How has bad weather effected your cruise?

[Pixie Naseweis]

Not us, but the cruise right after us had their itinerary reversed - they went to the last island first and the first island last with everything in the middle swapped as well. Those who had excursions booked through outside companies were out of luck, but I think Disney was able to accommodate the ones booked through them.

Not sure if you talk about the last Southern Caribbean cruise in 2014. But this is excatly what happened to us on this cruise. Due to a hurricane our itinerary was reversed - and this was the best thing that could happen. Good weather and calm seas were the rewards - thanks to DCL and Captain Tom! We had no problems to switch our private excursions via email. As far as I remember there were a different departure time for one of our DCL excursions.

 

[com_op_2000]

First DCL back in '98 four night on the Magic - changed CC and Nassau days due to approaching hurricane.
15th anniversary cruise in '01 seven night Eastern Carribbean - 30+ft waves on an at-sea-day, waves within the pool were splashing out each end. Down in the room we never felt the ship move.

 

[A11ison]

What I remember from my experience with bad weather on a Disney cruise wAs the captain and staff keep you very informed every step of the way. And the crew work even harder at keeping you entertained and happy. Go and enjoy

 

[ScrappinGran]

Our very first cruise was aboard the Fantasy, the October 20-27, 2012 sailing that Hurricane Sandy interrupted. Our excursions to St. Maarten and St. Thomas/St. John were wonderful! We were informed of the pending storm when were back on the ship after our St. Thomas/St. John excursion and that we would not be visiting Castaway Cay on Friday. I was so disappointed, but had no idea of the magnitude of impending storm until Captain Tom showed us at the evening show. He also explained how the cruise would be diverted. Thursday we were beginning to feel Sandy's influence and Friday day was rainy and rocky. There were plenty of things to do, so we made the best of it. That evening the dining rooms were fairly deserted, and the rocking of the ship was worse. We retired to our room early, and followed the advice of the cruise director and Captain to stay there unless absolutely necessary to leave our room. We had to remove everything from the desks and night stands as everything was sliding off. We took all the hangars in the closet off the rods as their clanking together was driving us crazy. We tried sleeping, but it was practically impossible between the constant safety announcements and the rolling/pitching of the ship. We were not scared at any time, more worried about getting home to our home in Massachusetts before Sandy was there. We missed our flight but luckily got one at the airport after disembarking. The only thing that we experienced that was a nightmare was the disembarking. We couldn't even get off the elevator when our deck was given the ok to leave our staterooms. We squeezed our way into the crowd, and wow...we were like sardines. LOTS of unhappy people...many questioning Disney's decision to come into port, but that's a whole other story. We did receive a 25% discount off a future cruise or Disney vacation ( some said they'd never cruise again ).
Our bottom line was that we would indeed sail again, that Captain Tom and the crew got us into port safely and we would have no hesitation sailing DCL again. We did feel badly for those traveling with children who were afraid, ( it was just my DH and me ) for people who were ill from the severe rocking of the ship and for those who were injured. We saw much of the damage to the gift shops and dining rooms, but noticed many things on the floor or moved by the crew for safety, not from the hurricane.
We have sailed with DCL since, and are sailing again this November...( yes, the tail end of hurricane season ) and are entirely comfortable and confident to do so!

 

[lovedisney123]

Ah, rocky is nothing, I grew up on the ocean....best friend owns a Whale Watch, now, that is some rocky waters!
We are always doing some weird hanging over boats to get photos, etc. I'll take my chances, that is one reason I booked in sept! One can only hope! Sorry you did not enjoy it thou....

See, it depends on the person. My husband and my other DD were not affected by the waves, so they could still enjoy the cruise. But since I am sensitive to it and my other DD is as well, it didn't work out for us. The other thing that was rather unpleasant was when people 'tossed their cookies' in the hallways. Some of the staff also had a rough time. Since I could not leave the room due to my motion sickness, I ordered some room service for my DD and I who were in the room. The CM who brought our food was not feeling well either.

The pools were closed because the water was slashing out of the pools as the ship rocked. They had to adjust the nightly shows so the performers did not endanger themselves (on that cruise they showed Disney Dreams as the last show, and it it the actor flies in the end. She did not fly for that performance because of the rocking).

Now, not all September cruises will be like that. We were in the path of Hurricane Jeanne, so it was bad. I just haven't tried September again since then, so I don't know what is more 'typical'.

I will say.....regardless of all of the bad parts.....we still have some fun memories of that trip.

 

[lowkat]

We were on the Panama Canal cruise this last September. Knew when we left San Diego hurricane Odile was out there and then came hurricane Palo. Was told 90% of entertainment cancelled. We sailed out to Pacific, missed Cabo...hurricane Odile didn't it was at least a 4. Also missed Puerto Vallarta. The captain was to get on at Cabo or Puerto but couldn't, he hopped on at the Panama Canal. We were at sea 8 days with no land, was also told this cruise made a Disney record with most continuous days at sea. It was an adventure, maybe 1 slightly rough day, but Disney took good care of us

 

[lexlaw69]

I was on a cruise this one time, If you sit back, i'll tell you the story of our fateful trip. It started from this tropic port aboard this smaller ship, the Magic. The crew, the "mate" was a very experienced sailing man, The skipper well trained and sure. We set sail that day For a three day tour, a three day tour! The weather started getting rough, The tiny ship was tossed, If not for the courage of the fearless crew The magic would be lost, the magic would be lost.

