lets talk about hurricanes

[Minuet888]

sooooo isn't anxiety fun?  It makes you think up these wonderful possibilities no matter how rare they are and you get to listen to them on loop in your head!  Isn't that fun?!  I was talking to my friend about my cruise and she asked if I got insurance (I did) because my trip is right at the start of hurricane season.  I am traveling out of NJ/NY on May 31st on Symphony to the Bahamas and back.  I am from Southern CA so I am flying there.

Has this ever happened to someone?  I imagine hurricanes are covered under travel insurance.

Talk to me about hurricanes lol.

[firefly333]

Around labor day is the top of hurricane season. May 31 if there is a hurricane it's rare or not as strong. A hurricane gathers its strength from warm water. May the water isnt as warm as by early sept late august. 

 

Some insurance covers missed ports some doesnt so check your insurance if ports are important to you. It's rare a cruise is cancelled, very rare. I have missed ports. Trip interruption insurance. 

 

Hurricane ike hit Galveston when I was parked there and out on carnival conquest. Never saw my car again. My car was only 6 months old. Turns out there is a different kind of car insurance than if you have a accident. Different deductible, but since you are flying no worries about your car. Personally I dont care if I miss a port. Or two.

Edited March 3 by firefly333

[Coralc]

They are covered. May is nothing to worry about hurricane wise. It would mess up their summer season. 😅 Now, if you were cruising in September/October, it would be more of a concern.

[QTBabyNurse]

I've lived in Florida 40+ years and keep a very close eye on hurricanes due to living on the coast. I can tell you that at the very beginning and at the very end of hurricane season, most of the storms form in the western Caribbean...very far from where you'll be sailing.  
 

I have also sailed during hurricane season and we had to sail AROUND a hurricane during one itinerary. Although we were forced to miss one port and were not allowed to go outside on deck for a few hours one evening, it was not really any different than any other sailing. The Captain is not going to sail you directly into a hurricane!

 

I wouldn't waste any time worrying about it! 

[Mum2Mercury]

Fall is our favorite time to cruise, even though it's also hurricane season.  We prefer it for the mild weather and low prices.  

 

The real question is whether you can reach your port city.  If you can reach your ship, you're going to sail. 

 

The captain has the authority to alter your itinerary -- skip an island or take you to a different island -- to avoid the hurricane; while this is bothersome to those of us who are planners, it's not the end of the world.  The captain will never take the ship and its passengers near the hurricane.  

 

Though it's rare, it's possible you might return to port a day early /stay an extra day on the ship.  This would only happen if the hurricane were actively pounding the port, but it's wise to know it's a rare-but-possible thing.  Take an extra day of medicine, have a back-up plan for children or pets back at home.  

[loman]

I cruise in the fall also . We went western caribbean  instead of eastern once .

[Another_Critic]

I've taken 13 cruises in the September to mid-October timeframe.

 

RCCL Nordic Empress - Philadelphia to King's Wharf & Hamilton (missed port call), Bermuda to Philadelphia, October 7-15, 2001 (turned out to be 8 days due to Tropical Storm Karen stranding us at King's Wharf) 

 

Celebrity Galaxy - 10 days - Baltimore to Key West, Cozumel, Belize, Coco Cay (skipped due to damage by Hurricane Frances), Nassau (skipped due to Hurricane Jeanne), Charleston (alternate port call) to Baltimore - September 17-27, 2004

 

RCCL Adventure of the Seas - 10 days - Cape Liberty (Bayonne, NJ) to Bar Harbor (Maine) [missed port due to Hurricane Dorian], Portland (Maine), SaintJohn (New Brunswick), Halifax (Nova Scotia), Sydney (Nova Scotia), Charlottetown (PEI), Quebec City (Quebec) overnight - September 6-16, 2019

 

RCCL Liberty of the Seas - 9 days - Cape Liberty (Bayonne, NJ) to Boston (Massachusetts), Portland (Maine), Bar Harbor (Maine), Halifax (Nova Scotia), Saint John (New Brunswick) (cancelled due to Hurricane Lee), (added) port day in Cape Liberty to Cape Liberty (Bayonne, NJ) - September 7-16, 2023

 

RCCL Anthem of the Seas - 15 days - Southampton, UK to Vigo (Spain), Lisbon (Portugal), Lanzarote (Canary Islands), Tenerife (Canary Islands), King's Wharf (Bermuda)(overnight) (cancelled due to Hurricane Tammy), (added) Halifax (Nova Scotia) to Cape Liberty (Bayonne, NJ) - October 15-30, 2023

[BirdTravels]

9 hours ago, Minuet888 said:

sooooo isn't anxiety fun?  It makes you think up these wonderful possibilities no matter how rare they are and you get to listen to them on loop in your head!  Isn't that fun?!  I was talking to my friend about my cruise and she asked if I got insurance (I did) because my trip is right at the start of hurricane season.  I am traveling out of NJ/NY on May 31st on Symphony to the Bahamas and back.  I am from Southern CA so I am flying there.

