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Russian Roulette Season in full swing

ticketsunlimited

By ticketsunlimited,
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ticketsunlimited

ticketsunlimited

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Posted

Okay like last year my wife and I booked our cruise out of Boston heading to Bermuda.  Last year we sailed between 2 hurricanes that make it through the Atlantic with only high seas to deal with.  We sail Sunday 9/22 and as we all know Humberto will glance Bermuda tonight.  Now we have Jerry stirring up and  heading west with all of the spaghetti strands pointing to Bermuda (obviously could change) for a Tuesday/Wednesday arrival.   We are do to arrive in Bermuda Wednesday.

There are so many New England cruises running in the area so I am hoping that if they change itineraries (which I suspect will happen) it wont bring us from Boston back to our house in Portland Maine.  I am hoping all the ports are full up this way.

If that is the case what do you all think could be a feasible option for Serenade to sail to?  I fully understand its hurricane season and its out of their hands what the weather brings.  We are prepared to sail regardless.  Its a seven day sailing 9/22-9/29 Boston-Bermuda-Boston.  Booked again so we could bring my 80 year old parents who have never been to Bermuda.

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leaveitallbehind

leaveitallbehind

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Hard to say with that being a single destination intended cruise, there aren't too many options to choose from with short notice changes.  That being said I would suspect an early fall New England / Canada route may be in play - not sure where else would be viable.  But hopefully you won't have any changes as this typically is a good time to visit Bermuda.

Edited by leaveitallbehind
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mayleeman

mayleeman

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@ticketsunlimited Our timeshare at Atlantis in the Bahamas is in the fall. Twice when we have gone swimming at the public beach, we have met families whose cruises to Bermuda were diverted to Nassau because of hurricanes. One group was thrilled, but the other had been to the Bahamas 4 years in a row and had wanted Bermuda for something different, so they were annoyed.

 

With the Bahamas desperately trying to get more tourist dollars, I wouldn't be surprised if that is where you might go. If you have never been there, you can go to the water park for ~ the price of a day at Disney.  Great slides, great pools, nice tot area. We love it, and the aquarium, and the beaches. Others don't like it, so YMMV! (There are other resorts in Nassau, so check those out. We haven't been to them.)

 

One caveat: restaurants at Atlantis are absurdly expensive. And the Bahamas has adopted built-in gratuity, so don't tip twice. (There was a move afoot to change this but we haven't been there since 2016--traded our TS to Hawaii.)

 

Hope you aren't too disrupted! Have you considered cruising in non-roulette season?

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leaveitallbehind

leaveitallbehind

Posted
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1 hour ago, mayleeman said:

@ticketsunlimited Our timeshare at Atlantis in the Bahamas is in the fall. Twice when we have gone swimming at the public beach, we have met families whose cruises to Bermuda were diverted to Nassau because of hurricanes. One group was thrilled, but the other had been to the Bahamas 4 years in a row and had wanted Bermuda for something different, so they were annoyed.

 

With the Bahamas desperately trying to get more tourist dollars, I wouldn't be surprised if that is where you might go. 

 

Wonder where the ship's original departure ports were with the people you met on the beach - that's a 900 mile+ diversion!  

 

And as the OP is departing from Boston, I highly doubt that they would head to the Bahamas.  First of all Boston is 1,200 miles away from the Bahamas, and second, they would have to pass through the hurricane that they would be trying to avoid to get there.

Edited by leaveitallbehind
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mayleeman

mayleeman

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One was NJ, the other was Boston. Since it is a 7 day cruise, plenty of time to get to the Bahamas. I wondered about the routing, too. The NJ family's cruise went in a zigzag to avoid 2 storms. TS Jerry's projected track goes north toward Bermuda, well east of the Humberto track and of the Bahamas and should be far enough east to allow ships to follow the US coast.  All conjecture, of course. Maybe they would go to NJ or Baltimore, or go to Bermuda late.

