Port of Tampa fog this morning....

[AL_cruiser]

I am in Tampa as of Sunday night. We started getting text messages, emails, and automated calls at 5:00am Monday. They were coming in every 2-3 hours. I ended up calling RCI and asked if they would pay for my hotel, and was told to submit the receipt to guest services once we boarded. She said they would cover up to $200. I'm guessing I can submit the rest to the Cruise Care policy??? Other than that, no real communication from RCI.

[waterbugohio]

I am in Tampa as of Sunday night. We started getting text messages, emails, and automated calls at 5:00am Monday. They were coming in every 2-3 hours. I ended up calling RCI and asked if they would pay for my hotel, and was told to submit the receipt to guest services once we boarded. She said they would cover up to $200. I'm guessing I can submit the rest to the Cruise Care policy??? Other than that, no real communication from RCI.

 

At least they did contact you and let you know what was going on. So often people have to come to cc to find out information.

 

Any trouble getting hotels?? Enjoy your warm weather and hope you get to board later today. Let us know what updates you get.

[GTO-Girl]

We are sitting in Tampa waiting......and waiting. Yesterday they kept saying 5:30... Then 6:30.....and finally at 4:30 they said the ship wasn't coming. They gave us a list of hotels in the area so 2,000 + were scrambling for rooms. We were pro-active so instead of standing around whining we got on the phone amd snagged a nice room at the Marriott Waterside. Royal is reimbursing us for the hotel rooms The parking garage comped us for yesterday and gave us a receipt for when come back.

 

Of course it was certainly not what we expected but it could be a lot worse. For anything we don't get back from Royal we have trip insurance to cover.

 

Life is still good!!!!

Edited February 24, 2015 by GTO-Girl

[paulh84]

Man, how disappointing for those wanting to board. With day 1 of a 5 day already burned I would think their entire trip is in jeopardy if there are any further delays.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[waterbugohio]

Man, how disappointing for those wanting to board. With day 1 of a 5 day already burned I would think their entire trip is in jeopardy if there are any further delays.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

So for those with "sea" knowledge. Wil this ship have time to make it anywhere?? They were scheduled for Grand Caymen and Cozumel. How long does it take to get to either from Tampa??

[Ourusualbeach]

So for those with "sea" knowledge. Wil this ship have time to make it anywhere?? They were scheduled for Grand Caymen and Cozumel. How long does it take to get to either from Tampa??

 

They can do a 4 day Cozumel only.

[Clarea]

So for those with "sea" knowledge. Wil this ship have time to make it anywhere?? They were scheduled for Grand Caymen and Cozumel. How long does it take to get to either from Tampa??

Unlikely that the itinerary will remain unchanged. If they can leave today, they can probably make one of the two planned ports.

[paulh84]

So for those with "sea" knowledge. Wil this ship have time to make it anywhere?? They were scheduled for Grand Caymen and Cozumel. How long does it take to get to either from Tampa??

 

 

The 4 day itinerary with Cozumel only is probably viable if they get out today. They were scheduled for Cozumel on the 26th anyway, so assuming they could sail all day tomorrow it could work.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Capt_BJ]

I just caught the Marine Information broadcast from the Coast Guard on the webcam's radio feed

 

Due to reduced visibility, Tampa Bay remains closed to all traffic in {all zones}

 

they provided no forecast . . .

 

obviously the visibility is worse now then it was last night . . .

[IrishLassie]

Yes, it is fogged in! Our news has said that there are ships waiting out in the gulf to come in today. Will try to keep you updated. :)

[TravelerThom]

I am in Tampa as of Sunday night. We started getting text messages, emails, and automated calls at 5:00am Monday. They were coming in every 2-3 hours. I ended up calling RCI and asked if they would pay for my hotel, and was told to submit the receipt to guest services once we boarded. She said they would cover up to $200. I'm guessing I can submit the rest to the Cruise Care policy??? Other than that, no real communication from RCI.

