Storm question: What would happen if...

[njreindeer]

... during your cruise a tropical depression or hurricane suddenly turned in your direction and threatened your itinerary? How much notice would the captain need to get ship to safer waters? We're first-time cruisers later this month and I have to admit, we're starting to watch the Weather Channel's tropical update much more closely as we count down the days to our cruise!

 

Thanks for any info... :)

[mammallama]

Don't know specifically how much time they would need but hurricanes are much different than other storms in that they are predictable. My guess is the Captain will be nowhere near the tropical depression or it's path. And if the prediction suddenly changes, the ship can easily outrun the storm.

[AdrieneAGD]

And in a worst case (if a storm is hitting pretty much anywhere you'll be on your itinerary), your ship will just change itinerary. Most ships that sail an alternating eastern/western Caribbean itinerary will simply move to the other itinerary (i.e. - if you're booked on the western, and there's a hurricane there, they'll take you on the eastern). It's rare that there is a storm in both the Caribbean and the Gulf at the same time.

 

Just one thing to bear in mind when cruising - your ports of call can change depending on the weather and/or sea conditions.

[senior cruisers]

In June of 1999 my sister and I were on the Nordic Empress (EOS) for a cruise to Bermuda. The second night out the Capt announced at the cocktail party that Hurricane Arlene was heading toward Bermuda and the ship would go instead to Bahamas and CocoCay. We were in Bahamas about 5 hours and CocoCay about 5 hours. That was it. New York to CocoCay and back! Oh, Arlene never reached Bermuda, but they can't take chances.

[superjerryw]

The cruise lines monitor the weather very carefully. The last thing they want is the passengers going home with memories of being on a ship tossed about in a storm. They will alter the itinerary to avoid all bad weather whenever possible. We were on the Brilliance and the Captain announced they would bypass Jamaica and Grand Cayman due to a storm in the area and we would instead proceed to the next port which was Aruba. Fortunately, on the way back we were able to stop at Grand Cayman.

[smeyer418]

those of you sailing out of the Northeast should always be ready to sing "O Canada" becasue that is where we wound up in our Bermuda trip last year(BTW we loved it- but were disappointed at not making it to Bermuda so we are going for the second time this summer-we hope O canada not necessary)

[garnetjanet]

We had an altered itinerary in late OCT 2000 due to Hurricane Michelle and did eastern instead of western Caribbean because we had no chance of our regular trip. The storm chased us out of Ft. Lauderdale and the first 24 hours was interesting, especially the waves splashing over our windows in the dining room (30-40 foot seas). After we got out of range everything was fine. However, you do have to aware of the aftermath of storms, just because it's gone, doesnt mean all is fine. Seas were too rough for us to dock at the regular pier in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, and ships the day before had been damaged against the pier. However, our captain knew a sheltered dock at an old aluminum plant, got permission and we were the only ship there that day. We leave SUN for a western Caribbean trip and what Charley leaves in his path this week is what concerns me, not running into the storm itself.

[Jacquelyn11]

We cruised to Ocho Rios in September about 2 weeks after a hurricane hit it in 1987. The natives, who are ususally just very pushy were down right horrible! Since tourism is their major industry there I felt like fresh meat to the wolves! There was lots of devestation and uprooted trees. Cozumel had several destroyed store fronts.

 

I've moved my cruising to end of May to AVOID the storms!

 

Jacquelyn :D

[camreesmom]

okay, I get that if we are supposed to do western, the captain can decide to do eastern.....I see where that would work if you were cruising out of FL, but what about those of us cruising out of Texas? We are on the Rhapsody in September and we're supposed to go to Key West, Grand Cayman and Cozumel. What will happen to our itinerary if there is a storm in the Gulf then???? :confused:

[kearnsk91]

RCCL does a great job of monitoring storms and keeping the passengers updated. Last year while on the Navigator, the ship was tracking a weak hurricane and the captain did special updates during the days to keep passengers informed. He also stated it was RCCL policy to keep 250 miles away from the path of a storm and we were lucky that the storm changed paths. Many people were bummed that we could have missed the St. Thomas stop due to the storm but we didn't. Cruisers should read the fine print of their cruise contract that allows the ship line to change ports of call due to bad weather or civil uprisings. I think many husbands would have cheered if we had to not stop at St. Thomas. I have been in one tropical depression storm many years ago before the big ships and navigation equipment. One wave broke over the bow of the ship causing us to go down, another way crash at the same location while we were down. The ship leaned to one side and we lost half of the glassware, stablizers, causing us to remain in our rooms for half a day while breakfast was served in the hall. We had passengers screaming to abandon ship in the middle of the night and it was not fun. RCCL crew did a great job in calming people down and gave us another free cocktail party with paper cups.

[atonal1]

I am on a cruise right now and we were just informed due to ts Charlie, we will skip our stop in Jamaica, and proceed to Nassau.

 

 

The captain and crew monitors storms and adjust the itinerary as necessary.

[Steve in Mexico]

wonder where they would go on a mexican riviera cruise. not too many places to divert to.

[Murphy]

While I certainly don't want bad seas or the threat of a tropical storm or worse, a hurricane, I can't help smiling when I think our itinerary may be switched and we would be "forced" to have 7 straight days at sea... sounds like heaven to me! :)

[Mark_K]

wonder where they would go on a mexican riviera cruise. not too many places to divert to.

That happened last year, I believe it went to San Francisco, Catalina & Ensenada.

[yarlenna]

In 30 cruises, I have been through 2 hurricanes at sea. The first was decades ago on the old Sea Venture (Which later became a Princess ship). We tied up at the dock in Bermuda. The captain came on the loud speaker and told us that we were "advised" not to go off the ship or even up on deck. Some tried (like me) but the storm was impressive.