211354_5day_cone_no_line_and_wind.png

Edited by mayleeman
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330searay

330searay

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I agree with the OP. It just kind of sucks that they always send the diversion that way. Honestly we were diverted 2 years ago to Portland - Halifax and it's on my top 3 of best cruises ever . Weather was 80-85 and sunny absolutely perfect!  But on the other hand the chance of the awesome weather that time of year is hit/miss. It would be nice if they made more of an attempt to head south.

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leaveitallbehind

leaveitallbehind

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37 minutes ago, 330searay said:

I agree with the OP. It just kind of sucks that they always send the diversion that way. Honestly we were diverted 2 years ago to Portland - Halifax and it's on my top 3 of best cruises ever . Weather was 80-85 and sunny absolutely perfect!  But on the other hand the chance of the awesome weather that time of year is hit/miss. It would be nice if they made more of an attempt to head south.

 

Unfortunately, as I'm sure you're aware, it's more than just the weather at play.  There are only so many alternative ports to consider and finding those among them that are available and able to handle a ship - or ships -  for a port of call on short notice can be difficult.  Not to mention setting up any type of shore excursions for the passengers.  Even with contingency plans in place I imagine it is a tough challenge for the cruise lines.

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K32682

K32682

Posted
Posted (edited)
13 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

LOL,

Yeah, it is not like the lobster and crabs are any good to eat there.

 

The lobster and crab are very good there but the OP lives in Portland, Maine, and has access to all the regional seafood he wants without having to go on a cruise.  The eastern seaboard of the U.S. and the Canadian Maritimes are nice enough but a very poor substitution for Bermuda if you already live there.😉

 

 

Edited by K32682
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MicCanberra Holiday Sharing Rare

MicCanberra

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, ticketsunlimited said:

Unfortunately our worse nightmare has been fulfilled. Drive to Boston and sail to our backyard. Oh well the price we pay to sail in hurricane season!! We will make the best of it.

A shame for you, I hope you enjoy your cruise in any case.

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  • 4 weeks later...
ticketsunlimited

ticketsunlimited

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Quick update from our sailing to Bermuda.  WE had a BLAST!!  We drove from Portland to Boston to sail back to Portland the next day.  It was almost 90 out  (Beautiful day) and we anchored near Fort Gorgeous because the piers were already booked.  We got to see Portland from a whole different perspective and stayed on the ship all day.  We got the rest of the week to talk to different passengers to see how they enjoyed Portland.  It was great too hear 100% positive feedback.  We lost one day in Bermuda but they stayed a bit later on our final day.

I always will agree that safety comes first and even though the storm technically missed Bermuda it was the right call.  They offered us NOTHING for missing a day in Bermuda and we expected NOTHING because "weather happens" and diversions need to happen.  Over all it was a great time with my parents and they had the time of their lives.  Sometimes IT JUST WORKS OUT FINE.  Dan

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leaveitallbehind

leaveitallbehind

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16 hours ago, ticketsunlimited said:

I always will agree that safety comes first and even though the storm technically missed Bermuda it was the right call.  They offered us NOTHING for missing a day in Bermuda and we expected NOTHING because "weather happens" and diversions need to happen.  Over all it was a great time with my parents and they had the time of their lives.  Sometimes IT JUST WORKS OUT FINE.  Dan

 

Very glad you enjoyed your cruise.  I actually looked at the Bermuda webcam and saw your ship in port so I knew you at least got some time there.  Appreciate as well your attitude towards this as you are correct that weather happens and safety for the ship, its crew, and its passengers always will come first over risking a port of call with bad weather.  Far too many people fail to realize this, and the fact the missed ports of call are not only addressed in the cruise ticket but, unfortunately, are a rather common occurrence. 

 

But many people blame the interruption to their cruise on the cruise line and expect compensation for something that is out of the cruise lines' control.  If a cruise is shortened due to the weather or other issue, then some sort of refund or future credit might be issued.  But not just for missing a port of call or part of the scheduled stay in port.

 

Thanks for your follow up!

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