Oct. 16-23, 2010 - Bring Back the Magic

[ericalynn1979]

Anybody up for an Eastern Caribbean cruise? TS Paula just formed and it is right where we want to be. Not good. Let's all hope it goes away or else we are going East.

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphics_at3+shtml/203114.shtml?5-daynl#contents

If this happens, oh well. Just remember, it's VACATION and you're on the Mickey Boat. I learned that early on cruising the Caribbean during hurricane season.

 

[philatiger]

Anybody up for an Eastern Caribbean cruise? TS Paula just formed and it is right where we want to be. Not good. Let's all hope it goes away or else we are going East.

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphics_at3+shtml/203114.shtml?5-daynl#contents

Was reading about this earlier too. Hope it fizzles... What has DCL done in the past if they had to avoid the west due to hurricanes?

 

[ericalynn1979]

Was reading about this earlier too. Hope it fizzles... What has DCL done in the past if they had to avoid the west due to hurricanes?

Most likely the itinerary would be changed to an Eastern Caribbean itinerary.

 

[philatiger]

If this happens, oh well. Just remember, it's VACATION and you're on the Mickey Boat. I learned that early on cruising the Caribbean during hurricane season.

I completely agree. Been in many storms and missed ports due to storms. You just make the best of it.

 

[DizzylandDeb]

We are packed too

And if we have to go East, that is fine by me Just so long as we get to sail, I don't care where we go!

 

[truck1]

Changing an itinerary is a possibility, though it really depends on a few factors such as, how big the storm is, where it is, and where it is predicted to be. I was just watching it on the 500 news and there saying theres a lot of uncertainty with it. Tom it could be a different story. Matter of fact, it just came back on and there saying there is very weak steering currents.

Just to give a hypothetical situation, assuming it does basically circle around Yucatan, if the storm is say 200 miles across,(width) and Coz is say 400 miles from the center, theres a 300 mile buffer, of nice weather,from the edge of the storm, to the port, in which case DCL will watch it, and not do much of anything.

If Coz, is say 100 miles from the center, and the storm is 200 miles across, and they are forecasting 20 foot waves,with 30 mph winds, they could change Coz to somethng else, like say Jamaica, and keep Grand Cayman. Or they could reverse Grand Cayman and Coz depending on what they think Paula will do. Ill be keeping an eye on it, since they tend to talk about it here in Fl, regularly. NHC will put out a statement every 4 hours on it till it dies.

 

[truck1]

Just to be safe, Im going to look up some things in Jam, and east. Personally dont care, since were on vacation, and thats part of the fun.

 

[philatiger]

Changing an itinerary is a possibility, though it really depends on a few factors such as, how big the storm is, where it is, and where it is predicted to be. I was just watching it on the 500 news and there saying theres a lot of uncertainty with it. Tom it could be a different story. Matter of fact, it just came back on and there saying there is very weak steering currents.

Just to give a hypothetical situation, assuming it does basically circle around Yucatan, if the storm is say 200 miles across,(width) and Coz is say 400 miles from the center, theres a 300 mile buffer, of nice weather,from the edge of the storm, to the port, in which case DCL will watch it, and not do much of anything.

If Coz, is say 100 miles from the center, and the storm is 200 miles across, and they are forecasting 20 foot waves,with 30 mph winds, they could change Coz to somethng else, like say Jamaica, and keep Grand Cayman. Or they could reverse Grand Cayman and Coz depending on what they think Paula will do. Ill be keeping an eye on it, since they tend to talk about it here in Fl, regularly. NHC will put out a statement every 4 hours on it till it dies.

I was waiting for you to jump in.

 

[njprincess]

I spent 12+ (yes, 12+) hours yesterday trying to make our FE. I was having our 'logo' redesigned for this cruise & by the time it was finished it was too late to have a nice embroidered FE made. So I tried to figure this thing out, which I eventually was able to do. The fabric portion is ok, could be better, but not earth-shatteringly bad. I had decided to transfer our logo onto the FE with iron-on transfer. So glad I tried on a scrap piece of fabric first! Our logo is too dark to show up on the FE. Then I decided to transfer iron-on onto white fabric, cut this out & then use fusable web to iron that onto the FE. Unfortunately the combination of these glues just messed everything up. The more I ironed (thinking I hadn't gotten it hot enough) the worse things got. Now I'm using elmers glue & superglue to get things to stay attached & the coloring of everything went south. The more you iron, the darker things get & the harder to see/read. So I really don't have time to mess with it anymore. I'm hoping that the fairies sprinkle some fairy dust on it after we get on board, and it MAGICally looks good. If not, it will at least serve its purpose & was a learning experience.

