Another itinerary change for Caribbean Princess

[Stevie17]

So I awoke to an email from Princess announcing yet another itinerary change for our January 2nd sailing on the Caribbean Princess. They announced a couple of months ago that we would not be calling on Grand Cayman (makes sense...no ships are stopping there at the moment) or Jamaica (okay...kind of a bummer) but instead, we would be stopping in Costa Maya and Belize. All good, still cruising and those are nice ports.  

 

Today's email announced that they would be replacing Princess Cays with...wait for it...Nassau, and that we would only be there from 7am - 1pm. Look, I truly am a glass is always at least half full kinda gal, but this one really bummed me out. I'm assuming that there are too many other ships (Carnival) calling on Princess Cays and we got bumped, but just UGH. 

 

Okay, enough complaining. I am thrilled beyond belief to be cruising again and am grateful to be able to take this trip with my two teenager daughters and my husband. Here's to sailing the high seas with a pina colada in one hand and sunscreen in the other. Even if neither will happen on Princess Cays.

 

Edited November 11, 2021 by Stevie17

[mtnesterz]

While I have not been to the Bahamas, I have been to Princess Cays twice. If you haven't been there, you will not be missing much. We walked around for maybe an hour, had a burger and then back to the ship. The second time, just stayed on the ship. Costa Maya has interesting history and Belize has a lot of natural beauty and history.  We all have different tastes, but to my preferences, the changes sound like an improvement. Search for, "Things to do in..."

 

[Stevie17]

27 minutes ago, mtnesterz said:

While I have not been to the Bahamas, I have been to Princess Cays twice. If you haven't been there, you will not be missing much. We walked around for maybe an hour, had a burger and then back to the ship. The second time, just stayed on the ship. Costa Maya has interesting history and Belize has a lot of natural beauty and history.  We all have different tastes, but to my preferences, the changes sound like an improvement. Search for, "Things to do in..."

 

I've been to both Princess Cays and Nassau, the latter many times. Nassau is one of my least favorite port stops. We were looking forward to a relaxing beach day in Princess Cays. With such a short time in Nassau (7am - 1pm), it would be hard to even make that into a decent beach day. I agree with different tastes, but for us, this is a major downgrade. 

[Tak8]

I go for the beaches, so I have to agree the changes are a big downgrade.  I like my water warm and January in the Bahamas, I tend to wait for later morning or afternoon before going into the water.  With a 1pm departure, you swim in the morning or you don't swim at all  (or fill in with whatever you do in the water).

[Stevie17]

17 minutes ago, Tak8 said:

I go for the beaches, so I have to agree the changes are a big downgrade.  I like my water warm and January in the Bahamas, I tend to wait for later morning or afternoon before going into the water.  With a 1pm departure, you swim in the morning or you don't swim at all  (or fill in with whatever you do in the water).

Precisely. I don't even see us getting off of the ship in Nassau. 

[TracieABD]

I am with others. Not a fan of Nassau. As much as I can remember, I can't even think of a time when a Princess ship called there. Maybe it is memory thing, but that is one of the attractions with Princess. For the most part, I like the ports they call upon. 

[wkwthme]

January 16th sailing here, same change as OP. I might be in the minority but I LOVE Princess Cays, especially when it is the first stop of a sailing. It's a nice way to start the week (or two...or more, if you are lucky!). Was really looking forward to it with the Princess Plus drink package as a way to have a 'free' excursion day. 

That said, I have never been to Nassau so will be looking forward to visiting a new place.

[Hlitner]

4 hours ago, mtnesterz said:

While I have not been to the Bahamas, I have been to Princess Cays twice. If you haven't been there, you will not be missing much. We walked around for maybe an hour, had a burger and then back to the ship. The second time, just stayed on the ship. Costa Maya has interesting history and Belize has a lot of natural beauty and history.  We all have different tastes, but to my preferences, the changes sound like an improvement. Search for, "Things to do in..."

 

We get it!  But as ole folks who routinely cruise/travel all over the world we still love to return to a Caribbean cruise (or vacation) at least once a year.  The reason is that we are still "beach people" and the Caribbean has plenty of nice beaches and terrific water.  Even in our 70s, both DW and I are able to swim long distances (when we have our fins) to snorkel (our diving days are over).  

