Lcjr2002

I am also on the Sky set to leave 9/8. I just called (Tuesday morning) at 8 am PST and still no update. I think we are just going to "go for it" because I highly doubt the cruise will be cancelled. If not, we lose everything because we didn't get the insurance.

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It will probably not be cancelled. If you live in an area that can potentially be effected by the track of the hurricane, the smartest thing to do is to go on the cruise ship. Chances are you will have a great time. You will also be protected from any storm.

Having been through this situation 7 times, my advice is to protect your property and sail away. Don't look back.

The chance of the cruise being canceled is very, very slim. Still within the realm of probability but extremely unlikely. I've been in this situation 7 times before. Cruise lines will change itineraries at the last minute if they have to.

if you choose to board, you will be taken to a safe location where the weather is nice. Have been through this 7 times and never had a problem. If you were thinking of evacuating, no better place than aboard the ship.

I've been following the storm for the past few days and I think it's still way too early for Norwegian or anyone else to decide anything in regards to the cruise. By Wednesday or Thursday night we could be looking at a completely different track for the storm. I mean, just compare the current track from the one they were predicting this past weekend. Still, even if the storm keeps its current track it will be very unlikely that they'll cancel this sailing. By Friday night the storm is still predicted to be passing to the north of Haiti and Eastern Cuba. That's way too far from Miami to have any effect on operations at the Port of Miami. Saturday sailings will be a different story. At most they'll have the ship leave a little earlier on Friday and theyll definitely change the ports of call (I'm thinking 2 sea days or a stop in Cozumel) but the cruise won't be cancelled. The storm should also have cleared out of South Florida by Monday morning so I think at worst the ship might come in a little later in the morning/afternoon but they won't want to disrupt the next sailing either.

I agree this assessment is correct.

If the dates are changed you will either get a refund or full credit toward another cruise sailing. The cruise line has to be the one doing the rescheduling for that to apply. They can change itineraries without refund. In fact many times itinerary changes are not announced until you're actually on board the cruise ship. If itineraries are changed you are entitled to some refund for the port so members of your party will be refunded $10 - $20 depending on the port. If you purchased an excursion through the cruise line you will be reimbursed for that as well since that port is going to be skipped.

If there is a problem getting back the cruise ship will remain away from the port. Whenever I have seen this it's usually been out at sea for a day or so. Have seen cases where they stay at a port for longer, sometimes overnight.

Cruise lines lose a lot of money when cruises get cancelled. As such they would do almost anything possible so that it does not happen, while still of course maintaining the utmost safety. Quite honestly, having been in situations like that myself being on board a cruise ship during hurricanes is actually a very safe place to be. Cruise ships will always move away from the storm. If you live in Miami and the hurricane is going to hit, God forbid, getting on the cruise ship is actually a great move. It will be much better than staying home or going to a shelter for sure. The cruise ship will not get back to port until things are safe for passengers to disembark. This will be after the storm has passed, for example. Let's say hypothetically speaking that the port is destroyed or in bad shape and there's no going back in days or weeks, the cruise will dock at an alternate port.

Yes cruises can definitely get canceled and full refunds given. However cruise lines consider this an absolute worst-case scenario. They will do their absolute best go out of their way as much as they can to ensure that cruise sails while still ensuring the safety of the passengers, crew, and the ship itself. Cruise lines have been doing this for many years in the Caribbean so they have a lot of experience handling hurricane problems.

The Sky can do Cozumel. Check what it has done historically in previous years under the same circumstance (last year as an example). The itinerary will be changed to Cozumel, assuming the Bahamas will be impacted.

Keep in mind cruises can travel a lot faster. Selected speeds are a balance between less stress for the engines and fuel efficiency. When circumstances call for it, cruise lines will run the engines faster. This is one of those times.