'Very active' hurricane season predicted

[geniseg_2000]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WEATHER/04/03/hurricane.forecast.ap/index.html

 

Just read this article on CNN and now I'm nervous about my 8/27 cruise on the Majesty :(

 

Any experienced hurricane cruisers out there? Guess this answer my question about purchasing insurance or not *sigh*

[EmJakeBubbie]

You can be certain your captain won't want his vessel sailing into harm's way. I'd plan on blue skies and wonderful sun (or a cancellation with credit:D )

[mommabean]

Last year was also predicted to be very active and it was a dud.

 

I survived Hurricane Andrew...but not on a ship. I'd rather be on a ship than in a house for darn sure.

 

Don't worry about it.

[Lisichka]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WEATHER/04/03/hurricane.forecast.ap/index.html

 

Just read this article on CNN and now I'm nervous about my 8/27 cruise on the Majesty :(

 

Any experienced hurricane cruisers out there? Guess this answer my question about purchasing insurance or not *sigh*

 

Well, he was wrong last year, so who knows....he may have lost his 'touch'. :D

 

I am cruising in September myself, and have decided "what will be, will be". Who knows, I may end up in St. Thomas again. Things could definitely be worse. :)

[DutsCruiser]

They predicted a very active season for 2006 also and it didn't happen. Fact is that they can't predict it this far out; just gamble on it and to some extent see what happend in previous years. We just don't know enough about this world to predict the weather reliably.

 

My cruised on the Majesty in 2005 during hurricane Rita and aside from a bit more rougher ride than usually we hardly noticed. Yes we missed Keywest as a port but that's all. We had a sea day in return with the best weather we could hope for.

 

Don't "expect" to go to a port but "hope" for it. If you're lucky your cruise will be lengthened by a day if the ship can't get back to port. If you're not so lucky your cruise will be cut short by a day.

 

Aslong as you are flexibel and remember that it is hurricane season you'll be fine. The ship will make sure it's out of the hurricanes path. If the hurricane is east the ship will be west or vise-versa.

 

B.t.w. many insurances don't even cover claims caused by weather.

[Melba1024]

I agree... I wouldnt worry too much. When you cruise that time of year, you always run the risk of hurricanes. But the captains of the ships will do whatever they can to stay out of the storms path... even if that means you miss a scheduled port with an added sea day or dock at another stop. I was on a Western Caribbean itinerary on the Explorer when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. Even though we werent in the direct path of the storm and we were kinda trailing it at that point, we didnt feel a thing. There were blue skies and calm seas. The only problem I had was that I was on vacation, sailing on a beautiful trip while people were dealing with the destruction of Katrina...

[Eric95403]

Exactly...they were wrong last year. Not sure how RCCL would have done this, but we sailed on DCL during Hurricane Wilma in '05. We were supposed to do a western, but they switched up and made it an eastern. We didn't care, at the time we hadn't been to either side of the caribbean. We were just happy we were on the boat. No problems w/ the weather that trip at all.

[yellowbird23]

"Don't worry. Be happy."

[jad7984]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WEATHER/04/03/hurricane.forecast.ap/index.html

 

Just read this article on CNN and now I'm nervous about my 8/27 cruise on the Majesty :(

 

Any experienced hurricane cruisers out there? Guess this answer my question about purchasing insurance or not *sigh*

 

Don't worry about it. They say the same thing every year.

[dolfansam]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WEATHER/04/03/hurricane.forecast.ap/index.html

 

Just read this article on CNN and now I'm nervous about my 8/27 cruise on the Majesty :(

 

Any experienced hurricane cruisers out there? Guess this answer my question about purchasing insurance or not *sigh*

 

I cruised behind a Hurricane three years ago. The waters were a little rough, but not nearly as bad a the Noreaster we ran into a few months later. The only thing that it effected for me was the ability to go snorkeling since the waters were so murky. There were a few excursions that were cancelled because of the weather. The captains do a great job avoiding these if possible

[Jay Bee]

But the captains of the ships will do whatever they can to stay out of the storms path... even if that means you miss a scheduled port with an added sea day or dock at another stop....

 

Can someone explain this a little more? Hurricanes are huge systems. It seems to me that avoiding it might mean having to go to the opposite side of the Caribbean.

[roadnut]

It seems like they have trouble predicting the weather accurately 24 hours in advance, much less 6 months.

 

The past several years it has been predicted that it'll be an active hurricane season.

 

In 2005, it was very active...early on. While Katrina will be well remembered for years to come, it was still fairly early in the hurricane season. I went on my first cruise ever, from Sept. 9 thru Sept. 19 in that year. Sept. 12, I learned, is the peak hurricane day in hurricane season. And guess what...NOTHING! We missed no ports, and had no trouble.

 

In 2006, it was predicted to be very active, and not much happened.

