I'm kind of worried.......
About This Page:

Cherylsue · 06-04-2010, 08:07 AM

I live in Florida and have been monitoring the oil spill situation in the Gulf because of it's impact on the environment and on my state's economy. BP is saying they probably won't be able to stop the flow of oil into the gulf until around December and oil has already been spotted 4 miles off of Pensacola Beach. On top of all of that the oil is now getting caught in the Loop Current that travels from the Gulf, around the Keys and into the Atlantic and Caribbean. This story has a great model that shows the flow of the Loop Current.

washingtonpost.com

Now I have a cruise scheduled for December.....I know it's 6 months away but what will Disney do if there is oil all in the Atlantic? Or even at Castaway Cay?????

I'm really worried about this and was wondering if any travel agents or anyone knew what would be a solution to people who have travel plans...... Am I just over-reacting?

Thanks.

Disneydiana · 06-04-2010, 08:26 AM

Those are great questions. I wonder if Disney will make any itinerary changes. Or have they started take any preventative measures at CC?

honeybee723 · 06-04-2010, 08:32 AM

I never even thought about that!!! This is just such a horrible thing and hopefully they will get it under control before it even gets to that extreme, but maybe that's just wishful thinking on my part.

If it were me I would give DCL a call just to see what the preventative measure would be for a situation like this since it's not a normal occurance.

jimmymac · 06-04-2010, 08:47 AM

All the forecast models have the oil moving north of the Caribbean cruise areas if it ever gets to that

mouseclub4 · 06-04-2010, 08:56 AM

OMG....Great question...I don't sail until May but yes I would worry too and would call dcl to find out if they have any plan as of yet and would keep up with a follow up call or calls as it plays out. It bugs me that bp has not stopped the leak yet and I hope they find away sooner than later it has gone on to long already.

modisney · 06-04-2010, 10:07 AM

This is such a sad event and I would hope that this model is a worst case prediction but I saw something similar this morning on the Today Show. With so many cruise ships sailing out of eastern Florida ports it seems to make sense that they'll have to sail through some yucky water if indeed the oil does spread as this model shows. There's probably not much that can be done to prevent that. I would also think that Disney is proactive enough and committed to CC's environment enough that they will come up with some sort of plan if they feel the oil will go that way. Prayers and pixies to all those affected and wishes for happy sailings for all!

**Dave Marx** · 06-05-2010, 12:12 PM

That was just one of six different scenario simulations by UCAR, and the most extreme case. You can see far more, direct from the source: Oil Spill Animations | UCAR The other scenarios show far less incursion into the Bahamas, though there's no avoiding the impact on the north/south shipping route parallel to the Florida coast. Itineraries due for the Eastern Caribbean will pass through quickly, but the Western Caribbean and Bahamas itineraries may have little chance to avoid substantial contact. That may require more frequent visits to drydock to clean the hull, which would mean the cancellation of a couple of itineraries.

The "good" news for DCL cruisers is that the only DCL destination seriously affected in the simulation is Key West - in-town activities shouldn't be impacted, but who knows what'll happen to the shore excursions (sailing, eco adventures, etc.). In the Western Caribbean, Cozumel and Grand Cayman are well south. The Eastern Caribbean islands are not affected at all. At its greatest extent, the projection shows some penetration due south of Grand Bahama island (which is generally where the ships circle during the day at sea on 4- and 5-night itineraries), but there isn't penetration as far east as Great Abaco island, which is just east of Castaway Cay. (On the maps, the two largest islands at the north end of the Bahamas are Grand Bahama on the west, and Great Abaco Island on the east. Nassau is well out of range in the south.) Note that the slick is projected to be quite thin (heavy concentrations are in red, the lightest in beige).

Compared to the disastrous consequences for other places (including other popular cruising home ports like Tampa, New Orleans, and Galveston) and the health of the Gulf's ecosystem, DCL would be getting off pretty light. The Wonder will be on the West Coast starting in January, the Magic can spend additional time in Europe and the Southern Caribbean.

singhsongs · 06-07-2010, 12:31 PM

In full disclosure I am a travel agent. I was in a meeting just this morning about travel situations like this and the volcanic ash cloud.

