Advice From Experienced Hurricane Cruising Expert...

[Lido_Deck]

ME!

Yes, that is correct, Folks. You will be hard pressed to find very many other cruisers that have as much or more hurricane and tropical storm experience while cruising than myself.

 

In December, 2007, when hurricane season was supposedly over, I was on the Carnival Victory bound for an Eastern Caribbean cruise when Tropical Storm Olga just appeared out of nowhere. At the time they called her a Category I Hurricane, but I guess she just didn't quite make the hurricane grade in the end. We had already left port from Miami and Olga was dead ahead in our path, so there was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. The Master skipped port in San Juan and did his best to go around Olga but we had to ride out 40'+ seas. It was a miserable 24 hours and even the crew could be seen sucking on big pieces of ginger root. Barf bags and buckets were positioned everywhere for those that managed to get out of their beds to walk around the ship. The only way to walk down the corridors was to extend both arms and bounce from wall to wall. We made it through the storm and the weather broke bright and clear when we finally made port in St Thomas. Since it was American territory people were dragging their luggage off the ship and boarding planes for home rather than stay on the ship. Too bad they missed the rest of the cruise. It was quite nice and the weather was beautiful.

 

In October, 2012 I was on the Carnival Valor headed for Jamaica...as was Hurricane Sandy. Just as we were reaching the west end of Cuba, a woman was telling me her plans in Jamaica. You should have seen the expression on her face when I told her we weren't going to Jamaica because if we did we would meet Hurricane Sandy head-on. She asked me what were we going to do, so I told her that at any time now the Captain will come on over the PA and tell us we are not going to round Cuba and head to the east. We will instead go to another port such as Cozumel, Costa Maya or Belize. Sure enough, as she sat there in disbelief, the Captain came on the PA and announced that we would be instead heading to Costa Maya rather than Jamaica. That worked just fine for me as Costa Maya (well, Mahahual) is my favorite port in the Caribbean.

 

In September, 2013, as a tropical storm, whose name I cannot recall, was barrelling through South Florida on a Sunday which closed PortMiami. Me, being a very spontaneous person decided to book a 4 Day Bahamas cruise on the Majesty of the Seas going out the very next day as I looked out my patio door watching the palm trees bend over in the wind and sideways rain. The poor folks on the previous weekend cruise didn't make a single port, just cruised around in circles in the rough seas. Boy, were they a bunch of unhappy cruisers when they got off the ship...At 8:00 PM on Monday. Since PortMiami was closed, they could not get back in the morning as scheduled, so we didn't leave port until almost midnight. Because of this late departure, RCCL gave us all a $100 refund even though we had only paid $149 for Single Inside Cabins. It was a nice week and cruise, especially for only $49.

 

This past April I was on a TA cruise to Southampton on the Emerald Princess. After 6 days at sea we were scheduled to make port in Ponta Delgada, Azores, but because a big storm was headed that way, the Captain instead came on the PA and told us we would skip the port and head straight to Lisbon arriving there early and over-nighting. The seas got a bit rough, but nothing like the time with Olga. Arriving in Lisbon the evening before was fine with me because I have been to Ponta Delgada and there is not much there, while Lisbon was beautiful at night.

 

In conclusion...There is no subjective answer in regards to storms and cruising. Every situation is different and the powers that be will make a decision when they feel confident they know what the storm is going to do and what their options are. You just have to wait until the cruise line makes their decision and announces it. No one, and I mean no one knows for sure no matter how much past experience they have had with storms...Not even the Captain himself.

 

 

[Diane123boys]

Thank you so much for taking the time to write this. We are going on next Friday out of Boston to Bermuda. Have all fingers , toes, arms, legs, crossed that it be " no big deal" arrrhhggggh . Glad we booked the spa for the whole week JUST in case the weather is ugly

 

Sent from my SM-N910V using Forums mobile app

[SuiteCruiser]

Lido Deck, please add your future cruises to your signature line, so I can avoid them :) You're like Tom Hanks, don't travel with him, he's got the worst luck!

 

I'm thankful that outside of one really rocky night on the Gem, where everything crashed to the floor, I've had 40 cruises and no weather issues, and yes I do cruise during hurricane season.

 

Thank you for your post!