 

What will 2007 bring? Well, so far, worried faces and guarantees that people will be watching the news all summer long (you don't think ratings has anything to do with dire sounding forecasts, do you???)

 

Also, don't forget, it could be very active, but not where you're sailing. Hurricanes by their nature are extremely unpredictable storms, and can intensify or fizzle out quickly. Paths can change too, and an island supposedly in the clear could become ground zero for disaster.

 

Hurricane season lasts 6 months, or about 180 days. Even if there were 15 hurricanes, each one lasting 5 days, and each one didn't overlap each other, that's still only 75 hurricane days.

 

The chances of a hurricane affecting you, even in prime hurricane season, are small. Really, don't worry about it. As long as the ship leaves port when scheduled, enjoy the trip, wherever the ship brings you.

[Melba1024]

Can someone explain this a little more? Hurricanes are huge systems. It seems to me that avoiding it might mean having to go to the opposite side of the Caribbean.

 

 

Exactly - thats is exactly what happens sometimes, especially if where you are going is totally in the path of the storm. Depending on the hurricanes direction when your particular ship leaves port, you could be just stopping at one different port, all different ports or losing a port all together and gaining a sea day... anything could happen. As someone mentioned above, they were on a ship that was supposed to go west and instead went east. When you cruise, anything could happen due to the weather... its all subject to change!! I was on a ship once that was supposed to stop in Cabo and because of a hurricane in the Pacific way out at sea, it was effecting the water that it was unsafe for the tenders to bring us a shore. Even though it was beautifully sunny outside... we spent the day at seas instead of getting a port day. As long as everyone is safe, and its not raining everyday, I'm happy!!

 

Hope that explains it a little bit better (I know I have a problem rambling on sometimes, lol). :D

[Dolby1000]

Last year an unexpected El Nino (it came up very quickly) caused Hurricane seaason to be significantly less than the severe season forcast (they always have excuses!) Historical evidence indicates significantly fewer hurricanes form during an El Nino season (it is true look it up).

 

However, this year, there is a confirmed case of La Nina (an opposite effect of El Nino). El Nino reversed itself in months. This is hugely rare. It has never been recorded to change to swifgtly. Again, it is documented that this possibly could cause a more severe hurricane season. So forecasters are going to expect and predict a hurricane season that will wipe out all of the Bahamas, Bermuda, Galvestorn, San Juan, Cuba, Florida, North Carolina, Virginia and New York. Before setting it sites on the Midwest and southern Canada. And that is just the first storm. Yes, I am being cute, but, in all seriousness, if you are in the way of one of these suckers, don't stick around, GET OUT.

 

True Story: One time, in September, we travled to southern FL. On the day we left, and I am not exaggerating, there were five (yes 5!) named storms in the Atlantic. None of them impacted our trip. If I remember correctly, none of them effected anyone. It was an unusual time.

 

Truth is, forecasters just don't know. However, with GPS and satellite technology, storms are tracked better than ever before, so the worse that could happen is a cancelled or switched port of call.

 

Relax and have a great time.

Dolby1000

[sea-cruise]

We've been through hurricanes at sea, and at other times we have diverted to different ports as well.

Three of the hurricanes were so long ago, that we were on very small ships. One of them was the original Love Boat. We survived and lived to tell about it. ;) Just bring bonine and take it every morning starting the day before you leave. Have fun and stop worrying. :)

[time4agetaway]

We're sailing Aug 13, and we're simply hoping for good weather. On one of our cruises, they had to change the port from Cancun to Cozumel because of weather. It was fine

[roadnut]

Can someone explain this a little more? Hurricanes are huge systems. It seems to me that avoiding it might mean having to go to the opposite side of the Caribbean.

 

The carribbean is huger! :)

 

This shows some satalitte images of Hurricane Andrew many years ago: http://www.noaa.gov/andrewsatellite.html . The upper left picture shows the size of the storm (an usually large, well organized storm), but you can see the islands below. The lower right map shows the path of the storm. 75% of the islands were unaffected completely, and the western 25% experienced some high surf and maybe some clouds and rain.

 

Hurricanes are 'huge' due to their destructive ability. In reality, hurricanes move relatively fast, and an island in the way one day is bright and sunny the next. And only the rarer, bigger storms cause a lot of damage. A Category 1 or 2 hurricane will blow some stuff around and cause the beautiful blue ocean to turn gray for a few days. However, not every hurricane will destroy an island that it hits.

 

Above all, remember this - hurricane season exists every year. Those islands continue to be top tourist destinations every year. A very few minority of these storms affect the islands. Chances are pretty good you won't be affected. Remember too...only the ships that are re-routed make the news. The hundreds of ships that come in daily don't generally have problems, and thus aren't news worth. (I tell this to my wife about flying...they don't tell you about the 30,000 plans in the air that land safely on a daily basis...they only tell you about the 1 a year that crashes. And even on those days, 99.996% of the planes landed safely!)