 

[bringmethathorizon]

sailed once in nov and was a little rough on the first night.
then once in sept.not as bad as nov.
would not mind a cruise that you cant dock at any port.

 

[JLMDisneyCruise]

See, it depends on the person. My husband and my other DD were not affected by the waves, so they could still enjoy the cruise. But since I am sensitive to it and my other DD is as well, it didn't work out for us. The other thing that was rather unpleasant was when people 'tossed their cookies' in the hallways. Some of the staff also had a rough time. Since I could not leave the room due to my motion sickness, I ordered some room service for my DD and I who were in the room. The CM who brought our food was not feeling well either.

The pools were closed because the water was slashing out of the pools as the ship rocked. They had to adjust the nightly shows so the performers did not endanger themselves (on that cruise they showed Disney Dreams as the last show, and it it the actor flies in the end. She did not fly for that performance because of the rocking).

Now, not all September cruises will be like that. We were in the path of Hurricane Jeanne, so it was bad. I just haven't tried September again since then, so I don't know what is more 'typical'.

I will say.....regardless of all of the bad parts.....we still have some fun memories of that trip.

That's great that even with the issues, you still enjoyed, that is all that matters!!.... I'm just a weather freak, weird I know.....I'm one of those weirdos that will do a storm chaser excursion.... So what does that tell ya! I was kind of hoping for some awesome lighting!

 

[AquaDame]

Not sure if you talk about the last Southern Caribbean cruise in 2014. But this is excatly what happened to us on this cruise. Due to a hurricane our itinerary was reversed - and this was the best thing that could happen. Good weather and calm seas were the rewards - thanks to DCL and Captain Tom! We had no problems to switch our private excursions via email. As far as I remember there were a different departure time for one of our DCL excursions.

Yes that is the one! We were on right before you - glad that you were able to rebook everything, I would have been worried but maybe it would have been just fine...

 

[thumpie's mom]

Our first cruise back in 2005 was during Hurricane Wilma. They re-routed us from the Western Caribbean to the Eastern Caribbean. Cruises 2-5 no problems. last year we did the Panama Canal and had to deal with Odile, then a tropical storm followed. We did not dock at Cabo or PV, but since we don't get off the ship, we didn't care. There were a few times they closed down the pools, deck 4,9 & 10. They were great keeping us updated and assuring us the ship was safe. It was a fabulous cruise and the crew staff did an amazing job providing plenty of activities.

 

[Andrew951]

Thanks for all the helpful feedback, everyone. I've got a good sense of what to expect and what effects weather can play on the cruise experience.
Very insightful!!

 

[LemonNeko]

I went first week in November in '98. They didn't even attempt to dock at CC. I was okay but there was a lot of really sick people. We had an inside cabin but our table mates mentioned they only got to use their balcony two of the four days since the waves were coming over the railings.

 

[aanderson5]

On one cruise we had to leave CC a few hours early because bad weather was coming. It was a double dip so not that big of a deal. The pirate party that night had to be moved inside and the fireworks were set off a day later. We ended up skipping the pirate party because it was too crowded for us in the atrium.

On another cruise we couldn't dock in Famouth and had to dock in Montego Bay. A bunch of excursions got canceled. Ours did not but our bus time was doubled to over 3 hours and part to the excursion was changed. It was disappointing but we still had fun. My son was upset about the increased bus time and was very grumpy but he got over it.

 

[hardis5]

Our first in 2011, Irene passed through the area the day we arrived for our sailing (driving south on 1-95 in heavy rains). Our Nassau day was fine, but we were the first to dock at Castaway after the storm passed through the area. Our sea day was pulled forward pushing Castaway to the last day, and even that was in question until the last minute but did happen. Lots of dead and dying vegetation at the fringes of the growth from the sea water, water that was cloudier than normal and a cancelled sea excursion but Castaway was still enjoyed.

 

[jiminyC_fan]

We've never been on a cruise that we didn't enjoy. We've hit cold weather quite a few times and on our DCL Hawaii cruise it was cold for several straight days. A hurricane unexpectedly changed its course over night on our PC cruise in 2005 and we rode through some hefty swells that night and next day. We enjoyed "riding the waves". We missed a port because of it but DCL stopped in another. Just make lemonaide out of your lemons and you will enjoy every waking moment of your cruise!

 

[samily]

Our first DCL cruise was in September, 2004. At this point I can't remember if it was Hurricane Jeanne or Frances happening during the cruise but we were diverted from a Bahamas (Nassau, Castaway Cay) cruise over to Cozumel, which extended the cruise by one day. Also, when we got back to Florida, Port Canaveral was closed so we disembarked in Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale) and guests were bussed up to Orlando or Cape Canaveral or to FLL.

Once it was announced that we would be out an extra day, passengers could use the phones to try to adjust their flights, etc. We were lucky in that we were able to move our flights to be out of FLL. The airport was filled with stranded travelers.

That was many, many cruises ago - it didn't stop us from enjoying cruising or DCL!

 

[DisneyDiana!]

Oh man, I need to stop reading this thread

 

[thumpie's mom]

Oh man, I need to stop reading this thread

Bad weather does not need to ruin the cruise. DCL is awesome about re-routing and adjusting the activities as needed. We have been in bad weather a couple of times, but we still loved the cruises. It certainly does not stop us from going on the cruise

 

[phinz]

many questioning Disney's decision to come into port, but that's a whole other story.

This video has always blown my mind.