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If, for example, your Caribbean cruise itinerary had a scheduled stop in the U.S. Virgin Islands, but the route there is impacted by a hurricane, your cruise ship will reroute, and you’ll skip that port of call. With their long history in the Caribbean, all lines have effective hurricane and tropical storm emergency response plans in place.
Even Cruise Ships Outrunning a Storm Can Encounter Rough Waters
The biggest threat a hurricane poses is not to you personally on the cruise ship. But remember, if this does happen, you will also need to check out the cancelation policies for your airfare, hotel, rental car, etc. because they can all be different. This is also a reason you might want to get some travel insurance for your trip. For those considering a land-based vacation during hurricane season, it is important to know that transportation is limited. With impending news of a storm, airports can get very busy, with limited options to increase capacity to fly people out.
What To Do If You Can't Get to Your Cruise Ship Because of a Hurricane
However, the reality is the cruise has been quite smooth sailing in terms of wave height. At first, they were flip-flopping her schedule to bypass Mexico and go to Grand Cayman. When Grand Cayman closed, they switched it up again and moved her to Mexico. Essentially, you can't expect every question you might have to be answered and you may have a sense of "que sera sera" as it pertains to going on the cruise. We made our decision to cruise based on the best information we had at the time we were to depart, and would trust in the cruise line to provide information and changes as needed.
When are hurricanes more likely to hit the Caribbean? Is there any way to avoid them?
He keeps an eye on our 25-plus ships and two private destinations around the clock, so that you can keep the good times rolling. While increasingly sophisticated technology and mechanics can help ships evade storms, they can't avoid them entirely; rougher-than-usual waters are often found far from a hurricane itself. You may even experience storm remnants where you least expect to, such as on North Atlantic repositioning cruises coming out of Europe. It’s important to be prepared for the worst, especially if you know you’re booking a cruise during the Caribbean hurricane season.
You won't get a refund if you cancel a cruise to avoid a storm
Also, remember that you likely will have to pay any airline change fees, which might not be covered by the cruise line. Ships sailing the Caribbean during hurricane season have an out -- they can move. Cruise ships have sophisticated technology onboard to monitor the weather. Plus, cruise lines can augment the information they have onboard with forecasts from weather assessment companies.
"I was luckily able to switch my Friday flight to Sunday. Because it's over a weekend, I won't really miss anything at home thankfully." Allure ended up safely behind Hurricane Ian, slowly moving west as the storm cleared out of the Caribbean and into the Gulf of Mexico. In our case, Allure of the Seas dropped a visit to Roatan so we could instead sail the long way around Cuba and circumnavigate the island as a way of avoiding Hurricane Ian, while still making out way south. Our goal has been to provide our readers with expansive coverage of all aspects of the Royal Caribbean experience.
Hurricane Season Cruises: Bottom Line
On the flip side, when cruises are extended, lines generally won't charge passengers anything more for the extra days — at least for room, board and entertainment. Passengers typically will still have to pay for onboard extras such as drinks and spa treatments. In rare cases when a home port closes due to a storm, ships have been known to sail to an alternative port to drop off passengers.
Gastro Outbreak Hits Luxury Cruise Ship
To avoid storms, cruise lines will sometimes completely rework an itinerary. A ship on an Eastern Caribbean sailing to such stops as St. Thomas and St. Kitts might reroute to such Western Caribbean ports as Cozumel, Mexico, and Falmouth, Jamaica. A cruise line is more likely to adjust the itinerary to travel around the storm or delay departure than it is to outright cancel. It can be unnerving to know you’ve got a vacation booked and watch a hurricane’s path unfold.
Tropical Storm Tammy disrupts major cruise line itineraries. Here are the major changes so far - Cruise Blog
Tropical Storm Tammy disrupts major cruise line itineraries. Here are the major changes so far.
Posted: Fri, 20 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Not only is this due to the fact that the peak travel season has ended, but it is also to account for the uncertainty that arises when cruising during hurricane season. Royal Caribbean's top priority is the safety of the guests, crew, and ship, and they will never send a ship near a hurricane. To that point, if a storm is predicted to go anywhere near where a ship is scheduled to be, Royal Caribbean will be the first to cancel scheduled port stops or even completely change the itinerary. You might think about avoiding booking a cruise during hurricane season, but the lower prices and demand might have you reconsidering. Flagg said you can definitely find values during peak hurricane season (mid-September to mid-October). If your contracted guide or tour company doesn't give full refunds for missed port calls, you might want to invest in travel insurance (see above) to cover you if you must cancel the excursion for weather delays.
Within these dates, the peak months for hurricanes in the Eastern Caribbean and along the U.S. East Coast are mid-August to mid-September, and from mid-August to early November in the Western Caribbean. Early- and late-season hurricanes -- June and mid- to late-November, respectively -- are rare.
Just as airline pilots maneuver to avoid turbulence, cruise ship captains and their headquarters-based overseers are keenly aware of passenger safety and comfort. They aren't shy about making a call to reposition a vessel to calmer seas. The risk of the above is one reason you will generally get a cruise during hurricane season at a lower price than you would during other seasons. Cruise lines aren't obligated to offer you compensation if they change an itinerary due to weather. The fine print in cruise contracts allows them to make such changes when they see fit.
As mentioned earlier, it's just important that you book with an open mind and willingness to be flexible. You should not, for instance, book a cruise because you really want to visit a specific port, such as Perfect Day at CocoCay or St. Maarten. In more severe scenarios, the captain may change the path of the cruise entirely. Get FREE email communications from Fodor's Travel, covering must-see travel destinations, expert trip planning advice, and travel inspiration to fuel your passion.
Accepting unknowns and things you can’t control is a big part of cruise travel during hurricane season. The cruise line and the crew know it’s hurricane season and place a high priority on protecting passengers, their resources, and their people. They’re not going to steer you into a storm and place you at risk so you can be scared and have a rotten vacation. It’s very rare for a cruise to be canceled due to a hurricane, and that’s for a number of reasons that we’ve already mentioned a bit.
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