This is crazy

[PrincessBelle39]

I don't think its wrong. Many of the locals work in the tourist industry. No people visiting means no income. It's important that people start visiting and contributing to the economy.

[Woobstr112G]

“It’s top soon. RCCL doesn’t care etc etc” do you ever think that the islands and the people need the cruise lines to come back? They need the money the tourist bring them.

 

 

Exactly.....:):):)

Bob

[Tommy3putts]

 

 

 

After reading the entire post, I am inclined to think that the OP simply wants to cancel or change his/her cruise because he/she doesn't think it will be "fun" to go to islands that have been struck by a hurricane. The hope is, in geting enough people to call so he/she can do so for free. As others have mentioned, the cruise contract states they can change or cancel ports at any time. If you purchased "cancel for any reason" insurance, you can cancel your trip without taking a huge loss. Since I'm sure you didn't, you have a choice: go on the cruise or don't. But the campaign to get others to back you up here isn't going to get you anywhere.

 

 

Well stated.

 

Not only am I getting bombarded by political campaign adds on TV I’m getting bombarded by the “make RCI cancel St Marteen and Puerto Rico campaigns” on CC on multiple threads. What number am I supposed to call again?

[S.A.M.J.R.]

Okay it's enough of the mob bullying tactics. Wow how cool! You can all gang up on someone that doesn't have your opinion. You've made fun of me and told others that they need to think the way you think...which is quite moronic for most of you. I will not drink the kool-aid that has been prepared by ignoramus bullies. Okay disbelievers the mid-night buffet is ready. Run!! Before all the kool-aid is gone because then you'll have to think on your own and you will definitely hurt yourselves in the process.

OK, I've stayed out of this thread (although I've read the whole thing). I don't have a cruise booked, I don't plan on booking a cruise any time soon, but I still like reading about them. @soccergirl1, read the bolded. Read it again. Isn't that EXACTLY what the OP is doing? Telling people they need to think the way he does?

[glemons]

The cruise industry know what they are doing. The islands welcome tourists & welcome the revenue generated by the cruise lines.

 

 

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[A&L_Ont]

This hotel, Holland House, is on the main beach in Sint Maarten and they are open for business. They admit that the island isn’t perfect but they are open. On a side note the hotel is open weeks before the ships have returned and commercial planes are flying to SMX.

 

[dpostman]

This hotel, Holland House, is on the main beach in Sint Maarten and they are open for business. They admit that the island isn’t perfect but they are open. On a side note the hotel is open weeks before the ships have returned and commercial planes are flying to SMX.

 

 

I'm not sure if I'm reading it right but seems to me that the last paragraph on their statement is saying that they have rooms available to "those who need to be on the island to help out". That seems very different than tourists. Maybe I'm understanding this the wrong way :confused:

 

dp

[alfaeric]

What is more mean?

 

Disagreeing with someone's opinion about going back to islands?

 

Or keeping money from flowing to islands by preventing cruises to go there when the island wants them?

 

I would say the same thing to your face, BTW. I'm fine with people calling me mean when what they are suggesting to do is rather cruel and heartless. IMHO.

 

The number of dollars people spend in port is and ADDITION to the funds islands are getting for recovery. They need the money for recovery. Again, a reminder to spend money at local businesses, and not the international ones.

[Havingfun2010]

UGGG, I'm afraid to go someplace because a hurricane hit. But yet the business is open, and asking for customers, but I'm afraid because of a hurricane that hit in the past. After reading the posts, that is all I got out of it.

 

Hurricane hit

City repaired and cleaned up

City Government met with RCCL and said they were ready

RCCL schedules the return trip

 

This is repeated for each and every place that was hit.

 

I was on a cruise last week. Went to two places that were hit by a hurricane, left a port that was hit by a hurricane, and left my house and town that was hit by a hurricane. The entire trip, from start to end was in the "hurricane". Each and every one of the ports, as well as my town, and the port I left was open for business. The ports were cleaned up. Some damage was still visible. But why in the world would I feel unsafe?

 

I guess I just don't get this post.

[BNBR]

Such a strange thread. It wouldn't even occur to me that people would be upset about returning to these islands. I'm sure you are really helping the locals in PR recover by making sure tourist dependent workers have no job or income. I bet they are really thankful for your outrage. And suggesting RCI should just send money over? What percentage of YOUR income are you actively sending to PR every paycheck?

 

Cruise ships can't return until the locals welcome them back. Which means proper infrastructure for the ships as well as excursions and other activities. The locals worked hard to get the infrastructure back up and running so they can welcome tourists back and earn a living. And we are, strangely, supposed to "help them" by boycotting them? You couldn't make this up if you tried....

