Active hurricane season this year :(

[Dorothy]

My dh just called to tell me he heard on the news that this year is supposed to be another active hurricane season.

I immediately began my pitch for moving our cruise from Sept 11th to late October, early November, but will my family go for it? NOOO!

Guess we're a brave bunch, but you can bet I'll be buying cruise insurance this year. After coming close to missing our cruise last September and having it switched from a Western to an Eastern itinerary, I feel forewarned by nature.

dorothy

[Darcy]

Oh no, I'm booked for the end of August. I did buy cruise insurance. Guess we'll just have to keep our fingers crossed!

[Thomas]

Good luck Dorothy. Keep trying to convince your hubby to change it to a later date. Leaving Atlanta in Sept. for the Caribbean isn't much of a change in weather but leaving in December might be very welcome.

Regards,
Thomas

[Angela Z.]

I feel strongly that Central Florida, specifically Orlando will NOT be affected by hurricanes this year......how can I say this with such conviction you may be wondering?
My husband bought a generator a couple of weeks ago.
Angela Z.

[Tweety]

Angela, we aren't even in Florida yet and we are buying one before we come down.

[Thomas]

I bought one last year and love it. It's a Yamaha 1000 Watt, a bit smaller than a carryon suitcase, and is ONLY 47 decibels!!! Last year when we were without power I had mine on the lanai and you couldn't hear it indoors but I sure could hear all the other 3000 Watt generators around the neighborhood. Their's were annoying as heck.

It's enough to power the refrigerator, T.V. and a few lights. You have to be a little conservative in your electricity consumption but it worked fine. I also carry it to the tailgate parties for using the blender, T.V. , and powering any other 120V thing I need.

Regards,
Thomas

[Donna]

Hi Dorothy,
I'm set to cruise on the 10th of Sept., but we will go as planned...I actually wouldn't normally cruise at that time, but this Cruisemates cruise is worth taking a chance on going then, lets hope the weather will be fine.

No hurricanes in Florida this year we just had hurricane shutters installed ( for the cost of a wonderful cruise) sigh........

[skymaster]

We're booked for Sept. 22nd, and I'm not really worried. We have a 5000 watt generator, wired into the house. Enough to power the fridge, microwave T.V. and a few lights. I built what appears to be a dog house right outside the back door to house it, and it works great. That alone, is enough to scare away the hurricanes this year, from central Florida.
Happy sailing,
Ken

[Dorothy]

Jeanne, Thomas, Angela, Skymaster - thanks for keeping those pesky hurricanes away with the purchase of your generators and shutters!

You're right Thomas, a cruise in the winter would be SUCH a welcome change from the cold temps in Atlanta....Duct tape pro and I are cooking up a short cruise with my 28 yo stepson in January, though.

dorothy

[Phyllbo]

I'm counting on the theory that the weathemen have trouble getting tomorrows forecast right. How can they predict Sept. weather. Hope they are wrong this time.

Phyll

[MichelleP]

Well, you know, every year they predict an active hurricane season, whether there is one or not. I don't think they ever really know, but by predicting an active one, it's their way of "covering their bums" in case a whole bunch of hurricanes hit and people get angry that the weatherpeople didn't warn them before the season even started.

Cheers,
Michelle P.

Dorothy,
Last year our cruise was the week of Sept.18 and we ended up going WEST instead of East. We almost ran into Hurricane Jeanne and stayed out an extra two days.(Caribbean Princess).
This year we booked our cruise for Oct. 8, so we could go EAST-same ship. However, Trevor saw a Southern Caribbean cruise on the Sun Princess that leaves on Sept.29, so we started to think about that one.
Subsequently, we switched ships and will be cruising the week of Oct.23 back to the WEST, on the Star Princess. The reason, we haven't been on that ship before.
Did it have anything to do with the hurricane season? NO. It's just a different ship!

We've been in the Caribbean in September and October for the last 4 years, and 2004 was the only time we ALMOST ran into a hurricane. And Jeanne was a fluke. She was heading out to the Atlantic when we left Ft. Lauderdale and then made a U-Turn and headed back.

I remember you wondering about your cruise and how to get down here in the bad weather, etc, etc. I don't think it will happen that way again this year. And we DON"T have a generator!!!! We live in the part of Florida where 3 of the hurricanes criss-crossed right in our backyard, almost. The eye of Jeanne went right over our small city of Sebring. Luckily, our house didn't sustain any damage. (Phew).

Enjoy your cruise-whenever you go. I'd be more superstitious about the date you are going, rather than a hurricane.

Lynne

[Brenda in Canada]

Perhaps with that hurricane forecast, there might be lots of people backing out of their cruise plans-maybe some cheap cruises to be had?!!
Lynne-I was superstitious about the date we did our cruise for some weird reason and everything turned out perfectly fine! I think I was brought up hearing about old-wives tales /superstitions and I try not to think about them!! I don't think kids these days know about them which is a good thing!!
I hope everyone's cruises go ahead with no hurricane problems!! :-)

[skymaster]

You know what they say about the TV weathermen. On the way to the office, they stop ten people and ask them: Think it'll rain? If eight of them say: Yes,,,I think it might,,,,,then there is an eighty percent chance of rain today!!! At least, that's what I'm told.
Happy sailing,
Ken

[Dorothy]

So *that's* how they do it, Ken!

Even though we didn't get to see the Western last year, I have to admit there was a certain amount of excitment that came with the unpredictability of not knowing where (exactly) we would end up.

My aunt lives in Sebring, Lynne - pretty place. My Mom is down there visiting her twin sister for a couple of months, so if you see 2 tiny little 83 year old twins (4'11" and 5') driving around......GET OUT OF THE WAY!

dorothy

I live in Miami and every year they say, "this is going to be an active hurricane season."

They just want everyone to be prepared in case one does come your way.

Personally, I don't cruise during hurricane season. I really need to be home to get things prepared in case one hits. My cruise months are Dec though May.