Rotterdam itinerary change

[Fairhope504]

Fysa. Just learned that bonaire on Jan 9 has been canceled. Instead Puerto Rico on the 8th. Apparently the Rotterdam is too big for bonaire.  Huh?

[Fairhope504]

We're still digesting this. And, for lots of the nice people we've met, this port stop is why they took the cruise. Attached is the letter received this evening. For a cruise scheduled for quite some time, we find this a bit surprising. But not unexpected given our personal challenges with this cruise and cruise line... needing to eventually change rooms. 

[iflyrc5]

21 minutes ago, Fairhope504 said:

Fysa. Just learned that bonaire on Jan 9 has been canceled. Instead Puerto Rico on the 8th. Apparently the Rotterdam is too big for bonaire.  Huh?

There are 2 piers at Bonaire and we were on the NS in Feb/Mar in Bonaire and we fit so HAL must have gotten the draw of the smaller pier.  We are on the Rotterdam Jan 14 - Feb 25 and are doing the southern Caribbean twice.  One is scheduled for Bonaire and on the other it is stopping in Jamaica instead.

[REOVA]

We sailed Rotterdam in November to all ABCs no problem. Seems there may be scheduling issues in doing ABC now. Cruises has been doing 2 of 3 of them lately(?). Some substitute Bonaire for Curacao. 

 

[canadarocks]

27 minutes ago, iflyrc5 said:

There are 2 piers at Bonaire and we were on the NS in Feb/Mar in Bonaire and we fit so HAL must have gotten the draw of the smaller pier.  We are on the Rotterdam Jan 14 - Feb 25 and are doing the southern Caribbean twice.  One is scheduled for Bonaire and on the other it is stopping in Jamaica instead.

We are on the same cruise and I am now concerned. There is a 2nd ship in Bonaire that day, the Aida Perla, and it is indeed bigger than the Rotterdam. 

[jenp123]

I did 31 days on the Rotterdam from November until December 21st period on the 1st cruise we went to Bonaire and docked no issue. 2 weeks later, We were scheduled to dock in bonaire again.  We received a notice in our stateroom saying that we were too big to fit at the pier and we would be tendering in.  The tenders dropped us off at the empty pier that we were docked at 2 weeks prior.  When the other ship moved, the Rotterdam ceased tendering operations and docked for the afternoon.

 

The locals including tour guides who have multiple years of experience were very confused. They all said that they had never seen tendering happen and called b******* On the fact that the dock was too small considering we had just been there 2 weeks prior.  A few of these taxi drivers had been living in Bonaire most of their lives and had never seen it.  One even said there were news crews out in the morning taking footage because it would make the nightly show.

 

Seemed very odd And now with more issues it definitely seems like something is going on.

 

 

 

[Seasick Sailor]

We are on Rotterdam since Dec 11th. We had the same situation with Bonaire about 10 days ago.

 

At Ask the Captain he told us our ship would fit in the smaller berth but ultimately it was port authority that made the decision.

 

It was a misty windy day, so even after the prior ship left and we pulled in the berth we cancelled going ashore.

[Cruise Suzy]

In November our tour (van) driver on Bonaire said the rules for ships had changed recently. Evidently the regulations limiting the number of large (Pinnacle class fell into this category) ships were to have been effective immediately. Because so many itineraries were already set, it was decided that exceptions could be made.

 

We were on the Rotterdam which, according to the driver, had been ordered to change from a Saturday stop to a Sunday stop. But there was another large ship due there on Sunday. As late as two days before our stop, she did not know whether the Rotterdam would be stopping on Saturday or Sunday - and she had other tours scheduled for Sunday. Or maybe not at all!

 

I imagine the same type of negotiations are still ongoing.

[EatonDoolittle]

I am also on Rotterdam scheduled to Bonaire on a Monday (in Feb), and with another, larger ship in port with us. 

 

So, given that my sailing has the same parameters as the OP's, I now won't be surprised if we get a similar letter from the Captain on Friday night.  Disappointed, but not surprised. Always good to be prepared.

[canadarocks]

Hopefully if this is now a recurring issue, they will adjust their itineraries sooner rather than later. I already cancelled my HIA Bonaire shore excursion in anticipation of a February change. But I would be very upset if for example I missed out on a Woodwind private excursion with no notice until after we set sail. 

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

It happens. 

[Guest ldtr]

14 hours ago, Fairhope504 said:

Fysa. Just learned that bonaire on Jan 9 has been canceled. Instead Puerto Rico on the 8th. Apparently the Rotterdam is too big for bonaire.  Huh?

Not too big for Bonaire. Most likely there is another ship that was assigned to the larger dock. There are multiple docks in Bonaire but the other one is smaller.

