Port Removed

[LDVinNC]

Now 60 days out, so itinerary and shore excursions have been posted for my Cape Codder cruise.  They have removed Newport!  One of the primary reasons I chose this cruise.  Now, I know they have the right to do this, but I sure am disappointed.  I wonder if previous Cape Codder trips have gone to Newport.

[DaveinCharlotte]

Yes, the Cape Codder I just got back from certainly did go to Newport (in fact, that's where we had our much-touted Lobsterbake).  Our other ports besides Boston were (1) Gloucester, (2) Maritime Academy/Plymouth/Hyannis, (3) Martha's Vineyard, and (4) New Bedford.  Did they substitute another port?  Bristol, maybe?  (On a different cruise, we had our Lobsterbake there.)

 

Just remembered something:  When we were in Newport, docked by Fort Adams, there was much activity erecting huge tents and other structures on the grounds.  Maybe a major festival is imminent, and ACL couldn't dock there this time.  Who knows.  I can understand your disappointment.

[LDVinNC]

Plymouth is a separate stop, the last day of the cruise.  I just called ACL and the woman I spoke to had no information as to why Newport has been eliminated.  I'd be willing to bet they will get a lot of calls about this.  My first ACL cruise and it is not giving me a good impression.

[LDVinNC]

And now the itinerary says we will be anchoring, not docking, at Provincetown.  

[DaveinCharlotte]

It seems ironic that the initial itineraries for these new, highly-touted "go anywhere" catamaran ships have these limitations.  On our our recent Constitution cruise, we had no problem docking at the Provincetown terminal area.

[Host Jazzbeau]

4 hours ago, DaveinCharlotte said:

It seems ironic that the initial itineraries for these new, highly-touted "go anywhere" catamaran ships have these limitations.  On our our recent Constitution cruise, we had no problem docking at the Provincetown terminal area.

It's possible that the newness of the ship is the answer.  Docking locations (and docking vs. tendering) is the decision of the Port Master.  Nobody knows their reasoning exactly, but there is speculation that the first reservation gets the best spot and the new guy in the port anchors offshore.

[nybumpkin]

Just off American Constitution. For Newport, we docked in Fall River MA. I've been to Newport several times so it didn't surprise me that we wouldn't dock in Newport in the summer season - it's crowded. (I've been to Newport in February and it's not dead.) They did have bus excursions to the mansions. We did have the clambake that day, in Bristol. It was fun.