Tropical Storms in the Gulf!

[sargemrs]

Well, looks like my worst fears may be working on coming true!  Our cruise leaves the 27th in Galveston and there are at least 3 storms headed in that direction.  UG!  Will they change embarkation ports and cruise around storms, cancel and give cruise credits or ?  Can you give me some possible scenarios?  There are 5 cabins of us (suites) and only we have RCL insurance...... worried about the rest of family!

[taglovestocruise]

6 minutes ago, sargemrs said:

Well, looks like my worst fears may be working on coming true!  Our cruise leaves the 27th in Galveston and there are at least 3 storms headed in that direction.  UG!  Will they change embarkation ports and cruise around storms, cancel and give cruise credits or ?  Can you give me some possible scenarios?  There are 5 cabins of us (suites) and only we have RCL insurance...... worried about the rest of family!

No rain just clouds in Galveston on the 27th. Slight thunderstorms on the 28. Royal will make no changes for your cruise. 

[sargemrs]

2 minutes ago, taglovestocruise said:

No rain just clouds in Galveston on the 27th. Slight thunderstorms on the 28. Royal will make no changes for your cruise. 

You've just made my day!  From your words to God's ears!!!  Thank you!

[firefly333]

Just now, taglovestocruise said:

No rain just clouds in Galveston on the 27th. Slight thunderstorms on the 28. Royal will make no changes for your cruise. 

Exactly this ... if the storm is in their path they will go around it. I've missed 1 port a few times, 2 ports missed only once. Rcl has nothing in place to give you anything, it's up to the ship. You might get 0 or you might get a small obc for missed ports. Varys by ship, no pattern.

 

From Galveston there arent ports they can substitute this late. .. you just miss them. 

[sargemrs]

Just now, firefly333 said:

Exactly this ... if the storm is in their path they will go around it. I've missed 1 port a few times, 2 ports missed only once. Rcl has nothing in place to give you anything, it's up to the ship. You might get 0 or you might get a small obc for missed ports. Varys by ship, no pattern.

 

From Galveston there arent ports they can substitute this late. .. you just miss them. 

Actually I'm not worried about ports missed, just missing the cruise or horrible waves!!  Some in our group get sea sick but we're bringing what we can to avoid and help with that.

[taglovestocruise]

2 minutes ago, sargemrs said:

You've just made my day!  From your words to God's ears!!!  Thank you!

Just be advised, a 10 day weather forecast will change 20 times during the next 10 days.  

[joeyancho]

Actually, ⁰ Baja is on target to get hit with a hurricane.   Navigator of the Seas  is sailing that way. 

[BecciBoo]

15 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

You might get 0 or you might get a small obc

Or you might get a hellofa ride!!  One of our favorites was crossing the gulf during a wretched squall.  Lots of sick people but we stood out on Voyager's deck 5 watching the white caps and swell and had a blast!  Fortunately for us, we do not suffer from Mal de mur.  I'm not ever worried about hurricanes.  They just reverse course or go around, no problem. We don't mind missing ports, we make our own lemonade.  We leave Sept. 3rd....cannot wait....Bon Voyage Op.

[c-leg5]

36 minutes ago, sargemrs said:

Well, looks like my worst fears may be working on coming true!  Our cruise leaves the 27th in Galveston and there are at least 3 storms headed in that direction.  UG!  Will they change embarkation ports and cruise around storms, cancel and give cruise credits or ?  Can you give me some possible scenarios?  There are 5 cabins of us (suites) and only we have RCL insurance...... worried about the rest of family!

Not sure where you are seeing 3? 

 

National Weather service shows 4 but two are too far out to forecast direction at this point. The one forecast to form in the gulf has 30% chance at this point of becoming a tropical depression or storm, but it looks like it iis more likely to be rough for the sailing before if it moves  at the current forecast rate. 
 

 

Not sure where the rest of your group are coming from but you must realize this is a very real problem at this time of the year and they might want to consider insurance BEFORE there is a named storm in the gulf if they have any travel plans that maybe disrupted.

 

The current systems don’t look like they will affect you at the moment but all bets are off for while you are away, or conditions while returning, just too early to tell. If you live in Texas and don’t already, you should consider following,

 

https://spacecityweather.com

 

for hype free forecasts.

 

Edited August 19, 2023 by c-leg5

[smokeybandit]

There are not 3 storms.  There are zero storms.

 

There are several areas of disturbance being monitored, but at this time the only one with any respectable chance to develop into a tropical system may not even affect land.

