Update from Princess: 9/18/17 Caribbean Ports

Updated as of 9/18/17, 5:50pm PDT

 

The following sailings are being adjusted due to Hurricane Irma:

Caribbean Princess: October 7 Caribbean Cruise

We have replaced the call to St Thomas on Tuesday, October 10, 2017 with a call to San Juan from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM on the same date. Since the time we made this decision, the path of Hurricane Maria is likely to affect Puerto Rico, therefore an update to the call to San Juan will be provided after the storm passes.

Guests who booked Princess shore excursions for St Thomas will receive a refund to the original form of payment. Shore excursions for San Juan will be available within the next two weeks or may be booked on board.

Regal Princess: October 26 Caribbean Cruise

We have replaced our call to St Maarten on Monday, October 30, 2017 with a call to St Kitts from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM on Tuesday, October 31. As a result of this change, we will now call to Antigua on Monday, October 30. Since the time we made this decision, the path of Hurricane Maria is likely to affect St. Kitts, therefore an update to the call to St. Kitts will be provided after the storm passes.

Guests who booked Princess shore excursions for St Maarten will receive a refund to the original form of payment. Shore excursions for St. Kitts and Antigua will be available within the next two weeks or may be booked on board.

 

For remaining 2017 Eastern Caribbean ports of call, we are currently assessing itinerary impacts and an update will be provided by the end of the week. We sincerely encourage guests with current reservations and anyone considering a Caribbean cruise to move forward with their plans. There is no better show of support for the area and the people than to continue to visit.

We look forward to welcoming you onboard.

Thanks for the update.

 

The cruise lines are really having to scramble. We are on the 10-26-17 Regal cruise. We also have a 3 day stay in Key West booked. We are ready to zig and zag however we have to. We have no intention of canceling either the cruise or Key West.....as long as we can make it there!!

 

Praying for all the poor folks on these islands. Absolutely A very difficult time for them.

 

Denise

Thanks for the update!

Sadly these won't be the last changes announced given that Maria has strengthened to a cat 5 and is bearing down on Dominica. There's no words for what the people of the Caribbean are going through right now.

Thanks for the update.

 

The cruise lines are really having to scramble. We are on the 10-26-17 Regal cruise. We also have a 3 day stay in Key West booked. We are ready to zig and zag however we have to. We have no intention of canceling either the cruise or Key West.....as long as we can make it there!!

 

Praying for all the poor folks on these islands. Absolutely A very difficult time for them.

 

Denise

 

The Keys are just opening up the road to lower keys tomorrow. Here's the official status:

 

The Florida Keys are [sic] finally reopening its doors post Hurricane Irma.

Starting at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, all vehicular traffic will be allowed to enter the island chain on U.S. 1 and Card Sound Road. There will no longer be a checkpoint in Florida City.

Though the roads will be open, Monroe County officials say more than two dozen neighborhoods between Marathon and Key West —the hardest-hit areas— will be blocked. Only residents with proof of residency will be allowed in.

Sadly these won't be the last changes announced given that Maria has strengthened to a cat 5 and is bearing down on Dominica. There's no words for what the people of the Caribbean are going through right now.

 

Sadly, we can now put Dominica on the "badly damaged" list.

So sad. And these are people who are badly in need of cruise ship visitors.

 

 

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Sadly, we can now put Dominica on the "badly damaged" list.

 

Heartbreaking :(

The Florida Keys are open to residents only and official disaster relief workers. No visitors are allowed into the Keys. The Key West airport is not accepting commercial flights with non residents....the catch 22...the Keys desperately need the tourist dollars and right now the worst thing the Keys need is the tourist with their dollars

Sadly, we can now put Dominica on the "badly damaged" list.

Domenica was so totally poverty stricken before -it simply breaks my heart to hear what is happening there now. Those people are so dependent on the cruise ships coming in and spending money. I have no idea what they will do now to survive....Bless them.

eclue:)

The Florida Keys are open to residents only and official disaster relief workers. No visitors are allowed into the Keys. The Key West airport is not accepting commercial flights with non residents....the catch 22...the Keys desperately need the tourist dollars and right now the worst thing the Keys need is the tourist with their dollars

I agree, the last thing the Keys needs is tourists, they need to repair, not deal with tourists.

