Ike is heading to Miami! HELP!

[seahag07]

Does anyone know anything about how the cruise line deals with upcoming hurricanes? HEading to Miami on Friday next week to get on the Liberty, but they may do an evacuation down there! We are to set sail on sat the l3th! Any past experiences with this? :(

[honeywell]

They will cancel the cruise if danger is an immediate threat. Otherwise, they will set sail and skirt the stormy areas. If your cruise is cancelled, that will be unfortunate, but will mean the weather is serious enough that you don't want to be anywhere near it.

 

Currently they are predicting Ike to make possible landfall around Wednesday, Sept. 9th - if Miami isn't hit and Ike lands elsewhere, you might be okay flying in on the 12th. Right now the projected path for Ike is still pretty wide. Here in Florida we keep our TVs tuned to the Weather Channel like other people watch network TV - just keep checking the RCCL website and they will keep you posted. And good luck!

[seahag07]

Do they close the miami airport also?

[crusinmama06]

Actually they think Ike will hit Tuesday the 9th. You sail 4 days after that. I doubt they will evacuate Miami for 4 days. :eek:

 

What day do you fly in? The airport can close...but it will be closed on the day it hits and *maybe* one day after.

[Cruising89143]

The thing to do is wait and see. Ike is still days away and the path shifted more south this morning over last night. Anything can happen with the storms path so the best thing to do now is wait and see. Not an easy thing to do when you're trying to plan for your vacation but with hurricanes, it is just a wait and see game.

 

Your question about the port closing. Yes, if there is going to be a chance that Ike would come close to the area of the port then it would close. If Miami were to take a direct hit with Ike then of course there would have to be an inspection of the area before it re-opened. Many factors play into the scenario if a storm hits.

[seahag07]

Actually they think Ike will hit Tuesday the 9th. You sail 4 days after that. I doubt they will evacuate Miami for 4 days. :eek:

 

What day do you fly in? The airport can close...but it will be closed on the day it hits and *maybe* one day after.

 

We fly in on the l2th around noon from wisconsin! Thanks for the info, just getting a little nervous!

[crusinmama06]

We fly in on the l2th around noon from wisconsin! Thanks for the info, just getting a little nervous!

 

I just checked the path again and it looks like it hits Miami Tuesday night into Wednesday morning (9 and the 10th)

 

And hey, I am right there with you for being nervous. I am leaving TODAY and I will be sitting in Orlando till next Thursday. :eek: Then we board a ship and head for the Bahamas and Castaway Cay which may or may not still be there. ;)

 

So I can guarantee I am going to see some bad weather. Hopefully just rain, but who knows.

 

Good luck to ya!!!!

[SissasMomE]

Does anyone know anything about how the cruise line deals with upcoming hurricanes? HEading to Miami on Friday next week to get on the Liberty, but they may do an evacuation down there! We are to set sail on sat the l3th! Any past experiences with this? :(

 

Next friday? The 12th?? It will be gone by then.

[seahag07]

Thanks Michele, and good luck to YOU! Hope you have safe travels also!

[krmlaw]

Good luck to everyone. Question, what happens if they cancel a cruise? Do you get a refund?

[snausman]

I just checked the path again and it looks like it hits Miami Tuesday night into Wednesday morning (9 and the 10th)

 

And hey, I am right there with you for being nervous. I am leaving TODAY and I will be sitting in Orlando till next Thursday. :eek: Then we board a ship and head for the Bahamas and Castaway Cay which may or may not still be there. ;)

 

So I can guarantee I am going to see some bad weather. Hopefully just rain, but who knows.

 

Good luck to ya!!!!

 

Michele,

 

You be very careful and have a great cruise/land vacation. We fly into Miami on the 14th so I think we will be ok for Ike, I am worrying about the one behind Ike.

 

Laura

[Jerboy]

If the port is closed and the ship can't return, they might not CANCEL the next cruise altogether, but it might leave a few days later (giving the current passengers a few extra days on the ship...).

