Has anyone been on a cruise during HURRICANE season?

Question

going on a cruise first week of september to the eastern caribbean ( San juan, St. Thomas, St. Martin) just worried about bad weather...has anyone ever been in some BAD weather on a cruise?

Answer 1

Yes, I have.

On the summer of 2007, I went on the Carnival Pride to the Mexican Rivera.  A bad hurricane/thunderstorm was happening the days after we sailed. The ship ride was very rocky.  It made lots of cruisers dizzy and sick. Especially at night, when the wind was very rough.

I suggest you check the weather on the internet to be sure.

Answer 2

My wife and I went on a 14 day crise of the Caribbean in December of 2001.  Somewhere in the eastern Caribbean, we hit the tail end of a hurricane or tropical storm (sorry, I din't remember what one).

I remember going to breakfast and feeling a little queezy.  The ship was obviously moving, but it wasn't terrible.  When we got to the breakfast line, I looked out the window and remember seeing waves crest roughly with the deck I was on.  I didn't think anything of it for a few minutes, until I realized the deck I was on had to have been about 30 feet above the water.

I was on a pretty small cruise ship (about 35,000 tons if I recall...it was the OLD Holland America Noordam, not the new one).  I had spent a lot of time on fishing boats in SE Alaska.  I can tell you that being on a 21 foot boat in 8 foot seas was a heck of a lot worse than being in 30 foot seas on that smaller cruise ship.

The captain did inform us later in the day that he did his best to miss the storm, but it took an unexpected turn if I recall correctly.  

Like I said, it wasn't that bad, given the huge seas.

Answer 3

We were in the Gulf in 2005 and were caught between Tropical Storm Cyndy and Hurricane Dennis.

The Captain changed our itinerary and we skipped the Grand Caymans and headed down to Progresso instead.

The Captain kept the passengers updated throughout the week.

One night was really rough but there were no injuries.  

It was a drag to miss GC and be re-routed to Progresso, but at least tthe entire vacation was not ruined.

We try to get our cruises in during early June now....

Answer 4

Yup. In 2004 at the end of August I was on the Disney Wonder. It was actually the land and sea cruise and Hurricane Francis was going on at the time. We were in Disney World for 4 days and then went on the Wonder for 3 which actually turned into five days.  The first night on the Wonder was timed perfectly for us because that's when Hurricane Francis hit Orlanda where Disney World is located. The cruise was planned to go to Castaway Cay, Disney's private island & Nassau, Bahamas.  The next day, instead of going to Nassau, the captain came on and told us all that we will not be able to go to the two islands as planned because the Hurricane was headed that way. He informed us that we were just going to go to Cozume, Mexico. The port that we left from, Port Canaveral was damaged because of the storm. We went to Cozumel instead of the other two islands, and since it was further and also because we didn't have a port to go to, this bought us 2 extra days on the ship. Not only did we get 2 free days on the ship, Disney Cruise Line gave each cabin $300 of onbaord credit.

Don't be worried about the weather on your cruise.  The techonology on cruises are incredible.  If there is a storm the cruise will go somewhere else. You don't have to worry about being on the ship during a hurricane, the ship will definitely not go into the storm.  Your itinerary may change, but the ship will not head into the storm.

You'll be fine! Hope this helps, good luck, and have fun!! (:

Answer 5

Ummm... yeah. I believe the Hurricane I was in was called... oh geez, what was it again.......KATRINA!

We were going back to Galveston and we got hit by the edge of the storm so the waves were UNBELIEVABLE. The ship was rocking more than any ship I'd ever been on before. Actually, I found it exciting, like an amusement park ride. And, the hilarious part is is that they put barf bags EVERYWHERE! But, the problem with that is that people WERE puking everywhere. It is not alot of fun to turn a corner and have something puking by your feet let me tell you. When we got to the port, it was fabulous because there were cruise ships everywhere! There must have been 12 ships all together, and it was something that I may only see once or twice more in my life time.

Overall, I enjoyed the bad weather and it is an experience that I'll never forget!

Answer 6

Yes we have cruised during hurricane season We have written in our blog the Cruisin Fools all about this and other cruise subjects.

Cut and paste this into your browser to view.

Or you can go to our website listed below and click on 'visit my blog'

http://thecruisinfools.blogspot.com/

Answer 7

I  BEEN THERE BUT NOT BEFORE OCTOBER, where you are planning on cruising at.great place to see.

Answer 8

If safety is in question, the line will change the itinerary. Eastern trips may become western trips, ports may be cancelled, departure times may be modified, or the order of stops may change. In extreme situations, your trip may be extended or curtailed by a day.

Florida is also a target during this time. In 2005, Port Everglades was briefly closed and passengers had to be bussed from Tampa . Of course, New Orleans was closed for a long time that same year.

FWIW, this is one of the reasons that the trips are cheaper during this time of year.

The good news is that your chances of getting caught up are relatively low and, barring bad weather, it's a great time to travel.

Stay flexible and you'll make out OK.

Answer 9

Yes. I have. The water is a little rougher, but the ships have stabilizers now that reduce sea sickness. And the cruise will change it's itinerary to avoid bad weather.

No worries!

Answer 10

I went to the Caribbean at the end of hurricane season with no problems. Now just so you know, if there is any kind of weather problems, the cruise ship will divert to somewhere else and keep you perfectly safe. I was once on a ship headed for Grand Caymen and all the other ships would not go into port because of rough water(I didn't feel a thing). Well, our captain, felt positive he could get our ship into port safely, and he did, no problems. The great thing was because of this, we were the only ship in port, so no crowds.. By the way, I loved St Thomas and went to trunk bay for some outstanding snorkeling.