Inclimate weather on a cruise??

We are scheduled to leave on Sunday out of NOLA on the Dream. Looking at weather forecasts for the ports we will stop has a cloudy day in Cozumel and the others not yet available.

Two things I know about the weather:

1.) You can't control it

2.) You can't depend on forecasts this far out.

But I began to wonder---have you ever been at sea days or in ports when it was less than what you had hoped for? Are excursions cancelled in cases like these? We've been on 8 trips, and with the exception of our first trip to Freeport where it was cloudy and sprinkled, I don't recall another cloudy overcast day.

Yes I have cruised through inclement weather and had excursions cancelled because it.

Every time? No. Does it stink when it happens on the rare occasion? Yes but I find something else to do. :D

We are scheduled to leave on Sunday out of NOLA on the Dream. Looking at weather forecasts for the ports we will stop has a cloudy day in Cozumel and the others not yet available.

 

Two things I know about the weather:

1.) You can't control it

2.) You can't depend on forecasts this far out.

 

But I began to wonder---have you ever been at sea days or in ports when it was less than what you had hoped for? Are excursions cancelled in cases like these? We've been on 8 trips, and with the exception of our first trip to Freeport where it was cloudy and sprinkled, I don't recall another cloudy overcast day.

I've had a few excursions cancelled due to high winds and lightening - one that comes to mind was a boat ride to Passion Island Beach on Cozumel.

Mostly I've experienced sunny days, but there have been some downpours, which I just danced through. I can't understand why people rush out of the water at a beach when it starts raining......I'm already wet, I'll stay in the water, thank you, unless there's the threat of lightening. For sure I wouldn't huddle under a palapa!

I think I've had more rainy days at sea than on land though. I've seen that rear aft pool get covered many times on a Conquest class ship. With 196 cruise days on Carnival, it's unrealistic that every day be picture perfect sunny.

We have had two islands canceled because of weather. HMC and Roatan. In both cases, it was too windy to dock the ship.

On one cruise, on the last sea day, it was extremely cloudy and windy with fairly heavy rain and rough seas. The Lido Deck was totally empty. The casino was packed. They did have extra things going on to keep the people occupied. I don't know what else they had because we were among the crowd in the casino. So yes, if the weather is bad, especially the wind, you may not dock or if it's a sea day, they will come up with other things to keep you occupied.

We hit one big storm on the Holiday. It beat the heck out of it. Electric went off and on a few times, think the longest it was out was maybe 8-10 minutes, it sure is dark in those ships when the lights go out and we got thrown around a bit but it just added to the fun LOL Didn't last too long and other than some bumps and bruises from hitting the stairs (which I'll admit I'm clumsy enough to do without a storm) we were uninjured and I don't recall any injuries on board that needed medical attention. No one panicked and everyone just went on with their cruise as soon as the lights came back on.

Had one thunderstorm hit on Fantasy I think it was that caused them to clear the upper deck and lock it down for a few hours, didn't effect ports or anything. Only thing I've ever had in port is a quick shower and nothing that cancelled an excursion.

We are scheduled to leave on Sunday out of NOLA on the Dream. Looking at weather forecasts for the ports we will stop has a cloudy day in Cozumel and the others not yet available.

 

Two things I know about the weather:

1.) You can't control it

2.) You can't depend on forecasts this far out.

 

But I began to wonder---have you ever been at sea days or in ports when it was less than what you had hoped for? Are excursions cancelled in cases like these? We've been on 8 trips, and with the exception of our first trip to Freeport where it was cloudy and sprinkled, I don't recall another cloudy overcast day.

We were on the Splendor when they cancelled all our Mex ports due to WHO Swine Flu alert. We got back our port fees and 1/2 off next cruise. Were we disappointed? Oh, yes, but accordint to the cruise contract they have to keep us safe. Our next cruise is to PR and Caribbean islands. Will the Zika Virus impact us? Who knows, but I will be happy to be on my aft balcony if that happens!

