What do cruiselines do if hurricane hits port

What happens if hurricane hits port the day of departure and ship can't sail? Do they give you a voucher for another cruise? I assume they can't postpone for days since their entire schedule would be messed up. I'm a little nervous since we leave next week from Ft. Lauderdale. I didn't think lightening could strike twice in our family since we vacationed in Orlando last summer and experienced two hurricanes in our ten day stay. I thought hurricane season was Sept. so last year I booked an August trip. This year I thought I'd be extra careful and book for July. I think they're following me!!!

Our ship was delayed for a day last year due to Hurricane Jeanne. In fact, the entire city of Miami was evacuated the day before the cruise. I have yet to encounter a ship missing more than one day because of a hurricane. We missed all of Sunday (departure day) and were able to board Monday morning. We received a 50% off coupon for our next cruise and an onboard credit. Some of our ports were changed around as well, which was a hassle because we had booked excurusions.

BTW Hurricane Season is something along the lines of June thru November. A long, long season.

I don't think the cruiseline would actually have a ship in port while a hurricane is nearing. They would rather leave the ship out at sea and bring them in delayed or send the ship to a nearby port to disembark the passengers... like Mariner going to Port Everglades instead of Port Canaveral. But, usually the cruiseline will make it up to you or transport you to/from the port where the ship is.

Hurricane season is June 1 through November 30. The storms are not following you, they are just forming a little earlier than usual this year.

The cruise line will make sure ships are NOT in port if a storm is near or hitting the port close to embarakation/debarkation day. Yes, schedules will be changed. Some itineraries may be shortened and others lengthened....all with the safety of the ship, passengers and crew in mind.

I guess the most truthful answer is "It depends". Normally the cruiselines do not want to have their ships in port when a storm is due to hit. If you notice, the US Navy usually sends its fleet out to sea in advance of an impending storm. In some cases a cruiseship may delay its return from the previous week's cruise or divert to another port out of the storm's path. Last year some 7 day cruises in Florida became 9 day cruises because of the hurricanes heading towards Florida's East Coast. In other instances where the ship is already in port and a storm is heading that way, it may sail early in order to get some distance from the storm. However, tropical storms and hurricanes extend hundreds of miles out from their eyes, so decisions will depend on the particular circumstances involved and will be designed to minimize the storm's impact. Timing is everything so you have to understand that there are no guarantees when dealing with weather-related problems.

Agree, it depends! Hope you purchased insurance ;)

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Last September we were on Celebrity Century when Hurricane Jeanne did it`s turn around.When they saw it was going to close the port in Ft Lauderdale we sailed a loop north of Cuba for a couple of days til it was safe. They helped us arrange for hotels and to make new arrangements with the airlines.Most of that time the Captain was able to keep us in sunshine. And a good time was had by all.

John

The cruise lines have no choice they will be ordered out if docked or the port closed and not allowed to enter. This happened twice last year at PC. PC says it cost $1M/day because of Francis (news attached) and the sand in the channel. Biggest problem was being brought to a port hundred miles away from where you departed and if there's a direct hit the bridges may be closed for weeks or more keeping you from getting your car (if parked at the dock).

Ironically, the suncruz casino ship Surfside Princess refused to leave for Jeanne and got into allot of trouble with the CG. They said it was too rough.

http://www.floridatoday.com/!NEWSROOM/hurricanestoryN0908PORT.htm

Of course I didn't purchase insurance. If I had purchased insurance, a hurricane would definitely not be heading our way the week we are due to depart - Murphy's Law! I wouldn't mind getting a longer cruise out of the deal as negc reported! Do we just call the cruise line to see if we are re-routed to another port or we are delayed? The only problem with that is the air transportation. I knew I should have traveled out of Baltimore (near our home). Florida has not been a lucky state for us, though, we love to vacation there!

But, usually the cruiseline will make it up to you or transport you to/from the port where the ship is.

Is this the case with and without insurance? We purchased insurance for our last cruise because my fiance wasn't sure he would be able to make it. But just curious, what benefit does insurance provide in terms of hurricane? Thanks!

