Fantasy skipping Jamaica due to Beryl

[elsawasajedi]

I would be interested in hearing from folks on the cruise - are you still stopping in Cayman? Are you sailing back around the western side of Cuba instead of East? how rocky is the ship?

 

[elsawasajedi]

and also sorry to the folks this is happening to :/

 

[Anthony Vito]

First concern is obviously those in the storm’s path.

I’m curious about what the ship’s doing, and when they announce it - we’re trying to find info since we’re doing the same cruise in August. We’re just wondering how soon they decide it and when they announce it. Apparently this storm more quickly than normal, so I wonder if they would’ve changed the itinerary for the week had this been predicted a few days sooner.

Last year we did the Fantasy Eastern in later August, and due to a hurricane that was going to western Caribbean, they changed the cruise the week after ours from a Western to an Eastern Caribbean at the last minute.

Also, to make it clear, we know this is always a possibility and they make changes to keep everyone safe (and we feel the ship shouldn’t be stopping in ports too soon before a storm, even if it’s safe, if the residents there are preparing for the storm, that should be their focus, not a cruise ship arriving). We just want to see how each storm is handled to get an idea of some of the possibilities for how it’s handled.

 

[OKW Lover]

I'm wondering if they will make their GC port call tomorrow. I'm sure the captain is watching closely.

 

[elsawasajedi]

First concern is obviously those in the storm’s path.

I’m curious about what the ship’s doing, and when they announce it - we’re trying to find info since we’re doing the same cruise in August. We’re just wondering how soon they decide it and when they announce it. Apparently this storm more quickly than normal, so I wonder if they would’ve changed the itinerary for the week had this been predicted a few days sooner.

Last year we did the Fantasy Eastern in later August, and due to a hurricane that was going to western Caribbean, they changed the cruise the week after ours from a Western to an Eastern Caribbean at the last minute.

Also, to make it clear, we know this is always a possibility and they make changes to keep everyone safe (and we feel the ship shouldn’t be stopping in ports too soon before a storm, even if it’s safe, if the residents there are preparing for the storm, that should be their focus, not a cruise ship arriving). We just want to see how each storm is handled to get an idea of some of the possibilities for how it’s handled.

yep I know it's always possible just had some questions for folks on board.

the cruise out of nyc before ours last yr was changed from bermuda to Canada due to hurricane - just one of the things you have to accept that nothing is ever guaranteed.

I'm just hoping they are doing a 180 and not attempting to sail east and want to know what the water is like

 

[sheilafri]

First concern is obviously those in the storm’s path.

I’m curious about what the ship’s doing, and when they announce it - we’re trying to find info since we’re doing the same cruise in August. We’re just wondering how soon they decide it and when they announce it. Apparently this storm more quickly than normal, so I wonder if they would’ve changed the itinerary for the week had this been predicted a few days sooner.

Last year we did the Fantasy Eastern in later August, and due to a hurricane that was going to western Caribbean, they changed the cruise the week after ours from a Western to an Eastern Caribbean at the last minute.

Also, to make it clear, we know this is always a possibility and they make changes to keep everyone safe (and we feel the ship shouldn’t be stopping in ports too soon before a storm, even if it’s safe, if the residents there are preparing for the storm, that should be their focus, not a cruise ship arriving). We just want to see how each storm is handled to get an idea of some of the possibilities for how it’s handled.

DIL used to model weather and other catastrophic events for insurance. She said models are pretty good at predicting the likely path of a storm but not as good at predicting when and to what extent they will gain intensity. FWIW

 

[yowcruiser]

I'm just hoping they are doing a 180 and not attempting to sail east and want to know what the water is like

Given the now issued advisory for the south coast of Haiti and the Dominican Republic... and the sea forecast for the area... this would appear to be the smart thing to do... I sense there might also be a last minute decision made about Grand Cayman... or maybe a shortened stay. The sea is expected to remain calm around Grand Cayman up until Wednesday though

 

[RedHead0186]

First concern is obviously those in the storm’s path.

I’m curious about what the ship’s doing, and when they announce it - we’re trying to find info since we’re doing the same cruise in August. We’re just wondering how soon they decide it and when they announce it. Apparently this storm more quickly than normal, so I wonder if they would’ve changed the itinerary for the week had this been predicted a few days sooner.

Last year we did the Fantasy Eastern in later August, and due to a hurricane that was going to western Caribbean, they changed the cruise the week after ours from a Western to an Eastern Caribbean at the last minute.

Also, to make it clear, we know this is always a possibility and they make changes to keep everyone safe (and we feel the ship shouldn’t be stopping in ports too soon before a storm, even if it’s safe, if the residents there are preparing for the storm, that should be their focus, not a cruise ship arriving). We just want to see how each storm is handled to get an idea of some of the possibilities for how it’s handled.

In my experience, if they can make the call before the affected sailing leaves, they do. Letting people know before they get onboard leads to greater guest flexibility. However, sometimes they don't have enough notice, or things shift, so sometimes it's a day or two beforehand, sometimes when you're already sailing.

