Anyone Been on a Rainy Cruise?

I'm going on my first cruise this weekend and although forecasts aren't always reliable, it's not looking great. Sorry if speaking of rain is taboo for the cruise forums, but I'm wondering what to expect if that's the case...anything special to pack. I honestly don't even know if you're allowed on the deck when it rains/thunders, etc. (Obviously I don't want to be outside when it's thundering/lightning). Sorry for the stupid question, but any feedback would be most appreciated.

We've been on cruises where there was rain but not for the whole cruise (we don't cruise for less than 7 nights). I always pack travel Yatzee and you can get a deck of card at guest services. There's also usually board games in a game room or designated place, but there are usually missing pieces. There are also activities around the ship all day and night. Yes, you can go out on deck during the rain.

Good idea with the Yahtzee! Thank you.

What region are you sailing?

Good time to catch up on sleep. I always carry my fully loaded Kindle to catch up on my neglected reading.

Cruise to Bermuda last October featured two rainy days, but the sun was out in Bermuda.

If you are taking kids, you may have to get inventive.

I learned a long time ago NOT to be looking at weather forecasts.

especially ones that are like 7-10 days before the trip

causing nothing but stress for a situation you cannot control.

and more then 90 % of the time that forecast is wrong.

On our first trip to aruba the forecast called for rain and cloudy EVERY day of our trip,

It never rained not even once and the clouds-- i can say i never saw one.

so all that did was created a lot of stress for me.

We did cruise to Cozumel in the rain one day-- it rained off and on through out the day. We sat on the beach under a palapa listening to the sound of the rain on the thatched huts and the ocean near by.

IF you are on the ship and its raining-- everything is indoors

Rainy days are what the Spa Pass is for ;)

I saw rain once. Also wind and rough seas caused us to miss a private island stop one time. And, IIRC, a pending hurricane forced us back to port a few hours early. While it rained, I sat at the RCCL pool bar and enjoyed the daily 2 for 1 special with coupons they had given my wife and me. Meanwhile she took our boys for a soggy tour of Key West.

Bring books. The ships libraries are lame as far as reading material is concerned. The Sky library did put out a reasonably challenging crossword and sudoku every morning. Expect the cruise director to have sufficient activities planned in case of rain. I wouldn't let it keep me from any ports.

Had my only rainy cruise on Sky in late April. It wasn't raining 24/7 but quite frequently. It wasn't a big deal. Actually I don't think about that part of the cruise that much. We had a blast. So enjoyed that trip. Amongst my favorites.

I actually love some rain on sea days. I can sit out there or stand by the deck rail and just lose myself watching the sea, the clouds and the serenity that comes with it. Not once did I melt away. ;)

Depending on the severity of the weather and winds, the outdoor decks do get closed. We have sailed twice where they closed the decks, and once it wasn't even raining, just rough seas.

Safe sailing

We were on a 7day western Caribbean cruise last October on the Breeze. It literally rained everyday all day. I think we had a couple hours of sunshine the entire cruise. Throw in the fact that we missed two of our ports due to rough seas and an injury on board and you have a terrible cruise.

With that said though we have been on 8 cruises and on the other 7 cruises we might have 12hrs of rain on all of the other cruises combined, so we were due.

I agree with what everybody else says and I wouldnt pay to much attention to the forecast.

Thank you all. We're sailing from NY to The Bahamas. I normally go with the wind so to speak. I find rain soothing, but I am hoping for some nice beach time as well. I had an idea of what life will be like on the ship, and didn't really think about the weather until I glanced at the forecast. I'm glad to read the positive feedback from this post. Thank you again! :)

I hope I don't melt either. lol.

