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ESCAPE - September 9th Bermuda - TS/H Florence

Formula280SS

By Formula280SS,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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Cindyscruising

Cindyscruising

Posted
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Now see, this is the very itinerary I do not want. We, too, are scheduled to sail out on Sunday. We are supposed to arrive on Wednesday and the storm is supposed to hit Bermuda on Tuesday (unless it turns). So not a good scenario it seems. We would really prefer NOT to go to Nassau and CC -- been there way too many times and certainly not worth the costs of this cruise for us. Also, if the storm turns toward the East Coast as they are predicting, they may not be able to sail south anyway, right?

 

And while I love cruising, I don't want to be stuck on the ship for 7 days and do nothing else. We've sailed through 3 hurricanes in the past, but we were already onboard and headed to the Caribbean (one in the Pacific) so they just changed some of the ports. But I've never been in this situation where you don't know what's happening before you board.

 

Do they return your port fees or compensate you in any way for not going on the high end itinerary? Just wondering.

 

NCL said you could leave the ship with a full refund if you don't like the changed itinerary, and that would be the one itinerary I don't want. I am hoping they go north to New England/Canada. That would be a great alternative.

 

BTW, a PP mentioned GSC. What is that?

 

 

 

Great Stirrup Cay NCL private island in Bahamas

 

 

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Wyoming2010

Wyoming2010

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North......my bet is going north. In a perfect world NCL would cancel the cruise, give us a full refund and will do a 7 day cruise out of Miami in October! In fact I'm already looking at cruises Lol

 

We are all hoping they go north. None of us want to go to the other alternatives mentioned in Florida or Nassau. I do hope they tell us before the muster drill, after we have paid $280 to park. If we decide not to go, I'm sure they won't reimburse my parking fee ;p

 

So their own island Great Stirrup Cay might be fun to see, but wondering if this hurricane may cause rough seas and swells even in that direction. Who knows -- Mother Nature is so unpredictable

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PelicanBill

PelicanBill

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Florence weakened a bit today but is still forecast to be Cat 3 on approach to Bermuda. As noted a few posts back, it's now shifted further west so it looks to pass Bermuda to the south, and is a greater threat to the East Coast today than it was a day or two ago. That NYC report that it is turning north and out to sea is not a favored point of view at this time. See my post on the Hurricane 2018 board here for pictures of the two major path models and how they differ. Florence keeps defying the models and forecasters in path and intensity. It also slowed today, keeping it near Bermuda until Tuesday-Wednesday. East coast threat appears to be Thursday-Friday as it expected to speed up then.

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Wyoming2010

Wyoming2010

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Florence weakened a bit today but is still forecast to be Cat 3 on approach to Bermuda. As noted a few posts back, it's now shifted further west so it looks to pass Bermuda to the south, and is a greater threat to the East Coast today than it was a day or two ago. That NYC report that it is turning north and out to sea is not a favored point of view at this time. See my post on the Hurricane 2018 board here for pictures of the two major path models and how they differ. Florence keeps defying the models and forecasters in path and intensity. It also slowed today, keeping it near Bermuda until Tuesday-Wednesday. East coast threat appears to be Thursday-Friday as it expected to speed up then.

 

Darn -- wish it would speed up instead. We are scheduled to dock on Wednesday, which doesn't look likely now if it is slowing and hanging around.

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PelicanBill

PelicanBill

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Here is a link to a very smart tropical storm expert and I always read his analysis carefully when published. He's just released a new one. Scroll down for Figure 3, predicted wave heights for next Wednesday as taken from the EFS weather model run from 2am EDT Thursday (so it's already 12 hours old.) But you can see an expected danger area in wave heights which cruise ships will avoid. Hard to say where this danger zone will end up yet. Lots more in that article if you care to read it.

 

https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/Florence-Catches-Its-Breath-Potential-Bermuda-US-Encounter-Next-Week

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Islander46

Islander46

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Now see, this is the very itinerary I do not want. We, too, are scheduled to sail out on Sunday. We are supposed to arrive on Wednesday and the storm is supposed to hit Bermuda on Tuesday (unless it turns). So not a good scenario it seems. We would really prefer NOT to go to Nassau and CC -- been there way too many times and certainly not worth the costs of this cruise for us. Also, if the storm turns toward the East Coast as they are predicting, they may not be able to sail south anyway, right?

 

And while I love cruising, I don't want to be stuck on the ship for 7 days and do nothing else. We've sailed through 3 hurricanes in the past, but we were already onboard and headed to the Caribbean (one in the Pacific) so they just changed some of the ports. But I've never been in this situation where you don't know what's happening before you board.

 

Do they return your port fees or compensate you in any way for not going on the high end itinerary? Just wondering.

 

NCL said you could leave the ship with a full refund if you don't like the changed itinerary, and that would be the one itinerary I don't want. I am hoping they go north to New England/Canada. That would be a great alternative.

