Bad Optics for DCL?

[Dug720]

Yeah. I think the challenge will be the number of cruises normally calling at St. Thomas, in particular, and how long/if they need to reroute and to where.

I'm not denying that.

But other islands besides Tortola and St Thomas have a lot of cruise and other tourist visits. St Martin/Sint Maarten has a good number of visits from other lines (and land-based tourists also). Just because DCL doesn't go there doesn't mean they aren't heavily visited.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I'm not denying that.

But other islands besides Tortola and St Thomas have a lot of cruise and other tourist visits. St Martin/Sint Maarten has a good number of visits from other lines (and land-based tourists also). Just because DCL doesn't go there doesn't mean they aren't heavily visited.

Oh, certainly.

I know St. Thomas can dock 7-8 ships at once. Not sure how many at St. Martin, but I suspect it's similar given the port size, although it might vary based on size. Tortola can handle 2 ships, I think, and I think both smaller. (This is all assuming no tendering.)

So trying to reroute the big ports creates a lot of stress elsewhere.

 

[Dug720]

Oh, certainly.

I know St. Thomas can dock 7-8 ships at once. Not sure how many at St. Martin, but I suspect it's similar given the port size, although it might vary based on size. Tortola can handle 2 ships, I think, and I think both smaller. (This is all assuming no tendering.)

So trying to reroute the big ports creates a lot of stress elsewhere.

Yeah.

 

[annacali]

RCL has posted that they are taking 2 of their ships to islands incl St Maarten next week purely for humanitarian purposes and to help with evacuation (not as booked cruises).

 

[Dug720]

RCL has posted that they are taking 2 of their ships to islands incl St Maarten next week purely for humanitarian purposes and to help with evacuation (not as booked cruises).

Awesome! Of course they need to do something for good PR after their whole mess with Harvey.

 

[phinz]

I was booked to fly into Key West today, about 2 hours ago. What did Delta do? Changed my flight to tomorrow, then Monday.

I cancelled. Not because I would feel guilty about vacationing in Key West, but because I didn't need to be in their way as they try to clean up. Part of me wonders if I shouldn't have kept the flight and just gone down to help my friends get their homes on the rock back into order.

 

[Fierce Fairy]

There are a plethora of opinions being posted that people should not go to WDW because a hurricane hit FL? If that is the case, it shows how ridiculous the masses have become. So what is the Disney corporation to do? Just close up and go out of business because a hurricane hit? So I suppose all the restaurants and stores, and other business should just cease operations because a storm did some damage? Wow.

Yes ,Yes. You are so right. On top of those that directly work for tourism businesses, if the tourist don't come , it has a cascading affect on everything in the area. I lived and worked in Williamsburg Virginia for several years at the local amusement park, tourism had slowed down for about two years. My husband was a fiber optics field technician that did installations. It hurt our new little family when folks slowed down their visiting. I lost hours at my job and he lost hours at his job because the locals stopped getting Internet and phone service as often because their income went down. Please continue to visit the area. Give a kind word of support and like others said an extra tip. As Americans we are stronger than any storm when we work together. That includes keeping the local economy vibrant with our consumer dollars.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

For me, the issue has been people coming from, say, Ohio, who see a hurricane as an "adventure!" and who post about how safe Disney always is and how it won't be any problem.

I already saw one such complaining about curfew and restaurants not serving typical menu.

Those are the people I want to punch.

I think anyone cruising in the next while will be rerouted. The islands lack basic supplies, let alone tourist amenities. After that, it may still require some flexibility of expectation. It will not be like old excursion pix for some time to come.