Hurricane Florence

HydroKitty, I know SW flies to the Carolinas but they don't have a hub there. That can make a big difference. No hub makes it easier to cancel flights or re-route planes to cover the northeast on this one.

 

Of course we are all assuming that Florence is not going change her mind, again.....

You're right...and BWI could be impacted with a mid-Atlantic landfall. The upside is SW is so accommodating when it comes to changing especially if weather is involved. If i were booked on SW and changing in BWI i would SERIOUSLY consider changing my flight. As for OP if she has an early non stop out of Philly Thursday she should be ok....but you can never tell with us girls, can you :evilsmile:

We all have advice, but Florence appears to be still heading towards the Carolinas (aimed right now at the S and N Caroline boarder) and will be off the coast Thur morning, as a full hurricane. The OP’s fight out of PHL to Miami should be able to make it just fine, unless it speeds up. going a day earlier will insure you have no issues, but it looks like low chance of stopping the OP’s flight - and as all weather estimates for 4-5 days ahead, nice guesses.

Personally if you want to worry about Hurricanes, I’d watch Issac. Unless it get torn up, it will become a Hurricane tomorrow, and will reach the Windward Caribbean Islands on Thursday, and on into the Caribbean after that. Some tracks show it turning up into the Atlantic also. Could be interesting depending on each itinerary.

welcome to Caribbean cruising in Sept/Oct when Hurricanes are their most numerous. And yes, I’ve cruised during that time also.

Den

We all have advice, but Florence appears to be still heading towards the Carolinas (aimed right now at the S and N Caroline boarder) and will be off the coast Thur morning, as a full hurricane. The OP’s fight out of PHL to Miami should be able to make it just fine, unless it speeds up. going a day earlier will insure you have no issues, but it looks like low chance of stopping the OP’s flight - and as all weather estimates for 4-5 days ahead, nice guesses.

 

Personally if you want to worry about Hurricanes, I’d watch Issac. Unless it get torn up, it will become a Hurricane tomorrow, and will reach the Windward Caribbean Islands on Thursday, and on into the Caribbean after that. Some tracks show it turning up into the Atlantic also. Could be interesting depending on each itinerary.

 

welcome to Caribbean cruising in Sept/Oct when Hurricanes are their most numerous. And yes, I’ve cruised during that time also.

 

Den

Latest projections are for coastal NC/SC. God help those people! I hope they prepare and evacuate

Worrying about an itinerary seems stupid. I am happy to get to the ship and then will worry , or mayb e not, about the next. I am anticipating change in itinerary and some rocking and rolling. It is what it is. Cruising in hurricane season is a risk as is during the winter if you are in NE as I am. This is the last time I cruise Sept/Oct. Last year we sailed out of PR three weeks after Maria. Was not sure we would sail until a week before.

Can always rent a car and drive down if flights get canceled. We live in NJ and always know that if our flight gets canceled the day before, we could hop in a car and do the drive.

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Reading this thread made me think of when I lived in Miami and we took a direct hit from hurricane Katrina. The morning after, we got a call from Carnival around 10am, offering us a modified weekend cruise for $49pp, best cabin available (which was an oceanview on Empress deck) departing that afternoon. Needless to say, they’d had tons of cancelations and no-shows from people whose flights were canceled and couldn’t make it to Miami.

We decided to go for it. Better than sitting at home with no electricity. So we accepted, quickly packed some backpacks and headed for the port. 2 hours after we received that call we were sitting on the lido deck sipping on fru-fru drinks. I remember that the skies were clear and the ocean was so calm that it looked like a mirror.

Yes, hurricanes can be very disruptive to vacation plans, but in that instance, it gave us the opportunity to take a very last minute vacation at a ridiculous price.

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Can always rent a car and drive down if flights get canceled. We live in NJ and always know that if our flight gets canceled the day before, we could hop in a car and do the drive.

