Regal Princess 11/15/17 Port Change

Grand Turk or Princess Cays, either way it is not much more than a beach day.

Another plus is the drink package is good on Princess Cays, you'll save money not buying over priced drinks at Margaritaville

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We have three port changes on our Nov 5 sailing on Royal. Am I disappointed? Yes, but not as upset as those poor residents of the islands we can't now visit. At least we have a roof over our heads and light and heat. Changes in itinerary that are unavoidable are a first world problem! I intend to thoroughly enjoy my cruise even though I had chosen this cruise for the ports of call.

Grand Turk or Princess Cays, either way it is not much more than a beach day.

 

Another plus is the drink package is good on Princess Cays, you'll save money not buying over priced drinks at Margaritaville

 

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I found the drinks at margaritaville to be cheaper than on the ship and much more potent... even though margaritaville and all the shops in the grand Turk cruise center are partiality if not fully owned by carnival.

Yes both are beach days, but I found the beach 10x nicer at GT than at the cays. Excellent snorkeling at the Turk vs mediocre and minimal at the cays. The beach sand at Turk was the finest grain with a thinge of pink. The sand we brought back from the cays was pretty course and nothing to boast about. It's also nice to experience some local food, drink and conversation with the locals; while on the cays the ships food is brought ashore along with most the help. Don't get me wrong I do enjoy a day at the cays, but I consider it kind of a filler day nad even close to an actual stop like grand turk

I disagree. Princess Cays is not a super attractive port, otherwise, Princess would have a cruise solely devoted to traveling to Princess Cays, just like it did with "Grand Turk Getaway" for this sailing. People paid premium money to go to Grand Turk, and ended up going to a non-premium Princess Cays. It's not just a difference in color - but a totally different model.

We're in the same situation with G Turk & Princess Cays. To us it's not the end of the world.

So what would you have Princess do in this situation?

Generous OBC?

Being able to totally cancel the trip without penalty?

People paid premium money to go to Grand Turk.

Who would do this?

Grand Turk is another fake carnival corp developed port,

like costa maya.

What makes it 'premium'? Margaritaville?

Skip the cruise entirely, drive 5 miles to hollywood, and stay at the Margaritaville hotel...

Regardless, I am livid. As I have learned that is the appropriate response to anything.

We're in the same situation with G Turk & Princess Cays. To us it's not the end of the world.

So what would you have Princess do in this situation?

Generous OBC?

Being able to totally cancel the trip without penalty?

for us, princess cays is only one stop of many, since we are on a b2b it means 2 stops at princess cays with a day back in FLL in between, so credit for grand Turk port fee would be fine. For those who booked the "grand Turk getaway" where grand Turk is the only stop, there should be the option canceling without penalty or maybe 30% of cruise price obc as their whole cruise was changed and not for the better.

for us, princess cays is only one stop of many, since we are on a b2b it means 2 stops at princess cays with a day back in FLL in between, so credit for grand Turk port fee would be fine. For those who booked the "grand Turk getaway" where grand Turk is the only stop, there should be the option canceling without penalty or maybe 30% of cruise price obc as their whole cruise was changed and not for the better.

for us, princess cays is only one stop of many, since we are on a b2b it means 2 stops at princess cays with a day back in FLL in between, so credit for grand Turk port fee would be fine. For those who booked the "grand Turk getaway" where grand Turk is the only stop, there should be the option canceling without penalty or maybe 30% of cruise price obc as their whole cruise was changed and not for the better.

There no way in the world they'll let people cancel without penalty. They wouldn't be able to stay in business operating that way- no cruise line would.

Sorry. Even their passenger contract says the same thing. They have the right to change or cancel ports as necessary.

There no way in the world they'll let people cancel without penalty. They wouldn't be able to stay in business operating that way- no cruise line would.

Sorry. Even their passenger contract says the same thing. They have the right to change or cancel ports as necessary.

We know what the contract says. You asked what would you do?

I'm not saying that everyone could cancel for any reason; but do think they should be fair in a case where the only port for the entire itinerary is changed like with the "grand Turk getaway" titled cruise and I think either a full refund / cruise credit or a 30% obc for those who want the "princess cays getaway".

Grand Turk is 6 miles long and 2 miles wide. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Grand+Turk/@21.4680081,-71.1748456,13z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x8eb2d454094df585:0xcb03d9c378c4644f!8m2!3d21.4674584!4d-71.1389101?hl=en

Margaritaville is according to their web site, currently closed. Grand Turk has no underground water sources. Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink...unless shipped in or desal plants working.

https://blog.margaritaville.com/2017/09/margaritaville-locations-affected-irma/

Princess Cays is on the southern tip of Eleuthera, Bahamas. It is a much, much larger island.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Eleuthera/@25.0881754,-76.7340637,10z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x893aab2b6a2aa965:0x4a67e3fc692697b7!8m2!3d24.9314461!4d-76.1899661?hl=en

https://www.triphobo.com/places/eleuthera-bahamas/things-to-do# The beaches are beautiful at both places, as is the diving. Enjoy!

Ole Faithful,

Thanks for the links. I see that there is no scheduled date to reopen Margaritaville at this time. If they can not open, I would say the rest of the cruise port might not be ready either.

