My fear about Hurricane Isabel.......

[coconutty]

Here's the 5 a.m. update, and it doesn't look good. If this doesn't change, Isabel looks to arrive around Port Canaveral about Friday or Saturday. I'm beginning to wonder not only about my cruise happening on Saturday (how would we disembark?) but about next week's too.

For reference, my house is due east of the top of Lake Okeechobee (that's the big lake in SE Fla.) Please pray for all the coastal residents. Funny how I've been so worried that something would interfere with fun on the cruise (rain on CC, kids will have colds, etc.) and now I don't really want to go because I'm worried about our home.

 

[Rippington'sFan]

I'll try to explain where castaway is from Dave's map. Look east of Miami (approx. Miami) and you will see a cluster of small Islands. There are 2 northern most Islands. Look at the one that is kind of shaped like a boomerang. LOL That's called Abaco Island. Castaway is about 7 miles west of the southern tip of Abaco Island. I hope I make sense.

 

[Rippington'sFan]

oops! I just saw Dave's updated picture that shows exactly where castaway is. I don't know how I missed it. Well now you know.

 

[newbycruiser]

yes, I would like to know where Castaway Cay is too, Dave, how about a dot where it is?

We leave on Sunday for our 4 day, I guess it's going to be a mystery cruise, I hope we get some beach time somewhere!

 

[coconutty]

Yikes! Please excuse my post for being so L A R G E!

Well, now that I've had my coffee, I'm feeling a bit better. I told DH that I didn't want to go on the cruise and he thought I had lost my mind. (Even the kids have been making fun of how excited I've been.) I was whining about how the hurricane could hit the house while we're gone and we could lose things that are irreplaceable (e.g. photographs, etc.) DH pulled me up out of the mire when he reminded me that the things that are not replaceable and most precious to us will be on the ship!

Now that my priorities have been reordered (and I'd say 9/11 is a good day for that), I'm looking forward to a great time!

 

[MarkRG]

I would add to the do not worry crowd. Disney does a great job of reorganizing the itenerary to avoid bad weather. But I wouldn't count on any interary being diverted unless the hurricane is imminent, these shots are decieving- you can run really close to one of those and see no effects from it whatsoever. There was a Western 7 day not long ago that went on its merry way hitting all the stops in the right order while there was a hurricane in the gulf with it.

The worst that could happen is cc get hit again, which, unless you have some hidden ability the rest of us don't know about, nature is going to take its course, with or without our help. So no sense in getting concerned, just go, knowing you'll have a great time!

 

[LarryC]

The biggest problem is not where the ship will go to avoid the hurricane, but the damage this MAJOR hurricane will do to Castaway Cay. Wind speeds of 145 mph will completely wreck this island, and could in fact close the narrow channel that the ship uses to get to the dock. If this happens, don't expect the ships to visit Castaway Cay for a couple of months..

The current track puts it directly in the path of the Bahamas and Castaway Cay, but a predicted turn to the WNW is expected over the next day or so. Hurricane-force winds extend over a path of 120 miles wide, so it's going to have to make a BIG turn to avoid the Bahamas.

This one doesn't look good, folks.

 

[Dave_from_Marietta]

Originally posted by newbycruiser

I would like to know where Castaway Cay is too, Dave, how about a dot where it is?

Refer to the map I posted of the Wednesday, 11pm advisory. I've modified it with a dot to show the location of CC.

 

[Wishing on a star]

Wow, the way the projected path is looking, this thing could pass North of CC and Bahamas and make a direct hit a Port Canaveral????

Would the ship reposition if the Hurricane makes it impossible to make it in to Port Canaveral??? And, boy, I sure hope that the Terminal doesn't get completely obliterated!!!

 

[perdidobay]

WOW I am amazed at how much stronger Isabel is. It is scary that it is now almost a cat 5, but it is slowing down, now only 9 miles per hour, so maybe it will have more time to make a more northward turn away from land. I hope so anyway.....
I'll keep all of you down there in Florida in my thoughts and prayers and hope for no landfall.

 

[Wishing on a star]

OMG... almost a Cat5 now! Not just for us upcoming cruisers, but for everybody along the Hurricane Path... gettin' kinda scary! My thoughts are also with you posters who live in the area.

 

[ez]

and I must not be thinking cleary, because I'm not worrying about my house...I just don't want my first cruise to be cancelled!!!!They won't cancel the cruise, will they? What if cape canaveral is in the middle of a storm, how do the ships go in or out?

 

[Miss Jasmine]

I am starting to get sick. I live about 30 minutes south of the Port. I'm inland, but not that far from the coast (maybe 10 minutes).

 

[alexandrew]

we're hoping it makes a big turn....Boca is midway between West palm and Ft Lauderdale...

 

[Miss Jasmine]

Okay now that I have calmed myself down, it looks like they are predicting a northward turn. That is what I will be praying for.

 

[TnRobin]

When Hurrican Floyd threaten Port Canaveral in 1999, the ship used Port Everglades as a embarking and disembarking point. I seem to remember them using the buses to get people to the Everglades, but I am not sure if that was only for people who bought transfers or not. Hey I would be buying last minute transfers if that happened.

I just looked at the forecasted path. It seems to be slightly more to the north than last night.

 

[tecdavidt]

My thoughts are with all of you Florida residents. I hope the storm tracks north and back into the Atlantic. We were at Castaway Cay one month prior to it being destroyed by Hurricane Floyd. Our next cruise was one year later and the destruction was still evident. The island was completely changed. Our last cruise was this past March. Castaway Cay was finally looking like it did back in '99 and in fact it looked better. I really believe Disney tried to rebuild the dock to withstand a hurricane force like Floyd had. The photos we have from cruise #1 and this last one show a huge difference in the construction of the dock. The foliage and buildings will take a beating. Lets pray it goes North, away from Florida and the Bahama Islands.

One thing I always remember seeing on the weather channel is that the man they always interview during a hurricane said this when Floyd was getting ready to slam the Bahamas and Florida. "The safest place to be during a hurricane is on a cruise ship. The cruise industry has the lives of it's passengers and crew to protect and millions of dollars at stake. They will not put those ships in harms way." He did add he would rather be on a cruise ship than on land during a hurricane. Kathy

 

[SeaDog]

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/custom/sfl-inttrackmap.htmlstory

And, if you check out some of the archived storms, you'll see that you really can count on these things doing what you think they are going to do...

Count me in as one of the Central Floridians who are a bit concerned about this one...

 

[M&Ms Mum]

I am scheduled to be on the Thursday, 9-18 cruise to the Bahamas with my little kids and parents. Like some of the others out there, I also live in FL, but outside of Tampa, so I am not worried obout the house. I am not too worried about the cruise, as long as Canaveral is open, they will send us somewhere, but whats worrying me is all the people who know I'm going TRYING to make me worry !!

It's still too early to tell, but the waiting is almost as bad as waiting for the cruise too ! Too much excitement, good and bad !

 

[DISFANSHAN]

Dave, just your opinion please since you are tracking this storm.....My local (NYC) weatherman says we should be fine leaving from Port Canaveral on Thurs, 9/18, and also fine in the Bahamas Sat and Sun. ( I contacted him via the station's message boards) Do you agree????
TIA