Hurricane Florence

Yeah, James Van Fleet. He's the guy who kept telling RCI that there was a "window" for Liberty to dock in Galveston during hurricane Harvey last year. Thus, they didn't cancel the cruise until 11 AM the Sunday the cruise was to depart and the port had been closed since the previous Thursday. Dozens if not hundreds of people were stranded in hotels in the Houston area for days, some with no electricity or no water. Don't believe I'll depend on him for accurate hurricane information!

Yeah, James Van Fleet. He's the guy who kept telling RCI that there was a "window" for Liberty to dock in Galveston during hurricane Harvey last year. Thus, they didn't cancel the cruise until 11 AM the Sunday the cruise was to depart and the port had been closed since the previous Thursday. Dozens if not hundreds of people were stranded in hotels in the Houston area for days, some with no electricity or no water. Don't believe I'll depend on him for accurate hurricane information!

:eek:

Yeah, James Van Fleet. He's the guy who kept telling RCI that there was a "window" for Liberty to dock in Galveston during hurricane Harvey last year. Thus, they didn't cancel the cruise until 11 AM the Sunday the cruise was to depart and the port had been closed since the previous Thursday. Dozens if not hundreds of people were stranded in hotels in the Houston area for days, some with no electricity or no water. Don't believe I'll depend on him for accurate hurricane information!

so he was the guy. I remember that.... I was tracking what was happening during that storm. I was surprised how late they were at making that call. There had been plenty of warning of several feet of rain regardless of how direct an impact the area would take from the hurricane itself. We were sailing out of Florida the next week so I was interested in how this was handled.... and I then realized my ship was sailing unless Miami was destroyed... and it did... less 500 or so passengers. I thought perhaps this guy was hired after that disastre

Was wondering if anyone was following Isaac. I was wondering how far behind Florence he is. And it says going to the eastern Caribbean. I’m supposed to be doing the eastern itinerary starting September 16.

I was wondering the same. We are scheduled to leave FLL for the eastern caribbean on the Caribbean Princess 9/28/18. If he does a lot of damage down there could they possibly send us north? Man, I hope not.

Yeah, James Van Fleet. He's the guy who kept telling RCI that there was a "window" for Liberty to dock in Galveston during hurricane Harvey last year. Thus, they didn't cancel the cruise until 11 AM the Sunday the cruise was to depart and the port had been closed since the previous Thursday. Dozens if not hundreds of people were stranded in hotels in the Houston area for days, some with no electricity or no water. Don't believe I'll depend on him for accurate hurricane information!

My thoughts exactly!!

Look up SS Faro and the results.

I think I'd rather sail through the hurricane.

That whole mess last year led me to switch to Princess.

Bermuda is directly east of the Carolinas. The Bahamas is southeast of Ft Lauderdale/Miami. Very big difference.

I live in Jacksonville FL, last year during a hurricane due to my wife's business response needs we evacuated to Raleigh North Carolina.

We are also booked on Grandeur for the 13th., and are concerned. We have friends on there now heading for Nassau. Why Nassau ? It's no better there that Bermuda. They should have headed north not south into Florence. Doesn't anybody at RCCL look at NOAA hurricane center data. Florence is getting bigger and stronger my the minute. We survived the a cat. 4 hurricane on Anthem Feb.6, 2016 and would not want to put anyone through that again. I served in the Navy years ago and they have the right idea. Tomorrow they are planning to put the fleet to sea out of Norfolk to ride out the storm. The problem with changing Grandeur's itinerary is it still must exit and return one way, Out the mouth of Chesapeake Bay. Florence will be there Wednesday and Thursday if the track doesn't change. It seems they can't win no matter where the ship goes.

They have a full time meteorologist, James Van Fleet (@JamesVanFleet), so I assume that they have a plan. Looking at his tweet on Sept 7 "Update on @RoyalCaribbean #GrandeuroftheSeas sailing September 8th, 2018 our of #Baltimore. We are switching to an overnight Nassau, Bahamas itinerary to ensure we stay out of any potential NE Quadrant, if the track of #Florence unexpectedly shifts."... so for the sailing on the 8th.... looks like they want to beat the storm to Nassau.I think the NE quadrant is the worst area of a hurricane (at least I have read that). Looking at the itinerary page for RCCL . https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-ships/itinerary-updates... they have not said anything about the sailing on the 13th. Getting to the port on the 13th might be the biggest issue. I would assume they would still head to Bermuda

Th .

That link indicates last updated August 12. Does Royal need a proof reader?

Yeah, James Van Fleet. He's the guy who kept telling RCI that there was a "window" for Liberty to dock in Galveston during hurricane Harvey last year. Thus, they didn't cancel the cruise until 11 AM the Sunday the cruise was to depart and the port had been closed since the previous Thursday. Dozens if not hundreds of people were stranded in hotels in the Houston area for days, some with no electricity or no water. Don't believe I'll depend on him for accurate hurricane information!

He still has a job?

Here’s the notice that cruisers on the Grandeur received....

