Hurricane Season ? Sept 05 Sailing

[zeke11]

Yes, I want to add that we never go on a cruise without purchasing travel insurance!

Kris

 

[Suzanne74]

I was in disney last Sept right after the hurricanes - our trip was 2 days shorter then we wanted and at first I was really upset but you know what - we paid great prices and then in turn had very small crowds. I left very happy!! This is my first DCL cruise but I am booking it for this Sept. Yes, it is hurricane season but so is August and the prices almost double. I think it is worth it from a cost standpoint. I would be a lot more upset if we went in July, when we spent more money, more crowded and then find we miss Castaway. The chances are slim you will miss it but there is also a chance you can miss a port anytime during the year. Nothing is a guarantee. I am hoping since Florida was bombarded last year, the hurricanes will settle down this year and leave Florida and carribean alone!!!

Also - with a cruise, they go around the hurricanes, even if you miss a port, you still aren't sitting in a hurricane like if you booked a resort holiday on an island itself. I think that is a positive.

My DH said, if we book it, there will be a hurricane, if we book another time, Sept will be hurricane free and we will miss Castaway on a beautiful day in say, May because of the waves/current. At least he doesn't have his hopes up

 

[FirstTimer]

See I was just debating with my DH about this very topic. He's saying no to the cruise in September because of hurricanes but DD's bday is Sept. 13th and how incredible would it be for her if she turned 5 while on the cruise. We are battling it out as I type. Another qualm is that she'll be in school but it's only kindergarten for pete's sake and she already knows the kids because she's in pre-k with them. I don't see the big deal. But he's saying I'm being selfish and the only reason I wanna go in september is because we save enough money so that we can do the land/sea vacation, grrr but it's not just about me.

 

[vossjemi]

My DD turns 5 in May. We wanted to take the kids (son is 3) over the summer, but eyes popped out at the prices. We got lucky enough to get an SPR in Sept, so we are going, hurricanes or no. Yes, she will miss a week of kindergarten, but I figured she wouldn't miss much....pre-K has already got her far ahead of the typical 4 year old.....Her teacher is Latino so she knows all her basics in English and Spanish!

 

[allears]

We usaually cruise in February, but we ended up rescheduling our 4th cruise to last September. We were on the delayed Hurricane Jeanne cruise on the Magic. First and foremost, GET INSURANCE. We had it and it covered almost all of the extra expenses resulting from holding up in a hotel in Orlando during the hurricane.

We ended up having a fabulous time and several special blessings, long story. And with our refund and discount my DW and I sailed again this past January, on the Magic, all by our twosies! However, I personally would not by choice sail at that time of the year again as long as I have a choice. I became OCD about the weather and watched each hurricane constantly. I found it nerve racking as did everyone around me.

All that being said, 2004 was an incredibly unusual year and I think the first time DCL had to cancel, shorten and do so much re-arranging of cruises. In the past I believe they've only had to change intineraries to avoid storms. It will all come down to your comfort level and ablilty to adapt. This can be a great time to sail, nice weather (once we sailed we had awesome weather), and cheaper prices. And there are inhernt risks with any vacation where weather is concerned and cruising has the added complications of sea conditions and islands being affected by storms.

 

[CaribGirl]

We had to postpone both cruises from last year due to hurricane. First schedule during Frances, then re-scheduled and that was during Jeanne. We would've gone if it wasn't for the fact that we live in the PC area, and got both hurricanes dead on. All that said, we are again booked for this Sept.
Just heard the other day that even though they are expecting a busy hurricane season, the EOC (Emergency Operations Center) is expecting only one. Of course these are all predictions, and they are not expecting a year like last year. Or maybe it is just what I wanted to hear and so I am not listening to any other weather predictions.

 

[Suzanne74]

I think the other thing people are not looking at is hurricane season starts in early June and goes until Nov - it just so happens that some hurricanes hit in Sept last year very close together and all hitting the Florida area - this was a freak occurance. Before that, disney had not had to cancel or change any cruises in Sept. As far as any other times that have cheaper prices, Dec-March are pretty good prices (not as cheap as Sept) but are by far the highest in missing Castaway and having rocky water. In 2003 there were 3 missing Castaway ports in Dec and 2 each in Jan, Feb and March. There was only 1 missed in Sept 2003 and none missed in 2002 - from what I have gathered here on the board. I think it is worth it to take the chance. 2004 was a rare occurance and I can't imagine 2005 being similar at all. But really there is a chance that your cruise could be altered no matter what time you cruise, if you can go Sept - why not save on the rates - you save a lot of money!!

 

[natsmom125]

Hurricane season is June 1 through November 30.

 

[mmouse37]

I just cut this from the noaa.gov site that monitors hurricanes....

The official hurricane season for the Atlantic Basin (the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico) is from 1 June to 30 November. As seen in the graph to the right, the peak of the season is from mid-August to late October. However, deadly hurricanes can occur anytime in the hurricane season.

 

[Miss Jasmine]

Yes the busy time for hurricanes is August and September. I also wanted to add that it is much more important to be safe. Do not try to get yourself to Florida, into a path of a hurricane, just so you can make your cruise. Use that trip insurance and reschedule your cruise.

