San Diego fires- Elation 10/25

[lisakmoser]

Hello!

 

We are scheduled to go on the Elation this Thursday, 10/25- any body have any insight if the CA state of emergency would affect that at all? I live in downtown SD- we evacuated work, but all things are normal in the city (well, for the most part- just a little smoky)....

 

Just wondering- my family is flying in from the East Coast for this trip and I just don't know what to tell them!

 

Its such a crazy situation- my heart goes out to all the families who had to evacuate or who lost their homes due to these out of control fires!! :(

[Desert Cruizers]

Lisa we have several friends in the SD area and are concerned for them. there is just no place for them to go with the ocean on other side. What a sight that must be coming in from a ship.

[wrp96]

Keep an eye on the front page of CC. They have an update about how the fires are effecting cruises. I would also keep an eye on Carnival's website. If they decide to make any changes, they will post it as an advisory on their website.

 

Hope you get to have a great cruise and hope you keep safe.

[Splinter]

As of this evening, both the airport and port are open, but people driving in from the north county coastal or inland or LA may have problems between road closures and traffic. Also, every hotel room in town is booked with evacuees, so unless you already have confirmed reservations, don't expect to find a hotel room. Evacuations are being done to the mid-city area (Qualcomm Stadium), east county shopping malls, and area schools and universities. The Del Mar Fairgrounds is full. Tomorrow they may open more (including Petco Park).

 

As of this evening, over 250,000 people have been ordered to evacuate, and over 500 homes have burned. It is a major disaster.

[missjanet]

Splinter,

 

I hope you & your family are safe, as are the friends of Gwoodman. Those of us on the east coast can't really appreciate the scope of this disaster, not like you who are in the middle of it. I am so sorry.

 

I am part of the family who is attempting to get to San Diego to be with my daughter & her family. I just want to get out there to them - whether or not we get to go on our cruise is second only to our getting out there & making sure they are safe & well. We have hotel reservations in place, now we're just waiting to see if flights from Newark Airport to San Diego go out as scheduled.

 

Again, my heart goes out to the people in Southern California in the middle of this catastrophe. Our thoughts & prayers are with them.

[Desert Cruizers]

I called my sister last night, they live in Huntington Beach, about 40 min from San Diego and she said it was a mess, and her oldest son and family live in Forest Hills, boardering the fire. Myself I live 2 1/2 hours from San Diego in the lower Desert. We are fine here, to many mountains to get over.

[wrp96]

missjanet, so far San Diego International is running normal operations. They have a fire update page on their website if you want to keep track of it. http://www.san.org/airport/contact_us/fire_emergency.asp Also, check with your carrier. Operations are running normally, but some airlines are allowing people traveling to southern California to change their flights.

[lisakmoser]

Yes- my work has been evacuated and offices are closed today- but since we live downtown things have been pretty normal down here, besides the smell of the fires!

 

I'm not that concerned about our cruise- just my mom (missjanet) and dad getting here tonight! We'll make a Plan B if we can't cruise- not the end of the world. Just was thinking that we might be OK since the airport, port & our place is all located downtown....Trying to plan since they are traveling across the country to be here...that's all.

 

Good point about people from LA, etc driving down to SD having delays- esp since almost no highways are open now...I hadn't thought about that! Was only thinking of airports!

 

Well, right now I can't stop watching the news- I am thinking of everyone around me who has lost their homes or who's home is in danger...Its all very scary!!!

 

Go figure- in NY/NJ (where my family is coming from) its going to be pouring the next few days!

[iamirish]

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=112674941830232417080.00043d199392855ccccc3&ll=33.000602,-117.111511&spn=0.845366,1.672668&z=10&om=1

[missjanet]

We'll be heading to Newark Airport shortly - I'd rather sit over there & wait than stay here worrying about conditions in SD. Thanks for that link to the San Diego Airport - they're still saying conditions are normal thankfully. I will feel a whole lot better when we're in the air & on the way, even if there are delays involved. I just want to be there with my daughter & her family.

 

I don't know how Carnival will notify us if there are changes to our cruise - perhaps I will give them a call tomorrow to see what the situation is. The Elation is out now with a ship full of cruisers & they're due back on Thursday. I'll be able to better monitor the situation from San Diego, I think.

[wrp96]

If Carnival makes changes, it will be posted on their website, so just keep an eye on that website.

[PLHag]

Don't believe everything you read. Here is a excerpt from C/C's front page re: San Diego Port being closed today:

 

"West Coast Fires Still Not Impacting Cruises

The wildfires plaguing Southern California have so far had little impact on cruise travel, though the Port of San Diego is closed again today (no ships were scheduled to call, embark or disembark passengers on either Monday or Tuesday). The fires, which now extend from Santa Barbara to the north to Mexico to the south, have increased in severity and quantity as a result of increasing Santa Ana winds; these winds continue to unpredictably spread fire-starting embers. As noted, the Port of San Diego is actually closed -- but it does not expect another cruise ship arrival until Thursday, October 25; Carnival Elation is due in then (with Celebrity Summit and Holland America's Zaandam expected on Friday, October 26)."

 

 

I am overlooking the San Diego cruise port now, and looking directly at RCI's Monarch of the Seas - it is berthed as it usually is every Tuesday in San Diego. The port is not closed. There are cruise ship passengers getting on and off the ship (although I'm certain that most of them won't want to be out very long given the extremely poor air quality).

 

I hope that Carnival keeps you apprised of the docking situation and that you and your family will be able to embark this week and enjoy some clean air.

[TerraBea]

Actually it says the port administrative offices are closed today.

[missjanet]

We arrived in San Diego last night without any problems. In fact our flight from Newark had plenty of empty seats due to the wildfire situation. We are in a hotel in the Gaslamp Quarter & it is pretty quiet down here. I get the feeling that a lot of people changed their travel plans & did not come to San Diego.

 

My daughter, who will be cruising with us tomorrow, went back to work today. You can't help but notice the ash in the air when you're outside. My daughter's asthma is noticeably worse - that's one of the reasons I'm hoping we can make this cruise, so she can get some fresh air. It appears that some of the evacuation notices have been lifted, but so many homes have been lost. When we were home in NJ, we had no idea of the scope of these fires - now that we're in San Diego we understand how awful this disaster is. I'm hoping that everyone stays safe & that they're back in their homes soon.