Question about Hurricanes and Eastern Disney Cruise?

[CableKC]

I helped book the 3 night cruise leaving August 11th for my entire 16 member family.

What happens if there is a hurricane during the trip...either before or during the cruise itself?

If there is one before the cruise....would Disney cruise cancel the trip?

or

Would they sail out but avoid the path of the hurricane?

I'm wondering what the cruiseline does before or during a cruise. I'm guessing that the islands took a hit and wouldn't be very enjoyable during that time.

Is there anyone on the board that had a cruise before or during last years horrible string of hurricanes that hit the Gulf Coast?

I booked the cruise through Costco....and purchased Cruise insurance but am concerned that it won't cover something like an act of God ( aka Hurricanes ).

 

[WDWLVR]

Disney will make every effort to sail and still keep everyone safe.

Last year that meant that a 7 day cruise was extended to 10 days.

It also meant that both the Magic and Wonder had to dock down in Ft. Lauderdale since Port Canaveral was closed.

The good thing is you have insurance. Chances are you won't need it and everything will be fine and you and your family will have a great cruise.

The DIS is a great place to keep track of things.

I'm sure those who were on cruises last year will also chime in.

 

[CableKC]

Thanks for replying.

I don't know if the Costco Cruise insurance will cover things if WE cancel the cruise due to Hurricane conditions. I'm guessing it will only come into play if the Cruiseline itself cancels the cruise.

If anyone cruised during last year's barrage of hurricanes on any of the Disney cruises....please let me know how the trip went.

Also....if the cruiseline changes the itinenary due to hurricane conditions...like staying 4 days at sea to avoid the path of a hurricane....would they offer any type of partial refund?

 

[bbowers]

We went on our first cruise ever last year between two of the hurricanes, in September. We had to board at Ft Lauderdale, and since we had driven down (combining a trip to HH), that was a bit tricky - ended up renting a car one-way to drive down because I did NOT want to wait on the bus. BUT, there was a bus available and we wouldn't have had to do that. Missed the wonderful port experience, because Ft Lauderdale is pretty plain.

CC was cancelled due to hurricane damage, and the only excursion on Nassau that was cancelled was the one WE had signed up for! When we went shopping and tried to pay by credit card, we couldn't because the phone lines were still down.

All in all, it was a most marvelous time and we promptly signed up for the same time this year as soon as we got home. I can't wait!

 

[CableKC]

Wait a second....they changed the departing port on you to Ft. Lauderdale?

How did they notify you of the change?

More importantly....when did they notify you?

 

[mommasita]

Wait a second....they changed the departing port on you to Ft. Lauderdale?

How did they notify you of the change?

More importantly....when did they notify you?

You should make sure that Disney has all phone numbers for you, cell phone, your hotel itinerary, if any, and they WILL call you..>Also you should call in and check the website often, as they post all relevant info there...

THey do the best that can be done, and they do a great job at it...We sailed on a day shortened hurricane Jeanne cruise, and they treated us amazingly, even after arriving a day early into PC, and extremely quickly I might say...

Insurance is an absolute MUST, and you must be along for the ride, and expect the possibility of changes to your ports of call (always a possiblity)/.

Cruising during this time is extremely risky, so I am always open to any possible changes, and have a back up plan in case..

HTH

 

[scrapperjill]

We sailed last Sept 11....on the Magic. We booked the Western 7 night cruise...but ended up doing a modifyed Easten...with port stops in San Juan, Nassau and CC due to ALL the hurricanes...we went just after Francis, while Ivan was heading up the western carabbean towads the gulf and as Hurricane Jeanne was forming and on her way up. Luckly we were able to catch the boat at Port Canaveral...they had JUST opened it up the morning we were going to sail...or maybe it was the night before...any way we were in close contact with DCL and any changes in plans from the moment we headed to the airport. (I for one did NOT want to take the bus to the other port...after all we had a limo scheduled to pick us up at our hotel and take us to PC). The absolute WORST part of traveling durring hurricne activity is the not knowing what the plan is...We knew if we could get on the ship...and have the ship head out to sea...then we would be safe and on a cruise (Maybe not the one we booked...but a cruise anyway) But the not knowing...of will the airports be open...will flights be canceled....the chance of a whole cruise being cancled is low...They really put saftey first and do their best to keep eveyone safe...even if that means not setting sail.

As for our cruise...even though we only stopped at one of our original ports (Castaway Cay) the cruse was a blast...we had awesome weather and beautiful seas the whole time. Well we did get some rain here and there but not so much it put a damper on the trip....it was actually very welcomed due to the heat.

