San Juan Cruises

[Dug720]

Maybe you missed the outcome, but they immediately re-routed to FLL to disembark those passengers and get them back to their final destinations, and didn't attempt to sail back to Galveston until the port was cleared by the Army Corps of Engineers for marine traffic.

It was NOT an immediate reroute. Immediate would have been as soon as the port closed heading there. Their meteorologist had some deluded notion that there was going to be a window of clear for them to get in disembark, and then EMBARK passengers. So not only were people on board on much longer than necessary, they held off on cancelling the next cruise until the afternoon it was initially supposed to have embarked. People were NOT given the option to change dates or to cancel for a refund unless they could show PROOF that they couldn't get there. And the FB site got NASTY - people were showing roads out of their area totally flooded over and being told "That's not good enough." AND people who didn't want to lose their money tried to make it in and got stuck in the midst of all that mess.

Yes, they got it together in the end. But it was a big, fat mess.

(And you clearly missed the part where I said I do still have a cruise booked with them. And one with Celebrity. I am NOT anti-RCCL. But they messed up royally with Harvey. On both ends.)

 

[jrabbit]

Some "hopeful news" regarding Puerto Rico - It appears that the Trump administration is reversing itself and is waving the Jones Act in order to get more aid into PR quickly!!

Better news - is that the Wall Street Journal is calling for the repeal of the Jones Act.

Selfish Hopeful - Maybe if congress takes up terminating the Jones Act they will do the same with the Passenger Vessel Services Act as well.

 

[mom4fun]

This happened to us with DCL but not because of weather/damage; just "because". Our 7-nt out of PC changed to a 7-nt out of Galveston a few years ago. So they gave us the option to cancel or 25% off of a future cruise.



It was very frustrating and cumbersome for us. Since we had purchased air to PC and the new cruise was out of Galveston, different carriers service those different cities from our originating city. Travel insurance couldn't help us bc of course it *was possible* to use our original tickets and fly on our original carrier, it would have just taken probably 3 legs and an entire day (or more). Huge pain, lots of time and frustration trying to get back the money from our original air carrier.

I have a good friend who was born in Puerto Rico whose entire family is on the Western part of the island. She just finally heard from her family yesterday. Cannot even imagine the devastation and heartache.

I can see where your air logistics would have been a problem that insurance wouldn’t fix but in the case of all us booked to fly to San Juan, if they changed the embarkation port to say PC, the insurance company couldn’t say fly to Puerto Rico and then fly to PC from there. If we could fly there then we would be going on the cruise, from there. All of the ports, we will be visiting, are fine.

 

[cruiser21]

I can see where your air logistics would have been a problem that insurance wouldn’t fix but in the case of all us booked to fly to San Juan, if they changed the embarkation port to say PC, the insurance company couldn’t say fly to Puerto Rico and then fly to PC from there. If we could fly there then we would be going on the cruise, from there. All of the ports, we will be visiting, are fine.

You still might be able to fly to San Juan. Flights may resume. DCL could still decide to change embarkation if the city or the port is not safe.

 

[Cackyschmackers]

I can see where your air logistics would have been a problem that insurance wouldn’t fix but in the case of all us booked to fly to San Juan, if they changed the embarkation port to say PC, the insurance company couldn’t say fly to Puerto Rico and then fly to PC from there. If we could fly there then we would be going on the cruise, from there. All of the ports, we will be visiting, are fine.

That's not at all what I mean. If the carrier can still get you to the new port city, you are required to use that carrier.

 

[Cliffside]

I have a one way return flight home from San Juan after the repo on Jet Blue. Our flight home is on Sunday since we were planning on two nights at the Marriott. Recently they were waiving change/fare difference fees till 11/15-now they have it out till 12/15. I wonder if they feel things will not be running effectively until then.

 

[DietCokeMommy]

We are on the 2/4/18 repo cruise out of SJ and I'm pretty worried about it. It's currently schedule to stop in St. Thomas and CC. No idea what if anything will change. I feel so bad for the people on the islands and how upturned their lives are right now.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

We are on the 2/4/18 repo cruise out of SJ and I'm pretty worried about it. It's currently schedule to stop in St. Thomas and CC. No idea what if anything will change. I feel so bad for the people on the islands and how upturned their lives are right now.

If I had to bet, I'd say your cruise will sail as planned.