I think it looks adorable

Hey how about us

She was just talking to the girls - if you look closer you'll see Nancy is on there

Was reading about this earlier too. Hope it fizzles... What has DCL done in the past if they had to avoid the west due to hurricanes?

Most likely the itinerary would be changed to an Eastern Caribbean itinerary.

I completely agree. Been in many storms and missed ports due to storms. You just make the best of it.

OK, I hate to admit it, but I have been though this with Disney before. Back in 1999 (my parents 45 anniversary), we ended up on the 1st Disney cruise to ever visit Cozumel because of Hurricane Floyd. And we got rerouted again 5 years later (50th anniversary) and ended up in Puerto Rico. Oh why oh why did my parent's get married during hurricane season???

I can assure you that there are Disney cast members scurrying around right now to figure out what to do with us if this storm becomes a problem. They watch the weather reports too. They don't necessarily switch to the other itinerary - they will try to keep as many of the original port calls as they can. Plus they arrange for shore tours too. And on the bright side, you might get to visit a port you've never been to before (see comments above about Cozumel and Puerto Rico ) and have a REAL adventure By the way, because Disney planned ahead, we got the main dock in Cozumel while the Carnival and RCCL ships had to settle for the out of town dock

They will definitely do everything they can to avoid the storm. So relax and let Captain Mickey handle everything

 

[pacomom]

We are happy with Eastern or Western-whatever, we're on a Disney cruise If they do switch to different ports, would they offer shore excursions or some info? We just want to go to the beach, doesn't matter which ones. I don't want to research the entire Caribean though

 

[truck1]

I think it looks adorable



She was just talking to the girls - if you look closer you'll see Nancy is on there







OK, I hate to admit it, but I have been though this with Disney before. Back in 1999 (my parents 45 anniversary), we ended up on the 1st Disney cruise to ever visit Cozumel because of Hurricane Floyd. And we got rerouted again 5 years later (50th anniversary) and ended up in Puerto Rico. Oh why oh why did my parent's get married during hurricane season???

I can assure you that there are Disney cast members scurrying around right now to figure out what to do with us if this storm becomes a problem. They watch the weather reports too. They don't necessarily switch to the other itinerary - they will try to keep as many of the original port calls as they can. Plus they arrange for shore tours too. And on the bright side, you might get to visit a port you've never been to before (see comments above about Cozumel and Puerto Rico ) and have a REAL adventure By the way, because Disney planned ahead, we got the main dock in Cozumel while the Carnival and RCCL ships had to settle for the out of town dock

They will definitely do everything they can to avoid the storm. So relax and let Captain Mickey handle everything

The 1 unknown, is the Capt John effect. Hes the magnet for DCL.

He was the capt that picked up the people in the Med, from Carnival, last year, the extended stay at CC, AND the broken mooring line incident at PC.

 

[truck1]

I was waiting for you to jump in.

 

[truck1]

Heres the official track from the National Hurricane Center. It gets updated every 3 hours not every 4 like I thought.


Tropical Storm PAULA Public Advisory
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Home Public Adv Fcst/Adv Discussion Wind Probs Maps/Charts Archive
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000
WTNT33 KNHC 112031
TCPAT3
BULLETIN
TROPICAL STORM PAULA ADVISORY NUMBER 1
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL AL182010
500 PM EDT MON OCT 11 2010

...NEW TROPICAL STORM FORMS NEAR THE COAST OF HONDURAS...HURRICANE
WARNING ISSUED FOR PORTIONS OF THE YUCATAN PENINSULA...


SUMMARY OF 500 PM EDT...2100 UTC...INFORMATION
----------------------------------------------
LOCATION...16.0N 84.0W
ABOUT 130 MI...210 KM ESE OF ISLA GUANAJA HONDURAS
ABOUT 365 MI...585 KM SSE OF COZUMEL MEXICO
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...60 MPH...95 KM/HR
PRESENT MOVEMENT...NW OR 315 DEGREES AT 9 MPH...15 KM/HR
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...1000 MB...29.53 INCHES


WATCHES AND WARNINGS
--------------------
CHANGES WITH THIS ADVISORY...

THE GOVERNMENT OF MEXICO HAS ISSUED A HURRICANE WARNING FOR THE
COAST OF MEXICO FROM PUNTA GRUESA NORTHWARD TO CANCUN...INCLUDING
COZUMEL.

THE GOVERNMENT OF MEXICO HAS ISSUED A TROPICAL STORM WARNING FOR THE
COAST OF MEXICO FROM CHETUMAL NORTHWARD TO SOUTH OF PUNTA GRUESA.

THE GOVERNMENT OF HONDURAS HAS ISSUED A TROPICAL STORM WARNING FOR
THE COAST OF HONDURAS FROM LIMON EASTWARD TO THE HONDURAS/NICARAGUA
BORDER...INCLUDING THE BAY ISLANDS.