 

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And that is a possibility. My travel best friend lives in DE so that takes away some distance 17 hours though lol

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Latest projections are for coastal NC/SC. God help those people! I hope they prepare and evacuate

 

Worrying about an itinerary seems stupid. I am happy to get to the ship and then will worry , or mayb e not, about the next. I am anticipating change in itinerary and some rocking and rolling. It is what it is. ....

It isn’t stupid to worry, it’s human. And you are right, it is what it is. And once we start, its hard to drop that worrying. And yes, here we are worrying about a cruise and a whole lot of people are going to face problems as Florence hits them, but just as we who live on the Fla Panhandle, the 2nd highest area for hurricanes, its part of life living near the coast.

What i feel badly for, are the ones who get all the rain and wind well inland as the storm turns and dumps it’s ocean water.

So instead of worrying about your flight and feeling bad, just keep an eye out on what that thing is doing and accepting what you can and can’t do. You are flying down a day early, which gives you lots of options. So many fly the same day and put themselves into no options situations.

Enjoy the cruise. The Line and the Capt will make sure they minimize exposure to stormy seas. Just think of it as part of being a Hardy Crew of Gobs facing Mother Nature!! And have another nice drink and accept you may see other ports of call. The Caribbean is a large body of water and there’s room for you to cruise and hopefully miss any strong storms.

We sailors talk about the wind in our face and a rolling deck under our feet, but in reality, I’d much rather have a nice steady deck so my Martini doesn’t spill!

Hurricane season goes from June to Nov, which for Up Northerners, kind of ties up a bit of time, but you are probably right about Sep/Oct. The rest are much lower storm times. We are heading to Upstate NY then NYC in October.

Den

Reading this thread made me think of when I lived in Miami and we took a direct hit from hurricane Katrina. The morning after, we got a call from Carnival around 10am, offering us a modified weekend cruise for $49pp, best cabin available (which was an oceanview on Empress deck) departing that afternoon. Needless to say, they’d had tons of cancelations and no-shows from people whose flights were canceled and couldn’t make it to Miami.

 

We decided to go for it. Better than sitting at home with no electricity. So we accepted, quickly packed some backpacks and headed for the port. 2 hours after we received that call we were sitting on the lido deck sipping on fru-fru drinks. I remember that the skies were clear and the ocean was so calm that it looked like a mirror.

 

Yes, hurricanes can be very disruptive to vacation plans, but in that instance, it gave us the opportunity to take a very last minute vacation at a ridiculous price.

 

 

 

 

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Last year we were booked on Adventure of the seas three weeks after Maria out of PR. Did not want to go knowing the destruction and personal devastation. Felt guilty going on a luxury ship with food, water , AC when PR had none. Hoped they would cancel. So shortly before we were offered an Owner’s Suite. Ok made the guilt decrease. BUT the best part was RCI had so many cancellations that they offered trips to people of PR for real cheap. I would say half of the ship were from PR. It was lovely to see families enjoying life after hell. They were so polite and were never seen out at night. It made that cruise one of the most special that started out so negatively

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Last year we were booked on Adventure of the seas three weeks after Maria out of PR. Did not want to go knowing the destruction and personal devastation. Felt guilty going on a luxury ship with food, water , AC when PR had none. Hoped they would cancel. So shortly before we were offered an Owner’s Suite. Ok made the guilt decrease. BUT the best part was RCI had so many cancellations that they offered trips to people of PR for real cheap. I would say half of the ship were from PR. It was lovely to see families enjoying life after hell. They were so polite and were never seen out at night. It made that cruise one of the most special that started out so negatively

 

 

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WOW...I didn't know that but it makes me feel better about my loyalty to RCI and Celebrity. Just saw the latest update and you're looking good just whatever you do don't drive!!!! Landfall is being predicted by all the modules now for Wilmington, NC and then who knows since there's the possibility of a large system forming further north that could push storm away. I like Den's advice....roll with it and stay friends with the bartenders! Have a good cruise....and now we've got to get busy preparing.

