Hurricane Season Cruising: What You Need To Know

Table Of Content

• Caregiver abuses, tortures 93-year-old patient at nursing home in gut-wrenching video: report
• Carnival Ship Rescues 27 People Adrift at Sea in the Caribbean
• Cruise ship rocked by massive rogue wave in the North Sea
• More from The Times and The Sunday Times
• What to expect if your ship hits bad weather
• Video shows Carnival cruise ship in disarray after ‘horrific’ South Carolina storm

Today cruise ships are built with state-of-the-art technology that helps cruise lines avoid, outrun and prevent disaster. Emergency response plans include outfitting ships with state-of-the-art satellites, designating a bridge officer as the weather monitor during the hurricane season and backing up onboard efforts with expanded staff at headquarters. You should always follow cruise safety tips to have the best experience onboard. A cruise ship's schedule of port visits and sea days can be adjusted midcruise for a number of reasons.

Caregiver abuses, tortures 93-year-old patient at nursing home in gut-wrenching video: report

Even if the Dali wasn’t being restocked daily, they’d likely have more than enough resources to survive an extended stay on the boat. The storm’s intensity created onboard flooding, furniture damage, glass breakage, and other impacts, but fortunately, no severe injuries were reported and the ship returned to Galveston as scheduled. Getting to your ship on time can feel stressful, especially when dealing with the unknowns of inclement weather. Having a plan in place and understanding when hurricane season is in your desired destination(s) means you can enjoy your cruise stress-free. The biggest challenge if a hurricane disrupts a cruise is finding alternate places to dock or anchor when ships' scheduled ports of call are threatened. Hurricane season in the Caribbean officially lasts from June 1 to November 30 and frequently impacts cruise schedules.

Carnival Ship Rescues 27 People Adrift at Sea in the Caribbean

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. Not only do cruise ships avoid the path of a hurricane, they will chart a course with the optimal sea conditions to avoid the worst of any rough seas.

Cruise ship rocked by massive rogue wave in the North Sea

Cruising during hurricane season may actually be advantageous with some excellent deals and often fewer crowds. Just remember to follow all of your cruise line’s onboard procedures and, in the safety of calmer waters, have fun. Considering a hurricane season cruise to the Caribbean, Bahamas, Bermuda, Mexican Riviera or even Canada and New England? Whether you want to know when the hurricane season is in the Caribbean or how cruises can be affected by these storms, we have the facts you need for your next cruise. Time your voyage to minimise the chance of bad weather; a transatlantic crossing in spring, for example, might be a better bet than a crossing in November. If the captain announces rough weather ahead, put loose items in your cabin away where they can’t fly around.

More from The Times and The Sunday Times

Crew and passenger safety is the reason cruise lines make the decision to stay at sea past the end of their scheduled itinerary. Yes, it can be inconvenient, but cruise lines do go out of their way to make the most of the experience for their guests, and safety is always the top priority. Just remember, this is not the time to book a vacation if you’re set on visiting one particular port or are planning a cruise destination event.

But with Hurricane Ian a dangerous Category 4 storm making landfall in Central Florida, Port Canaveral closed and has ceased all operations until further notice. Whether you cruise multiple times per year or you're new to cruising, the goal of Royal Caribbean Blog is for it to be a useful resource for keeping up to date with what's new and exciting with Royal Caribbean. Started in 2010, Royal Caribbean Blog offers daily coverage of news and information related to the Royal Caribbean cruise line along with other relevant topics of cruising, such as entertainment, news, photo updates and more. Mr. Van Fleet has over 20 years of experience as a meteorologist in television, covering an array of locations from Texas to Florida.

What to expect if your ship hits bad weather

More often, departure is delayed by a day or so, and passengers are generally compensated accordingly. If the weather prevents you from getting to your cruise, there are multiple strategies that can help you resolve the issue. Sometimes hurricane-related problems don't have anything to do with the ship and everything to do with conditions at the port of embarkation. In a subsequent announcement on the afternoon of Sept. 28, the captain updated guests that Disney Wish would return to Port Canaveral on Sunday instead of Friday and that the ship should be able to dock at Castaway Cay on Saturday, Oct. 1. While he may not know more than anyone else as to what the storm will do, his many years of experience as a meteorologist in Florida gives him insight into the nuances of tropical storms that can put many minds at ease. Without sounding pretentious, I feel bad for people on other cruise lines who don't have access to this kind of information because it must be mentally anguishing to not have the sort of information Mr. Van Fleet provides.

