Hurricane cruising

[spinon4]

Our last Western Caribbean cruise was in July 1995, weather was awesome the entire trip - this one will be August 13 on the Carnival Miracle and the hurricanes are suppose to be worse that '05. Anybody that was on a ship last August in nasty weather have any hints, tips, etc?

[jleq]

Cruise ships will do most everything to avoid a hurricane. Whether it be delay/change places visited/or [worst cast scenario] cancelling your cruise.

[Twaincruisers]

I'd rather be on a cruise ship avoiding the worst weather than be sitting here in Miami waiting for the hurricane. Fortunately, this year is NOT expected to be nearly as bad as last year due to different heating patterns in the ocean or gulf. Hurricane or not you should have a great time--maybe a longer cruise than expected! I'm cruising the week before you just to check it out! My fear is that, like 2004, I am on a cruise when a hurricane threatens and my meow-kids are home alone with no shutters on the windows.

[raider4251]

....

[katesmarma]

Last Oct We were to sail Glory Western. Wilma then started towrds Cozumel and Southern Fl. My niece was in a panic thinking we would be heading that way, We were told day before we sailed we would do Eastern. As A perk we had entire day in San Juan. Weather in Eastern was just perfect Our return trip had us dodge storm Alpha. The seas were a little strong then but did not affect ride. Captain at Past Guest cocktail hour remarked that he was heading home for vacation after spending the summer changing course and dodging storms.

[Super89]

I was on the Miracle last August and we were diverted to Ft Lauderdale instead of Tampa on the way home because of Katrina. We actually did go through part of the storm and were awakened in the wee hours by the motion. My advice.. bring seabands and bonine. We never needed them except for that night, took them when we woke up and were fine the whole next day, even though it was so rough that we couldn't go out on the deck. The Miracle is a wonderful ship and she weathered the storm really well. In my opinion Carnival handled the situation very well and we were well informed about what was going on. Have a great cruise and don't worry! We are booked on another cruise this September so obviously it didn't put us off from cruising!

[comfortcruises]

We were on the Glory (western) last June and on our return, we were on a direct path to intersect with one of the hurricanes (the one that did so much damage to Cozumel). The captain kept us well-informed of what he was doing to handle the situation, which was to increase our speed to avoid the storm. That last day at sea, they had to close the pool deck, but the ship handled the seas very well! The crew was wonderful, and everyone seemed to rise to the occasion, as in 'we're in this together.' We asked many of the crew members about the previous year when there were an exceptional number of storms as well (we live in Florida, and here it was worse in '04 than '05) and one crew member said she had come on board in August and didn't have a normal week-long cruise for the first 3 months. I don't think they take many chances - they will extend a cruise if needed to ride out a storm, or go around it if necessary. If that happens, hey, its an extra day or two added to your cruise for free! Seriously, not to make light of it, but with hurricanes the have so much information available to them to make decisions and avoid them. It's always a good idea to have bonine in case of alot of rocking - you can have that when the skies are completely clear!

[suzy1212]

We were on the Glory (western) last June and on our return, we were on a direct path to intersect with one of the hurricanes (the one that did so much damage to Cozumel).

It was hurricane Wilma in October that destroyed the piers at Cozumel.

[wrp96]

It was hurricane Wilma in October that destroyed the piers at Cozumel.

 

Actually Hurricane Emily hit in June and did lots of damage to Cozumel as well. Not nearly as much as Wilma, but we tend to forget the damage Emily caused because Wilma was just sooo terrible.

[suzy1212]

Actually Hurricane Emily hit in June and did lots of damage to Cozumel as well. Not nearly as much as Wilma, but we tend to forget the damage Emily caused because Wilma was just sooo terrible.

I know, but Wilma was the worst of the two and the one that destroyed the piers. I think its winds were a bit stronger and it sat over Cozumel so darn long. :(

[comfortcruises]

Actually Hurricane Emily hit in June and did lots of damage to Cozumel as well.

 

You're right, it was Emily that we had to go around on the Glory. We've dealt with so many the last two seasons that I have a hard time remembering which is which (other than Katrina and the 3 that hit us in Central Florida in '04 - somehow those stand out pretty well).

[emmysmommy]

I was on the Miracle last August and we were diverted to Ft Lauderdale instead of Tampa on the way home because of Katrina. We actually did go through part of the storm and were awakened in the wee hours by the motion. My advice.. bring seabands and bonine. We never needed them except for that night, took them when we woke up and were fine the whole next day, even though it was so rough that we couldn't go out on the deck. The Miracle is a wonderful ship and she weathered the storm really well. In my opinion Carnival handled the situation very well and we were well informed about what was going on. Have a great cruise and don't worry! We are booked on another cruise this September so obviously it didn't put us off from cruising!

 

We were on the same sailing and boy, that was an adventure! Carnival went out of their way to ensure the safety of their passengers and I feel they did a superb job keeping us informed of the changes in our return port because of the hurricane. I felt 100% safe and luckily didn't get sea sick like my DH. :p We are booked earlier in the summer this year. Knock on wood, hopefully, this cruise will be smooth sailing! :)

[CBCit]

The thing is no matter how good a job they do, if you are caught in rough seas, can't go out on deck, etc, as far as I am concerned that is putting a huge damper on my vacation.I have cruised many times in June and August and never thought twice, but as a South Floridian who has been through Frances, Jeanne and Wilma,also Irene and Katrina(who was just a baby when she passed here) I will not book a summer cruise anytime soon!

[Binney]

We were on Legend during Katrina last August. We were rockin and rollin' some, but having grown up on the water, it didn't bother me. I had no idea it was as bad as it was until there was talk in the dining room and passengers started to look for news...then it was all anyone could talk about.

 

Pools were way fun in that weather too. Sloshing around and over the edges, etc.:p