Hurricane Season

[judithdh1]

Ok, before I book another cruise, I need to know what months to avoid.

 

We are thinking of going on the Conquest out of New Orleans to Jamaica and the other places it goes to.

 

But I don't want to get into a Hurricane problem. So when is Hurricane Season, and what is the best months to travel to avoid it?

 

Thanks for your all's help.

 

Judi Hensley

[GoinCruisin]

Most hurricanes occur from August to October... But I'm not skeered :D

[klfrodo]

Hurricane season for the Caribbean is June 1st to end of November.

 

Then again Hurricane Season in New Orleans is ALL YEAR LONG!!! Those drinks will mess you up.... :-)

[L2J]

Hurricane season for the Caribbean is June 1st to end of November.

 

Then again Hurricane Season in New Orleans is ALL YEAR LONG!!! Those drinks will mess you up.... :-)

And there has been an occasional hurricane in December is well. I'm not sure you'd get into a problem as they would steer clear of it.

 

You can also go to weather.com or pull up information from the places you are planning to visit.

 

Man I wish I had the link to that pic:D here with me.

[Cotton]

Hi Judi, and welcome to the boards. I live beachfront on the Gulf Coast, so I'm TOO familiar with hurricanes!:eek:

 

The season is June 1 thru November 30. I can assure you, IF a hurricane were approaching, the captain would take the ship out of harm's way. There is plenty of warning before a hurricane arrives, and the ship will not be in eminent danger.

I feel MUCH safer on a ship during a hurricane than I do in my own home, which has suffered much damage from numerous hurricanes. Most hurricanes ARE in late summer or fall. Still - I choose to cruise in the fall months.

Don't dwell on it. Just go and have a wonderful cruise.:)

[dan40]

Hurricane "Season" as stated above, lasts half the year. I'd guess that 30 to 40% of all cruisers sail during hurricane season and are never aware of it.

 

 

Dan

[Cruisequest]

I recently read that more Hurricanes have occurred in September than any other month.

 

That wouldn't stop me, though. :)

[pholter]

You can also choose the "safer" route and go Southern Caribbean. 3 of the Ports are known to be outside of the Hurricane Belt. San Juan and St. Thomas are not, but the odds are definitely in your favor.

[tutak]

You can also choose the "safer" route and go Southern Caribbean. 3 of the Ports are known to be outside of the Hurricane Belt. San Juan and St. Thomas are not, but the odds are definitely in your favor.

 

But you would have to fly across the Caribbean to sail out of San Juan.

[bjkeen]

Mother nature does as she pleases regardless of the time of year, you never know when a storm is going brew. I have cruised 3 times during Oct. Each time we sailed through a storm. I have read many posts where people prefer to cruise in the fall because the prices are much cheaper. I have read posts where some people prefer the fall, or winter, spring or summer. We all pay our money and take our chances. At least with Hurricanes there are advance weather warnings so the ships can change their course.

[L2J]

Mother nature does as she pleases regardless of the time of year, you never know when a storm is going brew.

 

VERY well said!

 

http://members.dsli.com/schooner/triumph/

[judithdh1]

I am not so much worried about the ship being steered into harms way as I am with the rocking motion of the ship if we get into rocky waters because of a brewing hurricane.

 

Of course as you all said, mother nature will do as she pleases, when she pleases.

 

On our first cruise last March on the Truimph the 1st two days where very rocky and I just got so tired of trying to hold my self up lol. But after the 2nd day I never even felt the ship move.

 

I just did not want it to be really rocky for the whole cruise. But then the alternitive is to just stay keep drinking the Drink of the Day, that way you don't know if it is the ship or you that is rocky. lol.

 

Thanks all for your answers.

 

Judi Hensley

[mikeymars]

Every year, around March The National Hurricane Center (NHC) releases it's annual predictions on the upcoming hurricane season.

 

And every year, we hear the same (apology in advance for language) USELESS CRAP from them. Since 1988, they've been saying the same thing: "there's a 50% probability of an above-average hurricane season."

 

In other words, the "forecast" from these meterologists is about as useful as flipping a coin.

 

And about as reliable. Actually, if you track actual outcomes, the NHC does worse than the coin flip. Despite their annual chicken little projections, over the last five years the actual number of annual storms at or above Category 3 has been BELOW what they predicted going into each season.

