Hurricane Matthew Thread

[2thesea]

We are sailing out of NYC on October 7th and wondering what the impact will be if any from the current tropical storm in the Atlantic? Seems it is forecasted to strengthen and become a hurricane :eek::eek::eek:

 

What say you?

[Tonka's Skipper]

It is way way to far out to know what invest 97L is going to do. I would suggest and take a deep breath and not worry about it until at least Sunday or so!

 

(and maybe keeping your fingers crossed:D)

 

AKK

[2thesea]

It is way way to far out to know what invest 97L is going to do. I would suggest and take a deep breath and not worry about it until at least Sunday or so!

 

(and maybe keeping your fingers crossed:D)

 

AKK

 

We never cruise this time of year........fingers crossed. Keep me posted

Tonka Skipper! You have always given great advice and warnings :D

[moki'smommy]

First, hurricane season technically lasts for 6 months. So if one intends to not cruise during hurricane season, he eliminates half of the possible cruises.

 

Secondly, the captain will do whatever possible to reduce the impact of a storm or hurricane on your cruise. We've done a lot of fall cruises on DCL. Two had major changes in course or ports, and one was reduced from a 7 night cruise to a 4 night cruise. OK, that was a bummer, but DCL did make it right financially. The big impact comes if the storm closes or is very near to your embarkation/disembarkation port. On the others, in one case we missed a port and had a sea day while in the other they were able to substitute one port for another.

 

If at all possible, the captain will take the ship away from the storm and still give you a great cruise. And the course of a storm can shift from day to day. What is being predicted now may or may not happen at all!

[2thesea]

My fingers and toes are crossed.......and I have some Pixie Dust in my pocket! Praying for smooth sailing :p

[vicki2011]

I've cruised Disney many times, but never had to deal with the chance of a storm. I leave Monday on Dream, and am curious as to what Disney will do if the storm does in fact form, and turn to the right headed toward the Bahamas. I know they will sail around the strom, but does that mean they will take us to other ports or does that mean we will sail around for 4 days?

[Pnitty Jo]

I am on this same cruise with my little one! Our first Disney cruise and this storm is making me a nervous wreck. There doesn't seem to be anywhere it would reroute does it?

[RPD]

I am on this as well. Any idea what options DCL has when a storm hits the Bahamas?

[davidmbfonz]

Wow! Was just about to post and ask our veteran forum folks what the range of things that DCL has done in the past? I'm on the Dream leaving on Monday with the rest of you - the ship is slated to head directly into the storm!

 

Wondering about the re-route options (which seem very likely).

 

Thanks in advance!

[moki'smommy]

I've had several "hurricane issues" on DCL cruises, mostly because we do a lot of September cruises.

 

The first time, Captain John took the Magic to Key West (before there was a Western) in order to wait a day, see where the hurricane went, and recoup as much of our cruise as possible.

 

Other times (at least twice) we have missed a port and it became a sea day.

 

The worst was when the hurricane closed Port Canaveral. Our 7 night cruise became a 4 night cruise. DCL gave us the choice of canceling for a full refund or taking the 4 night with a large refund and an OBC. Since we were already at WDW, we did the shorter cruise. It was sad, but it was a reasonable option.

 

Funny, but we've never had to miss Castaway, even when the storms were supposedly affecting the Bahamas.

 

Cruises I have not been on but heard of--there was a cruise that couldn't get in to ANY port. DCL gave a full cruise fare credit toward a future cruise to those passengers.

 

There is no compensation if you miss a port or go to an alternate port. The crew does really hustle to arrange new excursion options and of course there is no charge for anything booked thru DCL at the missed port.

 

If you have travel insurance and are very uneasy, look at the policy to see what the fine print says about storm forecasts.

 

They will not take the ship into the storm. The captain will find a "work around," regardless of what it does to the planned ports.

Edited September 29, 2016 by moki'smommy

[RPD]

I've had several "hurricane issues" on DCL cruises' date=' mostly because we do a lot of September cruises.

 

The first time, Captain John took the Magic to Key West (before there was a Western) in order to wait a day, see where the hurricane went, and recoup as much of our cruise as possible.

 

Other times (at least twice) we have missed a port and it became a sea day.

 

The worst was when the hurricane closed Port Canaveral. Our 7 night cruise became a 4 night cruise. DCL gave us the choice of canceling for a full refund or taking the 4 night with a large refund and an OBC. Since we were already at WDW, we did the shorter cruise. It was sad, but it was a reasonable option.

 

Funny, but we've never had to miss Castaway, even when the storms were supposedly affecting the Bahamas.

 

Cruises I have not been on but heard of--there was a cruise that couldn't get in to ANY port. DCL gave a full cruise fare credit toward a future cruise to those passengers.

 

There is no compensation if you miss a port or go to an alternate port. The crew does really hustle to arrange new excursion options and of course there is no charge for anything booked thru DCL at the missed port.

 

If you have travel insurance and are very uneasy, look at the policy to see what the fine print says about storm forecasts.

 

They will not take the ship into the storm. The captain will find a "work around," regardless of what it does to the planned ports.[/quote']

 

This is VERY encouraging! Thank you! We are preparing to go even if it means spending 4 days on the ship!

[davidmbfonz]

Just FANTASTIC info, Moki. Wow - very reassuring. DCL should hire you to calm people (if not the seas!).

 

Thank YOU!

[moki'smommy]

Thanks, gang. The bottom line is that we've never had a BAD DCL cruise. We've had some that were great and some that were "just OK," but if you approach it with the attitude that you're going to have an adventure that may or may not turn out as you originally planned, you'll have a lovely vacation. If changing plans is going to upset you, this isn't the season for you to be cruising.

