Cancel trip to Florida ?

[cangelmd]

5 hours ago, odysee said:

We have been several times incl one drive to Key West.  Just thought of spending couple of days in FLL/Miami area, then drive West and up along the Mexican Gulf to Tampa where we could fly back from.  A combination of beaching, sightseeing, shopping and make stops of a couple of days each; don t like to have different accomodations every night.  
Seems like we have to rethink routing.

Sounds like it. While your funds are welcomed, much of that route won’t be available. Every been to the Smoky Mointains?

Orlando should be at least somewhat recovered in 5 weeks, there’s also damage as someone pointed out, up the East coast where it re-emerged into the Atlantic.

My daughter and family have all their tickets and reservations for Disney in about a week, they are on pins and needles. I know Disney has reopened, but they have 3 small boys and don’t need a lot of disruption and closure to make their trip difficult.

[odysee]

@cangelmd - hope your daughter and family can have holidays as planned and that especially the kids can enjoy 👍

 

The input from you and others here is much appreciated and will be taken into consideration.  At the moment we tend to stay in Florida after the cruise but will watch developments.

Again all our best wishes and much strength and optimism to all those that have been hit.

[hcat]

On 10/1/2022 at 12:34 PM, Fuzzy55 said:

We live in Lakewood Ranch FL which is Sarasota/Bradenton area. We had no damage to our home and lost a few shrubs. Sarasota is open as well as Longboat Key plus parts north including Tampa.  Just do not plan to venture to Venice or places south of there. Right now I75 is closed between mile post 191 and 178. Both Venice exits due to flooding. 

Road is now open,.waters will crest and recede.

Progress made daily but some areas will need much more time,,

 

[CaroleSS]

We have power!

 

Things are coming back relatively quickly for north of Venice. The levy gave way on the Mayakka river and I-75 was closed.

 

In 5 weeks, I think most places will be opened, save Sanibel, Cape Coral, Ft Myers area. Although my crystal ball was cracked during the storm, my magic 8-ball survived and is saying "outlook good"!

[FlorenceItaly]

3 minutes ago, CaroleSS said:

We have power!

 

Things are coming back relatively quickly for north of Venice. The levy gave way on the Mayakka river and I-75 was closed.

 

In 5 weeks, I think most places will be opened, save Sanibel, Cape Coral, Ft Myers area. Although my crystal ball was cracked during the storm, my magic 8-ball survived and is saying "outlook good"!

I am happy to hear you have power!!  It is heartbreaking(and horrific) watching the news coverage of Sanibel, Cape Coral, and Ft Myers area.  I can not imagine.  I know Floridians are resilient, but, it will be years before those areas recover.

[LB_NJ]

On 10/1/2022 at 3:05 PM, odysee said:

We will be coming off a Celebrity TA in Ft Lauderdale and planned on adding another 10-14 days in Florida.  Now we were wondering if it would not be better to fly back to Europe immediately or to fly to another US state ( not on South East Coast).

 

You should really post this in the Florida cruise port section.  You will get better information.

 

Having been to Florida numerous times, and I have relatives there, it is a large state and there will be places that are relatively untouched and areas with significant devastation.  I strongly recommend that you post to the Florida forums in TripAdvisor to find out which parts have been left relatively unscathed. 

 

Also, we are still in the heart of Hurricane season for at least another 30 days. You need to be flexible.

[calicakes]

On 10/1/2022 at 4:29 AM, cruisecam1 said:

Specifically Sanibel, Captiva area, Marco Island, Ft. Myers’s Beach.  Naples was badly hit as well but may be up and running by then at least in some capacity.

We had Nov 1st reservations @ an Air Bnb in Naples.  We had planned on moving to Naples next year.  We were going to look at homes.  Our Airbnb is a MIL suite underneath a home.  Its was flooded out.  We decided to cancel and I'm pretty sure we won't be moving to Naples next year.  We usually stay @ a condo on Marco Island( we visit a couple times a year).  We'll move our trip to next April.  The entire parking area and garden level condo's were flooded.  Its heartbreaking.  Our realtor tells me that no one was expecting such huge storm surges.  