 

Bottom line: ignore the media hysteria, and enjoy your cruise.

[taszmom]

I was on a cruise in the Gulf/Caribbean mid-September and we had hurricanes and tropical storms all around us. Captain dodged and weaved and avoided the whole mess. We did the itinerary backwards, but had a wonderful cruise and wonderful weather! It's like rolling dice. You never know...just be prepared for rough seas. September is usually the most active month in regards to hurricanes, try late October and take advantage of the low prices. November tends to be very windy resulting in high seas.

[TVMet]

I have to respond to the comments by MikeyMars on the National Hurricane Center.

 

First of all, these folks do a heck of a good job. What other part of the federal government is ask to do so much with so little funding. Each year they have to fight for enough staff, enough money to fly into the storms, and more computer power. They provide hurricane forecast to not only the U.S. but every country in the Caribbean, Mexico and almost all the way to Hawaii. I know for a fact that these guys take their jobs very seriously, I know about an incident with a hurricane in the Pacific near the coast of Mexico were many fishermen lost their lives at sea. The NHC guys took that very hard and were personally upset that their warnings and forecast weren't heeded.

 

Secondly, the seasonal forecast is just guidence. If they've been wrong, it hasn't been by much. The increase in hurricane activity since 1995 is well documented. The exception was two years when an El Nino helped decrease the storms. The seasonal forecast shouldn't be confused with the official forecasts on a particular storm. Just because the seasonal forecast calls for 14 named storms, it doesn't mean one is going to hit you or the island you hope to visit. The odds are greater with more storms, but a year with fewer storms could bring another one hit disaster like Andrew in 1992, a year with far fewer storms than normal. The only problem I have with current NHC products is the 5 day forecast. I just don't believe the science of meteorology has the skill for a 5 day forecast. But, the military insisted on it and emergency managers also called for it. NHC responded by increasing their forecast from 3 to 5 days, but the margin of error is large on 4-5 days.

 

MikeyMars, I don't know about NY, but here in FL we take hurricanes very seriously. This country is overdue for a major hurricane disaster. Pinellas county Florida has 2 million people with three bridges to evacuate over Tampa Bay. The Miami area has been hit by major storms regularly over the years, but only once since 1965, that was Andrew in 1992 which missed highly populated downtown Miami. New Orleans, don't get me started on that mess.

 

All that said, just know the risk of going on a cruise in hurricane season. Enjoy, but don't be suprised if you end up at different ports than planned. The peak is a rapid ramp up from late August to late September. The day you are most likely to have a hurricane in the Atlantic is Sept. 12. October storms are rare, but more likely to affect the western Caribbean where many cruises go.

[yarlenna]

Bad weather can happen during any time of the year. While hurricane season is June 1 through November 30, the worst risk is during September. There have been hurricanes during most months of the year. Sometimes they even happen outside hurricane season. Notice that June 1 through November 30 is six months. That is half of the year. Cruise insurance does not cover bad weather. It would take a direct hit to your embarkation port to get your cruise cancelled. They do what they can to avoid the storms - and usually manage to avoid the worst of it. However you can be many miles from the official location of the storm (the location of the eye) and still have strong winds, rough seas and stormy weather.

You risk those conditions ANY time you go to sea. If you really want to experience lousy sailing conditions, try the north Atlantic in winter. It may not be hurricane season - so you get to add bone-chilling cold to the list of discomforts.

I have experienced a hurricane at sea. It was Pauline in the Pacific. The month was October. It was memorable. Will I sail in October again? Probably.

[Cruzon]

Our Legend cruise last September was scheduled to arrive in San Juan the same day as Hurricane Isabel! They changed our itinerary -- gave everyone a $100 OB credit as compensation. We went to other ports instead. I found the info online the night before we went, but many people didn't find out about the itinerary change until they arrived at the pier. Some people were unhappy about the ports we were diverted to, but there really was no choice. We're hoping to try the Legend again next year -- in September! Hopefully we'll get to see the places where we originally wanted to go. At least we went to southern ports. Last year, the port in Bermuda was closed because of one of the storms. The cruise lines diverted some ships to the New England/Canada route! Imagine, being packed for Bermuda and winding up in Canada in September..... We were very lucky to go to Key West and the Bahamas!