[Fairhope504]

Thanks all for the informative insights!  We just finished a great day touring. Wait. Captain is now speaking. Mtf. 

[Fairhope504]

Length restricted to 270m. Only one large ship at a time. New policy per bonaire govt.  Therefore tenders were not allowed as would violate one ship limit. Suggest whoever have future cruises, like others on this thread, consider this possibility going forward.

[canadarocks]

I wonder if it's always "the biggest ship wins".... 🤔

The day we're supposed to be there, the Aida Perla is scheduled to be there 8am-6pm. The Rotterdam is 8am-11pm. Fingers crossed the length of the port stay makes a difference. 🤞

Edited January 7, 2023 by canadarocks

[REOVA]

It's a schedule thing now. As of January 2023, 1 ship in port at a time so maybe whoever is scheduled to come in earlier would be on schedule, others would need to find another port. I am sure there is another way the port is assigning who visits each day but it means all cruise lines will have to rearrange their itinerary if Bonaire is on their list. 

[Ipeeinthepools]

4 hours ago, canadarocks said:

Hopefully if this is now a recurring issue, they will adjust their itineraries sooner rather than later. I already cancelled my HIA Bonaire shore excursion in anticipation of a February change. But I would be very upset if for example I missed out on a Woodwind private excursion with no notice until after we set sail. 

 

Me too.  I'm scheduled to be on the Woodwind on Feb 20

[canadarocks]

6 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

Me too.  I'm scheduled to be on the Woodwind on Feb 20

Truly hope you get to go. Dee and her crew are spectacular. 

[iflyrc5]

49 minutes ago, Fairhope504 said:

Length restricted to 270m. Only one large ship at a time. New policy per bonaire govt.  Therefore tenders were not allowed as would violate one ship limit. Suggest whoever have future cruises, like others on this thread, consider this possibility going forward.

Sounds like Key West and Bora Bora - they don't want a mass of people invading their ports.  I am sure the businesses are not liking this.  Maybe they will be able to swap with one of the other ABC islands. Curacao has 3 piers and Aruba has 3 piers that can handle the Rotterdam.

[iflyrc5]

Fairhope504 - I see that you are on the Rotterdam.  We are boarding Jan 14.   The Navigator App for our cruise is showing the shows on the World Stage at 8pm and 10pm.  That seems later than normal.  Wondering what the times are for the World Stage shows currently.   The app also shows that Cantare is performing - are they on your cruise?   Thanks.

Edited January 8, 2023 by iflyrc5

[Ipeeinthepools]

25 minutes ago, iflyrc5 said:

Fairhope504 - I see that you are on the Rotterdam.  We are boarding Jan 14.   The Navigator App for our cruise is showing the shows on the World Stage at 8pm and 10pm.  That seems later than normal.  Wondering what the times are for the World Stage shows currently.   The app also shows that Cantare is performing - are they on your cruise?   Thanks.

 

Where do you find these show times on the Navigator App?

[iflyrc5]

8 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

Where do you find these show times on the Navigator App?

It is under Experiences - then daily program.  You pick the day and the events for the day show up.  It typically does not show up until about a week before you board and then changes often until you get on the ship.  That is why I was wondering what the current show times are - we were on the NA for 4 weeks in Nov 2022 and the shows were at 7pm and 9pm.

[Ipeeinthepools]

5 minutes ago, iflyrc5 said:

It is under Experiences - then daily program.  You pick the day and the events for the day show up.  It typically does not show up until about a week before you board and then changes often until you get on the ship.  That is why I was wondering what the current show times are - we were on the NA for 4 weeks in Nov 2022 and the shows were at 7pm and 9pm.

 

Ok, thanks.  We don't board until Jan 25, but I don't see the Daily program under experiences.  Maybe a few weeks.

 

Thanks.

 

P

[Guest ldtr]

5 hours ago, iflyrc5 said:

Sounds like Key West and Bora Bora - they don't want a mass of people invading their ports.  I am sure the businesses are not liking this.  Maybe they will be able to swap with one of the other ABC islands. Curacao has 3 piers and Aruba has 3 piers that can handle the Rotterdam.

Depends upon the businesses. The cruise line followers will not. Most of the rest will be happy. Keep in mind that cruise line bring a lot of bodies but not that much revenue. For example pre covid cruise lines brought 50% of the tourists to Key West, but that 50% only provided 15% of the tourist spend. The 50% that were land based visitors provided 85%.

 

Governments tend to like cruise ships because of the port fees and taxes that tend to go to those agencies.

[iflyrc5]

31 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

Ok, thanks.  We don't board until Jan 25, but I don't see the Daily program under experiences.  Maybe a few weeks.

 

Thanks.

 

P

It did not show up until 7 days before boarding and I know it will change when we board.