Caribbean Transatlantic

[Cruisemeister2002]

On 8/2/2023 at 7:19 PM, Palaceman said:

Simply because your insurance policy covers missed ports. If cruise companies offered recompense any insurance policy will not pay out. You can't have it both ways.

Mine didn't cover missed ports despite paying nearly 2k for my 35 nighter to the Caribbean and USA, most due to underlying health issues. Perhaps I am a bit sceptical, but my feeling is that on many occasions ports of call are missed to save cruise companies money and whilst I fully understand that if a P of C is missed due to bad weather I am not one to be up in arms about it as some seem to be. Take for instance our P&O cruise alluded to above. Key West was taken out several months before the cruise was due to depart, of which we were informed. Then on sailaway day Ventura was some 5 hours late into port and 5 and a half hours late leaving Southampton. First P of C was La Coruna, then we were due to sail for Bermuda. Which as I said was missed due to the Captain declaring several days before docking that the weather wouldn't allow us in. Not being an expert, but being able to view the weather from cabin and on deck it did not look rough at all. Due to missed port it was ten days sailing before we reached land ( Freeport Bahamas). The return journey was another six days from Cape Canaveral to Ponta Del Garda and another three after that before Southampton. Now forgive me for being a bit questioning on this situation. But why couldn't Ventura have called in at Bermuda on it's way back to the UK. Before these days of extending sea days Cunard did New York transatlantic in 4 days and P&O ships did it in 5 days, therefore why does it take 9 days to get back to the UK. Don't tell me, Iv'e guessed, could it possibly be to do with having passengers spending onboard for longer ?

[Palaceman]

1 hour ago, Cruisemeister2002 said:

Mine didn't cover missed ports despite paying nearly 2k for my 35 nighter to the Caribbean and USA, most due to underlying health issues. Perhaps I am a bit sceptical, but my feeling is that on many occasions ports of call are missed to save cruise companies money and whilst I fully understand that if a P of C is missed due to bad weather I am not one to be up in arms about it as some seem to be. Take for instance our P&O cruise alluded to above. Key West was taken out several months before the cruise was due to depart, of which we were informed. Then on sailaway day Ventura was some 5 hours late into port and 5 and a half hours late leaving Southampton. First P of C was La Coruna, then we were due to sail for Bermuda. Which as I said was missed due to the Captain declaring several days before docking that the weather wouldn't allow us in. Not being an expert, but being able to view the weather from cabin and on deck it did not look rough at all. Due to missed port it was ten days sailing before we reached land ( Freeport Bahamas). The return journey was another six days from Cape Canaveral to Ponta Del Garda and another three after that before Southampton. Now forgive me for being a bit questioning on this situation. But why couldn't Ventura have called in at Bermuda on it's way back to the UK. Before these days of extending sea days Cunard did New York transatlantic in 4 days and P&O ships did it in 5 days, therefore why does it take 9 days to get back to the UK. Don't tell me, Iv'e guessed, could it possibly be to do with having passengers spending onboard for longer ?

I was also on this Caribbean and USA cruise. Key West was removed from the itinerary due to a decision made by the Key West City Commission involving visiting cruise ships, which was totally out of the control of P&O. The decision not to dock in Bermuda was announced two days before our scheduled stop. From leaving La Coruna the captain continually altered his planned course to try to avoid storms north of our position as we crossed The Atlantic. On the day when we were told that we would be missing Bermuda we were experiencing force 12 wind conditions and sea states. As I have said in a previous post these decisions are not taken lightly, and involve taking much information from several agencies and importantly the safety of all on board into consideration. Bermuda has narrow navigation channels, which in addition to high winds makes docking difficult for many ships. As informed by the Deputy Captain later in the cruise, during her presentation in the Havana Bar, the protruding balconies on Ventura do present an added challenge in windy conditions. Between 8th March and 16th March a total of 5  cruise ships had their scheduled call into Bermuda cancelled. Ventura's stop was scheduled for the 11th. It is not possible to reschedule a stop at short notice therefore calling at Bermuda on our return would not have been doable. Missing Bermuda only added one more sea day to the cruise. 

 

[Phyllis13]

Hi all

We are doing the transatlantic on Arvia in October and thinking of booking an independent North Island tour in Martinique. Does any one know how long we are likely to be in port & whether Arvia uses the Port Simon Pier in Fort De France or Tourelles? TIA

[david63]

1 hour ago, Phyllis13 said:

Does any one know how long we are likely to be in port

What are P&O saying?

It rally does not matter if you are doing a private tour as the tour operator will work within the ship's timings

1 hour ago, Phyllis13 said:

Arvia uses the Port Simon Pier in Fort De France or Tourelles

The tour operator will know which one on the day.

Edited August 12, 2023 by david63