Royal Caribbean Returning to St. Maarten :)

Source: sxm-news.com

“PORT ST. MAARTEN:--- Royal Caribbean Line’s (RCL) Grandeur of the Seas will be the first commercial cruise vessel to return to the destination post-Irma on Sunday, November 5th. RCL as of that date will also be carrying out an adjusted cruise itinerary for the remainder of 2017 which will be published within short.

Grandeur of the Seas was launched in 1996 and is part of the Vision-class of RCL. The vessel has 11 decks and carries 2,446 passengers and 760 crew, and went through a comprehensive revitalization in Cadiz, Navantia Shipyard in May 2012.

A delegation from RCL recently met with Port St. Maarten Board, Management and Minister of Tourism & Economic Affairs Mellissa Arrindell-Doncher, about the quick recovery efforts of the destination that are underway.

Port St. Maarten Management and Board briefed the RCL delegation about the current state of affairs at the Dr. A.C. Wathey Cruise & Cargo Facilities. Information was also provided about the Great Bay Beach Promenade, the commercial center of Philipsburg, Front Street and other areas of interest from a tourism perspective.

RCL Executives carried out a site visit as part of their destination readiness assessment to accept cruise passengers, and the availability by early November of tours, shore excursions, shopping, beaches, and other cruise tourism-related amenities.

RCL was full of praise for Port St. Maarten Board, Management and Government with respect to the diligence carried out by the aforementioned to get the country ‘cruise ready’ for November in order to bring in much needed foreign exchange into the economy that would kick-start the economic engine of the country – (cruise) tourism...”

~Staci

Wow, that's great news!

Why doesn’t Royal Carribean know this?

Why doesn’t Royal Carribean know this?

How could they NOT "know this"? Are you suggesting that the Royal Caribbean delegation referred to as checking things out on site were doing it on their own, and were not reporting back to Royal Caribbean?

How could they NOT "know this"? Are you suggesting that the Royal Caribbean delegation referred to as checking things out on site were doing it on their own, and were not reporting back to Royal Caribbean?

The update on their page today does not have the Grandeur going to St. Maarten. I think they just haven’t released it yet. I called them today because I am on this cruise and they said they know nothing about this.

Last I heard St. Martin was going to open on Nov. 11; a holiday for them. Surprised they're opening earlier. I hope people post and say how the island is.

This was also mentioned on the Royal Caribbean blog today at royal caribbean blog . com (all one word). I guess the people that answer the phones are always the last to know.

From the Royal Caribbean website....according to this statement they are "planning a visit to St. Maarten Monday)

October 12, 2017 at 2 PM EDT (next update tomorrow at 2 PM EDT)

Royal Caribbean leadership just returned from visits to San Juan and St. Thomas, and are planning a visit to St. Maarten on Monday. We were very impressed with the progress the islands are making to rebuild, and all three destinations are looking forward to welcoming back Royal Caribbean guests before the end of the year. In the next two weeks, working in conjunction with the local governments, we will announce the specific dates of our return to each of the islands.

The update on their page today does not have the Grandeur going to St. Maarten. I think they just haven’t released it yet. I called them today because I am on this cruise and they said they know nothing about this.

Of course, when you telephoned "them", the "they" you got to must have been an uninformed, or disinterested employee ( which frequently happens whenever you call ant large organization).

In addition, things are still in flux - cruise lines are trying to rearrange their itineraries and port authorities are trying to bring tourist dollars back in as soon as possible.

When you realize that in normal times, many ports have five or six ships in on a given day. If you remove close to ten of the most popular ports, you can imagine how overburdened the rest will be. It may turn out that feed-back after the first stops may make lines re-think their decisions ---- itineraries are likely to be in flux for the next few months. If particular ports are crucial to passengers, they should perhaps postpone their bookings until next year. If they have a,ready booked, they should quietly suck it up and remember that the terms pursuant to which they booked permit the lines to change ports at short notice.