August Sailings with Hurricaine

Looking at the possibility of taking a cruise last week in August before our kids return to school. Specifically I'm looking at a 4 day Mariner of the Seas cruise going to Bahamas (hoping for extra features in its reburb) . In the end, we'll probably end up with a land cruise, but I keep watching prices and its still in my wish list as an option. Our kids absolutely loved our Allure cruise (and we have Symphony booked for next year).

However, my big hesitation is that it is hurricane season, and the last thing I want to do is put my family in danger or scare our kids off of cruising with a bad experience where they are feeling sick from rough waters. Anyone do a Royal cruise end of August (and on one of the medium or smaller ships as I imagine you would feel the seas more than on an Oasis class ship)? Is August a smaller risk compared with Oct/Nov? Also, despite rough weather, would we be looking at rainy days on the ship and at our ports?

Looking for advise if we should drop this option (and even if we do, if for future if we need to stick to March break as summer is too risky). Cruises still run and still seem quite full all year round so it looks like it doesn't scare everyone away.

The absolute peak of hurricane season is September 10 (almost every year, there is a named storm somewhere in the Atlantic on Sept. 10). Late August therefore is a prime time for hurricanes. There's no way to predict if your cruise will be impacted; cruise lines try hard to avoid the storms and sail around them, but as seen this year, cruises can be impacted by storms damaging ports of call, preventing ships from arriving at or leaving from homeports or even sailing through them if weather patterns change unexpectedly.

Many people cruise in August with no problems. One approach would be to book the cruise and purchase the more expensive "cancel for any reason" trip insurance (do it as soon as you book). Good luck with vacation planning!

We often sail in August. Some years have been no issue. Some cruises have had itinerary changes because of a hurricane. In almost every case, the cruise line will not sail into a storm. They keep the safety of passengers and crew as a top priority.

M

Three things for OP:

1. Peak hurricane season runs from late August through September.

2. Summer pretty much guarantees afternoon thunderstorms on a daily basis.

3. While ships will not purposely run through a storm, seas may still be rough even when a hurricane is 100s of miles away.

Personally, I’d go but then again I’m not afraid of rough seas or bad weather.

Expect rain this could last all day or like th other post said, only part of the day. So make sure you have plenty of inside things the kids can do because they pools will not be open in storms.

Hurricane season begins in June, although we tend not to get them in June

Thank you for the responses

Three things for OP:

1. Peak hurricane season runs from late August through September.

2. Summer pretty much guarantees afternoon thunderstorms on a daily basis.

3. While ships will not purposely run through a storm, seas may still be rough even when a hurricane is 100s of miles away.

 

 

Personally, I’d go but then again I’m not afraid of rough seas or bad weather.

So basically the last week in August is basically high risk...and even if not hurricane, there probably will be daily thunderstorms (this is a dilemma too for something like Disney World) .

And yeah, I know ships try to avoid it, but then you hear of examples like the Anthem a couple years back in January, and I think NCL was caught very recently too. Its the rough seas too that worries me.

Expect rain this could last all day or like th other post said, only part of the day. So make sure you have plenty of inside things the kids can do because they pools will not be open in storms.

Hurricane season begins in June, although we tend not to get them in June

Think the only Royal class that has lots of indoor stuff is Quantum class...which doesn't fit our schedule this year as we're looking for just a 4 or 5 day for last week of the summer.

Still not dismissing it, but sounds like our land trip is probably a better option for that week (we're looking at Chicago so a very different kind of vacation). The only thing is, going forward, we will need to stick to March break or summer for family vacations as we don't want to take our kids out of school for a week at a time. And even with summer, our son is close to counselor age so we couldn't just pull him out of camp either...so end of summer is ideal. Our Symphony cruise will be March break but we'll be paying $$$ for flight, and the cruise is already high. Ugh.

Check Chicago’s summer weather. Daily thunderstorms are common there as well.

Check Chicago’s summer weather. Daily thunderstorms are common there as well.

Thanks...didn't realize that. At least with Chicago though, we can plan the museum type exhibits during the rain.

We plan a Cruise every Labor Day for the last 10 years have not yet been impacted significantly by a hurricane. Yes we have been beaten the odds. We recommend watching the weather, Arriving a day or two before the cruise, and being flexible. You may be pleasantly surprised. :D

Lu, we have cruised 2 times on the same week that you are asking about and had no issues. We also went to Disney for 4 days the same week and other than being hot the crowds were decent.

On both the cruise and Disney we met Canadians and families from northern states such as NJ and NY who had yet to go back to school.

If you leave a cruise from FLL you will end up going to the Caribbean. If it is from a more northerly state you might get diverted towards Canada. Just some food for thought.

Thank you. Very good to hear you have both had luck with that time of year (and good to hear about DW too).

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using Tapatalk

Unless there IS a hurricane nearby, the seas are no different than any other time...meaning, it could be calm or rough...can't predict the seas! They will not deliberately put you in a storm, if there is any way around it.

Where are you coming from?

Don't forget if a hurricane is approaching airports are the first to close. The ship may be OK to sail, but what if you can't get to the cruise port? Best to make plans to arrive a day early (always a good idea) and to have insurance.

Where are you coming from?

 

Don't forget if a hurricane is approaching airports are the first to close. The ship may be OK to sail, but what if you can't get to the cruise port? Best to make plans to arrive a day early (always a good idea) and to have insurance.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using Tapatalk

Thank you for the responses

 

 

 

So basically the last week in August is basically high risk...and even if not hurricane, there probably will be daily thunderstorms (this is a dilemma too for something like Disney World) .