SUMMARY OF WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT...

A HURRICANE WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR...
* THE COAST OF MEXICO FROM PUNTA GRUESA NORTHWARD TO CANCUN...
INCLUDING COZUMEL

A TROPICAL STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR...
* THE COAST OF HONDURAS FROM LIMON EASTWARD TO THE
HONDURAS/NICARAGUA BORDER...INCLUDING THE BAY ISLANDS
* THE COAST OF MEXICO FROM CHETUMAL NORTHWARD TO SOUTH OF PUNTA
GRUESA

A HURRICANE WARNING MEANS THAT HURRICANE CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED
SOMEWHERE WITHIN THE WARNING AREA...IN THIS CASE 24 TO 36 HOURS
BEFORE THE ANTICIPATED FIRST OCCURRENCE OF TROPICAL-STORM-FORCE
WINDS...CONDITIONS THAT MAKE OUTSIDE PREPARATIONS DIFFICULT OR
DANGEROUS. PREPARATIONS TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY SHOULD BE
RUSHED TO COMPLETION.

A TROPICAL STORM WARNING MEANS THAT TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE
IMMINENT IN THE WARNING AREA IN HONDURAS...AND THAT TROPICAL STORM
CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED SOMEWHERE WITHIN THE WARNING AREA IN MEXICO
WITHIN 24 TO 36 HOURS.

FOR STORM INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA...PLEASE MONITOR
PRODUCTS ISSUED BY YOUR NATIONAL METEOROLOGICAL SERVICE.


DISCUSSION AND 48-HOUR OUTLOOK
------------------------------
AT 500 PM EDT...2100 UTC...THE CENTER OF TROPICAL STORM PAULA WAS
LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 16.0 NORTH...LONGITUDE 84.0 WEST. PAULA IS
MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHWEST NEAR 9 MPH...15 KM/HR. A TURN TOWARD
THE NORTH-NORTHWEST AND THEN TOWARD THE NORTH IS EXPECTED LATE
TUESDAY AND EARLY WEDNESDAY. ON THE FORECAST TRACK...THE CENTER OF
PAULA WILL BEGIN MOVING AWAY FROM THE COAST OF HONDURAS TONIGHT AND
TUESDAY...AND APPROACH THE COAST WITHIN THE HURRICANE WARNING AREA
TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY.

DATA FROM AN AIR FORCE RESERVE HURRICANE HUNTER AIRCRAFT INDICATE
THAT MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 60 MPH...95 KM/HR...WITH
HIGHER GUSTS. ADDITIONAL STRENGTHENING IS FORECAST...AND PAULA IS
EXPECTED TO BECOME A HURRICANE ON TUESDAY.

TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 70 MILES...110 KM
FROM THE CENTER.

THE LATEST MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE REPORTED BY THE HURRICANE HUNTER
AIRCRAFT WAS 1000 MB...29.53 INCHES.


HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND
----------------------
WIND...TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE OCCURRING WITHIN THE TROPICAL
STORM WARNING AREA IN HONDURAS. TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS ARE
EXPECTED TO REACH THE COAST WITHIN THE HURRICANE WARNING AREA BY
LATE TUESDAY...WITH HURRICANE CONDITIONS EXPECTED BY EARLY
WEDNESDAY.

RAINFALL...PAULA IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE TOTAL RAIN ACCUMULATIONS
OF 3 TO 6 INCHES OVER NORTHEASTERN NICARAGUA...EASTERN HONDURAS
...AND THE YUCATAN PENINSULA OF MEXICO. ISOLATED MAXIMUM AMOUNTS OF
10 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE IN AREAS OF MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN IN NICARAGUA
AND HONDURAS...WHERE THESE RAINS COULD CAUSE LIFE-THREATENING FLASH
FLOODS AND MUDSLIDES.

STORM SURGE...A STORM SURGE IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE COASTAL FLOODING
ALONG THE EAST COAST OF THE YUCATAN PENINSULA AND ON THE BAY ISLANDS
OF HONDURAS. NEAR THE COAST...THE SURGE WILL BE ACCOMPANIED BY
LARGE WAVES.


NEXT ADVISORY
-------------
NEXT INTERMEDIATE ADVISORY...800 PM EDT.
NEXT COMPLETE ADVISORY...1100 PM EDT.


FORECASTER BRENNAN

 

[JOANNEL]

As long as we can get to the port. I will go any where!!!

