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Seaweed blob

MikeNKim

By MikeNKim,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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havanadaydreaming

havanadaydreaming

Posted
Posted

i watched a video last night, from CNN i believe, and it stated that Barbados averaged 1600 dump trucks worth of sargassum per day on its beaches.  

 

that seems like an incredible amount.  

 

i've been in mexico several times the past decade and the staff diligently worked to clear the beaches about half our visits.  the others were not affected.  

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kelkel2

kelkel2

Posted
Posted

I read an article that popped up on the face page yesterday and it sure sounded like a big deal. They said something like it being half the size of the United States or something? I feel bad for the communities that have to spend a ton of time cleaning it up! 

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BlerkOne "Live from...." Rare

BlerkOne

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, ARcruisin2 said:

I wonder if it could be fed to livestock?

Let some farmers clean it up each night and feed it to hogs or something... win/win

Not a good plan:

" The seaweed also contains arsenic in its flesh, making it dangerous if ingested or used for fertilizer. "

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cacruisin

cacruisin

Posted
Posted
On 3/17/2023 at 7:04 PM, PrincessPatti said:

It’s called sargassum.  I have seen it up close and personal on many occasions.  

33EE9E31-367D-4036-87C4-CFE8B79428E0.jpeg

2C5C9347-487A-47E3-8D53-AAA9D88FEF72.jpeg

We had this same experience in Costa Maya too.  Around this time of year too, it was impossible to even get in the water, they did have people literally trying to rake it out but it was a pointless effort and they didn't even make a dent.

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Illbcruzn4life Great Review Rare

Illbcruzn4life

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, cacruisin said:

We had this same experience in Costa Maya too.  Around this time of year too, it was impossible to even get in the water, they did have people literally trying to rake it out but it was a pointless effort and they didn't even make a dent.

That sounds horrible. NIce stay on the ship day. Costa Maya was a great cruise port in the early days but it's now too commercialized and built up.

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mdin Great Review Rare

mdin

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, talkorpi said:

Oh great. I’m going to Costa Maya and Cozumel in a week and a half. Didn’t even think about this

It was bad in Costa Maya (Maya Chan) 2 weeks ago. Not bad in Cozumel (Mr. Sanchos).

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mdin Great Review Rare

mdin

Posted
Posted
41 minutes ago, nascartim said:

We're going to Maya Chan in 2 weeks. Is it still worth going, or is it so bad that it is miserable? 

We had a great day there despite the seaweed, but not sure I would return under those conditions. They will give you an update on the conditions when you arrive at the meeting location. You have the option to opt out then.

 

The service and resort are phenomenal. Maya Chan does there best to clean up their property, but the water was not appealing to us. The rest of the neighboring shore was overwhelmed in it. When the breeze blew in our direction we did get the stench of rotting seaweed. It didn't ruin our day by any means, but it is something you will notice. 

20230308_101320.thumb.jpg.58f2de0c9617f077eb25609054bce7f2.jpg

 

 

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nascartim

nascartim

Posted
Posted
16 minutes ago, mdin said:

We had a great day there despite the seaweed, but not sure I would return under those conditions. They will give you an update on the conditions when you arrive at the meeting location. You have the option to opt out then.

 

The service and resort are phenomenal. Maya Chan does there best to clean up their property, but the water was not appealing to us. The rest of the neighboring shore was overwhelmed in it. When the breeze blew in our direction we did get the stench of rotting seaweed. It didn't ruin our day by any means, but it is something you will notice. 

20230308_101320.thumb.jpg.58f2de0c9617f077eb25609054bce7f2.jpg

 

 

Thanks for the update. It is a nice option to have that they give you an out before leaving from the port area. I don't mind a little bit of it, that shouldn't bother us too much. We'll just drink more. 

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irun5k Great Review Rare

irun5k

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, jamscckmc said:

It sounds like it’s mostly western now. Wondering if and when it will hit the eastern Caribbean. Headed to Half Moon Cay in two weeks. Would hate for that beautiful island to be hit.

Yeah, FWIW St. John was beautiful last week- nothing but white sand and blue water.  But of course things can probably change quick. 

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Top_of_the_Cube

Top_of_the_Cube

Posted
Posted

When cruising in 2018 we had the same "red bloom" attack.  In Cozumel, the "wild" side (east) was overrun, and the beaches were constantly being raked but losing the battle.  The west side of the island appeared to be seaweed free, and I remember some passengers who went to Passion Island reported no problems there. 

 

Hopefully in those regions in the Caribbean where the algae is prevalent, beaches and seaside areas in coves or westward coastlines may avoid this nasty, smelly stuff.

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HappySails4U

HappySails4U

Posted
Posted

A couple of years ago we were at the beach at Costa Maya and it was really thick.  Both in the ocean and on the beach.   Apparently it is a endless battle that can't be won.   Instead of building sand castles the kids had their arms full bringing it up on the beach.  🌴

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bguppies

bguppies

Posted
Posted (edited)
13 hours ago, dolphinsfan246 said:

Do you think it will affect the Bahamas in June? Was looking forward to a nice beach day at Princess Cays. Hoping this doesn’t ruin it. 

If they're expecting Florida will get clobbered this year, the Bahamas will have it worse. (the same general area as the Miami/ Keys beaches, just a tad easterly)

 

At least Florida can load it up in dumptrucks and haul it away.

 

MtXbhjxMutSzAbXuSavTbB.jpg

Where do you take this much Sargassum on an island? (barge 1,600 dump trucks a day, away?)

 

And for those thast say it happens every year don't worry.

Its been getting worse the past few years.

From the reports I've been watching, alot of scientists think that fertilizer runoff from South America where they have been converting rainforests to farmland has been feeding the natural yearly bloom of Sargussum that flows from Africa to Florida/Mexico each year.  (Kind of looks like it grows bigger off the South American coast)

Edited by bguppies
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mschancey

mschancey

Posted
Posted
21 hours ago, jamscckmc said:

It sounds like it’s mostly western now. Wondering if and when it will hit the eastern Caribbean. Headed to Half Moon Cay in two weeks. Would hate for that beautiful island to be hit.

Half Moon Cay is in the Atlantic Ocean

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