Anyone currently on Carnival Elation?

[dulcemariamar]

I have family onboard and I am just seeing the news that ports are starting to close and schools in the area will close by tomorrow. They are supposed to arrive back to Jacksonville by Thursday. Is there any update onboard ship if they will dock sooner? Getting a bit nervous so any help or information will help. 

[Diamond-56-Plus]

Hope you find your info needed.  Other than a few obvious hiccups Carnival has a fair record of avoiding storms at sea.

[tidecat]

Jaxport expects to be at Zulu (gale force winds expected within 12 hours) around 8 PM on the 25th. That would put the worst conditions around the time Elation is scheduled to arrive on the morning of the 26th.

 

https://www.jaxport.com/weather-and-labor-update/

 

Carnival is instructing guests on the 9/26 sailing not to proceed to the terminal until notified otherwise:

 

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/9754?_gl=1

 

 

[dulcemariamar]

2 hours ago, tidecat said:

Jaxport expects to be at Zulu (gale force winds expected within 12 hours) around 8 PM on the 25th. That would put the worst conditions around the time Elation is scheduled to arrive on the morning of the 26th.

 

https://www.jaxport.com/weather-and-labor-update/

 

Carnival is instructing guests on the 9/26 sailing not to proceed to the terminal until notified otherwise:

 

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/9754?_gl=1

 

 

Oh no… that is is very worrisome. Won’t they head back before that? 

[tidecat]

5 hours ago, dulcemariamar said:

Oh no… that is is very worrisome. Won’t they head back before that? 

The ship is too far away for that to be an option, as even at 20 knots thr ship would arrive in the wee hours of Thursday morning just before Tropical Storm force winds would start in Northeast Florida. Carnival will delay Elation's return to after the storm passes. The ship would be safer out at sea away from the storm rather than in port during the storm.

 

The September 26 sailing will be shortened if not canceled outright.

[mz-s]

The old adage, "Any port in a storm" isn't true of cruise ships. They are too top-heavy. As has been mentioned, they will delay Elation's return to JAXPORT and shorten the next cruise.

[dulcemariamar]

6 hours ago, tidecat said:

The ship is too far away for that to be an option, as even at 20 knots thr ship would arrive in the wee hours of Thursday morning just before Tropical Storm force winds would start in Northeast Florida. Carnival will delay Elation's return to after the storm passes. The ship would be safer out at sea away from the storm rather than in port during the storm.

 

The September 26 sailing will be shortened if not canceled outright.

Is this official anywhere? I am following John Head on Facebook and checking Carnival.com and I don’t see anything 

[LMBB]

1 hour ago, dulcemariamar said:

Is this official anywhere? I am following John Head on Facebook and checking Carnival.com and I don’t see anything 

I am on elation now. They told us about an hour ago that we won’t be getting back to port Thursday and that the current plan is Friday but TBD depending on what happens. They said they will provide another update when everything is official and finalized. Not sure when that will be, but carnival is planning to provide another official Helene update on their website by 8PM EST. 

[tidecat]

2 hours ago, dulcemariamar said:

Is this official anywhere? I am following John Head on Facebook and checking Carnival.com and I don’t see anything 

You may not be aware of this, but cruise ships positions are actually publicly available on many Web sites. Elation is currently east of Hialeah, Florida right now (2:45 PM EDT). This morning Elation was south of Grand Bahama Island. Even at top speed (about 22 knots), there is no way Elation can make it back to Jacksonville before conditions deteriorate.

[stobe1]

I am 100% sure they will be ok. Stop worrying.

[tidecat]

Wednesday 6:30 PM Update from Carnival:

 

• Carnival Elation 09/21/2024 – The ship is currently sailing a safe distance from the storm, en route to Jacksonville. Given the storm’s path, it will not be able to return to Jacksonville Thursday, September 26. Once the storm passes and the port reopens, officials will be able to fully conduct a post-storm assessment before giving clearance to return. We are very tentatively anticipating sometime Friday, September 27, possibly later.  

• Carnival Elation 09/26/2024 – Due to the projected path of the storm and anticipated closure of the port, the voyage will not be departing Thursday, September 26, 2024. We will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as more information becomes available. To stay up to date, please sign up for text alerts by texting CCL1 to CRUISE (278473).

 

[Diamond-56-Plus]

It always concerns me when one of these hurricanes' approaches. In the past years there was a ton of folks providing information with those concerned. Its fallen down quite a bit over the years. 

[dulcemariamar]

13 hours ago, stobe1 said:

I am 100% sure they will be ok. Stop worrying.

Thanks for a useful post!  
 

 

The family members are elderly so there will be some worrying.

 

 

[tidecat]

1:00 PM EDT update from Carnival. Not surprising given Helene's center is forecast to be in South Central Georgia on Friday:

 

JACKSONVILLE – The port is currently closed.    

• Carnival Elation 09/21/2024 – The ship is currently sailing a safe distance from the storm, en route to Jacksonville. Given the storm’s current location and track, it will not be able to return to Jacksonville today, Thursday, September 26. Once the storm passes and the port reopens, officials will be able to fully conduct a post-storm assessment before giving clearance to return. We are very tentatively anticipating sometime Friday, September 27, possibly Saturday, September 28.  

• Carnival Elation 09/26/2024 – This voyage will not be departing Thursday, September 26. We will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as more information becomes available. To stay up to date, please sign up for text alerts by texting CCL1 to CRUISE (278473).

 

The full update is on Carnival.com and addresses all of the other Florida and Gulf Coast ports