It isn’t stupid to worry, it’s human. And you are right, it is what it is. And once we start, its hard to drop that worrying. And yes, here we are worrying about a cruise and a whole lot of people are going to face problems as Florence hits them, but just as we who live on the Fla Panhandle, the 2nd highest area for hurricanes, its part of life living near the coast.

 

What i feel badly for, are the ones who get all the rain and wind well inland as the storm turns and dumps it’s ocean water.

 

So instead of worrying about your flight and feeling bad, just keep an eye out on what that thing is doing and accepting what you can and can’t do. You are flying down a day early, which gives you lots of options. So many fly the same day and put themselves into no options situations.

 

Enjoy the cruise. The Line and the Capt will make sure they minimize exposure to stormy seas. Just think of it as part of being a Hardy Crew of Gobs facing Mother Nature!! And have another nice drink and accept you may see other ports of call. The Caribbean is a large body of water and there’s room for you to cruise and hopefully miss any strong storms.

 

We sailors talk about the wind in our face and a rolling deck under our feet, but in reality, I’d much rather have a nice steady deck so my Martini doesn’t spill!

 

Hurricane season goes from June to Nov, which for Up Northerners, kind of ties up a bit of time, but you are probably right about Sep/Oct. The rest are much lower storm times. We are heading to Upstate NY then NYC in October.

 

Den

Excellent advice! Latest modules show landfall around Wilmington, NC and all of them are beginning to come together, which is bad news....worst news is it could get stuck there which is really bad. I think anyone who's a true sailor feels the same way....nice steady deck and clear skies...with or without the martini!!!

You are coming to NY during the best time of the year, IMHO,...., not too hot, not too cold, not too much rain or humidity, the fall colors are beautiful and the city isn't packed with people, just crowded. Actually our worst hurricanes usually hit between Aug. and Sept....biggest exception was Sandy (late Oct) with her 1-2 punch of hurricane one day and blizzard the next....Mother Nature was really in a snit!!! We, as I'm sure you have in Florida as well, have noticed a real change in our weather patterns over the past few years...both hurricanes and blizzards have gotten stronger....fewer t-storms and blistering heat and freezing cold...global warming is real.

...global warming is real.

Yup. But don’t worry, we’ve come up with enough excuses to not do squat because we think we’ll be OK, just some warming and a few more storms.... the real impact will be the next generation, and to heck with our kids and grandkids we pretend to worry about so.

Den

WOW...I didn't know that but it makes me feel better about my loyalty to RCI and Celebrity. Just saw the latest update and you're looking good just whatever you do don't drive!!!! Landfall is being predicted by all the modules now for Wilmington, NC and then who knows since there's the possibility of a large system forming further north that could push storm away. I like Den's advice....roll with it and stay friends with the bartenders! Have a good cruise....and now we've got to get busy preparing.

It was a wonderful experience and goodwill from RCI. As they were loading supplies for our cruise they were offloading supplies that they had picked up in Barbados. In addition , AA was not charging for extra bags and serving lunch to everyone for free. They had been doing it since they resumed flying after Maria because they were bringing a lot of evacuees to the mainland

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The fly in the ointment for mimbar is Charlottle is a big AA hub so storm in the Carolinas could disrupt travel through that hub but at this point PHL looks to be in the clear and there is no way to tell now where that aircraft you need next week is really coming from.

 

Hcat, SW does not have a big presence in the Carolinas so hopefully your NY to BWI to south Florida will be safe.

Lost my post..starting over,,

We could not change SW flights...the last 2 affordable seats with ok upcharges went fast... most flts to anyplace in Fl from here are fully booked or not open for res at this time

If we get out of Islip 6 am Fri...we can hang out in Baltimore if we need to as long as they dont dump us there as they have in the past. If they cancel it all we get credit for future flights..that'd be ok too. We are not meeting a cruise ship...just a wellness check on grandma and checking our place,

Suggest everyone start checking airline websites.. SW lists airports that may be impacted.,so far ISP Baltimore and Ft Myers are not listed,,,others are listed already

Anyine planning to drive should leave soon as they can.. I 95 may impacted or closed,

Safe travels to all...

