DORIAN TO MAKE DIRECT HIT ON HALIFAX

[mamaofami]

Dorian is now predicted to make a direct hit on Halifax, PEI. and Quebec What will Zuiderdam do as it is now sailing up the coast to Quebec? We are supposed to board on Sept.15th. If there is much damage done to these ports, what will the ship do? Hoping everyone in its path will be safe.

Edited September 5, 2019 by mamaofami
adding detail

[CruiserBruce]

If things aren't safe, the ship will change direction and ports as relevant  and appropriate. Don't worry,  HAL won't put 3000 pax and crew, and the ship, in harm's way.

 

As this is a fairly rare issue, I doubt anyone has good experience and knowledge of the alternative options. Be patient. Everything will work out in the end.

[RocketMan275]

36 minutes ago, mamaofami said:

Dorian is now predicted to make a direct hit on Halifax, PEI. and Quebec What will Zuiderdam do as it is now sailing up the coast to Quebec? We are supposed to board on Sept.15th. If there is much damage done to these ports, what will the ship do? Hoping everyone in its path will be safe.

Predicting the path of a hurricane isn't an exact science. 

[CruiserBruce]

13 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

Predicting the path of a hurricane isn't an exact science. 

Yep...10 days away, so who knows, could hit Alabama...but worth an all caps screaming headline...

[RuthC]

14 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

Yep...10 days away, so who knows

I don't know where you're getting the '10 days away' since it's expected to go by the south coast of New England Saturday---2 days away. Halifax is right after that. 

[mamaofami]

6 minutes ago, RuthC said:

I don't know where you're getting the '10 days away' since it's expected to go by the south coast of New England Saturday---2 days away. Halifax is right after that. 

That's right, Ruth, and PEI and Quebec are also in the path this weekend.

[CruiserBruce]

11 minutes ago, RuthC said:

I don't know where you're getting the '10 days away' since it's expected to go by the south coast of New England Saturday---2 days away. Halifax is right after that. 

The OP SAILS, or is in the area, in 10 days.

 

 

[RuthC]

6 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

The OP SAILS, or is in the area, in 10 days.

 

 

By which time Dorian will be long gone. 

[CruiserBruce]

Just now, RuthC said:

By which time Dorian will be long gone. 

Agree. Which is why I pointed it out...

[mamaofami]

I realize it will be long gone, but wonder about any damage to the ports and if that might change our itinerary. I guess only time will tell.

[kochleffel]

I've just been reading about this in The Globe and Mail (Toronto). The current path of the hurricane is toward eastern Canada and could affect New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It will probably weaken some more by the time of getting that far north, but even a category 1 hurricane has wind and rain to do substantial damage. It's also possible the path will turn east, taking the storm out to sea, or even west, heading toward the Great Lakes. My area, about 200 miles inland, was devastated by a hurricane in 1972, and last year a tropical storm (not even a hurricane) caused flooding in Pittsburgh.

 

Although cruise lines will keep their ships out of harm's way, there is certainly a chance that changes in itineraries could affect having ships in place for their next sailings. That said, I don't think that it will affect the Zuiderdam's embarking from Quebec City -- that's far enough out to get the ship there even with a changed itinerary.

[sevenseasnomad]

We're due for a visit from Dorian in the early a.m. hours Friday.  Why do our hurricanes always strike at night?  Eerie hearing that wind and rain pelt the windows when it's dark, especially if there's a power outage.

 

Hope everyone in its path stays safe, including our friends in Canada.

[Alberta Quilter]

I'm currently on the Zuiderdam.  The Captain made an announcement this afternoon that after Halifax tomorrow, we will be heading into the Gulf of St Lawrence (he may have said the Seaway).  Sydney is supposed to be the port after Halifax, followed by Saint Pierre, Corner Brook and Charlottetown in that order, and then we are supposed to go into the Seaway.  They will see what happens tomorrow with Dorian and then decide what to do.  I'll keep you posted (and will try to listen better re gulf/Seaway!).  

 

On a positive note, tonight we received our second Canadian customs declaration (first was for Saint John today) to fill out for our visit to Corner Brook after visiting Saint Pierre, France.  But get this - it needs to be completed and turned in by 6 pm Friday night and we're in Saint Pierre on Sunday.  Not sure how we're supposed to know what we spent in France a day and a half prior to arrival!  I'll hold off in filling it out as I suspect Sydney, Saint Pierre and Corner Brook will all be cancelled and the form will not be needed.

