Major Hurricane Earl Forces Cruise Itinerary Changes

5-Day Forecast Cone for Hurricane Earl (Credit: NOAA NHC)

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 Major Hurricane Earl (Atlantic Basin)

Earl now a Category TWO Hurricane

UPDATE:  800 PM EDT THU SEP 02 2010

...HURRICANE EARL CONTINUES NORTHWARD...RAINBANDS MOVING ONTO THE
COAST OF NORTH CAROLINA...

Cruise Itinerary Changes:   (details below)

Carnival Cruise Line : 
All departures for the sailings of September 1, 2010 – September 6, 2010 are scheduled to operate as normal. 

Norwegian Cruise Line: 
At this time, we expect all ships embarking this weekend to sail their scheduled itineraries. 

Royal Caribbean International: (latest changes in bold)
Enchantment of the Seas, Oasis of the Seas and Freedom of the Seas, Monarch of the Seas, Majesty of the Seas

NHC issuing advisories on Hurricane EARL and TS FIONA

In the five days since this storm became a Tropical Storm, Earl has continued its path westward and continued to grow in strength.  It became a Category One Hurricane Sunday night August 29th, and quickly grew to a Category Two later that night.   On Monday, Earl continued to strengthen to a Category Four Hurricane, weakened to a Category Three but strengthened again.  While it is now a Category Two hurricane, it is still a powerful storm and will remain so for the near future.

Based on the current forecast, Earl will be passing east of the Bahamas and then heading for the Northeast coast of the United States by this weekend.

INTERESTS IN NORTHERN NEW ENGLAND AND SOUTHEASTERN CANADA SHOULD
MONITOR THE PROGRESS OF EARL.

As a service to our readers, we have RSS feeds from the NHC which can provide up to date information about these tropical storms.   We will also monitor the cruise lines for any itinerary changes as a result of the storms.

Current Watches & Warnings

A HURRICANE WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR... 

* BOGUE INLET NORTH CAROLINA NORTHEASTWARD TO THE NORTH
CAROLINA/VIRGINIA BORDER INCLUDING THE PAMLICO AND ALBEMARLE
SOUNDS
* WESTPORT MASSACHUSETTS EASTWARD AROUND CAPE COD TO HULL
MASSACHUSETTS INCLUDING MARTHAS VINEYARD AND NANTUCKET ISLAND

A HURRICANE WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR...
* NORTH OF THE NORTH CAROLINA/VIRGINIA BORDER TO CAPE HENLOPEN
DELAWARE
* NOVA SCOTIA FROM MEDWAY HARBOUR TO DIGBY

A TROPICAL STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR...
* CAPE FEAR NORTH CAROLINA TO WEST OF BOGUE INLET NORTH CAROLINA
* NORTH OF THE NORTH CAROLINA/VIRGINIA BORDER TO SANDY HOOK NEW
JERSEY...INCLUDING DELAWARE BAY SOUTH OF SLAUGHTER BEACH AND THE
CHESAPEAKE BAY SOUTH OF NEW POINT COMFORT
* THE COAST OF LONG ISLAND NEW YORK FROM FIRE ISLAND INLET EASTWARD
ON THE SOUTH SHORE AND PORT JEFFERSON HARBOR EASTWARD ON THE NORTH
SHORE
* NEW HAVEN CONNECTICUT TO WEST OF WESTPORT MASSACHUSETTS...
INCLUDING BLOCK ISLAND

A TROPICAL STORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR...
* NORTH OF HULL MASSACHUSETTS TO EASTPORT MAINE
* THE COAST OF LONG ISLAND WEST OF FIRE ISLAND INLET ON THE SOUTH
SHORE AND WEST OF PORT JEFFERSON HARBOR ON THE NORTH SHORE
* NOVA SCOTIA FROM ECUM SECUM TO MEDWAY HARBOUR AND FROM DIGBY TO
FORT LAWRENCE
* NEW BRUNSWICK FROM JUST WEST OF FORT LAWRENCE WESTWARD TO THE
U.S./CANADA BORDER

 

A HURRICANE WATCH MEANS THAT HURRICANE CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE
WITHIN THE WATCH AREA.  A WATCH IS TYPICALLY ISSUED 48 HOURS
BEFORE THE ANTICIPATED FIRST OCCURRENCE OF TROPICAL-STORM-FORCE
WINDS...CONDITIONS THAT MAKE OUTSIDE PREPARATIONS DIFFICULT OR
DANGEROUS.
 

