Curious - anyone cruise during TS / potential hurricane - what did RCI do?

[4spring]

Sailing in 3 days to the Bahamas & starting to wonder what cruiselines generally do when there is a TS or hurricane anticipated. Anyone cruise under those circumstances before?

[loubetti]

I hate to answer a question with a question, but....

 

What do you think they would do?

 

1. If the storm is NOT expected to hit the departure port on departure day, they would still cancel the cruise to play it safe.

 

2. They would depart, then divert around the storm, cancel or change port stops as necessary to avoid the worst of it.

 

3. Keep the itinerary and sail into the storm if necessary.

 

What is YOUR answer of the 3 above?

 

You really do not need first hand accounts for what is the obvious.

[4spring]

Of course I would hope that we would depart anyway & change ports if necessary. I guess I'd like to know what others have actually seen happen though. While it might not be what happens in my case. like everything on this board, I'd still like to see what other's experiences have been. Kind of the point of the boards, to give traveler's viewpoint/experiences.

[molly361]

We were on a 3 day cruise on the Monarch a few years ago during a storm. We just spent 3 days at sea, no stops. We all had a lot of fun.

[reallyitsmema]

Of course I would hope that we would depart anyway & change ports if necessary. I guess I'd like to know what others have actually seen happen though. While it might not be what happens in my case. like everything on this board, I'd still like to see what other's experiences have been. Kind of the point of the boards, to give traveler's viewpoint/experiences.

 

Just ignore posters like that, they just try to stir things up.

 

The cruise line takes each storm on a case by case basis. We just sailed Anthem, down the edge of Hermine, and we didn't find out anything until we boarded.

 

With the size and strength of Matthew, now a category 4 hurricane, I would keep an eye on the cruise line's website for updates on the cruise before yours. That is really going to dictate what they do with your cruise. They will change itinerary based on the storm, but with the shorter cruises, it makes it harder for them to run away from the storm since they have to get back sooner.

 

They have extended cruises in the past and shortened them too. Really just a wait and see situation, unfortunately.

[dtagirl]

We were on the Empress in August when Hermine was TS 99 or whatever it was called before it became Hermine. We were to go to Key West, instead went to Nassau. There were 6 ships there that day.

[Ocean Dancer]

Of course I would hope that we would depart anyway & change ports if necessary. I guess I'd like to know what others have actually seen happen though. While it might not be what happens in my case. like everything on this board, I'd still like to see what other's experiences have been. Kind of the point of the boards, to give traveler's viewpoint/experiences.

 

I have been through 3 different senerios concerning Royal on 3 different cruises.

 

 

Cruise A.......we missed 2 ports only docking at one for a 7 day cruise.

Cruise B.......we changed from Eastern to Southern to avoid the storm

Cruise C.......we left San Juan at 4pm instead of 10 pm to out run the storm and missed one port. Those who booked air through Royal, or had insurance were flown to St Maartin to pick up the ship 3 days later.

[setsail]

No, no one has

[loubetti]

Just ignore posters like that, they just try to stir things up.

 

 

No, WRONG! As these questions come up ALL the time, I like to challenge people to THINK! Who cares what happened in the past to a particular cruise. It is not always the same formula in each situation.

 

Go with the flow. The cruise line will keep you safe. :cool:

 

Okay, maybe I'll ignore you!:D

[lazydayz]

On our cruises, we have missed a port or two, switched from Eastern to Western, and one time, sailed our original course which kept us on the outskirts of a hurricane all week long (AOTS, Southern Caribbean route). On that one, we only had one day that it did not rain and on some days, the outside areas were closed to passengers. So it really does depend. Go with the flow and enjoy your cruise.

[stlouistravelers]

I hate to answer a question with a question, but....

 

What do you think they would do?

 

1. If the storm is NOT expected to hit the departure port on departure day, they would still cancel the cruise to play it safe.

 

2. They would depart, then divert around the storm, cancel or change port stops as necessary to avoid the worst of it.

 

3. Keep the itinerary and sail into the storm if necessary.

 

What is YOUR answer of the 3 above?

 

You really do not need first hand accounts for what is the obvious.

 

Lou, you are being a jerk. The OP had a valid question. The answer is not obvious and I for one would like to know the answer from people with valid input.

[cruising grandma]

I'm leaving Sunday on Allure, and am watching the weather reports, but I know Royal will try to keep the ships, crew and passengers safe. Our ports are supposed to be Labadee and Falmouth, which are in direct line for Hurricane Matthew, and Cozumel. Lots of speculating going on, but until tomorrow or Sunday, we probably won't know where we'll be cruising.

 

My only other cruise on Allure was four years ago in August.....Hurricane Isaac closed Port Everglades for two days....no ships in or out, so our cruise was shortened to five days, while those onboard had a nine night cruise, instead of both being seven nights. Royal notified us and paid for hotels and food along with giving us OBC and certificates for $off future cruises.

 

In August, we were in Freedom, scheduled to go to Coco Cay, St Thomas and St Maarten. Captain decided to take us to Coco Cay, Cozumel and Costa Maya to avoid rainy weather.

 

Years ago, we cruised from Bayonne, NJ for a Bermuda cruise, but Hurricane Gert changed that itinerary to Port Canaveral and Nassau.

