Royal Caribbean shares another hurricane warning for Florida

While cruise lines can’t prevent the weather, they can stay ahead of it. Sometimes this can be easier than others, but all cruise lines use weather services to help them make informed decisions about where to send ships and when to make changes.

This was evident during the recent Hurricane Helene, when several cruise lines, including Margaritaville at Sea and Carnival, had to keep ships sailing out of Tampa offshore. No cruise line wants to do that.

Related: Royal Caribbean issues warning to passengers, travel agents

Passengers have booked flights and childcare and pet care issues, while some simply want to get back to work. But in each case, the cruise line will make the safest choice possible, even if it is forced to cancel ports, delay departures or returns, and even cancel some cruises altogether.

However, cruise lines are not magicians. They employ meteorologists in some cases and subscribe to the best information services available. but the weather changes and that means all plans for a few days are liable to change.

This can be frustrating for passengers, but the safety of everyone on board will always be the top priority.

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Cruise lines move their ships out of harm’s way, but they can’t always avoid bad weather.

Image Credit: Matthew Frankel/Come Cruise With Me

Watch the weather change

Royal Caribbean’s weather efforts are led by its full-time meteorologist Craig Stetzer. In leading his team, one of the cruise line chief meteorologist’s key responsibilities is to stay ahead of the curve.

On October 5, he began sharing what he was seeing in a storm that had recently developed.

“Saturday morning finds the disturbance in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico becoming much more organized overnight and the computer models locking into a more consolidated solution. Unfortunately, that solution appears to have a potentially significant impact for Florida. it moves eastward reaching Florida by midweek. Models also indicate the possibility of a strong hurricane by the time it makes landfall in Florida,” he posted on X, formerly Twitter.

This news was also reported by WPTV in South Florida.

“An area of ​​low pressure is expected to form in the western Gulf of Mexico. The National Hurricane Center gives it a 90% chance of developing in the future. If it becomes a tropical storm, the next name is Milton,” you know. the channel shared a 4:19 pm on October 4.

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Here’s how Royal Caribbean plans

Stetzer doesn’t just monitor the weather, he follows a careful model to plan what might happen and how the cruise line will need to respond.

“We always plan for the possibility of a hurricane on a timeline. We plan step by step knowing at any moment, we can pause our preparations if things change and the storm is no longer headed our way,” he said.

The biggest problem would be waiting and hoping for the best.

“One thing we never want to do is catch ourselves waiting until the last minute to prepare. Since the impact of the storm will likely occur on Wednesday, our timeline will be to complete all outdoor activities by Tuesday at sunset,” he https://x.com/CraigSetzer/status/1842583348301926900 said.

This advice applies to people living in Florida, not just for Royal Caribbean needs.

“Right now, the certainty is that Florida is under threat, but we don’t know exactly where, so we have to prepare over a larger part of the peninsula. On the west/southwest coast of Florida & Keys and east/southeast coastal areas. with boats or near the water, I would advance my timeline slightly and take advantage of home and boat preparations on Sunday,” he added.

The current storm is developing and Stetzer is openly sharing information that will be helpful to anyone who needs (or at least hopes) to reach a port in Florida the week of October 6th.

READ ALSO: The best travel agents tell you how to get the best price on your cruise

“The first advisory on TD 14 is out, the arrival of tropical storm conditions is what you plan your preparations for. The entire Florida peninsula could see impacts, with the most significant on the west coast. Plan to have all outdoor preparations completed by Tuesday. sunset, including shutters if necessary on the West Coast,” he shared. “Remember to stay nimble in your thinking, hurricane forecasts can and often do change. Don’t get hung up on this first advisory, stay informed and be ready to change your plan if necessary.”

Royal Caribbean (and all cruise lines) will use email and social media to inform passengers of any changes to their itineraries.

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