 

Mostly I've experienced sunny days, but there have been some downpours, which I just danced through. I can't understand why people rush out of the water at a beach when it starts raining......I'm already wet, I'll stay in the water, thank you, unless there's the threat of lightening. For sure I wouldn't huddle under a palapa!

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One of the funniest things I've ever seen on a cruise were people running for cover, from the pool on the ship. It was a very short sprinkle. Hilarious!

It did free up, what many consider, some prime seats.

Our visit to Grand Cayman was cancelled due to horrible weather. The outside upper decks were completely closed. They did come up with other things to do inside. I was happy to enjoy my refund on our excursion and put it in a discounted spa service!

On our port at Cozumel a couple of years ago it was really raining pretty good. We had just rented a driver for the day but we did have to re-adjust some of our plans. One happy circumstance was that as we were driving around, there was a break in the rain and our driver stopped to talk about all the red sticks in the sand marking sea turtle nests. We got out of the cab to find that one of the nests were hatching! Our family and one other cab were able to assist by carrying the hatchlings from the nest (which was the furthest from the ocean) to the surf. It was such a cool experience doing that and one we will never forget. To think that we might have missed that if our plans had not been switched around due to the rain.

When it was time to head back, of course it started to downpour. There was another Carnival ship also boarding and we were all outside in line and every time the rain started coming down harder, everyone just cheered! What else can you do but make the best of a bad situation. It gave us a good laugh and yes we were soaked by the time we boarded.

Just goes to show that it is not the wrenches that are thrown in your plans, but how you react to them that matters.

Awhile back we were docked in Nassau with our balcony facing the pier coming from the shore. A tropical storm was imminent and we were having wind gusts of 40-45 mph. We had a great afternoon sitting on our protected balcony sipping wine and watching very tipsy fellow passengers from Senor Frogs trying to get back to the ship laden with a shopping bag full of souvenirs in one hand and holding their balloon hat on with the other as the wind nudged them this way and that :D:D:D

As the last passengers boarded the ship the gangway was pulled in and we took off to outrun the storm. By midnight it was smooth sailing back to home port.

Don't worry too much about clouds/rain. In the Caribbean it rains almost every day. Both times we were in cozumel, it rained...but it passes very quickly. Just take cover for 5 minutes and before you know it, the sun will be back out :)

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Our 1st cruise was rainy except for the day we were in KW....only time I've come back from a cruise with NO tan at all...depressing!

It all depends on the excursion. On my cruise in October 2015 it rained off and on most of every day and nothing was canceled. The ship just had a lot more indoor activities and added trivia games on sea days.

On my last cruise (DCL Dream in March) we went to their island Castaway Cay. We had not been there since 2004 and we so looking forward to finally checking out the adult beach, as our teen son had an excursion. Well just as we got to it they closed it because weather was coming in...and by the time we got to the family beach it was a monsoon for about 2 hours--sideways rain, thunder, lightning, they even would not allow people on the tram and closed the shops--we were in a picnic pavillion with about 100 other people. They had started lunch already so the cast members were trying to bring lunch to us, but so much food was wasted. We finally got back to the ship and they were bringing us warmed towels on the gangway as we waited.

That is the only regret I have about switching our next cruise to Carnival--I love Castaway Cay and hate to think that might be the last vision I have of it! But the price savings takes some sting out of it. ;)

Yes I have been in bad weather and had excursions cancelled and times in port changed to account for the weather. I just went with the flow.

One of the funniest things I've ever seen on a cruise were people running for cover, from the pool on the ship. It was a very short sprinkle. Hilarious!

It did free up, what many consider, some prime seats.

One time we got stuck at Grand Turk, it was so windy they said we couldn't safely leave the dock. So poor Liberty sat there and got tossed around for hours. We finally left about four hours late, and missed San Juan because of it. Oh well, what can you do?

