Dorian ?? MSC Seaside Reroute??

[cruisebeachgirl703]

Scheduled Saturday out of Miami on Seaside. First port Puerto Rico. Does anyone know how MSC handles inclement weather? Will they leave late? Go a different route? Choose a different island?  Thanks.

Edited August 27, 2019 by cruisebeachgirl703

[colecandler]

I think all cruise lines have contingency plans for storms.

It's still too early to tell what effect Dorian will have on your/our cruise.

The key for Dorian to become a storm we will have to contend with will happen when it approaches the island of Hispaniola (Haiti/Dominican Republic). If it can 'thread the needle between Puerto Rico and Hispaniola it has a chance to strengthen and possibly impact our cruise. If it makes landfall - it will likely get shredded apart. We won't see that until Thursday. There are a lot of factors working against Dorian - but it is still hanging together. I am more worried today than I was yesterday.

The tracks I see have it getting close to Florida late Saturday/ Early Sunday. 

The forecast as of this morning for Miami is Mainly Cloudy with a Thunderstorm.

Here are the questions:

Will Seaside return to Miami on time on Saturday? Right now - I'd say probably.

Will Seaside leave Miami on time Saturday. Right now -  I'd say probably to that too.

Will our itinerary get changed at all? That's got the highest uncertainty. The ports we are going to will be fine next week. It's how we get 'through' the storm that's the unknown.

Regardless - I plan on having a great vacation. I have full confidence that other than a possibly rainy Saturday night/Sunday AM it will be a beautiful cruise.

[cruiseguyinorl]

"As the safety and security of our guests and crew is MSC Cruises top priority, we are closely monitoring the evolution of tropical storm Dorian. As of now, no changes are expected to MSC Seaside's itinerary. The next update will be provided by Wednesday, August 28th by 1pm.

Throughout the hurricane season, any updates to itineraries will be posted on MSC Cruises web site and we encourage guests to continue to check the web site for the latest information."

 

Guess we will know after 1pm tomorrow.

Bret

[pmk515]

Looks like Dorian turned a bit more northerly overnight and slowed down. Miami might only get the far reaches of Dorian's bands and it might not even happen until Saturday evening/Sunday morning. So Seaside letting off their passengers from this week and getting next weeks passengers on shouldn't be a problem.

 

San Juan and Nassau might be in doubt but I'd be surprised if either are scrapped unless the storm unexpectedly intensifies.

[Mattnvick]

Latest from MSC

 

 

[BermudaBound2014]

MSC is doing a nice job with their updates. 

[cellfree]

We were on Divina when Irma came through a couple years ago during our cruise. Captain Massa and MSC handled it wonderfully. Everything was done for the benefit of the “cruiser.” 

[BermudaBound2014]

Royal, Carnival, and Disney have formally revised itineraries. Royal closed Coco Cay entirely until September 4th. Airlines are already waiving change fees. If you are scheduled to sail this weekend on MSC from Florida, it's probably best to get ahead of the game. 

[Nymich]

from another board fwiw

[reedprincess]

Seaside is sailing Saturday Aug 31. Albeit earlier than scheduled - you should plan to be in port by 9am. Details updated at their website

As San Juan didn't Experience much damages, and the storm is well to the north, I'd expect them to port there as normal. (Yes, well aware there was some major flooding and some damages elsewhere in PR, but not around San Juan).. St Thomas is anyone's guess as there was some flooding, power outages, etc. But still not as much damage as was anticipated

Whether they'll stay with the Eastern, which should have some great weather for the next few days, or switch to a more Western route remains to be seen. There hasn't been any updates on that as yet.

[MISTER 67]

On 8/28/2019 at 5:59 PM, cellfree said:

We were on Divina when Irma came through a couple years ago during our cruise. Captain Massa and MSC handled it wonderfully. Everything was done for the benefit of the “cruiser.” 

We were on that cruise also, since we live in Florida we were part of the contingent that dis-embarked the ship when we reached Miami. We wanted to get our car and drive back to Sebring and ride out the storm. You were 100% correct, MSC did a great job in handling a tough situation, received a refund for the 2 days we missed on the cruise and some nice vouchers for our next cruise with MSC.

