Ports of Call Cancelled?

[canadiangirl77]

since i've never been on a cruise i've been reading up on these boards quite a bit ... i've seen many people that have said the cruise cancelled this port and that port .. how often does this happen?!

i am planning on a western caribbean cruise .. (possibly princess) ... and grand cayman is probably the only reason for the itinerary ... :)

if they cancel this port (and i've heard they cancel princess cays quite often) .. uhmmm what's the point of going? $75 onboard credit is not going to satisfy the first time cruiser . i've saved for a long time for this cruise and it's been a dream of mine .. can anyone shed some light?

[springtxbill]

Where did you hear about a $75 credit for missing Grand Cayman? I doubt you will get near that. If you absolutely, positively need to go to a certain especially a tendered one, you had better take a plane.

[canadiangirl77]

it's posted on the princess board about the onboard credit ...

[Arwenmark]

Basically you are paying for your passage and food and entertainment on the ship. if you read the ship ticket contract it clearly says that they can change or cancel any port any time, and you have NO RECOURSE, now they usually make a token gesture to pacify the guests but they don't have to. They don't generally cancel for no good reason though, bad for business. But yes it does happen, it is one of the chances you take with cruising. If the destination is your main goal a cruise is not the best way to see or enjoy a place, not there long enough, it is best to book a land vacation in such cases.

[serene56]

... and grand cayman is probably the only reason for the itinerary ... :)if they cancel this port (and i've heard they cancel princess cays quite often) .. uhmmm what's the point of going? $75 onboard credit is not going to satisfy the first time cruiser . i've saved for a long time for this cruise and it's been a dream of mine .. can anyone shed some light?

 

Never heard of a 75 cabin credit for the canceled port of Grand CAyman.. Hey--Ill take the 75.00

 

When I have friends that book cruises I tell them the ports should be a secondary consideration because things can and will happen. If going to grand cayman IS more important I suggest a land vacation there.

A missed port can ruin a persons vacation if thats why they booked the cruise in the first place.

[kitty9]

Grand Cayman is the most canceled port of call of any other. There are no docking facilities there and only one small dock to handle tenders. The waters off GC can be very rough which causes ships to be unable to drop anchor. I've been on cruises where GC has been canceled 4 times. And according to the cruise contract, ships can change itineraries anytime with absolutely no refund or any obligation to give you anything. It's also a VERY bust port and waiting for a tender can be more than an hour just standing in line in the hot sun. There are some days when 7 ships are at anchor and sharing the one small dock.

 

If the only reason for your cruise is Grand Cayman, I suggest you fly there and do a land vacation.

[Sheffie]

Canadiangirl, as the other posters have said, GC is the most cancelled port, due to rough seas. That being said, we have sailed there twice and have been able to tender both times.

 

If you want to be more sure of getting to ports, maybe the Eastern would be a better itinerary choice.

 

I hope you get to cruise and have a fantastic time!

[cruisinbuddy]

Grand cayman is probably the most missed port there is. I read that more ships cancel it mainly because of rough waters. We missed it in '03. Now if you do miss a port you will be reimbused for the port charges and any excursion you've booked, through the cruise line. Another reason why I book them through the line. Don't book a cruise just for 1 port, you will be disappointed if you miss it.

[ebrener]

I agree, if you absolutely have to hit GC, fly and stay a few days. There are pretty nice hotels there, and you'll have a different experience than on a cruise. One thing a land vacation offers you is much more time to explore the island and get to know the locals...

[cherylandtk]

Over on the Princess boards there are a lot of posts today saying that many of the Grand itineraries for March and April are being changed to reflect Playa del Carmen and removing GC. travel agents are being notified of these changes and the Personalizers are also being updated. This means that those $75 credits will be disappearing, too.

[bdeviled]

new to cruising, as well as the helpful boards. If your port is missed due to weather or what not, do they simply cancell it- or do the take you elsewhere, or stay at the next port longer ? These questions are probably cruise line sensitive- I'm looking more for NCL's protocol.

[Lynne79]

No personal experience, but from what I've read, it depends on individual circumstances i.e. why the port is being cancelled, where the ship is and where it needs to go, etc.

[Partyof7]

Does anyone know if Grand Cayman is at a higher probability of being canceled at a certain time of year? We cruise the first of May. Just wondering.

[gailc]

One of our friends said they had talked to someone who recently got back from staying in Grand Cayman (not on a cruise). They were told that the Turtle Farm had quite a lot of damage from the hurricane last Fall. I don't remember hearing about that before. Does anyone know if it did have damage?

 

Gail

[gizmo]

Grand cayman is probably the most missed port there is. I read that more ships cancel it mainly because of rough waters. We missed it in '03. Now if you do miss a port you will be reimbused for the port charges and any excursion you've booked, through the cruise line. Another reason why I book them through the line. Don't book a cruise just for 1 port, you will be disappointed if you miss it.

 

I second this opinion. ;)

[jenjens1023]

Took my first cruise last spring and Grand Cayman was high on my list too. Guess what? The seas were rough and the port was cancelled. Then, in the middle of our unscheduled extra sea day (due to the port cancelation) the captain announced that our days in Cozumel and Costa Maya would be switched, screwing up my privately planned shore excursions. I cried for about five minutes, angry about all the time I had spnt planning the perfect adventures. Then I got on the internet, rescheduled one excursion and booked the ship's version of the other one (yes, it cost more that way, but I figured I had saved money by not paying for the cancelled trip in GC). The excursions were great, the extra day at sea was relaxing, and I have something to look forward to on another cruise.

 

Yes, the ports are important, but half the fun of vacation in the planning (and I had lots of fun doing that). But the reason you take a cruise to get to all those ports is for the fun of cruising. So if a port of cancelled, consider it just another day to enjoy all the ship has to offer. And then come home and plan another cruise to the same place!!

[jenjens1023]

Forgot a little story about our cancelled day in Grand Cayman.

 

There was a couple on our ship who were planning to marry in Grand Cayman. So if I was sad about the cancellation, they must have been devistated. They were married on the ship by the captain, and when they came to dinner that night (yes, she wore her wedding gown), they entered via the grand staircase in the dining room to a standing ovation. Thy looked like they couldn't have cared less where the ceremony happened.

 

We could all learn a thing or two from them...

[RevSmith]

It has happened to me once and I have been on over 50 cruises.

[WorldCruzer]

It stinks if Cruise lines cancel a port. If they sub something in for the cancelled one ( sub a port of THEIR choosing ), they do not usually compansate you at all. If they cant sub anything in, they usually give you $20-$30 shipboard credit. So its really a bummer. Luckily, cancellations happen very rarely.

[nybumpkin]

We missed GC thanks to Hurricane Dennis and received a $25 pp shipboard credit. As for alternate ports, if an alternate port is available you may be diverted - but it's frequently not possible to arrange, given port facilities. We were fortunate enough to be able to arrive in Cozumel (pre-Wilma) at 8 pm Thursday rather than 6 am Friday, which gave us some extra time to explore (and gave lots of others extra time at Carlos n Charlie's!) As others have said, if you're cruising for a particular port, you may want to do a land-based vacation instead.