 

[DLgal]

Something that I'm not sure anyone has mentioned yet about cruises home porting in San Juan in the near future:

There is NO FOOD on the island! How would the cruise ships stock the ships for their voyages if there isn't even a basic supply chain up and running? People on the island are literally running out of food. It's not like DCL will magically be able to find thousands of pounds of fresh and frozen food to load on board. Never mind the airport not being fully operational...you can't set sail with thousands of passengers for a week with no food...

 

[Jen B.]

I try to think about things this way. Even if our hotel sustained minimal damage, what about the people needed to work there? What about restaurants? What about transportation from the airport. There is no power, water, food, gasoline and limited communication. I can't imagine all will be well on the island soon given the slowness of the people receiving even the basics. There is and will be widespread illness. The hospitals are not open. Crime is already an issue, given the utter devastation. We are just over 60 days out from our trip to PR and I would just like to know what to do.

 

[DietCokeMommy]

I'm hoping that's the case. Though we're also staying on the east coast of PR for a few days ahead, and right now the resort has had some flooding damage and is closed, just like most resorts on the island. I am hopeful that the repairs will happen by then. And we have an excursion planned in St. Thomas for a private snorkeling cruise. I have no idea what kind of condition the island will be in, or if the company sustained any damage to the boats, etc. I've been wanting to reach out to them to see how they are, but I assume they're kind of swamped dealing with larger problems.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I try to think about things this way. Even if our hotel sustained minimal damage, what about the people needed to work there? What about restaurants? What about transportation from the airport. There is no power, water, food, gasoline and limited communication. I can't imagine all will be well on the island soon given the slowness of the people receiving even the basics. There is and will be widespread illness. The hospitals are not open. Crime is already an issue, given the utter devastation. We are just over 60 days out from our trip to PR and I would just like to know what to do.

If you follow CC there is a big thread about san juan/rccl. They are still telling their passengers to expect to sail from san juan on 10/7. yikes! my point is, if you follow it, you will likely get updates on the situation and have a better idea what to expect for your trip 60 days from now as other lines start back sailing from there...or don't start back...either way there will be good updates for you.

 

[Tulip2796]

I really don't think people understand how bad it is and cannot imagine what it is like when an entire area goes without power for a week. It is one step away from anarchy. You cannot get medical care (the number of people who won't travel without a passport because well you never know when you might get sick and need to fly home-but imagine if you have a heart attack in PR right now, chances are you are going to die-broken leg, you're going to have to wait), there is looting and violence and you are unable to call the police because the phones dont work, people cannot get water and are drinking from open streams (I can safely say I've never vacationed somewhere where my only option was to drink from an open polluted river), the airport is quickly devolving into a Katrina Superdome situation. There is a curfew in place.

I just can't wrap my head around people trying to vacation in a place that is begging the marines to please show up and help restore regular order and services. This isn't roughing it, this is a desperate race for survival.

This. I'm reading these posts about people worrying if their cruise will be cancelled and whether they will be able to carry out their vacation while people are dying in the very place they plan to vacation in disbelief. Are you serious?!?! The situation in PR is nothing short of a humanitarian crisis. People are DYING. They do not have power or access to clean water and they are running out of food. I can only hope that those of you watching the events closely and hoping things get better quickly to serve your own selfish needs are donating to the recovery effort in some capacity.

 

[DietCokeMommy]

This. I'm reading these posts about people worrying if their cruise will be cancelled and whether they will be able to carry out their vacation while people are dying in the very place they plan to vacation in disbelief. Are you serious?!?! The situation in PR is nothing short of a humanitarian crisis. People are DYING. They do not have power or access to clean water and they are running out of food. I can only hope that those of you watching the events closely and hoping things get better quickly to serve your own selfish needs are donating to the recovery effort in some capacity.

It is possible to both be extremely worried about the people of Puerto Rico, and also be worried that a vacation you spent thousands on, or has lots of meaning to you, is going to get cancelled. Of course the more important thing is that the situation get resolved and people get the help they need. I don't think anyone would dispute that. Personally, I'm hoping for their own sakes that the vacation industry can get back on its feet as soon as possible. Not because it's self serving, but because tourism is such a fundamental part of their economy. The longer it takes for it to get back to normal, the worse off the people are.

This is a forum devoted to discuss cruises. No one is co-opting a forum about disaster relief or about hurricanes or Puerto Rico, to interject with how worried they are about their cruise.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I've seen more disbelief that cruises aren't being cancelled more proactively, really.