BTW, we are sailing on the Equinox out of Fort Lauderdale tomorrow to the Eastern Caribbean, only change is the Equinox will leave an hour earlier.

Edited August 30, 2019 by MISTER 67

[CruiseLand]

I don't think MSC handle this great. They  let passengers know last night at 8.30 pm. And they told us we must decide by 11:00.  To leave the ship a day early in Miami or go back out to sea and return tbd. At 11:10 the forms and information packet was deliveries to our storeroom mentioning we could get free internet to reschedule our flights and etc.  It was a long night and morning getting backed and everything rescheduled.  Now we find out that the ship is not leaving the port of Miami until tomorrow.  Then why the big push to get us off the ship. We could of slept the night there got some real sleep and walked off the next day.  MSC there lack of timely information. We spent extra $500+ for the hotel and car rental since we cannot change our flight. We also purchased the fun pass. We only used $78 out of $180 and they said they said we cannot get refund. MSC definitely last time for me.

[CruiseLand]

4 hours ago, MISTER 67 said:

We were on that cruise also, since we live in Florida we were part of the contingent that dis-embarked the ship when we reached Miami. We wanted to get our car and drive back to Sebring and ride out the storm. You were 100% correct, MSC did a great job in handling a tough situation, received a refund for the 2 days we missed on the cruise and some nice vouchers for our next cruise with MSC.

BTW, we are sailing on the Equinox out of Fort Lauderdale tomorrow to the Eastern Caribbean, only change is the Equinox will leave an hour earlier.

We do not receive any refund or voucher. 

[capriccio]

8 minutes ago, CruiseLand said:

We do not receive any refund or voucher. 

 

Are you commenting on the current situation with Seaside?

 

I believe that MISTER 67  in his comment " We were on that cruise also, since we live in Florida we were part of the contingent that dis-embarked the ship when we reached Miami. We wanted to get our car and drive back to Sebring and ride out the storm. You were 100% correct, MSC did a great job in handling a tough situation, received a refund for the 2 days we missed on the cruise and some nice vouchers for our next cruise with MSC. " was replying to this post:

 

On 8/28/2019 at 5:59 PM, cellfree said:

We were on Divina when Irma came through a couple years ago during our cruise. Captain Massa and MSC handled it wonderfully. Everything was done for the benefit of the “cruiser.” 

[CruiseLand]

5 minutes ago, capriccio said:

 

Are you commenting on the current situation with Seaside?

 

I believe that MISTER 67  in his comment " We were on that cruise also, since we live in Florida we were part of the contingent that dis-embarked the ship when we reached Miami. We wanted to get our car and drive back to Sebring and ride out the storm. You were 100% correct, MSC did a great job in handling a tough situation, received a refund for the 2 days we missed on the cruise and some nice vouchers for our next cruise with MSC. " was replying to this post:

 

Yes it is about seaside. Sorry if it is not about Seaside. We are really upset for what MSC did. We were in the hotel right now and will fly back home tomorrow. If we were known that Seaside will stay overnight in Miami then we will stay onboard but we were told from MSC that we need to get out of the ship today because the ship will leave sometimes  today. I just find down that Seaside stayed overnight at the port.

[dales wife]

9 hours ago, CruiseLand said:

I don't think MSC handle this great. They  let passengers know last night at 8.30 pm. And they told us we must decide by 11:00.  To leave the ship a day early in Miami or go back out to sea and return tbd. At 11:10 the forms and information packet was deliveries to our storeroom mentioning we could get free internet to reschedule our flights and etc.  It was a long night and morning getting backed and everything rescheduled.  Now we find out that the ship is not leaving the port of Miami until tomorrow.  Then why the big push to get us off the ship. We could of slept the night there got some real sleep and walked off the next day.  MSC there lack of timely information. We spent extra $500+ for the hotel and car rental since we cannot change our flight. We also purchased the fun pass. We only used $78 out of $180 and they said they said we cannot get refund. MSC definitely last time for me.

