Disney Cruise - Some More Questions?

Question

Hi guys... Just a couple more questions. 1. I was told that it's Hurricane Season when I sail the Bahamas in mid September. Should I reconsider sailing to the Bahamas at a later date? 2. If I do decide to procede with my September departure, should I purchase the Travel Insurance for the trip that cost $229 extra?

Answer 1

You are correct, you will be traveling during hurricane season. However, this does not neccessarily mean you should cancel. First, the cruise is going to be much less expensive because you are going during hurricane season. Since a lot of people are worried about traveling during this time, they offer lower rates to attract more cruisers and try to fill the ship.

Cruising during hurricane season is something a lot of people do. Just because you are going during the season, does not mean you will be affected by any hurricanes. The cruise line/captain, constantly monitor the weather and will navigate away from any storms, and if the situation arises a hurricane. If a hurricane is going to affect a cruise they will usually offer you the option to cancel, but if there is no problems they see, they will still charge any fees you may face.

The thing you have to keep in mind is that the cruise line is not going to put their guests in danger and will do everything to avoid any problems. If you were to get into a situation that involves a hurricane, they are going to navigate away from the weather. However, you may still face some of the results of the hurricane, i.e. rain, rough seas, etc. You may also find yourself in a situation where you have to go to a different port. This happens quite often, both during hurricane season and in some cases outside of hurricane season, for various reasons. If they need to skip a port, they will either go to another port near by or you will have another day at sea and they will offer compensation. In some cases they will offer compensation if they go to another port, but they are subject to change so that doens't really happen, but generally they offer it when skipping a port in general. So skipping a port is going to be your worst case scenario, in most situations. A few years ago, Disney, and many other lines, found themselves having many problems when there we had  a bad season. Many cruises ended up being delayed coming back to the home port, in some cases several days, and some even had to return to a different home port because they weren't able to get into their regular port.

Generally, you don't run into problems during huricane season that you don't run into in the off season. But, there is a little better chance of rain and rough seas. But with the lower costs, most people find hurricane season to be a good time to go because it really isn't risky or anything like that.

The travel protection is a good idea to have for any cruise, and travel in general. There are so many things that it covers, that you may not think of. For example, if something were to happen and you need to be airlifted off the ship, it can cost well over $25,000 to just get off the ship, plus medical expenses and anything else. Just having to fly home in an emergency from a port could cost several thousand. It also covers baggage loss, travel delays and so many other things. I travel all the time and I always consider the travel protection to be a must in all my trips. I consider it in the cost just like I would air or anything else, just because I feel it is that important.

I'm not sure how you booked your trip and everything like that. If you booked your air outside of Disney and are looking to get their travel protection, your air is not covered. Their insurance only covers air purchased through them, that is one of the most important things to cover. So, if you did buy your air seperately, you should look into using another, reliable, company to get your insurance from. Even if you booked everthing with Disney, more than likely you will be able to get the insurance for a little less outside of Disney, your travel agent should be able to help you with this. I use CSA, but there are a lot of good companies out there.

Hope this answers your questions.

Have a great time!

Answer 2

Most travel sellers will always recommend travel insurance.

Make sure the Insurance covers for trip delays due to weather.

Answer 3

I would not cancel. I cruised Disney in August (also hurricane season) and we had fantastic weather. I would buy trip insurance (always a good idea when cruising anyways, because if you get sick or injured and need to be evacuated from ship it will be covered by the insurance... without insurance it would cost you thousands). I got mine from TravelEx at a much cheaper price then Disney's. Just make sure you get one that covers cruising options such as ship evacuation and weather issues.

Answer 4

September is a big hurricane month for florida but unlike tornados cruise liners know EXACTLY where they are and where they are basically gonna go. If they are in the way of your travel the ship goes a different route and stops somewhere else. I've done Disney 4 times and never got the insurance???? But hey its better to be safe than sorry.

Oh and here is a GREAT site where us big Disney Cruisers go, it gives so many good tips and i spend hours before i go on a cruise. http://www.disneycruiser.info/dclindex.h...

Answer 5

Hurricane season is usually June - November each year.  The strongest hurricanes seem to start around August.  I would recommend purchasing travel insurance if you still decide to sail in September, just in case something unforeseen should occur.

Answer 6

I would go to travelguard.com as their insurance is alot cheaper then the ship and less per person. I would continue with your sail as if any hurricanes are by the ship or near a port then the cruise will be rescheduled to areas where the hurricane will not be near for the ships and passengers safety. The waters may be a little rougher but nothing extraodinary. Always purchase travel insurance just in case something happesn to your flight or luggage or something its just a backup.