Cruise Port Update

So many cruise ports were impacted by this years flurry of hurricanes I thought an update would be helpful. Each cruise line will make their own adjustments to itineraries so you will need to check with your agent or the cruise line for the most up to date information.
Key West
This week, Key West welcomed back cruise ships with the Empress of the Seas docking on Sunday. The island is opening slowly but is expected to be open to all tourist on October 1st whch is pushed up from the original date of October 20th.
Grand Turk
Ships are still not stopping in Grand Turk but are expected to start in Mid-October.
Nassau
The Bahamas were spared the brunt of the hurricanes so they are open and its business as usual. This includes the private islands, Castaway Cay, Princess Cay, Cocoa Cay and Half Moon Cay.
St Croix
There is still no step timeframe for reopening of the cruise port at St. Croix due to the heavy winds the port facility sustained.
St Kitts
St Kits opened back up on September 23rd by welcoming the Carnival Fascination and Royal Caribbean Adventure of the Seas.
St Maarten
At this point its only relief ships who are docking in St. Maarten. There is no word yet on when they will resume cruise operations.
St Thomas
St. Thomas is expected to reopen to normal operations by the end of October although the popular shore excursion destination Mageens Bay may not be ready. They are working hard to get ready though.
San Juan
Probably the worst impact was on the island of Puerto Rico and the capital of San Juan. Not only is San Juan a popular stop on an Eastern Caribbean itinerary but is also an embarkation point for several ships sailing to the Southern Caribbean.
At this point there is no timeframe for reopening but I expect it will be months.
One thing about the Caribbean is they are resilient and will recover rapidly. They depend on tourist dollars and will do whatever they can to get people back to the destinations.
For more information on cruising, give me a call at (904) 534-4318 or email mike@freedomtoroamtravel.com
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