 

We were also on this sailing and went through the same things you mentioned above. I felt so sorry for many of the passengers who had no idea what to do about travel arrangements at the last moment (as you said, a couple of hours notice), and had also obviously never dealt with a hurricane situation (evacuation, etc). I have posted here part of the information you mentioned that we all received late Thursday night, so all can see that one choice was that we had to get off the Seaside on Friday morning because the “ship will depart Miami tomorrow”. 

In our case, we were originally due to board the NCL Sky right after disembarking the Seaside on Saturday morn. 

On Friday morning, my husband and I were trying to wait as long as possible to debark because we were waiting to hear if our NCL Sky Cruise on Saturday would be cancelled or not (if it was, then we would have stayed aboard the Seaside). But you are right, CruiseLand, there was a big push to get us off the ship. And of course, that was understandable if, due to weather conditions, and the port closing on Friday, they needed to do this. But when we asked for any kind of details, such as what time the Seaside would be departing, the only response we got, and in a very rude manner, was “are you debarking?”, then “you need to get off the ship”.

We finally disembarked around 11:30am Friday morning when the announcement was made  “if you are disembarking, it is imperative that you immediately make your way to the gangway”. They had also made it clear that they were closing the doors, so if you did not debark, you would have to stay on the ship; also once you did debark, you would not be allowed back on the ship.

Around 3pm we were happy to find out that the Sky would be sailing on Saturday. 👏🏼 Since we were at the airport (in case we needed to rent a car to drive home to Myrtle Beach), and exhausted, we just decided to stay here until time to make our way to the port again this (Saturday) morning.

 

And now as I sit here, I stumble upon Nymich’s post with a picture of MSC’s “Official Update” dated the evening of August 29, which clearly states that for those booked on the 8/31 sailing of the Seaside, there would be an update for that sailing at noon on Friday. I also now see that while at the same time MSC was telling us that the Seaside “will depart tomorrow” (Friday), and we needed to get off the ship if we didn’t want to sail with them to a safe area, they were also telling the 8/31 (Saturday) passengers that there was a possibility they would sail. 🤔

Even worse, I also learn now that the Seaside did NOT depart yesterday, yet we (and many others), as CruiseLand said, were not allowed to spend the night in our paid cabins and debark, as planned, this morning.

This extremely frustrating and exhausting end to this cruise infuriates me because it seems totally unnecessary of MSC to knowingly put these uncomfortable and costly changes on it’s passengers. Obviously the information related to us was not the whole truth, and my husband and I just keep asking “WHY would they do this ???”.

 

Even though I had read some bad reviews, I really wanted to give MSC a chance, but unfortunately I found, at least in our case, that, with the exception of three staff members, most we came in contact with was very rude (throughout the cruise, particularly in Guest Services, as well as in the Dining Room). And the best I can describe the way we were treated concerning the last hours on the ship was in a condescending manner, and certainly not as a guest that you would apologize to. We finally did ask, before we debarked, if we would be given any compensation, but were told they don’t know because those decisions are made at the corporate offices (I wonder, will MSC give me a friendly phone call, or do I need to contact them?).

 

One more side note ... The Sky came back to Miami on Friday, also a day early. But it’s passengers were allowed to spend Friday night on the ship, as well as they already know they will be receiving a refund of a portion of their cruise fare. 

 

Yes I know, every cruise line does have it’s faults, but MSC is not one I would choose to sail with again. We are only happy that we will have a chance to forget this experience as we sail with NCL today. 

Edited August 31, 2019 by dales wife

[ssmea03]

Attached is the marine safety information bulletin issued by the US which precipitated the decision to return Friday, it clearly states that they anticipated closing the port Friday and all vessels over 500 tons would have to leave. That is why on Thursday the plan was to dissembark on Friday and then leave. 

The dissembarkation is totally controlled by the US authorities, if they say "everyone has to be off by noon, then you are locking your doors" then that is what is going to happen.

It was also around noon on Friday that a new marine safety bulletin was issued deferring closing the port. That's why the ship no longer left on Friday but waited in port. Hindsight is always 20/20, but blaming MSC for things that are largely in the control of the US authorities seems to me a little unfair. Particularly when the safety of life and limb is at stake.

