Choosing to book a cruise during hurricane season has its pros and cons. The hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico runs from June 1 through November 30. The Atlantic hurricane season's busiest time typically happens between mid-August and mid-September, though, of late, October has been eventful. In the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico, extreme weather tends to happen from mid-September into late October. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), each year an average of twelve tropical storms (defined as sustained winds of at least 39 mph) develop in the Atlantic basin. Once winds reach 74 mph, a tropical storm becomes a hurricane.
Cruise lines are well-prepared with emergency response plans at the ready. Cruise line personnel rehearse emergency plans of what to do during hurricanes. Cruise ships are outfitted with state-of-the-art equipment. Not much will get by ship satellites that are watching for developing weather systems. A bridge officer will be designated as the weather monitor onboard. There will be experienced staff (including meteorologists) on land to advise as well. Ultimately, the captain is in charge and makes the final decisions.
While cruisers will likely experience more active seas and rain during weather events, ship captains rarely cancel sailings. Instead, they most likely will change the itinerary to skirt the storm in search of calmer waters. Captains will opt to avoid rather than confront pesky weather. One of the biggest issues if a major storm forces an itinerary change, is to find an alternate place to dock when scheduled ports of call need to be skipped. The most common way of solving this is simply doing a switch - for example, a Western Caribbean sailing might be modified to an Eastern Caribbean sailing. If a new port of call is unable to accommodate the ship (berths might be already taken by other ships also trying to shift and do the same thing), the captain might end up scheduling a couple of extra sea days instead. While missed excursions due to bad weather will likely be refunded - always read the fine print to learn what is possible - don't expect to be compensated for missed ports. The fine print in cruise contracts has verbiage giving cruise lines the right to eliminate and/or substitute ports. What you will most likely be entitled to are refunds on port taxes or fees when ports are skipped.
Do know that outright cancellations of cruises by the major cruise lines rarely happen. There might be exceptions if a major port of embarkation anticipates a direct hit. More often than not, however, instead of canceling, a departure might be delayed by a day or two. However, if the stars are not aligning and if your sailing ends up being completely canceled by your cruise line, you most likely will get a full refund. You might also receive some sort of discount or onboard credit on a future sailing. The best thing to do if your sailing looks "iffy" due to a pending weather-related event is to keep your eyes and ears open and watch for emails and/or texts to roll in from the cruise line that will let you know what your options are once a plan has been implemented.
No matter what time of year, the best rule of thumb is to plan ahead. Never ever fly in the day of your cruise - quite simply, you are asking for trouble. Always build a day or two into your vacation pre-cruise, in case difficulties arise. Cancelled flights can happen when you least expect it. Also, prepare for the possibility that at the end of your cruise you might be arriving home a day or two late if bad weather causes itinerary plans to shift. If you do have trouble getting to your port of embarkation, make sure you contact the cruise line. No, the ship will not wait for you, so don't plan on the captain agreeing to absorb onerous delay-in-port penalties because you haven't made it to the ship before "all aboard" time. Do understand that this is one of the many reasons why you want to make sure to purchase travel insurance to guard against the unexpected. Read the fine print in your policy to see what sort of coverage (if any) you have for unanticipated issues that might prevent you from boarding your cruise on embarkation day.
Global Wishes has sailed during hurricane season on several different cruises. Two sailings come to mind with lessons learned from both of them.
During our October 11-28, 2014, Disney cruise to the Southern Caribbean, tropical storm Gonzalo caused the Captain of the Disney Magic to reorder the ports of call for our sailing. Our revised itinerary meant that we would be visiting Grenada first instead of Antigua. We barely noticed anything except that the ship sailed at a brisk clip when we left the port of embarkation in San Juan, Puerto Rico on October 11th. We had some rough seas our first night, but after that it was mostly smooth sailing. We had no issues with our excursions in Grenada and Antigua being reconfigured since we booked all of ours through Disney Cruise Line. The Port Adventure staff onboard rebooked our impacted excursions for us. Other passengers who booked private tours had a much more difficult time reaching out to their private suppliers to request refunds. Lesson learned: consider booking all your port excursions through the cruise line, especially during hurricane season. Otherwise, if you branch out on your own, be prepared to scramble.
Our October 6-13, 2024 sailing on Royal Caribbean's Symphony of the Seas departed Bayonne, New Jersey, with plans to port during our sailing at Port Canaveral, Nassau, and Coco Cay. Due to weather issues (aka Hurricane Milton), our Captain announced that after we stopped in Port Canaveral, we would be sailing to Puerto Plata (Dominican Republic) instead of Nassau. Most of the repeat cruisers we talked to onboard were happy about this. Although we thought that enjoying an idyllic "Perfect Day" at CocoCay was still in the offing, this turned out to be faulty thinking. Midway through our sailing, our Captain announced we would not be docking at CocoCay. Instead, we would stop at Labadee, Royal Caribbean's private destination on Haiti's northern coast. Rumors were flying around the decks that our Symphony had been bumped out of CocoCay by Utopia of the Seas -- it needed to sail out of Port Canaveral ahead of Milton and had to find a port to dock to keep the passengers happy. The plot thickened as our plans underwent yet another revision when our Captain announced that we would not be stopping at Labadee either. He expressed concern that Milton's timeline was unfolding faster than anticipated. Consequently, our ship needed to get ahead of its path. With the ship throttle down, we sailed away and headed back to Bayonne at a rapid clip. All in all, our cruise only stopped at two ports (Port Canaveral and Puerto Plata) instead of three, and we experienced five days at sea instead of four. While some guests groused about fewer port stops, most of us understood that concerns about our safety came first.
While it is true that cruising during hurricane season might have its advantages - pricing can be lower, not to mention the possibility of reduced number of passengers onboard - do know that you might be in for quite an adventure. Pack your sea medications (some prefer taking over the counter meds, while others of us love our prescribed behind-the-ear patches). Be smart when it comes to packing and bring extra medications and clothing. Whatever you decide, do understand that tropical storm and hurricane conditions are unpredictable. Be proactive about keeping yourself informed as you never know what Mother Nature has in store for you. Have fun on the High Seas, even if it means rocking and rolling a bit during a weather-related event!
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