Thread: Your Best Hurricane Season Cruise Tip

Have you cruised during hurricane season? Has your cruise ever been affected by a hurricane or tropical storm?


Share your very BEST tips about cruising during 'the season.'

And if your tip is based on personal experience, please tell the story that goes along with it!

We've cruised during hurricane season on several occasions - that's when we tend to get the best rates of the year. We've been lucky in that only one of our cruises were dramatically affected by a hurricane - we were suppose to do the Eastern Caribbean and after our first port, the captain announced we were going to change to the Western Caribbean due to a hurricane coming up from the south. We ended up with absolutely beautiful weather, albeit a different itinerary than we had planned.

So I actually have two cruise tips for traveling during hurricane season;

First, be flexible. Yes, you may have really wanted to go to a particular port, but remember, you can't control Mother Nature. And along with that, be positive. If they have to change your itinerary, continue to have fun - don't let the change ruin your vacation. I once had a client who was taking a 5-night Bermuda cruise out of Baltimore. They got into the Atlantic and instead of making a right turn and heading toward Bermuda, they ended up making a left turn and headed to Canada. There was a hurricane heading directly toward Bermuda (and it hit it pretty hard, too). My client said they had a wonder cruise. Really enjoyed seeing places they never dreamed about, but they were on vacation and made the best of it. But he said 75% of those onboard were miserable because they made themselves that way. They weren't going to Bermuda, so everything else was not good no matter what happened and they didn't enjoy their vacation at all.

Second, make sure when traveling during hurricane season to purchase travel insurance. This can be invaluable if you have to miss your cruise due to weather (or other covered reasons), or are delayed getting to or from the port.

Just remember, that the cruise lines are not going to put the passengers or the ships in danger, so they will do whatever necessary to keep things safe and sometimes this means changing itineraries. So go with the flow, be positive, deal with problems as they occur, and enjoy your vacation.

Pete

My biggest suggestion other than the above? Take along extra of everything (especially medications) You never know when your trip is going to be extended and you want to enjoy it without fear of running out of drugs or clean underwear.

At sea for both Katrina and Wilma - very interesting couple of days - literally had people walking around with their lifejackets on as it got so rough and people got a little concerned. For anyone who knows the Fascination we had the waves hitting level 7 so we were in total lockdown with all doors to outdoor areas closed off.

Pete has summed it up beautifully! I can't reinforce how crucial it is to have travel insurance - flights will be cancelled, you may come into port late, or early and arrangements will have to be changed. If you don't have travel insurance then you have to be responsible for that. The Pursers at the Information Desk cannot help you in changing flights and they cannot make the ship go into port faster. Sometimes its even above the cruise lines ability to change things such as when a port is closed.

The best thing is to chill out - realise that you got an extra day holiday for free (apart from gratuities) and enjoy a great meal, a few drinks and some entertainment - rather than be at home, concerned about losing power and fighting massive queues at the supermarket.

Second best tip is that if there is a hurricane and it affects the cruising schedule and you live in a homeport or close, get straight onto the cruise line. The next cruise they take will normally be massively discounted as people cancel as they can't make it to port or because they want to do a full cruise and not a shortened one. I've seen rates for a two day cruise to the Bahamas for $99 per person including port taxes! Get away from land - enjoy a couple of days rest and come back when everything has returned to normal.

Nice thought! Works well if you do not have to fly or can get the airline to cooperate.