[ArthurUSCG]

You might have Nassau cut and Castaway Cay moved up to Tuesday 10/4, unless the wind area increases dramatically. Then you might loose all of the ports.

The Dream is highly unlikely to dock in Key West.

But, you really don't loose anything by skipping Nassau.

 

There will be plenty to do on the ship.

[moki'smommy]

Bottom line is that the captain will evaluate the most recent reports at the the time of the sailing and make decisions based on what is happening at that time.

 

While one can certainly look at the reports now and think "We're going to have to watch that," one can't really know what the storm will be doing in 2 days or in 5 days.

 

Their decisions will be based first on safety, secondly on the quality of the cruise that they can provide for you.

[RPD]

You might have Nassau cut and Castaway Cay moved up to Tuesday 10/4, unless the wind area increases dramatically. Then you might loose all of the ports.

The Dream is highly unlikely to dock in Key West.

But, you really don't loose anything by skipping Nassau.

 

There will be plenty to do on the ship.

 

How do you know that the Dream is highly unlikely to dock in Key West?

[ArthurUSCG]

How do you know that the Dream is highly unlikely to dock in Key West?

 

Her length is long enough for her to hit both banks of the channel. So she would require additional tugs to make sure she stays in the channel. That is why the Dream and Fantasy have never docked at Key West.

[moki'smommy]

It is too big. We were on the Magic when we went to Key West.

[NYGirl1002]

I'm on that same cruise 2thesea.

[Cruise-Uh-holic]

We were sailing on the dream for the 3 Day 10/25-28/12 during Sandy. When checking in, we were told that everything was fine and worse case scenario we wouldn't leave Port tonight and would set sail tomorrow. But we lucked out... sorta... We had a sunny sail away that lasted till we made it out of the channel, then the rain and winds started! oh and the waves...

 

Woke up the next morning to the captain announcing that Nassau was still closed and we had sailed toward Key West to get out of the storm. It was nice, sunny and clear ahead of the ship but if memory serves me right, I wanna say we sat outside of Key West for no longer than 45 minutes before we turned back around into the darkness. I also believe at this point we were told we wouldn't be sailing to Castaway Cay. It was very disappointing but I would say it was probably one of the best cruises on the Dream to date. I cant remember if we were given reimbursement for that cruise, but we were given 50% off a future cruise.

 

It was rough, but Disney filled the 3 day sea cruise with plenty of activities. The waves made it even more interesting. I do remember hearing the Fantasy suffered quite a bit of damage. The only damage we saw on the Dream were the doors on the balconies flying off their hinges. Ours was hanging on by the bottom hinge slamming back and forth!

[iceman93]

I have a slightly different story, but one that still had a very happy ending. We were on the EBPC a couple of years ago when a hurricane came chugging up the western Mexican coast. We ended up missing all three Mexico ports at the start of the cruise, but I don't think anyone minded because the cruise activities staff added so much to do on board that it was impossible to focus on the missed shore activities.

 

The captain sailed us out to sea to get around the hurricane (the ship's maps started calling it the "Odile Avoidance Voyage") when another tropical storm quickly spring up right in our path. We ended up sailing straight through the middle of it--there were a couple of really rough days. But still, the crew and staff were amazing.

 

By the time we got through the canal and to our first port, the staff thought the guests were going to be stir crazy. But I remember when the CD came on the horn, and excitedly announced that after more than a week at sea we'd all be able to step into dry land, and there was a resounding "Boo!" that could be heard all around the ship. It was humorous, of course, but also a definite credit to the CMs on board who made our extended set of sea days really enjoyable and memorable.

 

Bottom line--Disney does it right. I don't see any of their captains intentionally sailing right through a big storm to try to make a port (like some other lines who have ended up with major ship damage and injured guests). And even if you miss ports, they'll make the best of a challenging situation.

[slightlysilly]

I've never cruised during hurricane season either, BUT, I'm an adventurous gal, the kind that habitually flies in morning of a sailing in the middle of February from Pennsylvania :eek:.

 

That said, if you treat it as an adventure and just be prepared with that sea-sickness stuff, you should be ok. You might get sea days, you might be diverted to a different port, heck you might end up sitting at a port (which would be just another day in Nassau. :D) Either way you get to tell a fun story about cruising through a hurricane... that'll be a good story to tell at your next wine and cheese party.

[Tonka's Skipper]

:):):) Are you also on the Facebook group page? This storm is giving me indigestion!

 

 

Hi 2Thesea and everyone!

 

I wish I could give you excellent news, However its all still a big question mark as to where the Hurricane will go. Below is the 5 day chart, and as you will see....the Bahamas are going to be hit with a class 2 storm.......other wise we really have no idea after that, so we are going to have to wait.

 

 

 

https://www.wunderground.com/hurricane/atlantic/2016/Hurricane-Matthew?map=5day

 

 

 

 

I will put my neck out here a bit and say I think there is a chance that as Matthew comes north, it may arch eastly..........Keep those fingers crossed.

 

As to the DCL vessels and Master......everything Moki Mommy said is totally correct..The Master will be working with a number of excellent weather services and experts and the shore office. They will plan route around any major storm and if required change ports etc. Safety first. In the end the Master has the final say as o what actions are taken to avoid Matthew.

 

Ill check in over the weekend and see where we are!

 

 

AKK

Edited September 30, 2016 by Tonka's Skipper

[dexddd]

My fingers and toes are crossed.......and I have some Pixie Dust in my pocket! Praying for smooth sailing :p

 

We were on the Fantasy and a tropical storm was going to be a problem. About 10 minutes prior to sailing they let us know we weren't going to St Maarten but to San Juan instead. Since you know there could be some issues and if you do private excursions you may want to research some of the alternative places you could end up.

[RPD]

Any chance that the Dream goes to Puerto Rico?