Has this ever happened to someone?  I imagine hurricanes are covered under travel insurance.

Talk to me about hurricanes lol.

 

In your example, it is like asking "What if there is an earthquake in SoCal and I am sailing out of LA". It is a extremely low probability event. Especially in May. 

 

The bottom line is that the cruise must go on for the cruise line to make money. The cruise line very very very rarely will cancel a cruise. It may not sail the exact itinerary that you booked, but the cruise contract that you signed allows the cruise line to change itineraries with or without reason. The Symphony will be going somewhere.

 

The insurance will cover you if the cruise is cancelled or you have some covered reason for not sailing (e.g., doctor certified illness that prevents travel, death in family, etc.). 

 

So,,, unless you have an insurance policy that will kick you a couple of hundred bucks for itinerary changes, there is no claim. If you have a cancel for any reason policy and you, unilaterally, decide not to go (be careful that you are within the insurance guidelines for cancellation), you may be able to claim. Since most airlines will give you back a credit for unused tickets, there is no claim there if you cancel. Most hotels will allow you to cancel until the day before your stay, so there is no claim there. 

 

We sail 6-7 times a year at all times of the year. We have had cruises diverted a few times (Bermuda cruise from Bayonne diverted to Canada, eastern Caribbean cruise sent to western Caribbean).  In all this time, we have only had one cruise cancelled when a hurricane parked around southern Florida and PortMiami was closed for 3 or 4 days. 

[SG65CB]

If the cruise is canceled due to a hurricane you will get a full refund from the cruise line, not from insurance. Your travel insurance policy would reimburse you for nonrefundable hotel bookings. If the cruise line cancels due to the hurricane it's likely the airlines will cancel flights too and give you a refund. 

 

The most expensive insurance loss you can have is if the cruise does sail but you find it impossible to travel to the port city due to the hurricane. If you are unable to travel for a covered reason then your insurance will reimburse you for the cost of the cruise. However, different policies have different requirements to qualify as a covered reason. 

 

Also know that you have to buy insurance before a storm is "foreseeable"; once it has a name it is a foreseeable event and therefore cannot be insured. 

[BirdTravels]

15 hours ago, Minuet888 said:

sooooo isn't anxiety fun?  It makes you think up these wonderful possibilities no matter how rare they are and you get to listen to them on loop in your head!  Isn't that fun?!  I was talking to my friend about my cruise and she asked if I got insurance (I did) because my trip is right at the start of hurricane season.  I am traveling out of NJ/NY on May 31st on Symphony to the Bahamas and back.  I am from Southern CA so I am flying there.

Has this ever happened to someone?  I imagine hurricanes are covered under travel insurance.

Talk to me about hurricanes lol.

it is also incumbent on you to get to the port of departure. If the airports are delayed or closed, you need to proactively get to the departure port. Fly a day or two early. Fly into Philly or DC and catch a train to NYC. Your insurance would cover a tiny bit of a travel interruption claim, and you would be out thousands if you, due to your inaction, just no show for a cruise.  

Edited March 3 by BirdTravels

[mugtech]

        Last September coming back to Baltimore from Qubec on NCL Sky missed 3 ports because of a hurricane hitting Nova Scotia.   Poured rain all day in Boston, Martha's Vinyard was then cancelled because of high winds could not get to shore.  NCL gave $100 OBC plus 20 % off on a future cruise.  The internet was terrible, no compensation for that.

          Back in 2012 Sandy turned a 9 day Caribbean cruise out of NYC into 13 days, no extra charge, spent Halloween in Boston.  While still employed we cruised after 10/15 every year, good prices, unknown weather.

[PhillyFan33579]

I have lived in Florida the majority of my life. If you are worried about hurricanes, don’t cruise August thru October. 

[neverbeenhere]

Hurricane-Smurricane, the cruiseline loves it’s ship too much to put it in danger. (Oops, I mean they love their customers too much to put them in danger)