Dream skipped Roatan and Costa Maya

[jillpra]

Just saw where the Dream skipped Roatan and Costa Maya and is doing Nassau tomorrow? Any ideas why? We are sailing on it in March and just wondering whether it was weather related or illness?

[JRock59]

Just saw where the Dream skipped Roatan and Costa Maya and is doing Nassau tomorrow? Any ideas why? We are sailing on it in March and just wondering whether it was weather related or illness?

 

It may be because of mid-high winds that class of ship can have problems when it's windy. We've docked at Coxen Hole twice in Roatan on the Magic because of winds the ship could not get into Mahogany Bay.

[Broncofans]

Why would winds be a problem in Costa Maya? The same thing happened to us last time we were on the Dream. I get Roatan because of Mohagony Bay being so shallow and them having to back in.

 

Just wondering why winds are a problem for Costa Maya?

 

Jennifer

[CRUZN-IS-FUN]

My daughter, son-in-law and a group of their friends are on this ship. Got an email saying that due to high winds, both ports were cancelled. They have just been sailing last two days and are being rerouted to Nassau for Friday. Kids were disappointed as they had great excursions planned. But, being in their 20s, just probably having great time with drink in hand beside the pool. They don't know that we have been hammered with snow and cold and home and they have it pretty good where they are.

[LAD080110]

Maybe this week was a scheduled Eastern Caribbean itinerary for the Dream. I might be wrong, but I can't imagine Carnival substituting a Western Caribbean port of call with Nassau.

[Rowan555]

We're on the Conquest in 10 days and I'd be fine with missing ALL our ports. Especially if we got some sort of OBC for it (at the least we'd get our port charges back...). I plan to stay on board anyway, that's just more cocktails for me :-)

[CRUZN-IS-FUN]

Couple of questions--where do you "see" that they changed route? Also, do they do OBC for this type of port change?

 

Here was the email I got today:

 

So bad news, due to high winds, we had to cancel our stops in Roatan and Costa Maya on Wednesday and Thursday, so we have been stuck on the boat for two days, though they did reroute us to Nassau in the Bahama's on Friday. Hopefully that will be a nice stop. We decided not to snorkel in Belize because we had a nice trip planned in Roatan (which obviously didn't happen) so maybe we'll get lucky and can snorkel in the Bahama's.

[Surfwench]

It has been my observation that the larger the ship, the more likely to skip a port. Passengers need to see these big ships as destinations unto themselves and not be too upset at last minute changes. At least that's how I'm trying to mentally prepare for my upcoming Breeze cruise in April.

[tandemcruzr]

We almost missed Costa Maya a few years ago due to high winds. 2 other ships tried to dock and gave up. Our Captain kept trying. 3rd time was a charm. :D

 

And we had Majahual to ourselves. :)

[Athankfulheart]

We made Roatan in March but missed Costa Maya. They said they never miss Costa Maya so I guess it is rare. It was for wind but not the same issues as Roatan ( channel width/depth ) They said it had more to do with the turbulent water coming up over the pier.

[nybumpkin]

Why would winds be a problem in Costa Maya? The same thing happened to us last time we were on the Dream. I get Roatan because of Mohagony Bay being so shallow and them having to back in.

 

Just wondering why winds are a problem for Costa Maya?

 

Jennifer

Apparently the way the dock is situated makes it difficult to dock when it is windy. In 2005 Grandeur of the Seas crashed into the dock and ended up with a 40-foot gash, and winds were blamed for the accident.

[kona_wahine]

We cruise 3 weeks from Saturday, same itinerary. I've been praying that we don't miss any ports. I'd sure be disappointed with Nassau.

[rick1300]

Why would winds be a problem in Costa Maya? The same thing happened to us last time we were on the Dream. I get Roatan because of Mohagony Bay being so shallow and them having to back in.

 

Just wondering why winds are a problem for Costa Maya?

 

Jennifer

 

First off, also from Boise!!! Love the screen name!!!

 

As for Costa Maya, we were on a RCI ship and could not stop there due to wind. The wind was blowing from the east and the captain said he could not stop the ship against the wind.

[tree.critter]

About ready to debark from this cruise, am sad that we missed both these ports. I was happy not to be on decks 10-12 last night! They lost water to their cabins for several hours, assume that they got that fixed sometime in the night before docking.

 

Had a beautiful week with my DD and will post review when settled back in at home.

[sonicbuffalo]

The lesson I have learned is not to go on a western itinerary.....I prefer the Eastern Caribbean islands anyways.

[kivvo]

Just saw where the Dream skipped Roatan and Costa Maya and is doing Nassau tomorrow? Any ideas why? We are sailing on it in March and just wondering whether it was weather related or illness?