MSIB_19_018_Port_Condition_X_RAY_578e740b-075b-40ab-92e1-abbfd3f95a2f.pdf

[CruiseLand]

1 hour ago, dales wife said:

 

We were also on this sailing and went through the same things you mentioned above. I felt so sorry for many of the passengers who had no idea what to do about travel arrangements at the last moment (as you said, a couple of hours notice), and had also obviously never dealt with a hurricane situation (evacuation, etc). I have posted here part of the information you mentioned that we all received late Thursday night, so all can see that one choice was that we had to get off the Seaside on Friday morning because the “ship will depart Miami tomorrow”. 

In our case, we were originally due to board the NCL Sky right after disembarking the Seaside on Saturday morn. 

On Friday morning, my husband and I were trying to wait as long as possible to debark because we were waiting to hear if our NCL Sky Cruise on Saturday would be cancelled or not (if it was, then we would have stayed aboard the Seaside). But you are right, CruiseLand, there was a big push to get us off the ship. And of course, that was understandable if, due to weather conditions, and the port closing on Friday, they needed to do this. But when we asked for any kind of details, such as what time the Seaside would be departing, the only response we got, and in a very rude manner, was “are you debarking?”, then “you need to get off the ship”.

We finally disembarked around 11:30am Friday morning when the announcement was made  “if you are disembarking, it is imperative that you immediately make your way to the gangway”. They had also made it clear that they were closing the doors, so if you did not debark, you would have to stay on the ship; also once you did debark, you would not be allowed back on the ship.

Around 3pm we were happy to find out that the Sky would be sailing on Saturday. 👏🏼 Since we were at the airport (in case we needed to rent a car to drive home to Myrtle Beach), and exhausted, we just decided to stay here until time to make our way to the port again this (Saturday) morning.

 

And now as I sit here, I stumble upon Nymich’s post with a picture of MSC’s “Official Update” dated the evening of August 29, which clearly states that for those booked on the 8/31 sailing of the Seaside, there would be an update for that sailing at noon on Friday. I also now see that while at the same time MSC was telling us that the Seaside “will depart tomorrow” (Friday), and we needed to get off the ship if we didn’t want to sail with them to a safe area, they were also telling the 8/31 (Saturday) passengers that there was a possibility they would sail. 🤔

Even worse, I also learn now that the Seaside did NOT depart yesterday, yet we (and many others), as CruiseLand said, were not allowed to spend the night in our paid cabins and debark, as planned, this morning.

This extremely frustrating and exhausting end to this cruise infuriates me because it seems totally unnecessary of MSC to knowingly put these uncomfortable and costly changes on it’s passengers. Obviously the information related to us was not the whole truth, and my husband and I just keep asking “WHY would they do this ???”.

 

Even though I had read some bad reviews, I really wanted to give MSC a chance, but unfortunately I found, at least in our case, that, with the exception of three staff members, most we came in contact with was very rude (throughout the cruise, particularly in Guest Services, as well as in the Dining Room). And the best I can describe the way we were treated concerning the last hours on the ship was in a condescending manner, and certainly not as a guest that you would apologize to. We finally did ask, before we debarked, if we would be given any compensation, but were told they don’t know because those decisions are made at the corporate offices (I wonder, will MSC give me a friendly phone call, or do I need to contact them?).

 

One more side note ... The Sky came back to Miami on Friday, also a day early. But it’s passengers were allowed to spend Friday night on the ship, as well as they already know they will be receiving a refund of a portion of their cruise fare. 

 

Yes I know, every cruise line does have it’s faults, but MSC is not one I would choose to sail with again. We are only happy that we will have a chance to forget this experience as we sail with NCL today. 

Well said. I am glad that you can sail on NCL sky after this MSC Seaside nightmare. 

We were so exhausted as well. Total 5 of us on the ship my husband, I , our 7 years old and two 70 years old. So we have small kid and elderly with us. 

