Roatan Civil Unrest - Carnival Ship Evacuated from Port Today

[NotredameAlum76]

Well, several other reports do indicate at least some of the 'demonstrators' were from the mainland and paid. As for ALBA, sorry, but I think political stability in the ports of call is important-and those members don't have a lot of love for the US

 

 

You are right, but i dont think it will escalate to that though. Alot of american citizens are living on the island and have big businesses there. I have a friend who owns a big real estate company, who i talked to earlier today, and he said hes not even worried about anything of the sort. The islanders have always been more than nice to him.

Bad move on the president for joining ALBA though. He is going to have serious problems with the people of honduras. I wouldnt be surprised if they did a referendum.

I really hope everything is good for December! Cant wait to go.

[A Sixth?]

:confused:I just received an email from Victor Bodden the tour guide we hired for Roatan. He informed me that they settled the strike aganist the electric co. He is going to keep me updated..

 

Fantastic news. IMHO one of the components of measuring The strength of any country is how the idea of Protest is tolerated.

 

Good for the workers and their families and friends. Good for Roatan. The place has more potential for smart growth and ecotourism than any I've been to in the Caribbean. Cruise ship passengers will add awareness as well as money.

 

Now, I need to book another cruise that is scheduled to stop at the island. :-)

[jollycruise]

I was talking to NCL today a lot about other things- 3 different people told me that the Pearl will be going to Costa Maya instead of Roaton on near-future cruises. This is all I know

 

We will be leaving on the Pearl December 7th with a stop in Roatan. I also called NCL and the guy I talked to had no idea what I was talking about. He said we would still be stopping in Roatan. It would be nice to get some consistent information from NCL. I would be happy with Costa Maya I just don't want another sea day.

[LA_FadeAway]

Same here. My first preference is obviously Roatan and I know those people need the tourism, but I also don't want NCL to "play it by ear" and then cancel at the last minute. If they want to give it a few weeks to settle down and take us to Costa Maya instead, that's fine, I just hope they let us know in advance. I really, really don't want another sea day!

[Carol1560]

Geez wheez who ever DREAMED this up? I understand that Hurricane Ike presented some problems to the Texas area this year just as Hurricane Gustav

presented itself in Louisiana. Our utilities did NOT go up because of hurricane damage or anything else. This part of Texas which is Regulated. That means before they can raise your electrical rates that they must go before the PUC which is PUblic Utility Commision. Utility companies have INSURANCE that pays for their damages such as transmission and distribution costs. They lose money due to LOSS of sale. I am sure that the utility will approach the board to recoop some of their loses, but it will not double or triple their electric bills.

HOLLY MOLLY

VETERAN UTILITY WORKER __ NUCLEAR

[A Sixth?]

Geez wheez who ever DREAMED this up? I understand that Hurricane Ike presented some problems to the Texas area this year just as Hurricane Gustav

presented itself in Louisiana. Our utilities did NOT go up because of hurricane damage or anything else. This part of Texas which is Regulated. That means before they can raise your electrical rates that they must go before the PUC which is PUblic Utility Commision. Utility companies have INSURANCE that pays for their damages such as transmission and distribution costs. They lose money due to LOSS of sale. I am sure that the utility will approach the board to recoop some of their loses, but it will not double or triple their electric bills.

HOLLY MOLLY

VETERAN UTILITY WORKER __ NUCLEAR

 

Some thing: some things can't be left to the foxes.

 

The Mortgage crisis in your country is a good example.

 

I pay about US $ 1,000.00 a year total for all my energy needs for my 3000 sq ft home. Montreal, bungalow. Why? Hydro priced right, not fossil fuel, incentives to make my home energy efficient and a personal desire to leave less of a foot print.

 

Having the people of Roatan benefit by dollars flowing only works if if flows to everyone. You can't jack electricity rates and other base needs by twice over night in the third world. you shouldn't here, but there you court a disaster.