A TROPICAL STORM WARNING MEANS THAT TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE
EXPECTED SOMEWHERE WITHIN THE WARNING AREA WITHIN 36 HOURS.

A TROPICAL STORM WATCH MEANS THAT TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE
POSSIBLE WITHIN THE WATCH AREA...GENERALLY WITHIN 48 HOURS.

FOR STORM INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA IN THE UNITED
STATES...INCLUDING POSSIBLE INLAND WATCHES AND WARNINGS...PLEASE
MONITOR PRODUCTS ISSUED BY YOUR LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
FORECAST OFFICE. FOR STORM INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA OUTSIDE
THE UNITED STATES...PLEASE MONITOR PRODUCTS ISSUED BY YOUR NATIONAL
METEOROLOGICAL SERVICE.

Discussion & Outlook
 

SUMMARY OF 800 PM EDT...0000 UTC...INFORMATION (02Sep)

LOCATION...33.0N 74.7W
ABOUT 160 MI...260 KM SSE OF CAPE HATTERAS NORTH CAROLINA
ABOUT 625 MI...1005 KM SSW OF NANTUCKET MASSACHUSETTS
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...110 MPH...165 KM/HR
PRESENT MOVEMENT...N OR 010 DEGREES AT 18 MPH...30 KM/HR
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...948 MB...27.99 INCHES

ON THE FORECAST
TRACK...THE CENTER OF EARL WILL PASS NEAR THE NORTH CAROLINA OUTER
BANKS TONIGHT...AND APPROACH SOUTHEASTERN NEW ENGLAND FRIDAY NIGHT.

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS HAVE DECREASED TO NEAR 110 MPH...175 KM/HR
...WITH HIGHER GUSTS.  EARL IS NOW A CATEGORY TWO HURRICANE ON THE
SAFFIR-SIMPSON HURRICANE WIND SCALE.  ADDITIONAL WEAKENING IS
EXPECTED TONIGHT AND FRIDAY...BUT EARL IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN A
LARGE AND STRONG HURRICANE AS IT PASSES NEAR THE OUTER BANKS.

HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 70 MILES...110 KM...FROM
THE CENTER...AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 205
MILES...335 KM.  THE DIAMOND SHOALS BUOY...LOCATED ABOUT 20
MILES...30 KM...SOUTHEAST OF CAPE HATTERAS...RECENTLY REPORTED A
WIND GUST TO 38 MPH...60 KM/HR. 

THE LATEST MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE REPORTED BY A NOAA HURRICANE 
HUNTER AIRCRAFT WAS 948 MB...27.99 INCHES.

HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND

WINDS...TROPICAL-STORM-FORCE WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO REACH THE NORTH
CAROLINA COAST WITHIN THE WARNING AREA SOON.  EVEN IF THE CENTER OF
EARL REMAINS OFFSHORE...HURRICANE FORCE WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO OCCUR
IN THE OUTER BANKS OVERNIGHT TONIGHT.  TROPICAL-STORM-FORCE WINDS
WILL LIKELY REACH THE COAST FROM VIRGINIA NORTHWARD TO
MASSACHUSETTS ON FRIDAY.  HURRICANE-FORCE WINDS ARE EXPECTED WITHIN
THE HURRICANE WARNING AREA IN MASSACHUSETTS FRIDAY NIGHT.