Thanks for the info - and welcome to Cruise Critic. I'm just an interested bystander (I'm in Pinellas County [between Tampa Bay and the Gulf] and often cruise RCI). I know that some on the ship need to be getting elsewhere, but I'd rather be stuck on the ship (with food, beverages and working toilets [not talking Carnival here]) than stuck on land wondering if you are indeed going to go. If Brilliance can get out tonight (not a given) I'd guess you'd still go to Cozumel - not sure how late they can leave and still make Cozumel.

 

good luck

Thom

[prince319]

Some have asked if this is common to Tampa and unfortunately it is. Well, not 2 days straight of fog where ships can't make it in to port 2 whole days in a row. I'm pretty sure this is the first time this situation has occurred!

 

But, like I said, fog isn't uncommon especially this time of the year. I know we had a few fog days in December and early January. I live pretty far inland and even this far in we get bad fog and this is coming from someone who used to live in England.

 

The unfortunate part for the cruise ships is that they have to not only navigate under the Skyway bridge which can't be done during fog, but then even once the fog clears then they have to worry about the tide rising too high (which means they still can't navigate under the bridge). This is one of the points brought up frequently when many have suggested putting a cruise port on the coast rather than Tampa proper (outside of the Skyway Bridge). Obviously a good coast location along with the cost makes it an on-going debate.

 

Anyway, this particular story even made our local (on-line) news and it doesn't seem like the ship will be able to make it in to port anytime soon sadly:

 

"Heavy fog off the Gulf is creating limited visibility on Tampa-area roads this morning. A dense fog advisory now includes coastal and inland counties through 10 a.m.

 

A dense fog advisory also remains over coastal waters until 1 p.m.

 

Port Tampa Bay was closed to shipping traffic early this morning due to the fog. Among the ships stuck at sea since Monday is an arriving Royal Caribbean cruise with Ohio State football coach Urban Meyer, part of a fundraising Buckeye Cruise for Cancer. Also onboard are alumni, fans and current and former football and basketball players."

 

Full story at: http://tbo.com/weather/dense-fog-expected-to-clear-by-mid-morning-20150224/?page=1

 

Mikki

[IrishLassie]

We too are in Pinellas (Seminole). I saw that the port extended the fog advisory for at least another 2 hrs. It was suppose to be lifted at 8:00am but who knows now when it will be open. Feel bad for the passengers waiting to board. I wonder if they were put up at hotels last night by the cruiseline??

[GTO-Girl]

We are among those waiting and yes the cruiseline is reimbursing us for our hotels last night. Not sure what will happen today.......

 

But life is still good......

[TravelerThom]

So for those with "sea" knowledge. Wil this ship have time to make it anywhere?? They were scheduled for Grand Caymen and Cozumel. How long does it take to get to either from Tampa??

It is approximately 545 nautical miles from Tampa to Cozumel. Brilliance is listed on www.RoyalCaribbean.com with a cruising speed of 25 knots. Obviously you would not do 25 knots in Tampa Bay, but IF they did 25 knots at sea you could make it in under 24 hours including time for docking. If Brilliance leaves Tampa by midnight tonight it could easily make Cozumel on schedule, and theoretically could make it if it left Thursday morning. Tidal variance at the Skyway is less than two feet this week, and the ship air draft clearance is considerably more than that.

 

Thom

[ksuds]

I work in a office building in the bay. On a nice day, I can see the Skyway Bridge. As of right now, I can't see hardly out the window at some points.

 

Poor passengers that checked their baggage the last night of the sailing. Having no clothes would be the worst part to me.

 

It doesn't appear to be clearing anytime soon. :(

[PH8]

I work in a office building in the bay. On a nice day, I can see the Skyway Bridge. As of right now, I can't see hardly out the window at some points.

 

Poor passengers that checked their baggage the last night of the sailing. Having no clothes would be the worst part to me.

