Strange Meraviglia route today after skipping Ocean Cay

[MisterBill99]

Meraviglia had to skip Ocean Cay today due to high winds (so what else is new). I was checking their path in VesselFinder after initially reading that there were wind issues to see whether it actually got to dock. The tracking that it shows is fascinating, and weird. You can see on the first image that after circling the area near Ocean Cay, it headed back north pretty much up to Boca Raton, before heading to the next stop in Nassau. Any idea why they would do that rather than just traveling slowly and maybe even getting passengers to Nassau earlier than the 11am time they usually get there (I see it says they'll be there at 10:30, but that is probably typical and later than other ships that are there get in by 9am). You'd think they'd want to do something nice for passengers, even though MSC tours wouldn't start early but presumably many people booked all-inclusives for the day and could get an extra couple of hours.

 

I also attached a close-up showing the circling they did near Ocean Cay. Either they were practicing maneuvers, or they kept trying to get a good angle. Or they were just killing time, but once again, I don't understand why they didn't just stay in one place.

 

Can anyone explain why they did this? And please, none of the "the captain was wonderful for not putting the passengers in harm's way by trying to dock" dribble I see on social media fan-groups.

 

 

 

 

g

Edited March 7 by MisterBill99

[rikitikitavii]

6 hours ago, MisterBill99 said:

Meraviglia had to skip Ocean Cay today due to high winds (so what else is new). I was checking their path in VesselFinder after initially reading that there were wind issues to see whether it actually got to dock. The tracking that it shows is fascinating, and weird. You can see on the first image that after circling the area near Ocean Cay, it headed back north pretty much up to Boca Raton, before heading to the next stop in Nassau. Any idea why they would do that rather than just traveling slowly and maybe even getting passengers to Nassau earlier than the 11am time they usually get there (I see it says they'll be there at 10:30, but that is probably typical and later than other ships that are there get in by 9am). You'd think they'd want to do something nice for passengers, even though MSC tours wouldn't start early but presumably many people booked all-inclusives for the day and could get an extra couple of hours.

 

I also attached a close-up showing the circling they did near Ocean Cay. Either they were practicing maneuvers, or they kept trying to get a good angle. Or they were just killing time, but once again, I don't understand why they didn't just stay in one place.

 

Can anyone explain why they did this? And please, none of the "the captain was wonderful for not putting the passengers in harm's way by trying to dock" dribble I see on social media fan-groups.

 

 

 

 

g

Not sure, but probably got into the Gulf Stream to save fuel, thus traveling north.

[Essiesmom]

Probably circling, hoping that winds would change so they could dock.  And you can’t just show up at a port hours early unless you make prior arrangements with the port.  There are five ships in Nassau today, each with a scheduled time to arrive, for the line handlers to be there, etc.   EM

[PTC DAWG]

1 hour ago, Essiesmom said:

Probably circling, hoping that winds would change so they could dock.  And you can’t just show up at a port hours early unless you make prior arrangements with the port.  There are five ships in Nassau today, each with a scheduled time to arrive, for the line handlers to be there, etc.   EM

Yes, this..^^^

[Brighton Line]

4 hours ago, rikitikitavii said:

Not sure, but probably got into the Gulf Stream to save fuel, thus traveling north.

Plausible, keep just enough speed for steerageway and go with the Gulf Stream.
Trying different approaches to the Cay seeing how the wind acted on the ship. Maybe their weather forecast said the winds would die down but didn't. 
Nassau is very busy, line handlers and time in the turning basin as the rotate who turns before or after docking. 

[Beamafar]

It seems to be really hit and miss with this island. Explora managed to dock today - very calm seas, apparently. 

[MisterBill99]

6 hours ago, Beamafar said:

It seems to be really hit and miss with this island. Explora managed to dock today - very calm seas, apparently. 

 

Yes, it's a difficult port to dock at. Sadly, there's no one to blame for that except MSC since they built the port. I think they have a much higher cancel rate than Royal does at Coco Cay, at least I don't hear about them cancelling.  I recall that Royal used to have problems when they had to tender there.