[calicakes]

21 hours ago, hcat said:

Island  of Venice  and areas nearby  are  beautiful ..lovely beaches, shopping , dining etc...most intact or coming back strong.   

How did you make out?   

[hcat]

7 minutes ago, calicakes said:

How did you make out?   

Thanks for asking. We are in NY now..but apparently did way  better than what we are seeing on TV. Have been in Fl  part time since 1985. Charley was bad..this was much  worse in scope and destructive  area. Both storms did not follow the predicted tracks.

 

Power was out for 3 days..back on now.  We lost roof tiles, have a leak in  the  garage,  large shrubs are down but water did not reach our front or rear doors. Fridge has to be emptied.,we did not leave much but will be stinky.  We hear our Community is a mess, not everyone has power and many trees are down..We are near the Myakka River...water is receding from flooded roads.  Clubhouse and gym will need to be inspected and repaired before re -opened for use.

 

We  will head down for the season in  early Nov just in time for our BEYOND cruise. Really looking forward to that!

 

Florida is not for everyone but we hope we can bounce back.... sorry you have to postpone your move!

[Moonarino]

On 10/1/2022 at 7:30 AM, cangelmd said:

. . . they need your money and support. . . .

 

Agree 100%, FL lives and breathes (hugely) on tourist money. I left there (see below) in the early 90s, and returning 15+ years later I was amazed at how the I-95 corridor had been improved, facelifted, nothing like that long drive had been throughout the 80s. Gorgeous where it used to be desolate in many parts for many long miles. WE enjoy that now thanks to all the money Florida makes from tourism. (I applaud this knowing how so many other places do not use public funds well at all.)

 

On 10/1/2022 at 11:06 AM, deliver42 said:

Daytona, Port Orange, and Ormond beach are under water with no power right now.

 

I was pretty sure the east coast hadn't been spared, contrary to another post somewhere in here. I've stopped off in Ormond Beach a few times, nice area, hope the town (and everwhere) can fully recover soon.

 

@odysee, I spend almost a decade in Florida, nearly half of my Air Force career, and rode out a hurricane or two. (By that I mean we were evacuated for 2-3 days here and there, never actually "rode one out".) In every case that I saw and heard of, getting roads cleared and power restored was essentially 80% of the commercial effort (as opposed to residents etc), so when that was accomplished we could expect that everything would soon be near normal -- again commercially speaking, not regarding the condition/livability of residential areas and such. Florida does hurricane recovery as well as it can be done (generally at least). 5 weeks? I daresay as a tourist, for the most part (and depending on where you go) you likely won't even notice there was a hurricane.

Edited October 3, 2022 by Moonarino

[bottomfeeder]

5 hours ago, hcat said:

Thanks for asking. We are in NY now..but apparently did way  better than what we are seeing on TV. Have been in Fl  part time since 1985. Charley was bad..this was much  worse in scope and destructive  area. Both storms did not follow the predicted tracks.

 

Power was out for 3 days..back on now.  We lost roof tiles, have a leak in  the  garage,  large shrubs are down but water did not reach our front or rear doors. Fridge has to be emptied.,we did not leave much but will be stinky.  We hear our Community is a mess, not everyone has power and many trees are down..We are near the Myakka River...water is receding from flooded roads.  Clubhouse and gym will need to be inspected and repaired before re -opened for use.

 

We  will head down for the season in  early Nov just in time for our BEYOND cruise. Really looking forward to that!

 

Florida is not for everyone but we hope we can bounce back.... sorry you have to postpone your move!

I'm a Venice resident too--South Venice, off Englewood Road.  I'm at my summer place in Maine still, but planning to head down as soon as power is back on, which they estimate (and I hope they are right because it was out for several weeks after the 2017 hurricane for our little cluster of 4 houses) will happen by Sunday the 9th. 

 

My neighbor gave me a report similar to yours--all fences down, all small trees down, all roofs with damaged/loose/missing shingles, and I have a little damage to the front fascia of my house.  What worries me is if there is a leak in the roof from the wind damage leading to mold inside.  Especially with no AC to dry it out without power.  But I'm hopeful we'll be limping along toward semi-normalcy in a few weeks.  I'm one of the apparently small percentage who has always had flood insurance even though I am not in a flood zone--and it worked because there was no flooding at my house!

