Atlantic storm Dorian

[PelicanBill]

Yup. Category 5 and one of the lowest central pressures I’ve ever seen.  I am glad all you stuck in Florida are not likely to see dangerous conditions now... but we are still depending on the critical north turn so stay informed. I see Breakaway turned around and is in a cluster of 7 ships sailing SW. another cluster of ships is sailing SE along the coast of Cuba to get around  under and behind the storm. The storm looks just like Andrew did to me. I am very sad for the Bahamas. 24 hours at Cat 5 or 4 is not going to leave much on the north islands and I worry for their safety even in shelters.

[ricka47]

We can't sound the all clear quite yet - although I would like to do so!  A continued move west and a delay in the turn to the North (which some models show) sends it either into or much closer to the Florida coast.  I'm praying that the current NHC track holds up.

[PelicanBill]

13 hours ago, gizmoneil said:

 

We're on the SUN currently.. our updated itinerary has us returning on 3rd tue or 4th Wednesday.. So your cruise is definitely going to be delayed or canceled. 

I have to agree. Port open maybe Tuesday but would not be surprised if Wednesday. Gale force winds expected to last a while.

 

 

11 hours ago, AshleyDillo said:

Ouch..NCL Breakaway went from early boarding tomorrow 9am-11 (which they only told folks about today at 4pm) to the port won't let us in and now we aren't sailing until Wednesday.  Less than 12 hours notice from boarding.

This is terrible. The cruise lines needed to do better than this. Make decisions and stick to them. We just cannot expect people to fly into a hurricane or lose their money - even when they have trip insurance.  Dangerous and irresponsible. Please write to your cruise lines if you were in this position. In my opinion, everyone with a cruise departing the 3 south east Florida ports should have had the choice to cancel with 100% credit toward a future cruise. Trip insurance should cover air cancellation 48 hours or less to an expected storm. Port closure should support that.  At least some airlines did allow cancel with credit toward a future flight. 

[PelicanBill]

Looking ahead: 5 days out Is the time Dorian is expected to be between NYC and Bermuda. That’s Friday-ish.  

[AshleyDillo]

1 minute ago, PelicanBill said:

At least some airlines did allow cancel with credit toward a future flight. 

 

The airlines were amazing.  The cruiselines should have allowed cancellation for 100% future credit as far out the airlines did.  Prevent as many people as possible from feeling forced to make this decision.  Some of the insurance policies are just as bad; after my experience with it I will honestly never quip "that's what travel insurance is for" to someone.

[geocruiser]

23 minutes ago, ricka47 said:

We can't sound the all clear quite yet - although I would like to do so!  A continued move west and a delay in the turn to the North (which some models show) sends it either into or much closer to the Florida coast.  I'm praying that the current NHC track holds up.

I hoping that the track stays to the east too.  Our condo is on the barrier island between Melbourne Beach and Port Canaveral. I just don't want another Mexico Beach Fl disaster.    Are you getting off the island?    Our island has orders to leave on 8AM Monday, unless they have change that order.

Stay safe.

[geocruiser]

14 minutes ago, AshleyDillo said:

 

The airlines were amazing.  The cruiselines should have allowed cancellation for 100% future credit as far out the airlines did.  Prevent as many people as possible from feeling forced to make this decision.  Some of the insurance policies are just as bad; after my experience with it I will honestly never quip "that's what travel insurance is for" to someone.

I agree.  Also the extra people who get stuck there have no place to go in the storm.    Most of them flew in, if they don't have a rental car to get them out of the way of the storm, they have to seek a local shelter.  

[ricka47]

5 minutes ago, geocruiser said:

I hoping that the track stays to the east too.  Our condo is on the barrier island between Melbourne Beach and Port Canaveral. I just don't want another Mexico Beach Fl disaster.    Are you getting off the island?    Our island has orders to leave on 8AM Monday, unless they have change that order.

Stay safe.

 

We don't have any evacuations as of yet.  We are ready to leave Tuesday AM if need be.  We left for Matthew and Irma and our house was OK.  That is our prayer for this one as well - we just need that turn to take place sooner than later for the sake of the Northern Bahamas and the SE US.

