Hurricane Florence Impacts Cruises

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Hurricane Florence

Strengthening Hurricane Florence has begun impacting cruise itineraries as it approaches the East Coast of the United States as a major hurricane.  Passengers on Royal Caribbean Grandeur of the Seas and Norwegian Escape find themselves on the way to the Bahamas instead of Bermuda as the vessels steers clear of the storm.

Watches and warnings are likely to be issued on Tuesday, September 11th.

On the forecast track, the center of Florence will move over the southwestern Atlantic Ocean between Bermuda and the Bahamas Tuesday and Wednesday, and approach the coast of North Carolina or South Carolina on Thursday.

NHC ACTIVE STORMS (CLICK HERE)

Real-Time Cruise Ship Tracking

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT HURRICANES (CLICK HERE)

• NHC issuing advisories for the Atlantic on Hurricane Florence, Hurricane Helene and TS Isaac
• NHC issuing advisories for the Eastern Pacific on TD Paul
• CPHC issuing advisories for the Central Pacific on Olivia

Click Here to Learn More

Royal Caribbean Itinerary Updates 
(click for latest)   
Latest Update - September 10, 2018 at 6:40 pm

We are modifying the itinerary of Grandeur of the Seas September 8th & September 13th cruise to avoid the path of Hurricane Florence. Our #1 priority is the safety of our guests and crew. We will closely monitor the storm, and provide our guests with daily updates. The current changes are outlined below.

For more frequent updates, please follow our meteorologist on Twitter @JamesVanFleet or visit the Royal Caribbean Facebook page

SHIP	SAIL DATE	STATUS	DESTINATION
Grandeur of the Seas	September 8	Modified	9/11 – Nassau, Bahamas 9/12 – Port Canaveral, Florida 9/13 – Port Canaveral, Florida 9/16 - Baltimore, Maryland
Grandeur of the Seas	September 13	Modified	9/16 - Baltimore, Maryland tentative departure date

Norwegian Cruise Line Weather Alert (click for latest) In a preemptive move, the 2,340-passenger Norwegian Dawn sailed for Canada and New England on Friday instead of Bermuda and is in the midst of unexpected stops in Halifax and Sydney, Nova Scotia; St. John, New Brunswick; and Bar Harbor, Maine.

 Meanwhile, Norwegian Escape which departed on Sunday for what was supposed to be a three-day visit to Bermuda's King's Wharf will call at Nassau and Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas as well as Port Canaveral, FL instead.
 

SHIP	SAIL DATE	STATUS	DESTINATION
Norwegian Escape	September 9	Modified	3 day Bahamas instead of Bermuda
Norwegian Dawn	September 7	Modified	Canada & New England instead of Bermuda

Carnival Cruise Line Travel Alerts (click for latest)
Weather Update – 09/11/18 – 6:00 PM (EDT)

Our Fleet Operations Center in Miami has been actively monitoring Hurricane Florence in the Atlantic and the tropical low near the Yucatan Peninsula. As the safety of our guests and crew is our number one priority, we will continue to keep an eye on things and provide you with timely updates as more information becomes available.

In the meantime, please opt-in for text alerts by texting the codes below to CRUISE (278473): Carnival Pride – 09/16/18 – CCL1
Carnival Ecstasy – 09/16/18 – CCL2
Carnival Valor –09/13/18 – CCL3
Carnival Freedom – 09/15/18 – CCL4
Carnival Breeze – 09/16/18 – CCL5

Carnival Horizon cancelled a Sunday call at San Juan, Puerto Rico and has shifted the date of a call in the Dominican Republic as it alters its route to stay out of the storm's way. It's due back in New York on Thursday. Carnival Pride modified its itinerary to the Bahamas from Bermuda.

