Luxury Cruising Editorial

There are a few reasons you should never fly to your cruise port on the day of the cruise.  Even if you find a cheap flight on the same day, don’t book it.

A story recently went viral on social media after a woman tells of being denied boarding and missing embarkation day entirely.

Not only is this a cautionary tale for anyone considering flying into their cruise port on cruise day, but it also sheds light on overbooked flights in the airline industry. 

Same day flight booked with Spirit

The story, shared by Facebook user Mercedes Jones, all began when the woman booked a flight with Spirit Airlines.

Jones was flying with a family of eight, including seven children under the age of 16, from New Orleans to Miami.  The group was bound for PortMiami for a cruise to the Bahamas, or so they thought.

According to her post, trouble began even before arriving at the airport.  She writes, “They were offering bids to be rebooked [the day before]” hinting at potential overbooking on the flight.

Things went from bad to worse after arriving at the airport.  Despite checking in online the day before, Jones and her family were denied boarding because they “did not board when they called for family boarding.” 

The woman’s frustration was evident when in her post she pointed out the impracticality of expecting a large family with young children to sit in “uncomfortable seats for 2 hours before the plane leaves.”

A later flight would be too late

The airline’s solution?  Bumping the family to a later flight that wouldn’t arrive until after the cruise ship they had booked had already set sail.  

When Jones contested this, she was apparently hit with a $99 per person rebooking fee, even though they were denied boarding on the original flight.  “How are we no showed now and I owe YOUUUU MONEY?” she asked in disbelief.

The viral post highlights several dangers of flying on the day of your cruise.  Flight delays, cancellations, and even overbooking can wreak havoc on even a meticulously planned itinerary.  

In this case, no other airline could accommodate the entire group of eight on a single flight that would get them to the cruise on time.

This was a definite financial hit.  As Jones said in her post, “cruise fares are non-refundable the DAY OF the cruise.” 

While the cost of the cruise itself is likely a much larger expense, the added stress and cost of last-minute flights and rebooking fees can weigh heavy too, especially for families on a budget.

Key takeaways

Flying to a cruise port on the day of the cruise is an invitation for something to ruin those plans.  Whether it’s weather-related issues, mechanical issues with the airplane, or simply human error in missing a flight, too many things can go wrong.

And when you’ve spent a good deal of money on a cruise vacation, the last thing you want to do is miss out on enjoying it.

Fly into the cruise port area at least the day before and have a relaxing embarkation day, free of stress.

This whole ordeal also underscores the importance of cruise travel insurance.  Whether you get it through the cruise line or a 3^rd part, make sure you have a back-up plan if the unexpected happens. 

Cancel for any reason insurance gives you the most flexibility, but it also carries a greater cost.  Still, when spending thousands of dollars on a cruise, it’s a very small amount that can help protect that vacation investment.

Remember, a cruise is meant to be a relaxing and enjoyable experience. Don’t let last-minute travel issues turn your dream vacation into a big ball of stress.

Just reading about the stress of flying and taking a cruise with seven kids is enough to make anyone feel the need for a vacation at sea.

A number of cruise lines, including Royal Caribbean, Carnival Cruise Line, and NCL have new port projects that are either under construction or planned to open over the next few years.

While cruise lines continue to build more ships with new features, they are also working on improving the port experience.  This includes improvements to ports and building new ports for their ships to visit.

Here is a look at all of the new port projects in the Caribbean and Bahamas that you’ll soon be able to enjoy. They are listed by cruise line (alphabetically). 

Carnival Cruise Line

Carnival Cruise Line currently has two port projects underway, one on Grand Bahama Island (Celebration Key) and one at Half Moon Cay.

The first one to open will be Celebration Key and it will be the first cruise port built specifically for Carnival cruise ships.

When the port opens, there will be a pier that will be able to accommodate two of Carnival’s largest ships on the same day. A year later, a pier extension will be completed that will allow up to four ships to visit on the same day.

Celebration Key will have a mile long beach, the largest freshwater pool in the Caribbean/Bahamas, adults only areas, shopping, and more.

It will be divided up into five different portals, offering a little of something for everyone.

Celebration Key is scheduled to open in the summer of 2025. However, the port will just be getting started then. 

Phase 2 of the port is expected to be completed in 2027 and Carnival Cruise Line has previously mentioned plans to add a waterpark to the port that will be part of this next phase.

By 2028, Carnival Cruise Line is expecting up to four million of their guests to visit Celebration Key every year.

Around four years ago, Carnival announced plans to expand Half Moon Cay and build a pier on the island. Although the island is owned and operated by sister cruise line Holland America Line, many Carnival cruise ships also visit the popular private port.