[Lido_Deck]

Thank you so much for taking the time to write this. We are going on next Friday out of Boston to Bermuda. Have all fingers , toes, arms, legs, crossed that it be " no big deal" arrrhhggggh . Glad we booked the spa for the whole week JUST in case the weather is ugly

 

Sent from my SM-N910V using Forums mobile app

 

By then Matthew will be long gone...unless...

 

http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/hurricane-matthew-may-threaten-us-atlantic-coast-next-week-dangerous-surf/60414938

[Lido_Deck]

Lido Deck, please add your future cruises to your signature line, so I can avoid them :) You're like Tom Hanks, don't travel with him, he's got the worst luck!

 

I'm thankful that outside of one really rocky night on the Gem, where everything crashed to the floor, I've had 40 cruises and no weather issues, and yes I do cruise during hurricane season.

 

Thank you for your post!

 

Yeah, but that's out of 50+ cruises since 2006, 90% of which are during hurricane season.

[biker@sea]

Back in 2008

After watching a video showing NCL Dream Cut in Half in drydock, Getting 100 ft. added to her midship.

 

We sailed dream into this = Quote C.C. member zamboni_ girl,

 

I think it might of been a perfect storm kind of deal for the combination of where and when the Dream was leaving, with a rather large tropical depression to the east of Bermuda. I dont know when the Dawn left, but I believe they were not scheduled to be in Bermuda until Wed, giving them some leway in travel plans, plus leaving a little further south certainly puts the dawn in less of the storm. I am not sure having a bigger ship would of helped, as the cruise ships now sit so high on the water. Having a ship with a deeper hull would of helped but they just dont make them like that anymore.

 

The swells on the Dream were up to 32 feet in height. Twice the bow went under, and the propeller came out of the water. Which is apparently bad. If that kept happening rumoer has it, they would of had to stop the ship and just let us bob in the water. I dont think anyone anticpated the swells of that height. The crew expected a rough ride (about 20ft swells) but not quite what we experienced.

 

After hearing what had happened, i guess it makes sense the decks were all closed. Certainly dont want a passenger fall off in a wave, but I would of liked better pictures of the ride!

 

The dinning staff were friggen CHAMPS that night. It took two hours for dinner, but because of the lack of dishes they had to wash stuff as it came in, and half the kitchen equipment was down so that is why dinner took so long. The people I sat with at dinner had a good time of it. The poor waiter kept appologizing, nothing much he could do about it but I appreciated him at least letting us know why service was taking so long.

 

The shops were all smashed up, booze bottles everywhere, broken glass, it was not until about 4PM on the sea day that stuff started to open. One of my poor room stewards was feeling awful and the cart even fell on her once. TVs were falling everywhere, I heard one fell on some guy's leg. Just about every staff person I talked to would say something to " This is the worst I have ever seen it in X number of years working for NCL". x = number of years that employee worked for NCL.

 

The CC meet and greet was short and with no goodies, mostly for safety reasons. They didnt want tables of hot coffee spilling everywhere. As I heard that a couple of tables did flip while people were sitting at them, and there were numerous chair tippings.

 

Me I was loving it! I mean I wouldnt willingly sign up for a trip like that again, but there wasnt much the staff could do about it and I felt self with such an experienced seaman leading the way. Captain Hoddevick spent 36 hours on the bridge, the entirety of the storm. In the end it makes a heck of a story/ adventure!

__________________

http://www.karenwingerphotography.com/

 

 

 

I sure did pray for Dreams new Welds' to hold up.

After that we were hooked.

 

We have have sail into 3 more hurricane too.

 

Scored a great last minute deal sail into Hurricane Fay only to ride it out @ sea till Bermuda reopen the closed Port .

 

.

Edited October 2, 2016 by biker@sea

[smashedpumpkins]

My wife and I are heading on our third cruise leaving tomorrow to the Bahamas. All 3 have been met with their own issues.

 

Our first was one to remember. (Linked in my sig) I wish I could recall the height of the swells. It was our honeymoon so we had a balcony. My poor wife was sick the entire trip as well as 1/3rd of the crew. Standing on the balcony and looking out was unbelievable. It felt like I was in a live action of "The Perfect Storm". The waves were gigantic. You would walk the hallways and everyone would sink sideways to the wall and then back the other way. They closed the top deck but even from a lower one I could stand in the wind at an incredibly sharp angle.

