Summit Departed Bermuda about 10 hours early

[Hydrokitty]

I'm relatively new to ocean cruising.....my question is this: if the passengers on board Summit NOW cannot get home when they dock tomorrow because airports are closed or at least seriously delayed then passengers trying to BOARD Summit won't be able to get to Bayonne either. Why wouldn't Celebrity let the current passengers stay on board an additional night if necessary till the storm blows away and airports are up and running again? or will they?

[gold1953]

I'm relatively new to ocean cruising.....my question is this: if the passengers on board Summit NOW cannot get home when they dock tomorrow because airports are closed or at least seriously delayed then passengers trying to BOARD Summit won't be able to get to Bayonne either. Why wouldn't Celebrity let the current passengers stay on board an additional night if necessary till the storm blows away and airports are up and running again? or will they?

 

Not a remote chance. Those people have a contract for a set # of nights. The contract ends then. Other people will be at the port waiting for their cabins. Yes some may miss the ship if it leaves as scheduled but this happens all winter long with so many travelling form the north

[Hydrokitty]

Not a remote chance. Those people have a contract for a set # of nights. The contract ends then. Other people will be at the port waiting for their cabins. Yes some may miss the ship if it leaves as scheduled but this happens all winter long with so many travelling form the north

 

Thanks for the response..I was just curious how that worked.

Edited September 3, 2016 by Hydrokitty

[beach spring]

At first we thought things were going okay. Those passengers who could depart on their own left the ship a day early, about two thirds at least were from areas near NYC. Those of us from more distant areas, however, were allowed to stay aboard, since we had no way out and nowhere nearby to book a room. No taxis etc. We were required to exit the ship and reboard, going through the whole boarding process, just without the picture taking. None of us objected to that, as a reasonable expectation.

 

Where HAL dropped the ball, however, was when they started the boarding process for arriving passengers on Sunday afternoon. Those who could get to the port were staggering in and boarding, for the delayed Monday morning departure for Bermuda. We "leftovers" we're not treated very hospitably and thereby resented our "steerage" treatment. Imagine over 400 in a couple of small conference rooms, with all our luggage and few chairs. After all, HAL had our money and was finished with us. They were very busy courting their new guests. We were able to dine in the MDR, still not knowing where we would sleep. I should add they told us we would get a discount on a future sailing, but that expired before we cruised again.

 

What it came down to was really that, plus it became very apparent HAL did not have a plan for such a situation. Best of luck for those of you who are boarding tomorrow.

 

Would I cruise HAL again? Yes, if itinerary and price were good. BTW, the rest of the cruise was lovely. In fact, unforgettable. To :D

[DancerOT]

As someone who has been on Summit through a rather vicious storm, this was a smart move. I have never seen my mother get so freaked as when a wave came up and smashed into our cabin window. Our Captain did the best he could and warned all of the passengers that it was going to be rocky. But, I can honestly say, I have never seen anything like it.

[MaryAnn&Don]

Just thought I would post here for you all as to what is going on.

 

Hope your trip back wasn't too rough, but according to the map you went through the roughest part of the storm.

 

We are scheduled to depart for the Canada trip tomorrow and just received word that we will be required to board 3 hours earlier at 9:30. The ship is scheduled to depart at 2PM.

 

Official notice:

Dear Valued Guest,

 

This is Celebrity Cruises. We would like to provide you with important information regarding your Sunday, September 3, sailing onboard Celebrity Summit. Due to Tropical Storm Hermine, there has been a change in the departure time for your cruise. The ship will now depart Cape Liberty, New Jersey , at 2:00 p.m. Boarding for your cruise will start at 9:30 a.m. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation and we look forward to welcoming you onboard.

Sincerely,

Celebrity Cruises

 

 

I see Summit is just south of Rockaway Park so I was wondering if the ship will be disembarking earlier than normal to accommodate the arrivals.

 

The airport in Newark is open and operating normally and there is no expected change tomorrow as the storm will remain well south of us. The rain line looks to be south of Seaside, NJ. and mostly to the east.

 

Welcome back and sorry you all missed your second day in Bermuda.

[emmy]

Summit should be arriving and passing under the Verrazano Bridge shortly

 

http://www.nyharborwebcam.com

[richsea]

She just passed tge bridge. To look at the bright side, although they missed seceral hours in Bermuda, the passengers get to see the NYC skyline at night, which is a beautiful sight.