 

I usually stay in Maine until late October, but I figure I had best get back so I can file a homeowner's insurance claim if needed (I suspect it will be.)

 

Seems as if Sarasota and north is just fine on "our" coast, it's south of there where the damage and problems start.

[CruseKrazy]

We were actually planning to go to Sanibel Island for 2 weeks after exiting Beyond on Nov 4.  Our friends own a house there and called us to cancel our visit.  Their house is intact but it will take a long time to restore infrastructure.  Now looking at another cruise or may just fly home.  Strangely enough Beyond does not cruise out of Fort Lauderdale until Nov 8.  Is there a 4 day TA promotional event on I wonder?

[Keksie]

There is always the Florida Panhandle.  Beautiful beaches and a lot of things to do, see and restaurants to eat at.  

[rvlandandsea]

The Panhandle would also be my suggestion with New Orleans as last destination to fly home from.  Easy drive from Ft. Lauderdale via turnpike, to I-4with a few nights in Tampa, then up to Panhandle beaches, then I-10 to Louisiana.  I think I got those correct. 

 

[Mark_K]

6 hours ago, CruseKrazy said:

We were actually planning to go to Sanibel Island for 2 weeks after exiting Beyond on Nov 4.  Our friends own a house there and called us to cancel our visit.  Their house is intact but it will take a long time to restore infrastructure.  Now looking at another cruise or may just fly home.  Strangely enough Beyond does not cruise out of Fort Lauderdale until Nov 8.  Is there a 4 day TA promotional event on I wonder?

The official naming ceremony with Simone Biles is on November 4, and there’s a cruise event for people who bought NFTs.

[deliver42]

There ius no way to drive to Sanibel Island. The only causeway was destroyed.

[hcat]

18 hours ago, bottomfeeder said:

I'm a Venice resident too--South Venice, off Englewood Road.  I'm at my summer place in Maine still, but planning to head down as soon as power is back on, which they estimate (and I hope they are right because it was out for several weeks after the 2017 hurricane for our little cluster of 4 houses) will happen by Sunday the 9th. 

 

My neighbor gave me a report similar to yours--all fences down, all small trees down, all roofs with damaged/loose/missing shingles, and I have a little damage to the front fascia of my house.  What worries me is if there is a leak in the roof from the wind damage leading to mold inside.  Especially with no AC to dry it out without power.  But I'm hopeful we'll be limping along toward semi-normalcy in a few weeks.  I'm one of the apparently small percentage who has always had flood insurance even though I am not in a flood zone--and it worked because there was no flooding at my house!

 

I usually stay in Maine until late October, but I figure I had best get back so I can file a homeowner's insurance claim if needed (I suspect it will be.)

 

Seems as if Sarasota and north is just fine on "our" coast, it's south of there where the damage and problems start.

Anything  along and  beyond 41 is not in  the best shape..includes much of  Englewood,  bad.  Check local announcements.,,they are very helpful.

There's an order to limit traffic to emergency and 1st responders power workers

In  areas of Venice there is limited food in markets, no traffic signals, limited gas..needs power and provisions!  Progress each day!

 

Folks will hopefully be able to enjoy the area by the Holidays! We are looking forward to our pre cruise visit..will deal with other  issues after BEYOND!

[capsplace]

On 10/1/2022 at 3:36 PM, Arizona Wildcat said:

It doesn't directly except lots of cruises from Florida and many Florida posters that can provide information. 

I am Director of an antique car museum.   Have had no luck so far getting info on Edison Ford Museum.   Hopeful. 

Both houses, Ford and Edison, survived the storm!

[Keksie]

21 hours ago, rvlandandsea said:

The Panhandle would also be my suggestion with New Orleans as last destination to fly home from.  Easy drive from Ft. Lauderdale via turnpike, to I-4with a few nights in Tampa, then up to Panhandle beaches, then I-10 to Louisiana.  I think I got those correct. 

 

If one enjoys casinos there is always Beau Rivage in Biloxi on the way to Louisiana.