Tropical System in Bahamas - port change options?

[jlynch924]

While aboard the Wonder for a 4-night in 2007, we skirted a tropical storm. Didn't change port locations or days, although when we were at CC, it was ominous looking and ended up drizzling towards the end of the day. By that evening, which was the Pirate Party, it was a full-blown storm. They moved the deck party to the main atrium (crowded, but DD, age 4 at the time, had a great time). The ship was definitely rocking A LOT. I remember sitting at dinner, looking out the porthole and seeing SEA, SKY, SEA, SKY, SEA, SKY. Fortunately, we weren't prone to sickness, but it was pretty turbulent. Didn't stop our fun, though!!

 

[Zandy595]

No news on DCL, but here's what other lines are doing...
http://www.usatoday.com/story/cruiselog/2012/10/23/tropical-storm-sandy-cruise-itineraries/1652967/?kjnd=LUKjzcL3xbSr3W%2Bm3ECZSdQr9acV%2BS4nVqT3J3rxr%2BnbU0UOjkHM8vmLZU2V15Qr-491d93f9-1c6a-4fec-9e73-ac642099a4f3_%2BjzcsKKakWcMQKXvHAxUWl5YLXkUebDHEzS6oEQ%2BxJOu%2FNqNj8582e5LOf7TOX1J

 

[Green Tea]

They have made the change.

 

[ssanders79]

DCL has issued a revised itinerary.

Travel Advisories

Tropical Weather Update

10/24/2012

We are currently monitoring Hurricane Sandy very closely as it moves north through the Caribbean towards The Bahamas.

As this time, the October 25, 2012 Disney Dream sailing will depart Port Canaveral as scheduled. However, given the predicted path of the storm, we realize that the ship's itinerary will need to be altered as the storm passes through The Bahamas.

Unfortunately, the storm is expected to produce tropical storm and hurricane force winds near Nassau and our private island, Disney's Castaway Cay for most of the day on Friday and early on Saturday.
The revised itinerary is as follows:

Thursday, October 25 - Port Canaveral, Florida
Friday, October 26 - Day at Sea
Saturday, October 27 - Nassau (pending weather conditions)
Sunday, October 28 - Port Canaveral, Florida

The safety and security of our guests is always our top priority. If necessary, our Captains are always prepared to alter the ships' courses or itineraries to navigate away from inclement weather.

 

[Wendy&Grumpy]

DCL has issued a revised itinerary.

I am SO sad about this! I want castaway Cay, not Nassau!

I'm still hoping that Sandy moves fast enough that DCL will change plans and head to Castaway Cay on Saturday instead.

 

[realityland]

Bummer for everyone for this week. Try to make the best of it. What can you do? The alternative could be thousands or dollars more to sail during the summer or over a holiday.

 

[Zandy595]

Bummer for everyone for this week. Try to make the best of it. What can you do? The alternative could be thousands or dollars more to sail during the summer or over a holiday.

June 1st is the start of hurricane season.

 

[RedSox68]

We've been through three hurricanes on a Disney ship. They always steer clear, change up the itinerary to stay ahead of it and, if they have to skip a port, usually add another. The only disappointment we had was we had to skip Key West to stay ahead of Hurricane Frances. Never have gotten back there

 

[Seahunt]

Worst case--storm closed Port Canaveral.

I agree, besides itinerary changes I'd be worried about even leaving the port on Thursday

Local Brevard County info:

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL
150 PM EDT WED OCT 24 2012

THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY.

TROPICAL CYCLONE SANDY IS FORECAST TO LIFT NORTH ACROSS EASTERN CUBA TONIGHT AND THE CENTRAL BAHAMAS THURSDAY NIGHT. CONFIDENCE REMAINS HIGH THAT THE STORM CENTER WILL REMAIN EAST OF THE FLORIDA ATLANTIC COAST...WITH THE CLOSEST APPROACH TO THE CAPE OCCURRING ABOUT 250 MILES OFFSHORE FRIDAY NIGHT.

NONETHELESS... THERE WILL BE SIGNIFICANT MARINE AND COASTAL EFFECTS AS THE SYSTEM APPROACHES AND PASSES BY LATE THIS WEEK. LOCAL IMPACTS SHOULD PEAK THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY AND WILL INCLUDE...STRONG NORTH TO NORTHEAST WINDS 30 TO 40 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS ALONG THE COAST...LARGE BREAKING WAVES UP TO 8 FEET IN THE SURF ZONE...AND STRONG RIP CURRENTS. OVER THE OPEN ATLANTIC WATERS...SUSTAINED WINDS OF 35 TO 45 KNOTS ARE EXPECTED WITH SEAS BUILDING 20 TO 25 FEET OFFSHORE BY FRIDAY AND POSSIBLY HIGHER. EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS MARINE AND SURF CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED.

IN ADDITION...SUCH STRONG NORTH TO NORTHEAST WINDS WILL BE OPTIMAL FOR BEACH EROSION ALONG THE EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA COAST. SIGNIFICANT BEACH EROSION IS LIKELY AFTER SEVERAL HIGH TIDE CYCLES. THIS COMBINED WITH HIGH SURF MAY PRODUCE RUN UP TO THE DUNE LINE AND CAUSE MINOR COASTAL FLOODING. ALSO...RAIN SQUALLS CAN BE EXPECTED AT THE COAST THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT.

