Mississippi River Flooding

[Sadric]

I have a Norwegian (Spirit) cruise planned leaving May 15th. I just read that the Mississippi River will reach flood stage in New Orleans very close to that date. Does anyone know if this will affect the Spirit? Is the terminal on the river? What do you all think will happen here? Just curious!:confused:

[Toyz711]

yes, the dock is on the river. once the ship leave NOLA there will be several hours of cruising down the river before you get to the gulf.

when we did the spirit, she left the dock at 6pm and we got to the gulf around 3am.

the river is causing problems all over. in tunica, the casino my dh works at closed last friday, it's on low land and will be pulling the lines and getting ready to "float" the river rising. my casino closes monday, several others closed today. they expect us to be out of work for up to 3 weeks.

 

when the river gets this high there is more current, more debris...more things for the ship to watch out for. just depends on how long it takes for the crest to get down there and if they "blow" some more levees to relieve the pressure.

[Sadric]

So will they move the ship elsewhere or cancel it? How does that normally happen? Do they call us?

[PennyAgain]

Keep on eye on your cruise line's WEB site for updates and information and do not hesitate to telephone.

[concour]

If the level of the Mississippi River rises enough they will open the Bonnet Carre Spillway north of New Orleans to divert the excess water into Lake Ponchartrain. The last time a cruise ship had to be diverted was in 2003.

[rvsullivan]

Not likely that the Spirit will be moved anywhere. High water in the spring is all part of the river. I wouldn't worry. Have a great trip.:D

[Sadric]

I feel a little better after reading these comments but am still a bit concerned. Reason being is that I read today part of th Miss River is now shut down completely. No word from NCL. I just want to be on top of it for new flights etc.

 

Thanks for everyones comments so far!

[rvsullivan]

The part of the Miss. that is closed to ship traffic is wayyyyyyyyyyyy upstream from NO. You will be at the very bottom of the river just before it enters the Gulf. Very few levee's from NO to the Gulf. The river will be running hard, but the ship will be fine. Have fun.

I just looked at the river cam and a Carnival ship is at the pier now. You can tell the river is running strong, but river traffic looks normal.

[SewCruise]

They're talking of opening the Morganza spillway as well, which is far upriver of New Orleans and will divert some of the floodwater west into the Atchafalaya Basin.

 

Also it looks like the river is not projected to crest in New Orleans until after your sail date, around the 24th.

[Sadric]

Thanks ya'll!

[Krazy Kruizers]

This is better information than watching the weather channel

[mitsugirly]

The part of the Miss. that is closed to ship traffic is wayyyyyyyyyyyy upstream from NO. You will be at the very bottom of the river just before it enters the Gulf. Very few levee's from NO to the Gulf. The river will be running hard, but the ship will be fine. Have fun.

I just looked at the river cam and a Carnival ship is at the pier now. You can tell the river is running strong, but river traffic looks normal.

 

Where is the link for the cruise ships in port at NOLA?

[rvsullivan]

Try: http://www.nola.com/rivercam/

 

Several different views, try river cam and bridge cam. The bridge cam shows cruise ship port by the bridge.

Have fun.:D

[mitsugirly]

Thanks. So is this not a live cam?

[rvsullivan]

Yeah, it's live, Spirit is there now.

[mitsugirly]

Is it the cam with the bridge?

[Everbest]

I'm on the same sailing as the OP and appreciate all your answers. My DD & I will be flying in from California on the morning we are to board. How do you think our flight (particularly landing) and getting to the terminal will be affected by the possible flooding?

[rvsullivan]

NO doesn't have any flooding?:confused:

[Ardo09203]

We are scheduled to sail on the 21st on the carnival triumph. I know that the river is suppose to be at its highest somewhere between the 20-25, does any one know if our cruise will be affected?

[SewCruise]

As far as I know there is no flooding currently. The Bonnet Carre spillway was opened this morning, diverting some excess water from the river into Lake Pontchartrain.

