Is it a bad idea? 10/16/11

[Enoonmai]

My fiance and I are planning our first cruise as a honeymoon, abroad CCL's Valor. The sail date is 10/16/11 for a Western Caribbean cruise. My question is how bad can the weather get? We've already paid and now the concept of hurricanes has sprung to mind. I'd really hate to spend that kind of money and not hit the ports of call that we paid for. Should I consider a different cruise? I'm really nervous about this so any advice would be great.

[Essiesmom]

Remember, every ship sailing in the Caribbean at that time runs the same risk. Your ship will sail, you might get your itinerary rearranged, sometimes they do it backward, or miss a port. If you read your cruise contract, you paid for a cruise, but they have the option to change the ports for any reason. Don't stress over what probably won't happen. EM

[Enoonmai]

Thank you for your reply. I suppose your right, I'm just nervous. This is my first marriage , first time at sea, and first time out of the country ( besides military deployment) . Just a little overwhelming. But since you have mom at the end of your screen name I believe I can trust you:) thanks again.

[trish1c]

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding & HM.

There's a saying on this board -- hurricannes happen. There's nothing you can do about it. Being in the military you know the best laid plans can go awry.

It's your HM. Who cares what port you're in? You & your new husband will be together. It will be an adventure. The ship will still have all of it's bells & whistles & you will still have fun. Plus if it all goes "wrong" you will have a great story to tell your kids & symbolically you will know your marriage can weather the tough times.

October is also late in the season so you should be OK.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

Congratulations on your upcoming marriage.

Hurricanes are still around in October.

I know -- we cruised out of Tampa last year -- first part of our cruise was to have been a western Caribbean cruise. But within hours of our leaving Key West -- we were headed east. Hurricane Paula changed our itinerary. We didn't mind -- we have been to all those ports many times. We just went with the flow.

[bus man]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

Congratulations on your upcoming marriage.

 

Hurricanes are still around in October.

 

I know -- we cruised out of Tampa last year -- first part of our cruise was to have been a western Caribbean cruise. But within hours of our leaving Key West -- we were headed east. Hurricane Paula changed our itinerary. We didn't mind -- we have been to all those ports many times. We just went with the flow.

 

I too sailed out of Tampa last October on a Western Caribbean itinerary, presumably a few days before you did. We stayed to the south of Hurricane Paula, and made all our ports as scheduled. But we were told that several other ships had to be diverted. The upside, for us, was that we were the only ship in port at two of our stops, and one of only two ships at another; so the crowds were much lower than they otherwise would have been!

 

To the OP, the point is that things do happen that aren't necessarily planned in advance. Krazy Kruizers' advice is spot on: just go with the flow. Your cruise will happen, and you'll have a great time. Count on it!

[mollyme123]

October is also late in the season so you should be OK.

 

When is hurricane season "officially" over?

[Marie51]

I have cruised in October and it rained the entire week. I have also cruised in Oct and had beautiful sunny weather all week. It's the chance you take cruising during hurricane season.

[6rugrats]

When is hurricane season "officially" over?

Hurrican season in the Caribbean runs from 1st June through 30 November. But, that date is not set in stone! We went on a cruise the second week in December a few years ago, ran into a tropical storm and missed our first port stop, and had only a couple hours at the second.

 

There are no guarantees; you just have to go with it and have fun anyway.

[shipgeeks]

And sometimes rough weather, on a ship, can be fun! Romantic! Adventure!

Best wishes for the cruise, and your lives together.

[navybankerteacher]

Thank you for your reply. I suppose your right, I'm just nervous. This is my first marriage , first time at sea, and first time out of the country ( besides military deployment) . Just a little overwhelming. But since you have mom at the end of your screen name I believe I can trust you:) thanks again.

 

The odds are actually pretty good that you will not experience a hurricane any given week -- even if the six-month season resulted in ten hurricanes - an unusually high number (which only ruin a couple of days in any particular area) that works out to perhaps 20 bad days out of 180. and even if there was a hurricane in your path, you would just go to other ports -- so for your first time at sea you would still be going some place you've never seen - which could be better than something on the original itinerary.

 

Finally, you are kicking off your new life with your partner -- at sea - with a slim chance of a change in route ---- have a great time --- and congratulations.

[MSRussell]

You could check weather.com and type in where you interested in. They can show you what it will be like up to 10 days in advance.

 

You will have a wonderful time..

Melanie

 

[mamasue]

We've done 11 cruises..... 8 of them in the hurricane season.

The only problem we ever had was one day.... we couldn't tender to the private island...... no big deal!!

Forget the weather, have a wonderful wedding and a great honeymoon..... your first cruise is always the one you remember best!!

Ohhh and.... the Valor was our first cruise....... wonderful ship !!!

[carolmacey]

Thank you for your reply. I suppose your right, I'm just nervous. This is my first marriage , first time at sea, and first time out of the country ( besides military deployment) . Just a little overwhelming. But since you have mom at the end of your screen name I believe I can trust you:) thanks again.

 

You should feel even better seeing that Essie'smom has over 6000 posts to her credit. Also, having sailed with Essie and her mom, I can vouch for her knowledge of sailing. Have a great honeymoon. Why are you worried about the weather anyway? You know you won't come out of your cabin for the first 3 days.

[Enoonmai]

Carol, I hope your right :) . The reason for my concern is that I promised we would swim with dolphins. I have never broken my word to her, and plan not to do so. This being said I underestimated weather as an opposing factor, I'll just have to work around it. Its Not a problem, just a challenge. Thank you all for you kind words and encouragement.