 

Blah blah blah...:D

 

I feel strongly about these people they treated me great when I was there, and I was very impressed :)

[momofmeg]

Where is Costa Maya?? I feel bad for the Island of Roatan. . If the cruise lines decide not to go to Roatan there economy will suffer greatly...:mad:

 

Costa Maya is in Mexico. It has the feel of a cruiseline private island except several lines use it. It has a nice pool and straw market and there is a nearby fishing viilage. Also there are ruins nearby.

[raudacruise]

Geez wheez who ever DREAMED this up? I understand that Hurricane Ike presented some problems to the Texas area this year just as Hurricane Gustav

presented itself in Louisiana. Our utilities did NOT go up because of hurricane damage or anything else. This part of Texas which is Regulated. That means before they can raise your electrical rates that they must go before the PUC which is PUblic Utility Commision. Utility companies have INSURANCE that pays for their damages such as transmission and distribution costs. They lose money due to LOSS of sale. I am sure that the utility will approach the board to recoop some of their loses, but it will not double or triple their electric bills.

HOLLY MOLLY

VETERAN UTILITY WORKER __ NUCLEAR

 

The ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council Of Texas) region which is about 80% of Texas is open market. That means you can purchase electricity from a retail marketer vs. directly from the utility. This is only the cost of the energy, the utilities still recoup transmission and distribution costs. Those prices did not change. The energy prices on the spot market (called market clearing prices) swung wildly this spring.

 

About 5 of the independent retailers went out of business. Their customers were switch to "Provider of Last Resort" so their rates tripled until theysigned up with someone else.

 

The retailer I worked at laid off 60% of the staff in part because of the losses they took. I heard they got in the "Perfect Storm" of energy pricing

 

If you want to check the spring swings go to the http://www.ercot.com web site and look at the news and emergency meetings they had.

 

There were a lot of PO'd Texas energy customers.

 

I'm not DREAMING this up. I worked in the Texas Energy market for over 3 years until about 2 months ago (had nothing to do with the market swings).

[Kathylovescruises]

Much prefer to try Roatan. Coata Maya-eeh- nothing special or new, and when it has moree than one ship the port is INSANE!!!!

 

Don't know why NCL doesn't hve a consistant story- guess we will find out on Decemeber 30!

[tincansailor]

from the State Department website, dated November 5:

 

The U.S. Embassy in Tegucigalpa alerts American citizens residing in and traveling to the Bay Island of Roatan about ongoing protests throughout the island. The Embassy has reports of widespread demonstrations and road closures related to the rise in the price of electrical services provided by the island’s utility company, RECO. The demonstrations are also affecting RECO’s ability to respond to power outages on the island.

The Embassy once again strongly recommends U.S. citizens to remain in their homes and not try to pass roadblocks, as there have been incidents of violence in the past. U.S. citizens should avoid travel in affected areas and should monitor the situation via media sources, including TV and radio, and avoid large gatherings. Additionally, we encourage residents of the island to make preparations for possible continuing power outages.

[AerynSun_JohnCrighton]

Usually when there was a change in ports due to weather or etc... they had an annoucement posted on their site...*other Cruise lines.. RCCL, Carnival etc...* Does NCL not do that?

[abbydabby2]

I called Ncl to ask a few questions concerning the unrest in Roatan. They have no information as yet(does this surprise you!) I also asked if they would have an extra sea day or do they subsitute another port. Its up to the Captain!!

 

I know back a few weeks ago NCL bypassed this port where did she sail:eek:??

I was on the Oct 12 Sailing and we had a sea day instead of Roatan

[abbydabby2]

anymore news I will try again on the Nov 16th sailing???

[abbydabby2]

This is my first post on cc.

 

We sailed on the Pearl on 10/12/08 (first cruise and our honeymoon) and did the Roatan Highlights tour. The people could not have been nicer....

 

We drove by the power company and saw a ton of people outside with signs. Very quiet, very orderly protest.

 

The only way we knew it was a protest was our tour guide told us. She also said she would be there that evening as well.

