Tropical Storm Fiona

[skywalkr2]

I am on a cruise starting Saturday whose itinerary falls right into the oncoming Tropical Storm Fiona's track.  What does Carnival generally do in cases like this? I would assume they would sail away from the track and change port itinerary?  They wouldn't sail INTO the storm track and just tell people to stay in their rooms as the boat lists from side to side 🙂

 

Anyway just looking for some insight from those that have been in this situation preivously.

[mz-s]

They change itineraries as necessary to avoid storms as much as possible. But don't be surprised if the storm hits an island on Monday, you will be in port Tuesday (assuming of course it's safe to do so). They want to keep on schedule as much as possible obviously.

[crewsweeper]

I would assume any Eastern Caribbean cruise leaving this Saturday or Sunday will see itinerary changes.  The cone of probability is pretty narrow until it turns north. but several models have it turning north before hitting Puerto Rico, so maybe only the Lesser Antilles  and Virgin Islands will be affected. And that may be from tropical storm level winds.

[SurfCat]

As MZ-S said, I believe that they do the best they can to avoid any bad weather.  That being said, I was on the Ecstasy and went through a tropical storm that apparently couldn't be avoided.  This was prior to the availability of internet onboard so noone really knew what was going on.

 

The staff closed off all of the doors leading outside by barricading them with furniture.  It became so rough that when we were trying to sleep that night, I was literally coming coming off of the bed a few inches during the down phase.  

[pacruise804]

54 minutes ago, skywalkr2 said:

I am on a cruise starting Saturday whose itinerary falls right into the oncoming Tropical Storm Fiona's track.  What does Carnival generally do in cases like this? I would assume they would sail away from the track and change port itinerary?  They wouldn't sail INTO the storm track and just tell people to stay in their rooms as the boat lists from side to side 🙂

 

Anyway just looking for some insight from those that have been in this situation preivously.

My husband and I were on the Sunrise in September of 2019 heading to Bermuda.  They did not change course and we ended up sailing to Charleston (which was a beautiful port day).  It was some of the roughest seas we ever encountered - many people were even sleeping in the public areas to be as low and center as possible.  

 

I doubt they would do that again, but pack some motion sickness pills just in case 😉

 

Hope you have a great cruise with calm seas!

[starstruck05]

The ships usually try to sail around the storms if possible. You can expect some itinerary changes and/or missed ports. If they decide before, you will receive an email from Carnival. Otherwise,  they will inform on board. Even trying to go around a storm, you can't avoid the rough seas so be prepared. Been on two ships in storms and it's not fun but also not unbearable.

[bguppies]

One of my first cruises the Sensation sailed through the backside of a hurricane as it swung north towards Bermuda. (Had to get back to Port Canaveral on time from Nassau)

 

It was on the last night and everybody was trying to put their luggage out for collection and it was flying side to side, completely obstructing the hallways all night.

Luckily the ship was rocking side to side so bad nobody was trying to leave their cabins.

 

I slept of of the best nights of sleep of my life that night.

 

Next day stopped at Walmart on the drive home and the floor felt like it was moving. (weirdly, inside the car moving I felt fine)

Edited September 15, 2022 by bguppies

[Crusin Karen]

Might be a good idea to pack some warm clothes in case they divert you to Canada.  Our first cruise was to Bermuda.  I believe Hurricane Gloria was in the area so we left Bermuda a day early so captain could take ship further off the coast and around the storm.  I've been thru some rough seas and weathered them pretty well-no pun intended!  Worst was trying to walk AFTER I got off the ship!  Took a few days to get my land legs back.  Just realize whatever the captain does is for the safety of the passengers.  I'm cruising week after you.  Have a great time!  

[May1cruiser]

Been through two tropical storms, as mentioned above, expect some bumpy seas. Also, they may reverse the order of ports, so if you have an outside excursion, the port day might be changed. There is of course the possibility of missing ports.

Highly recommend packing some ponchos in case you have rain on a port day. Ship will sell out. 

[Drazil65]

Think of it this way with tropical storms and hurricanes, its not their first rodeo. As the previous posters have said they sail around, reverse ports, skip/change ports and do what it takes to avoid the storms.  Just be prepared for some possible rough seas for a day/night or 2 and wind (could mean things will be shut down on upper decks).   

 

We have sailed through some rough weather with many things falling in the MDR or the bar (glasses, bottles etc.) but the cruise lines do a pretty good job of staying away from a storms path for the most part.  

[asalligo]

They will divert to go around it, but you should all cancel your cruises because of this storm and let me book a cruise for 40 a person next week. 