Just got off that sailing. The captain attempted to get into Roatan three times, but the swell and the winds were just too high. They also decided to forgo Costa Maya for the same reason. Although I don't particularly care for Nassau, it was a smart decision to not try costa maya. This way, we still got another port in and Costa Maya would have been hard to dock at. Sure it was disappointing, but we still enjoyed our cruise.

[PrettyHazardous]

So sorry to hear that I was on this itinerary on the Dream in January and Belize and Roatan were my fav ports (I coulda stayed on board in Costa Maya it was blah), But Nassau is not a good compromise for missing 2 ports IMO.

[inlinesick]

Another reason why this ship class sucks! Never had that problem on the valor

[Broncofans]

Well, being from Idaho and being a boat owner, I guess I can understand that. We have a 21 ft boat in the garage and when I have to park it onto the trailer in current or wind, it pretty much freaks me out, especially when everyone else is watching me.

 

I'd hate to have to park a ship in the wind, so in a very small 21 foot way, I would have to say I get it.

 

GO Bronco's!

 

Jennifer

[dclark]

Keep in mind that Roatan isn't a port where the ship just sails to the dock and all are happy.

The ship has to follow a zig zag route to the dock at a very, very slow speed. It is marked by lots of bouys, probably shallow coral on either side, captain doesn't want to risk an eco disaster.

It is actually fascinating watching how it is done when leave.

[CRUZN-IS-FUN]

Go Broncos

 

My kids are on the plane home. Said it was a bummer to be rerouted and that is rained all day in the Bahamas when they were rerouted. But, they were on vacation and had a great time. They were greeted on their cell phones this monring with my photos of all of the snow this week and knowing that it will be 5 degrees when I pick them up tonight. Underneath all those layers, they have a great tan and had a great vaction. That is what crusing is all about! Just remember why we go on vacation--not just where! and . . go broncos!

[ceetee]

W I N D Y not windy!!!

We were also on that cruise and could see that they were not going to get into that small bay due to the wind long before they made the announcement.

Visible rocks on one side (think Costa Concordia). Ship did a few 360's and figured they might try Coxen Hole. Not so and a short time later that morning Costa Maya would also be cancelled.

But the wind did not slow down that day or the next day and not until the following morning when we pull into Nassau when finally went down to 38 km.

 

The highest wind speed we saw on the TV's ship info was 99.5 km or 61.8 mph. Darn near a hurricane.

I must say that the Dream rode like a dream in such severe wind. Shook & shuttered quite a bit but never did much side to side or front to back motion.

 

At Port Canaveral they stop boarding and pull the gangways anytime the winds reach 35 mph, so I imagine even if we got into port we couldn't get off.

[LivetoVaca]

We will be on the Conquest in March. Would love to get your feedback when you get back. Have a great time!

[Macinator]

On this cruise as well. Winds were really nuts, deck 5 promenade deck outside closed. Front observation areas all closed. Thelasapool closed in the spa off and on. Slides closed. I know this was out of the control of Carnival but a bummer.

 

I knew when I booked the issues with Roatan but I was so hopeful those issues were in the past. Not so.. Bummer when Coxen Hole ships docked and you see a beautiful island being smaller as you leave out behind.

 

Despite the winds, pool deck (Lido) was still quite useable. Temps were wonderful write the wind as well.

 

We also had cave tubing scheduled with VIV in Belize, missed that due to too much rain. They said the river was dangerous. Carnival excursions did go though.

 

VIV sold us on a tour to Alton Ha. After much frustration with lots of waiting, they transferred us to Belize City tours. Not happy about the shuffling and waiting but we were on a small tour of thirteen in a van. Joel, our tour guide was exceptional! Since we had scheduled ruins in Costa Maya which we missed it all worked out. This disappointment turned into one of the best parts of the trip.

 

I read endless threads about the shaking of the Dream. Our last cruise was on the RCL Freedom that had exceptionally big waves. That shipped rolled a LOT but is was ironically very smooth and enjoyable to us.

 

We we on deck 11 in the forward Spa rooms. The Dream seemed to shudder, much more like airplane turbulence or a bumpy train ride. I did not notice as much rolling however. Actually like the rolling better but considering the winds, if turbulence don't bother you, the Dream wont either.

 

Scott

[Corby114]

Carnival's pier location in Roatan, Honduras is a very tricky location to dock. The channel is very narrow and the depth is quite shallow. Also, there is the hull of a sunken ship across from the pier. The ships have to back down the channel to reach the pier safely. If conditions aren't perfect most captains will bypass the stop and travel over to Coxen Hole if space is available. I've been to Roatan once and it is truly a beautiful place, especially if you get to spend time at Tabayana Beach located on the west side of the island. Costa Maya is also beautiful and an easier location for ships to dock. If there is a strong westerly wind that location too can be bypassed. The wind and current will push the ship into the pier causing damage to both ship and pier. There have been incidents at that location where two ships have bumped into each other because of the strong wind and currents. All experienced captains will take that into consideration when docking at any location.