 

It doesn't appear to be clearing anytime soon. :(

That was one of my first thoughts......guess Sunday night and again Monday night,they packed and put their bags out..only to have them returned..

 

Don't you wish you booked last Thursday??:p:p

[Cindy]

Man, how disappointing for those wanting to board. With day 1 of a 5 day already burned I would think their entire trip is in jeopardy if there are any further delays.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Hopefully, even if the cruise has to be cancelled, RCI will allow passengers to board and use the ship as a hotel at no cost until the day they were scheduled to disembark. That's what they did on the Navigator last year during the "oil spill" cruise. (They did end up with a short cruise to Cozumel when the port reopened, but the original plan was to keep the ship docked and allow passengers to stay all week.) For people who flew, that might be preferable to trying to make alternate air arrangements.

[T2B2]

I work in a office building in the bay. On a nice day, I can see the Skyway Bridge. As of right now, I can't see hardly out the window at some points.

 

Poor passengers that checked their baggage the last night of the sailing. Having no clothes would be the worst part to me.

 

It doesn't appear to be clearing anytime soon. :(

 

 

We haven't been given an update yet since the captain this morning. We are all looking at probably another night on the ship. If we can start moving soon there is no way RCCL is dropping people off at midnight with no chance for flights home or the ability to get a hotel room once off the ship.

 

It is going to be another fun day of playing phone line roulette trying to get one of eight ship to shore lines to make updates to flights and other plans again. It is how we spent a couple of hours yesterday.

 

I personally wish we would divert to Miami and let is bus or get cars back to Tampa.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[cooncat]

http://porttampawebcam.com/

 

Here is the latest view of the webcam from Downtown Tampa. It's looking promising.

[mpoole3]

New Update from this morning:

 

As of 8:00 a.m., Brilliance of the Seas has still not begun the four hour transit to the port due to the dense fog in the area. Unfortunately, we still do not have an exact time the ship will arrive to Tampa, since this will depend on when the fog conditions improve and the local authorities allow the ship to travel to the port.

 

We ask that guests scheduled to sail on Brilliance of the Seas not travel to port until we are ready to begin check in and boarding. We will be providing regular updates on our website – http://www.royalcaribbean.com – as well as through e-mails and text messages.

 

Royal Caribbean will continue to closely monitor weather conditions in Tampa and will update this information again at 10:00 a.m.

[bluegirlum]

We are among those waiting and yes the cruiseline is reimbursing us for our hotels last night. Not sure what will happen today.......

 

But life is still good......

 

Thank you for your update GTO girl. You have such a positive attitude! I hope you get to enjoy at least some of the cruise. I am getting a little anxious about my Saturday cruise on Brilliance. I'm thinking I might make a hotel reservation just in case.

 

To those of you in Tampa, any idea on when the next batch of fog is supposed to hit?

[Homosassa]

The latest weather report locally states that although the current fog advisory is due to expire at 10 AM today, the fog is not lifting and is not expected to maybe start lift until early afternoon.

 

At some point today, a cold front with drier air is expected to come south over the area and push the current warm soggy air mass further to the south and let the fog lift.

 

At this point, if lucky, the Brilliance may make it into port sometime in the very late afternoon-early evening hours.

[bigeck]

We haven't been given an update yet since the captain this morning. We are all looking at probably another night on the ship. If we can start moving soon there is no way RCCL is dropping people off at midnight with no chance for flights home or the ability to get a hotel room once off the ship.

 

It is going to be another fun day of playing phone line roulette trying to get one of eight ship to shore lines to make updates to flights and other plans again. It is how we spent a couple of hours yesterday.

 

I personally wish we would divert to Miami and let is bus or get cars back to Tampa.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Looking at the port webcam. It does look like it's clearing a bit.

Slow, but we can see buildings now

[jamon]

Was wondering if those people who put their luggage out on Sunday night got it back on Monday???And did those same people put their luggage out on Monday night get it back this morning(tuesday) or are they holding it until they see if it will dock today??? Anyone know the answer? thanks