Regal Princess: You Can’t Control the Weather

Princess Cays Sign

Today we had to skip our scheduled call to Princess Cays, the private island for Princess Cruises in the Bahamas. While it was disappointing not to be able to spend our day at this lovely destination, it does allow me to address some misconceptions about why ports are changed or missed and dispel some rumors that always pop up in the rare instances where this happens.

This is my 35th overall cruise and our canceled stop today was the first time I’ve missed a port. If you cruise regularly, it will likely happen to you at some point, and there are certainly some ports that are more susceptible to possible cancellations. Progreso comes to mind for Galveston departures. I can think of a handful of times where calls there were canceled due to the inability to safely dock the ship there. The recent accident involving the two Carnival ships (likely caused by high winds and strong currents) further illustrates the need for caution.

Last night, we had what I would describe as a moderate sea. It was not the worst I’ve encountered, but certainly rougher than normal. The Regal Princess was pitching a bit here and there and the wind was quite fierce. Walking on deck or opening our balcony door was challenging. So honestly, it was no surprise that our call to Princess Cays was canceled. We did pull up to the anchorage, but the captain soon after announced that it was too dangerous to tender to the island. For those not familiar, a tender is basically a water taxi from the ship to shore. Some cruise ships (like Regal Princess) have their own, while others will hire a local company to provide them. You see this often in Grand Cayman, for example. These are smaller craft, typically the size of a lifeboat. Even in smooth seas, you feel a bit of movement on these boats. I don’t mind rough seas and I’m not sure I’d want to ride a tender in choppy seas. I suspect I’m not alone, especially when it comes to those with severe motion issues.

When a port of call is canceled, there will always be angry passengers. I can totally understand the disappointment and even perhaps some frustration, but if it is weather related, there is nothing anyone can do and the cruise lines will always err on the side of safety. When this happens, the cruise line will automatically refund any shore excursions booked through their system and typically they also refund the port charges for that stop. In most cases, you get that as an onboard credit but some will refund to the card you used to pay for the cruise. It’s not much usually but any little bit helps. If you booked independent tours, it would be up to you to cancel them. There are many reasons to book with the cruise line, but here is another great example to add to the list. Suppose you book an independent tour and the stop at that port is canceled. You may or may not be able to get a refund, and that’s probably only if you cancel prior to the start of the actual tour. If you don’t have internet or phone access on the ship, canceling could be problematic. A tour company expecting you to arrive in a few minutes to a couple of hours might not be checking their email regularly. While I would certainly suggest that they do the right thing and give you a refund, not all companies will do that and some will have strict cancellation policies that might not even allow you to cancel at all once booked. With the cruise line excursions, you will definitely get 100% of your money back if the port is missed. Beyond refunds for missed tours, weather-related changes or cancellations likely won’t yield any additional refund or credit. If a port is missed or a cruise canceled or shortened due to a mechanical issue or due to some other reason within the control of the cruise line, then I think a partial to full refund or credit is appropriate, based on the overall circumstances.

Bottom line is that safety comes first.

There are also those conspiracy theorists who believe that the cruise ships cancel ports intentionally so that they “can make more money onboard.” There are some obvious flaws in this logic. First and foremost, the ship is having to refund all of the excursions that were supposed to be happening in the port. While they don’t get all of that money, they are getting a cut of it and now that is gone. There were also supposed to be limited activities onboard the ship and many crew probably had time off. Now that’s likely changed and they will have to work additional hours since everyone will now be onboard for an impromptu sea day. They will also serve more food now, which has a cost involved. Sure, they might sell a few more drinks or have more players in the casino. But while they are taking in more money in some areas, they are giving it away or refunding it in others. To call it a cash grab just doesn’t add up.

There are also times where a port might be changed to another or the itinerary changed with ports switched or swapped. Usually this is done for operational reasons. For example, Disney Cruise Line prefers to have arrivals at Key West be the first stop on the cruise as opposed to the last, since you must clear customs in Key West if you visit there after going to another country’s port. If you go there first, you don’t have to do that. So when possible, they will always opt for that order. Other times, a cruise line might move their call to Nassau, for example, to a day when there are less ships in port. Nassau and Cozumel are both locations where six or more ships can be in port at the same time. Some cruise lines will opt (when practical) to visit these destinations when there are few to no other ships in port, thereby giving their passengers a better experience. This isn’t always possible and some ports can only accommodate one or two ships at a time, so as you can imagine just scheduling all these ships can be quite an undertaking.

Bottom line: The cruise lines never want to change your itinerary or cancel a port. When they do, there is a clear reason behind the decision, typically involving the safety and/or comfort of you and your fellow guests.

Tomorrow is Christmas eve and another (this time scheduled) sea day. I plan to take more photos of the ship and share them on our Facebook page. Goodnight from somewhere between Princess Cays and the US Virgin Islands.