Hurricane Irma Watch

Just got a text Empress of the Seas September 9th has been cancelled

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RC allowing people to rebook at this stage is more than they were doing for Liberty. Nobody should have traveled anywhere at this point, so nobody should be out any traveling expenses.

Newest from Royal:

NEW: For guests on the current sailings of Oasis, Harmony and Allure of the Seas, we have decided to delay the return of these ships until the storm has passed. Due to the unpredictability of the storm, we plan to keep all of our guests currently sailing on these ships safely out of harm’s way.

The following sailings are departing as scheduled:

Adventure of the Seas: September 9 Southern Caribbean cruise

Grandeur of the Seas: September 7 New England/Canada cruise

Liberty of the Seas: September 10 Western Caribbean cruise

Serenade of the Seas: September 10 New England/Canada cruise

Vision of the Seas: September 7 New England/Canada cruise

The following sailings are canceled:

NEW: Empress of the Seas: September 9 Cuba cruise

Enchantment of the Seas: September 8 Bahamas cruise

Majesty of the Seas: September 8 Bahamas cruise

We are very sorry for the impact this storm has had on your vacation and please know that we made the decision with the safety and comfort of our guests and crew in mind. The cruise fare and fees will be 100% refunded to the original form of payment, and we are also offering a 25% future cruise credit, based on the cruise fare, if a new cruise is booked in the next 30 days. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call 1-800-256-6649.

NEW: The following sailings are being modified:

Allure of the Seas: September 10 Western Caribbean cruise The new departure date will be on Wednesday, 9/13 and we will sail a 4-night itinerary to Nassau, Bahamas. We know this change is disappointing, and we are truly sorry for the storm’s impact on your vacation. Should you choose to sail with us we will provide you with a refund of 50% of your cruise fare paid in the form of a refundable onboard credit, and an additional 50% future cruise credit. If you are unable to travel and need to cancel next week’s cruise, we will provide you with a 100% future cruise credit. Pre-booked shore excursions will be refunded to your original form of payment, and you will have the ability to book excursions in our new port of call once onboard.

Harmony of the Seas: September 9 Eastern Caribbean cruise The new departure date will be on Tuesday, 9/12 and we will sail a 4-night itinerary to Cozumel, Mexico. We know this change is disappointing, and we are truly sorry. Should you choose to sail with us we will provide you with a refund of 50% of your cruise fare paid in the form of a refundable onboard credit, and an additional 50% future cruise credit. If you are unable to travel and need to cancel next week’s cruise, we will provide you with a 100% future cruise credit. Pre-booked shore excursions will be refunded to your original form of payment, and you will have the ability to book excursions in our new port of call once onboard.

Oasis of the Seas: September 10 Eastern Caribbean cruise The new departure date will now be on Tuesday, 9/12 and we will sail a 5-night itinerary to Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico. We know this change is disappointing, and we are truly sorry. Should you choose to sail with us we will provide you with a refund of 30% of your cruise fare paid in the form of a refundable onboard credit, and an additional 50% future cruise credit. If you are unable to travel and need to cancel next week’s cruise, we will provide you with a 100% future cruise credit. Pre-booked shore excursions will be refunded to your original form of payment, and you will have the ability to book excursions in our new ports of call once onboard.

The following sailing is still being evaluated and we will provide further details in our 11 AM EDT update:

Anthem of the Seas: September 9 Bermuda cruise

For all guests currently sailing with us, the Captain and team onboard will be providing you specific updates at 1 pm and 615 pm daily, and of course will update you immediately if anything changes. Should we need to make additional itinerary changes or cancel an additional sailing to avoid the storm, we will reach out to guests directly, as well as update our website and social media feeds immediately. Please know that the safety and comfort of our guests are our top priority and we will continue to provide regular updates throughout the week. For more frequent updates, please follow our meteorologist on Twitter @JamesVanFleet or visit the Royal Caribbean Facebook page.

