WHere will the Caribbean cruises go?

KathyPet · ‎03-09-2010

COming up on prime Caribbean cruise months starting in November. So many of the most commonly visited islands have suffered terrible damage and now more islands likely to be hit with Puerto Rico, St. Kitts, Dominica now added to the list. ST. THomas and St. John likely to be struck a second time. ALl of these islands depend on tourism for their major source of income. SOme have said that the cruise lines will shift to the Western Carribean (Jamicia, Cozumel) for this winter but in reality there are already times when the cruise ports in these locations are very overcrowded with cruise ship passengers coming ashore from the mega cruise ships that I sincerely doubt that all the cruises that were headed to the eastern carribean route can transfer to,the western route. WIll be interesting to see what the cruise lines do.

nyc1 · ‎03-19-2010

That's an excellent question, and one I asked my friend, who has a cruise booked to the Caribbean the first week of Dec.

I was thinking further south, but they are getting it too, and your point is an excellent one. There would be far too many ships wanting and needing to dock.

So sad for all these islands.

millieshops · ‎03-09-2010

As much as I feel for those who have been planning wonderful cruise vacations, I feel more for those who depend upon those cruisers for their food and shelter. That's the part of recovery that gets lost so often among the pictures of the destruction.

The vacationers will find alternatives. I know of one wedding already postponed a year because there were no alternative Carribean sites to the Turks and Cacoas (?) previously booked for the date the bride wants. The resort and the airlines have been working with the necessary changes with no extra expenses - so far anyway.

evelyner · ‎03-09-2010

We have a cruise booked for the last week of December with friends. I have not asked yet what we will be doing. My hunch is that I don't want to go.

sim2222 · ‎06-10-2015

We have a cruise set for October 1, 2017 and It was supposed to go to all the islands that got or are getting hit by hurricanes. Still dont know if it will get cancelled or what. Very stressful. Sailing from San Juan or so we hope! Waiting to see what Carnival says tomorrow. Wish we could sail anf help people in need in the Carribbean.

chrystaltree · ‎05-10-2010

Well, not the Caribbean. That's a given. They might have to book cruises farther south into Central and South America but that's just a guess. It would be a nightmare and something that might happen in 2019, not 2018. Even if that's a possibility, there is no way that such a plan could replace all the Caribbean cruises. But with what the people who actually live on those islands are going through, what they have already endured, I don't think anyone cares one iota about a missed cruise.

seaBreeze · ‎02-04-2014

With Maria's path expected to be similar to Irma, there will not be anything left of St. Johns & a few cays. I feel for the cruise lines too, and wondering if customers needed to have "vacation insurance" to get a reimbursement?

KathyPet · ‎03-09-2010

@seaBreeze wrote:
With Maria's path expected to be similar to Irma, there will not be anything left of St. Johns & a few cays. I feel for the cruise lines too, and wondering if customers needed to have "vacation insurance" to get a reimbursement?

IFthe cruise line cancels your cruise your money will be refunded. If they re route your cruise I am not sure what will happen. YOu may or may not be able to cancel and get a refund. If you decide to cancel your cruise and have not yet made final payment you can get a refund of your deposit. IF you have made final payment and then decide to cancel you will have to have travel insurance and even then you have to have a policy that allows you to cancel for any reason not just illness or a death which most standard policies cover. The cancel,for any reason policies are more costly.

KathyPet · ‎03-09-2010

@chrystaltree wrote:
Well, not the Caribbean. That's a given. They might have to book cruises farther south into Central and South America but that's just a guess. It would be a nightmare and something that might happen in 2019, not 2018. Even if that's a possibility, there is no way that such a plan could replace all the Caribbean cruises. But with what the people who actually live on those islands are going through, what they have already endured, I don't think anyone cares one iota about a missed cruise.

Well I am sure that the,people who live on these islands Care a lot about cruise cancellations. The tourism industry is their livelihood. No cruise passsengers no money being earned. SO in addition to the damage that wa done to homes and businesses now there is no money coming into these homes.

islandergirl · ‎03-10-2010

To the poster re: the wedding - Turks and Caicos - airport Open, and most Providenciales resorts reported just a bit of cosmetic damage, if any (I go there pretty frequently, and have an acquaintance w/ a villa who had minimal landscape damage and her villa is open to rentals right now). Barbuda and St. Martin/Maarten are decimated....as are many other islands.