With that in mind, we've put together the things you'll need to know to book your vacation during hurricane season with confidence. "It hit so fast and was gone in a matter of minutes! No ship announcements were made before or after, so people on the lower pool deck were hit completely without warning." Even before the extension of this sailing was formally announced, Disney Cruise Line canceled the upcoming Disney Wish sailing that was set to depart Port Canaveral on Friday, Sept. 30, as a safety precaution. Mr. Van Fleet posts daily video updates, explaining what the latest forecasts indicate, and he shares what he thinks is possible. He also talks about various ships, and demonstrates where the ship is located, what to expect, and most importantly, how they are keeping safely away from the hurricane. Cruise ships can sail faster than hurricanes can move, which gives them the ability to out run the changing path of any storm.

In November 2023, Storm Ciarán triggered a tempest in the Bay of Biscay, where around 100 people were injured on board Saga’s Spirit of Discovery. The effects of increasingly wild winter storms on cruise ships are becoming more profound. "A lot of people have the perspective that we are safe and have much to be thankful for," she added.

The footage emerged after another Royal Caribbean ship, Serenade of the Seas, reportedly flooded last month. Water flowed into rooms and sunbeds were strewn across the deck as the vessel was battered by the fierce weather conditions. Passengers and crew on the Otto Sverdrup were rushed off the vessel because Storm Pia flooding closed the harbor, according to Hansen. HX reported that the ship is not expected to return to service until February after repairs. Another clip shared on X showed the view of the terrifying swells from the glamorous windows of an on-board suit, which tilted precariously toward the water between each wave. Royal Caribbean International’s Voyager of the Seas recently encountered a severe squall in the Gulf of Mexico while finishing her most recent sailing.

Cruise Ship Floods In Gulf Of Mexico Storm - Videos from The Weather Channel - The Weather Channel

Cruise Ship Floods In Gulf Of Mexico Storm - Videos from The Weather Channel.

Posted: Fri, 02 Feb 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]

“This is my view of Independence of the Seas as she started to get battered by the heavy winds whilst mid-spin attempting to turn around to leave the port,” Pike said in a tweet. No announcement from the captain before or after, also no mention of what happened. Just pretend like it didn’t happen I guess,” TikTok user Lucassparrow1110 posted.

Despite the significant damage and a delay in schedule, Carnival Sunshine embarked on its next five-day Bahama sailing on Saturday. In those cases, the ship may dock at an alternative port, possibly one you didn’t expect to visit; change the order of the ports that are on the itinerary; or seek a sunny spot at sea. Cruise lines are adept at handling these situations and outline this possibility for guests, along with their policies for how they handle them. If this happens to you, talk to the cruise line directly about refunds or other means of recompense—especially if your ship’s return to its homeport needs to be delayed and affects your flights home. "Hands down, one of the scariest nights of my life in gale force winds and 11 meter (36 feet) waves." The video shows the rogue wave ahead of the Otto Sverdrup off the coast of Germany on Friday.

Beyond a 48 or 72 hour window, tropical storm predictions can vary considerably with many possibilities. With Hurricane Ian, the models were rarely in agreement, and most of the time there were wide arcs of possibilities. As anyone that deals with hurricanes a lot will tell you, the forecasts for tropical storms are quite variable and prone to changes that greatly benefit or penalize your situation.

Our medical staff helped a small number of guests and crew members who needed minor assistance,” the cruise liner said in a statement to WCIV. Hansen said the wave was the same one that hit a nearby cruise ship, the Maud, at about the same time. The wave smashed at least two windows on the bridge of the more than 16,000-ton ship, and the incoming seawater knocked out the navigation system and radar. It threw the ship with 266 passengers and 131 crew into darkness as the power failed, according to local media and the cruise line HX.

I had complete faith in the expertise of the master mariners on the ship’s bridge and the structural integrity of the steel-clad keel that was cutting through the angry seas. I recall there was barely a ripple on my Martini in the Queen’s Room aboard the venerable liner QE2, when the band played the jazz classic Stormy Weather while outside a force ten wind raged. Roseboom, who resides in Central Florida, is enjoying the extra day or two of vacation, but is equally worried about his house and friends and family back home in the wake of Hurricane Ian. "For cruisers who live outside of Florida, they seem to be mostly happy, but they do have to figure out how to change their flights," he shared.

In speaking with crew members, a few shared anecdotally some guests actually question why the ship doesn't simply sail into the storm to make the scheduled port on time. Going on a cruise ship during hurricane season means there's a chance a storm could impact your vacation, and when it does, there's all sorts of possibilities. Passengers aboard the Carnival Sunshine described shattered glass, water pouring into rooms and hallways, the ship pitching about and a lack of communication from cruise staff. Some passengers and crew members needed "minor assistance" from medical staff, a Carnival cruise spokesman told CBS News. The ship’s medical staff did help a “small number” of guests and crew members who needed minor assistance following the storm.