 

[nrk]

Cruised on sept 11 2004. Our stops where all shuffled around and went on a day to day basis. Our Keywest,grandcayman, Cozumel,ccay turned into San Juan, st-thomas, st-john and ended in San Juan on tuesday who got hit by hurricane Jeanne on wednesday, Nassau and finally ccay. First visitors in over 4 weeks. It's a risk we take

 

[snelsonbrown]

I have lived in Florida for 70 years and even tho I have never had fears over hurricanes, I have had a great respect for them - now after 2004, I have changed my attitude toward them - even tho I do not fear them and respect them, I have taken a closer heeding of them - hurricanes tore up Florida and we have yet to recover - there are still so many in an upheaval and it will be a long time before lives get back to normal - I do suggest taking insurance and also taking precautions - I will suggest taking the shop's phone number for a number of folks did last year and we were able to help when they got stranded here in Port Canaveral - NO THERE IS NO OBLIGATIONS and NO THERE IS NO COST - Norm and I do know what it is to get stranded in a strange town and not know anyone - as time approaches, I will post our cell numbers so that you can tuck it away and hope never to use it in an emergency. We have had car vandalism, hospital visits, being stranded in the middle of a hurricane, car problems, finding items left behind - name it we were here to extend a hand in help and again know there is no string attached. You need a safe zone away from home especially when you have children.
anyhow lets pray our season stays calm against all predictions for 2005.
Always
Shirley and Norm

 

[jlcbshaw]

...... name it we were here to extend a hand in help and again know there is no string attached. You need a safe zone away from home especially when you have children.
anyhow lets pray our season stays calm against all predictions for 2005.
Always
Shirley and Norm

Although I haven't personally communicated with you, I have seen some of your other posts and I must say that you have a heart of gold. Everyone who comes across your path should count their blessings and say an extra prayer for you and your family.

Also, part of yuour post has me wondering. "lets pray our season stays calm against all predictions for 2005" Guess seeing as how I live in Texas, I have not kept up with this years predictions. Are things looking bad already? We will be sailing on The Wonder in September.

Thanks for your insight.

 

[ThreeSmiths]

We cruised on the Magic on Sept 11 2004. We were supposed to go to Key West, Cozumel, Grand Cayman and CC. We ended up going to San Juan, Nassau and CC. Capt. Tom kept us in clear, sunny skies the whole trip (we saw a little rain in San Juan, but left port just before the big rain hit.)

My advice:

#1 BUY TRAVEL INSURANCE!!!!

#2 KEEP AN OPEN MIND! If you go into the trip with an open mind with confidence that the captain will do his best to keep you in good weather, you will have a great trip, whether you make all of your stops or not!

We rebooked for October this year (still hurricane season).

Stacy

 

[mamalle]

I think there is a good chance of a hurricane in sept. I have lived her all my life and have learned not to book a vacation because every time I do- we get hit by one. someone also told me recently that we may be in for the same type of hurricane season like last year due to the weather pattern being the same. it was no fun for us floridians and I couldnt imagine being stuck here on vacation. Yeah the rates are cheeper but personally Im not the gambling type to wait and see. If you do book I would suggest trip insurance and just be prepared and open minded. I did take the kids up to disney after hurricane francis due to being without electricity for 10 days. the park and resorts were empty and it was wonderful to have a hot shower and a cold room.

 

[two-foxes]

There was an article in our paper today that said this years hurricane season may be worse than last years.....we'll still chance it...again!

I figure there are three cruises that leave weekly with DCL. If I remember correctly, about 5-6 cruises were "seriously" affected by the hurricanes in 2004 through delays, or made a bit shorter or longer. (I am not including port changes.) So if hurricane season is May 15-Nov 1 (that is when the NOAA watches them), then in those approx 24 weeks there were 72 cruises that left....if only 5-6 were affected, I'll take that gamble for the lower prices!

Please keep in mind that that is my rationalization of why I have and will continue to cruise in Hurricane Season. (Life in Jill-ville is good ) We will ALWAYS buy trip insurance and realize that there is a chance that our plans may not work out as perfectly as we'd hope, but we are okay with that!

Trip insurance will cover hurricanes (but if you try to buy it the day you are supposed to leave for your trip and there is a hurricane headed your way, you may be SOL) It reimbursed us over $900 when we got stuck in the delay due to Hurricane Jeanne, so buy it! You'd be silly to travel with out it!

 

[smilingmouse]

This is a bit OT, but who do you buy your travel ins. through? I'm leaning towards TravelInsured or Travelex. Which is better? Why? Also, when do you purchase your ins? I'm cruising on 9/24 and haven't bought my ins yet....

TIA!!!

 

[two-foxes]

This is a bit OT, but who do you buy your travel ins. through? I'm leaning towards TravelInsured or Travelex. Which is better? Why? Also, when do you purchase your ins? I'm cruising on 9/24 and haven't bought my ins yet....

TIA!!!

We purchased through www.accessamerica.com. It offered us the best price for the length and cost of the trip we were taking. Plus, they were awesome answering my questions even before I purchased through them. Others here go to www.insuremytrip.com (I think that is it.) Shop around, make sure you get the plan that suits your needs (we did the least expensive of the two with access, and it was perfect for us!)

One last tip, make sure you divide your trip up for the cost per person. If your total cost is 2000 for two, make sure you put 1000 if it asks for the cost per traveler. That screwed us up when I put in the total cost of the trip for each DH and I....needless to say I was shocked at the quote until I realized what I did.