Jim Van Fleet out at Royal, 1 down and 2 more need to go.

[livingonthebeach]

10 hours ago, nelblu said:

Didn't NCL sail into a storm as they had a date with some show in NYC.  If not mistaken there was considerable damage done to one of their ships.

 

I stand corrected. Although it wasn't a hurricane, it was a bomb cyclone in 2018. It seems some cruise lines chase profits before passenger safety. NCL never saw a need to hire an in house weatherperson after that incident though. 

[crusinthrough]

On 5/18/2023 at 6:48 AM, robmtx said:

 

I forgot about this guy after I followed him on Twitter and he'd occasionally spew political tweets.

 Ditto, it was confusing.  Was it a personal account or RC associated?  He would like a lot of political tweets.

[PWP-001]

6 hours ago, livingonthebeach said:

 

I stand corrected. Although it wasn't a hurricane, it was a bomb cyclone in 2018. It seems some cruise lines chase profits before passenger safety. NCL never saw a need to hire an in house weatherperson after that incident though. 

Well, they only had one weather blunder while Royal managed two in less than a year's time.  It was either do something or be branded the Cruise Line that Storm Chasers Prefer.

[Anton]

They posted a vacancy announcement for Chief Meteorologist yesterday.  Chief Meteorologist

 

[Ret MP]

12 minutes ago, Anton said:

They posted a vacancy announcement for Chief Meteorologist yesterday.  Chief Meteorologist

 

I have no way to verify this for sure but my guess is that Van Fleet was chosen to be the company's "Chief Meteorologist, not advertised for like this one is.  They may have advertised and he got the job but I can't verify that.  If they didn't, they are now doing it the right way and not hiring a Celebrity probably at a much more industry-standard rate of compensation.  JMHO

[JCDCA]

It appears Van Fleet has a checkered past and Royal, like past employers, may have had enough.  Especially if they didn’t cut this position but instead are hiring a replacement.  
 

https://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/civil/former-wtsp-meteorologist-jim-van-fleet-sues-station-managers/2302388/?outputType=amp

 

https://floridapolitics.com/archives/271433-more-stormy-weather-for-jim-van-fleet-bartering-legal-bills-on-wtsp-suit/

[coaster]

1 hour ago, JCDCA said:

It appears Van Fleet has a checkered past and Royal, like past employers, may have had enough.  Especially if they didn’t cut this position but instead are hiring a replacement.  
 

https://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/civil/former-wtsp-meteorologist-jim-van-fleet-sues-station-managers/2302388/?outputType=amp

 

https://floridapolitics.com/archives/271433-more-stormy-weather-for-jim-van-fleet-bartering-legal-bills-on-wtsp-suit/

Why I didn't put that much in his comment on Twitter that he was not being replaced. Other's here seemed to to take his comment to be as being fully true.  We know now and maybe he was told that when he was let go. Again, look at the history with the links above. Suing your former employer and not paying the legal costs associated with it raises a red flag.

Edited May 23, 2023 by coaster

[coaster]

Unpaid rent in 2015 and being sued for that in Pinellas County FL and  with being  forcefully removed by security at WTSP - CBS affiliate in Tampa.  Not a good history. 

Edited May 24, 2023 by coaster

[Biker19]

Will Carnival hire him after this:

 

‘Surprised I’m still alive’: Carnival Sunshine sails into storm with 80 mph winds – WFTV

 

 

[GetToLivin]

48 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Will Carnival hire him after this:

 

‘Surprised I’m still alive’: Carnival Sunshine sails into storm with 80 mph winds – WFTV

 

 

Watching that, I can't even imagine who made that call, why in the world would they sail through that...

[flyswatter15]

ITT people who don't know what meteorologists actually do besides wave in front of a green screen. 

 

I am a meteorologist who is not on TV that works for a large corporation. There are so many companies that rely on in-house meteorologists or have outsourced that you would not think about. Energy, transportation, commodities, almost every corporation with a sizeable jet fleet. Bean counters think these outsourced companies are magical and save them a ton of money, but in reality they are just meteorology sweat shops of fresh out of school kids doing dozens of forecasts an hour making under 40k. Accuweather, The Weather Company, Universal, Fleetweather, Tomorrow.io...the list goes on. The perk of an internal team is that they make customized products of whatever you want whenever you want and are usually a phone call or even just a few steps away. No doubt RC has an ops floor where dispatching and planning occurs where the meteorologist worked and coordinated with them...or it is a goal of theirs like the airline industry.

 

Yes the captain of a ship with thousands of people can get the weather, but you also have to realize they are following a schedule and maintaining a safe environment with what is immediately around them. Weather is tertiary to them beyond the next 12-24 hours. The Carnival cruise over the weekend ruins the argument of "the captain has all the info he need". How'd that work out? You could see that low pressure developing 5 days ago. I remember talking about it with coworkers last week. I doubt he was sitting on the internet surfing tropicaltidbits keeping an eye on it. He was clearly told to not come into port because of the bad weather...but no one told him where to ride it out and he made a bad call based on "all the info he needed". 

