Any News on Bermuda Dredging?

Makes sense. Can't have all of that dredging equipment in the channel while cruise ships are coming and going.

And if taking a tender is an option, then all should be good to call Bermuda for Anthem, regardless of status.

I'm booked May 2016 hope I can do it. They put in a stop at Port Canaveral instead for the nine day but I would not like that.

I wonder if there is a possibility to keep the port and tender from Anthem? I hope that both you and I are wrong, but if they don't get started soon...

Hurricane season is fast approaching, and the Winter months are probably less than ideal to dredge as well.

Probably not. They would need to get in the harbor to anchor which requires going through the channels. To get into Bermuda the cruise ships sail to the west side(far end) enter the channel then they follow the channel to the East end(closest end) to dock or anchor. It takes about 1 hour to get through the channel.

Probably not. They would need to get in the harbor to anchor which requires going through the channels. To get into Bermuda the cruise ships sail to the west side(far end) enter the channel then they follow the channel to the East end(closest end) to dock or anchor. It takes about 1 hour to get through the channel.

Yes. The dredging would be done to increase the size of the channel. Tendering isn't possible.

I wonder what they would do if they removed the port. I like the sea days, but as it is on the 9 night, there is a good balance with a lot of sea time. If they added a port, I wonder which one. I hope they won't add yet another sea day. Thought?

I'm booked on the 5 day in September 2016. That's the ONLY stop on that cruise. They better figure it out before then ha. Can't do any cruises to nowhere anymore. Wonder if they would switch ships around and bring Liberty back up there and sail Anthem out of Galveston...

I'm booked on the 5 day in September 2016. That's the ONLY stop on that cruise. They better figure it out before then ha. Can't do any cruises to nowhere anymore. Wonder if they would switch ships around and bring Liberty back up there and sail Anthem out of Galveston...

Hrmmmm....

That would be interesting! I'm not sure what I'd do if they did that. I might cancel and book something different.

Hrmmmm....

That would be interesting! I'm not sure what I'd do if they did that. I might cancel and book something different.

Yeah, there would have to be some decent incentives to keep me booked if it isn't Anthem.

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Here's something to try. Could end up with a good deal if they change ships.

Book a cruise on the Anthem so if/when they change ships and there are big incentives to accept the change. Book several cruises and pick the best deal. We should know of a ship change long before final payment is due.

I'm not sure Bermuda has released or even completed the environment studies yet. Also, not everyone in Bermuda wants the channels dredged. It's not a given that the dredging is going to get done.

This is a very interesting thread with good conversation. Question, why would RCI put Bermuda on Anthem's route if there was no possibility of it being dredged? I will not change to a 5 day and would not be happy with another sea day. I'm not sure what port I would want them to add on if it's not possible.

This is a very interesting thread with good conversation. Question, why would RCI put Bermuda on Anthem's route if there was no possibility of it being dredged? I will not change to a 5 day and would not be happy with another sea day. I'm not sure what port I would want them to add on if it's not possible.

Yeah - I'm not sure what they would do for the shorter cruises.

They wouldn't cancel them. That would be lot of lost revenue!

There aren't A ton of places that they can go to in 5 days. Maybe a 5 day Bahamas trip - 2 days down, 2 days back and 1 day in the Bahamas?

Here's something to try. Could end up with a good deal if they change ships.

Book a cruise on the Anthem so if/when they change ships and there are big incentives to accept the change. Book several cruises and pick the best deal. We should know of a ship change long before final payment is due.

 

I'm not sure Bermuda has released or even completed the environment studies yet. Also, not everyone in Bermuda wants the channels dredged. It's not a given that the dredging is going to get done.

They really do not offer big incentives. This would be no different than a ship being chartered or a major itinerary change. For these situations Royal has been fairly consistent ink the past with what they have offered. On a 7 day sailing it has been $200 OBC and on a 4/5 day sailing. It was $100 OBC. This amount was doubles for guests in a GS or better. They also offered 3-5 sailings that were price protected either on different dates or a similar ship/itinerary.

If you had a couple of next cruise certificates lying around it might be a way to pick up an extra couple of $100 in OBC.

Yeah - I'm not sure what they would do for the shorter cruises.

They wouldn't cancel them. That would be lot of lost revenue!

There aren't A ton of places that they can go to in 5 days. Maybe a 5 day Bahamas trip - 2 days down, 2 days back and 1 day in the Bahamas?

That's almost as bad as just going to Port Canaveral and back.

They really do not offer big incentives. This would be no different than a ship being chartered or a major itinerary change. For these situations Royal has been fairly consistent ink the past with what they have offered. On a 7 day sailing it has been $200 OBC and on a 4/5 day sailing. It was $100 OBC. This amount was doubles for guests in a GS or better. They also offered 3-5 sailings that were price protected either on different dates or a similar ship/itinerary.

 

If you had a couple of next cruise certificates lying around it might be a way to pick up an extra couple of $100 in OBC.

It would be much different situation. This is a brand new ship and many of people would be booking just for this ship. If Royal were to switch out the Anthem they would find themselves with a ton of cancellations. We were on the QOS inaugural and it was full of seasoned cruiser many of which were diamond and were there just for the ship.

It would be much different situation. This is a brand new ship and many of people would be booking just for this ship. If Royal were to switch out the Anthem they would find themselves with a ton of cancellations. We were on the QOS inaugural and it was full of seasoned cruiser many of which were diamond and were there just for the ship.

