Caribbean May or Sep?

[gordylad]

Have been to the ABC Islands in September but looking at the 10 night Caribbean Southern for next Sept alternatively in May.

 

Any thoughts as to when the best time is?

 

Tx

[George C]

September is heart of hurricane season , I would do May .

[jelayne]

May.

[cruisestitch]

The ABC islands themselves are not subject to hurricanes but getting to and fro could be a problem. Pick May.

[rucrazy]

September I love adventure!

[Fouremco]

I'd look first at all of the other factors that help us decide when to take a trip. If it's still a coin toss after looking at those, or if they favour May, go with May. But if they favour September, go for it. While it's possible that you might hit some weather on the way to or from the ABCs, there's little chance of the islands being hit. 

[Seany527]

September. 
 

Some schools get out in May and there could be more kids than usual on the cruise. Most all kids are back in school by September. 
 

Also, your September cruise will give you something to look forward to as fall approaches (assuming you live in a colder climate and don’t like cold temperatures).

[cangelmd]

i'm cheap and I live in hurricane country so it is a calculated risk for me - September and use any savings on a better cabin!

[Babr]

1 hour ago, cangelmd said:

i'm cheap and I live in hurricane country so it is a calculated risk for me - September and use any savings on a better cabin!

You run greater risk of a threat at home than having a hurricane disrupt your cruise in progress.

 

Have you ever had to cancel because of a named storm heading your way or a mandatory evacuation?

[rucrazy]

49 minutes ago, Babr said:

Have you ever had to cancel because of a named storm heading your way or a mandatory evacuation?

I realize this was not directed to us.. but we sailed from FLL a day or two(i can't remember) after Wilma... and there was no guarantee cabs or shuttles would have the fuel to get us to the port...That was fun! 🙂

Edited June 24, 2021 by rucrazy

[Babr]

3 minutes ago, rucrazy said:

I realize this was not directed to us.. but we sailed from FLL a day or two(i can't remember) after Wilma... and there was no guarantee cabs or shuttles would have the fuel to get us to the port...That was fun! 🙂

Well, that is a disruption. I was thinking of diverting to avoid the storm.

 

Mostly, I am curious about how insurance would address a storm threat at the point of departure rather than at the destination. I have seen language that protects the destination but not the other.

 

But I digress. Sorry. Did not mean to hijack.

[cangelmd]

1 hour ago, Babr said:

You run greater risk of a threat at home than having a hurricane disrupt your cruise in progress.

 

Have you ever had to cancel because of a named storm heading your way or a mandatory evacuation?

I have had to cancel several land vacations because of named storms, but the worst weather I’ve experienced on a cruise was in November and February.

we’ve cruised several times in August, if you count COVID cancellations, and don’t worry too much about storms. The big advantage to the ship is that they can steer around the storm. Does that 100% work - no, it is a crapshoot, but usually it works out, the cruise line really wants to get you back to the airport on time.

Also if you really want to avoid hurricanes, the season starts in June (we are already 3 named storms down) and goes technically to November 1, but practically it’s the last week of May to first week November. We had a depression in mid-May a year or so ago.

Where you are going matters too - storms start in the Gulf and Yucatán early in the season and then again in October. The big bads coming off Africa are rare prior to mid - August and historically cool down in mid-September, but the last 10 years, for Puerto Rico and the ?Windward Islands (St Maarten, etc) have had it bad through mid-October. Those later season storms are also rough on Central America and Texas. 
We live with the risk, so tend to go with the flow.

[cangelmd]

1 hour ago, Babr said:

Well, that is a disruption. I was thinking of diverting to avoid the storm.

 

Mostly, I am curious about how insurance would address a storm threat at the point of departure rather than at the destination. I have seen language that protects the destination but not the other.

 

But I digress. Sorry. Did not mean to hijack.

Ah, travel insurance, I don’t know. I’m fairly sure it covers natural disasters at your home, so if you had damage say the week before or were evacuated at the time of cruise, it would cover, but if you were just afraid a storm was coming and wanted to cancel I don’t know.

LOL, most folks around here would pack up their family pictures and head down to FLL to catch the ship. Not much you can do to protect stuff, better to ride it out somewhere with AC.