Awhile back we were docked in Nassau with our balcony facing the pier coming from the shore. A tropical storm was imminent and we were having wind gusts of 40-45 mph. We had a great afternoon sitting on our protected balcony sipping wine and watching very tipsy fellow passengers from Senor Frogs trying to get back to the ship laden with a shopping bag full of souvenirs in one hand and holding their balloon hat on with the other as the wind nudged them this way and that :D:D:D

 

As the last passengers boarded the ship the gangway was pulled in and we took off to outrun the storm. By midnight it was smooth sailing back to home port.

I wonder if that was the same storm we experienced. We were on 5 day cruise on the Fantasy out of Charleston. First port was Freeport and the second on Nassau.

Days before we docked at Nassau we were all aware of a fairly week tropical storm called Earl as the rough seas it created had canceled most boat excursions(I was scheduled to dive). However, in the few hours we were docked in Nassau, Earl decided rapidly intensify and by the time we were scheduled depart it was a full a category 2 Hurricane.

The outer bands of the storm actually started coming overhead just as we left. As soon as we were out of port, the captain set a course due west at the ship maximum speed. For the about 4-5 hours we were in really rough seas(the worst I've experienced). The captain took the ship west until we were about 50-100 miles off the cost of Florida and we then rode the cost line up until we got back to the home port of Charleston.

The day after Nassau was a typical sunny day that you would expect on a cruise ship only a little rough. I did the behind the fun excursion that day and while on the bridge the crew were exceptionally busy planning for the next cruise to avoid the storm. The captain talked about the storm for a bit and why we chose the coarse he did. He explained the reason things were so rough was was because the Fantasy lacked stabilizers that are on most newer ships.

In the end, the storm turned north and totally missed the United States before falling apart. Never did I feel unsafe and the only compliant was that it was only a 5 day cruise(I only do 7+ days now)

As for rain and cruising it happens a lot. On our Alaskan cruise, there wasn't a day when it didn't rain and that is typical for Alaska. However, I've never been in the middle of a thunderstorm.

We've had lots of rain on cruises, but never an all-day rain. We don't really mind rain in warm weather. We swim in the rain at our local pool, until the lightning comes and they kick us out. Rain on a cruise is no big deal to us. My daughter's fair skin gets a break and we laugh a lot when we get soaked. A couple on the elevator once thought we all jumped into the pool in our clothes, because they hadn't noticed the downpour. :D We've occasionally had showers on tropic port days, but our excursions were island tours and went on as usual. Like others have said, you can make the best of things in bad weather. If excursions are cancelled, find something that can be enjoyed rain or shine, like a city/island tour, touristy factory, or museum.

I had a great experience several years ago in Belize, thanks to a tropical storm! We were awoken in the middle of the night by a thunderstorm, about 4am the night before our Belize stop. Pretty big thunderstorm to wake two people from an Ambien induced sleep! Actually it was awesome to watch, wasn't raining or storming where we were but it was a beauty of a lightning show. We went out on the balcony and watched for the better part of an hour. Just a fantastic display of lightning. We didn't know it then, but found out the next day that it was a tropical storm and did quite a bit of damage to the mainland in Belize.

We had a private snorkeling excursion booked that ended on what was then known as Bannister Island (now it is called Starfish Island, I think). As it turns out, that is where all of the ships excursions ended but just our luck, Carnival canceled every single water excursion that morning. Our tour operator did not.

Yep, the snorkeling was pretty crappy. Couldn't really see anything, coral or fish. I could tell that the coral was big and in decent shape compared to say Cozumel, but I still couldn't really see anything as the storm stirred up the water to exceptionally murky status.

However, when we got to Bannister Island - oh my goodness. There were only about 30 people on the entire island, employees included! We've never had such wonderful service as we had that day! There were only about 18 guests on the island, the bartender was probably bored to death, but she was a wealth of information about Belize and had there not been the storm, we would have had to share that island with hundreds of people. Instead it was one of the best days of my life.

Storms can have silver linings!

Had ports cancelled due to weather, not excursions, I guess some types may be cancelled just never any in cruises that I've been in due to weather.