STORM SURGE...A DANGEROUS STORM SURGE WILL RAISE WATER LEVELS BY AS
MUCH AS 3 TO 5 FEET ABOVE GROUND LEVEL WITHIN THE HURRICANE WARNING
AREA OVER NORTH CAROLINA AND THE LOWER CHESAPEAKE BAY. STORM SURGE
WILL RAISE WATER LEVELS BY AS MUCH AS 2 TO 4 FEET ABOVE GROUND
LEVEL WITHIN THE HURRICANE WARNING AREA OVER MASSACHUSETTS.
ELSEWHERE WITHIN THE TROPICAL STORM WARNING AREA...STORM SURGE WILL
RAISE WATER LEVELS BY AS MUCH AS 1 TO 3 FEET ABOVE GROUND LEVEL.
NEAR THE COAST...THE SURGE WILL BE ACCOMPANIED BY LARGE AND
DESTRUCTIVE WAVES.

RAINFALL...EARL IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE RAINFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 2
TO 4 INCHES...WITH ISOLATED MAXIMUM AMOUNTS OF 6 INCHES...OVER
PORTIONS OF EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA...THE OUTER BANKS AND SOUTHEAST
NEW ENGLAND. ACCUMULATIONS OF 1 TO 2 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE FROM
EXTREME SOUTHEAST VIRGINIA NORTHWARD ALONG THE IMMEDIATE
MID-ATLANTIC COAST...AS WELL AS OVER DOWNEAST MAINE.

SURF...LARGE SWELLS FROM EARL WILL CONTINUE TO AFFECT THE BAHAMAS
AND THE EAST COAST OF THE UNITED STATES THROUGH FRIDAY.  THESE
SWELLS WILL LIKELY CAUSE DANGEROUS SURF CONDITIONS AND RIP
CURRENTS.
 

 Cruise Line Advisories

Carnival Tropical Weather Update

September 2, 2010
We are closely monitoring Hurricane Earl and Tropical Storm Fiona in the Atlantic.  Rest assured, all of our ships will continue to operate at a safe distance from the storms.
All departures for the sailings of September 1, 2010 – September 6, 2010 are scheduled to operate as normal. 
We will update this information on Carnival.com if any new information becomes available.  Most importantly, we look forward to welcoming our guests onboard this weekend.


August 29, 2010 – 12:30PM

We are closely monitoring the two tropical systems (Danielle and Earl) that have formed in the Atlantic.  Rest assured, all of our ships will continue to operate at a safe distance from the storms.

The Carnival Pride will change it's itinerary now visiting Port Canaveral, Nassau, and Freeport.  In addition, the Carnival Victory will change the sequence of ports and will cancel St. Maarten. 

All of Carnival’s other ships are operating the scheduled itineraries.

We will update this information on Carnival.com if any new information becomes available.  Most importantly, we look forward to welcoming our guests onboard this weekend.


Royal Caribbean Tropical Weather Update

September 01, 2010 5 PM E.S.T

Due to the forecasted path of Hurricane Earl, Royal Caribbean International is altering the current itineraries for Monarch of the Seas, Majesty of the Seas, Enchantment of the Seas, Oasis of the Seas and Freedom of the Seas.

Due to the forecasted path of Hurricane Earl, Royal Caribbean International has altered the current itineraries for Monarch of the Seas, Majesty of the Seas, Enchantment of the Seas, Oasis of the Seas and Freedom of the Seas.

Monarch of the Seas was unable to call on CocoCay, Bahamas Tuesday, August 31. The ship sailed directly to Nassau, Bahamas, where it will stay until midnight Wednesday, September 1. The ship will spend Thursday at sea as it returns to Port Canaveral on Friday, as scheduled. Monarch of the Seas is currently sailing a four-night itinerary, which departed Port Canaveral on August 30.

Majesty of the Seas extended its port call in Key West, Florida on Tuesday, August 31 until early Wednesday morning. It will spend the remainder of Wednesday at sea, and call into Nassau on Thursday, September 2. The ship will return to the Port of Miami on Friday, as scheduled. Majesty of the Seas is currently sailing a four-night itinerary, which departed the Port of Miami on August 30.

