Cruisers and rain hatred

I was thinking about a post earlier where people were saying that if it was raining they wouldn't get off the ship and found it a little strange. It was a similar feeling when on my Panama Canal cruise when almost everyone ran for cover even when they were in the pools and lots of folk saying rain in a sweltering hot Messina ruined their day on their special trip.

I can understand that wedding days, cold wet days etc are miserable but if you are prepared with a cheap poncho/bag for your stuff is rain in a hot climate really all that bad? Surely its not enough to stop wandering round Grand Cayman or sightseeing in a blistering hot Rome?

One of my favourite cruise memories is the hot heavy Panama rain on the top deck of the Legend as we went through the Canal. I got soaked an adored it....I similarly remember heavy rain on a steaming hot day in Turkey on the beach...it was wonderful...we went shopping too as it was less busy.

I realise my geographical location means I have a certain tolerance for rain but cold english rain is hated by all. :)

Thoughts?

On a Caribbean cruise or near Mexico or the Panama Canal, I don't mind rain one bit. Even in Alaska rain = keep on going. To me, in warm tropical climates, well, usually , I'm already wet because I'm in the water or at the beach, so some rain is not going to matter. In Alasks, you just expect rain and a lot of times it's just mist, so no big deal. Even in Europe, on a warm day, rain makes no difference to me and can actually improve the photos my husband is taking ( such as the time it stopped raining just as we reached Monet's gardens - wow, we got some amazing photos there of leaves and flowers with water droplets and other interesting post rain effects.

I remember in a Maya ruin when we were all seated on a low wall while the guide explained the site. Suddenly, it started to shower. The guide gently led us under the nearest large tree and said that the rain god was just happy to see us.:)

I also remember standing atop a Maya temple in Belize while it poured rain. I had a rain coat, so I was OK. The others on the ground simply moved under a tree until the shower passed.

During my cruise in 2013, we were in Cozumel when the skies opened up into one heck of a downpour!! My sister and I took shelter in the shops by the pier and, seeing that the rain wasn't stopping anytime soon, decided to walk back to the ship. Her camera bag has a "raincoat" (if you will) so our cameras stayed dry and our purchases were in plastic bags. I didn't see a point in running as it wouldn't help and I was afraid of slipping and ending up in the drink!

We were completely soaked by the time we made it back to the ship but didn't really care. This was in November. A warm tropical rain beats a cold New England rain any day of the week!

I was thinking about a post earlier where people were saying that if it was raining they wouldn't get off the ship and found it a little strange. [...]

 

I can understand that wedding days, cold wet days etc are miserable but if you are prepared with a cheap poncho/bag for your stuff is rain in a hot climate really all that bad? Surely its not enough to stop wandering round Grand Cayman or sightseeing in a blistering hot Rome?

 

 

 

Thoughts?

for me it is STRICTLY physical. a lot of cold rain WILL make me UNABLE to function. as in I literally will not be able to walk. my husband OTOH could go for hours in crap weather cuz he's Military and well, that's just a Tuesday to him.

Depends on HOW MUCH RAIN! :eek:

A bit rainy is way different torrential downpours!

LuLu

Don't the Scots have a saying about there being no bad weather, just ill-clad people?

Just keep the camera dry!

but stifling heat and humidity will and is the main reason we do not travel in the summer. Give me cool temps, even with rain or snow and I can dress for those conditions. High heat and humidity is icky and I avoid both as much as possible.

For me..rain is bad. I don't like getting wet, unless I WANT TO....I fear I will melt! lol! I just don't like being splashed...I don't care if it's hot or cold... (although cold is worse than hot)....I do NOT like getting my hair and face wet. So there.

As another UK cruiser I don't mind getting wet with 'interesting' rain, a deluge, a storm with thunder, lightning....what I really hate is getting wet (and staying wet) in that awful cold drizzle that can last all day in Europe outside (and sometimes during) summer.

Most miserable tour ever was to Pompeii in October. My raincoat kept the water out but it really was unpleasant.

One of my best cruise memories was a cruise on the Millie some years ago. We had a balcony with some covered area and then an open area. We sat with our brandy, late evening, dry and comfortable watching the best sound and light show we have ever seen, thunder, lightning, the rain bouncing off the decking - spectacular.

