Carnival Alerts Guests to Be Cautious of Tropical Storm Flossie
With Tropical Storm Flossie now churning away in the eastern Pacific Ocean on track toward the Baja Peninsula, Carnival Cruise Line has alerted guests aboard Carnival Panorama about the possibility of itinerary changes.
To be clear, there are no changes for the ship at the moment. Carnival Panorama is currently sailing a 6-night Mexican Riviera itinerary that departed Long Beach, California on Sunday, June 29.
The highlight of the sailing is to be a double visit to Cabo San Lucas, at the tip of the Baja Peninsula. The ship will visit first on Tuesday, July 1, before leaving for the overnight hours, but will return on Wednesday, July 2, for another day of Mexican fiesta fun.
Due to the storm’s influence, however, that second visit may have difficulty, which is why guests have to be cautious depending on their plans ashore.
The ship’s captain has updated guests onboard about the situation, ensuring them about safety along the way.
“In partnership with our Fleet Operations Center in Miami we are actively monitoring Tropical Storm Flossie which has formed in the Pacific,” the letter delivered to guests’ staterooms read. “The storm is forecasted to move in a northwesterly direction over the next few days and it is possible that our itinerary will be affected.”
“While we are expecting to safely visit Cabo San Lucas on Tuesday, July 1, it is possible that we will not be able to keep the second visit to the destination, which is for Wednesday, July 2.”
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The letter goes on to emphasize that there is no confirmed change to the ship’s itinerary at this time, but this is just a forewarning that such an adjustment might be necessary.
Carnival Cruise Line’s brand ambassador, John Heald, likewise shared the message but also issued a further precaution to guests onboard Carnival Panorama.
Could Guests Be Left Behind?
Because the ship is scheduled to have two consecutive calls to Cabo San Lucas, guests can have a bit of a unique situation.
Heald notes that guests often ask him if they can stay ashore overnight on this type of visit and just return to the ship on the second day, before the sail away time of course.
“People write to me all the time saying ‘Can we do this, can we stay in Cabo overnight and join the ship on the second day that she is there?’” he said. “Yes, of course you can. But two things – you must tell the Guest Services desk at least 24 hours before you intend to do that.”
He goes on to note that if the weather is poor on the second day, the ship will not be returning as planned.
“If the ship doesn’t come back because of bad weather, that’s you stuck, that’s you finished, because you cannot get back to the ship,” he said. “If the weather is too bad, the ship will not come back for the second day.”
Heald explains that Cabo San Lucas is a water shuttle port, using small tender boats to ferry guests from the cruise ship to shore. Those small boats cannot safely be run at night and that is why the ship leaves for the overnight hours.
Poor weather, such as from Tropical Storm Flossie – could mean the water is too rough for tender boats to operate, which could leave overnight guests stranded ashore.
This would mean that guests would need to pay their own expenses to meet up with the ship at the next port of call. Carnival Panorama is scheduled to visit Ensenada on Thursday, July 4, roughly 740 miles northwest of Cabo San Lucas.
According to the National Hurricane Center, Tropical Storm Flossie is located roughly 700 miles southeast of Cabo San Lucas, moving northwest at 10 miles per hour with maximum sustained winds of 50 miles per hour.
The storm is expected to strengthen into hurricane status over the next day or two and continue on her northwestward track, likely reaching the Baja peninsula toward the end of the week.
Rough water and waves could reach the area well before the storm’s center, however, and Carnival Cruise Line will continue to closely monitor local weather to keep Carnival Panorama well away from risk.
Carnival Alerts Guests to Be Cautious of Tropical Storm Flossie