 

I hope everyone in Dorian's way stays safe.

 

 

[CJcruzer]

Currently on the Zuiderdam, and tomorrow we will be calling in Halifax...sunny day forecast but temps may be slightly lower than expected/usual for this time of year.

 

The captain has so far mentioned that we will probably head for shelter in the St Lawrence seaway...that means that probably Sydney and St Pierre et Miquelon will be skipped.   Possibly Corner brook, Nfld..  However more news tomorrow, based on updated reports and advice.    It was hinted that possibly one of the ports could be recouped or maybe another port subbed in.....

 

I am not holding out much hope, there may be many   unhappy campers if we end up with 4 “sea” or onboard days.   We have been to this area before, both by land and cruise - but was looking forward to St Pierre, Corner brook for first time visits.

 

We had nice weather, sometimes a bit cloudy but generally nice in Saint John, NB and Portland, Maine.

 

more updates when we hear further from the Captain.

 

Carol

[RocketMan275]

I suspect the bigger impact on Zweiderdam will be this December.  It was scheduled for dry dock in the Bahamas. 

[3rdGenCunarder]

1 hour ago, RocketMan275 said:

I suspect the bigger impact on Zweiderdam will be this December.  It was scheduled for dry dock in the Bahamas. 

 

Yes, that could be a problem. Grand Bahama was mostly underwater, so there might be damage to the drydock or its equipment. I wonder what happens to a ship in drydock if the drydock gets flooded? 

 

I checked the website for the shipyard but there's nothing about the hurricane. They probably can't get online to post an update.

 

[chengkp75]

5 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

I wonder what happens to a ship in drydock if the drydock gets flooded? 

All of Grand Bahamas Shipyard drydocks are floating docks, so they will have just risen and fallen with the storm surge.  However, they would have done what was necessary to temporarily make any ships on the docks watertight, and gotten them off the blocks before the hurricane got close.

[ksmaxey]

We are on the Veendam coming down from St. John's to Boston on Saturday. We missed St. Pierre because of weather. (unrelated to Dorian)  Today we are at Bar Harbor but are cutting the stop short by and hour.  Captain Mark plans to head full speed to Boston arriving by 2 AM but not opening a gangway until 7 AM as planned.  We were in Halifax yesterday and it was a beautiful day.  Now to get through Immigration this morning.

 

Kevin

[Krazy Kruizers]

A lot of good information here.

 

I had asked several days ago about what was going to happen to the ships scheduled for dry docks.

[chengkp75]

26 minutes ago, Krazy Kruizers said:

A lot of good information here.

 

I had asked several days ago about what was going to happen to the ships scheduled for dry docks.

It will have a bit of a ripple effect, as those ships currently there are delayed completion, and so this pushes other ships off schedule, or the companies can pay premium to get additional workers working overtime.  However, a lot of the workers will be dealing with their families and homes, so work will likely be slowed.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you.

 

I figured that several cruise ships would be affected -- delays, etc.

 

So sad for all the families who were affected by Dorian.

[chengkp75]

2 minutes ago, Krazy Kruizers said:

Thank you.

 

I figured that several cruise ships would be affected -- delays, etc.

 

So sad for all the families who were affected by Dorian.

Hard to say whether any cruise ships will be affected, remember that the majority of work done by GBSY is other than cruise ships.  They do pay a premium (even when they own the yard) to get priority on times and workers (just like the premiums they pay for daylight transits of the Panama Canal).

[CruiserBruce]

I would think the hurricane will also hurt the supply process for the projects scheduled as well. So that will also slow the dry docks.

[kazu]

13 hours ago, mamaofami said:

That's right, Ruth, and PEI and Quebec are also in the path this weekend.

 

As well as Southern New Brunswick. 😞  Pretty much all of the Maritimes are under Tropical Cyclone and Hurricane warning.  Newfoundland is under a watch until tomorrow when it heads to them.

[DeeniEncinitas]

5 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

As well as Southern New Brunswick. 😞  Pretty much all of the Maritimes are under Tropical Cyclone and Hurricane warning.  Newfoundland is under a watch until tomorrow when it heads to them.

Jacqui I thought you were from New Brunswick!! Prayers to everyone and I hope the warning is only a ⚠️ warning!!

Your in my thoughts hope Jose, your doggies will be safe!

Take care

Denise😊