Good advice on anyone thinking about driving. It is good alternate until you realize you are driving right into that weather. I got stuck in Nashville for 3 days during hurricane Sandy. My plan B was to rent a car and drive back to NJ and it was a fine idea until I saw the storm spinoff dumping a foot of snow in the mountains I had to cross on both routes I had mapped out. So I sat and sat...

Hcat, the path looks clear for now, hope it stays that way for you and I hope the rest of these storms do not effect you. One good thing about doing winters in the western desert, I don't have to sweat hurricanes.

Just an FYI, Royal has always offered great deals for locals on the the Adventure. They have sailed the Adventure out on Saturday and then a smaller ship on Sunday for years and if the trips did not sell well, they just loaded up with locals. Glad they could do it after the hurricane because I am sure it helped people on the island and I know they also used the ships to help bring in relief supplies as they returned.

We double sweat out hurricanes ..we have homes in NY.. ( Sandy) and Fl ( Charley) ...and had to worry about a few cruises too...

key for us is preparation, situational awareness and patience .....can,t really change the weather itself.

We,ll follow the storm predictions closely...we can always book a back up hotel in Balto if we think SW will dump us there...we will pack alot of food too..at certain times that airport is a food desert!

Has anyone heard from their airlines or cruise lines about changes???

Being stuck in a strange city--yes, Baltimore is a strange city, I worked there for 14 years--is never fun. I am just glad we live between NYC and Philly and have a lot of non-stop options most of the time.

Plan B is a must and I always have it waiting..sometimes there is even a Plan C and D. I think with Sandy I was down to Plan F when I finally got back 4 days after the storm. Drove from Nashville to Cinci, flew Cincy to Dulles, drove from Dulles to home.....And that was my last road trip for work. I retired the next year and declined any travel until my exit date.

Can always rent a car and drive down if flights get canceled. We live in NJ and always know that if our flight gets canceled the day before, we could hop in a car and do the drive.

 

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Just rented a Toyota Camry for pickup in EWR on Thursday AM and drop off at MIA on Saturday at 1:00 PM for $85.00.

We'll fly home.

Just rented a Toyota Camry for pickup in EWR on Thursday AM and drop off at MIA on Saturday at 1:00 PM for $85.00.

We'll fly home.

If what you mean is you intend to take the return trip on your already booked plane ticket, you need to call your airline prior to the original trip to Florida that you are not taking. Some airlines will automatically cancel your return trip if you are a no show for the first trip . I'd also take a printed copy of your itinerary, because once an airline cancels a ticket, it disappears from your on-line account. If you originally booked two one way tickets, this doesn't apply to you. And here's a catch - if your outbound flight is eventually cancelled or is delayed a few hours, your airline should refund that segment. But if you cancel before they do, you won't get anything. That's a lot to juggle, and getting through to an airline during irregular operations can take hours. Sorry this is complicated, hope it is useful. Good luck, travel safe.

Lost my post..starting over,,

 

We could not change SW flights...the last 2 affordable seats with ok upcharges went fast... most flts to anyplace in Fl from here are fully booked or not open for res at this time

 

If we get out of Islip 6 am Fri...we can hang out in Baltimore if we need to as long as they dont dump us there as they have in the past. If they cancel it all we get credit for future flights..that'd be ok too. We are not meeting a cruise ship...just a wellness check on grandma and checking our place,

 

Suggest everyone start checking airline websites.. SW lists airports that may be impacted.,so far ISP Baltimore and Ft Myers are not listed,,,others are listed already

 

Anyine planning to drive should leave soon as they can.. I 95 may impacted or closed,

 

Safe travels to all...

We’re scheduled to drive to Florida starting Thurs and arriving Sat. For a two week land vacation. I’m close enough to 81 so I can use that if necessary, just going to see what happens.