[Cruisin Kay D]

At the present time, there are 2 small potential storms in Atlantic, way east of the Caribbean islands, one is called Invest 99L and other Invest 98L.  One or both could develop into a tropical storm or depression.  I was able to look at the "spaghetti models" for each and both projected to stay in the middle Atlantic and turn north, with only moderate chance for development.   But each appears to be away from any coastlines.    Most storms that end up in the Gulf move through the Caribbean islands SOUTH of Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Jamaica....there are exceptions though.   

Edited August 19, 2023 by Cruisin Kay D

[sargemrs]

53 minutes ago, c-leg5 said:

Not sure where you are seeing 3? 

 

National Weather service shows 4 but two are too far out to forecast direction at this point. The one forecast to form in the gulf has 30% chance at this point of becoming a tropical depression or storm, but it looks like it iis more likely to be rough for the sailing before if it moves  at the current forecast rate. 
 

 

Not sure where the rest of your group are coming from but you must realize this is a very real problem at this time of the year and they might want to consider insurance BEFORE there is a named storm in the gulf if they have any travel plans that maybe disrupted.

 

The current systems don’t look like they will affect you at the moment but all bets are off for while you are away, or conditions while returning, just too early to tell. If you live in Texas and don’t already, you should consider following,

 

https://spacecityweather.com

 

for hype free forecasts.

 

Very helpful!

[firefly333]

1 hour ago, BecciBoo said:

Or you might get a hellofa ride!!  One of our favorites was crossing the gulf during a wretched squall.  Lots of sick people but we stood out on Voyager's deck 5 watching the white caps and swell and had a blast!  Fortunately for us, we do not suffer from Mal de mur.  I'm not ever worried about hurricanes.  They just reverse course or go around, no problem. We don't mind missing ports, we make our own lemonade.  We leave Sept. 3rd....cannot wait....Bon Voyage Op.

I lost my car to hurricane Ike which hit Galveston  ... I do worry about my car, not about me. Never saw my car again. We left on a sunday, ike was supposed to go straight to mexico and dog legged at the last 24 hours right into Galveston.  It wasnt forecast to hit Galveston so we couldnt cancel. 

 

Water was up to my sun visor. The port parking had 17 ft. of water. So I'm not as blaise as you. Only brand new new car I ever bought, fresh out of the show room, 6 months old. 

[BecciBoo]

10 hours ago, firefly333 said:

I lost my car to hurricane Ike which hit Galveston  ... I do worry about my car, not about me. Never saw my car again. We left on a sunday, ike was supposed to go straight to mexico and dog legged at the last 24 hours right into Galveston.  It wasnt forecast to hit Galveston so we couldnt cancel. 

 

Water was up to my sun visor. The port parking had 17 ft. of water. So I'm not as blaise as you. Only brand new new car I ever bought, fresh out of the show room, 6 months old. 

Sorry for that, Ike was a bad one.  Lots of folks lost cars in parking lots then.  Thats the one they closed SA's airport for and caused us lots of trouble getting to Florida, but when we returned, it had gone up Toledo Bend area and San Antonio didn't get a drop of rain or wind...go figure!  But we have insurance.  Still not worried.  September is in the middle of Hurricane season, and traditionally for us, is the big month we cruise because of lower pricing.

Edited August 19, 2023 by BecciBoo

[OCSC Mike]

10 hours ago, firefly333 said:

I lost my car to hurricane Ike which hit Galveston

 

Sorry to hear about that. Hopefully insurance made you whole at least.

 

While we all know the ships will pretty much be able to avoid the storms, it's different if you actually live in the path of them.

 

It shouldn't be a huge deal when a hurricane comes over central Florida (been through many since  moving here in 2000) but our house was built poorly and we've had ongoing water intrusion issues. If one were to be headed here while I had a cruise planned I wouldn't be able to enjoy my cruise.

 

That said, knock on wood, after many years of trying various repairs, we recently had some major work done that we're hoping has finally solved the problem. The catch, as always, is that we have no way of knowing until a major storm comes through and I'm not exactly rooting for one just to test the repairs, lol.

[smokeybandit]

Looks like Hilary will have minimal impact on cruising. Navigator just moved up its port stop to Ensenada to the rare 7pm to midnight slot. Then the storm is moving fast enough that disembarkation day shouldn't be of much concern.

[ZoeyVictoria]

We live three miles from the coastline on Florida’s west coast. Last September, Hurricane Ian was headed directly towards us, so we quickly booked a four-night cruise out of Port Canaveral.  We missed one port due to high winds, then missed the two substitutes they planned, for the same reason.  We did not get off the ship Nassau, so spent the entire cruise on the ship for the first time ever and enjoyed it. Port Canaveral was closed the day we were due to return, so the cruise line added a fifth day to our cruise, free of charge. The weather never had much effect on the ship and we were safer than we would have been at home. That is our evacuation plan for future hurricanes. 

