We at Come Cruise With Me get a lot of emails about cruise lines changing itineraries.
Sometimes they do this due to weather: It's important to remember that cruise lines will always make the choices they need to keep passengers, crew and ships safe.
Over the past few days, we've been asked about a change Royal Caribbean has made for multiple Symphony of the Seas sailings. The ship is skipping San Juan and Saint Martin and replacing those stops with Labadee, Haiti, and Falmouth, Jamaica.
Related: Norwegian Cruise Line cancels nearly 40 upcoming sailings
Many of the emails we received are angry at the cruise line and use terms like "bait and switch," while others accuse the cruise line of making the change for profit reasons.
Others wonder why the cruise line decided to take them to Haiti when it's under a Level 4: Do Not Travel warning from the U.S. State Department.
This is an excerpt from an email we received recently.
Good evening. I am writing to make you aware that Royal Caribbean is forcing itinerary changes making customers go to Labadee Haiti which is under a level 4 DO NOT TRAVEL ban. Other countries with this level 4 ban are North Korea and Ukraine. My DEC 1-8 cruise itinerary to San Juan was changed today to Labadee Haiti. I was told today I cannot get fair compensation in the form of a rescheduled future trip and I have no choice but to go to Haiti or lose all of my money.
...Not to mention even if it was safe RCL is basically doing a bait a switch taking a more expensive cruise and switching it for one of their lowest priced cruises without any compensation. ...They are putting profits before the safety of US citizens.
I can understand the passenger's anger over losing ports that they had hoped to visit. It's unfair, however, to accuse the cruise line of making the change for profit reasons.
Symphony of the Seas and other large ships can't stop in San Juan right now due to unexpected problems at the port.
“We’ve recently been advised by the port authority in San Juan, Puerto Rico, that due to technical issues with the pier and the work that must be done and cleared by the [U.S. Coast Guard] for accepting a ship of our size, we’ll have to adjust our itinerary for our sailing,” Royal Caribbean said in a letter to affected passengers.
Image source: Daniel Kline/ComeCruiseWith.com
Here's why Labadee is a replacement option
When Royal Caribbean learned it could not visit San Juan, it looked for other available ports. And since it had an open day at its Labadee private island, it switched the ship to that stop, and the distances being traveled forced the swap of Saint Martin for Falmouth.
People are worried because the State Department has been explicit about Americans not visiting Haiti. In addition, earlier this month the Federal Aviation Administration banned flights to the island nation after three planes were shot at when they were landing.
On the surface, the State Department's warning leaves little wiggle room. "Do not travel to Haiti due to kidnapping, crime, civil unrest, and limited health care," the warning is headlined.
In reality, the fighting in Haiti is nowhere near where Royal Caribbean brings passengers. That's something the U.S. government has been clear on as well.
“The US Embassy has recognized Labadee as a cruise-exclusive area with private security, low crime, and a place where only standard precautions are needed,” Royal Caribbean told CruiseHive.
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Royal Caribbean does not share specific security plans for Labadee, but the resort is fenced in and protected by private security. The cruise line also has assets that would let it know if any forces, ships or caravans were heading toward Labadee, giving it plenty of time to evacuate the island.
It's easy to understand a passenger's anger when a planned port is pulled. No cruise line, however, does that to be mean or to make more money.
Itinerary changes happen when they have to, and Royal Caribbean, along with the other major cruise lines, would never put passengers in harm's way.
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