[Diver2014]

We're still waiting to determine what to do here on Hilton Head Island, SC.  I predict we will probably leave the island Tuesday morning and go somewhere inland to hunker down.  We're still keeping our fingers crossed that the storm takes a more easterly turn.  Nerves are getting shattered......

[ricka47]

1 minute ago, Diver2014 said:

We're still waiting to determine what to do here on Hilton Head Island, SC.  I predict we will probably leave the island Tuesday morning and go somewhere inland to hunker down.  We're still keeping our fingers crossed that the storm takes a more easterly turn.  Nerves are getting shattered......

 

 My mother and brother are up in the Sun City area and should be far enough inland to be OK.  It is nerve-wracking to watch and wait!

[pjs9876]

Watching this hurricane is like being stalked by a turtle!

[ricka47]

3 minutes ago, pjs9876 said:

Watching this hurricane is like being stalked by a turtle!

Exactly - a big nasty one!

[cruzn buckeye]

nhc reported 175 mph winds this morning about an hour ago😟

[geocruiser]

Last Updated: 9/1/2019, 11:00:00 AM (Eastern Daylight Time)

• Location: 26.5 N 76.8 W
• Movement: W at 6 mph
• Wind: 180 mph
• Pressure: 913MB

[geocruiser]

This hurricane is awful.  I am worried about our condo, BUT I am much more worried about loss of life and people getting hurt.  Where will all these people go afterwards.  As for me it is our winter home, so if lost, I am still fine.  But the people who it is their only home, what a lost for them.  I pray that no lives will be lost.  The Bahamas will get hit very hard, God help them.

 

DorianCATEGORY 5 Sep 1, 2019, 11:00:00 AM

WIND

180 MPH

GUSTS

220 MPH

26.50°N 76.80°W

Edited September 1, 2019 by geocruiser

[ducklite]

13 hours ago, PelicanBill said:

Wow. Cruise ships gambled and LOST. Miami set condition Yankee and all ships must sail and none can enter. NCL Breakaway among those turned away.

Better to err on the side of caution in this case.

[ducklite]

3 hours ago, AshleyDillo said:

 

The airlines were amazing.  The cruiselines should have allowed cancellation for 100% future credit as far out the airlines did.  Prevent as many people as possible from feeling forced to make this decision.  Some of the insurance policies are just as bad; after my experience with it I will honestly never quip "that's what travel insurance is for" to someone.

They let my husband change his flight, and then yesterday afternoon he changed it back to the original one after the progress slowed and it wasn't as urgent to get home.  So two flight changes, no charge.

[PelicanBill]

2 hours ago, pjs9876 said:

Watching this hurricane is like being stalked by a turtle!

Omg lol. So funny. 

 

1 minute ago, ducklite said:

They let my husband change his flight, and then yesterday afternoon he changed it back to the original one after the progress slowed and it wasn't as urgent to get home.  So two flight changes, no charge.

That’s great.

 

The track centerline is running just 60 miles off shore. The storm is so big that suggests some rough times along the shore.

[3redheads]

 

Hurricane Dorian Tropical Cyclone Update
NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL       AL052019
1245 pm EDT Sun Sep 01 2019

Very, very scary.  I hope most evacuated.

...CATASTROPHIC CATEGORY 5 DORIAN MAKES LANDFALL ON ELBOW CAY IN THE
ABACOS...

Data from an Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft and
satellite data indicate that Dorian has made landfall at 1240 pm
EDT (1640 UTC) in Elbow Cay, Abacos. The winds have increased
to 185 mph (295 km/h) with the minimum central pressure falling to
911 mb (26.90 inches).

This is a life-threatening situation.  Residents there should take
immediate shelter.  Do not venture into the eye if it passes over
your location.

Hazards:
- Wind Gusts over 220 mph

 

 

Edited September 1, 2019 by 3redheads

[kusuriurikun]

9 minutes ago, 3redheads said:

 

Hurricane Dorian Tropical Cyclone Update
NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL       AL052019
1245 pm EDT Sun Sep 01 2019

Very, very scary.  I hope most evacuated.