 

I am often amazed that folks not into beaches go the Caribbean and soon find themselves somewhat bored with many of the ports.  The truth is that once you have toured most islands there is not much reason to return other than sun/sand.   And I will tell you that we are not big fans of Costa Maya since the waters are often full of smelly seaweed/seagrass.  And you also need to be very careful with the various beachfront places in Costa Maya who often try to take advantage of cruisers.  Since we live in Mexico part of the year we are usually wise to the attempts to separate cruisers from their dollars.  I have seen places in Costa Maya charging cruisers $50+ dollars for a couple of lousy loungers and then telling them they are only for 4 hours!   And then there is the situation typical of many Mexican ports where I can say "no gracias" a hundred times without even missing a word in my book :).  But the vendors can still be quite annoying and never ending.

 

Hank

[mtnesterz]

@HlitnerStevie17 got up this morning and was crestfallen about her itinerary change. Not for the first, but second time. So much so that she writes us about it. While she says, "Okay, enough complaining." Still, truth be told, she seemed bummed. Who wouldn't be? 

I suggested to search out interesting things to do. What else is a person going to do? You try and make the best of a turn of events and who knows, maybe something good happens. Just focusing on the original post and keeping positive. Some wade unpleasantly in seaweed in Costa Maya and some choose to go see Mayan ruins instead and maybe have a lifetime memory. Stevie17 has added information about Nassau that we all didn't know since her original post, and mine. But it doesn't change that on a cruise and in life, things happen and one can only try to make the best of it. 

[Hlitner]

13 minutes ago, mtnesterz said:

@HlitnerStevie17 got up this morning and was crestfallen about her itinerary change. Not for the first, but second time. So much so that she writes us about it. While she says, "Okay, enough complaining." Still, truth be told, she seemed bummed. Who wouldn't be? 

I suggested to search out interesting things to do. What else is a person going to do? You try and make the best of a turn of events and who knows, maybe something good happens. Just focusing on the original post and keeping positive. Some wade unpleasantly in seaweed in Costa Maya and some choose to go see Mayan ruins instead and maybe have a lifetime memory. Stevie17 has added information about Nassau that we all didn't know since her original post, and mine. But it doesn't change that on a cruise and in life, things happen and one can only try to make the best of it. 

I actually agree with Stevie17s analysis and will admit that we have had no love of Nassau for about the last 40 years:).   There are plenty of times,  when we cruise in the Caribbean, that DW and I think our best option is to simply stay on the ship.   On one Celebrity cruise which went to 9 Caribbean ports we did not bother getting off during stops at the first 8 but did finally get off at the last stop of St Maarten because that is a port we enjoy.  So, when you say "make the best of it" for some folks that is actually enjoying a near empty vessel when it is in a port that might not offer much of interest to the cruiser.

 

Hank

[memoak]

We are not beach people but there are many ports where there are restaurants we really like and mostly just get off for lunch and a few beers

Edited November 11, 2021 by memoak

[Waynetor]

We are on for 9 weeks starting Jan 9 and got the email today for the Jan 16 western voyage.  I don't plan on getting off the ship very much but this does give a bit more variety for us. 

[philv]

We are on Caribbean Princess February 6 for eastern/western back to back. Second week featured Grand Cayman and Jamaica. I see Grand Cayman will be closed to cruise ships until late January. Jamaica reopened to cruise ships in September. I’m hoping Grand Cayman will be reopened in February. We haven’t been there before and would like to stroll Seven Mile Beach. Not sure from what I’ve seen what’s happening with Jamaica but also hope for first time visit. Hope to hear positive updates.

[kml246]

39 minutes ago, philv said:

We are on Caribbean Princess February 6 for eastern/western back to back. Second week featured Grand Cayman and Jamaica. I see Grand Cayman will be closed to cruise ships until late January. Jamaica reopened to cruise ships in September. I’m hoping Grand Cayman will be reopened in February. We haven’t been there before and would like to stroll Seven Mile Beach. Not sure from what I’ve seen what’s happening with Jamaica but also hope for first time visit. Hope to hear positive updates.

 

We're on the same two cruises. Hoping to dive in Grand Cayman. We've been there many times, both by ship and air. It's beautiful but crowded.

 

See you on board!

[Stevie17]

16 hours ago, Hlitner said:

I actually agree with Stevie17s analysis and will admit that we have had no love of Nassau for about the last 40 years:).   There are plenty of times,  when we cruise in the Caribbean, that DW and I think our best option is to simply stay on the ship.   On one Celebrity cruise which went to 9 Caribbean ports we did not bother getting off during stops at the first 8 but did finally get off at the last stop of St Maarten because that is a port we enjoy.  So, when you say "make the best of it" for some folks that is actually enjoying a near empty vessel when it is in a port that might not offer much of interest to the cruiser.

