Why so many itinerary changes (Zuiderdam, Feb. 21)

[jt58203]

Just curious if anyone else has had frequent itinerary changes. When I booked back in September the itinerary showed Aruba on Wednesday, from 1-11 pm and Curacao on Thursday, from 8am - 5pm.

 

Then, in October, I received notification from HAL that Curacao would be on Wednesday from 7am-11pm and on Thursday, Aruba from 1-11 pm.

 

Today I didn't get a notification from HAL, but while doing my daily price checking I noticed that Curacao is still Wednesday but from 2:00pm-12:00 am. Thursday's Aruba is only 8-5 pm.

 

Anyone know a reason why all the changes? I'm sure glad I booked my shore excursions though HAL!

[Aunty Pat]

It probably has to do with what is going on in one or both of the ports – like other cruise ships, special event, etc. Check the official web sites for each of the ports and their respective calendars may give you a better idea of why the change.

Aunty Pat

 

Barefoot Windjammer - Phantom ‘81

K&D German Rhine Line ‘84

NCL - Norway ’85, Pride of America ’05, Southward ’87, Star ’97 & ‘05, Starward ’92, Sun ’02 & Windward ’93

RCC - Song of America ‘89

American Hawaiian - Independence ‘98

HAL - Volendam ’99, Noordam ’06, Oosterdam ’07 & ‘09, Statendam ’02 & ‘08, Prinsendam ’03 & ’06, & Zuiderdam ’04, ’06 & ’07, Westerdam ‘09

Carnival - Spirit ‘05

Celebrity – Summit ‘05

Cruise West - Yorktown Clipper ‘06

Princess - Golden Princess ‘07

A & K - East Queen ‘07

Cunard - QM2 ’08

Pending Cruises:

Crystal – Serenity, December 10, 2009

Oceania – Insignia, June 17, 2010

[SwissMyst]

There are also unfortunate crime reports cruise lines also sensitive to and seem to affect their final schedules. I don't know of any other area besides the Caribbean where this constant tourism crime occurs, but it may also be a problem elsewhere. (Like at our Staples parking lot downtown at 11 am in the morning here)

 

Two tour groups in the Bahamas were robbed at gun point while on back-country Segway shore excursions. Read about it on CC home page. I was robbed in Antigua along with -3 other reports on other ships that same day.

 

Tourism brings in major dollars for a lot of these islands. So does the transport of drugs from South America. Not a good mix because guess which one brings in the most, along with knocking off a few tourists for sport too and run up credit card bills like crazy for a few hours.

 

Downer, yes but there are still ways to enjoy and try and get tourism dollars to those who will use it the best. But these more adventuresome off-road tours may not be the best things to do. Sure hope this does not also affect that wonderful river tubing shore excursion in Dominica.

 

It is really up to the countries themselves to get this under control. They have resources and they have been independent for a long time now. They need to show they can offer visitors safety 24/7. These are small islands. They can manage this.

 

I wish them the best. I don't see going to the Caribbean as visiting arrogantly the third world as rich anglos. The Caribbean has been in the western sphere of influence for centuries. They need to get their acts together or risk losing all tourism. Costa Rica is a healthy country.

 

There are Latin America models for successful governance and economic development. The money is there for their island beauty and weather. They have these natural resources. I hope they make it win-win for every one.

[room010]

Agree ^^^. Many Caribbean islands, eg Antigua, rely almost solely on tourists for "legitimate" income these days so if the authorities can't provide a safe environment for visitors the whole economy will collapse and/or sink into anarchy with the drug trade taking over. A friend of mine visits the Caribbean regularly and has been robbed a couple of times. He quickly learned to take a credit card with only a few hundred dollars limit so losses were minimal. He also tries not to look like an obvious target by dressing 'down' in cheap clothing, $20 watch, very little cash, etc.

[Tamaracboy]

There are also unfortunate crime reports cruise lines also sensitive to and seem to affect their final schedules. I don't know of any other area besides the Caribbean where this constant tourism crime occurs, but it may also be a problem elsewhere. (Like at our Staples parking lot downtown at 11 am in the morning here)

 

Two tour groups in the Bahamas were robbed at gun point while on back-country Segway shore excursions. Read about it on CC home page. I was robbed in Antigua along with -3 other reports on other ships that same day.

 

Tourism brings in major dollars for a lot of these islands. So does the transport of drugs from South America. Not a good mix because guess which one brings in the most, along with knocking off a few tourists for sport too and run up credit card bills like crazy for a few hours.

 

Downer, yes but there are still ways to enjoy and try and get tourism dollars to those who will use it the best. But these more adventuresome off-road tours may not be the best things to do. Sure hope this does not also affect that wonderful river tubing shore excursion in Dominica.