 

[realityland]

I agree, besides itinerary changes I'd be worried about even leaving the port on Thursday

Local Brevard County info:

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL
150 PM EDT WED OCT 24 2012

THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY.

TROPICAL CYCLONE SANDY IS FORECAST TO LIFT NORTH ACROSS EASTERN CUBA TONIGHT AND THE CENTRAL BAHAMAS THURSDAY NIGHT. CONFIDENCE REMAINS HIGH THAT THE STORM CENTER WILL REMAIN EAST OF THE FLORIDA ATLANTIC COAST...WITH THE CLOSEST APPROACH TO THE CAPE OCCURRING ABOUT 250 MILES OFFSHORE FRIDAY NIGHT.

NONETHELESS... THERE WILL BE SIGNIFICANT MARINE AND COASTAL EFFECTS AS THE SYSTEM APPROACHES AND PASSES BY LATE THIS WEEK. LOCAL IMPACTS SHOULD PEAK THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY AND WILL INCLUDE...STRONG NORTH TO NORTHEAST WINDS 30 TO 40 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS ALONG THE COAST...LARGE BREAKING WAVES UP TO 8 FEET IN THE SURF ZONE...AND STRONG RIP CURRENTS. OVER THE OPEN ATLANTIC WATERS...SUSTAINED WINDS OF 35 TO 45 KNOTS ARE EXPECTED WITH SEAS BUILDING 20 TO 25 FEET OFFSHORE BY FRIDAY AND POSSIBLY HIGHER. EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS MARINE AND SURF CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED.

IN ADDITION...SUCH STRONG NORTH TO NORTHEAST WINDS WILL BE OPTIMAL FOR BEACH EROSION ALONG THE EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA COAST. SIGNIFICANT BEACH EROSION IS LIKELY AFTER SEVERAL HIGH TIDE CYCLES. THIS COMBINED WITH HIGH SURF MAY PRODUCE RUN UP TO THE DUNE LINE AND CAUSE MINOR COASTAL FLOODING. ALSO...RAIN SQUALLS CAN BE EXPECTED AT THE COAST THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT.

You are right to be worried - they will only be able to do so much to avoid the high seas. As I mentioned in a previous post, I skirted Hurricane Alex in '04 and the seas were in the 20-foot range. For those that may be sensitive to motion sickness, it is just an FYI that you may experience some rocking - at least for several hours.

 

[Zeppelin]

I am SO sad about this! I want castaway Cay, not Nassau!

I'm still hoping that Sandy moves fast enough that DCL will change plans and head to Castaway Cay on Saturday instead.

i'm hoping for you guys as well....the "good" news is the storm seems to be moving straight north, versus NE:

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

 

[RedSox68]

We're being told in the northeast that this is going to be a hurricane on steroids. They expect rain, flooding, gale force winds and snow! Many states (including NYC) are already releasing evacuation plans!

 

[Mary Anne]

We've been through three hurricanes on a Disney ship. They always steer clear, change up the itinerary to stay ahead of it and, if they have to skip a port, usually add another. The only disappointment we had was we had to skip Key West to stay ahead of Hurricane Frances. Never have gotten back there

We were on that cruise with you too! We lovingly refer to it as the Hurricane Francis 10 day cruise that just went on and on. My husband talked for years about missing Key West. We did finally get to see it about 3 years ago on a Holland America Christmas Holiday cruise. We loved it there. Hope you get the chance to see it sometime.

 

[samily]

We were on the Wonder 3 night cruise during Hurricane Frances in 2004. We missed both scheduled ports (CC & Nassau) and sailed to Cozumel, making it a 4 night cruise instead. Port Canaveral was closed so we disembarked in Fort Lauderdale.

 

[RedSox68]

We were on that cruise with you too! We lovingly refer to it as the Hurricane Francis 10 day cruise that just went on and on. My husband talked for years about missing Key West. We did finally get to see it about 3 years ago on a Holland America Christmas Holiday cruise. We loved it there. Hope you get the chance to see it sometime.

They even came out with a pin for it. So yeah, we were the very first 10-day cruise!

 

[gometros]

We've been through three hurricanes on a Disney ship. They always steer clear, change up the itinerary to stay ahead of it and, if they have to skip a port, usually add another. The only disappointment we had was we had to skip Key West to stay ahead of Hurricane Frances. Never have gotten back there

Three? Remind me to avoid cruises you are booked on ;-)

 

[castaway3]

They even came out with a pin for it. So yeah, we were the very first 10-day cruise!

We were on the first Southern Caribbean cruise it was great

 

[SharonLowe]

Happened to us in August on the Dream. DCL had already switched Nassau/CC day 1 (5-night cruise) to avoid huge crowds on Sunday when we should have gone to Nassau. The first day to CC it took him 3 hours to dock but he managed to do it. The worst day was the sea day and the captain basically kept us between 2 islands (with 6 other ships) to keep the boat from rocking too much. They are very good at avoiding the worst weather.

 

[boundfordisney]

Three? Remind me to avoid cruises you are booked on ;-)

LOL

 

[houseofstaggs]

Hope everything works out for the upcoming cruises this week!