The dangerous climate that plagued the tip of 2023 strikes once more! Seabourn Quest was compelled to cancel her deliberate go to to Port Antonio, Jamaica, after tough seas made it inconceivable to dock safely.
Seabourn Cruise Line Cancels Jamaican Port Name On New Yr’s Day
Cruisers onboard Seabourn Quest had a disappointing begin to 2024 when tough seas compelled the cruise line to cancel its deliberate cease at Port Antonio, Jamaica, on New Yr’s Day. Port Antonio is a metropolis on Jamaica’s northeast coast and the capital of Portland Parish, positioned within the Caribbean.
The ship was presupposed to dock at 8 a.m. native time on the morning of January 1, 2024, however was unable to dock resulting from uneven seas.
Seabourn Quest first tried to dock within the Errol Flynn Marina, the west harbor close to Navy Island, however was unsuccessful. The ship then moved to the east harbor close to the Titchfield Peninsula to strive once more with no luck.
A lot to the frustration of the visitors, crew, and tour guides on land, the cruise ship was unable to dock safely. After making an attempt a variety of methods, makes an attempt to dock have been deserted within the early afternoon and Seabourn Quest started crusing again to Miami.
Louiston Gooden, president of the Jamaica Union of Travellers Affiliation (JUTA) chapter in Portland, expressed to native information that the ship’s incapacity to dock packed a heavy blow for native tour guides and craft distributors.
“The cruise line not docking impacted us significantly as we have been there ready for the ship to dock and we’re ultimately instructed it can’t dock due to the climate,” says Gooden.
“We had a ship docking with [hundreds of] passengers that involves Port Antonio every year and a variety of pre-booked excursions that have been cancelled due to the climate,” provides Gooden.
In the meantime, passengers onboard Seabourn Quest nonetheless have another sea day to get pleasure from earlier than their 16-night Antillean Island vacation cruise returns to Miami, Florida, on January 4, 2024.
Learn Additionally: Tough Seas on a Cruise Ship – How They Deal with It
The ship beforehand visited St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands; Anguilla; St. Johns, Antigua; Basseterre, St. Kitts; Fort de France, Martinique; Pointe A Pitre, Guadeloupe; Tortola, British Virgin Islands; and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. San Antonio was meant to be the ultimate port name of the cruise.
Extreme Climate Rocks San Antonio
December 2023 was plagued with extreme climate that compelled ships crusing all through Florida, the Caribbean, and the Bahamas to reroute, delay sailings, and skip ports.
Regardless that January lands inside what’s thought of the greatest time of yr to cruise by the Caribbean (December to April), winter storms can nonetheless come into play.
Port Antonio was impacted by wind, which created wave choppiness within the channel to the pier. In line with AcuWeather, the subsequent two weeks (January 2, 2024 by January 15, 2024) are anticipated to be wet with some delicate to average wind.
Whereas most trendy ships have stabilizers that decrease rocking attributable to wind and uneven seas, a smaller ship like Seabourn Quest will surely really feel it extra.
Seabourn Quest is a small luxurious cruise ship that entered service in 2011. She is 650 ft lengthy with 32,000 gross tonnage, and may maintain 458 passengers and 335 crew members.
In distinction, the world’s present largest cruise ship, Icon of the Seas, is 1,198 ft lengthy with 50,800 gross tonnage and may maintain as much as 7,600 passengers. Icon of the Seas arrived within the Caribbean for her inaugural sailings on January 2, 2024.