 

It is really up to the countries themselves to get this under control. They have resources and they have been independent for a long time now. They need to show they can offer visitors safety 24/7. These are small islands. They can manage this.

 

I wish them the best. I don't see going to the Caribbean as visiting arrogantly the third world as rich anglos. The Caribbean has been in the western sphere of influence for centuries. They need to get their acts together or risk losing all tourism. Costa Rica is a healthy country.

 

There are Latin America models for successful governance and economic development. The money is there for their island beauty and weather. They have these natural resources. I hope they make it win-win for every one.

 

Unfortunately the tourist crime industry in some of the countries is similar to a free-for-all.

RCCL has armed guards and a closed fence (out of sight) surrounding Labadee to keep unwanted locals out.

And (some of) the local governments have much greater concerns. Such as lining their pockets even deeper.

Then their island eventually looses the tourist income which only makes their whole economy even worse.

And we know that worsening economies frequently lead to government overthrows.

You would think that these government officials wouldn't be quite so short sighted, if only for their own personal motives.

[SwissMyst]

When I goggled Antigua and crime after I got back, I learned it was the major stopover island between Columbia and the US for drugs. Nice. And our tour there to Nelson's Harbor was pretty nice.

 

Just be careful when you get back from the tour and going up on your own to visit the really beautiful church on the hill, particularly if it is Sunday and most of the shops are closed and the streets are empty. We were only two blocks from the ship and saw some other tourists down the street so this was not remote exploration.

 

But it was walking into a set up on that particular day, we just sensed we had walked into something when some one burly brushed past me in a rush and then sat down. And all the sudden the other people sitting outside their little houses disappeared.

 

And the police did not even bother the few surly teenagers still on the street because they knew the code of silence prevailed there. Pay attention and be sure of your surroundings if you want to explore even a few blocks from port in Antigua.

 

I understand they had problems there in the past and were just starting to come back. Nice welcome. At least I was not hurt. Other tourists robbed that day were.

 

St Croix I believe had the same problems and has really worked hard to clean things up. Wonderful things to now see in Christiansted but I see it is still not on too many ship's itineraries. But they are trying and this is the US Virgin Islands. fer pete's sake.

 

And by all reports Guadalupe was the pits, and don't think anyone goes there any longer. Shame because we became very intrigued with the collective island history while we were there. There is a lot they can capitalized on besides just cheapened shopping and alcohol factories. The architecture of its early western exploration is fascinating.

 

And there are places that look exactly like Columbus saw 600 years ago. Sure this is Euro-Centric history, but why not exploit this and make some nice money doing it at the same time.

 

The sweep of history in the Caribbean is deep and fascinating. Worthy of it being a sole focus. This surprised us. We thought we were just getting away to where the air and water would be warm for a few days, but came back quite enlightened about this part of the world. And chastened.

[mnport]

I am booked on this sailing also, I checked for excursions on HAL's website and the hours were changed again today and no excursions were available.

[Tamaracboy]

OOPS, double post

[jt58203]

I am booked on this sailing also, I checked for excursions on HAL's website and the hours were changed again today and no excursions were available.

 

I booked my excursions late Sept/early October. As of late October they've removed all the shore excursions for the two ports involved. So far, no refund given on my credit card so they must be working on rescheduling the tours. We are flying to FLL on the 20th & we change planes in MSP.

[Boytjie]

There are also unfortunate crime reports cruise lines also sensitive to and seem to affect their final schedules. I don't know of any other area besides the Caribbean where this constant tourism crime occurs, but it may also be a problem elsewhere. (Like at our Staples parking lot downtown at 11 am in the morning here)

 

Two tour groups in the Bahamas were robbed at gun point while on back-country Segway shore excursions. Read about it on CC home page. I was robbed in Antigua along with -3 other reports on other ships that same day.

 

Tourism brings in major dollars for a lot of these islands. So does the transport of drugs from South America. Not a good mix because guess which one brings in the most, along with knocking off a few tourists for sport too and run up credit card bills like crazy for a few hours.

 

Downer, yes but there are still ways to enjoy and try and get tourism dollars to those who will use it the best. But these more adventuresome off-road tours may not be the best things to do. Sure hope this does not also affect that wonderful river tubing shore excursion in Dominica.

 

It is really up to the countries themselves to get this under control. They have resources and they have been independent for a long time now. They need to show they can offer visitors safety 24/7. These are small islands. They can manage this.

 

I wish them the best. I don't see going to the Caribbean as visiting arrogantly the third world as rich anglos. The Caribbean has been in the western sphere of influence for centuries. They need to get their acts together or risk losing all tourism. Costa Rica is a healthy country.

 

There are Latin America models for successful governance and economic development. The money is there for their island beauty and weather. They have these natural resources. I hope they make it win-win for every one.

 

I don't understand how potential crime would have anything to do with changing the times when OP will be in Aruba and Curacao.