Huricanes and Islands

a question for the experienced cruisers. With all the damage to all the isles in the Caribbean. what can we expect to happen when our cruise arrives 2/24/2017. how fast will the ports rebound. I understand that replacing homes and basic life needs are more important then a boat load of cruisers. But a good portion of the incomes on these isles comes from tourism.

There is not a straight answer or an establish schedule. The islands will need time to recover from the disaster. They will also need the tourist income to help with the rebuilding. I would think by February, there should be some reopening.

Unless you have a time machine, i assume you mean 2/24/2018.

Unfortunately, the only reliable answer is "it depends." Some ports were hit harder than others and some will be able to mobilize recovery resources faster than others. Which specific ports are you scheduled to visit?

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Plus, the hurricanes are not done battering the islands yet. Some of the alternate ports they have been using, like San Juan, are right in the path of Maria.

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All depends on how hard the island was hit.

Where are your upcoming port stops?

I think it depends on which islands OP is talking about. St. Thomas, St. Maarten, and Tortola are pretty much out of commission for at least a year according to all reports coming out of that area. In fact they are getting pounded again today with another Cat5, or at least teh northeast edge of one.

St. Thomas may open sooner, but those islands do not have power or water service and until that is fixed they cannot begin other rebuilding processes. It is going to be a long road for them.

No one can predict what will happen given one or more hurricanes on the way.

Time will tell.

Keith

Keith makes an excellent point in that nobody yet knows how much damage will be caused by future hurricanes. But regarding some of the islands that have been severely damaged, the recovery is going to be measured in years. This upcoming winter cruise season will present huge challenges to both the cruise industry and many islands, who desperately need the tourist dollars....but must make their own recovery a priority. Our prayers are with all the Peoples of the Caribbean as well as those in our country who have suffered great loss during the past few weeks.

Hank

We must also not forget that most of the islands have very limited or no "natural resources" with which to rebuild. They have to import building no materials which could add significant time to the rebuilding process. I don't think the people on these islands want a boat load of tourists unloaded right in the middle of their effort to, basically, survive and rebuild. And, can anyone imagine the level of complaining and grumbling folks would do because the cruise lines offered them a sub-standard cruise experience for taking them to an island with little infrastructure???

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You didn't mention which islands are on your itinerary.

Just be prepared to visit maybe one or two different ports once your cruise line evaluates the islands and makes a decision where your ship can visit. There are a lot of cruises that will have to make decisions and the ports that are open can not handle lots of ships.

Our February cruise is scheduled at Key West, San Juan, st Thomas, Antigua, St. Lucia, Aruba and Curaçao, and Grand Cayman.

I suspect, after Maria, San Juan will be off the itinerary, St. Thomas and perhaps Antigua. Hopefully Key West will be OK. The ABC's should be fine.

Unfortunately, it appears some of the substitute ports mentioned are being hit by Maria. St. Croix and Dominica come to mind.

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I don't think the people on these islands want a boat load of tourists unloaded right in the middle of their effort to, basically, survive and rebuild.

Its probably best to let them speak for themselves rather than you speaking for them. For example, left them indicate to you whether they want you to visit their Island by either keeping their cruise port closed or opening their cruise port up.

From what I understand they are more often than not far more interested in earning the money they need to rebuild rather than having their Island to themselves while they struggle to figure out how to to pay the costs to rebuild.

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After watching this second storm, I believe the Caribbean style cruising that we have become accustomed to will no longer exist for the next few of years, if not longer.

These were 3rd world economies with 3rd world resources that also depended largely on 1st world government subsidies along with the tourist dollars inflow. Add that the main attractions for tourist were taken out to sea. The main attraction to St. Martin are shopping and white sandy beaches. Neither exist on St. Martin now. There is barely any infrastructure. Ironically the least damaged dock in the country are the cruise ship docks. The resources just to get the population back to a livable safe conditions are immense, almost unconceivable.

I'm just guessing, but I wouldn't be surprised if we start hearing a serious discussion in the media about distributing refugees across the nations.

Cruising as we know it has changed. It will be interesting to see where it goes.

Burt

Thanks for all of the replies. They all draw good points. The Cruise Critic site has always supplied me with great information and a good perspective.The destinations on my cruise are,San Juan, Puerto Rico | Philipsburg, St. Maarten | Fort de France, Martinique | Bridgetown, Barbados | St. Johns, Antigua | Basseterre, St. Kitts . it sails out of cape Liberty. PS (bUU) you let the cat out of the bag, although my time machine isn't finished yet . My Flux capacitor isn't holding the proper voltage. But I expect to get a charge out of it soon.

After watching this second storm, I believe the Caribbean style cruising that we have become accustomed to will no longer exist for the next few of years, if not longer.

 

These were 3rd world economies with 3rd world resources that also depended largely on 1st world government subsidies along with the tourist dollars inflow. Add that the main attractions for tourist were taken out to sea. The main attraction to St. Martin are shopping and white sandy beaches. Neither exist on St. Martin now. There is barely any infrastructure. Ironically the least damaged dock in the country are the cruise ship docks. The resources just to get the population back to a livable safe conditions are immense, almost unconceivable.

 

I'm just guessing, but I wouldn't be surprised if we start hearing a serious discussion in the media about distributing refugees across the nations.

 

Cruising as we know it has changed. It will be interesting to see where it goes.

 

Burt

These islands need our donations. They need huge help and we can provide some dcollars to help gthem. They have so much re buildig n to do in order to get their lives back.

I have been reading the various threads on this topic with interest. I feel conflicted that we are concerned about our own vacation inconveniences and somehow justify it with trying to tell ourselves they need our tourist dollars. They need our help by giving monetary aid. For me it would be embarrassing to show up with a boat load of people all on vacation and to feel like we are doing them a favor by spending money in port. Their needs are just so much deeper and greater.

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Thanks for all of the replies. They all draw good points. The Cruise Critic site has always supplied me with great information and a good perspective.The destinations on my cruise are,San Juan, Puerto Rico | Philipsburg, St. Maarten | Fort de France, Martinique | Bridgetown, Barbados | St. Johns, Antigua | Basseterre, St. Kitts . it sails out of cape Liberty. PS (bUU) you let the cat out of the bag, although my time machine isn't finished yet . My Flux capacitor isn't holding the proper voltage. But I expect to get a charge out of it soon.

The only known issue in that list is St. Maarten.

The dive shop that in use in St. Thomas hopes to be back open in early November. I've asked them to pencil me in for the end of December in case QM2 makes her planned call into Charlotte Amalie.

The only known issue in that list is St. Maarten.

 

The dive shop that in use in St. Thomas hopes to be back open in early November. I've asked them to pencil me in for the end of December in case QM2 makes her planned call into Charlotte Amalie.

Don't forget Puerto Rico. It was devastated by Maria.