cruising during hurricane season (early september)

[Yakb0]

Hello everyone,

 

Because of my work schedule, I'm going to book a Caribbean cruise on the Oasis or Allure during early September. I was wondering (hoping) that you folks could have some words of advice for selecting a cruise (eastern vs. western Caribbean) and have some advice twords booking shore excursions during the first week of September.

[maureencruiser]

So your question has nothing to do with it being hurricane season? :confused::confused:

[jessicalorene]

Just be flexible, you may go and everything may be perfect but just know you are taking a chance and don't let it ruin your vacation

[cruising_knc]

Our anniversary is September 3 and we've done 2 cruises out of Florida to celebrate it. Both times there were hurricanes brewing. Both times our cruise went off without a hitch. Get trip insurance. Have fun.

[Mycraft]

take the western route...in general the eastern routes are these which are affected...if there is some kind of bad wheather...

[sky0000547]

Fingers crossed, I'm going second week of September.

[B-52]

We cruised out of Florida on the MARINER one year, at Labor day....skirted around 3 major storms, itinerary flippd all around, one port canceled...

 

It was the best cruise I have ever been on to date....1/3 of the passengers stayed in their staterooms, sick....which left the ship uncrowded, with only seasoned passengers out and about, not your typical tourist types......even the crew was in a extreme friendly, party mood unlike you rarely see, rules and structure out the window......lots of free drinks, etc...everyday was unplanned not knowing what changes will happen, even hour by hour.....

[KeywestK]

Just book the cruise and try not to worry about possible hurricanes. In reality, hurricane season is from June 1st through Nov. 30th, and storms can pop up anytime. That said, booking a cruise at the height of hurricane season requires 2 things, IMO. Buy travel insurance, and be flexible! If there's a storm, the captain will alter the itinerary to keep out of harm's way. We are booked for Bermuda next month, and when I booked it, I told DH that if there's a storm, we could end up anywhere--or no where!:eek::)

[Topo Gigio]

The good thing about cruising in September is that it is dirt cheap! and since I have been to most of the island I really don't care where I end up.

[jackdiamond]

As you know the peak of the hurricane season is September 10. No worries for folks who do not live in Florida, but can be worrisome for we Floridians who will not be home to care for their abodes etc.

[Mel8730]

I am sailing this Sunday. Someone just posted on our roll call there may be a tropical depression that could affect St. Thomas, where we are supposed to be next Wednesday. As long as I get on the ship Sunday, I'm fine. If we miss a port or two due to the storm, we are still cruising on a lovely ship.

[srvdmy4usn]

As others stated there is no real way to plan for a hurricane.

 

One thing to know however, the majority of cruises still happen even during hurricanes. Very rarely is a cruise canceled entirely. They may cancel a port, reschedule a port, etc. but you will still be cruising on a beautiful ship with an umbrella drink in your hand!

 

If it is something that will haunt your dreams and add stress to your vacation pick up some travel insurance that will give you peace of mind. Obviously the insurance will not stop the weather, but it will give you the funds back to reschedule the trip! Look for insurance that will allow you to cancel with no questions asked. At that point you could watch the weather yourself and make the choice to cancel if you do not feel comfortable.

 

As for what itinerary. I will be on the Allure on the 15th of Sept for the Eastern trip. We have a really active roll call, check it out HERE

[Yakb0]

So your question has nothing to do with it being hurricane season? :confused::confused:

 

I was trying to ask, if the eastern or western itinerary was more likely to be affected by a hurricane.

[Clarea]

I was trying to ask, if the eastern or western itinerary was more likely to be affected by a hurricane.

Both itineraries have been hit by mulitple hurricanes in the past. Either itinerary, it's not going to be predictable. Think of it as an adventure!

[ShipRiders]

I was trying to ask, if the eastern or western itinerary was more likely to be affected by a hurricane.