 

We're ready with the patch and meclizine for tomorrow. Luckilly I dont get sick and my wife has had no side affects from the drugs. I just hope its enough.

[js]

Wow! The Dreamward was my first cruise ever in 1993. My mom and her dh took my dh and me and I was 3-4 months pregnant. My mom had a window and we were in an inside actually on the same deck as some of the crew. I loved it so much! Finally making Platinum after February since we arent brand loyal.

 

 

Anyway, I guess thats why this month cruises are a lot less money than when we sail during regular vacations times, such as NYE and summers, due to kids when they were smaller and my dh job. When my dh retires, I plan on taking full advantage of the lower prices, last minute deals and hope the captain just does his best to stay out of the middle of a storm.

 

Happy sailing all.

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Edited October 2, 2016 by js

[Lido_Deck]

My wife and I are heading on our third cruise leaving tomorrow to the Bahamas. All 3 have been met with their own issues.

 

Our first was one to remember. (Linked in my sig) I wish I could recall the height of the swells. It was our honeymoon so we had a balcony. My poor wife was sick the entire trip as well as 1/3rd of the crew. Standing on the balcony and looking out was unbelievable. It felt like I was in a live action of "The Perfect Storm". The waves were gigantic. You would walk the hallways and everyone would sink sideways to the wall and then back the other way. They closed the top deck but even from a lower one I could stand in the wind at an incredibly sharp angle.

 

We're ready with the patch and meclizine for tomorrow. Luckilly I dont get sick and my wife has had no side affects from the drugs. I just hope its enough.

 

Don't be surprised if you itinerary ends up being a Western Caribbean to Costa Maya or Cozumel, or at least Key West. I just don't see them trying to get to Grand Bahama and Nassau ahead of Matthew, but who knows?

[cruisegal40]

We hit Hurricane Mitch on our Boston to Bermuda cruise. (Our last name is Mitchell) We on the Norw. Majesty. Not a very big ship. We had 40 foot waves on the way down. Barf bags and wet vacs were every where.

[Ivey01]

Oh my gosh we were on that same NCL Dream cruise! We had cruised previously but we brought along a friend who had never cruised before....he has not cruised since! It was a wild ride!

[4774Papa]

We had one cruise in 2014 where are cat 2 hurricane changed our itinerary and more.

 

On the Norwegian Star out of Copenhagen with 2 ports in Norway, Shetland Islands, Faroe Islands, Iceland, Dublin and Glasgow as ports.

 

After one port in Norway (Bergen) the Captain announced that due to a storm (didn't mention hurricanes) we were cancelling Alesund, Norway and the Faroe Island (two ports that we very much wanted to see, and heading on to the Shetland Islands and then Iceland. After that, a port, Belfast, was added to make up for losing the two ports.

 

After the Shetlands, we had two days of high seas, very rough waves, etc. We had waves hitting the ship that were 40 ft high and going to dinner one night, the dining room was almost empty due to so many sick people. The Circ Solet show one night was cancelled. About 1/3 of the crew, we were told was seasick. Barf bags were everywhere.

 

DW and I were fine, we didn't get sick, although the second day, we did lay down on our bed for a couple of hours during the rocking of the ship. DW takes ginger tablets, and I did as well. It is best to start before the cruise.

[mking8288]

Folks along the mid-Atlantic coasts should start reviewing their plans and resources ahead, into the Columbus Day weekend as Matthew continue to spin ... this is hurricane season; and, even when it's off season, emergency preparedness should be second nature ... our relatives on the West Coast always prepared with earthquakes, wild fire & rock/land slides, etc. with little to no warnings.

 

Even if the storm weakened later in the week, those in North Carolina could still be facing major issues, along with SC and VA - http://www.live5news.com/story/33297026/state-emergency-management-moves-to-opcon-4-ahead-of-hurricane-matthew

 

Ten years ago, we're on the Norwegian Crown to Bermuda, when she was just 35,000 tons and it was a pretty rough one, 15' to 20' seas, and at times, 25' or higher that lasted a full day. The following year (2007) wasn't as bad on the Crown again, still many were experiencing motion sickness - and, room service was very busy (completely free then) - MDR was pretty empty at dinner time with the distance horizon rising & falling, waves splashing against the giant windows.