[BirdTravels]

14 hours ago, sargemrs said:

Well, looks like my worst fears may be working on coming true!  Our cruise leaves the 27th in Galveston and there are at least 3 storms headed in that direction.  UG!  Will they change embarkation ports and cruise around storms, cancel and give cruise credits or ?  Can you give me some possible scenarios?  There are 5 cabins of us (suites) and only we have RCL insurance...... worried about the rest of family!

Royal very rarely will cancel a cruise. Most cruises will operate rain/hurricane or shine. Your itinerary will be changed to avoid the storms. Usually, you will be notified a day or two before departure if there are any changes in plans, so make sure that your contact information is correct in your reservation. 

 

Pre-pandemic, we had a cruise from Bayonne to Bermuda diverted north to Halifax in the fall due to a hurricane. We got the notification just hours before leaving home, but had a chance to repack. There were those who didn't read their email or had fake information in their profiles, who showed up in Bayonne in shorts and t-shirts only to find out that they needed coats and rain gear.

 

BTW: It is good that you are looking at the nhc.noaa.gov site. Each of those "X" represent a low pressure disturbance. Contrary to other posts, while not a hurricane or tropical storm (yet), they represent areas where there may be rain, wind (along a front), and rough seas.

Edited August 19, 2023 by BirdTravels

[sargemrs]

1 hour ago, BirdTravels said:

Royal very rarely will cancel a cruise. Most cruises will operate rain/hurricane or shine. Your itinerary will be changed to avoid the storms. Usually, you will be notified a day or two before departure if there are any changes in plans, so make sure that your contact information is correct in your reservation. 

 

Pre-pandemic, we had a cruise from Bayonne to Bermuda diverted north to Halifax in the fall due to a hurricane. We got the notification just hours before leaving home, but had a chance to repack. There were those who didn't read their email or had fake information in their profiles, who showed up in Bayonne in shorts and t-shirts only to find out that they needed coats and rain gear.

 

BTW: It is good that you are looking at the nhc.noaa.gov site. Each of those "X" represent a low pressure disturbance. Contrary to other posts, while not a hurricane or tropical storm (yet), they represent areas where there may be rain, wind (along a front), and rough seas.

Thanks for your detailed answer!  I will be watching at the noaa site!!!

[smokeybandit]

Cruises would only get canceled if the home port itself was/is about to be severely impacted or there's no way to get around the storm when leaving port.

[RoperDK]

Our cruise is next weekend out of PC.  I believe I jinxed everyone because last week I was saying "You know, there haven't been any storms this year.  We are lucky."  🤣  Over the years we have cruised many times during hurricane season and have been affected only when the embarkation port was impacted.  We have had to change ports at times, but always had smooth sailings.  I really wouldn't worry about it.  Many times the storms either never appear or change directions.  

[LobsterStalker]

22 hours ago, sargemrs said:

Well, looks like my worst fears may be working on coming true!  Our cruise leaves the 27th in Galveston and there are at least 3 storms headed in that direction.  UG!  Will they change embarkation ports and cruise around storms, cancel and give cruise credits or ?  Can you give me some possible scenarios?  There are 5 cabins of us (suites) and only we have RCL insurance...... worried about the rest of family!

I understand being concerned , but funny to me that you seem so convinced 9 days out that your cruise plans will have to change ....

 

Cheers.... and relax , worry when you need to

[smokeybandit]

There have been many, many cruises mentally canceled 7+ days out due to hurricane computer models that ended up having ideal weather.

[LobsterStalker]

9 hours ago, ZoeyVictoria said:

We live three miles from the coastline on Florida’s west coast. Last September, Hurricane Ian was headed directly towards us, so we quickly booked a four-night cruise out of Port Canaveral.  We missed one port due to high winds, then missed the two substitutes they planned, for the same reason.  We did not get off the ship Nassau, so spent the entire cruise on the ship for the first time ever and enjoyed it. Port Canaveral was closed the day we were due to return, so the cruise line added a fifth day to our cruise, free of charge. The weather never had much effect on the ship and we were safer than we would have been at home. That is our evacuation plan for future hurricanes. 

I like this plan ... Get outta dodge and hope your house is standing when you get back!

[ZoeyVictoria]

18 minutes ago, LobsterStalker said:

I like this plan ... Get outta dodge and hope your house is standing when you get back!

Fourth floor condo, so nothing I could have done if I stayed home. The power had even been restored by the time we got home. The perfect plan for us!