Though at this point your plans are seemingly unaffected. I think it would be in your best interest to purchase insurance. I do not recommend insurance through Disney, first of all most of the CM's are not knowledgeable about their own plans. I usually get transferred and escalated to the outside department and even then things are grey.

I have worked with Travel Guard for several years and they have some of the best basic coverage plans available. I suggest you visit their website.

I want to add the reason for this meeting we had today was because we had several issues with clients who had their own insurance that traveled to Europe during the ash cloud. It was deemed a "preexisiting condition" with some providers thus they were not covered in the event of delay, etc.

Travel Guard and a few other companies I know of treats this as a "new condition" after each time the flights return to normal. They are handling the oil spill in a similar light. So if there are closures etc. you will be covered. They also have a cancel for any reason rider that in this case I would recommend. Usually Disney will change course and notify you within a very short period of time.

I would also recommend USAA travel insurance if you or someone you are traveling with are a member. I personally use them because for me their plans are cheaper. The folks there are pretty knowledgeable, but it's been a few months since I have used them and I really didn't have concerns like the above mentioned scenarios so you might want to ask them some worst case scenarios when you get basic information.

Whoever you go with do your homework and read your reviews. I find often times that people really post reviews when they have a bad experience so I usually look at dates to see what the more recent reviews have said.

Starbright · 06-08-2010, 06:15 PM

I have been in tears over this whole oil spill!!!!! I can't even watch stuff about it and I tell my hubby only to tell me when good things happen...so far, he hasn't said anything darn!

So, how far ahead would you book a cruise at this point? We are looking at April 2011. We decided on the cruise after the idea of swimming in the Gulf on the Florida side was too chancey for us.

I am praying that somehow, someway, that this will be stopped. I could get on my soap box but I am sure that alot of people are as outraged as I am, so I won't

holly40 · 06-09-2010, 12:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by singhsongs

I do not recommend insurance through Disney, first of all most of the CM's are not knowledgeable about their own plans. I usually get transferred and escalated to the outside department and even then things are grey..

I have purchased the Disney insurance for our February cruise. Should I not have ?I just went with that because I didn' see any reason not to. If for some reason ( oil or otherwise ) its cancelled, would I not be covered??? Now I'm worried.....

**Dave Marx** · 06-09-2010, 02:15 PM

The big disadvantage with the Disney policy is that it only covers air travel-related delays (missing the boat, among them), if you have also booked your airfare with Disney. So, if you're flying and book your own airfare, and especially if you're flying during the winter months when snowstorms can disrupt air travel throughout the country, use a third-party policy. InsureMyTrip.com gives you a choice of policies, from a variety of different companies.

holly40 · 06-09-2010, 02:49 PM

Thanks Dave. We decided against booking air thru Disney. However have no flights set up yet. I'm waiting forJet Blues to come out.......which by the way ... the wait is KILLING me !!!

We had planned on flying in at least a day ( if not 2 ) early.

I looked into different insurance before booking and to be honest , had no idea what I was looking at while on the site. Any suggestions on what I should be looking for in terms coverage/amounts?

lh1217 · 06-09-2010, 11:15 PM

I was wondering if anyone has purchased travel insurance through AAA. If so, is their policy good? I decided against the Disney insurance , but was thinking of booking through AAA since they are the ones who booked the cruise for me.

holly40 · 06-10-2010, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lh1217

I was wondering if anyone has purchased travel insurance through AAA. If so, is their policy good? I decided against the Disney insurance , but was thinking of booking through AAA since they are the ones who booked the cruise for me.

My AAA agent told me to go with the Disney Ins, and not AAA. She told me AAA was expensive, and not as good as Disney. Who knows if it was good advice!! I'm now second guessing my choice.....

lh1217 · 06-10-2010, 12:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by holly40

My AAA agent told me to go with the Disney Ins, and not AAA. She told me AAA was expensive, and not as good as Disney. Who knows if it was good advice!! I'm now second guessing my choice.....

That is funny because my AAA agent told me that the Disney insurance wasn't as good and that AAA covered more. Now I am not sure what to do either!