Change in Ports of Call (Hurricane Scenario)

[clarkgriswold]

I know there are some on the boards who have been on the Magic and/or Wonder at times of Hurricanes and Tropical Storms. I recall that the ships generally still sail on schedule, but often chnage the ports of call. What are some of the ports that we might see if that happens this month?

 

[Señor Ferrari]

The Magic once diverted to Key West and Cozumel during the Eastern Itinerary. On our cruise in Sept. 2000, we went to Key West, and then St. Thomas, skipping St. Maarten due to the weather. Last fall, one Magic trip went to Castaway Cay twice, San Juan, and (I think) St. Thomas.

My guess is that the Magic may swap Eastern for Western (or vice versa) this year, if need be.

The Wonder will sometimes add a day at sea instead of calling in the Bahamas. Once it went to Charleston, SC instead of Nassau. The problem with a 3- or 4-day cruise is that there aren't very many ports where the ship can call and still return on time. I suppose Key West is an option, but I don't know if the Wonder has ever called there.

 

[clarkgriswold]

Sounds great. Almost makes it more Exciting!

 

[Señor Ferrari]

That's what I think, too. It kind of makes it an adventure, not knowing for sure where you'll end up. I did take along my copy of Frommer's "Caribbean Ports of Call." It was helpful in finding things to do in alternate ports.

I think just being on the ship is vacation enough. I can always find something fun to do in virtually any port.

 

[Dave_from_Marietta]

Here are some ports the Magic might visit...

<nl><li><a href="http://travel.discovery.com/dest/weisdb/caribbean/dore/puer_p/ship.html"><font color=blue><i>Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic</i></font></a><li><a href="http://travel.discovery.com/dest/weisdb/caribbean/dore/sant_p/ship.html"><font color=blue><i>Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic</i></font></a><li><a href="http://travel.discovery.com/dest/weisdb/caribbean/jama/mont_p/ship.html"><font color=blue><i>Montego Bay, Jamaica</i></font></a><li><a href="http://travel.discovery.com/dest/weisdb/caribbean/jama/ocho_p/ship.html"><font color=blue><i>Ocho Rios, Jamaica</i></font></a><li><a href="http://travel.discovery.com/dest/weisdb/caribbean/puer/sanj_p/ship.html"><font color=blue><i>San Juan, Puerto Rico</i></font></a></nl>

 

[Towncrier]

I know that the 2nd sailing of the 7-night Disney Magic cruise was labeled by some as the "Magic"al Mystery cruise. They were all over the Eastern Caribbean, but they did not stop at either St. Maarten or St. Thomas. I believe that the 3rd sailing finally was able to make it back to the regular itinerary.

 

[Señor Ferrari]

Towncrier,

I'm pretty sure that the 2nd 7-day eastern trip was the one that went to Key West and Cozumel. We were on 7-day # 8 or 9, and I've heard this one also referred to as a "mystery" cruise. We knew there was a storm (hurricane Joyce) heading towards the Leeward Islands, so I figrued we might be heading to Cozumel, too. BUT...the day before we were to leave, a new storm, Hurricane Keith, popped up near the Yucatan.

When we boarded, all they could tell us was that we'd stop at Key West on Sunday, and the rest was still up in the air. There was talk also of Nassau, Freeport, and even Charleston, too. They had all but decided on a Nassau stop and an extra Castaway Cay day by mid-afternoon on Saturday, we'd even purchased an excursion for Nassau. After dinner on Saturday night, the captain said that Joyce had both weakened and turned south, so that when we left Key West, he would determine whether or not we would be able to go to St. Thomas. On Sunday night, it was announced that we would go to St. Thomas, having our days at sea on Monday and Tuesday instead of Sunday/Monday. They refunded all of the Nassau excursions and booked new ones for St. Thomas on Monday afternoon.

 

[CyranoJones]

Senor, we were on the same cruise. I thought it ended up being a great adventure!

 

[Diva of Dragons]

Last Nov., our servers told us that the day they went to Charlotte, NC, they asked their diners if they had fun in port. One of the women replied, "It was great! I went home, made some lunch and watered my plants"! Can you imagine spending all the money and planning time only to end up cruising home???

 

[Dave_from_Marietta]

Originally posted by Diva of Dragons

Last Nov., our servers told us that the day they went to Charlotte, NC, they asked their diners if they had fun in port. One of the women replied, "It was great! I went home, made some lunch and watered my plants"!

It was Charleston, SC, but that's still really funny!

(Charlotte is 150 miles from the ocean as the seagull flies.)

 

[Echooooooooooooo]

I was on the cruise during a hurricane, I believe it was George. We set sail from Port Canaveral, during our trip, George was undecisive about his next move. The captain kept us all informed on a regular basis but the itinerary did change often.

It was a 3-day cruise, we couldn't go to the Bahamas so we went to Key West, spent a day at sea and then Port Canaveral was closed so we had to dock in Ft Lauderdale and they had busses to take us to Port Canaveral.

I had a blast! The crew did everything they possibly could to keep everyone happy. We were always in sunshine and the only time there was motion on the ship was when we were passing over the Gulf Stream.

The person I was with hated it and vowed never to go again (unless there was a typhoon -- she's kidding, but truely she would never go again).

It's all perspective. Make the most of what you got. I was on vacation, the ship was beautiful and had anything I wanted. The bus trip sucked, but it was only 2 hours. Remeber, it's mother nature and diversions are for your safety!

Since then, I've been twice and I'm going again on September 8. I can't wait!!

I love to cruise!

 

[Michelle]

Senor, I too was on that "mystery cruise" in late September 2000! It was kind of fun and I was happy to get to visit Key West but a little bummed to miss St. Maarten...I wanted to do the 12-metre regatta again.

I'm glad we didn't end up in Charleston!

 

[BeanoC]

When I first looked into booking the Western 7-day cruise, I was disappointed to learn that it did not go to Ocho Rios, Jamaica. We love that port! So I would be thrilled if we were 'forced' to divert there! The kids would love the hike up Dunn's River Falls.

I can't say that I'll be hoping for a situation that requires us to dodge a hurricane, but Jamaica would be nice. Ya Mon!


'Beano'