Also there must have been beach erosion too. Plus lot of debris wash ashore. Grand Turk took a big hit.

the big deal is that a person paid a boatload of money for a Lexus, but when the car is delivered, it's a Corolla. Sure, a Corolla is also a car and it will deliver you from point A to point B, but it's not a Lexus and it's not worth the money that was paid for it.

The right way to compensate would be to refund some of the money.

Nope - bad comparison. Cruise contract clearly states company may change ports at its discretion. In no way, does that compare to buying a Lexus but receiving a Corolla. Hopefully, OP has insurance if she/he wants to cancel. Otherwise - that's life. Deal with it.

Grand Turk is approximately 7 miles x 1 mile or 6.9 sq miles with a maximum elevation of maybe 50 feet ASL. Irma and later Maria simply swept over the island. I have wondered where the locals went to survive the storms. While the ship pier may not have been "damaged" it may be that it can now only handle one ship. I imagine there was a lot of damage to the island not just the cruise center. While the cruise center may be "open", it makes one wonder how many venues will be open next month in the cruise center. The rest of the island will also need to be rebuilding and not with the economic power of Carnival Corp. Princess may well be in a more conservative mode than CCL. Mother Nature does what she wants and we just have to live with it.

Carnival owns Princess.

Nope - bad comparison. Cruise contract clearly states company may change ports at its discretion. In no way, does that compare to buying a Lexus but receiving a Corolla. Hopefully, OP has insurance if she/he wants to cancel. Otherwise - that's life. Deal with it.

Actually I don't believe there is a good comparison. They make the rules so there's not much that can be said except that you might be disappointed.

I disagree. Princess Cays is not a super attractive port, otherwise, Princess would have a cruise solely devoted to traveling to Princess Cays.

Originally, the "Ocean Preview Cruise", Regal Princess 13-November

was a 2 day cruise going only to Princess Cays.

(now changed to Nassau, Bahamas)

Hurricanes happen every year. Some seasons are worse than others.

Sometimes ports are damaged and unavailable, sometime everything is fine.

If it is very important to you to go to a specific port, you should never book

until hurricaine season ends, as there is always risk.

Originally, the "Ocean Preview Cruise", Regal Princess 13-November

was a 2 day cruise going only to Princess Cays.

 

(now changed to Nassau, Bahamas)

 

Hurricanes happen every year. Some seasons are worse than others.

Sometimes ports are damaged and unavailable, sometime everything is fine.

 

If it is very important to you to go to a specific port, you should never book

until hurricaine season ends, as there is always risk.

They did that switch prior to the hurricanes which was a strange change.

The Crystal Serenity and Carnival Conquest still show GC on the their itinerary and they are both docking on the 22nd.

 

 

 

Also the following is being written about recovery and bringing back the ships.

 

 

 

http://www.seatrade-cruise.com/news/news-headlines/grand-turk-rebounding-after-hurricanes-to-take-ships-in-november.html

 

 

 

https://www.visittci.com/weather-and-astronomy/hurricanes

 

 

 

This is the link to the GT port info.

 

 

 

http://www.grandturkcc.com/Port-Schedule.aspx

 

 

 

Happy Trails!

 

 

 

:whiskey-glass:

Is it possible that the Carnival ships are smaller than the Princess ship? Also Princess is a Carnival owned line.

When I was on the 4 day Superstorm Sandy cruise we were to go to Bermuda but instead had to safe harbor in Boston for almost 6 days. Lots of people complained until Princess gave us all a future cruise credit for one-half our fare and didn’t charge us for the extra 2 days. Another reminder on Grand Turk, only 2 ships can dock there. A third would have to tender and that might be an issue. I believe Carnival ships have preference. They kicked us out early one year. I think they are the ones who built up the port area.

Apparently you don’t have insurance or this wouldn’t be a problem for you. And, no I didn’t read the entire thread.

I found the drinks at margaritaville to be cheaper than on the ship and much more potent... even though margaritaville and all the shops in the grand Turk cruise center are partiality if not fully owned by carnival.

Yes both are beach days, but I found the beach 10x nicer at GT than at the cays. Excellent snorkeling at the Turk vs mediocre and minimal at the cays. . . .

Your comment made me wonder how reefs were affected by the multiple hurricanes. I've enjoyed snorkeling at GT on a private tour and it was beautiful. We also enjoyed a tour around the island and while it's pretty flat there were some scenic areas including a lighthouse. Wonder if it survived. There was certainly a lot of structural damage to buildings on GT per photos online.

They did that switch prior to the hurricanes which was a strange change.

People are paying a lot to be the first medallion users.

They can debug it for the rest of us.

People are paying a lot to be the first medallion users.

 

They can debug it for the rest of us.

Somehow being first isn't all it's cracked up to be. ;)

Another cautionary tale. If you had taken out Princess platinum insurance, you would have been able to cancel for a 100% credit. Enjoy the ship. It is beautiful and the primary destination for such a short cruise.

the big deal is that a person paid a boatload of money for a Lexus, but when the car is delivered, it's a Corolla. Sure, a Corolla is also a car and it will deliver you from point A to point B, but it's not a Lexus and it's not worth the money that was paid for it.

The right way to compensate would be to refund some of the money.

I've been to each multiple times. The comparison would be more like a Buick and a Chevy. Princess Cays is not actually a private island, but is the southern tip of Eluthera. The area is much less developed that GT, which lends it self to some great hiking. I do think it likey that a portion of the port charges would be refunded.