[Candleonwater]

I'm not sure if I'm reading it right but seems to me that the last paragraph on their statement is saying that they have rooms available to "those who need to be on the island to help out". That seems very different than tourists. Maybe I'm understanding this the wrong way :confused:

 

I'm reading it the same way, and I still stand behind my belief that the island is NOT ready for the massive influx of passengers the cruise ships bring.

 

This thread has gotten to the point where I'm struggling to keep up with who is for ships going back to the island and who is against it. However, it would be nice if everyone would recognize that each of us is entitled to our personal beliefs. You may not agree with someone, but you don't have the right to tell them their belief is wrong.

[Ski-Lady]

Add me to the group that believes going back to the islands is the right thing to do! Do I think everything will be perfect? Absolutely not. However, I also know that these islands will not be able to recover if the tourists don't return and start spending money.

 

After reading the entire post, I am inclined to think that the OP simply wants to cancel or change his/her cruise because he/she doesn't think it will be "fun" to go to islands that have been struck by a hurricane. The hope is, in geting enough people to call so he/she can do so for free. As others have mentioned, the cruise contract states they can change or cancel ports at any time. If you purchased "cancel for any reason" insurance, you can cancel your trip without taking a huge loss. Since I'm sure you didn't, you have a choice: go on the cruise or don't. But the campaign to get others to back you up here isn't going to get you anywhere.

And we have a winner! I have gotten the same feeling. Cruiser want to cancel/reschedule with no penalty.

[BNBR]

I'm reading it the same way, and I still stand behind my belief that the island is NOT ready for the massive influx of passengers the cruise ships bring.

 

This thread has gotten to the point where I'm struggling to keep up with who is for ships going back to the island and who is against it. However, it would be nice if everyone would recognize that each of us is entitled to our personal beliefs. You may not agree with someone, but you don't have the right to tell them their belief is wrong.

 

The port authorities said they want the ships back. The locals have generally said they need the ships and jobs back. The government has said they want the ships back. Do you realize that an association exists simply to convince travelers to come back? There is 55,000+ jobs that rely on cruisers alone in the Caribbean. Yes, being upset and thinking ships shouldn't return is simply wrong.

 

What are people trying to accomplish with their "belief" that ships shouldn't return to ports that WANT THEM TO RETURN? Returning to these ports and providing the much needed income and jobs is helping the recovery effort. I can't even fathom how some have this belief that they need to avoid helping the economy of these impacted destinations as a way of helping the affected people? These workers are desperate to have the ships back. But surely a cruiser on the internet knows what's best for these people. Maybe these same people with the "belief" that Royal shouldn't return to the islands can send a few thousand bucks to all the affected workers who desperately need their jobs back.

 

 

http://caribbeanisopen.com/

 

From Cruise Critic:

 

"Seasoned cruisers to the Caribbean understand that most of the islands have been unaffected. They also understand that tourism is a top driver for the islands’ economic well-being, and that cruises are a large part of that equation. Because of that, it’s important for both cruise lines and travelers to continue to support so many of the Caribbean islands that are ready for business, and eager to provide travelers with the incredible vacations they’ve come to expect from the region. In turn, beyond having a great time enjoying the world's most popular region for cruise vacations, they’ll also be able to support the economy and locals who have been through a challenging time."

 

“We are working diligently to return the ships to the itineraries because we know it’s the lifeblood of those destinations” - don't worry island locals and experts. There is a cruiser on the internet who has determined it's WRONG to return to these itineraries.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/tourism-cruises/article179196936.html#storylink=cpy

[A&L_Ont]

I'm not sure if I'm reading it right but seems to me that the last paragraph on their statement is saying that they have rooms available to "those who need to be on the island to help out". That seems very different than tourists. Maybe I'm understanding this the wrong way :confused:

 

dp

 

I read it both ways. They are open for business and if you want to pay to stay they will welcome you. If you pay to be there as a worker they are good with it too.

 

If the room is empty they are not making any revenue. I follow HH on FB and they had their beach chairs out just the other day now that the beach had been cleaned. Their restaurant is open and you can make hotel reservations. We are toying with going for 5 days in late January to see the folks that we got to know over the years and spend some money on the Island.

 

That being said right now not all the rooms are open at Holland House and they are working at bringing the final rooms back into service. They have changed their message on the webpage to add the line about “helping out”, in all honesty it wasn’t there the other day.

 

Working with you hands helping or spending money helps, just on different levels. Once ships start to sail in all business that are open are hoping to make money. I think that it would be no different than the comparison that someone made to Miami being “open” while the Key West was still suffering.

[skiiergirl]

Mr Ski told me just this morning that he received a call yesterday from our favorite jewelry salesman in St M. The salesman said they are open and ready for tourists. He knew which ship was coming in first (Grandeur) and said they are excited to have the tourists back. He wanted to make sure we knew they (and other businesses) are open and most definitely ready for the return of the tourists!

