Grand Cayman

[jujubiee4]

Anyone have any opinions/thoughts on whether the port will be open in Jan/Feb? Love this port but just read
they are still delaying cruise ships. I see this port on several itineraries. Is there even an alternate port? I just called
and CM still says as of now they are still going....but you know how that goes.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Anyone have any opinions/thoughts on whether the port will be open in Jan/Feb? Love this port but just read
they are still delaying cruise ships. I see this port on several itineraries. Is there even an alternate port? I just called
and CM still says as of now they are still going....but you know how that goes.

Usually if they are skipping GC it becomes an extra sea day.

GC is one of the best vaccinated islands. They're at 93% already. I think if that continues they'll reopen to cruise ships, but they will have a hard requirement for passenger vax. But it's hard to guess what they will allow/not allow for under 5s or masking protocols.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Anyone have any opinions/thoughts on whether the port will be open in Jan/Feb?

I just read a report on another forum that Holland America will be the first cruise line allowed at Grand Cayman. The Niew Statendam is due to port Dec 28th. HAL had to agree to several requirements in order to do so, including that Grand Cayman had to be the first port of call following embarkation.

 

[OKW Lover]

Anyone have any opinions/thoughts on whether the port will be open in Jan/Feb?

Most likely not. We are on a cruise leaving January 29 (different cruise line) that was originally scheduled to stop at GC. Got notice about a month ago that the schedule has changed and we will not be stopping there on this cruise.

 

[Dug720]

I can't remember where the Feb 19 5-night MDAS out of Miami was originally going besides Nassau and Castaway (I had a Disneyland trip planned in between cancelling the cruise and rebooking after the Macy's Parade on Thursday) - my gut says it was GC - but it's now a Double Dip to Castaway.

 

[Cheburashka]

With all of the unvaccinated young kids onboard, it seems unlikely they will allow DCL there anytime soon.

 

[Lizardgi]

First cruise ever coming up on February 8th, 6 nights on the Wonder out of New Orleans with stops in Cozumel and Grand Cayman, I guess I never consitered we would not even be able to stop at one of the ports. This was a rather last minute booking after we decided WDW was not fully worth it at this time. On a 6 night cruise, would they really only do one port?

 

[ej119]

I'm booked on the 6-night sailing on the Wonder departing from Galveston on Friday, January 14, with stops in Cozumel and Grand Cayman. A fellow cruiser in the cruise's FB group apparently called DCL the other day and was told the GC stop would be turned into a day at sea but they weren't ready to announce it yet. I guess take with a grain of salt since I don't know this person, but it's the first so-called acknowledgement from DCL I've heard of.

Side note: I'm very interested to see how many folks are on board of the ship. It was already small to begin with and there was definitely a mass exodus once DCL announced everyone over 5 years old will need to be vaccinated. People were also displeased to hear GC would likely be another sea day.

However, these are all selling points to me.

 

[Dug720]

First cruise ever coming up on February 8th, 6 nights on the Wonder out of New Orleans with stops in Cozumel and Grand Cayman, I guess I never consitered we would not even be able to stop at one of the ports. This was a rather last minute booking after we decided WDW was not fully worth it at this time. On a 6 night cruise, would they really only do one port?

If necessary, yes. Ships may miss ports and/or itineraries may be changed for any variety of reasons. It is right there in the cruise contract.

 

[a1tinkfans]

And now with the latest variant… likely a miss.
The Only Plus is for those that get 2 private island stops …

 

[_auroraborealis_]

GC often gets missed even normally when it is rough seas. It is a tender port.

 

[lklgoodman]

GC often gets missed even normally when it is rough seas. It is a tender port.

Yep. We've done 2 cruises that were suppose to go to GC. Bad weather prevented us from tendering both times, one of the cruises we also couldn't port at Falmouth, so had 2 additional seadays. We have our third WC booked for March. I'm starting to feel like we'll be missing GC again. I won't mind if we do a double dip to CC.

 

[KashasMom]

Most likely not. We are on a cruise leaving January 29 (different cruise line) that was originally scheduled to stop at GC. Got notice about a month ago that the schedule has changed and we will not be stopping there on this cruise.