From RC's Facebook:

"NEW: The following sailings are being modified:

Allure of the Seas: September 10 Western Caribbean cruise

The new departure date will be on Wednesday, 9/13 and we will sail a 4-night itinerary to Nassau, Bahamas. We know this change is disappointing, and we are truly sorry for the storm’s impact on your vacation. Should you choose to sail with us we will provide you with a refund of 50% of your cruise fare paid in the form of a refundable onboard credit, and an additional 50% future cruise credit"

50% off of a cruise that's 1/2 of the cruise that it was suppose to be... not sure I would take it if I was on that sailing.

From RC's Facebook:

 

"NEW: The following sailings are being modified:

Allure of the Seas: September 10 Western Caribbean cruise

The new departure date will be on Wednesday, 9/13 and we will sail a 4-night itinerary to Nassau, Bahamas. We know this change is disappointing, and we are truly sorry for the storm’s impact on your vacation. Should you choose to sail with us we will provide you with a refund of 50% of your cruise fare paid in the form of a refundable onboard credit, and an additional 50% future cruise credit"

50% off of a cruise that's 1/2 of the cruise that it was suppose to be... not sure I would take it if I was on that sailing.

What is "refundable" onboard credit?

RC allowing people to rebook at this stage is more than they were doing for Liberty. Nobody should have traveled anywhere at this point, so nobody should be out any traveling expenses.

They are not allowing to rebook at this point, I just tried. Anita said that they can't do it till the morning

What is "refundable" onboard credit?

You get it back in cash/credit if you don't spend it on the ship.

These offers seem kinda weak. I'd probs cancel and try to reschedule with the 100% and/or open full refund becomes an option. But at least people are essentially getting all their money back.

What is "refundable" onboard credit?

They will add 50% of what you paid for to your onboard credit when you go on the ship. You can use some, all, or none of it. Whatever isn't used will go to your credit card.

You get it back in cash/credit if you don't spend it on the ship.

 

These offers seem kinda weak. I'd probs cancel and try to reschedule with the 100% and/or open full refund becomes an option. But at least people are essentially getting all their money back.

Yeah and with a tropical storm on the way following Irma... and who knows how badly Ft. Lauderdale will be affected... maybe people who are more local will be willing to give it a try. It's a little easier to "play it by ear" if you are driveable distance. I know a lot of airlines are waiving change fees, wondering if you are restricted in what day you are allowed to change it to.

Hurricane Irma Update | Sept 5, 11pm:

We are closely monitoring Hurricane Irma’s path and its potential impact to our current and upcoming sailings. Our Chief Meteorologist, James Van Fleet, is closely tracking the storm’s progress, and the current forecast is as follows:

Hurricane Irma is a category 5 hurricane with sustained winds around the center at 185 mph and is currently located about 210 miles east of Antigua. The storm continues its westerly track at 15 mph. While it is difficult to predict the path of the storm at this time, it is likely that Irma will impact Florida at some point this weekend.

In an effort to give you advance notice of any changes while also taking into account the most accurate forecast information, we will be providing updates on any impacted sailings no later than 2 days in advance of departure.

**NEW: For guests on the current sailings of Oasis, Harmony and Allure of the Seas, we have decided to delay the return of these ships until the storm has passed. Due to the unpredictability of the storm, we plan to keep all of our guests currently sailing on these ships safely out of harm’s way.

The following sailings are departing as scheduled:

Adventure of the Seas: September 9 Southern Caribbean cruise

Grandeur of the Seas: September 7 New England/Canada cruise

Liberty of the Seas: September 10 Western Caribbean cruise

Serenade of the Seas: September 10 New England/Canada cruise

Vision of the Seas: September 7 New England/Canada cruise

The following sailings are canceled:

**NEW: Empress of the Seas: September 9 Cuba cruise

Enchantment of the Seas: September 8 Bahamas cruise

Majesty of the Seas: September 8 Bahamas cruise

We are very sorry for the impact this storm has had on your vacation and please know that we made the decision with the safety and comfort of our guests and crew in mind. The cruise fare and fees will be 100% refunded to the original form of payment, and we are also offering a 25% future cruise credit, based on the cruise fare, if a new cruise is booked in the next 30 days. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call 1-800-256-6649.

