Recent HURRICANE cruisers, how was it

[randolph]

What was you experience cruising in one of

the recent hurricanes?

[TinaLee]

No one cruised in a hurricane! They were all diverted, re-routed, extended, shortened, etc. to AVOID sailing in a hurricane!

[isujim]

Well...........directly NO...........but

 

Last year (I think) our cruise on the Rhapsody of the Seas went on the edge of Hurricane Isidore..........we still had 25ft waves and gale force winds for 36 hours..........it still made for an interesting cruise........

[spongerob]

We skirted Fabian last fall. The center of the storm was well over 200 miles away. We still had fairly high seas and strong winds, but not strong enough to close the promenade deck except for the bow area. It made for an interesting evening, with most people taking it in stride.

[randolph]

We too played hide and seek with a hurricane a year ago

on the Zuiderdam. Missed St.Martin but got an extra sea

day which was fun. Heck, they even refunded about $7

each port tax and give us a glass of champagne at dinner

(was hoping for more, but not to be). Seas weren't too

bad for most though, guess we were lucky. Did not purchase

travel insurance (cheap bast_ _ _), but after all these

recent hurricanes and possible cancelled/missed cruises,

I may reconsider for future cruises in hurricane season.

[TinaLee]

Good points guys, but he was asking about RECENT hurricane cruisers, so I assumed he meant anyone who had cruised during Charley or Frances :o not past hurricane experiences.

 

TinaLee

[tyfighter]

We cruised with CP during hurricane frances and the captain did a marvelous job by sailing on the calmer side of the sea. We did feel the wave on Sunday night and I've heard some passenger got sick... this was when we were heading back to the port. It was a bonus cruise for us since we got 2 extra days out of it with an overnight at Cozumel.

[prophotogirl]

I was on the 5 day Caribbean Princess cruise and have perfect seas the whole time. Bearly ever felt the ship was moving. The water was such a pretty blue!

[AbbyGirl]

Just got off the Golden on Sunday. We were re-routed and the seas, the winds, the skys were awesome all week with a few rain showers late in the evening I think 2 days...

 

Supposed to be

Sun- San Juan

Mon- At Sea

Tues- Barbados

Weds- St Lucia

Thurs- Antiqua

Fri- St. Marteen

Sat- St. Thomas

Sun San Juan

 

Ended up

Sun- San Juan

Mon- At Sea

Tues- Curaco

Weds- Isla Margarita

Thurs- St Lucia

Fri- Antiqua

Sat- St. Thomas

Sun San Juan

 

Royal's Adventure of the Seas and Carnival's Destiney were also in port in San Juan and we ran into RC's in St Lucia and St Thomas

They were supposed to have 2 sea days and hit 4 ports. They ended up in Aruba, St Lucia, St Marteen, and St. THomas. Not exactly sure where they were originally headed.

[sunsetme]

I was on the 9 day CP, never had calmer seas in 10 cruises. We had the best weather as well.

[hcs81m]

I was on the Sept 5th Golden. One night we came within 120 miles of Ivan. The ship was rocking but it was definately manageable.

[cusyl]

With Hurricane Frances covering the entire state of Florida the safest place to be was on a cruise ship.

The Captain kept the ship in calm waters and sunshine. Guess I slept through any rocking on Sunday night.

It was a great extended cruise in a wonderful cabin.

[merela]

cruising in the midst of Frances and Ivan.

 

It was a major test just trying to get to Miami from the west coast on the weekend of 9/4. It took my parents 2 days (and an extra ticket) to get there.

 

Then their ship, Explorer of the Seas, changed course from Eastern Caribbean to Western Caribbean to avoid the IVAN only to meet IVAN when IVAN went westward. They only had 3 ports of call (Cozumel, Costa Maya, and Bahamas).

 

Big ships do well in strong winds. They all said they don't really feel anything inside the ship, but on the deck, the winds were really strong.

 

At least they made it.

 

But after doing a b2b, Princess wins hands down! Food is better!

[moonmullins]

We were on 8/28 sailing of Caribbean Princess. The captain did a great job of finding nice smooth sailing!! I also enjoyed the extra days on ship. Yes we were delayed being able to fly home, but for us it was a blessing in disguise as we got to visit with some of my husbands family in Miami. Princess did an excellent job of taking care of us. I was worried about going during hurricane season but we lucked out!!

[av8r]

Just off the Golden Princess last Sunday. Didn't feel a thing. Wife said she felt a little during the night one night. Only a couple of short rain squalls during one afternoon. Capt did a great job keeping it fun.

[untailored bostonian]

It was like a lake.:mad: Even the night we got back to Ft Lauderdale!:mad::mad:

 

With all that sizzle, I wanted some steak! Heck, I would have paid extra if we had taken on Frances at sea!:p:p

[untailored bostonian]

The captain did a great job of finding nice smooth sailing!!

Yeah, but he sounded so despondent! I was at the counter of the photo gallery the day after the first announcement, and commented that he sounded so depressed.

 

I asked if they thought it was because of the uncertainty surrounding our cruise. I was told “No, he always sounds like that. If you think this is bad, you should hear him perform a wedding!”

[devora]

We also got off the Golden last Sunday, and other than changing 2 ports the cruise and weather was great. However, we were at the Beaches Resort on Turks the week before the cruise, and hurricane Frances came right over the island and they evacuated us to the main building where we had to stay for 22hours. We slept on chairs in the lobby. The only damage done to the resort was landscaping. However, since we lost 2 days of our 7 day vacation, they(Beaches & Sandals resorts) have a hurricane guarantee which entitles the guests to a free replacement vacation including air fare. So for losing 2 days, we now have another 7 day free vacation including air, good for 1 year from the date of the hurricane. And it also can be used at any of the Sandals or Beaches resorts.

[CGAGE]

We were on RCCL AOS last week and had one rough period of time on a sea day...Tuesday I think...they closed the helipad and the Solarium pool and I think the other pools as well. We took video of it...the seas were pretty nasty but our ship and Captain held up beautifully.

A few years back we were coming back into the port of Miami on the Imagination and dealt with Hurricane Georges...I literally almost rolled out of my bed early that morning...or was that the cocktails??? :) :) :)

Seriously though...the sea was really rough that morning...but we survived!

Hopefully the Caribbean will calm down a little bit these next few weeks and months...but the season isn't over yet!!!

Happy cruising to all!

[anitashel]

just off the 9/11/4 cp. although we skirted 2 different hurricanes and changed the itinerary twice, the seas were very calm and the weather ideal. we only hit rain once for about 15 minutes, which was awesome. we also saw some lightning off in the distance at night, which was really awesome.

 

the island of jamaica had trees down, signs blown over, roofs off and had just gotten their electricity and water restored. the water was not very rough and was still pretty blue, but a little cloudy.

 

the bahamas didn't have any visible damage, but the water was pretty cloudy for snorkeling, also.