Oil spill in the gulf

[NKG6002]

I just heard on the news that the oil spill in the gulf may be heading to the Florida Keys.... as are we on a cruise on 5/15 !!!!!! Will the oil problem affect the schedule to stop in KW or maybe cancel it ?

[bhopal21]

Originally Posted by NKG6002

I just heard on the news that the oil spill in the gulf may be heading to the Florida Keys.... as are we on a cruise on 5/15 !!!!!! Will the oil problem affect the schedule to stop in KW or maybe cancel it ?

Being as that is over two weeks away, no one knows what could happen as far as the oil spill and the direction it will travel and any changes to your schedule would need to be addressed by the cruise line itself.

Mike

[peter_krynicki]

Unfortunately the Gulf Stream will tend to draw water containing any oil eastwards along the southern coast of the US then through the straits of Florida, and northward along the Atlantic coast. If it gets that far the Keys will be very close to it.

Pjk

[NKG6002]

So if the spill goes near KW I assume the ship will cancel that port...right ?

[bhopal21]

Originally Posted by NKG6002

So if the spill goes near KW I assume the ship will cancel that port...right ?

You would think so; but again it is up to the particular cruiseline.

Carnival refused to dock week before last due to windy conditions while Royal Caribbean docked as usual.

Mike

[Thestapels]

Originally Posted by bhopal21

You would think so; but again it is up to the particular cruiseline.

Carnival refused to dock week before last due to windy conditions while Royal Caribbean docked as usual.

Mike

Carnival has a tendency to hit things, so I think I would have been happy the captain made that decision.

[travellovers2]

Originally Posted by Thestapels

Carnival has a tendency to hit things, so I think I would have been happy the captain made that decision.

Hit things? what kind of things does Carnival have a tendency to hit?

[Sargent_Schultz]

5/15 of what year? The oil spill is nowhere near the keys and prevailing winds aren't moving it in that direction.

[NKG6002]

We leave on the 15th of May THIS year....I wouldn't be semi-worried if it was next year . I'm worried now about being able to leave from NOLA.

[MAUGUWI]

I will be on the same Cruise I emailed Carnival and they said "everything is still a go from New Orleans at this time!! Keeping my Fingers and toes crossed this will not mess up our trip for it is my BIRTHDAY!!

[amocksun]

Yikes. We're leaving out of Miami on the 22nd... this is our honeymoon, the first time either of us have been out of the country and the first time (and probably last for a while) that we'll be on a kid free vacation. I'll be devastated if they cancel or we miss Cozumel

[Aquahound]

Originally Posted by travellovers2

Hit things? what kind of things does Carnival have a tendency to hit?

Other ships and docks. In recent months, they've crashed in to two RCI ships, and the same ship crashed the same dock twice.

[Aquahound]

Originally Posted by NKG6002

I just heard on the news that the oil spill in the gulf may be heading to the Florida Keys.... as are we on a cruise on 5/15 !!!!!! Will the oil problem affect the schedule to stop in KW or maybe cancel it ?

The oil slick is big, but there is a bit of media sensationalism going on. All we are expected to see in the Keys are very sporadic "tar bubbles." There is no indication whatsoever that a massive oil slick will be washing up on our shores.....at least, not as of now.

[patrice1]

Also, this is the time of year when the Gulf Loop that would pull the oil into the Gulf Stream drops down closer to the Caribbean. When that happens, if the winds are OK, we could miss it altogether.

[cruisemom2]

The media is hyping this like they do hurricanes, so it's kind of hard to weed out the facts from speculation sometimes.

[bhopal21]

Latest Update from the Chamber: Local, state and federal officials continue to assure that oil from the Transocean/BP spill is positioned well north of the Loop Current and there are no impacts projected for the next 72 hours to any part of the state of Florida and likely longer for the Keys. We're hoping it stays that way...

[cruisebarbie]

Any updates on whether the oil spill is affecting cruises to Key West? I am leaving on June13th for a cruise that stops there.

Vicki

[bhopal21]

In today's paper it was reported that the tar balls found in Key West did not come from the gulf oil disaster, so that is good news.

No news on any effect on cruise ships calling on Key West.

Mike

[hw1965]

We leave next Monday and head to Key West. We are watching and listening closely. What we have heard is KW by Sunday or Monday and Miami by the following Friday.

I know things can change daily so we are just waiting to see what they do. That is all we can do.

[bhopal21]

From today's paper:

"Tar balls that washed ashore in the Florida Keys this week were not tied to the Gulf oil spill, but government officials Wednesday finally acknowledged that oil has reached the Loop Current, which can carry tar and crude oil to the Keys within 10 days.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's latest observations indicate that a small portion of the oil slick has reached the Loop Current in the form of "light to very light sheens," NOAA Scientific Support Coordinator Charlie Henry said Wednesday. NOAA was cautious when speaking of the possible threat to the Keys and Florida's coastline.

"The bulk of the oil is way away in the northwest [area of the Gulf of Mexico]," Henry said during a press conference Wednesday.

In the time it would take for oil to travel to the vicinity of the Florida Straits off the Keys, any oil would be highly weathered and both the natural process of evaporation and the application of chemical dispersants would reduce the oil volume significantly, NOAA officials said in a prepared statement issued Wednesday afternoon. However, the oil may get caught in a clockwise eddy in the middle of the Gulf, and not be carried to the Florida Straits at all, NOAA officials said.

"Oil entrained in the Loop Current would require persistent onshore winds or an eddy on the edge of the Loop Current for it to reach the Florida shoreline," NOAA's statement said.

If this were to occur, the weathered and diluted oil likely would appear in isolated locations in the form of tar balls."

Mike