The expansion plans include a completely new area on the island just for Carnival cruise ships, separate from the area that guests visit now.

Cruise Fever reached out to Carnival Cruise Line this week and asked if there was a date set on when they planned on opening this new area. A representative for Carnival responded, “No updates yet, but we’ll keep in touch on it”.

The global cruise shutdown in 2020/2021 delayed the project but Cruise Fever will have all updates on Half Moon Cay when they are announced.

Disney Cruise Line

Disney Cruise Line’s second private destination in The Bahamas is scheduled to open in June 2024. Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point will be located on Eleuthera, not far from where Princess Cays is located.

The port will have a pier and pay a tribute to the beauty of nature. It will have the following amenities:

• Family beach
• Cultural center
• Play area with water slides
• Games and activities
• BBQ lunch
• Shopping
• Kid’s club
• Adults only beach
• 3 adult-exclusive watering holes

Royal Caribbean

Royal Caribbean is building Beach Clubs in two different ports that will be exclusively for their guests.

Construction recently started on the first one in Nassau, Bahamas. It will be located on Paradise Island between the iconic lighthouse and the Atlantis Resort. It will be a 17 acre beach experience that will have everything from pools to private cabanas.

2,000 guests a day will be able to enjoy The Royal Beach Club Paradise Island. The cruise line will run a shuttle from the cruise pier right to the Beach Club.

A second Beach Club will be located in the popular port of Cozumel, Mexico.  Almost all cruises to the Western Caribbean visit Cozumel.

Royal Beach Club Cozumel is scheduled to open in 2026 and feature the following amenities:

• Swim-up bars
• Multiple swimming pools
• Private cabanas
• Snorkeling
• Kayaking
• Street market
• Restaurants
• Cooking classes
• Bars
• And more

Royal Beach Club Cozumel will be located on the Western side of the island.

Norwegian Cruise Line

Norwegian Cruise Line’s private island in The Bahamas, Great Stirrup Cay, will soon have a pier that will eliminate the need for tenders to visit the island.

NCL has been in talks to build a pier on Great Stirrup Cay for close to a year now and they finally announced it last month.

The pier will be able to accommodate two large ships at once and is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2025. 

“But there aren’t any signs saying I couldn’t swim here!”  These were the words a woman said to the security official after he blew his whistle and threatened to detain a group of cruise travelers.

It could have been big trouble for a certain cruise passenger and her family visiting Costa Maya on a Carnival cruise.

A loyal reader of Cruise Fever recently sent us a letter about an experience at the cruise port in Mexico. 

After almost having her cruise card taken away by the local Port Authority, she wanted to tell her story, so others don’t make the same mistake.

This is her cautionary tale. 

Seeking Peaceful Water for a Swim

The woman’s vacation to Costa Maya took an unexpected turn when her search for a refreshing dip turned into a tense standoff with a Port Authority official.

The Carnival passenger and her family, opting to skip the Mayan ruins excursion, arrived at the port to find it bustling with cruise travelers. 

After all, there were three cruise ships docked in Costa Maya that day.

Seeking a break from the scorching heat, the family made their way to the port’s pools.  But the pools were not only very crowded but “cloudy” as well.

“It was so hot, I just wanted to jump in,” the woman said. “But all the pools were packed with people and the water looked…well, not very inviting.”

She then discovered a quieter area by the water’s edge with inviting lounge chairs and a seemingly accessible section to the ocean just a hundred feet from the pier.

“There were no posted signs,” she explained, “and it looked like a perfectly good spot to go in.”

Putting on her snorkel gear, the woman jumped into the crystal-clear water teeming with fish.  Soon after, a few other passengers started to wade in the water along the shore as well.

However, the woman’s peaceful escape was short-lived.

Confrontation with Port Authority

“Suddenly, I hear my husband calling me frantically,” she recounted. “A port authority guy was blowing his whistle and stomping towards us.”

The official accused the woman, and a group of fellow swimmers who had joined her, of trespassing in a restricted area.

“He demanded our ship cards, yelling that it was illegal to swim there,” the cruise traveler said. “But there were no signs, and we all left the water as soon as he told us.”

Despite the commotion, bystanders advised the swimmers not to surrender their ship cards, arguing the lack of signage.   

“We looked all around the area and there was not a single sign in sight that said the area was off limits,” the woman stated.

The situation escalated as the port authority official remained insistent in demanding the group give up their cruise cards.

“I calmly told him that if the area had been posted or if there were some type of sign to not swim in the area then I wouldn’t have.”   

“And I also noted that I got out as soon as he blew his whistle, indicating that I was following what he wanted us to do,” the woman wrote.