We purchased trip insurance for our trip...and I'm very glad we did...we never used it but it was a good feeling to know that if our trip was delayed or cancled we'd get our money back...I can't say for sure but I would think hurricnaes would be a covered item....it really shouldn't be to hard to find out...there should be information in your insurance forms on what and how much is covered...or a quick phone call should give you that answer.

 

[kcashner]

We have sailed in September 5 times (5 different years.) 3 cruises were totally uneventful--they did exactly what they were scheduled to do. On one cruise, the captain chose an alternative port of call in order to sail away from an area where there was a hurricane. We had a wonderful cruise, but some people were very upset that they didn't see the island they had planned to visit.

Then there was 2004 and Jeane. Our 7 day cruise became a 4 day cruise. Yes, we sailed out of Ft. Lauderdale. Dcl provided transportation from MCO , the parks, and I don't know where else. THey also gave us a partial refund on the cruise and a shipboard credit. The 3 days that we weren't sailing were a bummer since we were already at WDW before the decisions were made. People did have the option of cancelling and getting a full refund. In fairness, once we were on the ship, everything was great.

DCL's main concern is your safety (as well as that of the crew and the ship.) THey will do whatever necessary from a safety standpoint. This usually means they do the cruise as planned or a slight alteration of course that passengers may not even be aware of. However.....7 day cruises became 10 days or 4 days. Ships can go out of alternative ports. Ships can go to sea empty of guests just to be out of hurricane range.

Seriously consider trip insurance if you are sailing in the hurricane season (this is technically 6 months of the year) Be sure that DCL and your TA have your home/work/cell numbers. We called DCL several times while we were in Florida as we heard the weather reports--unfortunately, they didn't always have accurate information.

I really think that 2004 was a fluke. I'd sail in September again in a minute--the low prices, warm weather, and lack or crowds make it truly a wonderful (I guess I should say Magical) trip.

 

[CableKC]

I'm praying ( REALLY PRAYING ) that there won't be real adverse hurricane conditions as I am going with a huge family. I will have to keep track of the phone #s to call on the status of the cruise if things change due to adverse weather conditions.

 

[captaincrash]

Last year we were caught up in the Hurricane mess around labor day in Sept.

The sailing ahead of us got 10 days - we ended up with 4 instead of 7. DCL took reasonably good care of us - money back + cabin credit + transfers to Fort Lauderdale and from the port canaveral + one nite at their resort the polynesian + park ultra passes + 25% off a rebooking (with some date limitations) + many minor courtesies.

What we really did not like was rescheduling our flights in from California 7 (SEVEN) times - and only enbeding up in South Carolina... to drive into Jacksonville ..... then the next day sit in traffic about 5 hours to go about 100 miles into Orlando.

But in the end as another posting DISer indicated - once we were aboard we were sitting pretty - even with the shortened sailing. I was pretty tired from marshalling everything but the spouse and kids were happy.

Now here we are - booked again for the Sept 3rd 2005 Eastern sailng. And the NOAA has forecast this Hurricane season to be just like last years'. The official posting said something like - that there is a 70% likelihood for above average activity - 20% normal and 10% below normal activity. Further that we would have 3 major named storms/hurricanes. I don't think Dennis counts as a major storm.

So - where the bigs ones come and go remains to be seen - and whether they will impact your (or our) sailings remains to be seen. The hurricane season runs from about now through about late sept / early oct..

But what do I know.... I'm just a DCL enthusiast .... crazy enough to fly and drive INTO a huge hurricane front for a reduced schedule cruise. Dumb, eh? Well... my kids will only be this age ONCE and if it makes them happy and if that makes my spouse happy then we'll do it.

On the other hand - common sense would say we should just do something else.... but we don't!

 

[Drcell01]

We were on last Setember's Labor Day Western cruise that was shortened to 5 days due to hurricane Frances. We were not notified that the cruise was leaving from Ft. Lauderdale until noon time the day before (as we were standing in the Ft. Myers airport). We were also not told of the temporary accomidations that Disney was offering (at N/C) to DCL guests (due to hurricane issues) until after we had already checked into our hotel (all Star resort). When speaking with DCL later we were not offered reimbursement for our cost of the All Star room.

We had flown into Ft. Myers (only airport in FL that was open the day before the cruise) and rented a car that we expected to drop off at Port Canaveral. Then we had to drop off before we left (via bus) to leave from Ft. Lauderdale.

Lets just say that the logistics of traveling from Syracuse, NY to WDW that day were horrible!

Due to bus issues we were one of the last to board the ship (about 7:15pm) in Ft. Lauderdale and they shut the hatch behind us.

All of that said we had one of the best vacations ever and it is that reason that we are back this year! We are deturmined to get to CC this time (was closed due to hurricane damage last year). My suggestions are to not sweat what you can not control and be flexable and make the best of the time you receive.