St Barts port cancelled

[cruiseluv]

We're booked on the Navigator 11/4/2019 cruise NYC-Miami. I just got notice that they're substituting St Barts with St Kitts, and according to Regent this is due to "Our goal is for guests to have an amazing experience in every port we visit, and based on recent guest feedback regarding the limited number of excursion experiences available in St. Barts, we’ve made the decision to remove this port of call and replace it with Basseterre, St. Kitts. ". Huh? Have you ever received a change in itinerary because some guests complained of not too many excursions?? For me, St Barts is one of the nicest islands, and although stopping there was not the main reason I booked this cruise, it was certainly a factor. Yes, I know the cruise line is entitled to change ports, but based on some  past passengers comment cards? How long has Regent been stopping in St Barts? Why the change now?? I'm really annoyed. 

Edited May 14, 2019 by cruiseluv

[Portolan]

It'll be interesting to see if this affects all Caribbean cruises scheduled to visit St. Barts or is a suspension while they work on developing new excursions.

 

Our Splendor cruise in January 2021 still has St. Barts listed, but that's a long time out.

[Eno-Bob]

Received the same notification for our April 1, 2020 Splendor cruise - Jewels of the Tropics.  Not a big deal for us, but do believe that there must be more to it then a couple of guest complaints.  

[rcandkc]

15 minutes ago, Eno-Bob said:

Received the same notification for our April 1, 2020 Splendor cruise - Jewels of the Tropics.  Not a big deal for us, but do believe that there must be more to it then a couple of guest complaints.  

We are on that cruise and no notification?

 

[cruiseluv]

18 minutes ago, Portolan said:

It'll be interesting to see if this affects all Caribbean cruises scheduled to visit St. Barts or is a suspension while they work on developing new excursions.

 

Our Splendor cruise in January 2021 still has St. Barts listed, but that's a long time out.

The interesting thing is that on the website and in my account, Gustavia/St Barts is still listed as the port. I went to check the 14 excursions they claimed would be added for the port in St Kitts and they still are showing St Barts as the stop. Not a big deal , but why wouldnt they have their act together? 

[cruiseluv]

19 minutes ago, Eno-Bob said:

Received the same notification for our April 1, 2020 Splendor cruise - Jewels of the Tropics.  Not a big deal for us, but do believe that there must be more to it then a couple of guest complaints.  

Well, I dont know if they're 2 or 20, still it seems as a knee jerk reaction. Ive been to St Kitts as well, more than once, and it isnt that fabulous

[shuguley]

My cardiologist went to school in St. Barts and she was recently telling me that crime has become a problem on the island.  Wonder if this was part of the reason the stop has been removed?

Edited May 14, 2019 by shuguley

[Travelcat2]

19 minutes ago, cruiseluv said:

The interesting thing is that on the website and in my account, Gustavia/St Barts is still listed as the port. I went to check the 14 excursions they claimed would be added for the port in St Kitts and they still are showing St Barts as the stop. Not a big deal , but why wouldnt they have their act together? 

 

Maria, I have been trying to find a cruise that goes to St. Kitts on the Regent website and have not been successful.  We are not fans of the ports in the Caribbean but had a wonderful excursion in St. Kitts that we would do again if we went there (involved watching a food demonstration and eating wonderful food - not unlike what we did in Funchal).  If someone could point me to an itinerary that includes St. Kitts, I'll look for that excursion.

[cruiseluv]

27 minutes ago, shuguley said:

My cardiologist went to school in St. Barts and she was recently telling me that crime has become a problem on the island.  Wonder if this was part of the reason the stop has been removed?

Well, if crime is the reason they shouldnt be going to some places they go to. Acapulco comes to mind.

[cruiseluv]

20 minutes ago, Travelcat2 said:

 

Maria, I have been trying to find a cruise that goes to St. Kitts on the Regent website and have not been successful.  We are not fans of the ports in the Caribbean but had a wonderful excursion in St. Kitts that we would do again if we went there (involved watching a food demonstration and eating wonderful food - not unlike what we did in Funchal).  If someone could point me to an itinerary that includes St. Kitts, I'll look for that excursion.

Jackie, we were in St Kitts with Regent on the Explorer on Feb 2018 and took an excursion that did exactly that. Dont know if it was the same place you went to, IMO it was ok, nothing extraordinary.