Less than 10 years ago, we were on the Ryndam and one of our Mexican port calls was aborted about 2 hours into tendering. We put back out to sea and spent the night sailing towards better weather. It was plenty rough. The storm (Pauline) was plenty large and there was really no place to go. Hurricanes are storms that can be hundreds of miles wide. The eye is relatively easy to miss, but the rough seas and heavy winds may not be so easy to miss - espcially if the storm is between your ship and the open sea. If the storm goes near your embarkation/debarkation port at the time when you need to be there, believe me, you will feel plenty. When it is possible, they will avoid the storms. Sometimes it is not possible. And EVEN with modern weather sciences, they can miss the mark. The informary has good drugs for seasickness.

[birdie16]

If you are in a storm...head up to the Crown Lounge and watch! We watched a storm up there...oh my! That was an impressive show!

[Reijo]

I was told by my Travel Agent BEFORE I booked our cruise that the ship would just change itinerary and go wherever the storm WASN'T. She said that the cruise line was going to protect those ships, their investments, at all costs. I also asked about embarkation. What happens if a storm is at port when you are to board ship. I was told that the ship could change ports (i.e. Port Canaveral to Tampa or New Orleans). Now......don't ask me how the people getting off would be transported to their cars. Also don't have a clue as to how everyone would be notified of such a change. Doesn't sound feasible to me. But.....for what it's worth.

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

I just checked my Doc's.....

 

if needed to contact RCI day of travel: 1 800 256 6649 or 1 305 539 4107

Either one of these would direct you to any changes in port departures.

 

My only concern would be changing flights to another city, and changing hotels as well.....I just hope "Mother Nature" is nice to us the week of our cruise.

BUT, I think it may be a very active hurricane season this year.

 

 

***

[besito20]

posted by kearnsk91:

One wave broke over the bow of the ship causing us to go down, another way crash at the same location while we were down. The ship leaned to one side and we lost half of the glassware, stablizers, causing us to remain in our rooms for half a day while breakfast was served in the hall. We had passengers screaming to abandon ship in the middle of the night and it was not fun.

:eek:

OMG, that sounds sooooo scary! Kinda reminds me of that picture that has been posted in some of the threads here on cc. That one Carnival ship...I think it was determined it was a fake pic but your story kinda gives me the visual of the Carnival ship.

 

We sail in less than 2 weeks on the Mariner to the Eastern Caribbean...I'm praying every second of the day for good weather!!! :o

[D4]

They try to avoid the storms, but aren't always successful.

 

We were on the Legend 4 weeks ago in the Mexican Riviera. We were in Tropical Storm Blas and had very rough seas when we were supposed to go to Cabo. There were a lot of seasick passengers and crew. We were in front of the arch when the captain announced that we'd have to skip Cabo because of the danger and we'd try to come back on Friday. He also said the tropical storm moved much faster than anyone expected. He said they'd have open bars from noon to 1pm as a nice gesture. We don't drink alcohol, so we weren't thrilled with that --- just what we needed - a bunch of seasick drunk people. But it didn't turn out that way. The people that were seasick probably stayed in bed. Our cabin steward said he couldn't clean most of his rooms because people were sick and staying in bed. We saw something we've never seen before -- airport style vomit bags opened and inserted into every stairway railing on all the floor landings. We talked to a lot of crew members that said they were sick that morning and that it had rarely ever happened to them. About 10 minutes after the captain announced the cancellation, he announced that the port was officially closed, so going there wouldn't have been an option anyway. The seas remained rough until later that day when the captain took us out of the storm into the Sea of Cortez for the day and night. It was still sort of rough, but not like in the open ocean. My family was fine so the storm added a bit of excitement to our cruise, but we felt bad for all the seasick people. We had a shorter day in Puerta Vallarta and did get to Cabo Friday.

[aearly]

We are sailing on 8/21 on the Navigator Western. Do these things last that long??

[njreindeer]

Thanks - I think! - for all of the stories. I'm impressed at how many of you have had really rough seas on a cruise yet keep on cruising. It sounds scary as all heck to me (starting to wish I'd never seen "Titanic"! :eek: ). I don't know how DH and I would handle cruising through a really rough storm - and yes, I know we should've considered that before booking during hurricane season but it was the best time for him to take off from work, so we decided to give it a shot. While I absolutely can't wait for our cruise later this month, I have to say that I'm getting more than a little anxious about having that ship tossed around in the ocean. I know that the Mariner is huge, but it's just a dot in the open water!:(

 

Question -- When the seas are REALLY rough and you can see waves crashing on the decks & windows, do you usually feel it on a Voyager-class ship, I mean with the stabilizers on (I guess they'd be on, right?).

 

Keep the stories coming... (I can take it, honest I can! ;) )

[SusieCruisie]

WOW! You all have really been through some really scary seas! I am sailing this Friday, and I hope all will be OK with the Hurricanes that have been around this week. Wish me luck and calm seas!

[BK300]

We were on Adventure of the Seas last year October and went through a tropical depression on the way to St. Maartin. A little uncomfortable but we did not change course. I certainly would like to think that changing course is a better option. Good luck ;)

[flamingosun]

On one of our Sovereign voyages, the ship was bucking 50 mph head winds. The seas were only 6-8', but you could feel it. No major problems, however. Everyone just had to HOLD ON to the handrails on staircases, and sometimes grab for one when the ship lurched a bit.

It was the only cruise we've been on where the Captain was NOT at the door to 'meet and greet' for the Captain's reception. He was needed on the Bridge, and, that, I think, was just fine with everyone. He did a marvelous job that night.