Rainy day at sea? Get in an outdoor hot tub, you're going to be wet anyway. :)

(Not joking here. My spouse and I did just that on a rainy afternoon on a TA in the middle of the Atlantic. It was wonderful. And not crowded! :) )

Our last cruise we had two rainy port days. Since we were diving and the seas weren't rough the dives were held as scheduled. The boat rides were miserable and cold but once we got under water it was wonderful! Agree with having books and if you have kids and they don't do the kids clubs have stuff for them. We never saw our children on sea days since they loved the clubs so much.

Sorry for the stupid question, but any feedback would be most appreciated.

Hold with the left hand, cover with the right.

(assuming your concern is over watered-down drinks)

Rainy day at sea? Get in an outdoor hot tub, you're going to be wet anyway. :)

 

(Not joking here. My spouse and I did just that on a rainy afternoon on a TA in the middle of the Atlantic. It was wonderful. And not crowded! :) )

This always cracks me up - people will not go out in the rain but they were going to go swimming, either way you're wet.

As long as they don't cover the pools because of rough seas, the pools are great when it's rainy since they aren't crowded

For one cruise we had to sail slower to miss a hurricane so it was bad seas and windy/rainy. In this case they basically closed the outdoor decks. To accommodate for this they had many more activities going on inside to keep people busy.

Otherwise we've had bits of rain and fog, its usually not a big deal. We always pack a travel umbrella and some rain ponchos just in case. On Disney one time they gave us rain ponchos like the ones you have to buy in the park which was really nice.

Last October I was on a cruise where it rained for 5 of the 6 days. I ended up meeting a lot of cool people including two very nice young ladies (best friends) We sat out in the hot tub in the rain. Long story short, best cruise ever. A vacation is what you make of it...

The problem with all the NCL ships is they do not have a sliding dome over the pool deck. When the weather is wet or cold the deck can not be used making the public ares inside very crowded.

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We were on the Spirit back in '04 for an Alaska cruise where it rained or was threatening to rain 5 out of the 7 days. We had one VERY cloudy day in Skagway, I believe, which was the ONLY day you could go outside without getting soaked. The other ports of call (Juneau, Ketchikan, I cannot remember the other 2...) it POURED rain in bucket-size amounts...lol. It got SO bad that the outside decks were closed off during our Inside Passage portion of the cruise; that REALLY stunk as we were looking forward to the scenery.

Suggestions for rainy cruises:

1) Load up your Kindle/iPad/tablet with LOTS of books and videos!

2) Be prepared for the public areas (Atrium, passageways with seats, library, game rooms, etc) to be extra crowded. HINT: go to the Spinnaker Lounge to read or just hang out.

3) Hang out in the Blue Lagoon/O'Sheehan's Pub

4) LaCucina is usually open & is nice & quiet.

5) SMILE, make the best of the bad weather & remember you're on a CRUISE, for heaven's sake!

Tom

I agree...you just have to roll with it! I never let something like that ruin my vacation. Heck....you might even become a better dancer!!! LOL -- My electric slide was AWESOME!! Ha ha!

Heck - I've sailed through two different hurricanes (or the equivalent). My DH and I were on the Spirit last Fall when we sailed through 82 MPH winds. Yes, we could feel it, and they cancelled the acrobat show scheduled for that night, but it really wasn't bad. They did close the pool area for a few hours, but that was only during the worst of it.

Sailed through Hurricane Erin in 1995, and that one was a little bit worse, but still not bad. There were quite a few people sea sick on that one though...so just make sure you have your patches/pills, whatever.

Otherwise...just enjoy yourself!! A little rain is only really a bummer if you are seeking that tropical beach retreat.

If you are going to the Caribbean, rain predictions and occurrences are much different than in Indiana (where I live). Rain can be happening in one part of the island, while the sun is out on another. The rain may be very brief, followed by sun. Plus, sometimes it can be fun even in the rain. My daughter and I were on a jet ski type excursion on St. Martin and a downright tropical rainstorm came down. We had a blast driving through that. The local guide was freezing while the tour participants were loving the cooling rain. In the meantime, my wife was sunning on the ship with not a cloud in sight.

Yes it rained.