If what you mean is you intend to take the return trip on your already booked plane ticket, you need to call your airline prior to the original trip to Florida that you are not taking. Some airlines will automatically cancel your return trip if you are a no show for the first trip . I'd also take a printed copy of your itinerary, because once an airline cancels a ticket, it disappears from your on-line account. If you originally booked two one way tickets, this doesn't apply to you. And here's a catch - if your outbound flight is eventually cancelled or is delayed a few hours, your airline should refund that segment. But if you cancel before they do, you won't get anything. That's a lot to juggle, and getting through to an airline during irregular operations can take hours. Sorry this is complicated, hope it is useful. Good luck, travel safe.

Thank you - I should have mentioned I am airline personnel, so all the changes revenue passengers will be making limit our options. So, we'll hop in the car and make it an adventure and hope that the return is more orderly, with no storms on the horizon.

(yn)(yn)

Thank you - I should have mentioned I am airline personnel, so all the changes revenue passengers will be making limit our options. So, we'll hop in the car and make it an adventure and hope that the return is more orderly, with no storms on the horizon.

(yn)(yn)

You may be already planning on this but make any motel reservations ASAP. From what we are hearing in NC, I-95 will be really dangerous on Thursday and Friday with hurricane gusts and torrential rain going inland to Raleigh (west of I-95) and even farther. I-81 might be a better route. There will be major evacuations from the coast and motels towards the mountains of NC will fill quickly as they have previously. Good luck!

Thank you - I should have mentioned I am airline personnel, so all the changes revenue passengers will be making limit our options. So, we'll hop in the car and make it an adventure and hope that the return is more orderly, with no storms on the horizon.

(yn)(yn)

Sorry, I missed your “two flyers” user name. Have a good trip.

We’re scheduled to drive to Florida starting Thurs and arriving Sat. For a two week land vacation. I’m close enough to 81 so I can use that if necessary, just going to see what happens.

Hi Don...

I'd suggest you leave on Wed if that is possible, Recent Weather Channel info said impacts will start Wed night...Better to be well past the potential impact zone...as forecasts are still fluid.

After driving many trips to and from Fla, we gave it up last year and bought a car down in Fla. Roads are more crowded and dangerous these days & it seems trucks don't see cars very well, We had one or two scary moments, plus driving through storms,,,rain and snow, diverted for floods, fires, accidents... We just said "no mas"!

Hope you and others who are driving have a safe and pleasant trip

Being stuck in a strange city--yes, Baltimore is a strange city, I worked there for 14 years--is never fun. I am just glad we live between NYC and Philly and have a lot of non-stop options most of the time.

 

Plan B is a must and I always have it waiting..sometimes there is even a Plan C and D. I think with Sandy I was down to Plan F when I finally got back 4 days after the storm. Drove from Nashville to Cinci, flew Cincy to Dulles, drove from Dulles to home.....And that was my last road trip for work. I retired the next year and declined any travel until my exit date.

We were abandoned once at 11 pm in Balto....not alot of cash with us and our Easy Pass at home, luckily the ATM worked , Very long bus ride to get a rental car but our rental car company did great for us with a beautiful SUV,, Drove home through the night,..had work that morning.

More recently, our "easy" transfer crapped out and we could not take off at Balto...they made us wait about 5 hrs for another plane from somewhere.,,even tho Balt is their hub with tons of planes on the ground,,

Bars and food shut down around 10 there...ghost town!

No non stops to Islip from Ft Myers...bummer!

Hi Don...

I'd suggest you leave on Wed if that is possible, Recent Weather Channel info said impacts will start Wed night...Better to be well past the potential impact zone...as forecasts are still fluid.

 

After driving many trips to and from Fla, we gave it up last year and bought a car down in Fla. Roads are more crowded and dangerous these days & it seems trucks don't see cars very well, We had one or two scary moments, plus driving through storms,,,rain and snow, diverted for floods, fires, accidents... We just said "no mas"!

 

Hope you and others who are driving have a safe and pleasant trip

We decided to actually leave Tuesday, nice being retired and able to go when we want. There are four of us going, when wife and I go we fly. Son and I did Auto Train last year and that was fun but we have dog with us, they don’t do dogs.