Insurance paid all our expenses while we waited to get a flight home. Hotel and meals were all we asked for. We had receipts for it all so it only took two weeks from the time I filed a claim til I had the check

Once a port decides to close due to a storm heading it's way, they give all ship owners a certain amount of time to get their ships out of the port.

Last year when the storms approached the ports, the cruise lines moved the embarkation dates and sometime they also changed ports. Your cruise may be shortened or lengthened depending on the situation. Last year I left out of Pt. Canaveral for a three night cruise over Labor day weekend. Due to Francis our cruised turned into a five night cruise to nowhere and we debarked the ship in Miami in place of Pt. Canaveral due to the port being closed.

Last September, NOS was delayed two days due to Hurricane Jeanne. NOS was to leave Miami at 5 p.m. on Saturday. We left at midnight on Monday night. Miami was not evacuated for Hurricane Jeanne. South Beach hotels (where we were staying) were allowed to remain open and let those guests who had already checked in remain. This was a good thing since there was not a hotel room to be had inland. Everything was booked. We spoke to a number of people once we got on the ship who had spend the night of the hurricane in Miami in their cars. Travel insurance paid our hotel and food expenses for the two-day delay.

WHERE DO U CALL FOR THE INFORMATION ON CRUISES? HURRICANE WHEATHER DELAYS?

WHERE DO U CALL FOR THE INFORMATION ON CRUISES? HURRICANE WHEATHER DELAYS?

 

RCI puts the updates on their website.

leahjade, bummer about not purchasing insurance :eek:

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Of course I didn't purchase insurance. QUOTE]

 

Is it too late to purchase insurance? You might want to take a look at Insuremytrip.com. I just purchased insurance for my trip on July 28th on the Empress, since I got spooked by all the early hurricanes, my insurance for two 40ish adults was $48 total. We are traveling in steerage, so I only needed to be reimbursed $600 each and my flights are frequent flyer so those aren't covered anyways.

Of course I didn't purchase insurance. QUOTE]

 

Is it too late to purchase insurance? You might want to take a look at Insuremytrip.com. I just purchased insurance for my trip on July 28th on the Empress, since I got spooked by all the early hurricanes, my insurance for two 40ish adults was $48 total. We are traveling in steerage, so I only needed to be reimbursed $600 each and my flights are frequent flyer so those aren't covered anyways.

 

Once a hurricane has been named, it is too late.

 

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We were on the Enchantment for the August 30th sailing last year and thanks to Hurricane Frances, our 5 night cruise turned into 7 nights. We weren't told till we left Belize that all of the ports in Florida were closed and they didn't know when we would be returning. They had plenty to do on the ship, but on the last day, they brought us up to the tail end of the storm, and we sat off the Florida Keys in some really bad weather. They locked all the doors on the pool deck bc it was too windy to go outside (chairs were blowing over the sides) and the doors on the lower deck 5 were also shut bc water was coming over the side. Once we finally were able to dock, there ended up being 9 ships in Port Everglades bc they could not get into Pt. Canaveral, or were also delayed. The airports were a mess and some people could not get a flight home for days.

We did have a great cruise though and we ALWAYS buy insurance!

Here is a link to my review if you are interested:Enchantment Hurricane Frances Review

Unless you're independently wealthy, why would you not buy cruise insurance? It is the best deal for the buck. Too many things can happen at sea, plus your own medical insurance carrier will not cover you out of the country. I just don't get it. I always buy insurance and it is fairly cheap. I guess the same holds true for renters insurance. It too is cheap, but when someone gets burned out of their apartment, they want to take up a collection. I do not give to them, they should have known better.

ALWAYS purchase cruise insurance if you go out of a Florida pier during hurricane season. I would suggest booking the airfare through the cruise line as well (Yes it costs a little more money). If your plane is delaying getting to ship or the ship is delayed at sea getting to port, it is the responsibility of the cruise line to get you there and back home.

If you book airfare on your own, you will have to pay the airline rebooking fee which could be a lot more than booking the airfare directly from the cruiseline.

2nd option is book the cruise from December - June when it isn't hurricane season :D