Hurricane Matthew/embarking Saturday?

[smallchange]

I knew it was a risk to book during hurricane season, but it is what it is. What time does Divina leave Miami on Saturday and what time must passengers be onboard? All those who purchased travel insurance do not need to gloat right now. It will not make me feel better.

[mafig]

She's supposed to leave at 7 PM.

 

Don't feel bad about the insurance. We booked 25 cruises without insurance, it's only our last two that we purchased it, figured we can't be lucky forever.

 

Are you flying or driving to the port?

[GOLDENBONNY]

I don't know how insurance will help here? If your flight or cruise get cancelled you will get your money back any way. If it's not cancelled what insurance will do and why?

[OCruisers]

Matthew should be well north of Miami by Saturday.

[witchegirl]

My mother and I are on that cruise as well. One thing in our favor is that the ship is supposed to leave on Saturday evening. It seems like the worst in Miami will be Thursday night/Friday morning.

 

I suspect if we can all get to our cruise ship, then things will go pretty smoothly (though I wonder if we'll still have the Nassau port, or if there will be a change; looks like Bahamas are getting hit fairly hard by Matthew).

 

The biggest issue will be flights and delays. Both my mother and I planned to get in Friday which buys us more time before the ship leaves (thankfully) but also has us arriving during the worst of the storm in Miami (Friday morning). So that sucks.

 

Fingers crossed that it all goes smoothly.

[smallchange]

It's a large family group (16)--part of us is flying, part is driving.n the drivers are headed to a condo in Sarasota. We flyers are scheduled to fly into Ft Lauderdale around 1 on Friday. We figured that flight will be cancelled. Don't know when to ull the trigger on trying to get Saturday flights into Miami. Complicating things is that the hurricane may come up to the Virginia coast where we live. My husband doesn't want to leave home in that case. With Isabelle in 2003 we didn't have power for over 2 weeks and flooding.

 

Having fun these next few days is not going to be easy.

[CRUISER2B]

My hubby and I are on this cruise also. We are flying in on Friday morning early but to FLL from JFK (fingers crossed).

 

Just spoke to MSC and as of right now everything is still a go. They will update as changes occur. It will be on website home page and on the phone while waiting on hold. Bahama is still up in air.

 

Not good. Worried about rough seas after storm. Hubby is prone to seasickness. Thank goodness for the patch. :)

[helen haywood]

Can't you buy insurance up to the day before you leave home?

 

 

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[smallchange]

Can't you buy insurance up to the day before you leave home?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

No, I think you are limited to buying it to so many days after purchase and so many days before cruise. Not certain of the exact number of days.

[OCruisers]

It's a large family group (16)--part of us is flying, part is driving.n the drivers are headed to a condo in Sarasota. We flyers are scheduled to fly into Ft Lauderdale around 1 on Friday. We figured that flight will be cancelled. Don't know when to ull the trigger on trying to get Saturday flights into Miami. Complicating things is that the hurricane may come up to the Virginia coast where we live. My husband doesn't want to leave home in that case. With Isabelle in 2003 we didn't have power for over 2 weeks and flooding.

 

Having fun these next few days is not going to be easy.

 

Driving down from Virginia could be a real problem. :(

[helen haywood]

If we aren't talking about coverage for a pre-existing medical condition. You can purchase travel insurance up to 24 hours before the cruise.

 

 

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[mafig]

Driving down from Virginia could be a real problem. :(

 

Actually, if they're headed to Sarasota (on the west coast of Fl), it might be better than driving straight to Miami. From Sarasota they can cross the state on Alligator Alley on Saturday and probably not hit any bad weather.

[Beamafar]

Here's hoping it all works out for you guys - safe travels to you. I'm embarking on Sinfonia on Saturday and can't imagine how I'd feel in your situation.

[mscdivina2016]

I don't know how insurance will help here? If your flight or cruise get cancelled you will get your money back any way. If it's not cancelled what insurance will do and why?

 

Who is going to refund if your flight is cancelled?:confused:

 

Unless you have overpriced cruise air it is your job to get to the port

[mscdivina2016]

If we aren't talking about coverage for a pre-existing medical condition. You can purchase travel insurance up to 24 hours before the cruise.

 

 

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Completely wrong!!!

 

Q. If a hurricane watch or warning is issued that may impact my travel plans, up to what point can I still purchase travel insurance?

A. Insurance must be purchased 24 hours prior to when the hurricane has been named. Once the hurricane has been named, Trip Cancellation and Interruption losses resulting from the hurricane are excluded from the coverage of the policy.

[CRUISER2B]

My hubby and I are on this cruise also. We are flying in on Friday morning early but to FLL from JFK (fingers crossed).

 

Just spoke to MSC and as of right now everything is still a go. They will update as changes occur. It will be on website home page and on the phone while waiting on hold. Bahama is still up in air.

 

Not good. Worried about rough seas after storm. Hubby is prone to seasickness. Thank goodness for the patch. :)

 

 

UPDATE: Changed my flight from Friday AM to Thursday AM. Extended hotel stay. We will get in before storm hits. This way I can avoid any potential flight delays or being bumped from flight due to cancellations and overbooking.

 

MSC website still shows no itinerary change. Still think Bahamas might be cancelled. Key West or extra Sea Day is my guess.