 

Normally, they tend to offer complete refunds if you want to cancel OR a % off refunded back if you wait and take the (now) shorter cruise.

 

It doesnt appear that IKE will affect the OP's cruise anyway, but that is generally what happens.

[jackdiamond]

I believe that Ike will make landfall in the Miami area late Tuesday as a cat. 4, and then will quickly move NW and impact Naples/Ft. Myers, as a cat.2 early Wednesday. Assuming that the aforesaid does occur, there will be massive power outages in south Florida.

You will have a better indication with regard to this situation, if the Governor declares a state of emergency.

[Cruising89143]

If you now look at the latest update, it now shows another shift in the path of Ike. Again too early to tell where he is going to make landfall.

 

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphics_at4+shtml/144213.shtml?5day#contents

[Vividraven]

Does anyone know anything about how the cruise line deals with upcoming hurricanes? HEading to Miami on Friday next week to get on the Liberty, but they may do an evacuation down there! We are to set sail on sat the l3th! Any past experiences with this? :(

 

 

Hi Seahag07-

 

I don't think we've seen you around our September 13th Liberty roll call- come join us.....we'll bite our fingernails together.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=538308&page=28

[steve20832]

 

As of now, they are saying it will hit Miami area Wednesday morning and should be gone by Wednesday night or early Thursday. These patterns change daily so keep an eye on weather websites. South Florida is one of the best for picking up after a hurricane and opening things back up. Keep in contact with your airline but Miami airport will probably be closed all day Wednesday so you probably won't get an answer until Thursday. I would keep things planned as normal and keep in contact with RCL on Thursday as well.

[wrp96]

Good luck to everyone. Question, what happens if they cancel a cruise? Do you get a refund?

 

They rarely, rarely, rarely cancel a cruise. Usually they will delay sailing or change the departure port to avoid cancelling altogether.

 

If they do cancel, then yes they do give a full refund. But again that is the least likely option. The last time I remember a cruise being cancelled completely due to weather was Enchantment in October 2005 after Wilma, and that was because it was already a short cruise that was going to be shortened even more. They ended up using the ship to take relief supplies to Cozumel.

[jtopicz1]

I have lived in Florida all my life and , of course, deal with this every year. We are in the Tampa area, which is as of the 11am update, the projected landfall area now.

 

It is expected that Ike will be a Category 3 or 4 at landfall, with winds as high as 140MPH.

 

That said, it is still 5 days out! One think I've learned is that if at five days out, or even three or four for that matter, your location is the projected landfall point, you're probably safe! This far in advance, they are wrong far more than right.

 

We have a marine based business here, so of course we do still take these seriously. If you want the BEST, unbiased info, I recommend the following.

 

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov - This is the official Hurricane Center website. This government agency issues the ONLY OFFICIAL track. The local weathermen generally get their track from here, and may alter it slightly based on their thoughts. The NHC updates the TRACK at 11a, 5p, 11p, and 5am. As the storm gets closer, they will update every three hours as well, but usually just the intensity.

 

http://www.wunderground.com - This site has great graphics, as well as the most reliable computer models. If you watch the models, you will likely be able to predict yourself which direction the NHC may shift the forecast at the next advisory. Also on this site, read Dr. Jeff Masters blog. It's very informative, AND, usually right.

 

Be very careful putting too much stock in the Local weather channels or even The Weather Channel's forecasts. Unfortunatly, hurricanes are great at ratings for these channels, so things are often skewed and overhyped for the worse.

 

Jim

 

Jim

[krmlaw]

Looks like Ike is going to go right over almost all the islands ... st martin, st thomas. Am I seeing this correctly?

[Cruising89143]

Looks like Ike is going to go right over almost all the islands ... st martin, st thomas. Am I seeing this correctly?

 

He is not going anywhere near St. Thomas or St. Maarten. He is east of the Turks and Caicos islands and headed in that direction. Some of the Bahamas will be watching out for him.