Enchantment of the Seas called on San Juan, Puerto Rico Sunday, as scheduled, but cancelled its call at St. Thomas on Monday in order to avoid inclement weather from the storm. Instead, the ship called on Samana, Dominican Republic on Monday, August 30 and Labadee, Haiti, on Tuesday, August 31. The ship will spend Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at sea as it returns to Baltimore on Saturday, as scheduled. Enchantment of the Seas is currently sailing a nine-night Caribbean itinerary, which departed Baltimore on August 26.

Oasis of the Seas was unable to make its scheduled port calls to Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas on Tuesday, August 31 and Phillipsburg, St. Maarten on Wednesday, September 1. The most recent forecast simply placed the storm too close to these ports of call during the time Oasis of the Seas would be sailing there. The ship will now call at Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico, on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. Oasis of the Seas is sailing a seven-night Caribbean itinerary, which departed Ft. Lauderdale on August 28.

Freedom of the Seas will be unable to make its scheduled port calls to Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas on Wednesday, September 1 and Phillipsburg, St. Maarten on Thursday, September 2. The most recent forecast simply placed the storm too close to these ports of call during the time Freedom of the Seas would be sailing there. The ship called on CocoCay, Bahamas on Monday, as scheduled, spent Tuesday at sea, and called into George Town, Grand Cayman on Wednesday. On Thursday, the ship will visit Cozumel, Mexico. The ship will spend Friday and Saturday at sea as it returns to Port Canaveral, Florida on Sunday, as scheduled. Freedom of the Seas is currently sailing a seven-night Caribbean itinerary, which departed Port Canaveral on August 29.

No other Royal Caribbean International ship's itinerary is currently being affected by Hurricane Earl. Royal Caribbean will continue to closely monitor weather conditions and will update this information if there are any additional itinerary alterations due to the storm's projected path.
Norwegian Cruise Line Weather Alert 

Updated September 2, 11:30 am

At Norwegian Cruise Line, the safety and security of our guests and crew is of the utmost importance. Therefore, the company is closely monitoring the path of Hurricane Earl and Tropical Storm Fiona.

At this time, we expect all ships embarking this weekend to sail their scheduled itineraries.

We will continue to closely monitor the weather conditions and will update this information and notify our guests if there are any itinerary changes because of the storms’ projected paths.

Updated August 31, 2010 at 3 pm

At Norwegian Cruise Line, the safety and security of our guests and crew is of the utmost importance. Therefore, the company is closely monitoring the path of Hurricane Earl and Tropical Storm Fiona.

Because of Hurricane Earl’s path which took it west of Bermuda, Norwegian Dawn is sailing its original itinerary. The ship is currently en route to Bermuda and will arrive on Wednesday morning as scheduled.

Because of the adverse weather, Norwegian Jewel did not stop at Great Stirrup Cay today and instead docked in Nassau a day early. The ship will stay in Nassau overnight. Depending on the path of Hurricane Earl, there is a possibility that the ship will need to leave Nassau early tomorrow morning.

We will continue to closely monitor the weather conditions and will update this information and notify our guests if there are any additional itinerary changes because of the storms’ projected paths.
We appreciate our guests understanding.

Updated August 29 at 9 am ET

At Norwegian Cruise Line, the safety and security of our guests and crew is of the utmost importance. Therefore, the company is closely monitoring the paths of both Hurricane Danielle and Tropical Storm Earl.

Because of the storms, we are modifying the following itineraries:

Norwegian Dawn will depart New York as scheduled today. We are continuing to monitor the storm and there is a possibility of an itinerary change depending on the storm’s path.

Norwegian Epic departed Miami yesterday as scheduled. The ship will call into Cozumel, Mexico and Roatan, Honduras in place of Phillipsburg, St. Maarten and St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands. The ship’s call into Nassau on Friday has been extended.

Norwegian Spirit arrived in Bermuda this morning as originally scheduled.

