ports in florida closed

[rhonda9156]

wonder when florida will resume with the ports im cruising in two weeks on star. getting nervous if they gonna cancel cruise or make us leave from somewhere else if florida doesnt get their power back.

anyone know anything?

[johnny124]

Is that the 13th western carib. sailing? If so, see you on there :)

[rhonda9156]

Is that the 13th western carib. sailing? If so, see you on there :)

 

no the nov 6th sailing

[Pam in CA]

There's no word yet that I know of when FLL or MIA airports will re-open, and as of last night, there was no word on when the port would re-open. It has to be inspected and OKd by the Coast Guard, which can take a while. Without power, there's no place to put passengers (without power and with damage, the hotels aren't going to accept more guests) and the cruiselines aren't going to disembark passengers who have no place to go or no way to get home. I'm more concerned about the passengers already on the ship and their safety.

[vilwil]

We are scheduled to sail this weekend- so I am really concerned!:confused:

 

But Pam IN MA you said it right! Those sailing this week will really have a rough time of it- at least we know what to expect- they will be in for a surprise I am sure when they disembark!

[ralphandalisa]

There's no word yet that I know of when FLL or MIA airports will re-open, and as of last night, there was no word on when the port would re-open. It has to be inspected and OKd by the Coast Guard, which can take a while. Without power, there's no place to put passengers (without power and with damage, the hotels aren't going to accept more guests) and the cruiselines aren't going to disembark passengers who have no place to go or no way to get home. I'm more concerned about the passengers already on the ship and their safety.

Pam, I would not be too concerned about those still on ships. We were on the Caribbean Princess over Labor Day weekend last year when we had to stay out two extra days because the ports were closed due to Jeanne or Frances, I can't remember which. Very few people were overly worried about a few extra "free" days on the water and Princess did a very good job of helping passengers reshedule their arrangments. We were never out of food or drinks and the cruise went on like normal. We loved it!

[Toto2Kansas]

We sail on the Sea Princess on November 5th. Hopefully things will be back to semi-normal by then. Been looking forward to this sailing for about a year now, it would break my heart if we couldn't make it.

 

Best of luck to all that are sailing this week end. Will keep my fingers crossed for you that everything is up and running within the next 48 hours.;)

[GloriaF]

I was on the Star Oct 16-23, our cruise was diverted from Western to Eastern itinerary and we were able to disembark on schedule due to Wilma stalling over the Yucatan Peninsula for an extra day. Those on board now did not go aboard without full knowledge of the storm looming. In fact, they departed earlier than the scheduled time to get ahead of the winds. The rumors were they may go further south if the tropical depression in the East developed. Don't worry about them - the Captain will keep them safe. We never had stormy weather or rough seas and we were out there at the same time Wilma was. My niece was a first-time cruiser and she called it an adventure of a lifetime.

 

When we drove out of FLL on Sunday morning about 10 AM, no windows were boarded, all boats were still in the marinas and stacked three stories high in the storage areas. I don't think Ft Lauderdale and area prepared and took this storm serious. At least Wilma was moving fast across the state and didn't have the opportunity to do as much damage as she could have or dump as much water as the New Orleans area had with Katrina.

[gambit57]

I'm on the Oct. 30 sailing for the star. I'm REALLY worried.

[roohound]

I didn't realize 90% of FLL hotels are non-operational :eek:

[gambit57]

Well, FLL airport is closed right now. Miami opened, but there's roof damage to FLL. Who knows when it'll open. people are gonna have a tough time getting in and out. Hope they fix it SOON!

[gambit57]

Double post.

[cruise7]

Pam, I would not be too concerned about those still on ships. We were on the Caribbean Princess over Labor Day weekend last year when we had to stay out two extra days because the ports were closed due to Jeanne or Frances, I can't remember which. Very few people were overly worried about a few extra "free" days on the water and Princess did a very good job of helping passengers reshedule their arrangments. We were never out of food or drinks and the cruise went on like normal. We loved it!

 

i was on that cruise last year wow what a great cruise it was

[spingal]

Here is the latest. The Coral is now scheduled to return to MIAMI and not Port Everglades!

 

10/26/2005

 

Tropical Weather Update -- Coral Princess Now Departing Thursday, October 27 from Miami

 

 

Voyage 6537

Due to the effects of Hurricane Wilma, and the current closures of Port Everglades and the airport in Fort Lauderdale, Coral Princess voyage 6537 will now depart from the Port of Miami on Thursday, October 27, 2005. Miami International Airport is now operational with limited inbound and outbound flights.

 

This means that passengers currently onboard Coral Princess and scheduled to disembark the ship yesterday, will instead disembark tomorrow morning at the Port of Miami, Terminal C, after which time embarkation for passengers on voyage 6537 is planned to occur. This cruise will conclude as scheduled in Fort Lauderdale on Friday, November 4, 2005.

 

Complimentary shuttle service will be available on Thursday, October 27 to transfer disembarking passengers from the Port of Miami to Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, and from the Port of Miami to Orlando airport. As well, complimentary shuttles will be available to transfer embarking passengers from the Miami airport (and Fort Lauderdale airport, if open) to the Port of Miami tomorrow.

 

At the conclusion of voyage 6537, on November 4, complimentary shuttles will also be availabale to transfer disembarking passengers from Port Everglades to the Port of Miami.

 

Coral Princess voyage 6537 has been modified to an eight-day itinerary as follows:

 

Thursday, October 27: Arrive Miami 8:30 am; Depart 5 pm

Friday, October 28: At sea

Saturday, October 29: Arrive Ocho Rios 10 am; Depart 5 pm

Sunday, October 30: At sea

Monday, October 31: Cruise Panama Canal 7 am to 3:30 pm

Monday, October 31: Arrive Cristobal 4 pm: Depart 8 pm

Tuesday, November 1: Arrive Limon 6 am; Depart 5 pm

Wednesday, November 2: At sea

Thursday, November 3: At sea

Friday, November 4: Arrive Fort Lauderdale 7 am

 

Passengers must be at the pier for check-in no later than 4:30 pm.