 

That is why an in-house meteorologist is there...to see what is coming and provide that information, and not only for the crew. They are there to give that information to multiple people across Corporate to prepare and decide on how to act...if they need to. I bet many departments dealing with the fallout of Carnival Sunshine wish they had a heads up of a storm brewing and a ship being in vicinity. Investment in has actually increased and many companies have added meteorologists because that hyper focus and customization is worth every penny. Government forecasts are NOT good enough and they have to be for everyone. What impacts a pontoon boat will not impact a cruise ship, but they have to forecast as if someone on a pontoon is out there. Aviation forecasts are the same...turbulence in a Cessna is very different than a 737.

 

The downside of hiring someone from TV is that it is SO hard to get them to leave that life. You can tell with the amount of social media presence and videos that were created by him. RCCL might have needed someone more tech savvy to generate new products/services or someone who is more focused on oceanography/wave forecasting. Basically someone more nerdy and less flashy and does not mind sitting at a desk generating forecast products. TV Mets know how to have a personality and I know many who are brilliant and do know the science well, but the details of forecasting goes on the wayside when the camera turns on. Forecasting on land is extremely different than over water as well and he very well could have just not been a fit for their growth plans or products that they desire. 

 

Yes I am biased but the victories in-house Mets get are usually never seen publicly (except Delta they are PR masters and love to show off!). Meteorologists are an easy punching bag and we have thick skin. The ignorance is amazing sometimes and you would not believe the nasty stuff TV mets get in their email. It always amazes me how many people will tell me "my phone app says this" and it is so completely wrong. Weather is never a perfect science but I don't think an app or some schmuck with the internet has ever beaten me on a forecast. If I was wrong 50% of the time I would be unemployed. 

 

Also, no I'm not Jim Van Fleet.

Edited May 30, 2023 by flyswatter15

[TexasRon]

1 hour ago, flyswatter15 said:

I am a meteorologist who is not on TV that works for a large corporation.

Our daughter did the TV thing and then moved to a corporate gig.  She did work at 3 TV stations before making the switch.  I don't think she'd go back...

 

[smokeybandit]

2 hours ago, flyswatter15 said:

I doubt he was sitting on the internet surfing tropicaltidbits keeping an eye on it.

I heard his wxbell subscription expired.

[Tree_skier]

3 hours ago, flyswatter15 said:

and he made a bad call based on "all the info he needed"

How do you know the call wasn't made by an in-house meteorologist working in Carnival Ops.

[PWP-001]

5 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

How do you know the call wasn't made by an in-house meteorologist working in Carnival Ops.

Because when hired Fleet was the ONLY meteorologist on staff at a major cruise line and that remained the case as of 05/25/19 when a New York Times article confirmed he was still the only one in the industry.

 

Given that last confirmed date is less than a year prior to COVID-19 decimating cruise line financials, it's highly doubtful one has been hired.

[flyswatter15]

2 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

How do you know the call wasn't made by an in-house meteorologist working in Carnival Ops.

We don't and it would not surprise me if they used AccuWeather or some similar company (see my aforementioned beef about outsourced Met sweat shops) because it would be bad business to not use a weather shop of some kind.

 

I do find it funny that there's almost 7 pages of various posters proclaiming "the captain knows best who needs a meteorologist" but when I suggested maybe the Captain messed up because they did not know best it shifted to "how do we know it wasn't a meteorologist?!" The Captain probably used the tools that was available to them plus the obvious pressure to stick to a schedule. I'm sure the added pressure to keep costs down and avoid paying extra port fees is a factor too. Additional fees in Nassau or wherever the ship was last at port probably cost less than the PR fiasco and damage to the ship. This is where an in-house Meteorologist who's exclusive job is to support these Captains could come in and provide that detailed info they need. 

 

Sorry I know this is a tangent from the original conversation. 

[Tree_skier]

4 minutes ago, flyswatter15 said:

I do find it funny that there's almost 7 pages of various posters proclaiming "the captain knows best who needs a meteorologist"

 

That wasn't me...

 

5 minutes ago, flyswatter15 said:

I suggested maybe the Captain messed up because they did not know best it shifted to "how do we know it wasn't a meteorologist

 

I just asked the question for information sake.  The question was answered.  I don't think the narrative is switching.  

[Biker19]

6 hours ago, flyswatter15 said:

Sorry I know this is a tangent from the original conversation. 

Welcome to CC where threads live on tangents.

[tahqa]

15 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

How do you know the call wasn't made by an in-house meteorologist working in Carnival Ops.

From a Washington Post article...

Carnival said in a statement that the weather was unexpectedly strong, causing conditions that were rougher than forecast, but that its fleet operations center team, which relies on outside meteorology resources for itinerary planning, “coordinated to keep the ship in its safest location.”

[smokeybandit]

It was actually quite expectedly strong.

[PWP-001]

5 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

It was actually quite expectedly strong.

Yes, but they made it through the storm, though some make it sound it was the second most disasters maritime event since the sinking of the Titanic.  There's a lively discussion surrounding the drama on Carnival's board.