Itinerary Changes

[battybtags]

Going on my first cruise in Feb...already started booking some tours on my own and went on the RC site and saw that our whole itinerary has changed! Different order of islands, different times, etc.!! How often does this happen and what are the chances it'll happen again? I'm just curious because now I have to change all of my booked tours :eek:

[negc]

Going on my first cruise in Feb...already started booking some tours on my own and went on the RC site and saw that our whole itinerary has changed! Different order of islands, different times, etc.!! How often does this happen and what are the chances it'll happen again? I'm just curious because now I have to change all of my booked tours :eek:

 

It certainly happens, but I'm not sure just how often. It also seems to happen least often on those ships that do the same itinerary week in and week out, unless the change is weather-related. Any number of factors can play a role and it is hard to predict whether it will happen to you again before you actually cruise. It is always advisable to check the cancellation policies of any tour operators you are dealing with, if you are booking your tours independent of the cruiseline.

[wrp96]

What cruise are you on that the itinerary has changed?

[battybtags]

I'm going on the Radiance for the eastern caribbean-8nt leaving 2/17. They just changed the order of the islands and some of the times have changed also.

[Iwantsun]

battybtags

 

I'm booked on Radiance for the eastern caribbean-8nt leaving 3/3 and everything is still the same as when we booked back in April. Maybe the switch is to avoid too many ships in one port of call. During my sailing, 5 ships will be in St-Thomas on the same day :eek:

Guess Meghan's bay will be very crowded...

[RickT]

I've rarely seen this happen. My guess is there is some reason (perhaps a holiday or event on one of the islands?). Another reason may be that one or two of the ports have limited areas to dock, perhaps by changing the date they are able to dock rather than tender.

 

I'm booked on the 3/17 sailing and have the exact same itinerary that you do. To my knowledge this is the same route that showed when I booked it two months ago.

 

Regarding the non-RCCL shore excursions you booked. There shouldn't be a problem rescheduling them with the local vendor. Most are aware of port changes before we are.

 

Enjoy your cruise, looks like a great itinerary.

[MGoBlue2]

Taking a look, that looks like the standard 8 night itinerary to me. What was it when you booked two weeks ago, and did you get your info from RCI or a TA?

 

Don't suppose you were looking at, or given, a Jewel 8 night by mistake. That would be the same ports, different order.

[Firefighterhoop]

They may have changed due to ship capacity at some of the Islands. St. Thomas Easily Docks 5 ships (3 at the main pier, 2 at the other end of the town, i think Navy Pier)

 

It happens from time to time, again, because of port space.

[battybtags]

How do I find out how many ships are in port when we are? That would be helpful to know!

[wrp96]

www.cruisecal.com

[Cruising89143]

My guess is the same as above. February is a very busy month in the Caribbean and there may have been problems with too many ships in port on the same day and believe me if that was the case then be glad that RCI did it because you do not want to be there when a lot of ships are in port at the same time.

[Sheik]

@battybtags

 

What was the itinerary at time of your booking??

[TennisLover]

www.cruisecal.com

 

Thanks for the link. I see there are 5 ships in port when we will be in Grand Cayman and Cozumel -- sounds like a lot, right?

 

Is there anyway to tell if your ship will tender or dock in Cozumel?

 

Yes, this is in February, very busy cruise season.

[teacherkim]

They changed the itin. for our 6/06 AOS cruise just a few weeks before sail date. Same thing, same islands but different order. Our excursions were through RCI and were taken care of. However, our tablemates had booked excursions on their own and said they had no problem. When they contacted the various companies most already knew and were set up to deal with it. And this was on very short notice. Hope that helps!

[battybtags]

When first looking into our cruise, the order of islands was san juan, st maarten, antigua, st thomas, nassau....now it is san juan, antigua, st thomas, st maarten, nassau. So the middle 3 were changed around

[Sheik]

Lucky for you no port of call has been cancelled :)