I sailed the first week of August a couple summers ago, and sailed in July last summer. I didn’t get one day or one drop of rain on either trip (both 7 day cruises). Not even a cloudy sky.

Daily rain is NOT a “guarantee” in summertime, but summer is the Caribbean’s “wet” season, meaning if it’s going to rain, it will be during those months as opposed to the winter ones.

I’m cruising again in June. I have zero worries about the weather. I would never cruise September or October though. There’s a reason those are the cheapest months to cruise.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

From Toronto, but we we might try driving to Detroit if we did this cruise and flying out of there (flights are much more reasonable).

 

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using Tapatalk

If you don’t mind the flight to Puerto Rico, then your family can do a Southern cruise, which are much more insulated from the weather (meaning, they are very rarely impacted by hurricanes and don’t get much rain)...Aruba, Barbados, Curacao etc.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

We have done August cruises for the past 5 years plus and were fine. With that being said, based on what happened last year, we are choosing mid August versus the last week.

It should be fine...

I was supposed to be on Anthem labor day 2 yrs ago, and cancelled, because as much as Anthem tried to avoid they got into a good bit of Matthew, because the Storm move more East. and coming from onboard the 20hrs to Bermuda was fairly rough. No real place to run on those schedules.

From what I understand your talking Florida to the Bahamas and a 4 day. The good thing is the ship could actually do a quick run to Cozumel as possible backup.

Others have said thunderstorms, and I add very high humidity.

I also did sail on Vision in Mid September and had an amazing 5 days. Just real hot and 1 quick shower. 2 beautiful electrical storms behind us as we moved on.

Have a great cruise.

Sent from my SM-G955U1 using Forums mobile app

I sailed the first week of August a couple summers ago, and sailed in July last summer. I didn’t get one day or one drop of rain on either trip (both 7 day cruises). Not even a cloudy sky.

 

Daily rain is NOT a “guarantee” in summertime, but summer is the Caribbean’s “wet” season, meaning if it’s going to rain, it will be during those months as opposed to the winter ones.

 

I’m cruising again in June. I have zero worries about the weather. I would never cruise September or October though. There’s a reason those are the cheapest months to cruise.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

The cruise we are looking at is Aug 27th....so the days leading up to labor day (i.e. close to Sept).

DH and I actually went (many) years ago to Caribbean very beginning of July. It was hot but no rain...but that is way before end of Aug. Am not worried of heat since then we could enjoy the pool on the ship and the beach at the ports...just the rough waters and rain.

If you don’t mind the flight to Puerto Rico, then your family can do a Southern cruise, which are much more insulated from the weather (meaning, they are very rarely impacted by hurricanes and don’t get much rain)...Aruba, Barbados, Curacao etc.

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Thanks. Can check this out...or even for another year. We have a big family event for our son in a few months and then our Symphony cruise next year, so if we travel this summer, it would be something small (4 or 5 day trip) and with cheaper price.

I was supposed to be on Anthem labor day 2 yrs ago, and cancelled, because as much as Anthem tried to avoid they got into a good bit of Matthew, because the Storm move more East. and coming from onboard the 20hrs to Bermuda was fairly rough. No real place to run on those schedules.

 

From what I understand your talking Florida to the Bahamas and a 4 day. The good thing is the ship could actually do a quick run to Cozumel as possible backup.

 

Others have said thunderstorms, and I add very high humidity.

 

I also did sail on Vision in Mid September and had an amazing 5 days. Just real hot and 1 quick shower. 2 beautiful electrical storms behind us as we moved on.

 

Have a great cruise.

 

Sent from my SM-G955U1 using Forums mobile app

Sorry about your Anthem cruise, but good thing you cancelled.

Where did your Vision cruise go?

The cruise we are looking at is Aug 27th....so the days leading up to labor day (i.e. close to Sept).

DH and I actually went (many) years ago to Caribbean very beginning of July. It was hot but no rain...but that is way before end of Aug. Am not worried of heat since then we could enjoy the pool on the ship and the beach at the ports...just the rough waters and rain.

 

 

 

Thanks. Can check this out...or even for another year. We have a big family event for our son in a few months and then our Symphony cruise next year, so if we travel this summer, it would be something small (4 or 5 day trip) and with cheaper price.

Yes, the Southern Caribbean generally doesn’t get hurricanes. You could just fly to Aruba for 4-5 days and stay at a resort. We honeymooned at the Aruba Marriott

OP here. The Mariner refurb looks amazing for a family with kids so I went ahead and just booked the cruise. We also have a Chicago hotel booked so can think about it (until June anyways when final payment is due).

One question...for rough seas, is lower deck on the ship and middle front to back the best? We have guarantee room but just to keep in mind in case we get assigned and then want to question about changing it.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using Tapatalk

Just not the best time! Even if it's not a hurricane there are frequently named Tropical Storms which are no fun either. :eek:

OP here. The Mariner refurb looks amazing for a family with kids so I went ahead and just booked the cruise. We also have a Chicago hotel booked so can think about it (until June anyways when final payment is due).

 

One question...for rough seas, is lower deck on the ship and middle front to back the best? We have guarantee room but just to keep in mind in case we get assigned and then want to question about changing it.

 

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using Tapatalk

Bottom, middle experiences least motion.