“But I told him that he could not have my ship card.”

A Subtle Escape

In a moment of quick thinking, the woman transformed herself into a seemingly inconspicuous tourist.

“‘I grabbed my floppy hat, sunglasses, and wrapped a towel around my shirt,’ she said with a laugh. ‘Then, we briskly walked away towards the crowded pool area.””

The Port Authority official had taken a short cut to the pier behind the checkpoint, where all cruise passengers would have to walk.  Presumably he was attempting to follow any of the group to their ship once he spotted them.

The woman, with her husband and son, weaved through the port marketplace to try to get back to the ship.  

The family saw the official who had demanded their cruise cards on the pier, watching every passenger as they passed.

“I saw him up ahead and began praying that he wouldn’t see us,” she said.

Fortunately, an elderly man driving a mobility scooter suddenly was having steering issues and diverted the security official’s attention.  The family picked up their pace and walked right past, unnoticed.

“Not everyone was as lucky,” the woman revealed. “‘One of my fellow swimmers was not so lucky, and he spotted her and followed her all the way up into her ship–I wonder what came of it?!’”

Shaken but unharmed, the woman and her family opted just to stay on the ship the rest of the day.

“We decided that we were not leaving the ship for Costa Maya again and ended up having the best time on Carnival Celebration,” she concluded.  â€œAnd the pools on board were gloriously clear!”

A recent Carnival cruise sparked debate after it was announced that 40 dogs would be on board the ship.

One Carnival guest is asking for a full refund after finding out about these service dogs for the visually impaired.

In a recent “Coffee with me live” video update on Facebook, Carnival Ambassador John Heald addressed an upcoming cruise for the blind.

He announced there would be a special cruise on Carnival Celebration next week, in which a group of blind individuals would be enjoying the ship for the 7-day sailing.

But the statement that was the source of the complaint is that there would also be about 40 service dogs on the ship to help these legally blind guests.  The person was worried that her allergies would be a problem on the sailing.

The complaint, which Heald posted to his Facebook page, stated,

“I watched your reel John Heald. DM me urgently! You said there would be 40 dogs on Celebration. I am on this cruise. I am disgusted. I think this is terribly unfair to the people who like me are allergic to dogs — and 50% of people are. A ship is a confined area, and a person with allergies could easily be assigned to a table near them at dinner. Even if you do not allow them to bring the dogs to dinner the owners will still smell like dog.”

The would-be passenger went on to ask for her money back or a credit toward a cruise on another sailing.

“Personally, I think this service dog thing has gone way too far. Dogs don’t want to on a ship, and most people don’t want dogs to be in those places. I am asking for a full refund or full credit to move to another cruise,” the complaint went on to say.

Heald said he had written the Carnival customer to apologize.  He also defended the decision to allow these blind cruise passengers to have service dogs to aid them on their vacation.

 “We have 40 legally blind guests whose lives are dependent on this incredible animals. They will all eat in the same section of the dinning room and if anyone has any kind of allergies and are close to them at dinner please speak with the Maitre D and they will move you to a table further away. The cabins will of course be totally cleaned and sanatised at the end of the cruise,” Heald stated.

He went on to say that during this special cruise Carnival will be adhering to all ADA rules and that a refund would be most unlikely.

Comments on the post were across the board but were mostly supportive of the cruise line’s move.

Many stated they would have loved to join this sailing on Carnival Celebration and that some were upset not because they were allergic but because they just “hate dogs”.

Still, some with particularly sensitive allergies had concerns about the move.

One supportive comment stated, “If they were if need of a service animal they would be complaining the other way.”

Heald was sure to add a few more remarks to his post in the comments as well.

“Just to make it clear, every single guest cruising in this group is blind. These are guide dogs. We do not at any time now allow emotional support animals. Any dog who is allowed to sell with us under ADA regulations is offering a medical service to its owner,” Heald clarified with a comment of his own.

Cruise lines generally don’t allow pet dogs onboard due to health regulations and limited space. However, there are exceptions for service animals trained to assist people with disabilities.

Carnival states their policy on pets and service dogs here.

These service dogs can accompany their owners on many cruises, but some verification documents like a vet’s letter and vaccination records might be required.

Even with approval, service dogs may have restricted access to certain areas like pools and spas, and must be leashed and under control at all times.

Some cruise ports have more stringent guidelines for service dogs on a cruise ship.

For instance, Grand Turk requires an import license for a service dog even if the canine will be staying on the ship while in port.

On April 28, Carnival Celebration will sail out of PortMiami and begin a 7-day sailing to Amber Cove, San Juan, and St Maarten before returning to the Miami cruise port.