What do the cruise lines do if a Hurricane is coming?

[clementyne]

We are sailing out of Tampa on the 19th of June for my DD's high school graduation, and now that they've announced that we are going to have a rather "busy" hurricane season, I'm wondering what happens if one should be threatening while we're cruising.

 

Do the ships just divert? Do they cancel? If they cancel the trip, do the cruise lines just reschedule it for another week?

 

Has anyone ever been affected by a hurricane? Please share your experiences! Thanks!

 

Clem.

[yogimax]

We had a five night trip on Imagination when a hurricane threatened and ultimately hit Miami.

 

Safety is primary. The captain changed Ocho Rios to Cozumel and then sat off the Cuban coast in complete safety.

 

Because the hurricane did hit the port in Miami, we were FORCED to endure two additional FREE days onboard.

 

Not too shabby!

[aqusis]

I think on 06/19/2010 you'll probably be safe. That's a bit early for a major storm to pop up; not impossible but unlikely. We've had lots of hurricane related diversions over the years. Several itinerary changes, both missed and changed ports. Worst was in 2004 damage to Pt. Canaveral precluded the Mariner of the Seas from porting there. So royal caribbean bused us all from Canaveral to Miami and we boarded in Miami-but we came back to Canaveral. Kind of a logistical mess as some folks had taken the shuttle when embarking but some had driven/flown to Miami and were not returned there. They did offer shuttle service back to Miami but still made for difficult travel for some folks.

 

They will not put you in danger so no worries there.

[AZVoodoo]

Our Western Caribbean trip was diverted backwards. We were scheduled Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Ocho Rios. Because of the path of the hurricane we ended up doing Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman and then Cozumel. The only thing it messed up was a shore excursion in Cayman where the SNUBA was not available due to us being there a day early. Still was able to do the snorkeling/sting ray city. Carnival did refund the cost of the SNUBA.

[basser]

We left on the Ecstacy out of Galveston the afternoon before Ike hit the next morning. Our port was changed from Cozumel to Vera Cruz. We returned to New Orleans instead of Galveston. Got a 6 day cruze for the price of a 4 day. We drove back to Dallas from New Orleans.

[MrPete]

They sail around them.

[firefly333]

The hurricane's strength is determined by the warmth of the waters it is crossing. June would be unlikely to have a storm cross warm enough waters to become a hurricane.

 

August and Sept are more typically the worst months, though the water can stay warm longer, June is awfully early to be worrying.

[mclinns04]

We went out of New Orleans on the Conquest a month before Katrina. The "A" storm was hitting Grand Cayman when we go there. They waved us off. All we got was a movie and $25 per person OBC. I wouldn't have minded an extra day or two.

[CalmCruiserNC]

This happened on our most recent cruise aboard the Splendor, when we had a potential close encounter with Hurricane Jemina. I cover it in detail in my review, which you can reach at the link in my signature block.

 

But to make a long story short, our Captain decided to stay north of the storm, meaning our Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan ports were being replaced with Catalina Island and Ensenada. We were given a $50pp OBC and a certificate for 25% off of our next cruise. The seas for the entire cruise were as calm as clam could be -- just amazing.

 

Meanwhile, the Captain of the Mariner of the Seas, which left Long Beach at the same time as Splendor on the same itinerary, decided to plow full steam ahead, visited all three ports -- but the passengers we met in Cabo said it was mighty rough sailing for a few days.

 

I'm sharing this mostly to say that it is ultimately the Captain's decision whether to sail or not (I'm sure in consultation with the "powers that be"). In our case, a conservative captain chose to change the itinerary and avoid the hurricane altogether.

 

Had we been SoCal locals and didn't feel like going to Ensenada and Catalina Island AGAIN, we could have also chosen to cancel on the spot with no penalty.