Hurricanes and Sept/Oct/Nov bookings- I'm scared

[kkmcan]

I have just started researching Disney cruises and I was thinking in order for us to be able to afford this that going during the cheapest part of the year would be the way to go. Only thing is, I'm scared to death of hurricane season and possibly the cruise getting cancelled! Any one have any input on this??

Also, what's the weather/water like at this time of the year? Warm?

Thanks for any advice!

Kelly

 

[Jsme]

The weather is awesome in September and October. I love October because it is not as hot as the summer, but warm enough to have a great time.

Very seldom is a cruise cancelled. Many cruise lines will adjust their schedules to advoid cancelling a cruise. They might change the Port you are to go out ofs. If this happens DCL will meet you at the PC and provide transportation to the port. They may also adjust the itinerary. Cruise ships can avoid a hurricane by going around the storm system. Thus, the need to change the itinerary. Our first cruise in 1992 we went out just a few hours (from Miami) prior to Andrew hitting Homestead. The seas are a little rough but it is still lots of fun.

 

[CM_Mom]

If you do more research you will find that cruises very rarely get cancelled. I believe that last fall is the FIRST time that DCL has had a weather related cancellation and they've been cruising since 1998. Last year was also the first time that WDW ever closed because of weather. It was just a wierd year.

I would go and plan to have a great time.....just plan to be flexible. Your attitude really does make a difference.

It was interesting to read what folks said last year. You would hear two folks who were on the same ship at the same time and one person thought everything was horrible because it didn't go the way they had planned....and another person on the same cruise had a fantastic time and thought it was a great adventure.

 

[CaribGirl]

Lat year, none of their cruises got canceled, but they did get moved to other ports and shorten or stayed out longer. The parks here did close for a day or two, ut the cruises kept on going.
Hopefully we won't see that kind of activity this year. All that said, I have a cruise scheduled for Sept. Great time for weather, price and all.

 

[DrCavin]

You could look at some other months as well, May is a very reasonable month. If you do go in hurricane season, trip insurance would be HIGHLY recommended...

 

[mommasita]

We were on a 1 day shortened cruise last September...We had amazing weather until the one day of HIGH seas, but they went all out to give us extra entertainment, and we thought we had a Fantastic time...

Even when we had to dock early, we were transported to DW by bus, and put up for the night (free)...Everything was done very very quickly, and we did this as painlessly as possible..In only Disney style..

We knew the possibilities before sailing, and just had a back up plan in case we did not cruise....And INSURANCE...This can not be said enough.....

I love this time of year, obviously there is a chance of anything, but it works for us, and we go with the flow..

 

[paulmc80]

That's part of the adventure in cruising. You just never know what mother nature has in store. Sometimes they gotta adjust their course, their ports, their anything all to accomodate. I like it when they change their course to avoid the rain so we all can be out on deck in the nice, happy sunshine.

 

[HeelMD]

We did the 4-day Magic last Sept. and had trouble with Hurricaine Frances. Disney changed the cruise from a Sun-Thu to a Tues-Sat. The schedule changed from a 4-day Bahamas/Castaway Cay to a 4-day Cozumel/Sea cruise. They absolutely busted their behinds to make it a good experience for us and we had a blast. You also had the option of cruising another time without penalty and they gave you a $100/person cruise account credit and 25% off your next cruise if it was a sail date within a year. My personal opinion was they did way more than we would have expected and we appreciated it a lot.

I would be concerned for Sept. cruises, but wouldn't really worry about Oct. or November. Also, can't stress enough the importance of buying the travel insurance in this circumstance.

 

[Jsme]

I have to say we did not have trouble at all in our October cruise last year but we did go our between hurricanes.

 

[pearlieq]

We were on the Sep cruise between hurricanes last year. Honestly, I wouldn't book during hurricane season again. Dec and Jan are just as cheap, and May was not that much more.

The actual cruise itself was lovely, but I just don't need the stress of checking the weather reports every 3 hours, worrying that the port would be open (no one had a straight answer on this), worrying that the flights would make it, worrying that we would sail, worrying about rough seas, etc. It just added too much stress to what was supposed to be a relaxing vacation!

If you do decide to stick with hurricane season, buy the insurance!

 

[BABYJOSIE98]

My self I would not book for September or late August cause that seems to be the busiest time for Hurricaines.

