Hurricane Season

[hcs81m]

Hello everyone,

I am booked on the Golden for September 5th out of San Juan. Has anyone sailed the southern carribean during early September? If so, how was the weather? If there is a tropical storm or hurricane, will they cancel the cruise?

Thanks in advance for your help.:D

[sue d. miller]

The only way they will postpone the cruise is if the hurricane is at San Juan, or very close to it. If the huuricane is already past, they will sail if there is no damage. If you are already at sea, and one is coming, it will go in another direction to avoid it. When you sail in hurricane season. you may change your itinerary, but not always!!! :)

[AbbyGirl]

Yippeee!! Another one for Sept 5th...There are three of us now!!! WOO HOO the boat all to ourselves!!! Please join in the Roll Call for the Sept 5th cruise.

[cruzfiend]

ABBYGIRL, I like the picture of your dog. What a cutie!!!

[Pam in CA]

I wouldn't worry about hurricane season. It's totally hit or miss and the only affect to your cruise is as Sue said, i.e., if the hurricane is scheduled to hit San Juan at the same time you're boarding. Otherwise, it's possible the itinerary will change.

Hurricanes are a possibility, not a probability, and they can go in any of several directions.

[cruzfiend]

Sue, the cruise expert that you are, have you sailed during the time of a hurricane? We are on the Oct. 10th of the Golden and are going to take out the insurance because we have air separate from the cruise. If for some reason we don't make the ship or vice versa, I want to be covered. We normally sail in January, thus usually not a problem.

[derf5585]

What's more, with speeds of 20-22 knots, they can easily outrun a 14 knot hurricane
from
[url]http://www.topsailcruises.com/cruiseletter/20011221.html[/url]

[hcs81m]

As always, you guys are the greatest. I feel 1000% better about the potential weather conditions. Abby Girl, I am looking for the roll call right now. :D

[sue d. miller]

Cruisefiend, yes I have!! I was going eastern for a 7 day. There was a hurricane heading toward the virgin islands. We left Miami, and stopped at key west. When we returned to the ship, They had changed the itinerary western, but no ports were mentioned!! :eek: It became a mystery cruise, and the weather was beautiful. At one port, Cancun, there were 12 ships in port. All eastern cruises, were switched. A lot of passengers were angry, because they lost money, booking eastern excursions. Passengers that booked through the cruiseline, got money refunded!! :) A good point to remember, when booking in active hurricane season!!! :D I cruise every year in October!!!

[*KristenInCT*]

[font=Century Gothic][color=red]We sailed last year in September and that was the time Hurricane Isabel was near the Bahamas but she turned north and hit the Carolinas on up...the seas were a bit rough the first day but we had beautiful weather on the Majesty of the Seas. :D We are booked for the Caribbean Princess for September 11th and I am not gonna worry about it, what ever happens ..happens. Luckily the ONE shore excursion we did book outside the ship is for Grand Cayman...they do not charge your credit card UNTIL you do the excursion. If the ship for some reason can not tender in...we dont get charged. Its how it should be![/color][/font]

[isujim]

I have sailed the last 2 Septembers on RC and both times we skirted a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico........rough seas a few days.......but not to bad......today's captains will make smart choices and divert to miss any storms......I wouldn't worry about it..........that is why cruises normally cost less at this time....for the minimal risk.........the best cruise value.

Jim

[imsulin]

(Sue...do you mean Cozumel instead of Cancun? I was there once when there were 14 ships - but two were at the smaller pier. It was like a cruise ship "beauty pageant!" People were taking pictures of every ship they could!) You made some really good points about being prepared to have the itineraries changed due to weather! It can happen for reasons other than weather, too. I'm booked on the 9/17/05 CP, and not worried a bit about it. Some of the best cruises I've had have been in the fall, and I stay in Cancun in Sept./Oct. frequently, and other than a little rain, the weather has been great! I like days at sea anyway, so if we have to skip a port, it's OK with me! I think you'll be just fine.

[Fran0521]

We always sail in October. Twice we had problems with Hurricane's. One was Eastern Caribbean the other the Western. Both times the captain's changed the itineraries,as to get the passengers out of danger. The number one priority of the captain and cruise line is passenger safety. Yes the weather was rough but avoided the hurricane's. By rough we were in winds 80 mps and 15 ft. swells. Little scary. We made it, had a great cruise. In fact the one to Cozume, Grand Cayman, was the best one as far as passengers attitude. No one seemed upset. What could they do but enjoy the bars. No one lost money, excursions were refunded, as well as the port charges. We sailed around for 7 days and no ports.

SS Norway 10/86 thru 96
Dream 10/97
Sun 11/04

[HaliMakai]

We sailed on the Explorer 2 years ago in September - Western - a hurricane was right behind us when we left Labadee we went on to Ochios Rios & Grand Cayman with rain in both ports (we still had a blast). We were due to sail on to Cozumel when the Captain decided to turn us around Cuba and head for Nassau in the Bahamas. They served us free drinks for an afternoon on the way, and the weather was great. There were 6 or 7 ships in port, but it was still a wonderful time. I always say - who cares where we are headed as long as we are Cruzin!:D

[GloriaF]

Just a bit of trivia I learned from the local weather man, July 11th is the earliest date for a named storm affecting Florida. I would have thought it later. The worst hurricanes I remember were in Sept or Oct. But not to worry, as everyone has said -- the captain will take care of the pax and the vessel. It's an adventure to be enjoyed!!

