Ever Cruised During Hurricane Season???

Just asking for opinions. They alwasys run such tempting specials during August and September. I'm just currious as to what people think about this.

I have not in Aug or Sep. Don't think I would want to now since we had such an active season this year. I typically cruise Oct or Nov and that is the end of hurricane season.

I haven't sailed during hurricane season but, on our EOS cruise 11/7 to 11/21 we had 15' to 18' waves the first day. I'm not prone to motion sickness but that put me in bed for the day. I won't consider sailing at times when those types of condition are more likely so that means no hurricane season sailings for us.

If you decided to book during hurricane season, just be aware that you'll have to be flexible depending on what mother nature has in store. You sailing could be delayed a day, you might have to change departure ports at the last minute and port of call changes could happen. That and the seas could be pretty rough limiting what you can do up on deck

We cruise during hurricane season almost every year. Only twice have we been subjected to some terrible seas. First time wasn't really that bad, but the second was a doozey..............Hurricane Michelle, with waves so high they were hitting deck 11. Not a nice cruise the first couple of days, but then that is the chance we take when looking for those great prices. :eek:

...prices are low in the Caribbean at that time of year for a reason!

I did it once and we had amazing weather..but if you are the type whose vacation would be ruined by a port/itinerary change, you shouldn't go at that time of year. Remember the season officially goes from July to November, but it seems Sept is always the height of it...

Hurricane season is when you book a cruise for a particular ship, not the itinerary!!

Sherry

I agree that it is a great time(price -wise) if you aren't particular about itinerary. We've cruised 3 times in Sept. and had perfect weather twice. This year, we ended up with a great 9 day cruise, for out planned 7 day on the Navigator. We only made St. Thomas out of the 4 ports scheduled. But we also went to Antigua, a port not on 7 day cruises, so that was a treat. We loved getting 2 extra days because of Francis! We're retired, so no worry about getting back for work. The prices are just so much better in Sept and Oct!

My wife and I have been on ships twice when hurricanes have hit.

1st. we were on Sovereign of the Sea when Hurricanes Luis & Marilyn hit San Juan and St. Thomas. RCI was great they just turned our Eastern Caribbean cruise into a Western taking us to Jamaica & Grand Cayman instead. They never missed a beat they had tours set up for us and we had a great cruise.

2nd time was just this past September, We live in So. Fla. so we were pretty much in a panic all summer. We set sail on Celebrity's Century on Sept. 18th, things looked pretty good, no more hurricanes tracking to Fla. Ivan had passed us by or so we taught -- wrong he took a turn and started heading back. Again the cruise line was great the captain came on the PA and said that Port Everglades and the Port of Miami were being closed and that we would not be able to dock. They kept us informed of the storm track and he kept us close enough to land that we were able to get a singal on our cel phones. This was great because my wife's mom (85yo) lives with us and we were able to make sure she and our dogs were being taken care of (we live in an evacuation area). We received a 9 day cruise for the price of a 7day. The crew was great they created special menus and got extra shows all set up for us.

Would I book in Hurricane season again YES, YES, YES. We had a travel agent when we lived up north who once told us when we were a little worried about booking in hurricane season 'they can move a ship away from a storm, they can not move a resort on an Island -- the cruise lines want to keep you and their ships safe -- and they wnat you to have a great time'. How right she was.

Hope this helps.

Bob

My son was stuck this year. He was on the Soverign. The ship came back to Port Canaveral a day early. He had an option to stay on the ship for a few more days, but was worried about getting back to work on time. He got off the ship and went to a hotel for the night. The airport closed at noon. His flight was for 12:30. The hotel was evacuated. Thank goodness we have old friends who live in Orlando and could put him up.

He got back to work the same time he would have returned had he stayed on the ship.

We cruised Eastern Caribbean over Labor Day in 2002, no problems. We're booked for Western, October 9, 2005. Going with the midset that things might end up changing and plans have to be flexible.

Anne

We have cruised 11 times during hurricane season and luckily we have never had a major problem. We have had some high seas but nothing that would stop us from having fun. We find Sept and Oct the most convenient times for the 6 of us to travel, so every year we book it again.

We are aware of the problems that could occur, but there are problems all thru the year, not just hurricane season. Winter snow could certainly hinder our plans so to us that is more of a possbility than a hurricane.

