Rain out

[neilbuono19]

Our cruise is 3 days out and we have an 80% chance of rain in both Key West and Cozumel.  Has anyone felt with this and what does RC do with excursions that are already purchased?

PS - I understand weatherman are wrong a lot and this could change.

[Biker19]

Bring rain gear.

[Clarea]

2 minutes ago, neilbuono19 said:

Our cruise is 3 days out and we have an 80% chance of rain in both Key West and Cozumel.  Has anyone felt with this and what does RC do with excursions that are already purchased?

PS - I understand weatherman are wrong a lot and this could change.

 

No refunds for rain.  You must cancel 48 hours in advance of the excursion to get onboard credit.

[island lady]

We went on an excursion that dumped buckets of rain on a boat tour.  This was a small boat that had no cover.  We got drenched.  Was not a fun day.  

 

Had another tour booked that the operator cancelled themselves due to bad weather, so in that case we got a refund credit on our sea pass account.  

 

Best you can do is hope the tour operator cancels, otherwise....yeah..no refunds.  

[grest]

On Carnival we went to the excursion desk one hour before an excursion...it was raining cats and dogs and we wanted to cancel.  To my happy surprise, they simply refunded our money.  I was greatly impressed.

 

Edited November 23, 2018 by grest
adding info

[Pratique]

Talk to someone at the Excursions Desk as early as possible and maybe they can accommodate you somehow. You never know but it's worth a try.

 

Or cancel now and rebook on board if the forecast improves.

Edited November 23, 2018 by Pratique

[Clarea]

12 minutes ago, Pratique said:

Talk to someone at the Excursions Desk as early as possible and maybe they can accommodate you somehow. You never know but it's worth a try.

 

Or cancel now and rebook on board if the forecast improves.

 

I don't think the OP can cancel now as they are within 72 hours of the cruise.

[Biker19]

23 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

 

I don't think the OP can cancel now as they are within 72 hours of the cruise.

I thought RCI has moved the lockout of the planner transactions closer to the sailing date - like 24 hrs?

Edited November 23, 2018 by Biker19

[DramaQueen22]

I was in Cozumel in September, it was the only day of rain for the whole cruise!  Excursions went as planned, and folks had the option to cancel on board for a refund (it was a CCL ship).  Bring an umbrella or a rain poncho and try to make the best of it!  Have fun.

[ZoeyVictoria]

29 minutes ago, island lady said:

We went on an excursion that dumped buckets of rain on a boat tour.  This was a small boat that had no cover.  We got drenched.  Was not a fun day.  

 

Had another tour booked that the operator cancelled themselves due to bad weather, so in that case we got a refund credit on our sea pass account.  

 

Best you can do is hope the tour operator cancels, otherwise....yeah..no refunds.  

 

I once booked a snorkeling excursion in Nassau that should have been canceled by the operator due to high winds, instead they just moved the location to an area very lightly protected from the wind. Don't count on the tour operator cancelling, I don't think it happens very often.

[Pratique]

5 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

I though RCI has moved the lockout of the planner transactions closer to the sailing date - like 24 hrs?

Me too, at least for excursion cancellations for the first couple of days of the cruise.

[Clarea]

7 minutes ago, Pratique said:

Me too, at least for excursion cancellations for the first couple of days of the cruise.

 

Once you are on the cruise, they want 48-hour notice to cancel.  Sometimes they will let that slide if there are folks on the waitlist.

[neilbuono19]

5 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

 

Once you are on the cruise, they want 48-hour notice to cancel.  Sometimes they will let that slide if there are folks on the waitlist.

48 hours from date of sail or date of excursion?

[Clarea]

2 minutes ago, neilbuono19 said:

48 hours from date of sail or date of excursion?

48 hours prior to the start of the excursion.

[Pratique]

Maybe you can try calling them today and ask whether it is still possible to cancel or rebook another excursion.

[neilbuono19]

 

Thank you everyone

[cb at sea]

They won't cancel most things simply because of rain....now if there's an electrical storm, they will cancel water excursions.