SHIP	SAIL DATE	STATUS	DESTINATION
Carnival Pride	September 9	Modified	3 day Bahamas instead of Bermuda
Carnival Horizon	September 5	Modified	Cancelled San Juan, Changed Dominican Republic date

Oceania Cruises

Finally, Oceania's 684-passenger Sirena is bypassing Bermuda as it nears the end of a repositioning cruise from Europe to Miami while sister ship Insignia is shifting several port calls.

Hurricane Season Dates 

Hurricane season in the Atlantic begins June 1st and ends November 30th. The Eastern Pacific hurricane season begins May 15th and also ends November 30th.
Make a Plan (FEMA) 

Read entire series (click here)

More links and information about tropical storms and other weather conditions can be found in the Weather & Hurricane Zone tabs above.


Hurricane Preparedness Week:   
May 6-12, 2018

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Hurricanes: Perception vs Reality

Storm surge inundation (feet above ground level) based on Irma’s
actual track versus forecasted track. The wiggle to the east
spared the coastline from Naples northward to the
Cape Coral area from storm surge inundation
 greater than 9 feet above ground level. Image Credit: NOAA

• NHC issuing advisories for the Atlantic on TS Florence, TD Eight and TD Nine
• NHC issuing advisories for the Eastern Pacific on Hurricane Olivia
• WPC is issuing advisories on Gordon
• CPHC issuing advisories for the Central Pacific on Norman

There are a couple times each year that a fair amount of our Blog articles are focused on tropical storms and hurricanes.   Before the start of the Hurricane Season, we devote a series of articles to the education on Hurricane Preparedness.   This year's series can be found here: Hurricane Preparedness Week 2018.  The next concentration of articles occurs when the season gets into full swing, which normally happens September through late October.   Both the Atlantic and Pacific basins are active at the present time.

Hurricane Gordon made landfall with only minor impact on cruise itineraries.  It did however dump heavy rain on the Gulf Coast region.  Several storms of varying intensity are currently making their way westward in the Atlantic Ocean.   TS Florence is predicted to regain strength and become a major hurricane again before engaging with the East Coast of the United States.

While checking out the current storms on the NHC, we noticed the following article: NOAA NWS: Hurricanes: Common Misperceptions.   The graphic above was taken from that article.

Past Experience - Current Behavior

Although the science of hurricane / tropical storm tracking and predictions has significantly improved over the years, there is always a degree of uncertainty as the graphic demonstrates.   Just a small shift in the trajectory of a storm can alter which area is at risk. 

The article talks about how based on your experiences in the past hurricane season, you may make some decisions about hurricane preparation which could become a huge mistake.   Just because you've never flooded before for example, doesn't mean that you can't this year.   Perhaps you survived a Category 4 hurricane last year so you think you can survive again.  You need to ask yourself if you felt the full furry of that storm or if you were perhaps on the outer reaches and really only had winds that were tropical storm or Category 1 strength.   Don't risk it - please heed all advisories.

It's easy to get a false sense of security about storms or other natural disasters.  We had a personal experience where my husband was in Los Angeles on a business trip when a major earthquake struck the region.  My son and I still came out for the weekend and we all vacationed in Disneyland.  One of the aftershocks woke us, and my husband remarked "Go back to sleep, it's only an earthquake."  He said this because it wasn't as severe as the original shaking he had a couple days before, so he figured it couldn't be bad.  In hindsight, we should never have gone to the park.  Fortunately everything worked out just fine.  The article has additional examples of misconceptions.

Click Here to Learn More

Now is the Time To Have a Plan  

Don't wait for the NHC to issue a warning for your area.  Review our preparedness series and make plans for evacuation, safe keeping of your house, family, pets, and belongings.

If you are traveling to an area where tropical weather is forecast, be sure to keep close tabs on the updates.  We aren't necessarily saying you need to change your vacation plans, but be aware that you may need to alter your arrival / departure plans.  Click on the image to the left for some additional tips.

...FLORENCE POISED TO STRENGTHEN... ...THIS WEEKEND IS A GOOD TIME FOR INTERESTS ALONG THE U.S. EAST COAST TO REVIEW THEIR HURRICANE PLAN...