Tropical Storm Resources (click links below)
Hurricane EARL	National Hurricane Center
Atlantic Tropical Weather Outlook	National Weather Service
Atlantic Tropical Weather Discussion	Hurricane Preparedness
Graphical Tropical Weather Outlook (ATL)	Real-Time Hurricane Information
Active Storms	NOAA Satellites & Information
NASA: Latest Storm Images	WMO Severe Weather Information Centre
Real-time Monitoring (Atlantic)	The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale
Real-time Weather Sites	Real-Time Cruise Ship Tracking

Keeping an Eye on Hurricane Bill / Cruise Ship Impact

Map Courtesy of NOAA - (Bill) Position as of 11 AM Eastern, Sunday < Click for Updated Map >

Current Atlantic Tropical Storm Watch

Not the storm you are looking for?  Click Image or Here

<NHC Active Storms>

Tropical Storm Danny:

Tropical Storm Danny Forms in Atlantic

We have been tracking Hurricane Bill since Sunday and providing multiple updates each day. This is your one-stop source for cruise-related information and hurricane updates. Continue to monitor this post for updates.

The best defense against a hurricane is to be prepared. This post will continue to focus on regular updates on the storm and impact to the cruise lines. In my post, Hurricane Bill / Current Tropical Storms , I have included a Be Prepared Checklist.


For historical information on Hurricane Bill and Tropical Depressions Ana and Claudette, see my republished blog post: First Atlantic Tropical Storms 2009

UPDATE: 5AM AST Monday, Aug. 17 ...BILL NOW A HURRICANE...THE FIRST OF THE 2009 ATLANTIC SEASON...

UPDATE: 500 AM AST MON AUG 24 2009... BILL LOSES TROPICAL CHARACTERISTICS... MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 70 MPH ...

AT 500 AM AST...0900 UTC...ENVIRONMENT CANADA HAS DISCONTINUED ALLTROPICAL STORM WATCHES AND WARNINGS FOR NEWFOUNDLAND...

GRADUAL WEAKENING IS FORECAST DURING THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. EVEN THOUGH BILL IS NO LONGER A TROPICAL CYCLONE...IT IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE A LARGE AREA OF STORM AND GALE FORCE WINDS OVER THE NORTH ATLANTIC DURING THE NEXT DAY OR TWO.....

THIS IS THE LAST PUBLIC ADVISORY ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER ON THIS SYSTEM. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THIS SYSTEM CAN BE FOUND IN HIGH SEAS FORECASTS ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE...UNDER AWIPS HEADER NFDHSFAT1 AND WMO HEADER FZNT01 KWBC

A TROPICAL STORM WARNING MEANS THAT TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED SOMEWHERE WITHIN THE WARNING AREA WITHIN 24 HOURS.

A HURRICANE WATCH MEANS THAT HURRICANE CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE WITHIN THE WATCH AREA...GENERALLY WITHIN 36 HOURS.

These swells will likely cause extremely dangerous surf and life-threatening rip currents. Please consult statements issued by your local weather office.

Local Weather Statements

<More Details> <Warnings and 5-Day Cone >

<Bermuda Weather Service>

<Baltimore, MD NWS> <Bayonne, NJ NWS>

<New York, NY NWS>

<Atlantic Canada Weather>

<Canadian Hurricane Centre>

<NASA Hurricane Tracking>

Cruise Ship Tropical Storm Updates: <CARNIVAL> <Norwegian Cruise Line> <Royal Caribbean>

Note: These are the only Cruise lines with ships that were in potential danger from Hurricane Bill.
Holland America, Princess Cruises, Cunard, Celebrity Cruises, though in the area, have no announcements.
<Holland America>

Live Cruise Ship and Ocean Liner Tracking: <Interactive tracking map> See where ships are relative to tropical storms.

CARNIVAL CRUISE LINE ANNOUNCEMENTS

(Aug 21) The Carnival Triumph cruise that departed from New York on August 20 will cancel the scheduled call in Saint John. The ship will now navigate a safe course away from the storm and return to New York on Monday as scheduled.

We are not anticipating changes to any other itineraries at this time including the Carnival Triumph cruise departing from New York on August 24. We will update this information if any new information is available.

