Tell me about your experience with weather related port changes and cancellations

[DWillowBay]

Earlier this year due to Subtropical Storm Alberto my Western Caribbean on the Fantasy changed schedules. They just flipped the ports, and none of them were missed. We went Falmouth, Grand Cayman, Cozumel instead of Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Falmouth

If this happens, do the shore excursions remain the same, or are those disrupted/ canceled/ need to be re-booked?

 

[Ladybugx87]

If this happens, do the shore excursions remain the same, or are those disrupted/ canceled/ need to be re-booked?

I was on this same cruise and all of our excursions remained the same with some time shifts. All new excursion tickets were in our room.
Some people opted out of the Cozumel one bc new time had us back at 5pm on pirate night.
ETA: there were a few excursions that were not available to shift but those weren’t ours and seemed the minority.

 

[DWillowBay]

I was on this same cruise and all of our excursions remained the same with some time shifts. All new excursion tickets were in our room.
Some people opted out of the Cozumel one bc new time had us back at 5pm on pirate night.
ETA: there were a few excursions that were not available to shift but those weren’t ours and seemed the minority.

Thank you! We have a Western scheduled in a few months and I just wondered how that would work. Thanks again!

 

[jne7043]

Thank you everyone! These were so helpful and fun to read. Latest forecast doesn't look like Florence will be an issue for us. We are flying on Friday, but out of Atlanta. In the event of a cancellation we would be able to drive from here. Isaac may mess with our itinerary, but it's still too early to tell.

 

[clten]

We've been on a number of cruises where itineraries have had to be changed. Once a Western cruise changed ports due to the threat of H1N1 virus (we were on b2b and this was week 2, we were told about the change during the first week sailing); the WBTA that missed Newfoundland and Iceland (as was mentioned earlier, it was also a last minute change and didn't get much time to rebook excursions); the Magic Hurricane Matthew cruise that changed from Bahamas to Canada (turned out to be one of my favorite cruises - only about 700 guests on board and one seating for dinner/show); we've missed Grand Cayman a few times because of weather; we've had an eastern cruise turn into a western cruise and probably more that I'm forgetting.

DCL is good about trying to get information out as soon as they have it - it's just that they often don't have it until the last minute (you don't want to reschedule a cruise and all the cruise ports a week or two in advance due to weather only to find out everything is fine). Traveling you have to have a go with the flow kind of attitude. Were we disappointed in some of the changes? Yes absolutely (we still haven't made it back to Iceland to make up for our missed stop there) but we have had the best times when we've just gone along and made the best of the situation (that same cruise, Stavanger was added to make up for missing the ports. We ended up loving that stop so much that last year we did one of the Norwegian Fjords cruises.)

 

[jdb in AZ]

DCL is good about trying to get information out as soon as they have it - it's just that they often don't have it until the last minute (you don't want to reschedule a cruise and all the cruise ports a week or two in advance due to weather only to find out everything is fine). Traveling you have to have a go with the flow kind of attitude. Were we disappointed in some of the changes? Yes absolutely (we still haven't made it back to Iceland to make up for our missed stop there) but we have had the best times when we've just gone along and made the best of the situation (that same cruise, Stavanger was added to make up for missing the ports. We ended up loving that stop so much that last year we did one of the Norwegian Fjords cruises.)

When we were waiting to board the Fantasy in Port Canaveral after Hurricane Sandy, the ship was delayed several hours, and we got more info from DIS board passengers on the ship than we did from DCL.

 

[1savvygal]

My friend was on a cruise scheduled from NYC to the Bahamas a couple of years ago. Matthew screwed it up and made it a cruise to Canada instead. They offered her substantial onboard credit as well as a 25% off discount on a future cruise. She really didn't want a Canadian cruise, so she ended up getting them to switch her to the Fantasy instead and they drove to FL (through awful weather!). She stayed at WDW for one night prior to the cruise, and they comped her room and 1 day park hoppers for her family. IIRC the Fantasy was only 6 nights, instead of 7 during that time (I forget!) She really made out well, especially considering she did NOT have trip insurance!

We booked that same cruise. It was an 8 night Halloween cruise from NYC to Bahamas. We also didn’t want to go to Canada and ended up booking almost the same itinerary/ship (one night less) to sail out a few weeks later. With the extra 25% off, we upgraded to a verandah room from ocean view. It was our first Disney cruise and we had an AMAZING time.

 

[GPaLarry]

Only one change of port after eight cruises. On a Med./WBTA B2B we couldn't land in Monte Carlo because of rough water (tendering port), so we got a sea day and next day we landed in Marseilles instead. The captain broadcast the change in the morning and within three hours they got permission to stop in Marseilles, about a dozen excursions were created, more activities were planned on the ship and word got out to passengers about the new options. I asked an officer later how they pulled all this off and he said they have plan B, C and, if needed, D just in case. They try to provide "magic" under any conditions.

 

[sftnslky]

We’ve missed castaway cay several cruises.

We have missed it twice out of our last 4 cruises, and once we had been there like maybe 2 hours and a MASSIVE thunder storm barreled in super quick and they RUSHED to evacuate the island....people who were on the jet ski tour were all FLYING to get to the shore right next to the ship. So only once in the last 4 have we actually spent the whole day there.

 

[cruiser21]

We are 12 for 12 on Castaway. We've been there in Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec, Feb, and May. 23 cruises and we've never missed a port. I probably just jinxed myself. Our next cruise is Canada...so we'll see. We've had some rough seas, one tropical storm and a cold front over the North sea, but for the most part we've been really lucky with the weather. We live in Phoenix I always tell people we bring the good weather with us. My kids actually get excited when they see rain. Getting rained out of a port wouldn't bother them a bit.

 

[Carrie in AZ]

We have missed it twice out of our last 4 cruises, and once we had been there like maybe 2 hours and a MASSIVE thunder storm barreled in super quick and they RUSHED to evacuate the island....people who were on the jet ski tour were all FLYING to get to the shore right next to the ship. So only once in the last 4 have we actually spent the whole day there.

You have no idea how sad this makes me feel for you. That is the pits. I am sorry

 

[sftnslky]

You have no idea how sad this makes me feel for you. That is the pits. I am sorry

Thank you, but on vacations, especially ones that are at the mercy of Mother Nature i never go into it with rigid expectations. If we miss a port, we miss a port. If we have rocky seas and I get sick, I take some medicine.

Every thread where someone ask what is the thing I shouldn't forget to pack....I just wanna say your patience and expectations