Cruise schedules are created by cruise strains man months and sometimes years upfront. Nevertheless, that doesn’t imply each cruise ship sails to the supposed ports 100% of the time.
Friends crusing onboard Regal Princess on the January 21, 2024, cruise out of Galveston, will probably be lacking out on one port that almost all of them have been wanting ahead to probably the most.
Whereas unlucky, cruise strains might alter itineraries for quite a lot of causes, and one among them is port congestion. In different phrases, too many vessels are booked at a port on the identical day.
No Extra Roatan for Regal Princess
Princess Cruises has made an alteration to a Regal Princess cruise crusing on January 21 out of Galveston, Texas. As an alternative of crusing to the tropical island paradise of Roatan, Honduras, visitors will spend the day at Belize Metropolis, Belize as an alternative.
The change in itinerary was made by Princess Cruises in mild of congestion in Roatan. The small island has a restricted variety of berths and may solely accommodate three cruise ships on the identical time.
With Carnival Celebration and its 6500 visitors additionally in port on January 25, along with Norwegian Epic, and Viking Mars, the port has run out of berths and anchorage spots.
In a press release despatched to visitors booked onboard, Princess Cruises states the next: “Itinerary Change, please be suggested that on account of cruise ship congestion in Roatan, Honduras, Regal Princess will not name on Roatan on Thursday, Janary 25, 2024. As an alternative, we are going to now go to Belize Metropolis, Belize from 7:00AM to five:00PM on the identical day.”
Crusing out of Galveston on January 21, Regal Princess could have two days at sea earlier than arriving at Costa Maya, Mexico, on January 24. January 25 will now be spent at Belize Metropolis, the place Regal Princess will probably be at anchorage and visitors might want to tender into city. The cruise concludes with a go to to Cozumel and one other day at sea. The ship is due again in Galveston on January 28.
Itinerary Modifications Turning into Extra Widespread
Whereas it’s unlucky for visitors booked onboard Regal Princess that Roatan has been taken off the itinerary, there isn’t a lot that they will do. Cruise strains have at all times been totally of their rights to make adjustments to itineraries for all kinds of causes.
This could embody port congestion, as is the case with Regal Princess, but in addition hostile climate situations, and even to make an itinerary extra gas efficient, with completely different ports permitting for decrease gas consumption.
Nevertheless, the variety of itinerary adjustments has been on the rise, particularly throughout peak seasons akin to between November and April, when the overwhelming majority of cruise ships head to the Caribbean.
The variety of ports is proscribed, and smaller cruise ships will typically be compelled to both anchor outdoors, or must make different plans to permit bigger, and extra worthwhile vessels to dock.
For now, Regal Princess appears to have discovered a great different port for the January 25 name. The cruise ship is scheduled to name to Roatan an additional eight instances earlier than she units sail to Europe on April 5, 2024. Crusing from Fort Lauderdale, Regal Princess will sail to Southampton for a summer time season of cruises across the British Isles via October 6, 2024.
