Hurricane Season

[TMarie]

Ok, my boyfriend and I were trying to plan our first cruise together for September 2, 2007 sailing on Adventure of the Seas for a 7 night Southern Caribbean cruise.

 

Whats the general census on cruising during hurricane season? I mean, if its really that dangerous i would think that the cruise lines would not offer cruises during that time of the year, because of the liability. I was thinking about getting the insurance regardless.

 

Honestly, this is about the only time we have to travel because we are both taking summer classes.

 

Thanks for your help!

[Nitra]

Ships can move faster than hurricanes. I used to cruise in october all the time, everytime I went there was a hurricane within 2 weeks, either before or after. Now I go in May, didnt want to push my luck too much..

 

It is a risk but worth the chance.

[Sue L]

We sailed this past Sept and we lucked out sailing basically in between two hurricanes on the way to Bermuda.

 

No, they will not put either their passengers or their ship in danger. Be aware that if you sail during this time you have to be prepared for anything! The cruise could change the port to a different one, skip the port all together, change itinerary completely or make it is a cruise to basically nowhere. If a hurricane is scheduled hit they will change course to make sure all passengers and crew remain safe.

[yogimax]

Dangerous? Not in any physical sense. The cruise lines first priority is passenger safety.

 

If you are talking about the danger of missing a cruise because of a hurricane, sure that's a possibility, but so is a sever snowstorm in the winter that would close northern airports, etc., etc..

 

We did have one five night cruise that turned into a seven-nighter because of a Florida hurricane. We totally enjoyed our extra two free days at sea

[bayou cruiser]

After the seas I experienced on my Dec. cruise out of Galveston, I will never worry about cruising in hurricane weather again. The crew said it was as rough on our sailing as a hurricane. They can redirect the course and you will be safe. Take your bonnine and you'll be fine.

[wrkfire911]

you will be striclty be going on "LUCK of the draw" sailing during peak hurricane season. The closest I will ever do again will be mid to late October towards the very end of the season......after Carnival took their ship that my family & I were on RIGHT thru the middle of Hurricane Dennis on the way back from Bermuda. They never bothered attempting to go around or wait out the storm..headed right into it and thru it. NEVER again for me

it's not worth it to me..but Good Luck in whatever you decide:D

[JanineM]

We live in Florida, and almost everyone we know takes cruises during hurricane season --- that's when we get the best prices! :)

 

As others have said, the cruiselines will not put their passengers, crew and very expensive ship in the way of a hurricane - so your ports of call may be messed up a bit. We sailed last September, during the peak week of hurricane season, and only had a couple of days of mildly rough seas when a tropical depression was way out in the Atlantic.

 

I'd say go for it ... we're cruising in March but are planning to go out again in September when the prices fall. But do be sure to get travel insurance. On the off chance that a hurricane hits your departure port, you want to be able to get the money back for your flight down. Insurance can also cover your flight home if you are delayed or have to disembark somewhere else. We pay about $120 on average for our travel insurance, which we buy in case our home is damaged in a hurricane prior to the cruise. (knock wood, knock wood, knock wood!!!)

 

Hope you have a wonderful hurricane season cruise with smooth seas!

[AdGuyMike]

......after Carnival took their ship that my family & I were on RIGHT thru the middle of Hurricane Dennis on the way back from Bermuda. They never bothered attempting to go around or wait out the storm..headed right into it and thru it.

 

With windspeeds around the middle (eye) of a hurricane approaching 90 to 110 mph, I somehow find that rather difficult to believe.

[negc]

Take the insurance regardless. Many people fail to realize the size and the strength of hurricanes, and even though cruiselines will do their best to avoid these storms, the effects can extend hundreds of miles beyond the eye of the storm, and your ship could very well be affected by a storm. Timing is also everything and should a hurricane come bearing down on your port of departure just around the time your cruise is set to begin, the trip could be delayed or cancelled. The paths of hurricane are also difficult to predict so there are no guarantees that, even if the ship changes its itinerary, the storm won't also alter its course and cause you problems. All of that said, even in the years with the highest incidence of hurricanes, I believe there are more weeks without a storm than with one, so while it is a bit of a gamble, you can get some cruises at bargain prices, and, if you luck out, have a totally uneventful, but wonderful cruise. The person who criticized the cruiseline for its actions during a hurricane that affected his ship, is working from 20-20 hindsight. As mentioned, hurricane paths can be difficult to predict with any certainty and it is not always that easy to avoid them.