**NEW: The following sailings are being modified:

Allure of the Seas: September 10 Western Caribbean cruise

The new departure date will be on Wednesday, 9/13 and we will sail a 4-night itinerary to Nassau, Bahamas. We know this change is disappointing, and we are truly sorry for the storm’s impact on your vacation. Should you choose to sail with us we will provide you with a refund of 50% of your cruise fare paid in the form of a refundable onboard credit, and an additional 50% future cruise credit.

-If you are unable to travel and need to cancel next week’s cruise, we will provide you with a 100% future cruise credit. Pre-booked shore excursions will be refunded to your original form of payment, and you will have the ability to book excursions in our new port of call once onboard.

Harmony of the Seas: September 9 Eastern Caribbean cruise

The new departure date will be on Tuesday, 9/12 and we will sail a 4-night itinerary to Cozumel, Mexico. We know this change is disappointing, and we are truly sorry. Should you choose to sail with us we will provide you with a refund of 50% of your cruise fare paid in the form of a refundable onboard credit, and an additional 50% future cruise credit.

-If you are unable to travel and need to cancel next week’s cruise, we will provide you with a 100% future cruise credit. Pre-booked shore excursions will be refunded to your original form of payment, and you will have the ability to book excursions in our new port of call once onboard.

Oasis of the Seas: September 10 Eastern Caribbean cruise

The new departure date will now be on Tuesday, 9/12 and we will sail a 5-night itinerary to Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico. We know this change is disappointing, and we are truly sorry. Should you choose to sail with us we will provide you with a refund of 30% of your cruise fare paid in the form of a refundable onboard credit, and an additional 50% future cruise credit.

-If you are unable to travel and need to cancel next week’s cruise, we will provide you with a 100% future cruise credit. Pre-booked shore excursions will be refunded to your original form of payment, and you will have the ability to book excursions in our new ports of call once onboard.

The following sailing is still being evaluated and we will provide further details in our 11 AM EDT update:

Anthem of the Seas: September 9 Bermuda cruise

For all guests currently sailing with us, the Captain and team onboard will be providing you specific updates at 1 pm and 615 pm daily, and of course will update you immediately if anything changes.

Should we need to make additional itinerary changes or cancel an additional sailing to avoid the storm, we will reach out to guests directly, as well as update our website and social media feeds immediately. Please know that the safety and comfort of our guests are our top priority and we will continue to provide regular updates throughout the week.

For more frequent updates, please follow our meteorologist on Twitter @JamesVanFleet or visit our Facebook page.

Exactly my point. Were you here for my live forecasting of Harvey? No? Guess what? I was right. He was wrong, and I am simply a weather enthusiast.

 

You should be nice to me. I was super helpful on this board.

Hey there spleenstomper. I stopped looking at the weather channel because I got tired of the drama. I've been on my roll call for the September 10th sailing on Allure and MORE drama. Yes, it's BIG and right now it's a big ol' 5, but after raking the Antilles, Hispanoila, PR, Cuba etc it should calm down a bit. It's a fast moving storm, not a slow drowning drencher like Harvey so WHY are they canceling 7 day cruises?? If Allure can't disembark passengers on Sunday as scheduled, but could do it on Monday instead, why cancel a cruise ?? Why is everyone in PMS mode ?

I'm flying in to FLL on Friday, before the airports close. I'm bringing those battery powered tea lights, battery chargers for our phones, snacks galore and the latest Mitch Rapp book with a battery powered book light. i'm not being cavalier about this hurricane. I went through horrific tornados in WI , lived in Tampa for 7 years and my husband and I were chased from Miami and across Alligator Alley by Andrew. It was a memorable honeymoon that we still talk about 25 years later !