Edited September 30, 2016 by cruising grandma

[MommaBear55]

We stayed tied up in Boston for two extra days, had two of our six ports eliminated during Hurricane Sandy

[Megs867]

The first cruise I took we were supposed to go to the private island in the Bahamas but due to damage we went to Nassau. We also missed Costa Maya.

 

 

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[crookedhalo]

In 2006 TS Ernesto swung around and headed south again from Philly - we were sailing on Grandeur out of B'more and the bay had been closed to traffic in anticipation of the storm. They agreed to let Grandeur sail on time to try and get ahead of the storm.

 

It was windy and rainy all day. We booked down the bay with all outdoor decks closed and crew tying down the loungers and anything else that might blow over/off. I remember watching this from the VCL and thinking it was awesome:p (grew up going to the docks in downtown Annapolis to watch the storms come in over the water - a truly amazing sight:cool:). Made it out of the mouth of the bay around 12 midnight and other than a bit of mild tossing and turning no further problems;). BUT I do remember the dining room being a little bit on the empty side that night and not too many souls venturing out of their cabins (I loved it - got to roam the ship basically alone:p).

 

But as other posters have said, RCCL's main concern is the saftey of the passengers and crew (and their very, very expensive ships) and will always err on the side of caution.

 

We actually book most of our cruises either at the end of hurricane season or on the shoulder - deals can be had:D

[vamprella]

I'm currently on the Allure. We stopped at Nassau. Hurricane Matthew was not even a TS when the captain decided to divert us from St. Maarten/St. Thomas to Labadee/Falmouth, Jamaica. There's been a little rain, but overall gorgeous weather and we avoided the nasty weather.

 

 

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[Snit13]

Sailing in 3 days to the Bahamas & starting to wonder what cruiselines generally do when there is a TS or hurricane anticipated. Anyone cruise under those circumstances before?

 

At top right click on NEWS and read. It is posted there for current storm.

 

Better than sitting at home wondering if your home is going to be destroyed or your life taken. Would much rather be enjoying a wonderful cruise.

[Snit13]

Lou, you are being a jerk. The OP had a valid question. The answer is not obvious and I for one would like to know the answer from people with valid input.

 

As Lou stated, this question is asked over and over. Why can't people read the answers which have been posted and use their brains and think?

 

I read this information on Cruise Critic News this afternoon.

[Ocean Dancer]

As Lou stated, this question is asked over and over. Why can't people read the answers which have been posted and use their brains and think?

 

I read this information on Cruise Critic News this afternoon.

 

Because people do not know where Cruise Critic News is and as members, we should be nice and answer questions over and over. But, in his defense, it can get frustrating.

 

Please make reservations for all dining and shows on Anthem

Yes, I like DD dining and will miss it

I also love formal nights

And yes, the drink package is currently on sale. ( according to Royal)

 

Now back to our regular scheduled programming. :)

[IsanTom]

Cruise Critickers the Captain will take care of all of you. Don't worry. Your job is to have a great cruise, if you get a little bad weather, enjoy it. As a Tin Can Sailor, we enjoyed a rocky ride, sorta like a roller coaster and it's free! You do not have to book one of the mega ships to enjoy the ride and no cruise line has a roller coaster yet! So it's a free experience. Mother Nature at her best.

And please, do not run to Guest Services and ask for freebies, OBC, credits or bottles of wine. This is Mother Nature at work.

Edited October 1, 2016 by IsanTom

[tjsttng]

My sister is leaving in 2 days on Freedom and she called to see hat could be the change. All they could tell her that Coco Cay was highly unlikely and may be diverted to different port. They can't tell us because many cruises are diverting and it depends on open port and the size of the ship. We believe they will still do the others 2 ports and hoping for one more in that area as well.

 

 

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[loubetti]

As Lou stated, this question is asked over and over. Why can't people read the answers which have been posted and use their brains and think?

 

I read this information on Cruise Critic News this afternoon.

 

As to the rude comment about me being a "jerk" was made above here, I will first thank you, Snit13, for agreeing with me and my comments.

 

For some of the rest. Plug your brains in, and stop asking dumb, repetitive, useless questions during hurricane season.

 

Who cares what RCCL did "then", it's all about the hurricane "now" and, I can assure you that it will be coming closer to my home in south Florida than it will to your cruise ship. I'm not worried about it, but why are so many others?

 

You know, we have a search function at these forums. :cool:

 

Ah! Hurricane season at these forums; ya' gotta love it!:D

[4spring]

Thanks for the multiple responses. It is helpful to know what has been done in the past because it offers some reflection of how these industries consider situations like this. I am sure there is some sort of basic protocol. Safety I'm sure being the main concern.

For those that say this question has been asked multiple times - so have probably all of the questions or comments on here. That's how boards work. Those that have more experience with a particular subject depart that knowledge to those that don't. And the beauty of it is, is that if you don't feel like talking about the same subject again, you can just ignore the post & move onto another one that might be more interesting.

So thanks for the info. Regardless of how things turn out, I'm sure we'll all have a good vacation, hopefully on a cruise ship. :) And thanks for the heads up on the "news" button. I didn't know about that!

[Ocean Dancer]

Thank you 4spring, we were all new once and I hope I was of help in my reply. You have to develop thick skin on some days around here.

 

Have a safe, smooth and sunny cruise :)

[riclop]

Sailing in 3 days to the Bahamas & starting to wonder what cruiselines generally do when there is a TS or hurricane anticipated. Anyone cruise under those circumstances before?

 

There so many threads on the same subject.