Hurricane Helene disrupted many cruise ships plans this past week, and as the storm moves out of the Gulf of Mexico, there are lessons all cruisers can learn from for the future.
Unlike a tropical storm that develops off the coast of Africa and comes barreling through the Caribbean for over a week, Helene formed near Mexico and rapidly intensified to move through the Western Caribbean quickly.
It eventually became a Category 4 hurricane that wreaked havoc on cruise ship plans before causing severe damage in northwest Florida and the region beyond.
Cruising during hurricane season comes with certain risks, but Hurricane Helene was a good reminder of a few truths anyone can expect if they have a cruise booked and a hurricane impacts their sailing.
There's no news until there's news
As soon as there was even the possibility of a tropical storm, many people with a cruise booked started posting on social media asking for updates on their sailing.
As the storm became a tropical storm and eventually a hurricane, it lead to a lot of concern if their cruise would happen and what changes would occur.
As it turned out, Royal Caribbean made changes to a number of ships plans. Some stayed out to sea longer than anticipated, while others had their itinerary changed. But the lesson here is Royal Caribbean has to wait and get better data, models, and forecasts before announcing changes.
No one has a crystal ball and spaghetti models are not a great predictor, especially when the storm is still forming. It's not until the storm is much better organized can meteorologists offer predictions that have a high sense of accuracy.
That can be frustrating for cruisers who want to know if their trip will happen, and if they really need to make plans to go ahead and travel to the cruise port.
Royal Caribbean doesn't offer updates that confirms nothing has changed, so don't expect any updates until the line has made a change.
The quickest changes they'll make is to swap an itinerary. A few ships moved from a cruise to Mexico to a cruise to either the Eastern Caribbean or The Bahamas.
The more difficult change is related to embarkation plans, and that's largely because it's hard to know if a port will be directly impacted by the storm.
Once a change has been made, Royal Caribbean will email and text it to guests. Travel agents also get the updates and can convey them to their clients.
Far away ports can be affected
Hurricane Helene was always going to be a storm in the Gulf of Mexico, so I was surprised it had an impact on cruises sailing from eastern Florida.
Port Canaveral was ordered to temporarily close due to winds from Helene, and that had a ripple effect on some ships.
One MSC ship was stuck at sea for a few extra days, and the return of Utopia of the Seas and Adventure of the Seas was delayed on Friday because the port did not re-open until later in the day.
The second lesson of Hurricane Helene is to expect changes, even if your embarkation port isn't directly in the path of the storm.
I remember seeing posts on Facebook asking if their Port Canaveral cruise would be impacted by the storm, and I thought it was silly. As it turns out, it did impact some ships.
Serenade of the Seas, which rode out the storm in The Bahamas, had reports of high winds causing "motion in the ocean".
You can't be too careful when it comes to assuming anything.
If your cruise is extended, add-ons will cost more
Royal Caribbean extending Serenade of the Seas by two extra days was certainly surprising, as was how it handled add-on packages.
Since the cruise was lengthened, the unlimited packages guests purchased had to be taken into account.
Royal Caribbean gave passengers the choice of paying more to keep their Beverage and VOOM internet packages going for the extra days:
- Drink Package Extension (these prices include 18% gratuity).
- Deluxe Package - $35 per person, per day
- Refreshment Package - $14 per person, per day
- Soda Package – Free extension
In the past, I recall other cruises that got extended due to weather have their packages extended for no additional cost. So the lesson here is never assume what the policy will be.
Should you cruise during hurricane season?
Hurricane Helene was a sobering reminder of how impactful a tropical storm can be for cruise vacations, but it shouldn't stop you from taking a cruise at all in the fall.
Hurricane season runs between June and the end of November, but most of the storms pop up primarily between August and October. This year saw a particularly quiet peak of hurricane season up until Helene.
The reality is it's unlikely that a hurricane will impact your cruise, but it's a possibility. Nevertheless, I think the lower than average prices for a cruise during this time of year makes it worth the risk.
However, it's important to be aware of those risks and understand cruise lines will do everything they can to keep their guests, crew members, and ship out of harms way. So even if a storm does impact your sailing, the most likely scenario is your itinerary will be changed.
No matter what time of year you take a cruise, you should be flexible, buy travel insurance, and be prepared for changes.