Why wouldn't Allure sail on Monday afternoon after the storm has passed ? Am I missing something ?? It sounds like if I am truly being a bit of a cheddar head, you would be the person to point it out. I just figured that it would be better to go a day earlier than to travel on Saturday and have FLL airport close in my face as I layover in Atlanta - thereby stranding us for 1-2 days before the airport opens again in FLL. And if Irma goes up the middle of FL, right up into Atlanta, well then I can spend yet another night in the Atlanta airport.

Can you, or can't you, wait out a hurricane - even a category 4 - in a hotel room ? Anybody ?? Real question, definitely not sarcasm, so please don't take it that way. I'm a feisty old broad but not mean !

They will add 50% of what you paid for to your onboard credit when you go on the ship. You can use some, all, or none of it. Whatever isn't used will go to your credit card.

Thanks. This is basically a free 4-night cruise. You get 50% credit now and 50% on next cruise.

They will add 50% of what you paid for to your onboard credit when you go on the ship. You can use some, all, or none of it. Whatever isn't used will go to your credit card.

And what if we want a full 100% refund? I mean this was a high priced cruise so they are charging $1,000 just for a 4 day to Cozumel? Seems super high, then what happens to $70 cost from classic soda package, that would be a lot less if on 4 day?

Then there's the issue of getting a new flight booked if there are any now at this rate!

I shared his Harvey Periscopes and he did a review of Irma tonight which I shared on Twitter. I have a great respect for Jeff and have been following him on Periscope for almost three years. He also chases tornadoes and that gets pretty crazy.

My Bloomsky camera is up and running.

Not sure if Laura will let us stay in the condo so I can scope again

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And what if we want a full 100% refund? I mean this was a high priced cruise so they are charging $1,000 just for a 4 day to Cozumel? Seems super high, then what happens to $70 cost from classic soda package, that would be a lot less if on 4 day?

Then there's the issue of getting a new flight booked if there are any now at this rate!

You can get your 100% refund but it will a future cruise credit, not an actual refund. If you take the 4 day, you are getting half of your money back (assuming you don't spend any of the OBC) and the other half as a future cruise credit. That makes the 4 day cruise essentially free, if you don't spend the OBC.

If you have a beverage package, they will refund you the days that the ship isn't sailing now.

Most, if not all airlines are offering free flight changes.

Hey there spleenstomper. I stopped looking at the weather channel because I got tired of the drama. I've been on my roll call for the September 10th sailing on Allure and MORE drama. Yes, it's BIG and right now it's a big ol' 5, but after raking the Antilles, Hispanoila, PR, Cuba etc it should calm down a bit. It's a fast moving storm, not a slow drowning drencher like Harvey so WHY are they canceling 7 day cruises?? If Allure can't disembark passengers on Sunday as scheduled, but could do it on Monday instead, why cancel a cruise ?? Why is everyone in PMS mode ?

 

I'm flying in to FLL on Friday, before the airports close. I'm bringing those battery powered tea lights, battery chargers for our phones, snacks galore and the latest Mitch Rapp book with a battery powered book light. i'm not being cavalier about this hurricane. I went through horrific tornados in WI , lived in Tampa for 7 years and my husband and I were chased from Miami and across Alligator Alley by Andrew. It was a memorable honeymoon that we still talk about 25 years later !

 

Why wouldn't Allure sail on Monday afternoon after the storm has passed ? Am I missing something ?? It sounds like if I am truly being a bit of a cheddar head, you would be the person to point it out. I just figured that it would be better to go a day earlier than to travel on Saturday and have FLL airport close in my face as I layover in Atlanta - thereby stranding us for 1-2 days before the airport opens again in FLL. And if Irma goes up the middle of FL, right up into Atlanta, well then I can spend yet another night in the Atlanta airport.

 

Can you, or can't you, wait out a hurricane - even a category 4 - in a hotel room ? Anybody ?? Real question, definitely not sarcasm, so please don't take it that way. I'm a feisty old broad but not mean !