 

Hank

This is exactly what we will be doing in Nassau. If we had more time, we might have considered going to Atlantis (which we have done...it's fun), but with a departure time of 1pm, that's not practical. We've all been to Nassau multiple times, so staying on the ship and getting in another sea day is the option we will choose. 

[Marelaine]

We are on Emerald now. We also had Grand Cayman changed to Nassau. Rumor has it that they are  using Princess Cays for much needed R&R for the crew. 

 

[chrysalis]

21 minutes ago, Marelaine said:

We are on Emerald now. We also had Grand Cayman changed to Nassau. Rumor has it that they are  using Princess Cays for much needed R&R for the crew. 

 

The Enchanted was at Princess Cays yesterday....

[hsmom]

I am on the January 9th, Eastern and that still has Princess Cays. I am hoping that does not change as I have lost it on the Western on the 16th. Glad that this was posted since I had not paid much attention to the time in port. I will enjoy my day on the ship.

[DavidsNana]

My adult son and I are on the Caribbean Princess Western Caribbean cruise Feb 27th and so far, I have not been notified of any itinerary changes and they are still selling this cruise with the same ports.  I figured we would not be stopping at Grand Cayman given their circumstances but cancelling Jamaica and Princess Cays in favor of Nassau and Costa Maya may be a deal breaker.  I am not fond of Jamaica but we specifically booked this itin as my son has been wanting to climb Dunn's River Falls again after enjoying it years ago.  Don't really like Nassau and 7-1 is just a bad time frame.  Our final payment is due 11/29 and I certainly hope that if there are to be itin changes (other than GC) that they will notify us prior to that so we can decide what we want to do.  If this thread were not here I would not have known about these port changes.  Thank you guys for posting.

[TracieABD]

We have had a couple of itinerary changes... From T&C to Princess Cays. Hoping it sticks, but remaining flexible. That is the best I can do under these circumstances. 

[geoherb]

I'm on the CB's December 5 cruise. I booked late last month--after Princess announced the change from Jamaica and Grand Cayman to Belize and Costa Maya. As of now, our cruise's itinerary is still showing Princess Cays. I hope it doesn't change. 

[Tyskie]

On 11/12/2021 at 7:55 PM, TracieABD said:

We have had a couple of itinerary changes... From T&C to Princess Cays. Hoping it sticks, but remaining flexible. That is the best I can do under these circumstances. 

 

Same with us but on the Regal - we were looking forward to T&C - haven't been since 2007.  

Thankful it was replaced by Princess Cays and not Nassau.  Let's hope it stays that way.

[Iamcruzin]

On 11/11/2021 at 8:33 AM, Stevie17 said:

 

 

Today's email announced that they would be replacing Princess Cays with...wait for it...Nassau, and that we would only be there from 7am - 1pm. Look, I truly am a glass is always at least half full kinda gal, but this one really bummed me out.

 

I think the glass half filled part is that you will only be in Nassau from 7am-1pm.  

[chamima]

On 11/11/2021 at 8:33 AM, Stevie17 said:

So I awoke to an email from Princess announcing yet another itinerary change for our January 2nd sailing on the Caribbean Princess. They announced a couple of months ago that we would not be calling on Grand Cayman (makes sense...no ships are stopping there at the moment) or Jamaica (okay...kind of a bummer) but instead, we would be stopping in Costa Maya and Belize. All good, still cruising and those are nice ports.  

 

Today's email announced that they would be replacing Princess Cays with...wait for it...Nassau, and that we would only be there from 7am - 1pm. Look, I truly am a glass is always at least half full kinda gal, but this one really bummed me out. I'm assuming that there are too many other ships (Carnival) calling on Princess Cays and we got bumped, but just UGH. 

 

Okay, enough complaining. I am thrilled beyond belief to be cruising again and am grateful to be able to take this trip with my two teenager daughters and my husband. Here's to sailing the high seas with a pina colada in one hand and sunscreen in the other. Even if neither will happen on Princess Cays.

 

 

On 11/11/2021 at 9:38 AM, Stevie17 said:

I've been to both Princess Cays and Nassau, the latter many times. Nassau is one of my least favorite port stops. We were looking forward to a relaxing beach day in Princess Cays. With such a short time in Nassau (7am - 1pm), it would be hard to even make that into a decent beach day. I agree with different tastes, but for us, this is a major downgrade. 

 

We were looking to book this cruise with our 2 young granddaughters, who will be fully vaccinated by January.

They would have LOVED Princess Cays but we, along with most people I would venture to guess, will not bother getting off in Nassau.

I've always wondered what it would be like to do a cruise NEVER getting off the ship and this may just be our chance to do it.

[philv]

Why is CB not stopping in Princess Cay or Jamaica?