I really don't understand why Disney can't make a decision! We're going Feb. 8th and we only have two port days out of 6. I'm really hoping they replace GC instead of changing it to another sea day - ugh!

 

[KashasMom]

First cruise ever coming up on February 8th, 6 nights on the Wonder out of New Orleans with stops in Cozumel and Grand Cayman, I guess I never consitered we would not even be able to stop at one of the ports. This was a rather last minute booking after we decided WDW was not fully worth it at this time. On a 6 night cruise, would they really only do one port?

That's the one we're on and really hoping the replace it with another port! And yes, they would only do one port.

 

[KashasMom]

I'm booked on the 6-night sailing on the Wonder departing from Galveston on Friday, January 14, with stops in Cozumel and Grand Cayman. A fellow cruiser in the cruise's FB group apparently called DCL the other day and was told the GC stop would be turned into a day at sea but they weren't ready to announce it yet. I guess take with a grain of salt since I don't know this person, but it's the first so-called acknowledgement from DCL I've heard of.

Side note: I'm very interested to see how many folks are on board of the ship. It was already small to begin with and there was definitely a mass exodus once DCL announced everyone over 5 years old will need to be vaccinated. People were also displeased to hear GC would likely be another sea day.

However, these are all selling points to me.

Why would another sea day be a selling point? YOU can always stay onboard and pretend it's a sea day. I'll likely consider jumping if we have 5 sea days out of 6. Bad enough we have to Disney excursions.

 

[KashasMom]

I don't understand how people can compare missing an island due to weather/not being able to dock to this. I get that. But this is a different situation. Disney KNOWS months in advance they aren't going there. Their recent lack of communication really stinks. And what's worse is that they can possibly/probably replace the port but won't.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Disney KNOWS months in advance they aren't going there.

Not really. As with most situations during this pandemic, things are extremely fluid as to what's allowed and what's not. They keep GC on the schedule with the hope that it will remain. Until such time as they confirm they won't be able to dock there.

Just replacing the port with another, even pre-COVID isn't all that easy, either. Even then, if a port had to be cancelled, they couldn't just pull into another one. Such things have to be pre-arranged.

 

[kucanhead]

On our 12/21 Eastern Caribbean sailing out of Galveston, the Grand Cayman stop has been replaced with Progreso, Mexico. I would guess that's what would happen on future sailings if Grand Cayman isn't an option.

I'm actually happy with this change since I really want to do the Chichen Itza excursion, and transportation from Progreso is much shorter than from Cozumel (which isn't currently offering this excursion anyway).

 

[KashasMom]

Not really. As with most situations during this pandemic, things are extremely fluid as to what's allowed and what's not. They keep GC on the schedule with the hope that it will remain. Until such time as they confirm they won't be able to dock there.

Just replacing the port with another, even pre-COVID isn't all that easy, either. Even then, if a port had to be cancelled, they couldn't just pull into another one. Such things have to be pre-arranged.

Honestly, I don't believe that. GC had a plan in place for a while now. It didn't even include a date for ships. Disney had at least a few months to replace the port. And according to the post above, they HAVE done it.

Phase 3, which began September 9, permitted limited resumption of tourist travel, but cruise passengers are not permitted entry under either Phase 3 or Phase 4. Cruise travel will still be banned under Phase 5, but is projected to resume under Phase 6, subject to further assessment of the situation at that time.

For now, there is no date set for either Phase 5 or Phase 6 to begin, though Phase 5 is expected in January 2022. With no date for Phase 6, however, it could be several months before cruise travel is permitted to resume to the island nation.

 

[jujubiee4]

I really don't understand why Disney can't make a decision! We're going Feb. 8th and we only have two port days out of 6. I'm really hoping they replace GC instead of changing it to another sea day - ugh!

Yeah I'm disappointed. We will be in New Orleans anyway for a wedding and I thought about this
cruise. I love Grand Cayman but would accept a substitution EXCEPT another sea day. So probably
will pass up. I would jump in a minute if it was Castaway but obviously it won't be. Sad.