 

BTW, a PP mentioned GSC. What is that?

I called Ncl today and was told that even with travel insurance I could not get a refund if they change the itinerary. She said the captain can change the itinerary at any time.

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mking8288 "Live from...." Rare

mking8288

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... Great Stirrup Cay might be fun to see, but wondering if this hurricane may cause rough seas and swells even in that direction. Who knows -- Mother Nature is so unpredictable

GSC probably will be affected by rough seas & waves. We've learned that ships absolutely cannot tender if wind direction is from the north at GSC ... watch & check Bahamas forecast later this week for a better idea, in case of a diversion or modified itinerary. Another challenge is whether another NCL ship is already scheduled to be there - as I don't recall the small private island being able to support 2 ships on a given day, especially one of them being a mega ship.

 

That "Windy" App that bluesea777 linked to, is very useful, free app on both iOS but I run it on my Android devices on the go - a "thumbs up" recommendation.

 

@PelicanBill has the pulse on these tropical systems over at the Hurricane Zone 2018 forum, I would be concerned with "Helene's track" behind Florence by, maybe 3 days - could be a rough ride up/down the mid-Atlantic coast evading these weather systems in play ... and, there's a 3rd. one brewing off the Africa coast (being watched & noted on NHC's website)

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Wyoming2010

Wyoming2010

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I called Ncl today and was told that even with travel insurance I could not get a refund if they change the itinerary. She said the captain can change the itinerary at any time.

 

Different reps, different answers (always). I was told yesterday that if they change the itinerary to a northern one, passengers will be given the option to decline that itinerary and get a full refund. It is, after all, a completely different terrain than Bermuda passengers would be prepared for (although I'm packing for that alternative). I guess we'll find out when we get there. I just know that this cruise was expensive for our second time to Bermuda and an itinerary to Nassau and Port Canaveral would not cut it for what we paid :rolleyes:

 

I know when this happened with RCCL a few years back out of Cape Liberty, the passengers were told in the port that they were hanging the Caribbean sailing to a New England sailing and they were given the option to decline. All they brought was snorkeling gear and bathing suits LOL

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BirdTravels "Live from...." Rare

BirdTravels

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Different reps, different answers (always). I was told yesterday that if they change the itinerary to a northern one, passengers will be given the option to decline that itinerary and get a full refund. It is, after all, a completely different terrain than Bermuda passengers would be prepared for (although I'm packing for that alternative). I guess we'll find out when we get there. I just know that this cruise was expensive for our second time to Bermuda and an itinerary to Nassau and Port Canaveral would not cut it for what we paid :rolleyes:

Historically, NCL does NOT offer any refunds for change in itinerary. This was the case 2 weeks ago when the hurricane in Hawaii cased the ship to stay out at sea an additional day, and delayed the next cruise 2 days.

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Jetsterkitty

Jetsterkitty

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We are all hoping they go north. None of us want to go to the other alternatives mentioned in Florida or Nassau. I do hope they tell us before the muster drill, after we have paid $280 to park. If we decide not to go, I'm sure they won't reimburse my parking fee ;p

 

So their own island Great Stirrup Cay might be fun to see, but wondering if this hurricane may cause rough seas and swells even in that direction. Who knows -- Mother Nature is so unpredictable

 

If the seas are rough you may not be able to tender to GSC. That happened to us last year and it wasn't due to a hurricane, it was just due to rough seas. They sent us to Nassau instead a day early.

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JamieLogical "Live from...." Rare

JamieLogical

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Bermuda Maritime Operation just posted on their Facebook page:

 

"NORWEGIAN ESCAPE has cancelled call to Bermuda next week (Wed 12th Sept) due to forecasted weather."

 

 

If this is true, I hope they update the passengers on that sailing sooner than later!

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JamieLogical "Live from...." Rare

JamieLogical

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So is Bermuda cancelled or is the entire cruise cancelled

 

Seeing as how that is coming from the Bermuda Maritime Operations Facebook page, I would say all we know right now is that the Escape won't be docking in Bermuda on Wednesday. A cruise cancellation or alternate itinerary would have to come from NCL.

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bluesea777

bluesea777

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So is Bermuda cancelled or is the entire cruise cancelled

 

Bermuda port of call cancelled. Looks like Escape might be heading east to Canada.

 

Heading down to PC/GSC/Nassau not an option as Flo will steer right up after brushing by Bermuda's south.

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BirdTravels "Live from...." Rare

BirdTravels

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So is Bermuda cancelled or is the entire cruise cancelled

NCL never cancels a cruise.

 

There is only one exception in recent memory, and it was during the multiple cat 5 hurricanes last year when all of the ports where closed and the ships sailed out to sea, evacuating NCL employees and stranded passengers from Miami (ended up in mexico).

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