Paradise Islands cruise and Irma

<p>I wonder whats going to happen here- we R on the first one of these and it looks like 3 (possibly 4) of the 5 ports will be devastated by this storm.  For me it will be heartbreaking to stop at these ports (2 look impossible as the ports have been destroyed) and see the destruction especially as I have had family go through this in the past on cayman (and the same family have just moved from cayman  to Florida Boca Raton 4 weeks ago and have now boarded up and evacuated not knowing what awaits them when they go back).</p><br><p> I am not moaning about still stopping or potential canceled ports more just feeling very sad for the people and what we will find if we do get visit. <img src="http://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/images/clear.png?emoji-frown-1741" class="inlineimg" smilieid="11" border="0"><img src="http://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/images/clear.png?emoji-frown-1741" class="inlineimg" smilieid="11" border="0"></p><br><p> However, I understand that the islands will want the ships back asap for revenue even if things are not great.  Makes me appreciate the Scottish "summer" I don't get</p>

I think they are all in our thoughts at this sad time.:*

<p>I wonder whats going to happen here- we R on the first one of these and it looks like 3 (possibly 4) of the 5 ports will be devastated by this storm.  For me it will be heartbreaking to stop at these ports (2 look impossible as the ports have been destroyed) and see the destruction especially as I have had family go through this in the past on cayman (and the same family have just moved from cayman  to Florida Boca Raton 4 weeks ago and have now boarded up and evacuated not knowing what awaits them when they go back).</p><br><p> I am not moaning about still stopping or potential canceled ports more just feeling very sad for the people and what we will find if we do get visit. <img src="http://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/images/clear.png?emoji-frown-1741" class="inlineimg" smilieid="11" border="0"><img src="http://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/images/clear.png?emoji-frown-1741" class="inlineimg" smilieid="11" border="0"></p><br><p> However, I understand that the islands will want the ships back asap for revenue even if things are not great.  Makes me appreciate the Scottish "summer" I don't get</p>

Ido hope thomson don,t change the islands we are going to in march as the islanders need every little help they can get.

Can't imagine how it must be to be in a hurricane and we shouldn't complain about our weather should we Feel so sorry for them and I do hope Havana isn't flooded and they lose some of their magnificent crumbling buildings Let's hope there aren't too many deaths and they can rebuild as soon as possible but I'm sure I'll see the aftermath in January from Celebration which will make me very sad but we have to go to help their economy so they can rebuild quickly

bvi

Dreadful really dreadful A lady was on the radio this lunchtime saying her daughter is stuck in BVI she had worked all summer in a hotel and was due to fly to St Kitts on Tuesday and then after a couple of days back to UK but the flight was cancelled. She was complaining that BVI hadn't been mentioned as much as other islands and that no statement had been made by our government unlike the French and Dutch governments She had tried to get info from the FO but was just told to look at the website Her daughter had been able to ring her but she is very worried I'm sure she's not on her own

Dreadful really dreadful A lady was on the radio this lunchtime saying her daughter is stuck in BVI she had worked all summer in a hotel and was due to fly to St Kitts on Tuesday and then after a couple of days back to UK but the flight was cancelled. She was complaining that BVI hadn't been mentioned as much as other islands and that no statement had been made by our government unlike the French and Dutch governments She had tried to get info from the FO but was just told to look at the website Her daughter had been able to ring her but she is very worried I'm sure she's not on her own

So sad Vitalsign we have had two tours around this lovely island on the open sided bus and looked at richard bransons island many a time when the clouds let us.

Can't imagine how it must be to be in a hurricane and we shouldn't complain about our weather should we Feel so sorry for them and I do hope Havana isn't flooded and they lose some of their magnificent crumbling buildings Let's hope there aren't too many deaths and they can rebuild as soon as possible but I'm sure I'll see the aftermath in January from Celebration which will make me very sad but we have to go to help their economy so they can rebuild quickly

Punctuation would make it easier to read and understand your posts.

Do feel free to alter my post and give me marks!!

Why have you picked me out when there are plenty on here who have no idea how to use apostrophes?

Let's get back to the subject.

Our thoughts are with all those affected by Hurricane Irma and those yet to be affected by Jose. I hope they get all the help they need.