[Beachin2]

20 hours ago, MisterBill99 said:

 

Yes, it's a difficult port to dock at. Sadly, there's no one to blame for that except MSC since they built the port. I think they have a much higher cancel rate than Royal does at Coco Cay, at least I don't hear about them cancelling.  I recall that Royal used to have problems when they had to tender there.

We are 0 for 6 at CC.  Have been by there - but have never been on the island.  Those misses were in the days before they turned it into an amusement park though.

[MisterBill99]

1 hour ago, Beachin2 said:

We are 0 for 6 at CC.  Have been by there - but have never been on the island.  Those misses were in the days before they turned it into an amusement park though.

 

Was that before or after they built the dock? And the whole island is not an amusement park. There is a kids play area, but there's also a very nice pool (no charge) and lots of beach.

[bstrauss3]

There are different speeds where the ship is most efficient depending on how many generators are brought on line. 

[RICHARD@SEA]

Anything that cuts time in Nassau / Bahamas is a good thing for all onboard!!!

[Beachin2]

17 hours ago, MisterBill99 said:

 

Was that before or after they built the dock? And the whole island is not an amusement park. There is a kids play area, but there's also a very nice pool (no charge) and lots of beach.

Before the dock was built.  BUT we are 3 for 3 at Ocean Cay.  Have backed off of RC the last few years - doesn't seem like we fit their targeted demographics anymore.

[MisterBill99]

3 hours ago, RICHARD@SEA said:

Anything that cuts time in Nassau / Bahamas is a good thing for all onboard!!!

 

While I would agree for myself and for those who have been there many times, there are people who walk to the beach or do an all-inclusive or just want to get off the ship after an unexpected sea day and shop, and for them, arriving at a possible 9am instead of a 11am would have given them more time at the beach, since the 11am time is already much later than other ships.  And they weren't very far away, so had they not sailed all the way north, they could have easily gotten there earlier. 

 

As for schedules and time between ships mentioned above as the reason why they couldn't arrive earlier than planned, according to the port schedule three ships arrived at 7am, one at 8am and nothing else until Meraviglia at 11am. It just seems like something nice they could have done for passengers who were upset over missing Ocean Cay the day before (and yes, I know what the contract says, and it wasn't their fault because of the weather, spare me).

[MisterBill99]

BTW, I read a comment today from someone who was on this cruise, and they DID get to Nassau early, at 6:30am. And they were allowed off the ship several hours before 11am (not sure of the exact time). So obviously the comments here about their not being allowed to dock early were incorrect. They also got $28 back per person, presumably for the port fees (although I find it odd that they have to pay it for their own island). Of course, when Royal missed their private island due to weather guests got $50, but it's more than I expected from MSC since in the past they did not refund missed port fees, and I did not get any money back when we missed Grand Cayman on Seaside.

[Brighton Line]

On 3/9/2024 at 3:33 PM, MisterBill99 said:

They also got $28 back per person, presumably for the port fees (although I find it odd that they have to pay it for their own island).

It is not the nation of MSC or Carnival. The island is still part of the Bahamas so the government takes their cut every time a ship visits their own island and the amount is probably negotiated between the cruise line and the government as well. 

Edited March 14 by Brighton Line

[JAGR]

One thing to also keep in mind is that the current captain is master of his first MSC ship. He brings years of experience from Carnival, but I would be that he would be very reluctant to take any risk on his first MSC command. I was on the sailing the week before, and it was windy, so I trust his judgment, but also wonder about his being especially cautious.

[cruisebeachgirl703]

3 hours ago, JAGR said:

One thing to also keep in mind is that the current captain is master of his first MSC ship. He brings years of experience from Carnival, but I would be that he would be very reluctant to take any risk on his first MSC command. I was on the sailing the week before, and it was windy, so I trust his judgment, but also wonder about his being especially cautious.

Do you know how long Captain in onboard?

[JAGR]

15 hours ago, cruisebeachgirl703 said:

Do you know how long Captain in onboard?

I don't he got on in January, so I would think he would be on for six or seven months total. He is very nice, and actually spent quite a lot of time passing through YC and stopping to visit with guests. His name is Alessandro Galotto. Goes by Alex.

Edited March 15 by JAGR