8 Things I Wish I Knew Before Booking A Cruise During Hurricane Season

Table Of Content

• Know The Cancellation Policy For Shore Excursions
• What To Do If You Can't Get to Your Cruise Ship Because of a Hurricane
• Yes, You Need Travel Insurance For Cruises Too
• Am I entitled to compensation if my itinerary is altered by a storm?
• Hotels With Cruise Shuttles For Every Major Port in America
• How do I keep safe if there’s a hurricane while I’m on a cruise?

The cruise line will use email, text, or in-app notifications to spread the message of cancellations, so make sure you’re signed up to receive alerts. The people manning the call center aren’t going to have info on weather-related cancellations. The combination of flooding rains, storm surge, and 75+ MPH winds can do serious damage, sometimes closing them for days or week after a storm. Cruise lines don't like to cancel sailings, so if your sailing does end up getting canceled, it was because they deemed it the only option.

Know The Cancellation Policy For Shore Excursions

In such cases, the cruise line will be in touch to let you know when it's OK to come to the port. All tour operators have different policies, so be sure to check the fine print or ask about cancellation policies before you put down a deposit or pre-pay your excursion. In general, bigger tour operators that cater to cruise travelers or shore-excursion reservations agencies (such as ShoreTrips, Viator or PortSide Tours) will provide a full refund if your ship misses a port of call. Smaller operators or private guides may ask for nonrefundable deposits. According to Paul Walker, senior meteorologist at AccuWeather.com, the general answer is no.

What To Do If You Can't Get to Your Cruise Ship Because of a Hurricane

Here's how Carnival and Royal Caribbean handle hurricane season - TheStreet

Here's how Carnival and Royal Caribbean handle hurricane season.

Posted: Sat, 09 Sep 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

In fact, cruising during hurricane season may actually be an advantageous time to cruise. At TPG, we always suggest that cruisers head to their departure ports at least a full day in advance of their sailings just to be safe, and this is doubly important during hurricane season. You don't want a delayed flight to be the reason you miss your cruise.

Yes, You Need Travel Insurance For Cruises Too

That Western Caribbean cruise you booked may turn into an Eastern Caribbean voyage with entirely different ports of call or more sea days. Booking a cruise during the hurricane season in the Caribbean offers great deals to cruisers. Even during the busiest of hurricane seasons, there will be many weeks without a single tropical storm in the Caribbean or Bahamas. When a large storm does swirl through the Caribbean or Bahamas, it'll likely only affect a small portion of the region and, thus, only a small number of cruise ships.

Am I entitled to compensation if my itinerary is altered by a storm?

They too have statistics on hand for how many itineraries are apt to be affected by named storms and know from year to year, some will. In place are contingency plans to provide an experience that meets or exceeds the expectations of cruise travelers at any time of the year, including hurricane season. Due to the unpredictability of hurricanes, these plans include modifying itineraries to stay out of the way of a storm’s path; the most common effect experienced.

Cruise ships can change their itinerary and route to avoid hurricanes. They can also speed up or slow down to stay ahead of or behind a storm. However, it’s important to note that rerouting a ship can cause changes in the ports of call and itinerary. Travel insurance can cover various issues, such as trip cancellations, medical emergencies, and lost or stolen luggage. In case of a cruise cancellation due to weather or other reasons, most cruise lines offer a full refund or rescheduling option. Travel insurance is one of the most important things to consider when booking a cruise during hurricane season.

While some people can simply drive home, a lot of passengers fly back. In both cases, the issue was Port Canaveral closed and that prevented the ship from getting back into port. First time cruisers will often post on Facebook to ask if their cruise will be cancelled, and it's clear that it's very unlikely a cruise will be totally cancelled. If, however, they have to make the difficult decision to completely cancel the cruise, you will be issued a full refund. If you elect not to sail at the last minute, you will lose the money that you paid for the vacation.

If your litmus test for cruise success hinges on a particular port, knowing if it’s a tender port may help manage expectations… or prepare for a little extra motion sickness. If you book your shore excursions through the cruise line, cancellations due to missed port stops will be automatic. If you’ve booked a shore excursion outside the cruise line, you may need to do a little more leg work. Our family recently returned from a September cruise that was about 40 percent cheaper than the identical cruise in June. Here are eight things I wish I knew before booking a cruise during hurricane season.

A storm on one island may not necessarily mean that all of the Bahamas is closed. If you want to cruise without many kids on board, or even if you have kids but have flexibility in vacation time, and prefer to avoid crowds, this can be ideal. It’s a great time to take advantage of lower pricing and Kids Sail Free deals which are a huge money saver for families. Sometimes the cruise will be shortened or lengthened to avoid a hurricane. With our very own Princess Cays® residing in the Bahamas, we care deeply about its remarkable environment and the people who call it home, including some of our own.

You can certainly diminish your chances of encountering a hurricane by sailing outside peak hurricane times. In addition, the ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao), Trinidad and Tobago, and Margarita Island in Venezuela lie on the very edge of the hurricane zone and are rarely affected by tropical storms. If you must sail during hurricane season, you can increase your odds of smooth sailing by choosing an itinerary that focuses on the Southern Caribbean -- the more southern, the better. We’d suggest keeping an eye on the weather around the are where you’ll be cruising before your cruise just to stay in the loop. And remember, your cruise itinerary can be changed or the dates could be delayed, so keep that in mind when you’re booking during hurricane season.

This can help when storms intensify rapidly while a ship is at sea, but come armed with seasickness medication just in case (and yes, that goes for seasoned cruisers and first-time cruisers alike). A ship whose Eastern Caribbean itinerary appears to be in flux will be moved to the Western Caribbean (and vice versa). And if new port calls can't be assured, the schedule may end up including a couple of extra sea days in calmer waters. This means that most cruisers won’t have to miss out on any fun even if they do travel during hurricane season in the Caribbean.

Purchasing travel insurance is recommended regardless of when your cruise is; however, it is a no-brainer when it comes to cruising during hurricane season. More importantly, you will not be covered for a change of cruise itinerary. Say you booked a seven-night cruise to the Western Caribbean, but to avoid a storm, the cruise line changes the itinerary to the Eastern Caribbean. If you're onboard for all seven nights, you will receive no compensation from your insurance provider.

Typically, Caribbean, Bahamas and Bermuda cruises will be less expensive from September-November. In the recent past, we’ve seen cruises that were supposed to be going to Bermuda, have a itinerary change to avoid a storm. As an example, if a cruise is leaving out of Florida and a hurricane is forecast, your scheduled embarkation day can be affected. Of course, things like this can happen when leaving from other ports as well. The Southern Caribbean is the most exotic of the Caribbean regions and thus more expensive; it's less visited and full of lush rainforests and award-winning beaches. Between August and October, cruises here can cost a few hundred dollars less than what they would in say, July -- and in some cases, cheaper than a Bahamas cruise outside hurricane season.

If you’re flexible about timing and open to itinerary changes, you should have no worries when booking a cruise during hurricane season. If you choose to cruise during hurricane season, the fact that you likely booked a luxury cruise at an excellent price should make any itinerary changes easier to handle. You should always follow cruise safety tips to have the best experience onboard. When a line cancels a departure outright, it's sometimes the case that it will offer passengers both a refund for the trip and a future cruise credit they can apply to their next sailing. This sort of response was on display in 2017 as Irma's approach prompted some lines to cancel itineraries altogether.