Do feel free to alter my post and give me marks!!

Why have you picked me out when there are plenty on here who have no idea how to use apostrophes?

Well seeing as you asked, not having a single comma or full stop is pure laziness. So 10 out of 10 for the sentiment but nothing for grammar.

A capital letter should let a reader know the beginning of a new sentence and missing one comma before 'which' is being very pedantic. In my last post no full stop is needed when using an exclamation mark or question mark. It's a good job you don't have to mark the current students' punctuation and grammar - it would be covered in red ink.

The news footage, which is now coming from the severely affected islands, is heartbreaking.

As well as the devastation of the buildings, loss of electrical supplies and fresh water is causing extreme hardship for the islanders, and a possibility of disease.

Tortola and St Maarten face months of recovery, as will St Thomas in the US Virgin Isles.

There is no way cruise ships will be visiting those islands in the near future. I just hope that generous aid solves their immediate problems quickly, so they can get back to some semblance of normality.

"I just hope that generous aid solves their immediate problems quickly, so they can get back to some semblance of normality."

Hear! Hear! Maybe the cruise companies, particularly Carnival, could stump up some cash.

http://www.mahobeachcam.com

These are the last 2 videos of 'Airport Beach' in Dutch St Maarten before the hurricane destroyed the webcam and the airport - horrendous.

Punctuation would make it easier to read and understand your posts.

How Rude !:mad:

How Rude !:mad:

I agree Longislandtea really rude!!!:lips-sealed:

Many thanks for your support Longislandtea and Womaninamansworld I couldn't believe the post myself, especially in the middle of a serious issue.

How Rude !:mad:

Agree. I recently joined a Thomson Facebook group and can't believe how rude some people can be towards others whose opinions differ from their own.

Thankyou Nancyneptune

Can't believe what I've read today. The International Aid Committee will not allow aid to be given from their budget to Anguilla, Turks & Caicos Islands and BVI because they have a high GDP in comparison to other islands. The UK government now has to pay for any aid itself (i.e. Taxpayers) on top of what we already pay to the Int Aid Comm. I do see that other islands like Dominica, St Kitts and Cuba are much poorer but surely this is a humanitarian situation. Its obvious they have a high GDP because of tourism but without that their GDP will reduce significantly.

What a fiasco.

Can't believe what I've read today. The International Aid Committee will not allow aid to be given from their budget to Anguilla, Turks & Caicos Islands and BVI because they have a high GDP in comparison to other islands. The UK government now has to pay for any aid itself (i.e. Taxpayers) on top of what we already pay to the Int Aid Comm. I do see that other islands like Dominica, St Kitts and Cuba are much poorer but surely this is a humanitarian situation. Its obvious they have a high GDP because of tourism but without that their GDP will reduce significantly.

What a fiasco.

There is a lot of poverty on some of the islands but I have often wondered why because the income from tourism is massive.

St Maarten, while being the most visited, and thus is perhaps the extreme, gets between 10,000 and 20,000 cruise passengers nearly everyday, even during the hurricane season because of the short cruises coming out of Florida. That in itself must generate billions of dollars each year.

Tortola probably is home to as many yachts as there are families living on the island, and many wealthy people have holiday homes there, so general tourism and cruise ship income must make it's GDP very healthy.

That wealth does not seem to find it's way easily to the poorer populace who are the ones to suffer most when disaster hits.

So I can understand the OECD's stance in some ways because there are obviously some very wealthy people who are long term recipients of the tourist income. It is those people or organisations who should be dipping in their coffers to fund the regeneration after Irma, because those same people will be the ones to profit again when it is done.

Apart from Richard Branson, who has spoken up but obviously is directly affected, there has been no clamour of rich voices with offers to help. My guess is that the majority of the extremely wealthy have expensive insurances in place to cover their assets and thus won't be bothered about the rest.

I agree entirely about the wealthy and organisations putting their hands in their pockets but also I feel Carnival as the largest cruise company should make a significant donation too

I agree entirely about the wealthy and organisations putting their hands in their pockets but also I feel Carnival as the largest cruise company should make a significant donation too

I totally agree.

Carnival use the Caribbean as a massive cash cow.

I totally agree.

Carnival use the Caribbean as a massive cash cow.

From the P&O web site