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Keeping an Eye on Gordon

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Tropical Storm Gordon

If you haven't noticed before, we are heading into the most active part of the hurricane season.  Right now there are two storms in the Atlantic and two in the Pacific that are being tracked by the National Hurricane centers. 

The one that has everyone's attention is Tropical Storm Gordon, which should make landfall in the Gulf region sometime tonight as a hurricane.    All the states in its path are on high alert and preparations for heavy rainfall are underway. Gordon is moving toward the northwest near 15 mph (24 km/h), and this general motion is expected to continue until landfall occurs tonight along the north-central Gulf coast.

• NHC issuing advisories for the Atlantic on Hurricane Florence and TS Gordon
• NHC issuing advisories for the Eastern Pacific on Hurricane Olivia
• CPHC issuing advisories for the Central Pacific on Norman

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

Full coverage of this, and all tropical storms, can be found on our Hurricane Zone page.   There are RSS feeds from the National Hurricane Center posted there giving you up to the minute information.   For storms that impact cruises, we will bring you information on those details as well.  Please bookmark that page for further reference during the Hurricane Season which runs now through November 30th.

NHC ACTIVE STORMS (CLICK HERE)

Real-Time Cruise Ship Tracking

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT HURRICANES (CLICK HERE)

Tropcial Storm Gordon	1000 AM CDT Tue Sep 04 2018 ...OUTER RAINBANDS PRODUCING SQUALLY WEATHER ALONG THE COAST OF THE WESTERN FLORIDA PANHANDLE... ...GORDON EXPECTED TO MAKE LANDFALL TONIGHT AS A HURRICANE...
WIND:	near 65 MPH...100 KM/H
WATCHES/ WARNINGS:	A Storm Surge Warning is in effect for... * Shell Beach to Dauphin Island A Storm Surge Watch is in effect for... * West of Shell Beach to the Mouth of the Mississippi River * East of Dauphin Island to Navarre A Hurricane Warning is in effect for... * Mouth of the Pearl River to the Alabama-Florida Border A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for... * West of the Mouth of the Pearl River to Grand Isle, including Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Maurepas * Alabama-Florida Border to Okaloosa-Walton County Line
SHIP IMPACT:	Royal Caribbean’s Majesty of the Seas ship departed Florida just before midnight Monday night September 3rd in order to sail behind the storm. The ship will flip its itinerary, but the voyage is still expected to make all of its ports of call. The Port of New Orleans Administration Building will close for all nonessential personnel at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018, in order to prepare for any possible weather-related activities due to Tropical Storm Gordon.

A Storm Surge Warning means there is a danger of life-threatening
inundation, from rising water moving inland from the coastline,
in the indicated locations. For a depiction of areas at risk, please
see the National Weather Service Storm Surge Watch/Warning Graphic,
available at hurricanes.gov. This is a life-threatening situation.
Persons located within these areas should take all necessary actions
to protect life and property from rising water and the potential for
other dangerous conditions. Promptly follow evacuation and other
instructions from local officials.

A Storm Surge Watch means there is a possibility of life-
threatening inundation, from rising water moving inland from the
coastline, in the indicated locations.

A Hurricane Warning means that hurricane conditions are expected
somewhere within the warning area. Preparations to protect life
and property should be rushed to completion.

A Tropical Storm Warning means that tropical storm conditions are
expected somewhere within the warning areas.

HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND
----------------------
STORM SURGE:  The combination of a dangerous storm surge and the
tide will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by
rising waters moving inland from the shoreline. The water could
reach the following heights above ground somewhere in the indicated
areas if the peak surge occurs at the time of high tide...

Shell Beach to Dauphin Island...3 to 5 ft.
Navarre Florida to Dauphin Island, including Mobile Bay...2 to 4 ft.
Shell Beach to the Mouth of Mississippi River...2 to 4 ft.
Mouth of the Mississippi River to the Louisiana-Texas border...1 to
2 ft.

