Hurricane Jeanne Information and Questions

[Host Mike]

I take down one hurricane thread, and start another.

To keep all the information one place, please put all posts on the storm here.

This is the link to the graphics of the storm.

 

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ftp/graphics/AT11/refresh/AL1104W5+GIF/132158W5.gif

[gigsjh]

Any news on how this will efect cruises to Florida and the Bahamas.

[Single mom]

It is still a little early to tell how Jeanne will affect the bahamas. It is still over part of Hispanola, and it is only 70mph. With luck it will drop speed and fizzle out.

 

But rest assured for those of you that actually like this things number 12 has formed into a Tropical depression 35 mph winds moving 16mph.

 

At this point, everyone please remember that your vacation is for you to relax and not stress over the fact that is may take longer at the airport because parts are closed or longer to check in because some people aren't there as they have to take care of things at home. Beware when driving as gas is still an issue in Florida.

 

Just remember to SMILE, while it is your vacation, the person on the other side of the counter could have just lost everything, and a smile could brighten their day.

 

Good luck to everyone with cruises coming up. I understand the questions just not some of the attitudes. RCI has tried to do everything in their power to keep things as normal as possible.

 

Once again Good luck and safe journeys to everyone.

[flamingosun]

Well said, singleMom!

 

BTW - TD#12 is now Tropical Storm Karl. Most bets are on him never making a landfall, thank goodness.

 

Jeanne is dumping unneeded rainfall on Hispanola. Drifting W along their northern coast at 8mph. Mountain climbing is not a healthy activity for tropical systems.

Models are still forcasting Jeanne to make it at least to the central Bahamas, and three of the major models have her making a US landfall... as a Cat1.

[patrickc]

Just watching the weather & wondering where our 9/24 Grandeur of Seas cruise will take us! Luckily cruise prior to us will be heading back from Canada- so hoping we will still leave on time. I'm kinda excited to see where we go (unfortunately Freeport & CocoCay are off itinerary at this point)-- would love to see another port in place. Can't wait!

[GAPaige]

Hi from a newbie! This is my first post, but I've been reading for quite a while. I've learned so much from this site. We are leaving on Sept. 24th (Friday) on Sovereign out of Port Canaveral. I know we're not going to CocoCay and I guess we have to wait to see what's going to happen to Nassau. My question is, if they have to change the itenerary, where would be the most likely choice? We're were hoping maybe Key West? Am I correct that if we can still go to Nassau that the CocoCay day would just become a day at sea? Thanks!

[bananarama]

I was on the SOS sailing when Frances hit and RCI offered an extended cruise.. What they are currently doing is eliminating CocoCay from the Itinerary and adding an extra day for Nassau. for the 4 night cruise it will be 1 sea day and 2 nassau. if Nassau must be avoided then it will become a cruise to nowhere and remain at sea. We all hope to go to Key west too, but were told that it was not an option.

[flamingosun]

Hi, GAPaige!

 

DH and I will be on the 9/24 sailing of the Sovereign, too...

We would be perfectly happy to skip Nassau. But we will miss not getting to go to Coco Cay. It's quite lovely... sorry you won't get to see it.

 

Anyway, see you aboard!

[Single mom]

They are in the process of finishing up rebuilding the beaches and repairing structural damage to Coco Cay. They are still being very closed lips about when they will begin going there again. Although the gentleman I spoke with said it would be soon.

 

Good luck to everyone.

 

Remember to go with the flow and have a great time. Mother Nature is no one's fault.

[BSBRose21]

My first cruise is also on Sovereign 9/24. I am getting a little nervous about the new Hurricane Jeanne. Do you think it will be cancelled? Or just change the itinerary? We are flying into Orlando a day before and we have insurance in case anything does happen..still I'm pretty worried!

[flamingosun]

Don't think they will cancel.

 

Jeanne weakened considerably in her journey across Hispanola. In fact, she is now only a Tropical Depression, with winds of 35mph.

The forecast is for to regain some strength now that she is over water again, but probably NOT to regain hurricane strength... probably TS.

 

I was on the Sovereign once when we were sailing into 50 mph headwinds and 4-7' seas. It was a little rocky, but all in all not too bad. The Captain didn't make it to the Captains Reception that night.... He was 'busy' on the bridge, which was just where he needed to be at that time! Everyone agreed he did a marvelous job of steering his ship through some semi-wicked weather.

[curly4dana]

jeanne is currently falling apart!! whoo hoo!!! let's keep our fingers crossed that she doesn't regain strength and become anything more than some rain...

just go with the flow, is the right attitude...if you miss a port, oh well, you have another sea day. they do everything they can to make sure that the ships stay out of trouble and the passengers are safe, so don't sweat it!

just enjoy and think positive...we all work waaaay too hard to cruise to think any other way!

[JamesFic]

We're booked on the Jan 17 sailing of the Empress of the Seas to the southern caribbean. One of the ports is Grenada and considering that it was flattened by Ivan am wondering if anyone knows its status as a port now and in the forseeable future.