 

From someone who lives in Florida, there is no way of knowing until you are a couple of days away from the Hurricane which approximate area it is going to strike. With that said it could change course in a matter of hours.

 

Just book which ever itinerary you like best and let the captain worry about the rest.:D

[riclop]

Fingers crossed, I'm going second week of September.

Your at the peak of hurricane season.

[kelleigh229]

Hard to predict weather during hurricane season..I have cruised when a hurricane was headed for our port (Miami) that day so we actually heard on the news that the port was closing and that ship passengers should get there asap.

 

We left early to avoid the storm and did have to leave without passengers...they were supposedly meeting us at the next port.

 

It was a great cruise. A little rocky the first day but all went well. Damage at the hotel where our cars were parked but the cruise was great and we avoided the storm.

[Baracing]

Just flip a coin and go have fun. Ships try there best to stay out of storms.

 

Remember, even our weather experts can't tell us when a storm will really come. I have a southern carb booked for the first week of sept and am not worried, one thing I do know is I will be cursing:D

 

lol :eek: I hope your cruising will tone down your cursing! :D Sorry I had to do it;)

[Truluv]

I've always paid attention to the cruise news when hurricanes are around, since our first cruise as a family was on the tiny Carnival Celebration back in 1996 or 1997 during a hurricane in late October/early November. (Imagine 766 feet long and a staff of 760, vs. Oasis' 1187 feet and a staff of 2394...and we felt Celebration was huge at the time.)

 

We rocked and rolled, to the point where it was difficult to walk down the halls without banging into walls. We felt the ship going up and down, up and down, up and down...you get the idea. There were 5 of us in the cabin, and our feet were sometimes higher than our heads in our bunks. Sea sickness bags were at every landing and elevator, and there was a bowl of sea sickness pills on the Pursar's desk. Since it was raining on the decks, we learned how to get around inside the ship without going outside. We enjoyed a lot of inside-activities, and walked in steamy Caribbean rains at the ports. I'm sure the Captain avoided the storm as much as possible. We had a great time though, and booked our next cruise as soon as we got home!

 

The newer, bigger ships have much better stabilizers and weather predictions that help the Captains avoid storms as much as possible. Some rain is always possible, but there are so many things to do that it doesn't seem to matter much. If anything, sometimes it can cool things off! I've had pool closures due to storms on a few cruises (I'm up to 15 cruises now), but nothing that lasted more than a day or so. I've noticed that sometimes a Captain will change an itinerary a bit if necessary, but the cruise lines do their best to keep their passengers happy.

 

I definitely wouldn't let the fear of a possible storm stop me from cruising. I don't think the odds are significantly different for Eastern or Western itineraries, but the odds are in your favor anyways.

[jules815]

We cruised out of Florida on the MARINER one year, at Labor day....skirted around 3 major storms, itinerary flippd all around, one port canceled...

 

It was the best cruise I have ever been on to date....1/3 of the passengers stayed in their staterooms, sick....which left the ship uncrowded, with only seasoned passengers out and about, not your typical tourist types......even the crew was in a extreme friendly, party mood unlike you rarely see, rules and structure out the window......lots of free drinks, etc...everyday was unplanned not knowing what changes will happen, even hour by hour.....

 

We were on Carnival Dream during hurricane Sandy. (I think we sailed on 10/17, so we were toward the end of hurricane season.) It was an eastern Caribbean, 7-day, Saturday-Saturday, which because of the hurricane, turned into an 8 day cruise. By Thursday, when they bolted shut our cove balconies, and put the barf bags near the elevators, the entire vibe of the ship changed. Not a lot of people around, practically empty dining rooms; we even showed up at the steak house one night wearing shorts and they were happy to have customers, and it was our group and maybe two other tables. Crew was in a fun mood, and they had scrambled to organize additional activities for our added day. Bags games out in the atrium, extra bingo and karaoke competitions. I do give Carnival credit for handling the situation as well as possible.

