Cruising during hurricane season.
29 Aug 2011 1 Comment
in cruising, Royal Caribbean, travel, trip insurance Tags: cruising, east coast, Eastern Caribbean, Hurricane Irene, hurricane season, hurricanes, Irene, trip insurance, weather, Western Caribbean
With Hurricane Irene hitting the east coast, some folks probably had a wrench thrown in their vacation plans. I thought I might address some points about cruising. There is one major advantage to sailing during hurricane season, and that is the prices are generally much more pleasing to the pocket book. Most of the cruises we’ve sailed on have taken place during hurricane season. The National Weather Service signifies hurricane season as June 1 to November 30, but the most active time is during the months of August and September. If you are looking to take advantage of some of the benefits of cruising during hurricane season, there are a few things you may want to keep in mind.
What will the weather be like during my cruise?
You’re going to the Caribbean so you can expect it to be, for the most part warm and tropical. TropicalWeather.net is a good resource to get high and low temperature averages, as well as rainfall averages. Expectedly, hurricane season has the highest rainfall averages for most tropical places so you should expect to be hit with an afternoon shower or two during your cruise. The cruiseline websites will usually have information on the weather during the time of your cruise so be sure to check that out. Another good resource is the message boards like CruiseCritic.com where experienced cruisers can give you the low down on their past cruising experiences.
Should I purchase trip insurance?
In my opinion, this is a no-brainer. Yes, you should definitely purchase trip insurance. I have heard some people say this is like burning a 100 dollar bill, but in the event that you ever have to make a claim I don’t think that sentiment would still apply. It is also important to purchase trip insurance early on, like before a weather event is ever forecasted. That way there will be no issue with the insurance company if a claim is filed. Most insurance companies will not even sell insurance for a particular sail date once a storm forecast has been issued. In the nine cruises that we have taken we have always had insurance, but fortunately never had to use it. I am still glad that we had it and will continue to purchase it. It is not that expensive compared to what you’re paying for your trip. I usually use insuremytrip.com because you can compare policies and chose the one that you like the most.
Will my cruise be canceled because of a hurricane?
It is very unusual that a cruiseline would completely cancel a sailing because of a hurricane. They know that this may be a trip of a lifetime for you, and you may not be able to take this trip at any other time, so they will do whatever they can to make your sailing possible. They may delay the departure time by an hour or two or even possibly a day. Just recently with Hurricane Irene hitting the east coast Royal Caribbean moved up the departure time of one of their ships by an hour and changed some of the ports they would be visiting. We were taking a Disney cruise to the Eastern Caribbean in September of 2005 when a storm was threatening our sailing. We were told all the way until we boarded that all was well. Once we set sail the captain informed us that due to the weather in the Eastern Caribbean we were now being diverted to the Western Caribbean. Was I disappointed? Yes, but we made the most of it and had a great cruise. That is the chance we took knowing we were sailing in prime hurricane season, which brings me to my next point.
Will the cruiseline compensate me if a hurricane interferes with my cruise?
Okay, this is a huge point of contention for me. Some of you may remember my post earlier in the year on Brilliance of the Seas. Why should the cruiselines compensate you for something they have no control over. It is an act of God that no human has control over. If the waters get a little rough and you feel seasick, don’t blame it on the cruiselines. Blame it on the fact that you’re on a ship….. in the middle of the ocean. If you don’t get to send a post card back home from Hell in Grand Cayman because the winds are too high to tender in, don’t raise a mutiny on board because you’re not getting a spa credit. If you get anything from the cruiselines, thank your lucky stars because it is a complete good will gesture on their part and nothing more. We did not get anything from Disney Cruise Lines and did not expect to either. We still had a seven-day cruise. We still stopped at Caribbean ports. We still had great accommodations aboard the ship. It was not DCL’s fault that a storm blew up before our sailing, and they did the best they could. So don’t book a cruise during hurricane season with the expectation that the cruiseline will compensate you if your cruise doesn’t go as planned. If they do offer you something, you either got lucky or yelled really loud.
I hope that hurricanes don’t deter you from cruising during hurricane season because we have had some great cruises and great weather during that time. As long as you go in knowing what to expect I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
Refund? For what?
14 Dec 2010 9 Comments
in cruising, Royal Caribbean, travel, trip insurance Tags: Brilliance of the Seas, cruising, Mediterranean cruise, Royal Caribbean, Travel, trip insurance
Over the weekend, RCI’s Brilliance of the Seas experienced severe wind and sea conditions during a storm in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Alexandria, Egypt. “During Brilliance of the Seas’ approach to Alexandria, the ship experienced extreme wind and sea conditions, including heavy seas and 70 knot winds, nearly double what had been forecast,” the line says in a statement. ”The combination of the wind and sea conditions resulted in severe ship movement.” As a result of this, there were reports of major listing of the ship causing the tossing of loose objects and the ship’s 2100 passengers around like ragdolls. Early reports from RCI said there were minor injuries to passengers and aesthetic damages to the ship. In a later statement, the line no longer claimed the injuries to be minor saying that 2 passengers suffered broken bones. However, the ship remained fully seaworthy and would continue on to its next port of call and conclude its current sailing on Friday in Barcelona as scheduled.
As a gesture of good will, RCI announced that they would offer each cabin a $200 on-board credit for the remainder of the sailing, a gesture I feel was more than generous. Apparently, this was not an opinion shared by many passengers onboard, and it was made well known to ship officials. Due to the uproar, a full refund of their cruise fare, in addition to their on-board credit was issued. “Royal Caribbean understands that this has been a frightening experience for our guests and crew,” the line says. “Our officers and crew onboard Brilliance of the Seas will make every effort to ensure that the remainder of the cruise is as enjoyable as possible.”
Okay, so here’s the thing…..why is RCI being held responsible for what cannot be controlled by any human being on the face of the earth? If these people actually read their cruise contracts, they would see where RCI claims no responsiblity for “Acts of God” and is thereby not responsible for issuing a refund of any kind. Now don’t get me wrong; I feel for these people and the scary moments they had to go through. It doesn’t seem fair to save up for a vacation that you dream of taking for years, only to have it interrupted by the Perfect Storm. That’s the way it is. Deal with it. There are options like travel insurance if you are really worried about it. If you are sailing on the ocean, one of the most unpredictable environments, you have to be ready for the unexpected.
My family was diverted from eastern to western Caribbean on a cruise once because there was a hurricane effecting the eastern Caribbean. I had lots of great excursions planned, and I couldn’t wait to see the Virgin Islands, a place we had not yet visited. But with a quick, 30-second announcement from the captain, my great plans were dashed, and we had to just roll with the punches. Did we get a full refund for that cruise? No. Did we get on-board credit for that week’s sailing? No. Did we expect it? No, because stuff happens, and you just deal with it the best you can. It was through no fault of the cruiseline that our itinerary had to be changed.
Instead of recognizing that the crew and officers of the Brilliance of the Seas were going above and beyond to finish out the sailing in the best possible way, which was more than half way completed, they chose to make a tough situation worse by complaining and whining. I firmly believe every experience is what you make of it. Sometimes, you just have to put your big girl or big boy pants on and thank the good Lord you were able to take a 12-night Mediterranean cruise in the first place. But that’s just my opinion. 
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