Any way to verify cruise ship will be stopping in Cuba as planned.

[LB_NJ]

I have seen too many ships skip Cuba even though it was on their itinerary. The ONLY reason we booked the cruise we did was because of Cuba stops.

 

Does anyone know if there is a way to verify that a cruise ship is scheduled to stop in Cuba other than the cruise line.

 

I know there are many ports that post cruise ship schedules. Not sure if the ports in Cuba do that.

[Pitzel]

Cruise ships do not arbitrarily skip destinations. They do so if there are weather related concerns (ex: a storm or hurricane), issues with the ship (ex: a damaged propulsion system), a medical emergency onboard that requires the ship to alter its course, damage to the port itself (ex: Roatan cruises being rerouted due to pier damage), or violence in or around the port area that would deem it unsafe for tourists.

 

Unfortunately, most of these are unforeseen until you are actually onboard. If you are that concerned, consider getting cruise insurance that reimburses you for itinerary changes. Nationwide has cruise policies that do this; there may be others that do as well.

[LB_NJ]

I will look into Nationwide. However, it appears that something else is going on with Cuba. Possibly overbooking the port.

[pbenjamin]

Cruise ships do not arbitrarily skip destinations. They do so if there are weather related concerns (ex: a storm or hurricane), issues with the ship (ex: a damaged propulsion system), a medical emergency onboard that requires the ship to alter its course, damage to the port itself (ex: Roatan cruises being rerouted due to pier damage), or violence in or around the port area that would deem it unsafe for tourists.

 

Unfortunately, most of these are unforeseen until you are actually onboard. If you are that concerned, consider getting cruise insurance that reimburses you for itinerary changes. Nationwide has cruise policies that do this; there may be others that do as well.

 

Not sure that I agree. Years ago, we were on a Celebrity Panama Canal cruise that was supposed to stop in Cartagena. Even before the cruise we were hearing rumors that it wouldn't stop there. A couple of days before the scheduled stop, which was to have been a highlight for us, they announced that they were skipping the port due to political unrest. Truth be told the unrest was at the opposite end of the country and there was no evidence of any problems in or near Cartagena. Worse yet, the changed schedule had us skipping Grand Cayman as well, instead doing an unplanned stop in Aruba, on a Sunday, when many of the shops were closed. It was fairly clear that they had never intended to stop there We missed both Cartagena and Grand Cayman, neither of which we had ever been to, in exchange for Aruba, which we had previously visited. Bait and switch from our point of view,

[kac0426]

I will look into Nationwide. However, it appears that something else is going on with Cuba. Possibly overbooking the port.

 

How did you find this out?

[pbenjamin]

Does anyone know if there is a way to verify that a cruise ship is scheduled to stop in Cuba other than the cruise line.

 

cruisetimetables.com will tell you what ships are scheduled to stop in a given port.

[LB_NJ]

How did you find this out?

 

 

The overbooking part is a guess. The other part is I notices that there was an overabundance of cruises that either cut short their time in Cuba or cut it out entirely.

[Stevanb]

That sounds very strange I would like to know where you found this at and what cruise line and which port in Cuba

[victory2020]

I'm very interested in this also. Our trip on NCL was cut short in April & it was because RCL was scheduled also. They were coming in as we were leaving. Somewhere here it was said that they had priority in Havana. I'm looking at another cruise in March & don't want it cut short again. Looks like Havana can handle one big & one small ship. tried to find Havana port schedule but haven't been successful yet. I'll try the site listed.

[LB_NJ]

I'm very interested in this also. Our trip on NCL was cut short in April & it was because RCL was scheduled also. They were coming in as we were leaving. Somewhere here it was said that they had priority in Havana. I'm looking at another cruise in March & don't want it cut short again. Looks like Havana can handle one big & one small ship. tried to find Havana port schedule but haven't been successful yet. I'll try the site listed.

 

 

Do you know what size is considered a big ship and a small ship?

 

My scheduled trip to Havana has two ships in port at the same time. They are both around 2000 passengers.

[victory2020]

Do you know what size is considered a big ship and a small ship?

 

My scheduled trip to Havana has two ships in port at the same time. They are both around 2000 passengers.

2000 is considered big ship. Every time I've been the on the Sky we are along side of a 400 - 600 passenger ship.. I'm trying to research & next March 18 there are 3 larger ships in port. From what I know of the port (2 docks) that will be impossible. What date are you in Havana?

[roddee]

I'm very interested in this also. Our trip on NCL was cut short in April & it was because RCL was scheduled also. They were coming in as we were leaving. Somewhere here it was said that they had priority in Havana. I'm looking at another cruise in March & don't want it cut short again. Looks like Havana can handle one big & one small ship. tried to find Havana port schedule but haven't been successful yet. I'll try the site listed.

 

We are booked on NCL which will visit Havana Cuba on October2, and according to the website cruisetimetables.com, it is the only ship scheduled to be in port on that specific day. So sorry that your visit to Havana was cut short, I am hoping that our visit does not experience any difficulties. I had 2 friends that visited Havana on Carnival early last year, and they had a great time.

[Tapi]

Just retuned from Havana. There’s only one cruise terminal operational and it can handle 2 ships at a time. However, the spot on the left side of the terminal is much tighter so I’m guessing that shops docking on that side will be limited in size. We were on the 48,000 ton Empress of the Seas and we docked on the left side. It was tight!

 

 

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[victory2020]

Just retuned from Havana. There’s only one cruise terminal operational and it can handle 2 ships at a time. However, the spot on the left side of the terminal is much tighter so I’m guessing that shops docking on that side will be limited in size. We were on the 48,000 ton Empress of the Seas and we docked on the left side. It was tight!

 

 

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Was there another ship in port at the same time? If so, which one?

This is my concern. Each time the Sky was in port there was a small ship also. I read a review where someone said Empress of the seas was in port along with the Sky. I don't know how they got both larger ships in there.

[Tapi]

Was there another ship in port at the same time? If so, which one?

 

This is my concern. Each time the Sky was in port there was a small ship also. I read a review where someone said Empress of the seas was in port along with the Sky. I don't know how they got both larger ships in there.

 

 

We were docked next to the MSC Armonia which is 58,000 tons and is 824 feet long. Our ship, Empress of the Seas is smaller at 48,000 tons and 692 feet long, and we had the tighter left berth.

 

In comparison, the Sky is 77,000 tons and 853 feet long. It would be interesting to know what’s the largest ship size that Havana can handle at each berth. It’s my understanding that the 101,000 ton Carnival Victory will start calling in Cuba in the next few months. I can’t visualize that ship docking on the left berth.

 

 

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