Put it this way, people I know who stayed in the New Orleans area when Katrina hit (as a category 3) said they thought they were going to die and would never do that again. It is possible this hurricane could see 200 mph winds. These islands will be obliterated tomorrow. Nothing survives a category 5. Bark will be peeled from trees. It is basically a F5 super wide tornado.

A 4 is not much more relief. A 5 starts with winds at 157 (iirc) mph and there is no category 6. This one has winds of 185 mph right now. Even with some land interaction, it is still going to be a powerful storm when it exits into the warm Gulf of Mexico waters. (Unless a miracle happens).

This is very very bad. The best case scenario would be that somehow it goes out to sea.

And what if we want a full 100% refund? I mean this was a high priced cruise so they are charging $1,000 just for a 4 day to Cozumel? Seems super high, then what happens to $70 cost from classic soda package, that would be a lot less if on 4 day?

Then there's the issue of getting a new flight booked if there are any now at this rate!

You get 50% now and 50% on a future cruise. Your expensive Cozumel cruise is basically free. You just really like to complain irrationally, don't you?

And what if we want a full 100% refund? I mean this was a high priced cruise so they are charging $1,000 just for a 4 day to Cozumel? Seems super high, then what happens to $70 cost from classic soda package, that would be a lot less if on 4 day?

Then there's the issue of getting a new flight booked if there are any now at this rate!

The safest bet is just to accept the 100% cruise credit and reschedule, IMO. Most airlines at this point are allowing people to rebook with no fees, so if it were me I'd call the airline, see what restrictions they have on rebooking and go from there. Who knows what is going to happen in the upcoming week? If you're not local, don't risk it. :-/

St. Martin radio taking calls from locals: http://radio.garden/live/philipsburg/tropixx-105-5-fm/

00Z GFS is rolling out now.

There was some speculation online that the 18Z run initialized poorly and that this run would likely be more in line with the Euro model.

We'll know soon.

You get 50% now and 50% on a future cruise. Your expensive Cozumel cruise is basically free. You just really like to complain irrationally, don't you?

Plus the ship won't be full. Two deck chairs for every passenger.

If I lived within driving distance I'd be taking the 4 day option for sure! If I was flying I think I'd probably take the 100% and not spend the next week worrying what might happen.

Hurricane Irma Update | Sept 5, 11pm:

I would also take the full credit & rebook. Don't forget that Jose is now following Irma out in the Atlantic. Who knows what it might be doing this time next week. This really is a pretty good deal, considering it's 4-5 days out from departure dates on all these cruises & still no one knows for certain where this storm is going to go exactly. It's definitely disappointing to have vacation plans ruined. But, cruise lines can't control the weather. And they certainly can't put the safety of the passengers on board at risk. They are definitely handling this much better than Galveston & Harvey.

Put it this way, people I know who stayed in the New Orleans area when Katrina hit (as a category 3) said they thought they were going to die and would never do that again. It is possible this hurricane could see 200 mph winds. These islands will be obliterated tomorrow. Nothing survives a category 5. Bark will be peeled from trees. It is basically a F5 super wide tornado.

 

A 4 is not much more relief. A 5 starts with winds at 157 (iirc) mph and there is no category 6. This one has winds of 185 mph right now. Even with some land interaction, it is still going to be a powerful storm when it exits into the warm Gulf of Mexico waters. (Unless a miracle happens).

 

This is very very bad. The best case scenario would be that somehow it goes out to sea.

Your basic point is right. This is a big storm and it is foolish to even contemplate going TO a hurricane. The only people who should be thinking about heading toward FL between now and the middle of next week are emergency personnel.

That said, an F5 tornado has estimated winds of 260 to 320mph. That's a different critter than even this hurricane right in the eyewall. In terms of just wind velocity, this storm will come ashore in the F3 to high F2 range in terms of equivalent wind velocity. But that's still more than enough to wreck your house and your day.