Bottom line for anyone scheduled to move through San Juan in the next 60-90 days is that it challenges belief that San Juan will be able to turn commercial, tourist-laden jets around, offer pre-sail lodging or excursions, or, really, use gasoline to transport people from airport to port. Meanwhile, most people's insurance packages are going to require a cancellation to get most costs back.

There is also a question of if DCL (and/or other lines) simply try to move embarkation to other ports, which is its own can o' worms.

It is possible to be horrified at the ground situation and concerned about one's own vacation without being a monster.

 

[gotomu212]

I've seen more disbelief that cruises aren't being cancelled more proactively, really.

Bottom line for anyone scheduled to move through San Juan in the next 60-90 days is that it challenges belief that San Juan will be able to turn commercial, tourist-laden jets around, offer pre-sail lodging or excursions, or, really, use gasoline to transport people from airport to port. Meanwhile, most people's insurance packages are going to require a cancellation to get most costs back.

There is also a question of if DCL (and/or other lines) simply try to move embarkation to other ports, which is its own can o' worms.

It is possible to be horrified at the ground situation and concerned about one's own vacation without being a monster.

Agreed. My disbelief post isn't that people are concerned about their vacation- if I was traveling there soon I would be too. There's nothing wrong with trying to figure out what is happening with your vacation, and being frustrated/disappointed that you can't go as planned.

My disbelief is solely aimed at the cruise companies that are stringing people along, holding on to money, and trying to insist that people fly into a disaster area. RCCL specifically could chose to allow customers to transfer to other cruises without penalty and let people start rearranging plans instead of forcing cruisers to keep shuffling plans and figure out if they should fly into San Juan in 6 days. Some of these cruisers have tried to rebook hotels 4 or 5 times, had multiple flight cancelations, and have no guarantee that their return flight on the 14th will happen....and that return flight is taking a seat from someone who desperately needs to evacuate.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Agreed. My disbelief post isn't that people are concerned about their vacation- if I was traveling there soon I would be too. There's nothing wrong with trying to figure out what is happening with your vacation, and being frustrated/disappointed that you can't go as planned.

My disbelief is solely aimed at the cruise companies that are stringing people along, holding on to money, and trying to insist that people fly into a disaster area. RCCL specifically could chose to allow customers to transfer to other cruises without penalty and let people start rearranging plans instead of forcing cruisers to keep shuffling plans and figure out if they should fly into San Juan in 6 days. Some of these cruisers have tried to rebook hotels 4 or 5 times, had multiple flight cancelations, and have no guarantee that their return flight on the 14th will happen....and that return flight is taking a seat from someone who desperately needs to evacuate.

The rccl situation is completely insane. I feel awful for those cruisers. I will never book with rccl after reading all that is going on.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

RCCL is doing really skippy in the public relations department, though. Most of the major news outlets have picked up how they so nobly cancelled cruises and are doing mercy runs to get evacuees out.

...none of this is mentioning that they do get paid for it, and those cruises were no way going to run given that the ships are out of SJ, but never mind details. And, certainly, it's not bad that RCCL is doing it. But it's somewhat pragmatic, and they're leveraging it hard.

 

[jdb in AZ]

I'm hoping that's the case. Though we're also staying on the east coast of PR for a few days ahead, and right now the resort has had some flooding damage and is closed, just like most resorts on the island. I am hopeful that the repairs will happen by then. And we have an excursion planned in St. Thomas for a private snorkeling cruise. I have no idea what kind of condition the island will be in, or if the company sustained any damage to the boats, etc. I've been wanting to reach out to them to see how they are, but I assume they're kind of swamped dealing with larger problems.

Not to mention that cell phone service is very limited so they probably wouldn't be able to take your call.

 

[Momee]

This. I'm reading these posts about people worrying if their cruise will be cancelled and whether they will be able to carry out their vacation while people are dying in the very place they plan to vacation in disbelief. Are you serious?!?! The situation in PR is nothing short of a humanitarian crisis. People are DYING. They do not have power or access to clean water and they are running out of food. I can only hope that those of you watching the events closely and hoping things get better quickly to serve your own selfish needs are donating to the recovery effort in some capacity.

Please stop with this. I've read other posts very similar to this and it's not necessary.
You have no idea what people have done to contribute to the relief aid from the hurricane devastation, whether it be financially, spiritually, or in any other way.
It is 100% possible to be deeply concerned with multiple situations at once. The judgement on others is not needed. Please keep this positive.
(As previously stated, this IS a forum to discuss cruising details so that's what most people are doing.)