[pe4all]

We "hit" a hurricane once, and our sailing was switched from Eastern Caribbean itinerary to a Western one.  Captain will definitely not take the chance of sailing into a storm.  But be prepared for possibly very rough seas.

[csm5986142]

We were on the Panorama last week during hurricane kay.  Approximately 24 hours into our trip we were told our itenerary was chaining, but were were still going to sail toward the storm (otherwise there would not have been any ports for us to stop at ... well maybe Ensenada). 

They decided to skip Puerto Vallarta, go straight to Cabo, then Mazatlán (where we started seeing the first of the overcast/wind/rain).  When the storm was just off the coast of Cabo, we had sail back past it to start heading home.  They told us exactly what time we'd be coming closest to the hurricane, and to be prepared for rough seas.  From then on, our weather was cool/windy/rainy, upper decks were closed, pools were drained.  

 

[jsglow]

The nice thing about the Caribbean is that they can sail west if there's trouble in the east and vice versa.  That's a challenge in the Mex Riv.

 

Looking at the track, I'd certainly expect some adjustments for this weekend's and early next week's sailings.  As others have said, sometimes all they have to do is rearrange the port order. At TS levels, this is an 'inconvenience' rather than reflecting any material damage to any destination.

[farjar]

In late October 2005 we did a NCL cruise out of Houston two days after Hurricane Wilma devastated the Yucatan Peninsula as a category 5 storm.  All our ports of call; Cozumel, Roatan, Belize City and Cancun, were cancelled because of the horrible damage she left behind.  In order to avoid the remnants of the storm we spent a week cruising in a very slow circle in the Gulf of Mexico before returning to Houston.  It ranks as our least ideal cruise but it was still a cruise and we were safe.  Our inconvenience, however,  could not compare with the problems faced by those affected on shore in Wilma's aftermath.

[pe4all]

 

From a bit of rough weather we had once

[jsglow]

40 minutes ago, farjar said:

In late October 2005 we did a NCL cruise out of Houston two days after Hurricane Wilma devastated the Yucatan Peninsula as a category 5 storm.   It ranks as our least ideal cruise but it was still a cruise and we were safe.  Our inconvenience, however,  could not compare with the problems faced by those affected on shore in Wilma's aftermath.

You're point is a good one for all to remember.

 

Our son works for FEMA.  He spent almost a year on the ground in San Juan following Maria. We cruised out of there in January '18 in part to support the local economy.  Our cabbie from the airport practically broke down in tears when his wife called during our drive saying their power had finally been restored at their home; perhaps 90 days after the island was devastated.

[eclue]

At this time it is way too early to predict the path of this storm...just watch and be aware.

 

[medianeh]

We live in New York and went on the Pride out of Baltimore scheduled to go to the Eastern Caribbean.  Hurricane Matthew was making his way through the Caribbean, so they changed our itinerary to where else......NEW YORK - just where we came from  😂

 

We live near Buffalo, so it was fun to spend 2 days in NYC.

 

About half the ship decided to just get off in New York, so after that we did circles in the Atlantic for the rest of the time.  It probably was one of the best cruises we were on.  There was more staff than passengers.  

 

 

Edited September 15, 2022 by medianeh

[toad455]

Fiona is expected to hit the US Virgin Islands on Saturday, Puerto Rico on Sunday, Haiti/Dominican Rep on Monday and Turks & Caicos on Tuesday. It's a slow moving Tropical Storm which may end up causing more damage.

[Joe817]

For those that are unaware it exists, there is a great sub-forum here on Cruise Critic called the "hurricane zone". It's mostly headed up by Pelican Bill, and it's a great forum to stay informed.

 

Thank you @Pelican Bill for providing this service to CC members! 👍

[Emmabelle]

On the Disney Wish leaving Monday.  I’m totally fine hitting the West over Nassau and Castaway Cay.  Maybe I should pick up some Bonine 

[skywalkr2]

Will be interesting that's for sure.  Our itinerary is Half Moon Kay on Tuesday, Grand Turk on Wednesday, and Amber Cover on Thursday.  Seems like something will have to change.

[jsglow]

6 minutes ago, skywalkr2 said:

Will be interesting that's for sure.  Our itinerary is Half Moon Kay on Tuesday, Grand Turk on Wednesday, and Amber Cover on Thursday.  Seems like something will have to change.

See you in Cozumel! 😉

 

(Seriously, enjoy wherever you end up going!)

[skywalkr2]

19 minutes ago, jsglow said:

See you in Cozumel! 😉

 

(Seriously, enjoy wherever you end up going!)

 

I love Cozumel, but since we leave from Baltimore... the ship might need to get a warp engine installed first lol