 

Because of the shortened itinerary, passengers on this sailing will receive a refund of one-third of their cruise fare.

 

For both the sailings arriving into and departing from Miami on Thursday, October 27, passengers who booked Princess Air will be automatically rescheduled on alternate flights. Passengers with independent air arrangements should reschedule their flights in accordance with the following times:

 

Passengers disembarking Coral Princess:

Flights after 12:00 noon from Miami

Flights after 12:30 pm from Fort Lauderdale (if the airport is open)

Flights after 6:00 pm from Orlando

 

Passengers embarking Coral Princess:

Flights arriving no later than 3:00 pm into Ft. Lauderdale (if the airport is open)

Flights arriving no later than 3:30 pm into Miami

 

We are keeping in close contact with the authorities in order to provide as much information as possible, and we will be posting updates on this website as new information becomes available.

 

Updated October 26, 2005 12:30 pm PDT

[GloriaF]

Spingal, thanks for the info!

 

Could you see and post what the Star Princess is doing this week as well?

[spingal]

Spingal, thanks for the info!

 

Could you see and post what the Star Princess is doing this week as well?

I found this on the Princess website. Unfortunately there is only info on the Coral.

 

I hope you can find out about the Star. Good luck and let us know if you find anything!

 

Jamie

[kappellof]

I'm on the current Canada/NE/Colonial America sailing of the Sea Princess, which is scheduled to conclude at Port Everglades on 11/5. And I'm really hoping things will have settled down by then.

 

We haven't been free of Wilma's wrath up here. Our first port of call was to have been Sydney, Nova Scotia today. It was cancelled because of the weather. About 15 hours ago in the middle of the night and in the Gulf of St Lawrence we started to encounter 45 knot winds and 20 foot seas, which we've been in for most of the day. Captain Burgess said once we were in the outskirts of Wilma, passing south of Nova Scotia. Then we got into the middle of the low pressure zone from the big storm moving through the Northeast. We're hoping to make our stop in Halifax as planned tomorrow.

 

It's too early to predict what is in store for us as we get closer to FLA, but sure we will know something in about a week.

[GloriaF]

Thanks, Jamie. I thought maybe you had a secret connection or website that you were getting info from. I'll post anything I learn.

[JudyK]

kappellof,

Thanks for posting, all of us on the 11-05 Cruise out of FLL are following your cruise and watching things in FLL. We were wondering how the Weather was with all the predictions of a Noreaster condition up in that area. We are all wishing that the weather will get better for you. Wishing you calm seas and no more missed ports. I am not sure we can make the Sun come out, but wishing you Sunny skies also.

 

Please let us know how things are going. If not here, you can post on our Roll Call http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=75941&page=134

[cfk2439]

Gloria F, your statement that Hurricane Wilma was moving across the state fast and didn't have an opportunity to do much damage was incorrect. Living in the Palm Beach area, I can testify that it was much worse this time than it was last year in either Frances or Jeanne. There were over four million customers without power after it passed through in the tri-county area (Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach). Thirty-year-old trees were ripped out with their roots intact and the grass still around the root system like a carpet. It was really terrifying. Thank goodness our power came on at 3:30 a.m. today. Hot coffee never tasted so good!

 

Carol

[GloriaF]

Carol, I am sorry for the misunderstanding. I didn't mean to imply that Wilma did no damage, just that it could have been worse had she sat spinning in one spot. I realize that it is terrifying and apologize for the misunderstanding. May God bless and protect all who were affected by the storm.

[srqgal]

Scheduled to leave out of Ft L... cruise line indicates it is still scheduled to depart from Ft L, but after reading your posts, I can't imagine how....

 

Any ideas from past experiences what Princess will do with this trip? I really, really need a vacation:)

 

Thanks

[spingal]

Scheduled to leave out of Ft L... cruise line indicates it is still scheduled to depart from Ft L, but after reading your posts, I can't imagine how....

 

Any ideas from past experiences what Princess will do with this trip? I really, really need a vacation:)

 

Thanks

Hang tight -- they will have 48 more hours to get the port up and operational. I am sure they are trying to make this happen ASAP.

 

I hope that everything works out OK for you. I can definitely understand your concern. It would be very hard for me if I was scheduled for a cruise and then had something like this happen.

 

Let us know if you hear anything from Princess.

Jamie

[GloriaF]

I heard on a local news station that FLL airport would be open in a day or two. I am pretty certain that is what I heard, but then I started wondering if I'd heard it correctly. You know how it is when you're doing something else and half-listening, then something catches your attention and it's too late to get the facts straight? If it is true, that is promising news ~ maybe the cruiseport is not far behind.

 

I'm sure Princess and the other cruise lines are not eagar to keep bussing passengers at the cruise lines expense to Miami, FLL, and Orlando as reported about the Coral departure , and are doing everything possible to get up and running asap.

[cfk2439]

Local news is reporting that ports opened at midnight to pump supplies into oil tankers - nothing yet on the cruiselines. Thank goodness they are pumping gas, just about all stations are closed because either they have no electricity to pump or no gas in their tanks. People are waiting in line for hours at the few stations that are open (just reported that the line is four miles long at one station and people are getting mean). So many people have purchased generators, but they need gasoline to run and there was a picture yesterday with hundres of people lined up at one station with gas cans in hand.

 

Florida Power has issed a statement that (worst case scenario) everyone should have their power by no later than November 22nd. Can you believe that! Because our location is near the local fire and police station, we were among the first to get power back.