 

August, September & even October are still part of the hurricane season - we missed Sandy in 2012 by a week but sailed the GEM (twice the size of the Crown, even after the Crown as sold & rebuild and lengthened) less than a week later, the NY terminal was still on emergency generator power and lost its heating plant - we left a little late to wait for late arriving NCL Air passengers caught with air traffic delays ... into blinding blizzard-like conditions with wet snow in the beginning of November, directy into the eye of the storm, an incoming Nor-Easter and had a pretty rough ride, 30' plus waves with gale force cross-wind at 50 to 60 knots for 15+ hours, hugging very close to the coast avoiding the worst part of the storm ... by Day 3, beautiful weather as we continue to San Juan, PR. It was nice to put sea legs on dry land, and, it wasn't shaking or moving ... wow ;) :D

Edited October 2, 2016 by mking8288

[RareBird]

Chanced September cruising only few times before and never again. 2011 we got Diverted due to hurricane Katya from Bermuda to Bahamas and did not have a good time. Other times got caught in high seas - it's been really rough on the boat, even for a very experienced cruisers like us. Now we cruise either in May or in December. Better weather and no trouble.

Edited October 2, 2016 by RareBird

[cb at sea]

Respectfully, I hope I'm never on a ship with you! Your hurricane luck.....not my thing!!!!

[Lido_Deck]

Respectfully, I hope I'm never on a ship with you! Your hurricane luck.....not my thing!!!!

 

Ah...Just another adventure.

 

Did I ever tell you about the time I missed the ship in Barcelona at the end of a TA cruise? And since I didn't need my passport to get on and off the ship, I left it in the safe so it would be...safe.

[bluesea777]

My wife and I are heading on our third cruise leaving tomorrow to the Bahamas. All 3 have been met with their own issues.

 

Our first was one to remember. (Linked in my sig) I wish I could recall the height of the swells. It was our honeymoon so we had a balcony. My poor wife was sick the entire trip as well as 1/3rd of the crew. Standing on the balcony and looking out was unbelievable. It felt like I was in a live action of "The Perfect Storm". The waves were gigantic. You would walk the hallways and everyone would sink sideways to the wall and then back the other way. They closed the top deck but even from a lower one I could stand in the wind at an incredibly sharp angle.

 

We're ready with the patch and meclizine for tomorrow. Luckilly I dont get sick and my wife has had no side affects from the drugs. I just hope its enough.

 

If you are going on SKY, you're going to Key West and Cozumel :).

[keeponcruising]

Lido Deck, please add your future cruises to your signature line, so I can avoid them :) You're like Tom Hanks, don't travel with him, he's got the worst luck!

 

I'm thankful that outside of one really rocky night on the Gem, where everything crashed to the floor, I've had 40 cruises and no weather issues, and yes I do cruise during hurricane season.

 

Thank you for your post!

 

I was thinking the exact same thing.

[ilovetotravel1977]

I just a search for November cruising and found this thread...

 

I'm looking at a Western Caribbean for the first week of November. With exception to some possible rain/wind, would we be okay missing 99% of hurricane season? Or should I be looking at the Eastern Caribbean to be even safer?

[gingersvp]

I just a search for November cruising and found this thread...

 

I'm looking at a Western Caribbean for the first week of November. With exception to some possible rain/wind, would we be okay missing 99% of hurricane season? Or should I be looking at the Eastern Caribbean to be even safer?

 

As a Floridian this thread confused me until I looked at the post dates. I actually stopped to check the weather and couldn't figure out how there could be a storm this early that I hadn't heard about yet!

 

Storms in November are very rare. I mean, it can happen but it's highly unusual. I wouldn't worry about it.

[4774Papa]

We ran into a Cat 2 hurricane in the North Sea on the NCL Star out of Copenhagen in Fall 2014. The Captain cancelled the port calls in Alesund, Norway and Faroe, Islands.

 

We endured two days of huge waves, high winds and 45 ft. waves. We had a cabin on deck 8 and the top of waves were hitting our deck.

 

One night we went to dinner in the MDR with a few friends, some were to sick to join us. The MDR was about half full. Barf bags were laid out everywhere, including each stairwell. We hear that 1/4 of the crew was sea sick, including many passengers.

 

DW and I were good, we didn't get seasick, but the second day, we largely stayed in our cabin and read our books.