Hurricane Alex

 

Tiki bar at Cozumel on a beautiful day.

Some cruisers encountered less than ideal weather in Cozumel last week, courtesy of then Tropical Storm Alex.

Well the 2010 Hurricane Season is off to a rip-roaring start in the Atlantic Basin.  Alex was upgraded to a hurricane last night, and, while he's still a Category 1, he's a big boy in terms of size.  He also has a very low minimum central pressure, so additional strengthening is certainly possible before landfall on the western gulf coast.  He's slowed down, and that can make him even more dangerous for wherever he strikes... and for a wide surrounding area, given his size.

There was minimal disruption in cruise itineraries as TS Alex came near Cozumel. Just one ship headed east to Nasau in leiu of Cozumel, and two others simply  reversed their scheduled port calls. 

Today's  turn-around for the Ecstasy could have been be affected, but the storm was considerate enough to move in time for the port of Galveston to be out of the danger area for the ship to return.  (Passengers may well have experienced the effects of some higher than normal seas, though.)  Let's hope he's equally considerate to the residents of northern Mexico and lower Texas.

June hurricanes aren't common, but aren't unheard of, either.  The season has just begun, so aware that your cruise between now and late November  could be affected this year, which is predicted to be unusually active.    Check my previous blog entry, Cruising During Hurricane Season for some basic tips.

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Ida Rumbles On

Ida left some very sad marks on Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Reports are that over 100 lives were lost and more than 500 homes were destroyed. Americans, please remember our southern neighbors in your prayers
Now weakened again to a Tropical Storm - after becoming a Category 2 hurricane, Ida is now poised to make her presence known to the upper Gulf Coast of the United States.

Cruise itineraries have been affected - some more, some less.
A few ships substituted another port for Cozumel, spent an unscheduled day, or re-ordered their port stops. These included Carnival's Liberty, Inspiration, and Conquest, as well as the Crown Princess. NCL's Spirit found it necessary to leave from New Orleans about an hour and a half early for her current cruise. Hopefully, all the cruisers on these ships were equipped with their favorite cure for motion sickness , such as Cruise Ready Store's best-selling natural motion sickness remedy, Gin-gins double strength hard ginger candy


Passengers on two other ships will experience more drastic changes to their cruise vacations.
CARIVAL FANTASY's November 10 six day cruise will be shortened to five days, departing on November 11, with the visit to Progresso being eliminated. These passengers willl will receive a one day pro-rated refund of the cruise fare paid for the 6 day cruise.
CARNIVAL TRIUMPH's November 10 four day cruise will be shortened to a three day cruise, departing on November 11 instead. The ship will not visit Cozumel, and passengrs will receive a 50% refund of their cruise fare.