Last year there was a tropical storm in the gulf when we sailed out of NOLA, and we had some pretty bad nights. Belize was low-visibility due to fog, and the waves were super choppy, but they were still running the tenders. We met some people on the Magic in Cozumel and they said they did their itinerary backwards to avoid the worst of the storm. They had to scramble to reschedule their excursions.

We are scheduled to leave on Sunday out of NOLA on the Dream. Looking at weather forecasts for the ports we will stop has a cloudy day in Cozumel and the others not yet available.

 

Two things I know about the weather:

1.) You can't control it

2.) You can't depend on forecasts this far out.

 

But I began to wonder---have you ever been at sea days or in ports when it was less than what you had hoped for? Are excursions cancelled in cases like these? We've been on 8 trips, and with the exception of our first trip to Freeport where it was cloudy and sprinkled, I don't recall another cloudy overcast day.

Take those forecast with a grain of salt.

We are scheduled to leave on Sunday out of NOLA on the Dream. Looking at weather forecasts for the ports we will stop has a cloudy day in Cozumel and the others not yet available.

 

 

 

Two things I know about the weather:

 

1.) You can't control it

 

2.) You can't depend on forecasts this far out.

 

 

 

But I began to wonder---have you ever been at sea days or in ports when it was less than what you had hoped for? Are excursions cancelled in cases like these? We've been on 8 trips, and with the exception of our first trip to Freeport where it was cloudy and sprinkled, I don't recall another cloudy overcast day.

We were in Cozumel one time when it poured, a heavy downpour. We had booked the Amazing Race excursion. They offered to refund us, but we purchased some heavy-duty and surprisingly reasonably priced ponchos at Ron Jon, and went on our excursion. By the time we were half done, the Sun was out. We had a great time.

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We were in Cozumel one time when it poured, a heavy downpour. We had booked the Amazing Race excursion. They offered to refund us, but we purchased some heavy-duty and surprisingly reasonably priced ponchos at Ron Jon, and went on our excursion. By the time we were half done, the Sun was out. We had a great time.

 

 

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We have the same excursion booked for next week so I hope we are able to go through with it, even if it rains.

We've got some ponchos with a certain Mouse on it (see my screen name) but we might need something a little more substantial.

Just in case You!

I've had a few excursions cancelled due to high winds and lightening - one that comes to mind was a boat ride to Passion Island Beach on Cozumel.

 

Mostly I've experienced sunny days, but there have been some downpours, which I just danced through. I can't understand why people rush out of the water at a beach when it starts raining......I'm already wet, I'll stay in the water, thank you, unless there's the threat of lightening. For sure I wouldn't huddle under a palapa!

 

I think I've had more rainy days at sea than on land though. I've seen that rear aft pool get covered many times on a Conquest class ship. With 196 cruise days on Carnival, it's unrealistic that every day be picture perfect sunny.

On our first cruise, our excursion in Cozumel was canceled. We were going to see the Mayan ruins at Tulum, but they said the conditions were too bad for the boat to the mainland. It rained all day and we just bummed around Cozumel, and that was back when you had to take a cab or a long walk into town and there wasn't much except a souvenir stand at the port. On our next cruise we did a snorkeling excursion on St. Johns and it was raining. It wasn't storming and the water was still pretty clear, but folks in our group complained and wanted to go back to St. Thomas, so they asked us all to go back. My husband and I wanted to snorkel and figured we were already wet so why not stay, but we had to go back. On our Baltic cruise a few years ago, it rained very hard in several of the ports. In Helsinki, folks didn't even want to get off the bus because it was raining so hard. We were stopped at a site and people just asked the bus driver to open the doors so they could take pictures and not get off the bus. Most of us ended up going back to the ship rather than get doused, but my husband decided it was probably his only chance to see Helsinki, so he got off the bus and stayed in town. It ended up clearing up and he had a very nice day. I think if it were an electrical storm, I'd be worried, but if you want to see something, you're going to just have to get wet. I didn't let any of the bad weather we experienced ruin the trip for me.