[Crowsie]

I would cruise during hurricane season in a heartbeat...great prices.
But...I would definitely have travel insurance.

[afussa]

Another fellow cruiser for Sept. 5 wohoooo. I live in San Juan and must tell you the times we got hit by hurricanes were in 1999 and 1988, Hugo on Sept 15 and Georges sept 21, even though september and october are highest hurricane season , the probabilities of getting hit by one are slim, anyhow if this would happen the ship will absolutely be turned into a different route. If you need information on San Juan let me know

[rlazarski]

Remember Hurricanine George? (category 4) It took out a hunk to PR and some other islands. Flew into San Juan on last plane to take cruise while the place was being evacuated. Really bizzare. Hoped the ship and left port earlier than normal and headed south away from George. The Capt spoke to the passengers and said he wasn't sure about some islands on the tour but one thing was certain we would be safe.
Never saw rain or high seas with George in the northern Caribbean.
Went in Sept of 2003 and had some smaller hurricaine (can't remember the name) and missed Princess Cay but had a beautiful cruise otherwise. We were sandwiched between two systems and Fl did get rocked the weekend after we returned.
Weather in Sept is nice but not as nice as in April or MAy. Water is VERY warm. (Ie Hurricaine fuel!)

I have two pieces of advice 1) Don't worry about bad weather and 2) make sure you ALWAYS take out good cruise insurance that covers cancelled cruises when doing a fall trip.

DON'T WORRY - BE HAPPY MON! :eek:

[hcs81m]

I see alot of people are recomending cruise insurance to protect against inclement weather. My cruise is on Setempter 5th. Can I still purchase cruise insurance?(I booked through travelocity)

[rlazarski]

I don't know about you or your age or your health. Remmeber while in the Caribbean you are in a 3rd world area. Medical facilities are BAD (including Puerto rico which are deplorable). Your own health insurance will not always cover things like med evac by air back to the states. What about your wife or husband? Does it cover hotel stays if you are held over in Mexico? or whatever? GOT THE POINT?

What about lost luggage or travel delays due to weather?
Check the web or a local travel agent. Travelocity must have given you a customer service number. If they say it is too late tell them thanks and than tell them you won't use them. You can buy it up until sail time. Check the web. The cost is based upon length of cruise and AGE.
I have seen some pretty bad things and the costs involved. Know what it costs abaord ship to get a sea sick shot? ($60-100) per shot. Does your health insurance cover you?

I'm 56 and I know first hand that it PAYS to travel protected. Unless you don't care about yourself, loved ones, or costs don't use incurance. Of course the weather risks are less in the spring than winter or fall. But the risk to YOU is just as great.

Good luck - have a safe trip - get protected. :D

[joleda]

You should still be able to get the insurance if you want to. I would call them and ask. As far as Sept. We went on the Navigator last sept. around the 2nd week I think. Just missed a hurricane before we left. We had the most beautiful weather we have ever had on a cruise. And like other post said, you cannot beat the prices!! We cannot go that time anymore, kids are back to school. When they were in the elem. grades we could. Now High School, that's not a good thing. Insurance isn't our game either, we have never bought it. It is always 4 of us, so it gets expensive. We take our chances.

Dave

[Pam in CA]

I agree with the others in that you're probably getting a very good price for your hurricane-season cruise. Spend a little extra for the cruise insurance! (I know some disagree but if there's [b]any[/b] uncertainty about weather or getting to the ship, it's worth it.)

Adding to what Sue said, I'd recommend you take the Princess tours or if you book on your own, make sure you're not charged anything until you actually take the tour.

Oh... and if you look at my Avatar, that is a picture taken from the porthole in my cabin on the Regal last April. Yes, I was on Deck 4 and the waves were 20 - 25 feet. The ship just pretty much went right through them.

[rlazarski]

see this link

[url]http://www.cruisecritic.com/tips/tipsarticle.cfm?ID=14[/url]
:)

[kparam]

Hey Affusa - glad to hear you're on the 9/5/04 sailing with us. My husband and I are staying an extra day in San Juan at the end of the cruise (Embassy Suites Dorado). He was there when he was in the Navy. Even if the spots he visited are still there - I probably wouldn't want to visit those kind of places anyway :)

Do you have any suggestions on a "must see" around San Juan?

Thanks!
Karen

[Jacqueline]

In 1985 we hit the latest (mid Nov) hurricane to that date in the Carribean and missed one or two ports of call. The seas were so rough that our porthole looked the the window on a front loading washer in the suds cycle. Even our steward was sick. As he was fastening our porthole closed against the storm he commented that we had hit upon a patch of rough weather...
It was a long cruise from NY to the Carribean and back, so in the scheme of things few days of bad weather did not ruin our time.
Keep in mind that even though you will outrun- avoid any sort of storm, you will still feel the effects in terms of rough seas, even hundreds of miles away, from the *eye*(potentially).
The most interesting diversion occured when the folks thought they were going to Bermuda on Celebrity but ended up cruising to New England, as a result of the hurricane. A slight change in plans !
A spirit of adventure is always a good thing !