MSC Ocean Cay Cancelations

[ahonaker]

Hi everyone.  We are on the 3/28/20 Seaside sailing with a scheduled stop at Ocean Cay on April 3.   I know there have and will be Ocean Cay cancelations due to weather/wind.

 

I know I can't control things, but I am curious (and a data person).  I started (today) monitoring the MSC ships and will have data going forward until our embarkation.  It appears the various marine tracking services charge a premium for historical data, so I've had to read through the boards and reviews but...  

 

I've been able to determine that, since the beginning of 2020 (my choice to limit the date range), at least the following two days were canceled:

• Feb 1 - Meraviglia
• Feb 7 - Seaside

 

BTW - It appears that when canceled, either the stop is swapped out with Nassau or the day becomes a sea day with an added stop later in the itinerary at Costa Maya (at least that's what I've gleaned).  

 

And the following days were NOT canceled:

• Jan 16- Divina
• Jan 24 - Seaside
• Jan 27 - Divina
• Jan 31 - Seaside
• Feb 16 - Armonia

 

Obviously, I'm missing a bunch of dates between 1/3/2020 and 2/16/2020 (Ocean Cay is not visited, yet at least, 7 days a week).

 

If anyone has been to Ocean Cay on any of those dates I'm missing or has been canceled, I'd be thankful for a reply!  Also, if canceled, how was the itinerary modified?  If not canceled, how was the weather?

 

I'd be more than happy to compile and post the results.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

 

[ahonaker]

Update - Based on reviews from other boards (subject to human error):

 

Cancelations:

• Jan 1 - Meraviglia - Discount offered(?)
• Jan 10 - Seaside - Replaced with Nassau
• Jan 18 - Meraviglia - Replaced with Belize
• Feb 1 - Meraviglia - Replaced with Costa Maya
• Feb 7 - Seaside - Replaced with Nassau
• Feb 9 - Armonia - Not a cancelation per se, but had to depart 6 hours early

Complete Visits:

• Jan 3 - Seaside
• Jan 6 - Divina
• Jan 11 - Meraviglia
• Jan 12 - Armonia
• Jan 16- Divina - Actually stayed 5 to 6 hours longer
• Jan 17 - Seaside
• Jan 24 - Seaside
• Jan 26 - Armonia
• Jan 27 - Divina
• Jan 30 - Divina
• Jan 31 - Seaside
• Feb 8 - Meraviglia
• Feb 16 - Armonia

Days I'm missing report:

• Jan 8 - Divina
• Jan 19 - Armonia
• Jan 25 - Meraviglia
• Feb 14 - Seaside (although I'm pretty sure this happened)
• Feb 15 - Meraviglia

Any feedback on errors or filling in missing dates is appreciated

[spamwhiches]

Feb 1st  Meraviglia was scheduled for Ocean Cay but went to Costa Maya instead.

It was announced that the captain made the decision to change port of call due to anticipated "bad weather"

[cellfree]

January 19 Armonia was at Ocean Cay. This was the January 13 Cruise. 

[noah300]

Metabolism made it on January 25

[noah300]

Meraviglia made it on January 25 sorry

[ahonaker]

Thanks @spamwhiches, @cellfree and @noah300.   

 

I'm down to only missing the Jan 8 Divina and more recent Feb 14 Seaside and Feb 15 Meraviglia scheduled visits.

 

And I'm interested in hearing the first review of the MSC Metabolism.  😁

[Host Jazzbeau]

2 minutes ago, ahonaker said:

I'm interested in hearing the first review of the MSC Metabolism.  😁

 

The buffet is to die for [from] 

[cruiseguyinorl]

Think I mentioned it on another thread, but per my dinner conversation with the Captain of the Divina recently, the decision to stop relies on three factors. Wind, current and phase of the moon (which I thought weird but read on). Maximum winds can be about 25 mph but the sea current can not be more than 3 kts and both of those depend on moon phase. When the moon is full or new, the high tides are very high and the low tides are very low. Any one of those three affects the numbers of the others. That's why they know ahead of time when there is a full or new moon and strong winds are predicted, it's only going to be a maybe. Considering Ocean Cay is very near to the Gulf Stream as well, which already has a current of almost 5 kts, any deviation in that stream caused by other factors will cause the port to be cancelled. Surprisingly the Divina is the hardest one to bring in according to him. I was surprised to learn that she is the longest. Seaside and Meraviglia are wider and taller but not as long.

 

So to sum it up, if you're trying to guess if you'll make it in, look at the moon phase, currents and projected winds. I made it on January 27th even with winds and full moon. Guess the current was with us.

 

Bret

[Até]

10 hours ago, ahonaker said:

I'm down to only missing the Jan 8 Divina and more recent Feb 14 Seaside and Feb 15 Meraviglia scheduled visits.

A friend on the Meraviglia said they made it to OC on Feb 15, but left three hours early due to incoming weather.

[Markanddonna]

The Seaside made it on Feb 14, but the forecast with winds in the Bahamas makes it doubtful for this Friday Feb 21.I will post when we hear. 

[rkacruiser]

Reading through this interesting thread makes me very thankful that the January 11th visit to Ocean Cay on Meraviglia was was able to take place.  I enjoyed the island and the amenities offered, particularly the Sound and Light Show.

[ahonaker]

More thanks to @Markanddonna and @Até.  With their help and little more research I've completed my data set.  

