Perfect weather is never assured any time of the year, but hurricane season brings its own set of challenges for vacationers taking a cruise.
About half the year in the Caribbean, there's a chance for tropical storms to develop and that could impact your cruise.
Many storms don't actually change cruise ship plans, but a handful of them certainly can. In the case of Hurricane Helene, a half dozen ships ended up changing itineraries or ports of call. It was a big storm, and a good reminder of how disruptive a hurricane can be for travel plans.
In seeing the changes, some people swore off taking a cruise during hurricane season all together, but people that cruise a lot know not to let hurricanes get in the way of a great vacation plan.
Seasoned cruisers prepare differently for a cruise during hurricane season and make appropriate plans so they can mitigate the impact a storm might have on their vacation.
Always buy travel insurance
When there's someone that takes to social media to post about how a hurricane prevented them from taking a cruise, usually the first comment back is something like, "you should have bought travel insurance."
It's more likely a hurricane affects your ability to get to or from your ship, than the onboard experience. Flights get cancelled, highways become questionable, and travel delays rampant.
As a cruise ship customer, it's your obligation to figure out the travel logistics involved to get to your cruise ship. Even if all the flights are cancelled, if your ship is sailing, Royal Caribbean won't refund your money because you can't make it.
Moreover, when a hurricane forms, some new cruisers get cold feet about the trip. They'd rather postpone their travel than even brave the skies or roads to get to the ship and deal with the unknown factors at play. This is another example where a cancel for any reason travel insurance plan would be helpful.
Travel insurance covers so many more scenarios than if you were to get sick or hurt on a trip. It provides reimbursement for many travel related issues that come up as a result of a hurricane.
Equally important to buying travel insurance is to actually read the policy of what it covers and when.
Some vacationers will buy the first travel insurance plan they find, not realizing not all plans are the same.
Travel insurance is a lot like auto insurance in that there varying coverages.
Before you buy any travel insurance plan, consider these coverages:
- Travel delay
- Travel disruption
- Trip cancellation
- Named storms/Hurricanes
- Cancel for any reason
While I'd go as far as to say any travel insurance plan is better than no plan, you really want to read the policy over and clearly understand when it kicks in, and how it works.
Never assume itineraries are a given
You've got to be a pragmatist when you cruise in hurricane season, so any cruise you book should come with an asterisk next to it in your mind that you might not actually go there.
On the Royal Caribbean message boards, BrianB wrote, "I always prepare for a change of itinerary during hurricane season. Especially if there is a storm forming a week or so before the departure date."
Even a weak tropical disturbance is enough to re-route ships away to a different region, so you need to go into the cruise with the mindset that your cruise to Mexico might end up in The Bahamas or Virgin Islands.
Royal Caribbean wants to deliver on the itinerary you originally booked, but they're not going to risk the safety of passengers, ship, or crew members in order to brave a storm.
If your cruise is before August, or after October, the chances of a storm are significantly less. But tropical storms are not unheard of during these times either.
Give extra time for travel delays
Whether it's hurricane season or not, cruisers know not to fly in the same day of their cruise. This piece of advice is even more important when it's hurricane season.
Airlines will cancel flights quickly if there's a risk their planes could get stuck in an airport that is in the path of a storm, so you'll need to be nimble with your flight plans.
First and foremost, book a flight at least a day before the cruise begins. This will more than likely ensure you can get down to the ship, even if there is a delay or cancellation.
If there is a storm brewing, many airlines will offer flight changes without change fees, and this might be a way to fly down earlier.
Moreover, having a backup plan to get to the cruise is prudent. That could be driving instead of flying, or even taking a train.
Book a cruise in a different region
While seasoned cruisers have the right approach to planning a Caribbean cruise during hurricane season, they also will plan cruises elsewhere to avoid disappointment.
If the uncertainty of a storm impacting your vacation bothers you, it might be the impetus to take a cruise somewhere else in the world. Hurricanes are primarily an issue for Caribbean cruises, so you could go to another region of the world instead.
The two most popular alternatives are Europe or Alaska.
An Alaska cruise may not have the warm ocean and white sands of the Virgin Islands, but it's still quite pretty in its own right. Not to mention you'll likely sweat a lot less.
The Alaska cruise season runs through most of hurricane season, beginning in May and ending in September.
A word of warning, Alaska in September can be just as rainy as the Caribbean. Weather in Alaska is variable throughout the year, but the end of the season tends to have the coldest and wettest days.
A cruise to Europe is another compelling alternative, as you can go to the Mediterranean and find warm temperatures and beautiful beaches.
Plus, Europe has more varied itineraries to different regions of the continent.
More hurricane season cruising advice
Seasoned cruisers shared their view how what to think about when choosing to book a cruise in the middle of hurricane season.
"Don't let hurricane season get in the way of your families cruise planning. I have lived in South Florida my entire life and hurricane season has never once been an issue with cruising." - tonyfsu21
"I would not worry at all. Royal has a great weather team and they are always watching what may or may not develop. If anything does, ships will adjust the itinerary to make sure everyone is safe. " - LovetoCruise87
"I have many on a number of cruises during hurricane season and had great cruises. It helps to have a flexible attitude and realize there could be an itinerary adjustment, we call that an adventure!" - Paid4c4
"We got caught out in Hurricane Maria. Left San Juan the day before it hit. Royal adjusted our itinerary from eastern Caribbean to Aruba. Ended up returning to Ft. Lauderdale. Royal setup phone lines so we could make free calls to the airlines. Also let us stay on board for an extra night. I have no problem sailing during hurricane season." - AandD