 

[truck1]

We are happy with Eastern or Western-whatever, we're on a Disney cruise If they do switch to different ports, would they offer shore excursions or some info? We just want to go to the beach, doesn't matter which ones. I don't want to research the entire Caribean though

Yes.It will be posted as a pop up on DCLs website, and Id hazzard a guess, that well get an email etc. If they decide say fri night that the cruise will be a eastern instead of a western, then they will offer excursions, at the new ports, what ever they may be. If you are already booked, say for a dolphin adventure at port a, they will give you the option to move to a similar experience at 1 of the new ports, refund or book a new excursion at the new port. Theyll either give you a obc for the difference,or charge you the difference. Technically, they do not charge the excursion to your account, until it actually leaves the ship. This way they dont have to deal with refunds etc. All they do is cancel it on your account.

If they change a port say from Coz to Jamaica, theyll do the same thing in that theyll be a pop up with directions for the new stop, on DCLs site.

 

[TIGGER/POOH4]

Don't worry, be happy. You are still on a Disney cruise. We have been though this with Hurricane Noel and Hurricane Omar. DCL will change the routes so their guests have great time. This time of year is always a crap shoot therefore enjoy the adventure. In 2007 we were on the Wonder hiding off the Bahamas were very safe during Noel. We had a rocking time going back across the Florida straits on the last night. Every part of the ship creaked that night. In 2008 we were on the Magic went Omar came calling. We left St Marteen early and went to Nassua instead of St Thomas. We had great weather there.

Omar coming into St Marteen as we were leaving dock

If we go East, I noticed that St Marteen has no ships on Tuesday. St Thomas already has several ships in on Wednesday. If we do go East I hope we do Tortola. The Magic was there several weeks ago on the EBTA. I still have the navigators from our 2008 and 2009 eastern cruises if anyone needs info for that itinerary.

 

[TIGGER/POOH4]

I just got off the phone with DVC member services. She told me that I do NOT get any type of credit/onboard credit for port charge changes/fuel surcharge changes. (she confirmed with DCL). She also told me that on Saturday I wouldn't be allowed to pay to upgrade cabin since I booked with points. Is she right?

We paid cash and my TA told me today that DCL will absolutely not give us any OBC for the fuel surcharge even though the rep agreed that it is unfair but they are hiding behind the fine print of the contracts.

 

[njprincess]

Yes.It will be posted as a pop up on DCLs website, and Id hazzard a guess, that well get an email etc. If they decide say fri night that the cruise will be a eastern instead of a western, then they will offer excursions, at the new ports, what ever they may be. If you are already booked, say for a dolphin adventure at port a, they will give you the option to move to a similar experience at 1 of the new ports, refund or book a new excursion at the new port. Theyll either give you a obc for the difference,or charge you the difference. Technically, they do not charge the excursion to your account, until it actually leaves the ship. This way they dont have to deal with refunds etc. All they do is cancel it on your account.

If they change a port say from Coz to Jamaica, theyll do the same thing in that theyll be a pop up with directions for the new stop, on DCLs site.

Not sure what storm you were rerouted for, but they didn't tell us anything in advance except that they would stay away from the storm. It was similar to what Renee described in the post after yours. They will go where the storm isn't. Posting any information on the DCL website on Friday night would not exactly be helpful since most people will already be in transit and probably won't be checking the internet. But that doesn't mean they won't

As long as they don't run out of booze or Mickey Bars, I don't care if we cruise around in circles for a week

But realistically, Disney has people working on this right now, making arrangements in other ports, just in case, to give us the best possible cruise

Don't worry, be happy. You are still on a Disney cruise. We have been though this with Hurricane Noel and Hurricane Omar. DCL will change the routes so their guests have great time. This time of year is always a crap shoot therefore enjoy the adventure. In 2007 we were on the Wonder hiding off the Bahamas were very safe during Noel. We had a rocking time going back across the Florida straits on the last night. Every part of the ship creaked that night. In 2008 we were on the Magic went Omar came calling. We left St Marteen early and went to Nassua instead of St Thomas. We had great weather there.

If we go East, I noticed that St Marteen has no ships on Tuesday. St Thomas already has several ships in on Wednesday. If we do go East I hope we do Tortola. The Magic was there several weeks ago on the EBTA. I still have the navigators from our 2008 and 2009 eastern cruises if anyone needs info for that itinerary.

I'm with you It sounds like you had quite an adventure I'm one of those wacky people that likes some rough seas once in awhile - reminds you you're on a boat!

And now that you mention Tortola, it's one of my favorite islands in the Caribbean. I wouldn't hate going there

 

[MandMLUVMMandDVC]

As long as they don't run out of booze or Mickey Bars, I don't care if we cruise around in circles for a week

Agreed. Let's get the priorities straight!
1) Safety
2) Booze
3) Food
4) Doesn't matter where we go (even IF we can visit any ports), as long as we're going

But if we go Eastern I feel a day of shopping in St Thomas in my bones

 

[JOANNEL]

If we have to do an Eastern there are three sea days!!!!!!