Just looking outside now, drizzle!

We are happy to cruise. If it rains, that's life.

If not for rain, we would not be cruising.

Keith

My father had a saying. He told me that since I wasn't made out of sugar or salt I wouldn't melt if I got wet. :)

BTW, although we live in the desert now, I grew up in Michigan where it does rain a bit.

While I would rather it didn't rain, especially on an excursion where I'm taking lots of photos, it doesn't ruin the experience. On our tour of London before our Great Britain cruise it rained on and off all day. But everyone on the tour took it in stride and I think we all enjoyed ourselves in spite of the weather. At one point we were waiting to meet our guide outside St. Paul's Cathedral and I realized we were standing by a sporting goods store. So we went in and I asked the clerk if they had umbrellas. His response: This is London. So we bought a nice little compact umbrella and got some use out of it a couple of times during the rest of the day.

I think we were the only people who didn't swim/rush to shore when we were swimming in St. Maartin when it started to rain. It started to rain and everyone was wet in the water. There was no lightening, just warm rain. WE were wet already so why run to shelter?

Once at home we had taken our 2 grandsons to an uninhabited island by boat. It was a hot summer day when the rain started. I said to the boys, "Hey, you don't have to run inside, we can stay outside and enjoy the rain." They were excited about that!

We spent a day in light rain on Half Moon Cay, great escape from arctic temperatures at home. I am no sun worshiper, prefer an overcast day. Clam shells were rain resistant. We had the island practically to ourselves. The Bahamian staff were miserably cold in their sweatshirts, we found the air and water temperature delightful.

Intermittent rain did not ruin our bicycle tour in Malaga. Thank heaven for Gore-Tex.

Don't mind the rain at all. I enjoy being on my balcony when a rain shower or storm comes thru. Just watching it as we approach on the sea can be fascinating, especially when there is lightening.

One of my favorite days was walking around Rye England in the rain with some good friends. The rain added more atmosphere to an already amazing place. It also gave us a good excuse to visit the pub inside the Mermaid Inn and have a drink, not that we needed an excuse.:p

thanks to a passing shower we managed to snag deck chairs right by the pool when the chair hogs took their belongings and ran for cover! the sun came out 5 minutes later :D

Until I started to use a rollator, we didn't mind the rain.

But now -- even a poncho doesn't keep either me or the rollator dry.

I was thinking about a post earlier where people were saying that if it was raining they wouldn't get off the ship and found it a little strange. It was a similar feeling when on my Panama Canal cruise when almost everyone ran for cover even when they were in the pools and lots of folk saying rain in a sweltering hot Messina ruined their day on their special trip.

 

I can understand that wedding days, cold wet days etc are miserable but if you are prepared with a cheap poncho/bag for your stuff is rain in a hot climate really all that bad? Surely its not enough to stop wandering round Grand Cayman or sightseeing in a blistering hot Rome?

 

One of my favourite cruise memories is the hot heavy Panama rain on the top deck of the Legend as we went through the Canal. I got soaked an adored it....I similarly remember heavy rain on a steaming hot day in Turkey on the beach...it was wonderful...we went shopping too as it was less busy.

 

I realise my geographical location means I have a certain tolerance for rain but cold english rain is hated by all. :)

 

Thoughts?

I have said for years that weather should be included in reviews here and on TA. I think that weather is at least as important as activities and entertainment is on a vacation. I think bad weather like days of rain can make a 5 star trip a 4 and unusually dry and sunny weather in a rainy place can turn a 4 star rating into a 5.

I don't think that most folks can honestly say that a grey rainy sea day on their weeklong cruise has no effect on them. Those that like to sit in a lounge and read have lots of company and those that want to worship the sun are none to happy to spend the day inside. It's just not as happy on board when there is a rainy day.

Weather is weather and there's not much you can do about it.

Unlike a lot of folks here, my cruises aren't Caribbean (well, maybe one in 3-4 years....). I am not about to travel to somewhere like Rome or Tokyo and be put off from sightseeing by a little rain, although I certainly wouldn't choose it.