MSC Seaside basically tried so hard to get rid all of us out of the ship. We are not newbies we was sailed on RCI for many times and Diamond status with RCI. We chose MSC this time because of we already spent a lot at Disneyland trip. We were not expect much from MSC from the reviews we read. However, what we got from this trip with MSC Seaside was not worth for us. It was a nightmare, unorganizing, misleading, lying and cheating our money. We was planning to spend our fun pass on the day at Nassau and already booked everything. My husband when to asked what they will do with our fun pass that we purchased $100 and will) get $180 worth of credit. They said to him go ahead get on the formulasone and use it at 11:30 pm. Or take $27 refund that will send in by mail to us. Basically, there was not prorated on it. They charged us full amount not as advertise. They lied to us that they will leave the port after we got out cause us nearly $600. I wish I have never sail on MSC Seaside. I know no one can control weather but lying and cheating our money are not related to weather.

[CruiseLand]

8 minutes ago, ssmea03 said:

Attached is the marine safety information bulletin issued by the US which precipitated the decision to return Friday, it clearly states that they anticipated closing the port Friday and all vessels over 500 tons would have to leave. That is why on Thursday the plan was to dissembark on Friday and then leave. 

The dissembarkation is totally controlled by the US authorities, if they say "everyone has to be off by noon, then you are locking your doors" then that is what is going to happen.

It was also around noon on Friday that a new marine safety bulletin was issued deferring closing the port. That's why the ship no longer left on Friday but waited in port. Hindsight is always 20/20, but blaming MSC for things that are largely in the control of the US authorities seems to me a little unfair. Particularly when the safety of life and limb is at stake.

MSIB_19_018_Port_Condition_X_RAY_578e740b-075b-40ab-92e1-abbfd3f95a2f.pdf 592.07 kB · 0 downloads

Are you on the ship with us? If you are not on the ship then Don"t say unfair because you don't know how they treat us while we are on the ship. If you are going to be a cheer leader for MSC there is not going to work here.

[ssmea03]

10 minutes ago, CruiseLand said:

Are you on the ship with us? If you are not on the ship then Don"t say unfair because you don't know how they treat us while we are on the ship. If you are going to be a cheer leader for MSC there is not going to work here.

You know what, MSC didn't ruin your trip, the US government didn't ruin your trip. Hurricane Dorian ruined your trip, if there had been no hurricane then nothing would have happened. Today is a day to count your blessings, rather than cry over spilt milk.

[CruiseLand]

14 minutes ago, ssmea03 said:

You know what, MSC didn't ruin your trip, the US government didn't ruin your trip. Hurricane Dorian ruined your trip, if there had been no hurricane then nothing would have happened. Today is a day to count your blessings, rather than cry over spilt milk.

I don't really care for what you said. You was not on the ship so you don't know how they treat people on the ship. You only came here for fun to give your opinion. We was staying until 1 am in the morning listen to MSC announcement in 7 language to make sure they can kick us out of the ship as soon as possible. They could handle it better. I am sure this not the first time happen to them with the hurricane and they know that likely the ship will stay overnight in Miami but they chose to kick people out because it was there benefits. 

[talltree]