As a result of this unexpected itinerary change, we will be adding a 50% refundable Onboard Credit to your SeaPass account.*This amount will be based on the cruise fare portion paid, non-inclusive of taxes and fees.*If your onboard spend does not reach this amount, the remaining balance will post to your credit card on file.*You will also receive a 50% future cruise credit of your cruise fare paid, for a cruise booked within the next year, in hopes that you will join us on another Bermuda cruise. While we hope you choose to stay, if you decide not to sail with us, we will provide you with a 100% future cruise credit, based on the cruise fare portion of your cruise.

The other storm might effect me later in the month. I’m happy to be off work relaxing. :)

It's September on cc

Itinerary is NOT guaranteed.

 

In fact, your cruise contract specifically states they can change the itinerary as they want or need to.

When the cruise line changes the itinerary as ''they want or need to'', does that affect the travel insurance coverage purchased for the original itinerary?

Ugh. I’m sorry. A lot of my friends in the Carolinas had plans for the beach next week and sadly a lot may have to cancel. Slightly concerned about Charlotte but can’t really focus on that. I have people watching my house.

 

Thanks for the confidence in the Disney portion of my trip. I’d have a sad 4 year old if we had to miss it. We’re heading out of Tampa after but not really worried about that

 

 

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Looks like Florida will be fine so have a great time! We've cancelled our Myrtle Beach week and are watching closely in coastal Virginia. Not looking good either place.

We are also booked on Grandeur for the 13th., and are concerned. We have friends on there now heading for Nassau. Why Nassau ? It's no better there that Bermuda. They should have headed north not south into Florence. Doesn't anybody at RCCL look at NOAA hurricane center data. Florence is getting bigger and stronger my the minute. We survived the a cat. 4 hurricane on Anthem Feb.6, 2016 and would not want to put anyone through that again. I served in the Navy years ago and they have the right idea. Tomorrow they are planning to put the fleet to sea out of Norfolk to ride out the storm. The problem with changing Grandeur's itinerary is it still must exit and return one way, Out the mouth of Chesapeake Bay. Florence will be there Wednesday and Thursday if the track doesn't change. It seems they can't win no matter where the ship goes.

Live right at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. We had high tide and torrential rain today, supposedly not connected to Florence....also a waterspout. Not liking the ground getting saturated ahead of this storm. You are right about the Navy. They know when to get out of Dodge.

OK, we scheduled to take Grandeur to New England/Canada next Thursday. There's a decent chance that Florence will be hitting the middle east coast at that time.

If that happens, what does RC do? Cancel? Re-route? etc.

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Here’s the notice that cruisers on the Grandeur received....

 

As a result of this unexpected itinerary change, we will be adding a 50% refundable Onboard Credit to your SeaPass account.*This amount will be based on the cruise fare portion paid, non-inclusive of taxes and fees.*If your onboard spend does not reach this amount, the remaining balance will post to your credit card on file.*You will also receive a 50% future cruise credit of your cruise fare paid, for a cruise booked within the next year, in hopes that you will join us on another Bermuda cruise. While we hope you choose to stay, if you decide not to sail with us, we will provide you with a 100% future cruise credit, based on the cruise fare portion of your cruise.

 

The other storm might effect me later in the month. I’m happy to be off work relaxing. :)

That is fair treatment by Royal

This is very responsive to the needs of their passengers. Those coming from far away can cancel. Those that sail get some OBC for the likely rough seas. . . . and they will likely alter the itinerary. That is a disappointment, but you are still on a cruise. :D

That link indicates last updated August 12. Does Royal need a proof reader?

How long have you been around????

And you have to ask?????

:D

Yeah, they knew on Aug 12, that the Sept 8 cruise would need to change itinerary.

When the cruise line changes the itinerary as ''they want or need to'', does that affect the travel insurance coverage purchased for the original itinerary?

No.

Alhough some insurance will pay you a flat amount (couple of hundred) for missing a scheduled port.

Live right at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. We had high tide and torrential rain today, supposedly not connected to Florence....also a waterspout. Not liking the ground getting saturated ahead of this storm. You are right about the Navy. They know when to get out of Dodge.

I live at the other end of the bay.

The weekend weather was from the tropical storm before Florence.

Look up SS Faro and the results.

You can't really compare a cargo ship to a cruise ship. El Faro's load shifted which contributed to them sinking.. A cargo ship's weight is mostly the cargo onboard. A cruise ship doesn't have cargo that can shift and is different in a lot of ways than a cargo ship. The cargo co/captain made a bad decision trying to beat the storm and ended up in it. The ship also lost propulsion. It was a combination of factors and not just the storm.

That said, no one wants to go through a hurricane. Cruise ships do their best to circumvent the worst or to go through the safer quadrants. While it can be uncomfortable, they do take the safest route they can.

The Navy takes the ships out to protect the ship and piers, not the sailors perse. A ship banging against the pier is never good and at sea is much safer for both. They also have to leave their families behind.

It's September on cc

Yes it is. :D

I'm keeping an eye on the storm as well, as my aunt is currently on Oasis Of The Seas. We both live in NE, and it depends on two things in regards to when/if the hurricane hits us: the track and the intensity. Most of the time though, if we get anything it's rain.

With that said, you may get rerouted to a new destination. That just happened with Norwegian out of Boston to Bermuda.