Bad Weather - Skipping Ports

[beebes]

We are going on the Carnival Miracle in 10 days and I have heard of different cruise ships, and I don't know which cruiseline, but because of bad weather they have been skipping ports. Has anyone who has cruised lately had this happen and if so were you on the Miracle?

 

Thanks for the help.

[bulldogmom]

This can happen with any ship and with any cruise line. Unfortunately the weather doesn't always want to cooperate and the boat can't get docked or the water is too rough to tender in etc..... Personally I've never had this happen on any of the cruises I've been on (and I've went during every part of the year, spring, winter and yes, even hurricane season - - we were out there with Hurricane Lily) but I know that it happens. My aunt and her family took a cruise in September of 2004 and not only did they have to skip ports because of the weather but they had their whole itinerary changed, from Western Caribbean to Eastern Caribbean and then still missed a port on that side. When you cruise (well really with any travelling but especially with cruising) you take a chance that the weather will be bad. As long as you know those risks going in and are okay with some changes then you will still have a blast. There is no way to anticipate what the weather will be like when you cruise time comes.

[cruisecastle]

We are going on the Carnival Miracle in 10 days and I have heard of different cruise ships, and I don't know which cruiseline, but because of bad weather they have been skipping ports. Has anyone who has cruised lately had this happen and if so were you on the Miracle?

 

Thanks for the help.

 

Can happen any time to any ship anywhere. On 10 cruises it has only happened once to me in Costa Rica. This summer I'm doing two 7day cruises on Disney back to back during hurricane season so it might happen to me even though the other two I took during August nothing happened it's very possible

[TinaLee]

Recent cruisers have been reporting a lot of skipped ports, including Grand Cayman and Nassau. In Grand Cayman you must tender, so the seas have to be relatively calm for the tenders to get to and from the ships. In Nassau, the entrance to the channel is VERY tricky in high winds, especially for the large cruise ships. I've missed Nassau several times for this reason. Also, rough seas caused ships to pull in and right back out of Costa Maya recently.

 

This is the chance you take when you cruise. Your captain will always seek clear skies and calm seas as much as possible, but when a storm is just sitting all over the caribbean, there isn't a whole lot they can do!

[Barkingowl]

I haven't missed any ports on my cruises but the stays in port have been shortened.

[kimmimom]

on miracle jan 15-22 and weather was not great in cozumel or belize. still tendered, which made for rough tenders! They had to use the thrusters to keep us in place. but we made it to all ports, although we arrived late in belize (I think it was belize, they closed the port for a while, so we arrived 1.5 hours late).

[Maryandi]

On the Legend this past Nov. had to miss Barbados & Martinique. St. Kitts & Nassau were substituted.

 

Have missed Grand Cayman on other cruises many times.

[beebes]

Thanks Kimmimom, yours was the response that I was looking for. I realize with hurricane season that this happens. My concern was that I was hearing about it most recently and didn't know if it was confined to the Western or Eastern Caribbean cruises. I also appreciate the information about Grand Cayman and Costa Maya, and the reasons there why they were not going into port. I have been watching the weather down in that area and didn't feel that it was a problem, so didn't understand the rash of cancelled ports. Thanks for everyone's input.

[Beach4me]

We were on the Liberty earlier this month and missed Nassau because of very high winds and rough seas. It was kinda amusing to see 3 other ships racing away from Nassau with us. We were compensated $25 per person for missing port.

 

I missed San Juan on an NCL ship years ago. Same reason - but no compensation so I thought Carnival was more than fair.

[LakeErieLady]

Are you able to contact the excursions for that missed port? Or do they give you back any deposit since it was not in your control.

[big_duck]

Are you able to contact the excursions for that missed port? Or do they give you back any deposit since it was not in your

control.

 

For Carnival excursions, you will be refunded right away. As far as third party excursions go, this should be discussed/researched with the company before booking. If they won't guarantee a return of money shop around for someone who will. For example, Godfrey tours in St Thomas doesn't even charge until your tour is over.

[PADutchman]

On the news a report of the Queen Mary , missed several ports of call. For the price you pay on that ship there were alot of unhappy cruisers.