Jayestravellingadventures

You might have booked an itinerary that appealed to you, whether you’ve done the ports before or not, however the ships might change ports with as little as no notice. There is nothing stopping cruise lines from doing this, even when you are onboard.

If you are notified of a itinerary change before embarking but after the final payment and you decided to cancel your holiday. It isn’t likely you will be able to get your money back. If you are onboard and get notified of a port change, some Insurance companies do offer some compensation. I have never claimed for a missed port as I was still happy with the alternative.

Bad weather

Bad weather is the more common reason as to why your itinerary may change. Weather can never be guaranteed, and when you are floating in the ocean you are more dependant of the weather. This means that there can be a change from two days prior to arriving to on the day.

I have had this happen to me last year when I was on a Norway cruise, we were meant to stop in Haugesund but due to the bad weather we couldn’t dock, so we ended up staying in Flam overnight instead. I didn’t mind this at all as my excursion was refunded almost immediate and I got to explore Flam a lot more. Id rather have my port changed then be suffering sea sickness due to bad weather.

Booking Error

Cruise lines have a hard task of booking ports years in advance, with around 320 ships sailing it wouldn’t be unheard of to have a booking mistake. I experienced this on a fourteen night cruise round Spain and Portugal, on the itinerary we were meant to stop at Majorca however, due to multiple cruise ships in the port that day there wasn’t enough shuttle busses. We then were told early on the cruise that we were going to Malaga instead.

Safety

Cruise lines must continuously check the safety of each country they dock at. Political war can be a reason that itineraries change, for example; some cruise lines go to Israel however, due to their ongoing war with Gaza it is deemed unsafe to dock there. This can cause upset to anyone who has booked in advance, which can cause people to not go ahead with the cruise.

Cruise lines strive to fill ships up so if there is a cheap cruise available to book, then an itinerary change may be the reason. Cruise lines normally announce the change in itinerary months prior to sailing, and the new route will be planned and announced shortly after. But this is all due to the cruise line being made aware, and if surprise events unfold then their hands are tied regarding notice.

Cruise lines discretion

When a cruise line changes the itinerary they dont need an explanation for the change. They can have multiple reasons as to why they decide to change ports such as; cheaper taxes, being able to stay longer in a different port, too many cruise ships in the original port etc. This is written in the Terms and Conditions which you agree too when booking. I trust the cruise lines when making the decision to change ports, they have docked thousands of times and know whats best for the passengers onboard.

Additional

One main reason to delay docking at a port or changing could also be due to a medical emergency, this can never be planned for prior to departure and the passengers health is more important (this has only ever happened once). Its also not uncommon for passengers who need medical attention to be airlifted off too. This is also known as Medivac (Medical Evacuation).

Please dont let this put you off cruising. Cruising can be exciting and although you might not go to your desired port, you might find a new love for the alternative.

**If you want to have a memory of your itinerary changing, if it was last minute or days before, why not treat yourself to your very own cruise map. Find out more information below;

https://mycruise.blog/2024/06/23/memories-made-with-cruise-maps/