 

Sade travels to all disembarking or sailing tomorrow.

[Hydrokitty]

She just passed tge bridge. To look at the bright side, although they missed seceral hours in Bermuda, the passengers get to see the NYC skyline at night, which is a beautiful sight.

 

Sade travels to all disembarking or sailing tomorrow.

 

As a fellow Long Islander, I have to admit I would give up a day in Bermuda to see the NYC skyline at night, especially on a night as clear as this one....for now. :D

 

But I do feel sorry for the people who planned to fly in tomorrow morning and arrive in plenty of time and now will miss their cruise... now's not the time for advice to fly in day before. I guess X is leaving early hoping to avoid Hermine off LI tomorrow. Still going to be a bumpy ride....surf's already up.

[pmctrish]

Just thought I would post here for you all as to what is going on.

 

Hope your trip back wasn't too rough, but according to the map you went through the roughest part of the storm.

 

We are scheduled to depart for the Canada trip tomorrow and just received word that we will be required to board 3 hours earlier at 9:30. The ship is scheduled to depart at 2PM.

 

Official notice:

Dear Valued Guest,

 

This is Celebrity Cruises. We would like to provide you with important information regarding your Sunday, September 3, sailing onboard Celebrity Summit. Due to Tropical Storm Hermine, there has been a change in the departure time for your cruise. The ship will now depart Cape Liberty, New Jersey , at 2:00 p.m. Boarding for your cruise will start at 9:30 a.m. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation and we look forward to welcoming you onboard.

Sincerely,

Celebrity Cruises

 

 

I see Summit is just south of Rockaway Park so I was wondering if the ship will be disembarking earlier than normal to accommodate the arrivals.

 

The airport in Newark is open and operating normally and there is no expected change tomorrow as the storm will remain well south of us. The rain line looks to be south of Seaside, NJ. and mostly to the east.

 

Welcome back and sorry you all missed your second day in Bermuda.

 

The trip back was not bad at all, actually quite comfortable. Ship traveled an alternate route. We had two full days in Bermuda. Disembarkation is at normal time from 7:30 to 9:30.

[ReneeFLL]

.......With a hurricane, even a lesser one, airlines run scared and start canceling flights........

 

Not sure why you would call it running scared. They are being smart and preparing for the storm. Besides, I wouldn't want DH to have to fly thru one.

 

I hope everyone gets home or to the ship safe and everything goes smooth.

Edited September 4, 2016 by ReneeFLL

[Baron Barracuda]

Boarding Summit today. Glad we're leaving early but know some folks on our roll call are flying in today. Hope they make it. Never had motion sickness problem, but picked up some dramamine for this one.

[SeaWatch12]

I'll be interested in hearing how the early departure works out.

Hopefully everyone booked will arrive at the ship on time.

Especially interested as I am booked on the Summit for the cruise two weeks from today.

[caribsun]

I'm relatively new to ocean cruising.....my question is this: if the passengers on board Summit NOW cannot get home when they dock tomorrow because airports are closed or at least seriously delayed then passengers trying to BOARD Summit won't be able to get to Bayonne either. Why wouldn't Celebrity let the current passengers stay on board an additional night if necessary till the storm blows away and airports are up and running again? or will they?

 

About 5-6 years ago a tropical storm was coming up the coast and NYC did get hit with high winds and flooding. Our Summit cruise to Bermuda was cut short by one day and the previous cruise gained one day. We had trouble reaching Bayonne because some roads were flooded.

[Cruizen Susan]

This discussion is the very reason we do not cruise down the east coast August through early November. No Bermuda, no Bahamas, no Caribbean.

 

Be safe out there!

[hcat]

And if one's schedule permits, it is a good idea to fly in ahead by at least a day..and stay over an extra day in port at the end..Not everyone can but it is a good strategy,

 

Reduces stress to some extent.....as we all know issues can crop up in fall and also winter weather.

[Hydrokitty]

Not sure why you would call it running scared. They are being smart and preparing for the storm. Besides, I wouldn't want DH to have to fly thru one.

 

I hope everyone gets home or to the ship safe and everything goes smooth.

