Tropical Storm Erika

[abja09]

We did B2B on the Dream in 2011. Ended up pulling out of PC on the Thursday as Hurricane Irene was going up along the FL coast. The Dream hugged the coast the first night. Lets just say there were a lot of people who were seasick that night. There were a few that got off the next day when we stopped in Nassau. If you think Nassau is ugly now, imagine it the day after a hurricane hits it. For the second leg of the B2B there were a bunch of empty cabin due to Irene hitting the NE resulting in major flight cancellations.

Last August we were on the Getaway out of Miami. What became Hurricane Cristobal was bearing down on the Bahamas. We got out of Miami and swung around behind it. The Fantasy and the Carnival ship out of PC both ended up being diverted. We were supposed to meet up with the Fantasy in St. Maartin, it never showed (ended up in San Juan). We ended up talking to a couple waiting for the airport shuttle when we got back to BUF about what happened.

We are on the Getaway again leaving Miami this Saturday. For us Erika is directly in the path down to St. Thomas/ Tortola. Wait and see what happens when we get to the port on Saturday.

I was on that Fantasy cruise last August. There was an announcement by the Captain along with a letter in our room after we sailed away about the change in port from St. Maarten to San Juan due to the storm. The excursion desk was very helpful in booking new excursion. The seas were smooth so I had not complaints about the change in course

 

[MunFam]

They can change ports of call at any time and for your safety they will not make up any difference no refunds etc, sorry.

They WILL give you back any port taxes you paid if you miss that port. I think we got $12 back for missing Puerto Vallarta on our WBPC cruise. It was like Christmas. LOL!

They will also refund you any prepaid DCL arranged port excursions for that destination.

 

[jkburns]

We're on the Fantasy this Saturday. I, for one, am very okay with the uncertainty of the itinerary - especially if a change from Eastern to Western means people will be safer.

 

[MunFam]

I was just thinking that not only should you not fly in on the day of but you shouldn't fly out on the last day...at least in hurricane season.

We did a repo up the Western Coast from San Diego to Vancouver. We hit a BAD storm the 2nd and 3rd day and ended up coming in to port 12 hours late. No hurricanes, no bad weather in Vancouver. There were a lot of frantic {old} people on the ship. HAL was nice enough to allow people free phone calls and free internet for a 6 hour period of time to get flights changed, etc...BUT it was at the guest's expense to make the change. After that experience, we always sail with insurance. They had us vacate our rooms early in the day and go to common spaces so they could prep the staterooms for the next sailing and as soon as they got everyone off, they immediately reboarded the next group. What was really sad was that the next sailing was an overnight to Seattle, so those people got on at around 10pm and pulled in to Seattle the next morning! So much for a nice cruise for them.

 

[Sunmom]

I live very close to Cape Canaveral in Florida. Our local weather says we will have high winds and rain both Monday and Tuesday the 31st and 1st. In our experience the storms that go over the Car. islands tend to break up and become lots of little storms. You can also watch online surf reports for the Cocoa Beach area and it will give you an idea about the waves, wind, etc.

 

[VFL]

Just saw this on the website:

Travel Advisory
Tropical Weather Update

August 28, 2015

Disney Cruise Line is monitoring the current weather conditions and path of Tropical Storm Erika. At this time, we have made no changes to our itineraries. Should weather conditions change, we can alter the itinerary of our ships to ensure the safety and comfort of our Guests. We will also continue to update this website with any new information as it becomes necessary.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I agree about not flying in the day of embarkation due to the risk of flight delays or cancellations. As for flying out the day of debarkation, I wouldn't be concerned about hurricanes. We were to fly out of MCO on the day Jeanne hit in 2004, but all flights were cancelled for at least a 24 hour period causing massive delays for travelers across the East Coast as well as the rest of the US. If a hurricane were to hit the Orlando area, I wouldn't be concerned about missing my flight since there's almost certainly not going to be any. Instead, I would follow the NHC projections carefully and make reservations at a nice hotel at WDW (which have their own generators and are the best places to be during a hurricane) well in advance if it looked like there was any chance that my flights could be affected. My only concern would be that my family would have to stay somewhere other than WDW while we waited for our cancelled flight to be rescheduled. Because I followed my own advice back in 2004 and erred on the side of caution, I was able to extend our stay at the Beach Club Villas for an extra night. If we had waited and hoped that things would get better, the situation could have developed into a stressful nightmare.

I was thinking more along the lines of if a ship didn't come back on time and you missed a flight and less if your flight was cancelled. If you miss it that financial burden is on you. If the flight is cancelled due to weather by the airline they reschedule and you don't pay more.

 

[Dug720]

I was thinking more along the lines of if a ship didn't come back on time and you missed a flight and less if your flight was cancelled. If you miss it that financial burden is on you. If the flight is cancelled due to weather by the airline they reschedule and you don't pay more.

No, BUT they don't pay for your meals and lodging. And in a busy travel season (which this still is), the odds of them being able to just put you on the next plane decreases. And it gets smaller and smaller the more flights are cancelled. Hence why I got to spend an extra five days in Orlando when we'd done Christmas at Disney the year of the Northeast Christmas Blizzard and everything was shut down. And I only got back that soon because a) there was one of me to find a seat for and b) I was super flexible about which airport I went into (I have JFK, EWR, and LGA as my locals, and I said "If it'll get me there sooner, I will take a DC area one, Philly or Boston). Families who we refusing to or not able to split up and/or needed to be back to one specific airport were looking at well over a week. And all the rental cars were sold out, so that wasn't an option.