[wilmingtech]

This was released yesterday. You can read for yourself in the report the state of St. Martin and the road to recovery. Page 28 starts talk about the cruise port and the plans for recovery there.

 

Supposedly a Grand Reopen on November 11th. "St. Martin Day"

 

https://www.sxmemergency.org/files/nrp/nrp-final.pdf

 

 

-Sean

 

 

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[dpostman]

I read it both ways. They are open for business and if you want to pay to stay they will welcome you. If you pay to be there as a worker they are good with it too.

 

If the room is empty they are not making any revenue. I follow HH on FB and they had their beach chairs out just the other day now that the beach had been cleaned. Their restaurant is open and you can make hotel reservations. We are toying with going for 5 days in late January to see the folks that we got to know over the years and spend some money on the Island.

 

That being said right now not all the rooms are open at Holland House and they are working at bringing the final rooms back into service. They have changed their message on the webpage to add the line about “helping out”, in all honesty it wasn’t there the other day.

 

Working with you hands helping or spending money helps, just on different levels. Once ships start to sail in all business that are open are hoping to make money. I think that it would be no different than the comparison that someone made to Miami being “open” while the Key West was still suffering.

 

Gottcha. I consider myself quite news literate and still don't feel like I have enough info to make a comfortable decision either way. I'm a little surprised about the "Certainty" that some proclaim here on CC, but... we are used to that now :rolleyes:. I do wish the affected areas all the best and hope ships and tourists can start showing up and helping the economy as soon as it is proper to do so. We sadly haven't had the privilege to cruise in that area of the Caribbean yet. Looking forward to it.

 

dp

[BNBR]

This was released yesterday. You can read for yourself in the report the state of St. Martin and the road to recovery. Page 28 starts talk about the cruise port and the plans for recovery there.

 

Supposedly a Grand Reopen on November 11th. "St. Martin Day"

 

https://www.sxmemergency.org/files/nrp/nrp-final.pdf

 

 

-Sean

 

 

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

 

Thanks for sharing. I can just picture the looks on the faces of the locals at these ports. So, we worked our butts off to meet the conditions of the cruise lines so that they will return. We did everything we can to get these ports open so we can have our jobs back. And a few people on the internet think it will "help" us if the cruise lines refuse to return so we can get back to work?

 

 

Really, you can't make this up. This thread is astonishing to the core.

[xpcdoojk]

At this time, there not able to take on tourism. With an influx of aprox 3500 passenger, on a ship. They don't have the infrastructure to handle it. How many taxi and buses have been destroyed? They have limited gas and power. So I agree we should go back, but first help them rebuild. If you bring people back to soon they won't have such great memories as we do.

 

Lots of tourism experts here on this thread. So, by making RCI stop visiting the islands you are depriving the harmed people in St. Maarten much needed income? How is keeping them from making a living helping or charitable? That is some pretty incredible logic. :rolleyes:

 

JC

[Biker19]

Lots of tourism experts here on this thread.

and a few cruiseline CEOs.

[davekathy]

Looking forward to our B2B Caribbean cruise March 2018.

[xpcdoojk]

I see it's "Old People Comedy Night" here on Cruise Critic. Heaven forbid someone has an opinion not shared by the cult members on here! Time for all of you comedians to go back to your knitting because M*A*S*H reruns are starting soon!

 

Nice..... snowflake ball....:evilsmile:

 

JC

[xpcdoojk]

keep real soccer girl

 

Back at ya Drill2dk:cool:

Fascinating back and forth.... with D2 posting at 8:01, again at 8:03, then SG at 8:04 then D2 at 8:05 then SG at 8:06.

 

Almost like two different devices logged in..... I always miss peoples posts that occur when I make a post... yet these two completely different people followed each other's conversations perfectly.

 

I think Big G is 100% spot on.

 

Then add in RR...

 

JC

[uglybutgoodbakery]

I'll take your word for it but it seemed a little coordinated.

 

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

Because there can't possibly me more than one person who doesn't want to go to damaged islands? Really? LOL :rolleyes:

[uglybutgoodbakery]

I see it's "Old People Comedy Night" here on Cruise Critic. Heaven forbid someone has an opinion not shared by the cult members on here! Time for all of you comedians to go back to your knitting because M*A*S*H reruns are starting soon!

 

I love the people who aren't even set to travel to these islands in the next month or two are supporting "the cause" hahahaha

And the woman who is (supposedly) trying to book "an extra" cruise to just so she can "help" out. Load of crap. Donate the money lady, don't pretend you're making an ultimate "sacrifice" by booking an extra cruise just to help :rolleyes:

 

 

You can definitely tell the old geezers are posting away because, in retirement, you don't have a limited two weeks of vacation a year, or a business to run that you want to take a break from and enjoy yourself, not pretend to be saintly or FEMA workers.

Edited October 24, 2017 by uglybutgoodbakery
senior citizens running this board. SAD!