All of who were onboard knew that Hurricane Dorian could impact our cruise (which it did) and I am sure that all passengers onboard would want MSC to do what was best for our safety and the safety of the ship and its crew.  We accept that weather could impact our cruise, but what we cannot accept is the way that we were misled and forced to make a rushed decision about our trip without knowing all the facts.  We all get it that the Coast Guard and Port of Miami make decisions based upon the weather all the time.  As I currently reside in Jupiter, FL I was extremely concerned that hurricane would come ashore right where I live.  I opted to stay onboard because that was one of two options provided to me at the time.and there was no reason to go home during a category 4 storm.  Remember on Friday the storm was still predicted to come ashore dead center on Palm Beach County.  So the passengers that opted to get off did so by 12:30 or so on Friday.  Many had to incur substantial expense in making alternate arrangements since they were essentially kicked off the ship.  Had MSC been truthful they could have stayed onboard without the added expense of finding alternate accommodations or they should have been given the option of returning to the ship (since they did pay for a seven night cruise). AS MSC caters to a more international clientele, I am sure many of these passengers had no idea as to what to do or how to get home. I decided I would ride the storm out on the ship until it was safe to return.  Only after everyone was off did MSC inform us we would be disembarking the next day--had I known (when MSC knew which was prior to the last passenger disembarking)  I would have left the ship on Friday so as to prepare for the hurricane.  MSC knew before the final passenger disembarked that the port would be open on Saturday, and yet I was now held hostage onboard because the time to disembark had passed.  So now I am freaking out on the ship worrying for a whole day what I was going to do because the hurricane was headed straight for my home and there was nothing I could do but sit on the ship and wait until Saturday to disembark.  What if I had to evacuate-- I was now a day behind because I was stuck on the ship.  If the ship had headed out to sea as we were informed it would do, then whatever happened during the storm happened, but now I know I have to get off on Saturday and head directly into the storm's path one day  behind planning because I was now stuck on the ship.  Luckily the storm slowed down and will most likely stay off shore. The mood onboard after we learned we were stuck onboard became very somber and that was essentially the end of the cruise for many of us.  There was no energy left onboard.  My gripe with MSC is the lack of truthfulness, the complete lack of communication, and with the utter disregard for the wellbeing of its customers.  People were treated like a herd of cattle when they were ushered out while the rest of us were held hostage onboard.  I know I am going to get slammed by MSC cheerleaders, but the way we were treated was just not right.  I get it that there was a major hurricane that disrupted the cruise, but there are better ways to handle the situation starting with telling the truth.   Just my two cents.  

 

[sidari]

From various posts I have read on different social media I get the impression that MSC made a decision to get people off the ship so that they would not have the problem of finding hotels and flights for people had the ship not returned to Miami until after the storm had gone by as they did with Divina.

It does appear very sloppy of MSC in they way they have dealt with the issue.

[CruisingFox27]

An array of unhappy passengers on social media and forums dissatisfied with several of the cruise companies for their decision making and communication. I read a selection this morning of NCL passengers who were raging at NCL for their actions and decisions, or rather lack of, in their case.

An unenviable job, deciding on the best course of action in these situations, given the unpredictability of the storm.

[BermudaBound2014]

4 hours ago, sidari said:

From various posts I have read on different social media I get the impression that MSC made a decision to get people off the ship so that they would not have the problem of finding hotels and flights for people had the ship not returned to Miami until after the storm had gone by as they did with Divina.

It does appear very sloppy of MSC in they way they have dealt with the issue.

 

My info is coming from CC and Facebook so obviously not vetted for accuracy. 

 

1- I think MSc entered POM with the best intention as I believe they thought the port would close. At that time, Pom went from “whiskey” to “X-ray” warnings quickly in preparation for closing, but I don’t believe Pom ever definitely stated they would actually close- it just looked that way.  Here is where MSc dropped the ball. They were very specific with their letters stating seaside would sail back out Friday night to ride out the storm, leaving no room for a change of  plans.

 

2- ncl sky also entered POM Friday under the same situation. Like seaside, passengers could leave the sky or stay onboard. The original letters to sky guests were similar to those given to seaside passengers. However as the dynamic scene progressed, it seems the sky passengers had better updates allowing more time and information to work with.

 

3- at 11:30am (Friday), a ncl guests posted that were informed  the sky would be overnighting in Miami. Guests could debark early, but everyone needed to be gone sat morning to load all the aug 31 people (new cruise). They planned to sail out of Miami as scheduled (albeit early) on Saturday. I don’t believe seaside guests received the same information until much later Friday evening.

 

I have empathy for those who were onboard seaside. Having been on Divina with a medical emergency which put us back in Miami several hours late, I can say from personal experience that communication was sorely lacking (and we were in YC). Many guests missed flights that day. Had they had detailed information earlier some of the tension could have been avoided.

 

i also sympathize with the cruise lines. Dorian has not behaved consistently. Lines seem to be learning as they go along. A few years ago, rcl made an absolute mess of an arrival in Galveston. They were MUCH better this year dealing with Dorian. MSc did a great job dealing with Irma- but may have dropped the communication ball with Dorian.

 

Edited September 1, 2019 by BermudaBound2014