Hurricane Season?

When is it technically hurricane season? I'm looking to book a 3 night cruise to the bahamas august 11th to the 14th and dont know if I should buy insurance on my tickets incase a hurricane happens...

The season runs from Jun until Nov. Here is a link to what the government thinks about the upcoming season. http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/outlooks/hurricane.shtml

Always buy the insurance. You can get hit by an idiot pulling out of your driveway while on the way to your ship. Don't take a chance.

Now thru October or so. The ships can "go around" them, but no guarantees.

:) I believe hurricane season starts in June and ends nov. We were on Mariner of the seas when hurricane Ivan was out there and our captain did an excellant job of keeping us informed. I was very anxious when we boarded because we had just been thru Jeanne and francis and lost everything. Capt. olsen was fantastic and was on our tv everyday telling us where we were in reference to Ivan and what our options were. so we were not in any real danger. In fact we had a great cruise. Enjoy==nancy

June-November

Hurricane Season runs from June 1st to December 1st. Here in Florida and throughout the Caribbean and Gulf Coast, it doesn't start getting very busy until late August, so I'd keep that in mind when making your plans.

If a hurricane cancels your cruise RCL will refund your money or change the itinary. I have never purchased insurance but I'm ok with that risk.

Yes, buy insurance, but I doubt very much that it will cover hurricanes. We were scheduled on a cruise last September, and were unable to go because of Hurricane Rita. Insurance didn't cover it because the cruise lines gave a letter of credit for another cruise for the full amount. There are any number of other things that can happen however, so get the insurance.

The official hurricane season is June 1st through November 30th. However, Mother Nature doesn't always pay attention to the calendar. Last year there was at least one hurricane after December 1st. Predictions are for fewer hurricanes this season, but predictions aren't always reliable and even one hurricane,if it crosses your path, is more than enough to ruin your day.

So lets say a hurricane happens, and I dont purchase insurance, Royal Carribean will still refund me my trip?

I always said I would NEVER cruise during hurricane season :rolleyes:

I'm booked on the Radiance for November 5th - what are the odds? I know the season runs until November.....will someone please say it will be all over by the beginning of November?????

So lets say a hurricane happens, and I dont purchase insurance, Royal Carribean will still refund me my trip?

If your trip is cancelled due to a hurricane, yes you will receive a full credit or refund. However, if the ship sails and changes itineraries (which they often do) then it is still up to you to make the ship. If your port has its airport closed due to weather and you miss the ship, you lose if you don't have insurance.

The cost of a good standard insurance is a pretty small additional cost for a vacation that is most likely going to run to or at least close to 4 figures ($ wise). I have said it all day in several threads, you can get hit by an idiot just pulling out of your driveway on your way to the ship. Just one ruined vacation will make you a believer, trust me, I came as close as you can to finding out without actually missing the ship (last couple that got on board).

I always said I would NEVER cruise during hurricane season :rolleyes:

I'm booked on the Radiance for November 5th - what are the odds? I know the season runs until November.....will someone please say it will be all over by the beginning of November?????

Hurricane season is REALLY long, so you shouldn't hold yourself back from trips just because of the season. I've lived in South Florida my whole life so I've seen plenty of seasons, and I can say that usually by November, everything has quieted down. However, last year there were storms well into December. That's not really normal, though.

I always said I would NEVER cruise during hurricane season :rolleyes:

I'm booked on the Radiance for November 5th - what are the odds? I know the season runs until November.....will someone please say it will be all over by the beginning of November?????

No, I have to tell you the unpleasant truth...hurricane season officially ends November 30. But hurricanes pay no heed to "official season" guidelines. There was an active named storm in the Eastern Atlantic that started in Dec. 2005 and ended in Jan 2006!

That is extremely rare though, but early Novemeber canes are less rare. That said, hurricanes are fewer in number by November.

But where does Radiance sail? If it sails in the Pacific area and not the Atlantic, that season is slightly different.

Good luck on your cruise. Your chances of not having a hurricane are better than your chances of meeting up with one.

I sailed in Wilma and we got an extra day out of it.The seas got a bit rough though.I didnt mind,but my wife got a bit ill.They offered us another sailing if we didnt want to go.We went any way hoping for an extra day.

So lets say a hurricane happens, and I dont purchase insurance, Royal Carribean will still refund me my trip?