(Aug 19) For the Carnival Miracle cruise departing on August 20 from New York; and the Carnival Pride cruise departing on August 21 from Baltimore, we are not anticipating any changes to the itineraries for these cruises at this time. We will update this information if any new information becomes available.

NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE ANNOUNCEMENTS

(Aug 21) Norwegian Spirit will depart Boston as scheduled August 21. Depending on the path of the storm, the ship may arrive later than scheduled into Bermuda. The ship's Captain will update the guests on board as to the specific arrival time in Bermuda once it has been determined.
At this time, we are anticipating that the August 23 sailings of Norwegian Dawn from New York and Norwegian Majesty from Baltimore will depart as scheduled.
(Aug 19) Norwegian Cruise Line announced the following itinerary changes: Because of the current path of Hurricane Bill which is forecasted to pass near Bermuda on Friday, August 21, Norwegian Dawn and Norwegian Majesty will depart Bermuda earlier than scheduled, leaving at 5 pm on Thursday, August 20.

ROYAL CARIBBEAN INTERNATIONAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

Given the current location and projected path of Hurricane Bill, we are altering the itinerary of one ship , and providing the following guidance regarding one sailing:

Ships sailing from the Cape Liberty

Explorer of the Seas, which departs Cape Liberty on Thursday, August 20, will sail a revised itinerary, with its ports of call simply reordered. The ship will visit San Juan, Puerto Rico, Sunday; Philipsburg, St. Maarten, Monday; Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, Tuesday; and Kings Wharf, Bermuda, Thursday.

Ships sailing Baltimore, Maryland

Grandeur of the Seas is scheduled to depart on Saturday, August 22, for its five-night sailing to Bermuda. However, guests on this sailing are encouraged to monitor these updates for any possible modifications to the itinerary.

Additional Updates will be posted as information becomes available

Staying Prepared

Cruise lines will do everything to keep passengers and crew safe. A cruise is rarely cancelled because of weather, even hurricanes. The cruise lines monitor progress of any storms both in their main offices and onboard the vessels. They work closely with the various weather services, such as NOAA and NHC, to make determinations about itinerary deviations.

My other blog articles on Hurricane Bill:

Hurricane Bill / Current Tropical Storms (includes a Be Prepared Checklist)

First Atlantic Tropical Storms 2009 (historical notes on Hurricane Bill and the first 2009 storms)

Continue to watch this post, I will provide updates as conditions change. If you are on a cruise this week in the area, be sure to monitor the storm closely.

NCL Dawn Bermuda - Disembarkation

It's hard to believe the final night onboard Norwegian Dawn has arrived. We had purchased an Internet Cafe package for the week and we still had some minutes left. So we had time for one final check of emails printing off our boarding passes for our flights home.


The Internet Cafe is located on Deck 9, and is reachable via the center staircase from Deck 8. That isn't always convenient, so we find out the secret - there is a doorway on Deck 9 (mainly intended for those that are handicapped). It is certainly easier to use that entrance than to go down to Deck 8 and then back up the staircase.


After dinner, we took a final stroll outside. There were just a few people walking around on deck. Many people were putting final items in their luggage in preparation for disembarkation. We opted for early disembarkation where we carry our own bags off the ship. That meant we didn't have to get luggage outside our door by any certain time. We were already packed, so it really didn't matter.


The morning of disembarkation arrived. We went up to Garden Cafe for our final breakfast. The early disembarkation would begin at approximately 8:30 AM, so we didn't have to get up too early. After breakfast, we went to our cabin, picked up our bags and headed down the elevator to the gangway level. When we got down there, the hallway outside the elevator was packed. There was no where to go - we couldn't even get off the elevator. The line was not moving at all even though the early disembarkation had begun.


We were finally able to get out of the elevator, but other people weren't as lucky. We've been on many ships, but never saw such confusion and a mess. After quite some time, a couple crew members came along and organized the line. It stretched from mid-ship to aft and back around the other side of the ship. It took us until 10:00 AM to finally disembark the ship. Once outside the ship, the customs process went very smoothly and we were headed to the cabs to go to the airport.


