Falmouth Jamaica Port Stop Hurricane Melissa

[Disneyworldlocal]

With the impending Hurricane Melissa impact on Jamaica does DCL and other cruise lines end up having to change future itineraries ? If so does this become a sea day or do they change to a different port for the foreseeable future?

 

[Girl of the South]

Very sad about what Jamaica is going through. If it is a port stop on a cruise coming up soon, it will probably be a sea day. Ships need “reservations” to stop in any given port so changing future itineraries might take a while.

 

[OKW Lover]

DCL changed the itinerary of two of their ships as a result of the hurricane. The Treasure switched from an Eastern Caribbean to a Western. The Wish altered the order of the ports it was visiting. These decisions appear to have been made at the time of sailing so obviously DCL has some flexibility in their port stops.

 

[JM_97]

DCL changed the itinerary of two of their ships as a result of the hurricane. The Treasure switched from an Eastern Caribbean to a Western. The Wish altered the order of the ports it was visiting. These decisions appear to have been made at the time of sailing so obviously DCL has some flexibility in their port stops.

Treasure is doing Cozumel and then a double dip at Castaway. I'm guessing they will do what they usually do and have to leave and come back the next day. They can't sit the ship there overnight.

 

[JM_97]

Very sad about what Jamaica is going through. If it is a port stop on a cruise coming up soon, it will probably be a sea day. Ships need “reservations” to stop in any given port so changing future itineraries might take a while.

I have my eyes on a RCCL cruise that stops in Falmouth next year. Wonder if that will change.

 

[OKW Lover]

They can't sit the ship there overnight.

I wonder why

 

[lanejudy]

With the impending Hurricane Melissa impact on Jamaica does DCL and other cruise lines end up having to change future itineraries ? If so does this become a sea day or do they change to a different port for the foreseeable future?

It could become a sea day. Or it may get changed to a different port. Until a change is announced it's a toss-up what will happen. All other ships in the area will also be looking to adjust their itineraries so that puts more demand for the available ports and there are only so many berths. How far into the future changes may be needed will depend on the outcome of the storm and won't be announced until after Melissa passes and damages have been assessed.

 

[Girl of the South]

I visited Falmouth with DCL a couple of years ago. The little gated Port area was really nice - shops and places to eat, Duty Free, nice people, no hassles. I would GUESS that since tourism is important to the country, they would work hard to get that (and any damage to the piers) going as soon as possible. Of course it depends on the extent of damage to the infrastructure. So, I would think by next year, the port will be open?

 

[lanejudy]

I wonder why

My understanding is the currents can change and it's possible for a ship to be unable to leave. Plus it's apparently very buggy at night. The Magic (?) did an overnight at CC once and DCL has never done it again.

 

[Girl of the South]

Very good point about Disney not being the only ships in the sea - there will be many ships looking for alternative ports.

 

[JM_97]

I wonder why

It's a cool idea in theory. But CC isn't set up for overnight stays and I think there are legal hoops with the Bahamian government that Disney would have to jump through.

 

[Disneyworldlocal]

I have my eyes on a RCCL cruise that stops in Falmouth next year. Wonder if that will change.

That’s what I was wondering as well. I have one later next year that goes to Jamaica

 

[hardcorestitch]

With the impending Hurricane Melissa impact on Jamaica does DCL and other cruise lines end up having to change future itineraries ? If so does this become a sea day or do they change to a different port for the foreseeable future?

The DCL Navigator app will tell all. You will be given communication by the DCL staff and captain regarding where your cruise will now head to and any other itinerary changes. Any excursions to Jamaica are automatically cancelled and refunded to you.

Similar story for other cruise lines that head to Jamaica, not just DCL.

 

[dreamer17555]

I think a lot of speculation for Jamaica going into 2026 is just too far out to know right now. We need to know the amount of damage. We need to also wait and see if it's a situation where they would like us to stay away or they are desperate for tourist dollars to come back into their economy. What excursions will be able to be safely run or not; if it is safe to dock in the area or not.

When the hurricane hit Western NC parts of Western NC were desperate for people to stay away and others desperately needed people to come back in and spend money. It's a bit of a balancing act, but the goal should always be to center the people who live in that community and what their needs are

 

[OKW Lover]

Looks like the hurricane is making landfall very close to Falmouth. IIRC, Most of the buildings there looked like fairly sturdy construction. At least the enclosed port area. But the magnitude of the winds and waves might be more than they were designed for.

 

[yowcruiser]

While it is too early yet to say conclusively what DCL will do, and damage assessment reports will be coming in shortly, this is more than just "is the port OK"

• Trelawny County, where Falmouth is located was one of the very hard hit area
• Even if the port were to be damage-free, the roads near and around near to be safe and in reasonable shape - to get people to/from potential port adventures and to get port staff to/from the port
• The area from Falmouth to Montego Bay, which is primarily farmland, with some, but minimal tourist infrastructure is where most of the damage occurred. DCL sends quite a few people to Good Hope Estate for example. Many of the day resorts used by DCL are toward Montego Bay. What would have been mostly spared are some of the activities closer to Ocho Rios such as Dunns River Falls, bobsleigh...
• With safety being DCL's #1 priority, does the port have access to critical infrastructure: hospital, ambulance, policy... without overwhelming them further.

Ocho Rios was used only once as an alternate port by DCL. Right now, it is in the shoulder season and does not see as many cruise ships, but that changes in November with ships visiting on a more regular basis. If it were to skip Jamaica altogether, it's not like there are that many alternatives that would allow the ship to stay "on schedule", so a day at sea is a strong possibility.

 

[OKW Lover]

While it is too early yet to say conclusively what DCL will do, and damage assessment reports will be coming in shortly, this is more than just "is the port OK"

• Trelawny County, where Falmouth is located was one of the very hard hit area
• Even if the port were to be damage-free, the roads near and around near to be safe and in reasonable shape - to get people to/from potential port adventures and to get port staff to/from the port
• The area from Falmouth to Montego Bay, which is primarily farmland, with some, but minimal tourist infrastructure is where most of the damage occurred. DCL sends quite a few people to Good Hope Estate for example. Many of the day resorts used by DCL are toward Montego Bay. What would have been mostly spared are some of the activities closer to Ocho Rios such as Dunns River Falls, bobsleigh...
• With safety being DCL's #1 priority, does the port have access to critical infrastructure: hospital, ambulance, policy... without overwhelming them further.

Ocho Rios was used only once as an alternate port by DCL. Right now, it is in the shoulder season and does not see as many cruise ships, but that changes in November with ships visiting on a more regular basis. If it were to skip Jamaica altogether, it's not like there are that many alternatives that would allow the ship to stay "on schedule", so a day at sea is a strong possibility.

Excellent analysis. I'd just add that a survey of the channel leading to the dock at Falmouth would probably also need to be done as the storm may have resulted in objects on the bottom or heavy silting.