 

Maybe because poster hasn't lived through one and we've both lived through some really bad hurricanes......it's true they kinda started "hyping" this one on the news a little early, which I think is really bad because people get tired of hearing about it and then when it's only days away instead of weeks, they don't pay attention. Still, I'd rather have a hurricane or blizzard than an earthquake or tornado....at least we know where they're going and when they'll be there.

Edited September 4, 2016 by Hydrokitty

[Iamcruzin]

And if one's schedule permits, it is a good idea to fly in ahead by at least a day..and stay over an extra day in port at the end..Not everyone can but it is a good strategy,

 

Reduces stress to some extent.....as we all know issues can crop up in fall and also winter weather.

 

Except when the storm hits a day earlier and your flight gets canceled. We had this issue with a land trip to Florida. We didn't get on a flight until the end of the next day. Would have missed the ship. Your best insurance is to buy travel insurance.

[Iamcruzin]

Maybe because poster hasn't lived through one and we've both lived through some really bad hurricanes......it's true they kinda started "hyping" this one on the news a little early, which I think is really bad because people get tired of hearing about it and then when it's only days away instead of weeks, they don't pay attention. Still, I'd rather have a hurricane or blizzard than an earthquake or tornado....at least we know we're they're going and when they'll be there.

 

What about a few weeks ago when they shut down JFK because people were clapping too loud and someone reported gun shots. Nobody could have predicted that.

[IsanTom]

Sounds like a great opportunity for another sea day!

[JMG]

Off the Summit this am. As posted we left Bermuda at 7am Friday instead of 4:30pm. Given the weather in Bermuda it was not a big loss. Very overcast so much so that you could not see anything as we cruised around Bermuda. The ship's fog horn was blowing every few minutes.

 

The cruise to Bermuda was beautiful and the ocean was like a piece of glass with no white caps. Coming back, the seas were rougher with large waves and white caps. However, it was not as rough as when we cruised El Nino many years ago. On that cruise we had 30 ft waves...the waves we experienced this time were less than half that size.

 

We arrived at the dock around 10pm last night. Casino and stores closed before 9pm..so that probably upset some people and I can imagine that Celebrity lost some revenue. Needless to say, they put safety before all else.

 

Disembarkation started at 7am this morning.

 

We drove to the port and had no problems getting home. The garage was parked full when we arrived back in port. You park the car, take your ticket with you on the ship. When you return to get your car, they have machines set up where you pay for your parking based on the ticket that you got when you entered the lot. There was 1 cash machine and about 4 credit card machines. After paying you get a second ticket. The only line we encountered was waiting for the elevator to get to our car. Leaving the garage, you insert the ticket dispensed by the machine and the gate lifts and you can exit the garage. They had an attendant at the machines and at the gate to tell people how to work the machines.

 

The old lot across the street from the terminal was used for garage overflow.

Edited September 4, 2016 by JMG

[richsea]

Thanks foe the report JMG. Sounds like everything went smoothly.

 

I hope that everyone on today's sailing gets to the ship in time. While it is no guarantee, it is definitely better to plan on arriving a day early for any cruise.

[Hydrokitty]

What about a few weeks ago when they shut down JFK because people were clapping too loud and someone reported gun shots. Nobody could have predicted that.

 

No they certainly could not have predicted that. I don't think they ever found out exactly what it was but it happened a few weeks later in LAX...probably someone who thought it would be "fun".

[islandjacquelin]

Sounds like some cruisers will be cutting it close to make the early departure. The roll call suggests some folks might not be aware of the change. I'm on this cruise in two weeks and just updated my info to be sure they have my contact info correct as I gave my home, not cell number. Hopefully everyone will make it aboard and sailing will be relatively smooth from here.

[Hydrokitty]

Sounds like some cruisers will be cutting it close to make the early departure. The roll call suggests some folks might not be aware of the change. I'm on this cruise in two weeks and just updated my info to be sure they have my contact info correct as I gave my home, not cell number. Hopefully everyone will make it aboard and sailing will be relatively smooth from here.

 

Good advice...I think I will check mine out now because I'm sure I did not give them my cel phone, only e-mail and land line. We'll be getting on as you get off! Hope we both have great trips. One thing I will say for Celebrity: when we left on our Caribbean cruise out of Miami last March there was the possibility of traffic delays due to a music fest and they notified me by e-mail, text, landline and cel phone....more than once...until I confirmed that I received the message.

Edited September 4, 2016 by Hydrokitty