The deepest water will occur along the immediate coast near and to
the east of the landfall location, where the surge will be
accompanied by large waves. Surge-related flooding depends on the
relative timing of the surge and the tidal cycle, and can vary
greatly over short distances. For information specific to your area,
please see products issued by your local National Weather Service
forecast office.

RAINFALL:  Gordon is expected to produce total rain accumulations of
4 to 8 inches over the western Florida Panhandle, southwest Alabama,
southern and central Mississippi, southeastern and northeastern
Louisiana, and southern Arkansas, with isolated maximum amounts of
12 inches through late Thursday. This rainfall will cause flash
flooding across portions of these areas.

WIND:  Tropical storm conditions are expected to begin this
afternoon within portions of the warning area, with hurricane
conditions expected by this evening in the hurricane warning
area.

TORNADOES:  A few tornadoes are possible this afternoon through
tonight near the coasts of Mississippi, Alabama, and the Florida
Panhandle.

Next Stop Bartlett Heritage Days

Meet Your Cruise & Vacation Specialist 

Christine Pappin 

Bartlett Heritage Days

Free community event with a sound stage & beer garden in Town Center, Kids Fest at Banbury Fair, Bartlett Bazaar at Oak & Bartlett Rds, Jeweler’s Row on Oak and Fun Fair at Derango Dental. Saturday Pet Event in Bartlett Park, Sunday Classic Car Show on Oak St. And much more.

Visit www.bartlettheritagedays.com for full details.

Those of you in the northwest suburbs of Chicago can meet me during the two day Bartlett Heritage Days in Downtown Bartlett, IL. Stop by our booth at the Business Expo for brochures, special offers, give-aways, and more.

Whether you are planning a short or long vacation on land or sea, we have plenty of ideas to share with you to get your dream trip started.

Join Us for a Fun Hour on Twitter Wednesday Nights

If you love Food & Travel you should join #FoodTravelChat every Wednesday at 8 PM Eastern.  I'm one of the chat moderators.  Each week we discuss a new food and travel related topic.

 

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Hurricane Lane Alters Cruise Itinerary

2-Day Graphical Tropical Weather Outlook | 5-Day Graphical Tropical Weather Outlook

Hurricane Lane

Dangerous Hurricane Lane approaches the main Hawaiian Islands.  The Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC) in Honolulu Hawaii predicts a slow northward motion to begin this afternoon and continue through Friday. A turn toward the west is expected Saturday and Sunday, with an increase in forward speed.

The latest forecast track from the Central Pacific Hurricane Center brings the center of Lane dangerously close to the main Hawaiian Islands Thursday afternoon through Saturday.

Regardless of the exact track, life threatening impacts are likely over many areas as this strong hurricane makes its closest approach. Do not focus on the exact forecast track or intensity of Lane. Be prepared for changes in future forecasts. Although the official forecast does not explicitly indicate Lane's center making landfall over any of the islands, this could still occur.

CPHC issuing advisories for the Central Pacific on LANE

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

Full coverage of this, and all tropical storms, can be found on our Hurricane Zone page.   There are RSS feeds from the National Hurricane Center posted there giving you up to the minute information.   For storms that impact cruises, we will bring you information on those details as well.  Please bookmark that page for further reference during the Hurricane Season which runs now through November 30th.

