Oil Spill effects in December?

[susieq76]

Ugh! Hubby is freaking out and wants to cancel our cruise because he is afraid the oil spill will cause the Bahamas and Key West to be gross when we go in December! What will the ships do if the water is not swimable? Has anything like this happened before?

[CruisinCrow]

Nothing like this has ever happened before and there's no way to know what the waters will be like in December. We can all only pray that BP can stop the spill and clean it up as soon as possible. I'm heartsick for all the animals being affected by this disaster.

[BIG_Steve]

Nothing like this has ever happened before and there's no way to know what the waters will be like in December.

 

Bingo.

 

If it's a real mess, one would imagine the cruise lines will go to different ports. A sailor would know better than I, but I doubt the ships are going to sail through that stuff. If they suck water in to cool the engines and what not, they can't use the oily water.

[delphinidae]

I have been wondering the same thing. We are going to the Bahamas in December on a Carnival Cruise. The whole thing seems so unreal, and it seems like there is no quick solution in sight - it's just awful. :(

[gottago2mexico]

Ugh! Hubby is freaking out and wants to cancel our cruise because he is afraid the oil spill will cause the Bahamas and Key West to be gross when we go in December! What will the ships do if the water is not swimable? Has anything like this happened before?

 

If such a thing were to happen, the cruise lines would alter their itineraries. It is very unlikely that the Bahamas would be gross in any case. If the gulf stream caught the oil, which it hasn't yet, it would pass Bimini and the West End of Grand Bahama on its way into the Atlantic. It is not expected to affect Nassau or any of the private islands further south (of course who knows what December will bring). By the time it was to reach all the way to the Bahamas, it would be so diluted that the effect should be minimal in any case. If it did affect any area of the Bahamas or the Keys, the cruise ships would simply divert their route to an unaffected area. There are 700 islands in the Bahamas stretching over 100,000 square miles - there are plenty to choose from. I would not foresee any cause for concern about a cruise to the Bahamas at this time, but of course keep watching the news, nobody knows how this will turn out.