[minnie00]

You just can't beat the prices and the weather is pretty nice....but can also be rainy, etc. Just know what to expect and go with the flow.

 

We were really really lucky this year...our Sept cruise had beautiful perfect weather. We are going again next year and hope for the best.

 

just in case...we bought the insurance

[Aquahound]

Whats the general census on cruising during hurricane season? I mean, if its really that dangerous i would think that the cruise lines would not offer cruises during that time of the year, because of the liability. I was thinking about getting the insurance regardless.

 

Hurricane season is six months out of the year. Aug-Oct are usually the most active months.

 

That being said, I live in the Keys and have been a hurricane victim many times. However, I also cruise every year during the season and have never had a problem. My advise is to buy the insurance and don't ponder on the hurricane issue too much. You'll be fine.

[Driftwoodgal]

Hubby is an insurance adjuster that looks at the damage that a hurricane can do. He says he will not cruise during hurricane season. I on the other hand would, but with the understanding that I might not be able to get on the ship because the port has been damaged. I would not be upset if I didn't make it to any port and only stayed next to Cuba looking at a blue ocean.

 

If you book during a period of time that is discounted because of possible weather problems, then don't expect a perfect cruise. Just like going into a port that is in the rain forest during the raining season. We had rain all day in Costa Rica......but it is part of the rain forest. Saying that, it was supposed to be the dry season. Shucks someone forgot to tell the rain gods that we were supposed to have dry weather that day.

 

When you book a cruise just remember that the ship doesn't control your weather. Their only responsibility is to keep you safe while you are on the ship......and to protect the cruise lines ship investment.

[smeyer418]

There were no disruptions because of Hurricaines last year. You can have bad weather anytime....The cruise lines go other places when there is a hurricaine(and I know I went to Canada instead of Bermuda)...I had a great time anyway. There has been much more mechanical problems than weather ones.

[samtig]

We cruised once in Sept. & ended up skirting 3 different tropical storms, missed a port, high seas. We decided not to go in hurricane season again. Didn't want to risk having a cruise cancelled or having to cruise around storms. We usually cruise in Nov. or Dec. & do sometimes experience high seas but have had no problems.

[Pat&Liz]

I've read in books that Hurricane season ends on the last day of November. We're cruising in the middle of November, and are hoping that there's no hurricanes. W

Can anyone tell me what November is like on average? Both in terms of Hurricanes and temperature/rain/sun etc?

 

Lizzi xx

[mrsfuzzmo]

I would and I have cruised during the season! No big deal. For as many times as I have cruised from May - Nov. I have never had any plans change. A plus is that you are going Sounthern Caribbean. Depending on the itinerary, most hurricanes tend to veer more to the north/east/western caribbean. You may have a change in itinerary, rougher seas or maybe a little rain, but more likely than not, your cruise will sail. It's your decision, but as others have said, freak things happen, buy insurance and don't worry about it.

[yogimax]

I've read in books that Hurricane season ends on the last day of November. We're cruising in the middle of November, and are hoping that there's no hurricanes. W

Can anyone tell me what November is like on average? Both in terms of Hurricanes and temperature/rain/sun etc?

 

Lizzi xx

 

Google "weather underground" for your answers

[iamtrustworthy]

Hi TMarie,

 

If you are going to get insurance to cover any bad weather, be sure to get it at least 2 weeks before your departure date because once the storm is being tracked (or in some cases named) it's too late to get it. This applies to any weather, not just hurricanes.

 

While this seems obvious, we get dozens of calls anytime there's bad weather predicted. And usually the people are pretty upset when they find out it can't be covered. I don't mean that they can't buy a policy, but since we know it's not going to be covered, we can't ethically sell them a policy to cover that risk.