HURRICANE LANE	23 Aug 2018 11:13 am HST ...LANE MOVING NORTH-WESTWARD AS A POWERFUL CATEGORY 4 HURRICANE...
WIND:	near 130 mph with higher gusts
WATCHES/ WARNINGS:	Hurricane Watch: Kauai Leeward, Kauai Mountains, Kauai Windward, and Niihau Hurricane Warning: Big Island Interior, Big Island North and East, Big Island Summits, Central Oahu, Haleakala Summit, Kahoolawe, Kohala, Kona, Lanai Makai, Lanai Mauka, Leeward Haleakala, Maui Central Valley, Maui Leeward West, Maui Windward West, Molokai Leeward, Molokai Windward, Oahu Koolau, Oahu North Shore, Oahu South Shore, Olomana, South Big Island, Waianae Coast, Waianae Mountains, and Windward Haleakala
SHIP IMPACT:	Pride of America - Hurricane Lane Update August 23, 2018 at 9:30 PM ET (1:30 AM UTC)  Due to Hurricane Lane in the Pacific, Norwegian Cruise Line has modified the itinerary for Pride of America. The ship is currently out at sea, away from the storm. Pride of America is expected to return to Honolulu on Sunday, August 26th. The previously scheduled August 25th sailing will be delayed until Monday, August 27th. Embarkation will be available on both Sunday, August 26th and Monday, August 27th.   Monitor the following link for the latest updates: Norwegian: Weather Alert

Budget European Travel by Cruise Ship

Budget Travel - 
What Comes to Mind

The next #WeekendWanderlust twitter chat will take place Tonight Thursday August 9th at 9 PM  Eastern time. This week’s questions are all about Europe travel.

Preparing for this week's chat, we gave that question some serious thought.  Most likely the first thing that comes to mind is backpacking across Europe, traveling by rail, and staying in hostels.  That's fine if you are in your early twenty's but after that, we doubt that would be your preferred method of travel.

Cruising Europe

We can't argue that backpacking across Europe is the epitome of budget travel, but for those that can no longer travel in that fashion, the next best thing could be seeing Europe by cruise ship.   If you are coming from the United States, the cost of air travel will be your largest component.   Since it is a fixed cost, no matter what you do upon arrival in Europe, we will not factor that into our budget assessment.

We'll use a Baltic cruise for an example on how cruising in Europe can be budget travel.  A typical Baltic itinerary will have about 7 or 8 ports of call.   If you were to visit those same ports by making your own travel arrangements, it would most likely include several flights between the various destinations, which as we've already mentioned could add significant cost to the trip.   Likewise, you would need to have lodging in each destination.

With a cruise, your lodging and transportation between countries is already included in the price.  Meals and entertainment are also included, all of which would have been extras if sight seeing on your own.

Exploring Ports

There are many ways to explore the countries that the ship visits.  There are several options which fall in the budget travel category.  We'll explore some of those which we used during a past cruise to the region.

The picture above is a "hop-on-hop-off" bus.   With this form of transportation you can typically start the tour when you get off the ship and conclude back at the ship, making a circle around the port city.  For one low price, usually around $20 USD, you have the option to get on and off the bus as many times as you like to see points of interest along the route.  This is how we toured Copenhagen for example.

In several of our ports, there were shuttles from the ship that would take us into town.  In Stockholm, we took the shuttle and then after a short walk, we were able to book a boat excursion "Under the Bridges of Stockholm".  This two hour tour was one of the highlights of the cruise.   We also used the shuttle method to go to Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen for an evening at the amusement park.

In many ports of call, it was possible to simply walk to nearby attractions.  Such was the case in Bergen, Norway.   In this picture, we walked to the Fløibanen Funicular, one of Bergen's most popular attractions. Ride the tramway to the top for views of the entire area.

If you decide to have a meal while in port, for example in Bergen,  you have a full range of choices from the choices for the budget minded to expensive.   Perhaps something in the fish market would give you a taste of Bergen on the budget side.

The great thing about cruising is that it is all about choice.   The cruise lines offer excursions, which typically cost more than if you organize the same tour on your own.  The benefit to the ship's tours is that you don't have to plan anything and also, they are responsible for getting you back to the ship on time.  Which ever way you decide to go, you have already saved money by not having to pay for hotels, meals, entertainment and additional transportation during your multi-port visit.

Join Us for a Fun Hour on Twitter Wednesday Nights

If you love Food & Travel you should join #FoodTravelChat every Wednesday at 8 PM Eastern.  I'm one of the chat moderators.  Each week we discuss a new food and travel related topic.

 

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