 I unintentionally rode out Katrina in Orlando with my daughter on a last pre-college girl’s weekend while DH and son were at home in the worst we’ve had in 40 years! It is though pretty safe where I am, we are at 130 feet and a tree could fall on you house in a bad thunderstorm here.

 

When we have had to change land vacations, it was when evacuations were ordered all up and down the coast and had beach rentals.

Edited June 24, 2021 by cangelmd

[Caribbean Chris]

Definitely May. I lived in the Caribbean for 8 years and my favorite months for good weather were April and May.
 

September tends to be a sultry, almost gloomy time of year when people are fatalistically bracing for the storms, and October/November can be really rainy until the Christmas Winds arrive.

[lifeisrealygood]

Here's a thought.  Book them both.  That gives you two trips to look forward to, and you no longer need to make a decision.  Ahhhh, the decisions we need to make in life.  Two cruises in 12 months.  What can be better than that.  Life is good.

[Denny01]

I live in Florida and on the Panhandle which is part of the 2nd highest hurricane hit areas so I stay up on what hurricanes do/when/where. ABC Islands Are subject to hurricanes, especially in Sept. See the chart below for common hurricane tracks for Sept. And yes, a ship can divert from being in a hurricane track, but those things have Looooong reaches of high winds and seas, and there is a strong chance if one enters the Caribbean will give you a good pitch and roll of a ride. 

 

So yes, I’d go in May for sure. 

 

Looking at the chart, the lower common Sept track goes just north of the ABC islands and really isn’t ‘the track’ they all follow, so the ABC’s can be impacted by Sept hurricanes. 

 

Den

Edited June 24, 2021 by Denny01

[phoenix_dream]

The worst weather I have ever experienced on a Caribbean cruise was in March in the Gulf of Mexico - 30+ foot seas.  Ugh!  

 

It is true that there is more of a hurricane risk sailing in September.  Your biggest risk is probably getting out of Florida, if in fact a hurricane was near there.  Once you are at sea, the cruise line will adjust itineraries as needed to avoid any bad weather.  All that said, May is much less risky weather-wise.  But I have sailed during hurricane season a few times and never had an issue.

[LGW59]

Just now, phoenix_dream said:

The worst weather I have ever experienced on a Caribbean cruise was in March in the Gulf of Mexico - 30+ foot seas.  Ugh!  

 

It is true that there is more of a hurricane risk sailing in September.  Your biggest risk is probably getting out of Florida, if in fact a hurricane was near there.  Once you are at sea, the cruise line will adjust itineraries as needed to avoid any bad weather.  All that said, May is much less risky weather-wise.  But I have sailed during hurricane season a few times and never had an issue.

Traveling to the Caribbean is a thing of the past for me, but I’d definitely vote for September, love me some rocking and rolling in the middle of the ocean.

[WonderMan3]

10 hours ago, Seany527 said:

September. 
 

Some schools get out in May and there could be more kids than usual on the cruise. Most all kids are back in school by September. 
 

Also, your September cruise will give you something to look forward to as fall approaches (assuming you live in a colder climate and don’t like cold temperatures).

The earliest I have seen non-college age schools getting out was right before Memorial Day so most of May should be safe to avoid families traveling if that’s the goal.

[WonderMan3]

6 hours ago, cangelmd said:

I have had to cancel several land vacations because of named storms, but the worst weather I’ve experienced on a cruise was in November and February.

we’ve cruised several times in August, if you count COVID cancellations, and don’t worry too much about storms. The big advantage to the ship is that they can steer around the storm. Does that 100% work - no, it is a crapshoot, but usually it works out, the cruise line really wants to get you back to the airport on time.

Also if you really want to avoid hurricanes, the season starts in June (we are already 3 named storms down) and goes technically to November 1, but practically it’s the last week of May to first week November. We had a depression in mid-May a year or so ago.

Where you are going matters too - storms start in the Gulf and Yucatán early in the season and then again in October. The big bads coming off Africa are rare prior to mid - August and historically cool down in mid-September, but the last 10 years, for Puerto Rico and the ?Windward Islands (St Maarten, etc) have had it bad through mid-October. Those later season storms are also rough on Central America and Texas. 
We live with the risk, so tend to go with the flow.