I agree, the last thing the Keys needs is tourists, they need to repair, not deal with tourists.

 

 

 

A group from the Mormon church came in and cleared the road to the Marathon Bird Sanctuary. My niece is the director. Marathon was hit really hard. My nieces house flooded and the trailers around her house are gone :)

 

 

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The Florida Keys are open to residents only and official disaster relief workers. No visitors are allowed into the Keys. The Key West airport is not accepting commercial flights with non residents....the catch 22...the Keys desperately need the tourist dollars and right now the worst thing the Keys need is the tourist with their dollars

 

We are scheduled to go to Key West on 11-5 after our Regal cruise. We have put down a hefty deposit on our room. The deposit is non refundable. We have not called the inn where we are going to stay because it is way too soon to bother them. I am assuming if they do not want tourists, they will contact me and refund our deposit. If they don't, we will go and do whatever we can to help and/or stay out of the way.

 

Cheers, Denise

Thanks for the update.

Tony

OP;

Thanks for taking the time to post your update.....:):):)

 

Bob

Cinegraphic,

Thank you for the update from princess.

was this posted on their website?

 

These islands need our prayers and our tourist dollars

Kath

Cinegraphic,

Thank you for the update from princess.

was this posted on their website?

 

Yes. I found it here:

https://www.princess.com/news/notices_and_advisories/caribbean_update/

Here is an email we just got from Princess. Mind you, our final payment is due in 2 days. Pretty peeved with Princess.

 

IMPORTANT NOTICES

Update on Caribbean Port Calls

All of us at Princess share your concerns about the affects the recent hurricanes had in the Caribbean. The islands are part of our community, and we are committed to supporting relief efforts there.

We know that your cruise vacation visits affected areas of the Caribbean, and we are working with local officials in these ports to assess the situation before determining if any changes are needed to your itinerary. Should any changes be necessary, we will let you know immediately and we assure you that we will do all we can to include similar Eastern Caribbean ports so your voyage will be just as enjoyable. We encourage you to continue with your plans until we know more.

Thank you for booking with Princess; we look forward to welcoming you on board.

Here is an email we just got from Princess. Mind you, our final payment is due in 2 days. Pretty peeved with Princess.

 

Peeved at what.....that they can't predict how long it will take for the affected islands to recover, knowing full well that none of the supplies needed to rebuild are produced locally, and that everything has to be flown/shipped in?

Or are you peeved that they can't predict if any more hurricanes will spring up between now and your planned cruise? :o

 

PS....according to your signature, you are going on a Western Caribbean sailing on the Regal. None of the islands on your planned itinerary were hit by the last two hurricanes.

Why are you peeved at Princess? They didn’t create the hurricanes nor have anything to do with the destruction. Princess does not determine which ports will be open and which won’t. They can’t tell YOU anything until they know themselves.

 

 

 

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I agree, the last thing the Keys needs is tourists, they need to repair, not deal with tourists.

 

Margaritaville Hotel in Key West (which used to be the Weston (which used to be the Hilton)) announced

that they are fully open.

 

I think the people working there would probably enjoy some income.

I ran into a friend yesterday whose Carnival cruise this month was canceled due to Irma two days before she was to sail. She's worked out the change with the airline and Carnival, but her hotel is being recalcitrant. It wanted to credit her for a one-night stay between now and the end of the year--something useless to her since she's not sailing from Miami in that time period.

 

If I had two days before final payment and did not want the uncertainty of where the cruise was going, I'd cancel the cruise and get my deposit back.

We live in South Florida and I just saw this article about recovery in the Keys:

 

http://www.miami.com/miami-hotels-motels/the-keys-took-a-direct-hit-from-irma-but-theyll-be-back-in-business-sooner-than-you-think-171903/

Why are you peeved at Princess? They didn’t create the hurricanes nor have anything to do with the destruction. Princess does not determine which ports will be open and which won’t. They can’t tell YOU anything until they know themselves.

 

 

 

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Also, once they know which ports are unavailable, they can't just randomly pick replacement ports and say, "Okay, we're going there!" Every cruise line that sails the Caribbean is trying to do the same thing, so determining port availability must be nuts. Itineraries are planned years in advance -- I don't envy the people working to get all of these changed quickly.

Received an email from Princess today that we are still stopping in San Juan on 10/10, which really surprises me. :confused: