Any Port In a Storm, Yeah Right!

What if the hurricane hits my port of call?

Have no fear, that’s when the expertise of the cruise line kicks in. They have been sailing those waters for so long, they have nearly every possible scenario covered. In the case of a hurricane hitting one or more of your ports of call this will probably mean the scheduling of an alternate port.

Usually when the cruise ship is alerted to impending danger from a hurricane the Captain will re-route the ship to other ports of call. For example if you are doing an Eastern Caribbean cruise with scheduled stops in St. Thomas, St. Martin and Puerto Rico you may instead head west to the ports of Cozumel, Belize and Grand Cayman. These billion dollar ships are manned by officers whose combined years at sea often amounts to more than one hundred years, they know what they are doing and the cruise lines have empowered them to make the necessary decisions

Another option that is sometimes exercised when the ports on the ships itinerary are close to a hurricane. Sometimes, the passengers will receive extra day at sea. Although, this isn’t the ideal situation sometimes it is the right situation. When these situations arrive the cruise directors staff really earn their money. They have to go to their play books to install enough activities to keep everyone happy and as you all probably know this isn’t an easy task. However, rest assured they aren’t making things up as they go along. They too have a contingency plan just in case a hurricane prevents a ship from docking at a scheduled port. While these events aren’t the high-tech production shows we so often see onboard ships, they are usually the ultra fun high energy, crowd participation games that we enjoy on regular days at sea (but cranked up a notch).

What if I can’t make it to the ship

To be perfectly honest, the cruise lines are experts at making sure hurricanes don’t really impact the enjoyment levels of your cruise vacation. This brings us to the only portion of a cruise the lines have no control over, getting to the ship. Getting to the port of embarkation is the biggest concern when traveling during hurricane season. Canceled or rescheduled flights are definitely a major concern when trying to get to the ship, this is the reason why it is important to get travel insurance. If there is a situation where you cannot reach the ship it is important to make sure your insurance will cover the expenses of reaching the ship at the next port. Another precaution you can take is booking your flight through the cruise line. Normally, I would never recommend booking a flight through the cruise line but traveling during hurricane season is a different animal. Although it is a more expensive option booking a flight through the line carries with it the guarantee that you will make it to the ship. Just think of the extra couple of hundred dollars spent booking through the line as an additional insurance policy on the vacation you spent thousands of dollars on.

While the saying “any port in a storm” may have some practical applications, cruising during hurricane season is not one of them. In fact, the polar opposite is true when it comes to sailing during hurricane season.

Part 1 Hurricanes Suck But Not Enough to Keep Me From Cruising

Part 2 Can My Ship Weather the Storm?

Part 3 Any Port In a Storm, Yeah Right!

Related posts:

1. Can My Ship Weather the Storm?
2. Hurricanes Suck But Not Enough to Keep Me From Cruising
3. Protecting Yourself From Pickpockets While in Port
4. All aboard, this ship is leaving port
5. Should I Book a Pre-Cruise Stay?

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