 

Local news is reporting Morganza will most likely be opened sometime this weekend or early next week. If Morganza is opened, and barring any major catastrophe (which, of course, we learned five years ago you can't completely rule out), New Orleans should be fine. Flights and traffic will operate normally, and I don't imagine the cruise ships will be much affected either.

 

Plenty of folks living west of the river won't be so lucky, especially our farmers and fishermen. The link below is the most recently released map of probable flooding if/when Morganza is opened. If you allow pop-ups you can see the map a bit larger. New Orleans is east of the projected flood areas.

 

http://www.nola.com/weather/index.ssf/2011/05/map_of_mississippi_river_flood.html

[Abear2]

Ok my cruise on the Spirit is scheduled to leave on the 29th. I see where it will crest around the 24th, so do ya'll think I will have a problem with my cruise ? I guess I am hoping for some positive answers, since I am really worried about it. :o I have never had a cruise cancelled in my last 18 cruises, so I really don't want to make it a first !!! :o Thanks so much.

[mitsugirly]

Ok my cruise on the Spirit is scheduled to leave on the 29th. I see where it will crest around the 24th, so do ya'll think I will have a problem with my cruise ? I guess I am hoping for some positive answers, since I am really worried about it. :o I have never had a cruise cancelled in my last 18 cruises, so I really don't want to make it a first !!! :o Thanks so much.

I just had to say....(you countdown clock) 4th time on the Spirit. You must really like it! :D That's good to hear. We will be on her 9/11. I can't wait.

[Abear2]

Haha, Yes I do like the Spirit. :) It is not that big, but it is well kept up and the crew is the best I've ever had. This will be cruise #19 for me. I love cruising. New Orleans doesn't require me to fly, so I can go on more. LOL ;) It is only about a two and a half hour drive, which really isn't bad. I stay at Harrah's casino always, so I know how to get there with my eyes closed ! LOL :D I think ya'll will really like the Spirit. It is very easy to get around on this ship, unlike the Epic, that I would always find myself lost. :o The food in the dining room and the buffet isn't that great, but the specialty restaurants are very good. I ate at the Blue Lagoon a lot of times, because I love their hot wings and the fish & chips. This is a free place to eat and it's open 23 hours of the day.

[mitsugirly]

The food in the dining room and the buffet isn't that great, but the specialty restaurants are very good. I ate at the Blue Lagoon a lot of times, because I love their hot wings and the fish & chips. This is a free place to eat and it's open 23 hours of the day.

 

I hate to hear that you did not like the buffet. That's usually where we eat. I much rather go to the buffet, see the food I'm getting, try it out, if I don't like it-get something else, if I do-get more! :D We only tried the regular dining rooms twice on the Epic and I hated the food. I tried 2 different plates and just couldn't handle it. :( Everyone else seem to love it. I'm not what you would call a "picky" eater, but I'm not a big meat eater (I don't eat steak).

 

As for the specialty restaurants...we did every one of them on the Epic except Teppanyaki and that was the one I wanted to do THE MOST! We came back from a port and was so hungry, we went straight to the buffet and ate and THEN realize we had reservations that night (actually 1 1/2 hrs from then) for the Teppanyaki. CRAP! We had to cancel.

 

So...this will be the ONLY specialty restaurant we will dine at this cruise.

 

Hopefully I won't starve. LOL

[Abear2]

LOL I am sort of like you. I don't like steak either. I mean you will find something to eat, but don't expect it to be great. LOL ;) I think you will be eating at the Blue Lagoon like me. :D They have some good spinich/artichoke dip, love the hot wings, best fish & chips here. These are better than anywhere else on the ship. I don't know why, but they are. The hot wings come in hot, mild and no sauce at all, which would just be fried. They have burgers and hot dogs here as well. When we dock at the port and I get back on the ship, I usually head straight to the buffet, check it out and then head to the Blue Lagoon if I don't like what I see. LOL I mean everyone's taste is different, so maybe you will like it. I can promise you one thing ... You will not starve on here !!! LOL :D