We like St Barts because we like Gustavia , just to walk around, I dont need an excursion there. If I'm to believe Regent, many prior guests disagree with me. 

[Portolan]

9 hours ago, Travelcat2 said:

 

Maria, I have been trying to find a cruise that goes to St. Kitts on the Regent website and have not been successful.  We are not fans of the ports in the Caribbean but had a wonderful excursion in St. Kitts that we would do again if we went there (involved watching a food demonstration and eating wonderful food - not unlike what we did in Funchal).  If someone could point me to an itinerary that includes St. Kitts, I'll look for that excursion.

 

Jackie: just use the "Find A Cruise" feature and select Basseterre as the port.  15 Regent cruises listed which are going there at the moment though it sounds like this may go up.

[tripperva]

We have been to St Barts too many times. Really nothing to do there and you can cover the town quickly. It is a tender port from pretty far out and is often cancelled due to swells or rough weather. I don't think it is a great loss to miss this stop.

[Portolan]

Further: St. Barts is still listed for Regent cruises after October 2020.

[cruiseluv]

50 minutes ago, tripperva said:

We have been to St Barts too many times. Really nothing to do there and you can cover the town quickly. It is a tender port from pretty far out and is often cancelled due to swells or rough weather. I don't think it is a great loss to miss this stop.

You could say the same thing about many of the islands. Are you in one of the affected cruises?

 

Edited May 14, 2019 by cruiseluv

[cruiseluv]

Jackie, I just checked the excursions in St Kitts and they're not offering the cooking demonstration ( at least on my cruise)

[hypercafe]

This would make my wife very unhappy as there is a French cosmetic store their she loves, we try to stop there at least once a year. St. Kitts has a old sugar cane train that takes you around most of the island, nice trip.

[wripro]

I wonder if the port fee Regent pays for St. Barts is higher than for St. Kitts. That's my inner cynic coming out.

[cruiseluv]

1 hour ago, hypercafe said:

This would make my wife very unhappy as there is a French cosmetic store their she loves, we try to stop there at least once a year. St. Kitts has a old sugar cane train that takes you around most of the island, nice trip.

Thanks Hypercafe, I'll probably take that excursion. The ones that go to the beach start at 8:00 am, no way!

[cruiseluv]

6 minutes ago, wripro said:

I wonder if the port fee Regent pays for St. Barts is higher than for St. Kitts. That's my inner cynic coming out.

LOL, I thought I was the only one that thinks that way. Follow the money, it usually answers many questions.

[Travelcat2]

3 hours ago, Portolan said:

 

Jackie: just use the "Find A Cruise" feature and select Basseterre as the port.  15 Regent cruises listed which are going there at the moment though it sounds like this may go up.

 

Thank you!  I was looking up "St. Kitts" which is why I couldn't find it!

[forevertravel]

The way I understand it from my TA is that Regent was having a difficult time setting up the tours. Something to do with the companies. I booked all the tours for our December cruise about a month ago. I couldn't book St. Barts because it said "tours for this port are not scheduled yet", or something to that effect. I read somewhere that St. Barts didn't want cruises stopping there. Anyway, St. Kitts was added to our cruise today. I've been to St. Barts and it was OK. I don't mind going to St. Kitts instead.

[Snore42]

This news has affected me on two upcoming Regent cruises and is making me reconsider continuing with Regent for future cruises.   I've already written a letter to Regent corporate (through my TA) voicing my displeasure.   St Barths is certainly considered a luxury destination in the Caribbean, and I don't understand Regents reason for moving away from this port.  Silversea and Seabourn are still stopping in this port for 2019 and 2020.

 

[cruiseluv]

Snore42, I agree 100% with that sentiment. I had not thought about writing a letter but will do so . Maybe they should understand that there're  other pax that are not happy about this. 

[fizzy]

Other than an unavoidable weather event, we would be really unhappy to miss this port. It is also one of the easiest islands for DIY touring. It's fun to see all of the beautiful yachts during the most pleasant tender rides.

[hypercafe]

Just got the trips for Silversea's referbished Silver Shadow and St Bart's is in most of their Caribbean trips so I guess the island has no problem with ships stopping there.