What I most dislike about rain is not getting wet but the fact that it becomes very difficult to get good photos!

Rain happens. We go prepared. Had a Grandson and his wife go on a 10 day cruise. When they got back, they were unhappy because of all the rain.

I just reminded them of the efforts that they put in to become scuba certified and the main reason for the cruise was to scuba dive any chance they got.

Lets see now. Spend a majority of your cruise 25' to 30' below the surface of the ocean and complain about getting wet??? Hummm......... :eek:

.......... WE were wet already so why run to shelter?

 

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We ran back to cover the towels so they didn't get soaked. If we're just walking around, we continue unless it's a deluge. For us, it's a novelty these days to actually see rain, let alone walk in it.

I have said for years that weather should be included in reviews here and on TA. I think that weather is at least as important as activities and entertainment is on a vacation. I think bad weather like days of rain can make a 5 star trip a 4 and unusually dry and sunny weather in a rainy place can turn a 4 star rating into a 5.

 

I don't think that most folks can honestly say that a grey rainy sea day on their weeklong cruise has no effect on them. Those that like to sit in a lounge and read have lots of company and those that want to worship the sun are none to happy to spend the day inside. It's just not as happy on board when there is a rainy day.

Absolutely feel the same. A short downpour is ok. But if it continues all day nowhere looks nice in the gloom. Especially Europe which can turn considerably much colder when it rains.

On our first cruise, we did stingray city in Grand Cayman. As we were heading back to port, it began to rain and all of the excursion participants except my husband and I tried to huddle under the covered area on the catamaran. Hubby and I sat in the rain and got drenched, but so what? We'd just got done snorkeling and were wet anyway.

We did go immediately back on the ship rather than shopping in port like we had planned. Didn't want to drip all over someone's shop.

We also had rain while cave tubing in Belize. The rain and river water both felt chilly to me, but I get cold very easily. Did not hurt my overall enjoyment of the trip.

For me..rain is bad. I don't like getting wet, unless I WANT TO....I fear I will melt! lol! I just don't like being splashed...I don't care if it's hot or cold... (although cold is worse than hot)....I do NOT like getting my hair and face wet. So there.

Well, I have the same face issue but I don't mind the rain. It doesn't bother me in the least for some reason. BUT the splashed part. We could be twins. Even in the hot tub I keep a towel next to me just in case. Firm rule at my house: Don't splash the Queen Mother (since my DGD is a Princess making my DD the Queen). I even put a facecloth on my face when I shower. Ah, the good old days when I was a Princess too.

But rain, to me, is just liquid sunshine. I don't care about my hair if it is a home day but if I'm going somewhere I do care so a hat or umbrella. It is a lot of work for me to look good (well, as good as I can look at this age).

I can only remember one cruise where the rain bothered me and that was back in the 1980s. We were on a catamaran and the skis just opened. We had to quickly cover the camera. Then, like, 5 whole minutes later it stopped. I know we've been rained on since but that one was epic in proportions.

Last week of Sept we were on a 10 cruise from New York City to Quebec City, Quebec.

We spent 2 days in New York touring around in outstanding weather. Then 9 days on the ship with slight seas, 1.5 feet to 4 feet.

Then we arrived in Quebec City.

According to our Guide on our City Tour the sky was blue the day before.

However, we had 54 degrees, light rain, and 30-40 mph wind. This translated out to mean Brrrr cold and the rain when it fell moved sideways as well as falling down.

As soon as I saw the rain drops on the bus window I pulled the plastic rain bag out of my pocket and assembled it on my Camera. Several other passengers watched with a puzzled look on their face.

As soon as we got off the bus they understood why the bag on the camera.

The folks with pocket point and shoots would whip out their camera and try to get a photo before the camera got wet.

What was noticeable was the fact that everyone got off the bus to walk along behind the tour guide. Of course if we did stop for few minutes several would step into doorways out of the wind. One time my wife went into a coffee shop to get out of the wind.

Next day while enroute to the airport it was blue sky weather again.

What I could say about the weather in Quebec City. That is one city that if it had been snowing, I would have followed the guide because the city is so interesting.

Bob