Each circumstance is different. So I'm not sure that seeing how one storm (Beryl) is handled is going to give any indication of how future storms may be handled. DCL seems in general to try to give as much notice as they can without overly disrupting guest experience. It's a fine line, for sure.

 

[schepp]

Several years ago we were stopped at a port when a storm spun up fast like Hurricane Beryl and the port started closing. The ship sent crew on the island to round up all of the passengers and we left in a big hurry to get out of the path. If islands are under hurricane warnings they normally close the cruise ports to allow the population to prepare.

 

[Anthony Vito]

Obviously I'm not watching what's going on in the anticipation that it would predict anything for a future storm nor could actions taken for this cruise be relied upon in any way for a future cruise that encounters severe weather or any other potential issue. I was pointing out why it was of interest to us when it feels insensitive to be that concerned about what a single cruise ship is doing when there's a Category 4 hurricane heading for these islands (I'm also aware the models, fortunately, have it losing strength once it enters the Caribbean).

What I do find useful from prior instances is seeing what options could even be on possible. Knowing that they can choose to just flip to their other regular itinerary is something useful to know. That may not happen often, but at least being aware of such a possibility is a good thing.

For example, should they skip both Cayman and Jamaica (perfectly reasonable under the circumstances), what do they do with the extra 2 days now? Go very slowly at some point and just have 3 days in a row at sea? More intriguing, for instance, is whether they are able, and would even consider, using the fact that they now have 2 private islands in the Bahamas. Could they stop at Lookout Cay now with one of those days? Would they go to Castaway two days in a row? Whether these are ever even options is unknown, and even if they are options, that doesn't mean it is always the case, but the only way to realistically know if it's ever a possibility is if they take such an action at some point.

 

[JM_97]

I saw where they're still going to Grand Cayman. The only missed port is Falmouth.

 

[Dug720]

Go very slowly at some point and just have 3 days in a row at sea?

If they are skipping ports due to an impending storm, they are not going to "go very slowly". They'll go pretty quick out of the way - but yes, odds are it would be 3 days at sea.

Could they stop at Lookout Cay now with one of those days? Would they go to Castaway two days in a row?

This would depend on a couple of things. Is there another ship scheduled there? Could the locals who work on the island and/or do excursions cover their shifts? I'd imagine that the Disney crew who live on the island are required to have some time off - and they probably have other things scheduled that they are working on on the island (beach and cabana and equipment upkeep, etc.). Also, the ship may not have the provisions for the meals at Castaway or Lookout if they weren't scheduled for that extra day. They'll have *food* but it may require people to go back to the ship for lunch due to what food they have. So it's not necessarily as simple as "Hey, we have this space, let's go there."

 

[elsawasajedi]

they aren't stopping at castaway an extra day - it's just an extra day at sea per the twitter account of the dclblog guy.

 

[elsawasajedi]

I saw where they're still going to Grand Cayman. The only missed port is Falmouth.

yeah that's why I'm curious as to how the ocean is.

they will be fine if they sail back around west but the ocean will still be rougher than normal ahead of the storm

 

[JM_97]

yeah that's why I'm curious as to how the ocean is.

they will be fine if they sail back around west but the ocean will still be rougher than normal ahead of the storm

My guess is that they get back to the Bahamas and then just kill time out there.

 

[Husker Mike]

Well, a week late...but here's the first hand account.

Several of us started discussing (on a group at the not-to-be-mentioned other place) the storms mid-week as they started to form. (There also was 94L, which soaked Cayman over the weekend before moving into the Gulf.) By Thursday, it seemed pretty obvious something was going to happen and by Friday night, the NHC gave their official forecast that it was going to be a category 3 when it hit Jamaica. The online discussions got a bit heated because some people didn't want to distract from their magical cruise, while others were wanting to adjust any non-DCL excursions. One guy even called DCL and was told "no changes". (Which some of us laughed at, like the famous "bug-out" episode of M*A*S*H. Everything is on as planned...until suddenly it's not.)

I "did my own research" and saw that once, they flipped the order of stops, going to Jamaica first and then finishing up in Cozumel. To me, that was the best idea, other than turning this into a Lighthouse/Castaway Triple-Dip.

Nothing was said on Saturday, and on Sunday morning, I can see that from the room TV that we're going between the Florida Keys and Cuba, so we were definitely heading to Cozumel. At noon, the captain came on and announced we were going to skip Falmouth. (Pretty obvious since Friday that Falmouth on Wednesday was not going to happen.)

I kept hoping that we'd hear something else about what we'd do after Cayman, but nothing was said. Wednesday morning, I noticed we were still west of Cuba only going about 10 knots, so it became clear that the captain was out for a slow cruise to get us to Castaway by Friday, not Thursday.

The seas were pretty gentle, and the weather was good. You could see some storm clouds well to the south on Wednesday afternoon, which I'd take as Beryl. No effects on the cruise. We got to the Bahamas late Thursday evening in time for 4th of July fireworks, and arrived at Castaway Friday morning.

We haven't seen whether we'll get a refund for our Jamaica port taxes/fees. But the worst part of the cruise is that, based on the cruise group posts, about 1/3 of the people on board came down with COVID...mostly on Friday and Saturday.