September and October are the peak of the season though when you are most likely to encounter a storm. Also, beyond a Hurricane or tropical storm showing up it’s just storm season in general in September when you are more likely to get those afternoon pop up storms and showers (some islands with drier climates like Aruba excepted).

[WonderMan3]

5 hours ago, Denny01 said:

I live in Florida and on the Panhandle which is part of the 2nd highest hurricane hit areas so I stay up on what hurricanes do/when/where. ABC Islands Are subject to hurricanes, especially in Sept. See the chart below for common hurricane tracks for Sept. And yes, a ship can divert from being in a hurricane track, but those things have Looooong reaches of high winds and seas, and there is a strong chance if one enters the Caribbean will give you a good pitch and roll of a ride. 

 

So yes, I’d go in May for sure. 

 

Looking at the chart, the lower common Sept track goes just north of the ABC islands and really isn’t ‘the track’ they all follow, so the ABC’s can be impacted by Sept hurricanes. 

 

Den

The ABC islands rarely experience a hurricane. New England has had more hurricanes hit (some devastating) than those islands have. They are the top 3 Caribbean islands for lowest hurricane risk. https://www.google.com/amp/s/abcnews.go.com/amp/Lifestyle/caribbean-islands-generally-hit-hurricanes/story%3fid=40407011

[Seany527]

21 minutes ago, WonderMan3 said:

The earliest I have seen non-college age schools getting out was right before Memorial Day so most of May should be safe to avoid families traveling if that’s the goal.

Oh excuse me. I didn’t know you were the expert of when Summer vacation starts across America. I take back my comment...I choose May over September. 

[Denny01]

Yes, the ABC’s have relatively low direct hit probabilities, but all that ‘data’ could maybe make someone who decided to stay a week or so At the ABC’s during Hurricane season feel a bit better, but cruising on a ship that will cross the entire Caribbean during the high hurricane season isn’t exactly a low probability level to get spend a few days there.

 

So the OP’s call. But anyone who is telling them cruising to the ABC Islands is ok because the area has lower probability that other Caribbean locations, kind of misses the whole point of the risk of cruising during the hurricane season. 

 

And by the way, it doesn’t take a hurricane direct hit to ruin your vacation. 

 

Den 

 

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[Lastdance]

3 hours ago, LGW59 said:

Traveling to the Caribbean is a thing of the past for me, but I’d definitely vote for September, love me some rocking and rolling in the middle of the ocean.

I agree; love Europe in the Med and Adriatic in middle to late May...

[Denny01]

1 hour ago, WonderMan3 said:

The ABC islands rarely experience a hurricane. New England has had more hurricanes hit (some devastating) than those islands have. They are the top 3 Caribbean islands for lowest hurricane risk. https://www.google.com/amp/s/abcnews.go.com/amp/Lifestyle/caribbean-islands-generally-hit-hurricanes/story%3fid=40407011

Referencing a vacation ‘lifestyle’ article about how wonderful the ABC islands are and average 28years between hurricane hits is probably not the best idea. Yes, direct, again direct, hits of the ABC’s is relatively low, but being on a low island and having a hurricane ‘pass by’ can be devastating, just as it is here on the Panhandle when we don’t get directly hit but are on the east/strong side of the hurricane and things are destroyed. The nature of hurricanes. 

 

Hurricanes that impacted ABC islands:

1996 Cesar-Douglas (Came across from Pacific) Cat 4 and damaged the ABC’s

2004 Juan Cat 5 (Yes a Cat 5, the highest Cat) greatly damaged ABCs

2007 Felix Cat 4 Damaged ABCs

2007 Matthew Cat 5 More damage

2008 Omar Cat 4 damaged ABCs

2010 Tomas Cat 2 lower cat but flooding on islands. 

 

That’s 5 very strong hurricanes and 1 middling in last 25 years. The site referenced said the islands had an average of 28years per hurricane, but again, that is direct hits of small island areas which is very misleading and has little to do with what the damage can and is caused by hurricanes roaring close by. 

 

So OP, if you have a choice, take what Everyone is suggesting and that is May, which by the way we are getting hurricanes then, but usually more up in the Gulf of Mexico areas. 

 

Den