[riclop]

I knew it was a risk to book during hurricane season, but it is what it is. What time does Divina leave Miami on Saturday and what time must passengers be onboard? All those who purchased travel insurance do not need to gloat right now. It will not make me feel better.

It may not leave if it's too dangerous.

[Beamafar]

MSC website still shows no itinerary change. Still think Bahamas might be cancelled. Key West or extra Sea Day is my guess.

 

It's too early to say how the itinerary will be affected - it's an hour by hour watch at the moment tracking Matthew. Divina may not even leave the port on time if the seas are too high.

[deliver42]

You can probably eliminate Nassau, but they will make other arrangements, either another port or day at sea. The storm should be far from Miami but Saturday evening, though the seas might still be a little rough.The ship leaves around 7PM, and boarding starts about 11-11:30AM. Best of luck to all making the tip to Fl., be it by air or driving, and enjoy your cruise.

[GOLDENBONNY]

Who is going to refund if your flight is cancelled?:confused:

 

Unless you have overpriced cruise air it is your job to get to the port

 

If airport is closed most probably they will cancel cruise as well. We got full refund on air and cruise when hurricane Ivan hit the grounds.

[Flamencacha]

It's a large family group (16)--part of us is flying, part is driving.n the drivers are headed to a condo in Sarasota. We flyers are scheduled to fly into Ft Lauderdale around 1 on Friday. We figured that flight will be cancelled. Don't know when to ull the trigger on trying to get Saturday flights into Miami. Complicating things is that the hurricane may come up to the Virginia coast where we live. My husband doesn't want to leave home in that case. With Isabelle in 2003 we didn't have power for over 2 weeks and flooding.

 

 

 

Having fun these next few days is not going to be easy.

 

 

 

If your flight is cancelled or delayed it will be because of weather en route. If your flight is cancelled they should put you on next available.

 

Does AMTRAK still run the Corridor? Might be an option.

 

Can you join the drivers?

 

On not leaving , you have homeowners correct? Batten down the hatches and go. Being there or not won't change things.

 

 

Wish you well and hope it all works out.

 

 

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[smallchange]

Things are looking better in Virginia for the weekend. Yes, we have homeowners insurance, but also a boat in the water (insured) and that's my husband's worry. We've had really high tides all week already. But with the better forecast for us, we were able to cancel Friday's flights w/o penalty and we rebooked early Saturday morning flights. Those flights were pricey and disappearing fast. A lot of tension in the house this morning but things are falling into place. Hope everyone else's plans work out well and all stay safe.

[SnorkelBoy]

Latest update from the MSC Website

 

The latest new & updates on weather & itinerary information

 

10/5/2016

 

We are closely monitoring Hurricane Matthew. MSC Divina is scheduled to embark as planned on Saturday, October 8th, but will have itinerary changes.

 

The USA office is closed as of 12pm EST on Wednesday, October 5th. Please be patient as a limited number of call center agents will be available to assist you. For more information on booking a cruise, please contact your travel agent or call MSC Cruises on Monday, October 10th, as our call center will be fully staffed.

 

Please check back on this page for any further updates or call 855-268-4169.

[mscdivina2016]

If airport is closed most probably they will cancel cruise as well. We got full refund on air and cruise when hurricane Ivan hit the grounds.

 

Your talking 12 years ago and it was not cancelled because of the airport.

 

That was the perfect storm set up. All 4 Florida ports were closed and it was tropical storm Jeanne which was the icing on the cake.

[All-ready2cruise]

I hope everyone remains safe and wise, and, if possible, enjoys their cruise; however, this has been posted by Cruise Critic and may be of interest to all those leaving on a cruise this weekend.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/

 

(Updated 4:15 p.m. EDT) -- Five U.S. cruise ports have shut down as a result of the imminent threat of Hurricane Matthew, which is expected to approach Florida's east coast Thursday evening.

 

Port Miami, Port Everglades, Port Canaveral, the port of Jacksonville and the port of Charleston have closed to all marine traffic until further notice. A number of cruise ship itineraries have been affected.

 

The ports, with the exception of Charleston, are operating under the U.S. Coast Guard's Port Condition Yankee, which prevents vessels from entering and remaining in port. It's issued when gale-force hurricane winds are expected within 24 hours.

 

According to a statement released by the Coast Guard, a Condition Zulu (full lockdown) is anticipated by 10 p.m. Wednesday. Zulu prepares for hurricane conditions within 12 hours.

 

Hurricane Matthew, which has caused widespread devastation in Haiti, is heading toward the Bahamas and is due to affect Florida with heavy rainfall, strong winds and flooding.

 

"This is a serious storm, and the protection of people and property is our primary concern," Port Canaveral CEO John Murray said in a statement. "We expect high winds and storm surge throughout the port and have urged the Port community to prepare their facilities so business can resume as quickly as possible after the storm."

 

It is not clear whether the ports will remain closed. If they do, the ships will either be forced to stay at sea or head to another port farther up the coast. The cruise ports advise booked passengers to contact the cruise lines for itinerary changes caused by port closures.

 

Cruise Critic is in contact with the lines and cruise ports, and will continue to update this story as more information becomes available. See below for the most up-to-date status of cruise ports in the storm's projected path.