[spookwife]

3 hours ago, neilbuono19 said:

Our cruise is 3 days out and we have an 80% chance of rain in both Key West and Cozumel.  Has anyone felt with this and what does RC do with excursions that are already purchased?

PS - I understand weatherman are wrong a lot and this could change.

 

 

many excursions go on regardless of weather.  if you choose to not go anyway, then you do NOT get refunded.  only if the  excursion is canceled are you given OBC.  we had 30 degree temps on Christmas Eve in Key West once.   our water tour went on as scheduled.  a few people bailed then pitched fits later because they weren't refunded.   yes we were cold and bundled up but the tour operator provided hot coffee and cocoa instead of cold sodas and we got to see a few critters, including some river otters which hadn't been seen in  many months   

 

 

[gatour]

6 hours ago, spookwife said:

 

 

many excursions go on regardless of weather.  if you choose to not go anyway, then you do NOT get refunded.  only if the  excursion is canceled are you given OBC.  we had 30 degree temps on Christmas Eve in Key West once.   our water tour went on as scheduled.  a few people bailed then pitched fits later because they weren't refunded.   yes we were cold and bundled up but the tour operator provided hot coffee and cocoa instead of cold sodas and we got to see a few critters, including some river otters which hadn't been seen in  many months   

 

 

You actually saw river otters on a excursion out of Key West?  From my understanding they are not found in the Keys.

[Biker19]

According to the national weather service the coldest ever recorded temp in Key West was 41F.

[lbjen]

You need to see the hourly forecast. It can rain for 10 minutes at 7am and that constitutes rain. 

 

The Key West forecast calls for showers in the morning and possible thunderstorms late afternoon. So you might not see a drop. 

 

The Cozumel forecast says storms in the early morning, and more possibly in the evening. 

Edited November 24, 2018 by lbjen

[island lady]

You can pretty much count on topical showers in the tropics.  The difference is...they come in...and move out quickly.  Unlike the continuous day or two of constant steady gray rain up north that never gives you a break. 

 

There is a saying in Florida also.  If you don't like the weather...wait 5 minutes...it will change.

 

You simply plan on the showers accordingly and bring a travel rain poncho.  Easy to pack.

[sjb317]

22 hours ago, ZoeyVictoria said:

 

I once booked a snorkeling excursion in Nassau that should have been canceled by the operator due to high winds, instead they just moved the location to an area very lightly protected from the wind. Don't count on the tour operator cancelling, I don't think it happens very often.

Our snorkeling excursion in Nassau last year was canceled the morning of due to rainy, cold weather.  I was happy they did as it rained all day and would have been a miserable catamaran sailing. 

 

We went on a snorkeling excursion last week in Key West that should have been cancelled due to rough water. The sailing to and from the site was nice, but the water was way to rough for me, I gave it a try but after a few minutes was tired of getting beat up by the waves.  I’d say about half the people on the excursion either did not get off at all or were only in the water for a short time. 

 

Sherri🙂

[ZoeyVictoria]

2 hours ago, sjb317 said:

Our snorkeling excursion in Nassau last year was canceled the morning of due to rainy, cold weather.  I was happy they did as it rained all day and would have been a miserable catamaran sailing. 

 

We went on a snorkeling excursion last week in Key West that should have been cancelled due to rough water. The sailing to and from the site was nice, but the water was way to rough for me, I gave it a try but after a few minutes was tired of getting beat up by the waves.  I’d say about half the people on the excursion either did not get off at all or were only in the water for a short time. 

 

Sherri🙂

 

I know that this is their livelihood, but I wish the tour operators were a bit more conscious of safety and the overall enjoyment of their tours.  We were in Grand Cayman in early October and used Captain Marvin for Stingray City and one snorkel stop.  The water was the roughest I have ever been in (and I grew up on the east coast); I was knocked off my feet more than once while on the stingray sandbar and though I wished it had been nicer for my SO's first visit there, it was worth it for the experience.  But when we got to the snorkeling stop, he didn't even get off the boat and was concerned when he saw me struggling.  Now, sadly,  he doesn't want to go on any more snorkeling trips, so that one trip that was really too rough is going to impact cruising with him for a while at least.

[Tee & Chilli]