Yes they may lose bookings but given Royals track record of keeping customers happy ( look at existing thread on Dreamworks on Anthem) I do not see them doing anything more than what they have done in the past. Bottom line is they know that they can make any changes that they want and the ships will continue to sail full and they can charge a premium and people will still pay it.

Don't expect a windfall of OBC if changes happen.

I would be really disappointed if they switched the ship. I have already cruised the same 9 night itinerary twice before on the Explorer and Liberty and we're really looking forward to going on Anthem.

Can Anthem cruise a different 5 night cruise such as a Canada/New England itinerary? Then it could keep the 9 night cruises and just swap out Bermuda with another port.

We booked this cruise for May 2016 because we want to cruise on Anthem and NOT cruise the same 'old' itinerary they have been doing for years on the same 'old' ships.

We'll see... since we live in NY, a short hour away from the port, I can just cancel it. But not everyone has this option.

Agree DaisyL

Yikes!! I'm booked on Anthem for next June and really looking forward to Bermuda.

Also booked on the June 2 sailing! Can't wait. Was really hoping to get to Bermuda.

This is a very interesting thread with good conversation. Question, why would RCI put Bermuda on Anthem's route if there was no possibility of it being dredged? I will not change to a 5 day and would not be happy with another sea day. I'm not sure what port I would want them to add on if it's not possible.

Well we're not saying there's no possibility. I would gather it's very likely that it will be dredged before next season. But nothing's ever truly 100%, so it's fun to speculate.

Can Anthem cruise a different 5 night cruise such as a Canada/New England itinerary? Then it could keep the 9 night cruises and just swap out Bermuda with another port.

I don't see why not. For years (albeit a while ago), the 5 night component of the 9 night / 5 night was a Canada cruise. I know this first hand as my first Royal Caribbean cruise was a 5 night cruise to Canada from Bayonne on Voyager of the Seas. ;) Moreover, the 9 night cruise in those days did not call on Bermuda. At one point they even did a 9 night Western Caribbean itinerary... I did that one too on Voyager back in the day. They could also do a 9 night Eastern run without difficulty assuming they can secure berthing.

It's one thing to swap an island for another island. It's another thing to change the direction the ship is traveling in completely ha.

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I would be really disappointed if they switched the ship. I have already cruised the same 9 night itinerary twice before on the Explorer and Liberty and we're really looking forward to going on Anthem.

 

Can Anthem cruise a different 5 night cruise such as a Canada/New England itinerary? Then it could keep the 9 night cruises and just swap out Bermuda with another port.

 

We booked this cruise for May 2016 because we want to cruise on Anthem and NOT cruise the same 'old' itinerary they have been doing for years on the same 'old' ships.

 

We'll see... since we live in NY, a short hour away from the port, I can just cancel it. But not everyone has this option.

It depends on how important Bermuda is to Royal Caribbean whether they do as you suggest. I'm going to guess if the dredging doesn't happen they will swap ships because they could have swapped Bermuda for another for port as you are suggesting with Quantum but didn't because they wanted/needed to go to Bermuda. I doubt that will change if Anthem is unable to go to Bermuda.

It depends on how important Bermuda is to Royal Caribbean whether they do as you suggest. I'm going to guess if the dredging doesn't happen they will swap ships because they could have swapped Bermuda for another for port as you are suggesting with Quantum but didn't because they wanted/needed to go to Bermuda. I doubt that will change if Anthem is unable to go to Bermuda.

The logistics of swapping ships are fairly complicated. It's not like they have a spare ship just waiting around and this isn't for one cruise, it's for a season.

Cabin types and quantities are different, there's not a 1:1 swap that can be done where cabin 101 on Anthem is the same as cabin 101 on another class.

Since its capacity would be smaller than the Anthem, people would be displaced from this cruise and revenue would be lost.

On the other side, the ship would be sailing at less than capacity, if they couldn't fill it in time.

It depends on how important Bermuda is to Royal Caribbean whether they do as you suggest. I'm going to guess if the dredging doesn't happen they will swap ships because they could have swapped Bermuda for another for port as you are suggesting with Quantum but didn't because they wanted/needed to go to Bermuda. I doubt that will change if Anthem is unable to go to Bermuda.

With regards to Quantum, that was true, but you still have to remember that they never opened up the Bermuda sailings for bookings.

At this point, with many people already booked onto the Anthem, I would think they would just have to alter the itineraries and skip Bermuda. I'm not sure what they would do with the 5 night, but they could very easily just swap ports for the 9 night (first island that comes to mind is St. Thomas). They probably would not have a hard time securing the berths, as the Caribbean is not nearly as crowded during the summer as it is during the winter.

With regards to Quantum, that was true, but you still have to remember that they never opened up the Bermuda sailings for bookings.

 

At this point, with many people already booked onto the Anthem, I would think they would just have to alter the itineraries and skip Bermuda. I'm not sure what they would do with the 5 night, but they could very easily just swap ports for the 9 night (first island that comes to mind is St. Thomas). They probably would not have a hard time securing the berths, as the Caribbean is not nearly as crowded during the summer as it is during the winter.

Royal did though change the Anthem itinerary after bookings were open. The Transatlantic to Fort Lauderdale was being sold when they switched her to New Jersey. Plus Celebrity has changed a lot of their itineraries by dropping ports and doing overnights. So it is possible that they could make the change if they needed to. I'm sure they don't want to and that maybe why, if I recall correctly, that Royal will be (or has offered) paying part of the cost for the dredging. But I'm not sure they can do much of Bermuda refuses to give the go ahead. If they skip Bermuda, then they will upset those who booked Anthem to go to Bermuda. Anyway it will be interesting to see how this plays out.