 

They repeated the menu from the first night, and there didn't seem to be any shortage of food or drink. (a bartender told us that they keep an adequate supply for events such as this.) It was a challenge walking about the ship; we were rocking in all directions, and the floor would literally drop from beneath your feet!

 

Even so, we wouldn't hesitate to cruise this time of year again. We didn't miss any of our ports, and the weather in all of them was lovely.

 

The one thing we probably would do though is drive to the port next time if we sailed during hurricane season. Having to change flights and other reservations (shuttles, etc.) was kind of a pain, but it all worked out.

 

Someone posted this on youtube.

http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aESlw8kxh_0

 

This was our extra sea day spent cruising in circles off the coast of Miami. Sandy had already moved north and we were following her up the coast. Sunny and VERY windy, and difficult to move about the ship but there were still some people out and about. This was up on deck 10. They had the deck 5 promenade completely closed off. I remember standing at the deli outside near the aft pool on that day and having to brace myself against the counter to place my order. There were a couple other ships out there with us as well. I remember watching a Norwegian ship get tossed around and thinking, "oh yeah, that's what's happening to us too!" :eek:

[jules815]

The good thing about cruising in September is that it is dirt cheap! and since I have been to most of the island I really don't care where I end up.

 

 

This is how we felt about our last hurricane cruise. It was our third time in the eastern Caribbean, and we figured we wouldn't really care if the itinerary changed, and we like sea days anyway.

[SeagoingMom]

My advice is in line with lots of other posters':

 

It might be best to choose an itinerary you would not be too unhappy to miss -- yeah, I know that sounds funny.:rolleyes: What I mean is, unless you think you might cruise the same itinerary again in the future, in non-hurricane season, you might consider opting for your "second choice" itinerary on this cruise. And don't set your heart on any particular port(s) -- like planning your wedding or vow renewal at one of them, for example :D:eek: -- just in case your cruise is rerouted.

 

Probably planning to use ship excursions is a good idea (as opposed to booking independently), for ease in getting satisfaction if excursions have to be canceled.

 

Bring along your sea-sick meds!

[rp23g7]

We always cruise during hurricane season. In 2005 we left the day before Wilma hit Ft Lauderdale, we did a eastern modified itinerary, no big deal, no bad weather, found my favorite island, Tortola.

 

Last year, we were a day behind Sandy, in the Florida Straights, rounding the corner before docking in Miami. We had a aft cabin on the Carnival Liberty.

 

It started getting rough about 11 at night, kinda relaxing, up and down, rocking, then about a hr later the intervals got longer but steeper, I went out on the balcony, just as the stern was in a trough.

 

It was a perfectly clear night, but the wind was blowing like crazy, we were on deck 6 and I was looking right across at a wave, yikes.

 

Later that night, the waves got closer together and the ship started pounding them, everything was shaking and vibrating, real annoying, but I would still do it again.

[Eng23]

I've cruised during hurricane season multiple times and only missed one port due to one. It's the luck of the draw as to where a hurricane will go, so don't dwell too much on it. The best advice I can give is to be sure to purchase travel insurance. Even though your cruise may not be impacted by a hurricane, your departure port might before or after a storm (cancelled flights, closed port, etc.). Insurance will cover you in most of those cases if you miss your cruise due to a hurricane. Be sure that you know what the insurance will cover.

[Eng23]

I am sailing this Sunday. Someone just posted on our roll call there may be a tropical depression that could affect St. Thomas, where we are supposed to be next Wednesday. As long as I get on the ship Sunday, I'm fine. If we miss a port or two due to the storm, we are still cruising on a lovely ship.

There is currently a tropical storm (Dorian) out in the Atlantic right now to the east of the Caribbean Islands. It is expected to reach hurricane status and will continue to move towards the Caribbean by this weekend. Projected track of the current storm:

 

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphics_at4+shtml/145253.shtml?5-daynl#contents