Yes - Mariner of the Seas, Sept 26th out of Port Canaveral. Western Caribbean itinerary:

Labadee

Ocho Rios

Georgetown

Cozumel

Hurricane Ivan destroyed Georgetown 2 weeks before we were supposed to arrive. Hurricane Jeanne killed 2,000 people in Haiti and left another 200,000 homeless. Then, went out to see and changed course straight into Florida. We had to fly down to Orlando a day early to make sure we were on the ground before it hit.

Ship left 2 days and 4 hours late, from Miami, which meant we had to endure a 4-hour bus ride on a tour bus. We also missed 3 ports of call. Only stopped in Nassau (added) and Cozumel.

They gave us a $500 shipboard credit, per cabin, and a 50% discount on a future cruise. So, we're going on another cruise in January.

To sum it up: if you care a lot about the ports of call, don't do it. If you're looking for a good value, do it.

Had good weather twice in September, but we really lucked-out. We have loved every minute of our September cruises - so far. Trying again next September! :D

The Sovereign of the Seas (or, for that matter, any accessible ship) is our evacuation center of choice during hurricane weather. We've only been lucky enough to evacuate TO a ship once, but would do it again in a heartbeat.

We live on a barrier island and usually have to evacuate anyway, and figure that's the way to do it up right!

DH and I were on the Mariner 9/19/04 to the Eastern Carribbean and were affected by 2 hurricanes. We ended up having 2 extra days on our 7 day cruise (total of 9) because we could not get back to Florida before the 2nd hurricane hit. While some would consider this a "bonus" of 2 extra days, our DD at home who has mild austism, did not see it as such and was convinced we were going to be killed by the hurricane! We have decided that for us it is not worth it to risk sailing again in September. I know this was an unusual year for storms and this is just our opinion!

The cheaper prices in August and especially September are for a reason, as already stated. Chances of a hurricane forming are at their highest during these months. You are taking a risk by booking a cruise during these months.

If you book a Aug or Sept. cruise, be prepared for:

1. a hurricane or tropical storm or tropical depression

2. lots or rain (rainy season afterall)

3. hot, hot, and hot weather

4. rough seas

5. a possible change of itinerary or an interruption of a relaxing cruise

NOW, on a lighter note. . . I've cruised in July and in August. Never a problem. I lived in Florida from 1985-2003. I'm not terribly scared of hurricanes nor would I be scared to book a cruise during hurricane season. The cruise line will take care of you. HOWEVER, know that there is a chance something could happen during your cruise . . . is it a risk you are willing to take??

For our first 10 years of cruising I refused to go during hurricane season and even talked my girlfriend out of taking a cruise for her honeymoon in September. But now that I've hit most of the major islands and know what to expect in cruising, I've risked booking in September and October twice. Thankfully we had fabulous weather both times, but we were prepared to have our itinerary changed, flew in a couple days early and visited family in FL so we would have flexibility getting to the port in case of a hurricane. We view our hurricane timeframe vacations as relaxing mode (would be happy to spend the whole time on the ship), not "I must go to xxx island". If you are flexible, go for it. If you'll be disappointed if you miss a port or two and don't have travel flexibility I'd skip it or make sure you have great travel cancellation insurance.

You pays your money and you takes your chances. That's why the price is cheap.

we were on the disney wonder during a hurricane in september,I think it was francis.It was to be a four day at the park and a three day cruise but it became an eleven day vacation.after doing disneyworld we boarded the wonder and within minutes recieved a three hundred dollar room credit,as they had planned to do only sea days.about an hour out to sea the captain said we would be going to cozumel instead of nassau.And it would be an extra day at sea.then on returning we couldn't enter port canaveral because of the damage so another day at sea and off to port everglades.next day we are bussed to a disney resort and we get to go to disneyworld for another day.next day we go home,but the entire time we never hit rough seas or bad weather.the captain kept us out of harm's way the entire trip.so I will most likely book another during the hurricane season.

I cruised this past Sept. 6th, we sailed beween two hurricanes. Changed the itinerary around and it was quite an adventure getting to Fla., but we made it. I didn't have insurance for this trip, but if I cruise again during hurricane season, I may look into getting some.