 

I hate to see this is going on in Roatan. it was our favorite stop (we skipped belize city)

 

Hunter Jackson

I was on the Oct 12th sailing and we skipped that port the captain came on the PA System and said we would not stop in Roatan because of civil unrest....You sure you have the right date????

[hunterjackson]

Whoops! We were on the oct 19th sailing. got married on the 12th. dont tell my wife I already messed up our wedding date.

[AerynSun_JohnCrighton]

Whoops! We were on the oct 19th sailing. got married on the 12th. dont tell my wife I already messed up our wedding date.

 

We won't. ;)

 

Just keep repeating the date outloud... you'll remember.

[OhPinchy]

I'm on the November 16th Pearl sailing and Roatan is the first stop on the Tuesday after departing Miami on the Sunday - it would be a major bummer to be at sea for another day, so I hope they redirect to Costa Maya if we can't go to Roatan.

 

That said, I was really looking forward to Roatan so hope this is resolved before then. It is disappointing that no clear direction has been given by NCL.

[Warbird]

We were on the NCL Spirit and stopped in Roatan on Oct. 28th. I was aware beforehand of some of the comments about the unrest on the Island. I walked downtown and noticed there was a demonstration going on a few blocks down the street. I had a guide that walked along with me by the name of Huio that explained it was about the "lights". It appeared there was a presence of security officers and police along the way. Midway to downtown the police had the street blocked with a police car because the demonstration/protest was taking place in the street further down the street. Cars were being rerouted around the area. Business downtown was going on as usual.

 

I maybe need to explain about the Guide, if you start to walk downtown a "local" will come along and start to talk to you and kind of escort you if you will. If you're not interested, a firm, "No Thank You" will do the trick. I used his services and his presence was cheap insurance along with the information he gave me about the Island.

 

Regarding canceled tours, in Belize some of the tours were canceled because of the flooding that was caused by the heavy rains in the area. Parts of the town were still flooded when we were there. Cave Tubers beware!

 

John

[foursum]

We were on the Jewel repo these past 12 days with a planned stop in Roatan. Captain Hoydal came on the PA 2 days prior to our planned stop and told us of the change and that we would go to Cozumel instead. That evening the excursion dept had a list of offerings in Cozumel, some of which ended up being cancelled due to low demand. But we had a nice day, went on a snorkel trip including a stop at Deluxe beach.

 

It was handled well.

[stemor]

We were enjoying the view of Roatan from our port side balcony on 11/5 (the ill-fated Carnival Glory visit). The island looked beautiful, very sorry that we couldn't get out to enjoy the people and their island.

 

We believe we also noted a few large gentlemen, dressed primarily in black, laying a beatdown on a few of the agitators out in the driveway behind the buildings in the port area ... then, shortly after that, the crowd scattered, drivers ran for their vehicles, and things dispersed once we had made the final decision to release the lines and head out of port.

[cod]

Bare with me while my memory goes into high gear, "grand-daughter was 15 when we took her on a cruise, she's 22 now, we went out of Houston on the NCL Sea and went to Roatan the summer of '2000"!!! I got it!

 

She and her grandpa went snorkeling....they had a great time. I just walked on unpaved roads into town(?) while they were gone and, aside from a few approaches, enjoyed my "look-see". Then, when they returned, DH and I went ashore to look for some souvenirs. The thing I remember most was being surrounded by a group of barefoot kids asking for a hand-out and the one who reached up (5 years old maybe) and attempted to unzip the fanny-pack I was wearing. We put a stop to that but gave them something because we felt so sorry for them. We had to high-tail it back to the ship after that as we were tagged as easy marks and kids were materializing from everywhere!

 

I don't know if the port has changed in the last 8 years but that was definately the poorest place we've ever encountered on a cruise.

[LA_FadeAway]

Anyone know if the Pearl docked in Roatan today???????????

[cello8619]

Yes We are docked in Roatan today!!!

[LA_FadeAway]

Thank you for the update. That is great news! Glad to hear things have settled down again.

[amd1234]

We leave Dec 7 on the Pearl and I called NCL this morning and its a go for Roatan...:)