...CATASTROPHIC CATEGORY 5 DORIAN MAKES LANDFALL ON ELBOW CAY IN THE
ABACOS...

Data from an Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft and
satellite data indicate that Dorian has made landfall at 1240 pm
EDT (1640 UTC) in Elbow Cay, Abacos. The winds have increased
to 185 mph (295 km/h) with the minimum central pressure falling to
911 mb (26.90 inches).

This is a life-threatening situation.  Residents there should take
immediate shelter.  Do not venture into the eye if it passes over
your location.

Hazards:
- Wind Gusts over 220 mph

 

 

 

For us Midwesterners--this is equivalent to an EF4 sustained wind speed, with EF5 wind gusts (and this is aside from the tornadoes that tend to be embedded in hurricanes this big and bad).  And there is the difference that for hurricanes this large, we're talking EF3/EF4/EF5 wind speeds for hours, not minutes or seconds O_o

 

Likewise, I worry about the loss of life and property to folks in the Bahamas right now 😞

Edited September 1, 2019 by kusuriurikun

[Host CJSKIDS]

3 hours ago, AshleyDillo said:

 

The airlines were amazing.  The cruiselines should have allowed cancellation for 100% future credit as far out the airlines did.  Prevent as many people as possible from feeling forced to make this decision.  Some of the insurance policies are just as bad; after my experience with it I will honestly never quip "that's what travel insurance is for" to someone.

 

The airlines were not amazing for those that needed to cancel trips down for the weekend.  They were not willing to get rid of the $200 change fee for people coming into Florida for the long weekend if you were flying on Friday.  We had friends coming in from NYC and they wouldn't let them change and my son was flying into Orlando.  Again, they were willing to let them have credit for the return flights for Monday but not the Friday segments.

[AshleyDillo]

Just now, Host CJSKIDS said:

 

The airlines were not amazing for those that needed to cancel trips down for the weekend.  They were not willing to get rid of the $200 change fee for people coming into Florida for the long weekend if you were flying on Friday.  We had friends coming in from NYC and they wouldn't let them change and my son was flying into Orlando.  Again, they were willing to let them have credit for the return flights for Monday but not the Friday segments.

My apologies..Delta and American were amazing.  Delta rolled back their original Sept1-4 timeframe to Aug30 and American had it Aug29-Sept4 to begin with.  American even let us cancel our Sept8 flight which was out of the range because we mentioned Royal Caribbean and apparently they were told to make exceptions for their cruise partners.  

[ducklite]

On 8/31/2019 at 12:22 PM, geocruiser said:

Does the cruise line insurance cove this?  All these cruise lines do carry ins.

It must be hard for the staff and crew when this happens.  Extending a cruise does not make all PAX happy.  And the staff and crew also have to deal with that too.

Main thing is that they are all safe.

I work for a company that has insurance against business interruption due to major storms.  We aren't a cruise line or anywhere near the size of a cruise line.  I would imagine cruise lines self-insure to a point and reinsure past that point for additional cover.

[erdoran]

I can't even imagine what the people in the Bahamas are doing....I've sailed out of Marsh Harbor before on a 55' catamaran, beautiful area and lovely people.  I doubt many (or any) of the private homes and even most businesses can stand up to a Cat 5 - and this sounds like a monster of one.

 

Personally, I'm sitting at MCO, waiting for boarding for my 1430 flight home.  I was traveling with my daughter, granddaughter, and another friend and I got the girls out on two separate flights this morning - I had rescheduled them when things looked bad for MCO, even before they had announced the original shutdown.  It may have been unnecessary the way things turned out, but I am so glad I did it, just for the peace of mind that they were less at risk.

 

I really feel for all the cruisers who have/had cruises coming up over these next few days and have decisions to make, if they haven't already been made for you.  This seems to be pretty unprecedented?  Especially the unpredictability of Dorian, I guess that's the biggest wild card of all.

[PelicanBill]

Port Miami is closed. Tunnel closed at noon and all operations to be closed and off the island at 6pm.