[zinman]

We were on Navigator during Frances. Seven day cruise turned into nine with seven of the days spent at sea. It was still great and kind of an adventure waiting each day for the updates as to where we were or were not going due to the hurricane's ever-changing path and speed. I have nothing but great things to say about how the situation was handled by Royal Caribbean, and we had a great time. If you have to be stuck somewhere during a hurricane, a luxury cruise ship is the place to be. We knew we were booking during hurricane season, so weren't upset by the missed ports. It's a good excuse to go again and redo the itinerary! Have fun wherever you end up!

[GAPaige]

Yikes! I'm getting worried again. I just checked the weather channel and it looks like Jeanne's headed over toward the Bahamas on Sat/Sun, then toward the Florida/Georgia/South Carolina coast on Sun/Mon. We are supposed to be in Nassau on Saturday, then day at sea (we're guessing as it's stil unannounced), then Port Canaveral on Monday. Do they usually announce itenerary changes well in advance? I've been watching RCI's tropical updates, but so far, nothing.

Anyone else on Sovereign on the 24th?

[frayedend]

You probably won't go to Coco Cay due to damage, their website says they missed that last time. Hopefully Jeanne will stay north/northeast and not effect ships leaving FL this weekend. It is moving slowly. I leave on Mariner on Sunday. A lot of posts said they did not announce itinerary changes until you were on the ship. Some people were mad about that, but I also heard it is up to the captain. You can be sure you won't go to badly damaged areas. But, you can't be sure where the hurricane will go and the Captain will have to make last minute decisions.

 

Have fun no matter where you go!

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

I take down one hurricane thread, and start another.

To keep all the information one place, please put all posts on the storm here.

This is the link to the graphics of the storm.

 

 

Thanks Mike for all your work on these storms....it seems to be almost a full time job this year! And the year isn't over by any means!

The weather channel said that the peak of the season has now passed, lets hope it will calm down.

 

 

***

[GAPaige]

Have fun no matter where you go!

 

Thank you! We fully intend to! I will be so happy just to get my feet on that ship. As long as we're on it and all together, I know we'll have a great time. I am the only one of our group of 4 who has cruised before (hubby, brother-in-law and his wife) and I can't wait to see how much the other 3 love it.

 

Go Away Jeanne!

[patrickc]

I s/w rccl.. our 9/24 cruise from bmore has a few replacements; nassau overnight instead of cococay & freeport.. kinda cool- get to go play at atlantis casino friday night (10/1!). but, now a little worried about getting down coast this weekend. packing a sweater in case they send us to nova scotia! have fun evone!

[flamingosun]

Jeanne is on the move again as a Hurricane w 100 mph winds.

 

Looks to me like anyone sailing out of Port Canaveral or to Nassau from anywhere between 9/24 and 9/27 should keep an eye on her.

 

... As of th 5 am advisory (9/23), according to some models, might want to add the port of Miami to that

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

Yep, Flamingosun, the models I've seen don't bode well for Miami sailings . . . such as mine. Sigh.

 

I hesitate to even ask such a selfish question, when sooooooo much more is at risk than just my honeymoon . . . but does anybody know if there are ports other than the Bahamas that we could visit on a 3-day cruise? (Majesty 9-24 sailing) Or are we likely to have a cruise to nowhere?

[iroyster]

jeanne is currently falling apart!! whoo hoo!!! let's keep our fingers crossed that she doesn't regain strength and become anything more than some rain...

 

What a difference a few days make!!!

[flamingosun]

FYI

 

The Port Authority for the Port of Canaveral has called a "Tennants Meeting" for 2:30 pm today with the Port Authority and the US Coast Guard.

Quote from the notice:

 

PORT CANAVERAL—11 a.m., September 23, 2004 – In preparation for the predicted landfall of Hurricane Jeanne this weekend in Brevard County, Port Authority and U.S. Coast Guard officials will discuss the evacuation of Port Canaveral with Port Tenants and the media

STAY TUNED to your information sources!

[Cruise Miriam]

Click here to see the RCI update -- http://www.royalcaribbean.com/pressroom/info.do;jsessionid=0000sbdiMAry8wjLespu5PAOdLz:v2mocc7o?prDate=09-22-2004&prCode=A&showHdrImg=F.

[ormon]

I'm on the Mariner right now, enjoying a hot day in St. Maartin. In case your wondering why I'm posting here now, I did the Amerca's Cup race this morning (highly reccomended) and am relaxing until my massage this afternoon, so I figured I'd let you know what the Captain is reporting about our trip concerning Jeanne.

 

Nothing is written in stone at this point because it's still a bit too early, but we will be taking a different route back to Florida than normal going by the north coast of Cuba. Right now if Jeanne stays on her current track it's a good possibility we'll be spending an extra day at sea because both Port Canaveral and Miami will be closed.

 

And that's all for now.

 

Matt