Hurricane & I'm leaving Friday :( What path might RCI take?

[6 of us]

Hurricane Joaquin is going to interfere, starting in the Bahamas, where we are headed, & going up the East coast right beside our path from Port Canaveral to the Bahamas. I've had about 9 cruises in the fall & never had a hurricane interfere so I'm curious how the ship will avoid the storm. It looks like we will be passing each other as we are on the way down to the Bahamas late Friday?? In your experience, how might they change this or will they?

It's a 3 day, fri-Sun nassau & their private island. To me it looks like it will be out of the Bahamas by Saturday, but what about the sea, is it going to be too rough to even go there? BOO, I am so sad :(.

 

http://www.weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/tropical-storm-hurricane-joaquin-atlantic-east-coast-2015

[John&LaLa]

Really nowhere to go except south of Nassau. No place to stop, Freeport is north. It should pass before you leave

[setsail]

This will have to be answered by rci. If they can't do the eastern then there is the western route or extra sea days

Edited September 30, 2015 by setsail

[6 of us]

This will have to be answered by rci. If they can't do the eastern then there is the western route or extra sea days

 

What is the western route? :D

[setsail]

What is the western route? :D

 

Labadee, Jamaica, Mexico, grand Cayman, or gulf of Mexico away from the Atlantic

 

rci will put an alert on their website on the main page if things get nasty

Edited September 30, 2015 by setsail

[6 of us]

Labadee, Jamaica, Mexico, grand caymen

 

I don't mind any of those but can you get that far on a 3 day cruise & back to Port Canaveral?

[setsail]

I don't mind any of those but can you get that far on a 3 day cruise & back to Port Canaveral?

 

Maybe one

[tahqa]

The OP is on the Enchantment going to Nassau and back leaving on Friday.

 

Nassau is on a hurricane watch through Friday but every spaghetti model has the track of the hurricane well outside of Enchantments path this weekend. The most likely effect on the OP's sailing is missing Coco Cay (and having rough seas). The weather forecast for Sunday at Coco Cay is calling for 16 mph winds which might make things too rough for tendering.

 

Bring your Dramamine if you're prone to seasickness, but a direct hit by Joaquin is extremely unlikely.

[6 of us]

The OP is on the Enchantment going to Nassau and back leaving on Friday.

 

Nassau is on a hurricane watch through Friday but every spaghetti model has the track of the hurricane well outside of Enchantments path this weekend. The most likely effect on the OP's sailing is missing Coco Cay (and having rough seas). The weather forecast for Sunday at Coco Cay is calling for 16 mph winds which might make things too rough for tendering.

 

Bring your Dramamine if you're prone to seasickness, but a direct hit by Joaquin is extremely unlikely.

 

Thank you for that. We have never gotten sea sick so Lord willing that won't be an issue. I do hope we get some sun. Maybe that sucker will take a hard right & get outta here! :D

 

Where might I check RCI updates? I booked through price line & this is my first RCI cruise so I'm not sure how to plug in. Carnival always sent out texts & emails.

[blazeinthesun]

I'm on this same cruise with a big group, and while I am not concerned about a direct hit or really even if the ship is detoured elsewhere (been to all these plenty of times and live in Ft Laud), I am seriously concerned about rough seas. I am a lightweight when it comes to motion sickness, thinking my usual bonine and ginger pills may not be enough. Yikes! :(

[330searay]

Doesnt coco-cay now have a wharf that they secure to?

[setsail]

Start with the bonine a full day or more in advance of the cruise

[Clarea]

Doesnt coco-cay now have a wharf that they secure to?

Coco Cay is a tender port, and if the weather is too rough, the tender operation becomes unsafe.

[orville99]

Happened to us twice (once on Disney in 2008, and once on RCL in 2012). Both times we managed to dock in Nassau, but stayed overnight and missed the private island the next day.

 

The captains both did a great job of sailing us away from/around the storms as much as possible, but it did get a bit rough when we were at sea.

 

When Hurricane Sandy came up the coast (almost the identical path), the cruises sailed away from the storm and did no ports at all.

 

Bottom line: the captain will take whatever steps are necessary to protect the passengers and ship.

[orville99]

Thank you for that. We have never gotten sea sick so Lord willing that won't be an issue. I do hope we get some sun. Maybe that sucker will take a hard right & get outta here! :D

 

Where might I check RCI updates? I booked through price line & this is my first RCI cruise so I'm not sure how to plug in. Carnival always sent out texts & emails.

 

If RCL needs to make any announcements relative to cruises/itineraries, they will post a bulletin on their website home page. If there is anything that would delay the start of your cruise, they should email you (providing they have your email address on file)

Edited September 30, 2015 by orville99

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

Coco Cay is a tender port, and if the weather is too rough, the tender operation becomes unsafe.

 

FWIW, even Disney - which has a dock on their private island - doesn't always make it to theirs. The ships have to get into the channel, and if the currents are too strong it doesn't happen. So having a dock doesn't guarantee anything.

[orville99]

FWIW, even Disney - which has a dock on their private island - doesn't always make it to theirs. The ships have to get into the channel, and if the currents are too strong it doesn't happen. So having a dock doesn't guarantee anything.

 

 

And occasionally they manage to dock but then can't undock and leave :eek:

[cruisegirl1]

If RCL needs to make any announcements relative to cruises/itineraries, they will post a bulletin on their website home page. If there is anything that would delay the start of your cruise, they should email you (providing they have your email address on file)

 

Just this past August, our Freedom Eastern Caribbean because a Western Caribbean cruise. We were notified of the itinerary change by email about 9PM the evening prior to sailing. They also had a notification of the change on their website.

 

 

Good luck and enjoy

 

M

[6 of us]

I wonder what the ship that is out there right now is doing. The winds are pretty heavy.

[Retired LEO]

I'm on this same cruise with a big group, and while I am not concerned about a direct hit or really even if the ship is detoured elsewhere (been to all these plenty of times and live in Ft Laud), I am seriously concerned about rough seas. I am a lightweight when it comes to motion sickness, thinking my usual bonine and ginger pills may not be enough. Yikes! :(

 

The seas will be quite rough for about a week. I'm about 60 miles north of Port Canaveral and our waves on shore are already 5-7 feet.

[Firefighterhoop]

If it is not safe to stop you may end up with 2 sea days. Otherwise they may skip one port, or if you're lucky none at all!

 

No other "port" they can really divert you to on a 3 day cruise.

Edited September 30, 2015 by Firefighterhoop

[tahqa]

The seas will be quite rough for about a week. I'm about 60 miles north of Port Canaveral and our waves on shore are already 5-7 feet.

 

The current forecast for Friday evening in the Gulf Stream (along Enchantment's track) is:

 

"SEAS 5 TO 7 FEET WITH OCCASIONAL SEAS TO 9 FEET BUILDING TO 7 TO 9 FEET WITH OCCASIONAL SEAS TO 11 FEET AFTER MIDNIGHT."

 

It'll get better as the ship approaches Nassau, but it's still seas in the 5 to 7 range all day Saturday and Sunday. I would count on Sunday being a sea day or possibly staying at Nassau until noon or 2. :(