[masterbaker]

Last year was also predicted to be very active and it was a dud.

 

I survived Hurricane Andrew...but not on a ship. I'd rather be on a ship than in a house for darn sure.

 

Don't worry about it.

 

I was going to say the same thing. ;) Except, I survived Charley. I would have MUCH rather been on a ship.

 

Forecasters change the forecast almost monthly when we get into season. Last year at this time they warned of an active season, and we all know that was wrong. IMHO, the forecasters still have much to learn.

 

Regarding insurance, if you can't afford a loss, take insurance no matter what time of year you travel.

[Wilde_37]

While I agree with everything said about being at sea during hurricane season I would offer a note of warning! The annoying part of a hurricane is not what it can do at sea but on shore.

 

In 2004 I took a cruise in September and was fortunate enough to be leaving just after one hurrincane hit and I arrived back in Miami just before another hurricane hit. At sea the captain steered clear of danger and we had bright sunny days all the time. We did miss a call to San Juan but we won't argue with the Captain - he knows what he's doing.

 

However, the hassle was with flights into and out of Miami. We had planned on spending a week in Miami before the cruise but our flights were cancelled and we only managed to get to Miami 24 hours before the cruise. Likewise we had to leave early after the cruise as the airports were due to close.

 

So don't worry about being at sea. But make sure you can get to the port on time - always a good idea to fly in a day or two early.

 

 

 

 

 

"It is always a silly thing to give advice, but to give good advice is fatal" -Oscar Wilde

 

 

 

 

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[tkportersat]

You have to just go with the flow when making cruise plans during Hurricane system. I have experienced shortened cruises, missed ports, cancelled excursions and some of the most perfect weather ever during Hurricane season. You just never know what you are going to get.......Good luck with you trip, I hope it all goes smoothly for you :)

[geniseg_2000]

While I agree with everything said about being at sea during hurricane season I would offer a note of warning! The annoying part of a hurricane is not what it can do at sea but on shore.

 

In 2004 I took a cruise in September and was fortunate enough to be leaving just after one hurrincane hit and I arrived back in Miami just before another hurricane hit. At sea the captain steered clear of danger and we had bright sunny days all the time. We did miss a call to San Juan but we won't argue with the Captain - he knows what he's doing.

 

However, the hassle was with flights into and out of Miami. We had planned on spending a week in Miami before the cruise but our flights were cancelled and we only managed to get to Miami 24 hours before the cruise. Likewise we had to leave early after the cruise as the airports were due to close.

 

So don't worry about being at sea. But make sure you can get to the port on time - always a good idea to fly in a day or two early.

 

 

 

 

 

"It is always a silly thing to give advice, but to give good advice is fatal" -Oscar Wilde

 

 

 

 

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Thanks to EVERYONE, your comments have put me at ease.

 

We do plan to come in early just to avoid the headache of rushing. This is the our 2nd cruise and 1st with the children. I just don't want to deal with the headache of a bored 8yr old. We also live in Boston and they are kinda anal at logan with this type of thing (for good reason of course)

[cjb-nc]

I've taken a few hurricane season cruises, and only one was directly affected.

 

In Sept 2002, Hurricane Lili made an unscheduled visit to Grand Cayman on the same day that we were supposed to arrive on the Disney Magic. We didn't notice. The captain had already changed our Western Carib trip to an Eastern, and we had smooth seas the whole trip. They took us to the the private island, then San Juan and St Thomas, and then a second private island stop on the way back. It was great.

 

Just roll with it and enjoy the trip. The cruise lines want you to have a good trip as much as you do, so they'll do what they can to work around the weather.

[roadnut]

Thanks to EVERYONE, your comments have put me at ease.

 

We do plan to come in early just to avoid the headache of rushing. This is the our 2nd cruise and 1st with the children. I just don't want to deal with the headache of a bored 8yr old. We also live in Boston and they are kinda anal at logan with this type of thing (for good reason of course)

 

That's probably the best advice of all, right there. But do keep an eye on the weather forecast. If there is a possibility of a hurricane interrupting your flight down, it's way, way better to call and get a flight even a day earlier, rather than having your flight cancelled and going thru the hassle of trying to fit yourself on another flight after the storm. Sure, you don't want to get down there and then have to sit in a hotel room during a storm, but after a few hours the storm is gone and it'll be bright and sunny again.

[psacruisers]

Our 7 day cruise was delayed for one day a few years ago, we received a $250 onboard credit and 50% off our next cruise so in our eyes it was well worth missing only one day.

[raina*faith]

don't worry...about ah ting....e'ry little ting is gonna be alright! :)

Yeah Man!