Will DCL notify us if sailing diverted?

[stsomewhere]

We are sailing on The Magic on Saturday. I know that the captain will divert if it is not safe to go to Port Canveral. Would they keep the ship out a day longer or bring it in a day early? Will they notify you prior to boarding?

I know that the captain will change ports and go around the storms. Just wondering about boarding


They are predicting 6 ft waves at Cocoa beach Saturday morning.

Thanks.

 

[Capt_BJ]

6 foot surf is just good surfing weather around here. that's nowhere near serious enuf to close the port in my experience and I worked a ship out of here for 3 years. the storm track is WELL off shore.

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

the first choice alternate port has been Ft Lauderdale and DCL simply set up a bus ride 'tween the two terminals to simplify the process.....

but seriously .... this storm is not going to impact you other than probably a more interesting ride crossing the Gulf Stream the first nite (apply puppy patches early if in doubt ..)

to be more technical, DCL has only moved ports when forced to because the port gets closed by USCG Captain of the Port and in my experience that has only happened when hurricane condition four is reached - that means a direct hit is expected in 24 hours - and then the port remains closed until a survey of damage is completed after the storm passes, to ensure safe navigation. With the track of this storm as it is I can not see condition 4 being ordered....the port will stay open.

 

[tvguy]

Because the weather changes so quickly, they have to kind of make decisions on short notice. If you gave them a cell phone number, and your cell phone is on, you'll probably get a call. But generally they expect folks to show up at the terminal at Port Canaveral and they will make arrangements for you if there has been a change in sailing date or port of departure.

6 foot seas are calm seas. We had 25 foot seas for part of our cruise, going from St. Thomas to Castaway Cay at like 3 am.
And the MV Explorer, the ship that Semester at Sea is taught on got hit by a 50 foot wave back in 2005. I remember seeing home video of kids sitting on the floor, sliding from one side of the ship to the other in the high seas.

 

[kcashner]

TV guy's post above does not reflect our experience when the Magic was diverted from Port Canaveral to Ft. Lauderdale. These are not minute by minute decisions as there are MANY logistics involved, but they are "day by day." In our experience, DCL decided to bring the Magic in on Friday (missing Castaway) and take the ship back to a safer place at sea. We boarded on Monday night and sailed on Tuesday morning. Bus transportation was provided from MCO or WDW at no charge, etc.

The worst part of the situation was the notification. It was handled badly. On the positive side, they did set up a special line...as in "If you are scheduled to depart on a DCL sailing on either Saturday or Sunday of this week, press 1 now." Unfortunately this took you to a recording which was not sufficiently updated and sometimes gave wrong information. THe CMs were overwhelmed and the waits were long.

On Friday morning (about the same time the Magic was disembarking), we were told that the ship would go out as scheduled on Saturday. Since we were already at WDW, I provided them with my cell number and asked that they call me directly for any changes rather than the TA. The CM said that since I was already at WDW, they would do this. Of course, that's not how it played out.....

We waited out the hurricane in a WDW resort. On Monday morning, I got up early and called DCL to confirm that we were to leave Saratoga Springs at 10 and needed to be at the bell station with our luggage at 9. Long story, we actually had to be moved to OKW for our "extra" days on land, but the transfers were arranged from Saratoga. I had no problem with that.

I got up and did laundry before going to the ship--it's a mom thing! Got to Saratoga a few minutes before 9, only to be told by another guest that our departure had been moved to noon (grrrr......I could have slept late, KID could have slept late, etc). In actuality, bus didn't leave until 3:30! They did eventually send a DCL rep to the resort, but she continued to hand out incorrect info--for instance, we were given passes for lunch, but when we drove to the restaurant DD chose, there was a 2 hour wait for seating. Since we had to be back for a 1:30 bus (the info at that time), we couldn't wait. By that time it was too late to go elsewhere, hope to get seated, etc. We went thru the McDonald's drive thru and paid for it ourselves in order to get something for DD to eat and still be back for the bus at the appointed time....only to find that the bus was delayed another 2 hours.

I have no complaints with the decisions DCL made regarding rerouting the cruise nor with the compensation we received. I continue to be upset at the lack of timely, accurate communication!


On another cruise, we had a port change due to weather. That was well handled as the decisions were being made after sailing--the captain and CD kept us well informed with timely announcements on board.