 

Here are the cancellations and schedule changes for 2020 so far,  up to and including 2/17::

• Jan 4 - Meraviglia - Discount offered(?)
• Jan 10 - Seaside - Replaced with Nassau
• Jan 18 - Meraviglia - Replaced with Belize
• Feb 1 - Meraviglia - Replaced with Costa Maya
• Feb 7 - Seaside - Replaced with Nassau
• Feb 9 - Armonia - Not a cancelation per se, but had to depart 6 hours early
• Feb 15 - Meraviglia - Not a cancelation per se, but had to depart 3 hours early

That's 5 cancelations and 2 schedule changes out of 26 scheduled stops:

• 73% schedule compliance ratio (19 out of 26)
• 81% schedule arrival ratio (21 out of 26)
• 10% early departure ratio (2 out of 21)

I'll be keeping an eye on this until our 3/28 Seaside departure and will provide a final update before and after.

 

(Feel free to provide feedback on any errors, omissions, etc.)

[Markanddonna]

The Seaside made it to Ocean Cay but the time was shortened to 9to 2:30. A wicked storm occurred that night with lits of pitching. Most of morning was lovely until about one o'clock. 

[ahonaker]

4 minutes ago, Markanddonna said:

The Seaside made it to Ocean Cay but the time was shortened to 9to 2:30. A wicked storm occurred that night with lits of pitching. Most of morning was lovely until about one o'clock. 

 So sorry your day was cut short.  Thanks for the update.

[BermudaBound2014]

This is a great thread! Thanks for organizing the data. This will help future MSC cruisers set realistic expectations.  

 

PS: Looks like Meraviglia is headed to ocean cay today.

 

 

[cruisingnewtoit]

Sadly Mera didn't make it today because of the winds. We are having a sea day. 

[BermudaBound2014]

11 minutes ago, cruisingnewtoit said:

Sadly Mera didn't make it today because of the winds. We are having a sea day. 

 

 I''m sad for you. I was watching you on sea scanner this morning and the  Captain abruptly did a 90 degree turn and started heading south. Looks like you are just going to sail up and down the shipping lane today. 

[BermudaBound2014]

On 2/16/2020 at 10:57 PM, cruiseguyinorl said:

Maximum winds can be about 25 mph but the sea current can not be more than 3 kts and both of those depend on moon phase. 

 

20 minutes ago, cruisingnewtoit said:

Sadly Mera didn't make it today because of the winds. We are having a sea day. 

 

I don't think the Mera not docking today is due to wind conditions. Currently wind is below the 25mph Bret stated. Does anyone have a good link for sea current? Maybe that is the reason.

 

[cruisingnewtoit]

8 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

 I''m sad for you. I was watching you on sea scanner this morning and the  Captain abruptly did a 90 degree turn and started heading south. Looks like you are just going to sail up and down the shipping lane today. 

It's a bummer but I'm not sure how much I would have enjoyed myself since it is so windy.

 

I'm glad I took out cruise insurance that will pay out money if a cruise ship misses a scheduled port.

[EMc&DrS]

Divina made it on Thursday, and the island met all of our expectations and more.  We arrived at 7 AM, but it took them 2 hours to unload all of the provisions for the day.  Sailed at 11 PM.  Perfect weather.  We missed the stop on our Thanksgiving cruise because of the delayed opening, but it was worth the wait to enjoy it this time.  Many people onboard said they wished we had skipped Freeport and just spent two days at Ocean Cay. 

[Feedurhed]

We were on MSC Meraviglia, 24 Nov - 1 Dec 2019. 

The ship did not stop at Ocean Cay and was diverted to Cozumel.

They left a flyer in our room offering 20% off a future cruise. 

So - we booked a cruise through the onboard booking agent who told us,

"MSC will email us and apply the discount."

I've contacted MSC 3 times (by telephone, email, and letter)

and each time, "they'll get back to me". 

To date, they have not honored the 20% discount.   😣   

[cruisingnewtoit]

15 minutes ago, EMc&DrS said:

Divina made it on Thursday, and the island met all of our expectations and more.  We arrived at 7 AM, but it took them 2 hours to unload all of the provisions for the day.  Sailed at 11 PM.  Perfect weather.  We missed the stop on our Thanksgiving cruise because of the delayed opening, but it was worth the wait to enjoy it this time.  Many people onboard said they wished we had skipped Freeport and just spent two days at Ocean Cay. 

I am so jealous 😉. I'm glad to hear everybody had a great time. Hopefully I'll get there on my Divina Cruise next January.

[cruisingnewtoit]

59 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

 

I don't think the Mera not docking today is due to wind conditions. Currently wind is below the 25mph Bret stated. Does anyone have a good link for sea current? Maybe that is the reason.

 

I was just out on my balcony and the wind feels calmer & the breeze felt warm, 😥 I probably would have enjoyed my time on the island.. The boat is now rocking more. 

 

Because the channel to dock is narrow that definitely is causing some problems for the bigger ships.

Edited February 22, 2020 by cruisingnewtoit

[EMc&DrS]

4 hours ago, Feedurhed said:

We were on MSC Meraviglia, 24 Nov - 1 Dec 2019. 

The ship did not stop at Ocean Cay and was diverted to Cozumel.

They left a flyer in our room offering 20% off a future cruise. 

So - we booked a cruise through the onboard booking agent who told us,

"MSC will email us and apply the discount."

I've contacted MSC 3 times (by telephone, email, and letter)

and each time, "they'll get back to me". 

To date, they have not honored the 20% discount.   😣   

We were on the same sailing as you.  I had to fight hard to get the discount, but finally spoke to a very helpful MSC supervisor named Jazmin who knew about the credit, and was able to apply it to the cruise I was attempting to book.  I booked the cruise back in mid-January, and we just got off the ship yesterday.  Saved us over $800, so don't give up. Best time to call is first thing in the morning when they open at 8 AM EST.  You'll probably get one of the phone reps who works from home, but when he or she cannot answer your questions, you need to ask for a supervisor.  I've read where some people were told they'd see the credit applied in a few weeks.  Don't fall for that.  The credit showed up within two hours of my call.