 

[Polly Parrot]

Anyone reading this on the Disney cruise right now - what is the status of the cruise?

 

[Bree]

Someone on FB boarded the Dream today. They posted the letter they got at embarkation and so far the itinerary hasn't changed.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

Our little TS Miss Erika seems to be a gal with a mind of her own......she is going where she wants to go! Not where she would likely be expected to go. Thursday she was arching toward the east and today she's veering to the west and is heading up the west coast of Florida.

I am sorry for the guests at WDW. They will likely be under her Tuesday.

I would point out we are talking TS now not a full hurricane.

Marine Advisory
|
Public Advisory

Honestly , the Fantasy maybe able to run pass her to the north and then do her normal western cruise or take a eastern.

The Dream returning and saiing Monday is right in it. However she could go east and avoid most of it.

I would expect to hear something about the Fantasy tonight or Saturday before sailing.

We are still in the flip the coin realm of possibilities. The Captain I am sure is looking over the weather and tracking reports very 4 hours as they come out! I wonder if he has a coin in his pocket?(joking)

AKK

 

[Polly Parrot]

Someone on FB boarded the Dream today. They posted the letter they got at embarkation and so far the itinerary hasn't changed.

"Thank you" for your reply !!!! I have family members on that cruise line.

 

[lorimay]

I am in Ft. Lauderdale/Miami area, our local news just said that Norwegian, Carnival and Royal Caribbean have made some changes to itineraries, but didn't give specifics, said to call if you are sailing.

 

[Bree]

Here is the letter.

 

[Dug720]

Honestly , the Fantasy maybe able to run pass her to the north and then do her normal western cruise or take a eastern.

The Dream returning and saiing Monday is right in it. However she could go east and avoid most of it.

I would expect to hear something about the Fantasy tonight or Saturday before sailing.

We are still in the flip the coin realm of possibilities. The Captain I am sure is looking over the weather and tracking reports very 4 hours as they come out! I wonder if he has a coin in his pocket?(joking)

AKK

The Fantasy is actually scheduled to do an Eastern tomorrow. She did the Western this week.

 

[Ladygoldenhair]

It has changed path from the easterly coastal affect to the westerly, up to Tallahassee, right where they don't need the rain.
Norwegian cruise line web site has posted their changes. The Sun will do a reverse, going to Nassau first then Key West. The GEM will skip the Bahamas and be going to Bermuda. That is a change I wouldn't mind.

We sailed Labor day weekend three years ago and I think it was Irene that was headed over Bermuda. The waves were terrible. I don't mind the rocking, but they close the exterior doors, and you try to walk to the right and end up three steps left. '

My dd gets terrible sea sick too, so she is stuck in bed green even with Bonine or patches on during the sea days. The weather in Bermuda was sunny with funny huge wispy clouds, but all of the South side of Bermuda beaches were closed. The one in the dockyard was packed, but at least waves were not bad.

We also lost a port day spending the extra day at Seacwhen heading back. That was a bummer, it was windy, high waves, the pool and hot tubs were close.

I would bet by Saturday or Sunday they will have an update on your cruise lines web site.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

The Fantasy is actually scheduled to do an Eastern tomorrow. She did the Western this week.

She should be between Castaway Cay and Port Canaveral (almost to PC). The hurricane headed up the west side of Florida, so she should be in pretty good shape.

 

[NancyDVC]

We sailed on the Magic in 2004 the year all the hurricanes hit Florida. The 7 day cruises two weeks before us were extended because there were no open ports in Florida. The following was shortened. Lots of ships from many lines with no place to go. The 2 cruises prior to ours went out of Miami because Port Canaveral was closed. We flew in to Orlando the day before our cruise, as planned and thanks to the great people on this board who were cruising with us we knew that PC was open as was the hotel we had booked. The hotel was full with cruisers and FEMA personnel. When we boarded we were told that our western cruise was being diverted to an eastern changed from Key West, Cozumel and Grand Cayman to San Juan and St. Thomas. Castaway Cay was still a question mark because it had been hit by one of the hurricanes 2 weeks earlier. They had evacuated the island and needed to repair damage. When we returned to the ship in San Juan we were informed of another change. A new storm was headed toward St. John so we went to Nassau. We were the first cruise back into Castaway Cay after the storm that hit there. It was a great cruise. Lots to do. No rough weather. They will steer clear of storms whenever possible. Today I saw postings about Carnival, NCL and Royal Carribbean changing itineraries due to Erika. In the past week there were several ships diverted to Nassau, Bermuda and Aruba or stayed in a port overnight as a change in itinerary. (Thanks to my addiction to the PTZtv webcams.) Never fear, once you are on board you will have a great time.

 

[jdb in AZ]

DD's cruise had to divert to Jamaica several years ago as a hurricane chased them across the Gulf of Mexico. There were around 5 "extra" ships in port that day. The captains will do whatever it takes to minimize a hurricane's effect on the ship, and of course the passengers.

We were on the first Fantasy cruise after Hurricane Sandy so Castaway Cay had just been battered about three days earlier, but the crew had it in remarkable condition. Salt water had "burned" all the leaves to a sad brownish color, so the only green "foliage" left was the paint on the cell tower masquerading as a palm tree. Our itinerary changed three times, but it was still a fun cruise. An RCCL ship was scheduled to sail from Port Canaveral the same day as the Fantasy, but it stayed in port. I believe RCCL refunded their passengers' money as well as allowing them to stay for free on the cruise that never left port.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

The Fantasy is actually scheduled to do an Eastern tomorrow. She did the Western this week.

Oops I thought the other way around. My bad. I guess we will see what way the Captain picks today.