crew), the ship meets the voter-approved cruise ship size and capacity limits. It is one of 11 smaller ships that are eligible and scheduled to visit Key West in 2022, and, according to a Tweet by Safer Cleaner Ships, “is a good fit for Key West” due to its smaller size and shallow draft. 

 

At 9 a.m. Saturday, the Crystal Serenity arrived at Pier B. With a total capacity of 1,695 people (1,040 passengers, 655 crew), the ship, when full, would exceed the city’s new prohibition of ships that carry more than 1,500 people. But the Crystal Serenity arrived Saturday with only 476 passengers. 

 

The third ship, Oceania Cruises’ M/S Marina, arrives Thursday. It has a total capacity of 2,030 (1,250 passengers and 780 crew), but the ship is arriving with fewer than 400 passengers and all crew is remaining aboard the ship when it’s in Key West, said John Wells of Caribe Nautical, the ships’ agent that schedules and provisions cruise ships in Key West."

 

Those ships aren't exactly being allowed.  They operate from outside of the US and are calling on Key West without a Key West approved 'CDC form'. They're approved for other US ports, so they're simply calling on Key West regardless of the city's unwillingness to play nice with US-based ships. 

 

Hopefully it's the catalyst that other lines need to call on KW without the explicit CDC forms signed by the city. 

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nocl

nocl

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18 minutes ago, D C said:

Those ships aren't exactly being allowed.  They operate from outside of the US and are calling on Key West without a Key West approved 'CDC form'. They're approved for other US ports, so they're simply calling on Key West regardless of the city's unwillingness to play nice with US-based ships. 

 

Hopefully it's the catalyst that other lines need to call on KW without the explicit CDC forms signed by the city. 

Actually those ships would have been in compliance with the referendum.

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D C

D C

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54 minutes ago, nocl said:

Actually those ships would have been in compliance with the referendum.

Only one of them would have been as the referendum size limit was total CAPACITY for guests + crew.   Nevermind that the referendum is irrelevant at this point in time. 

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nocl

nocl

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1 hour ago, D C said:

Only one of them would have been as the referendum size limit was total CAPACITY for guests + crew.   Nevermind that the referendum is irrelevant at this point in time. 

the state may have tried to make it irrelevant, but the cruise lines are honoring it until a final resolution is found.

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