Jump to content

Itinerary Changes mid-Cruise


Recommended Posts

Hey everyone - 

 

Tell me about a time when the captain had changed your itinerary mid-cruise. What happened?  Where were you supposed to go, and where'd you wind up going? 

 

I was on Freedom in August 2016, and our itinerary was CoCoCay, St Thomas, and St Maarten. After we left CoCoCay, we found out a Hurricane was brewing around the region we were heading to, so the captain turned us west and we went to Costa Maya, and then Cozumel. I had a great time,  but people in my party (and others) griped about not having gone to St. Thomas and St. Maarten specifically. I was just happy to be someplace nice with a place to go snorkeling and relax on a beach. That's what vacation's for, right? 

 

Any day on a cruise ship is better than a day on land and not on vacation... 

 

So, what experiences have you all had?

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't recall this ever happening to me on Royal; however, we were in a back to back on Disney and it wasn't until we went to check in for our second leg that we were told our itinerary was being changed because of violence in Mexico. This was a few years ago.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would rather the Captain change ports of calls rather than stay in an area where there is a Hurricane brewing.

Only happened once to us not on RCI but on  a Princess Cruise ship.

We were in Alaska and had a really rough ride during the night, with things sliding off the dressing table.

I actually stepped inside the bathroom and found myself stood in front of the toilet without moving my feet - :blink: 

When we woke up the following morning there was a letter pushed under our door advising that the Captain had needed to move swiftly out of the area - yes we missed our call but hey - better that than risk lives!  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On our Alaska cruise back in September, we were supposed to sail into the Tracy Arm Fjord.  The captain took us to a different glacier instead (I don't recall the name).  He said it was because Tracy Arm Fjord was too icy to get the ship safely in & out.  He also said the glacier he took us to was much prettier, in his opinion.  I've never seen the Tracy Arm Fjord, but I was not disappointed.  The views were spectacular!

 

I'd also much rather the captain reroute for safety.  Frankly, I think it's nice you still got to go somewhere rather than simply missing St Maarten and St Thomas.  (Frankly, I've been to St Maarten.  Aside from pretty beaches, you didn't miss much.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I sailed on the Carnival Conquest many years ago (2004) and the morning I was to board, two ships had collided at the mouth of the Mississippi, so the ship could not get into New Orleans.  We ended up sailing out of Gulfport, MS and we set sail about 14 hours late (8 am the next morning) by the time they unloaded previous passengers and then put us all on buses and taxis and such to get to the ship.   Yup, during Mardi Gras, no less. It was quite the fiasco.

 

Then we missed two of the three ports due to high seas (Grand Cayman and Jamaica). The third port was Cozumel, but the ferries to the mainland were not running, also due to the high seas.  So all-in-all, we spent almost the entire cruise at sea.  I loved it!  As much as I love seeing other places, I love being on the ocean and enjoying the ship more.  I think it was because of the high seas that the decision was made to not attempt substitute ports, especially on a Western Caribbean itinerary with the storms causing problems.

 

We always have a choice... I say listen to Jimmy Buffett:

 

These changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes,
Nothing remains quite the same.
Through all of the islands and all of the highlands,
If we couldn't laugh we would all go insane

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My sister's first cruise was her honeymoon, on Princess in 2004.  They spent the entire cruise dodging Hurricane Ivan - IIRC they didn't get to stop at ANY ports.  

 

They apparently loved it because they still cruise. :)

 

On our first cruise (Carnival) the Captain swapped two islands due to rain.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We were "fogged in" to Galveston, and had to spend the first night in Galveston at Port. (By the way, there's a big hallabalu about The Majesty being in port for the night due to a lifejacket issue -- Doesn't seem like a huge hardship to me. But then, i think it's a shorter cruise the mine.) We had a great time: Vacation started as soon as we were on the ship. However, the delay meant we couldn't make Belize City, the murder capitol of the Caribbean. They substituted Costa Maya. For us, we had no shore excursions in Belize City, so we didn't care. And I liked Costa Maya. Actually bought a hat there. The guy said he made it himself. I examined the hat more closely when I got back on the ship. Apparently, his name is China. So, if you want a good hat in Costa Maya, ask for China. He makes good hats!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...