Only if they have to cancel your cruise. If they sail, even if it is on a different itinerary to avoid the storm, you had best have travel insurance if you don't want to lose your money. If they sailed but refunded your money because you didn't go, who would buy insurance? Insurance covers more things that could affect your ability to go on your cruise than just hurricanes. Unless you can afford to lose your money, travel insurance is a good idea.

We were scheduled to go on the Rhapsody last Sept. 21. Because of hurricane Rita, the Rhapsody didn't come into port until two days later. We were given the option of either re-booking for another date, or taking the cruise and I believe getting a 50% credit on a future cruise. That would be taking a five day cruise instead of the 7 day. We just rebooked, and left Jan 29 of this year instead. My sister was also booked on the cruise in September, had insurance and tried to collect, but they told her that hurricanes were not covered. She also got the credit, and took the cruise in Jan.

We were on RC's Navigator during hurricane Frances (week before and over Labor Day weekend) a few years ago. Our seven day cruise turned into nine, and we were only off the ship two days (one scheduled port one unscheduled). It was awesome! Sure it felt like the movie "Groundhog Day", but we were pampered, relaxed and well cared for the entire time. (We tipped extra at the end, as the staff was awesome for the extra days.) We were in beautiful sunny weather and calm water the whole time. The captain and staff were amazing and where better to be stranded when a state (Florida) is shut down than on a luxury cruise ship. The extra days went seamlessly as if they were planned - same great food, entertainment, etc. A coworker of mine was on her honeymoon at an all-inclusive resort last October when the hurricane hit Mexico. They spent about 16 hours at the resort before they had to be moved to a shelter in a school and spent the next three days in extremely unpleasant conditions until the hurricane passed. They then had to return to a partially damaged hotel where they had to share a room with another honeymoon couple for the next several days until they could get a flight out! Not a fun way to spend a honeymoon. That's why I love crusing - they can go around the hurricanes and really bad weather and you don't miss a beat. Don't let hurricane season stop you.

Here is an interesting fact that came from a friend that works at NOAA. Hurricane season is officially 1 June thru 30 Nov, however if you look at the weather records the only month that has never had a recorded hurricane is February. You can suffer the waether anytime of the year. I recommend the insurance.

We were on RC's Navigator during hurricane Frances (week before and over Labor Day weekend) a few years ago. Our seven day cruise turned into nine, and we were only off the ship two days (one scheduled port one unscheduled). It was awesome!

Lucky you! During Frances I was living in Orlando working for Disney, and I was stuck in my apartment with my roommates for an entire two days. Talk about cabin fever. It didnt help that we had horrible neighbors underneath who constantly called security on us even when we were just sitting around on our computers... ugh.

Bummer. That is the problem if you're somewhere stationary during a hurriane - nowhere to go. I loved being "stuck" on the cruise ship - delayed our having to return to the real world by two days. I did feel badly for the college students on the cruise. A lot of them were supposed to be back in school that Tuesday after Labor day, and it was all but impossible to get a plane unti later in the week. As it turned out we got lucky and somehow managed to get a flight that got in around 6 p.m. that Monday, Labor Day. So there I was at the grocery store as it was closing around 9 trying to get something for the kid's lunch the next day as it was the first day of school. All in all it was an adventure and made me love cruising even more.

We prefer to sail during hurricane season because the rates are so much cheaper. Yes we get insurance each time, never needed it and have never missed a port because of a hurrricane. Go and don't worry about it..:)

Mid august through September has the highest amouint of hurricanes. We have had a hurricane or tropical storm on an ongong basis around the second week in August. The last one I remember vividly is hurricane charley on Friday the 13th and then got hit with 2 more hurricanes each 3 weeks apart. Ths was in Orlando so The storms had to hit the bahamas and caribbean before that. Hurricane jean was nice enough to come through and then circle around and hit again as a tropical storm. Boy that was a fun year.

Last year we missed Wilma by a few days cruising on Explorer. During our day in Grand Cayman, I commented how interesting and unique the clouds were. Unbeknownst at the time, these clouds were the embryonic stage for this destructive storm. It still is weird to think that the pier we were docked at in Cozumel was destroyed less than a week after our departure.

2001 Carnival Truimph cruise during hurricane season can't remember which hurricane but we did our itinerary backwards but we made every island it was the western route.