Someone had mentioned that one of the gangways wasn't operating, so perhaps that accounted for the crowds and lines for disembarkation. Hopefully that's the case since there was a lack of organization that should not be the case. Despite the lines, the crowds remained relatively patient and it didn't ruin the great cruise that we had in Bermuda.


This concludes our Bermuda cruise. If there's any additional information that you might need, feel free to contact me. I suggest you consider Bermuda for one of your future cruises.

Happy Cruising !!

NCL Dawn Bermuda - Evening Activities

Evenings aboard the Norwegian Dawn typically included dinner at one of the Freestyle Dining choices and entertainment. The first night, there was a Welcome Aboard Show in the Stardust Showroom. The main attraction for this show was the Jean Ann Ryan Company with music provided by the Norwegian Dawn Showband. Since photography was not allowed during the show, close your eyes and imagine you are seeing singers and dancers perform live onstage.

Since we had eaten at the Welcome Aboard BBQ, we didn't go to one of the restaraunts the first night. We did join romantics and photographers out on deck for a glimpse of the setting sun. As the saying goes, "red skies at night, sailors delight". Tomorrow would be a beautiful day if the saying held true. As the sun sunk lower from the sky into the sea, we bid our goodbyes to New York (or at least that's what we thought).

While we were waiting for the show to begin , the Captain interrupted to announce that our ship was turning back to New York due to a medical emergency onboard. One of the passengers had been injured and required medical attention. Since the next two days were sea days, this would not impact the overall cruise schedule.

For those that wanted to dance the night away, Spinnaker Lounge was the site of the Welcome Aboard Party: Dancing Through the Decades. The Cruise Director Staff and Sound Bytes hosted this dance party featuring the greatest dance hits from the 50's to today.

On Tuesday night the lounge was the site for 70's Night Disco Groove party. Members from Second City Comedy Troop were also onboard and Thursday and Friday the Spinnaker Lounge was turned into a comedy theatre for their show. Music could be heard throughout the ship. The venues also included Gatsby's Lounge, Grand Attrium, Dazzles Lounge, and Pearly King's Pub.

There was something for every music taste throughout the cruise. You could even be one of the "stars" at the Family Karaoke which was held in Dazzles Lounge a few times during the week.

Dawn Club Casino opened about an hour after we left New York and remained open the first night until the ship returned to New York to have the Coast Guard transport the injured passenger. The highlight event in the casino was on Monday night for Monte Carlo Night. This event was hosted by the entertaining Gazillionare (the Cruise Director) along with the Freestyle Showgirls and Monte Carlo Night Tumblers. The casino was open except while we were in port.

Although Norwegian Dawn doesn't have a formal dress code during the cruise, some people dressed up on Monday night and had their picture taken with Captain Trygve Vorren. There were opportunities other nights for pictures if you were so inclined. In fact, even if you didn't want your picture taken, you probably had more than your share throughout the cruise.

In my next post, I'll talk about a couple of the Freestyle Dining options that we did during this cruise. These events only scratched the surface of the evening's choices. As NCL said in the Freestyle Daily, "everything is hotter when the sun goes down".

Greetings from NCL Dawn

I am writing this from the Internet Cafe onboard NCL Dawn. We sailed last Sunday from Manhattan Cruise Terminal (New York City) for a 7 night cruise to Bermuda. The weather was great and the cruise was terrific.

We had two sea days before arriving at King's Wharf, Bermuda where we docked for two nights. On the third day in Bermuda, the ship relocated to Hamilton, Bermuda where we tendered.

Some of the highlights were Crystal and Fantasy Caves, Helmet Diving, Fort Hamilton, Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute, and the Aquarium. Come back in a couple days to start reading all about our trip. Each post, we'll take a closer look at the ship and the various attractions we saw.

If you've not done a cruise to Bermuda yet, I'd suggest that as an alternative to the Caribbean as I've mentioned before.

I'll have plenty of pictures to share with you and provide our impressions of the NCL Dawn.

So, come back to read the entire story.