We love late October and November. Near perfect weather both cruises and I have another on the Magic booked for Oct 15.

If your really worried then go for November cause I have never really heard of Hurricanes being that late in recent years.

I am praying for smooth sailing......

 

[kcashner]

We've been on 5 cruises in September. The only one that was a problem was 2004 with Francis (we were on the same cruise as HeelMD above). On one other occasion, the captain changed the ports we would visit in order to steer away from the hurricane. However, this didn't really bother me since I don't care where we are going, I'm going on the ship!

I would certainly suggest trip insurance. However, I wouldn't hesitate to book September again. I feel that one out of 5 isn't bad odds for a messed up cruise. The weather is wonderful, there are no crowds, and the prices can't be beat!

 

[kkmcan]

Wow! Thanks so much for the responses. I have a lot to think about. Might look into Oct/Nov cruises so now here's another question-

How's the water during these two months? Warm enough to swim in? We would plan on just doing the beach instead of excursions to also help keep the cost down.

I also might try and get a cruise this Nov to avoid Passport costs for four!

I'm working on hubby with this so the cheaper I can get it all the better!! I've got to show him we can do this!

Thanks again,
Kelly

 

[buster478]

We have cruised twice in Oct and have had a great time and the weather was very good. The first time we didn't get to go to CC because of waves and wind. The next cruise we did and it was fantastic. We are going again in Oct of 2006. If there are ever storms, they stay clear of them. Sometimes stores might be a good thing. I read in the Disney Magazine about a family who was on the ship three extra days because they couldn't get back into port. Wouldn't that be nice? Don't worry. The weather is warm the farther south you go. In Orlando and Port it gets a little chilly at night but it isn't that bad.

 

[disneyfanforever]

We are going this September. I am scared of hurricanes but I bought insurance and the price was right. Hopefully, I won't regret it.

 

[MelissaE1]

You are much more likely to be rerouted than cancelled. The likelihood of even encountering a hurricane is pretty slight (except for last year lol), but if you don't mind a possible change of itinerary I would say go for it -- the weather is nice that time of year and the price recommends it. Even after Hurricane Ivan came right through my back yard (literally!) we are still booked for October of this year with no worries. You may want to avoid the month of September which is often more active tropically speaking.

 

[snelsonbrown]

Good morning there and Happy 4th to each of you.
Now one of the things was those caught in last year's fury of changes due to the hurricanes, we had a number of families that were in a quandry as to what to do, where to go etc - the thing I do suggest is to take my phone number with you and if you run into a problem, just call - last year we picked up a family that was stranded and was able to get them out of there before Frances came through - we had another family that called before they got here and had them turn around before they got here - in fact, I got a total of about 20 phone calls with questions and I believe that we were able to direct each without mass confusion - there are no strings attached - Norm and I are just a safe zone - I know what it is to be out of my safe zone, be lost and scared to death - I wish I would have had a ME to call for reassurance. Anyhow the number is 321-508-2246 ----write it down, put it away and if you need it while down here somewhere, call and Norm and I will do our darnest to help.
Meanwhile HAPPY 4TH and GOD BLESS AMERICA
Love always
Norm and Shirley

 

[WDWLVR]

Thanks Shirley. As someone who is headed down that way in early September it is good to know that we have someone to call.

Happy 4th to you and Norm!

 

[sweetsue]

If hurricanes really bother you, January AFTER the holidays also comes really close in price. Still, the cheapest I've found is in September.

Cruising in hurricane season comes to this. If you are the type of person that doesn't get stressed by change then GO FOR IT! If your vacation needs to be planned just so and a minor change will ruin it for you - then pick a different month.

Official hurricane season runs from June through November although the busiest months are August and September. The hotter the water, the easier it is for hurricanes.

There are other things that can happen too. Years ago I was on an RCCL cruise that was supposed to go to Haiti. Two days before we sailed the Haitian government was overthrown. RCCL moved us to Nassau instead.

There are things you can do. Buy trip insurance, book excursions only through DCL, and bring along a general Caribbean guide in case of port changes. Most of all look at it as an ADVENTURE!

Sweet Sue (who is cruising this September!)

 

[staceymerrill]

Since last September 4th Frances nightmare, we have reconsidered doing September cruises......If you are flexible with your dates, I would opt for mid to late January, early May,or early December as an alternative....all offer no risk of hurricanes, and very similar pricing as September.....