Hurricanes Canada/New England Cruise

[pappy3393]

Now that Earl is poised to create some havoc on the east coast, I was wondering how often hurricanes or remnants of hurricanes have caused route changes or rough seas on a Canada/New England cruise? Is it more prevalent in September vs October?

[LindaKE]

I can answer part of your question. September is the height of hurrricane season, so there will normally be much more activity then.

[Cecethekittencat]

I was thinking the same exact question today as we've already booked a cruise for 9/1/11 from NJ to Canada. It never occurred to me the

seas may be rough due to hurricane season.

 

Can others chime in on the frequency of this? If it's likely to have rough/turbulent seas at that time of year we'll need to choose another cruise date and/or destination! :eek:

 

Thanks!

[nctraveler54]

Living on the east coast, August through October is the most active season. No one can guess the number of storms we will have or where they could hit. The weather models show Earl passing between our coast line and Bermuda - at this time. Should it move left before Friday noon, we stand a good chance of getting hit. If not, Earl will cause some problems up north. On a trip to Newfoundland in 2007, the outfitter warned us should a storm (in September) come through, the ferry may not run.

 

Aug - Sept - Oct - Nov are hurricane months

[MonaCD]

I don't know how many storms we,ve had pass through the Nova Scotia area that affected cruises. The two worst I can recall were juan in 2003 and Bill last summer, now Earl is threatening us. All these were around the end of August when the water here is warmest, so I'm thinking if you want some sort of assurance, try to avoid the last couple weeks of August and the first two of September. But then who can perdict with any certainty what any year will bring.

[maryann ns]

I agree with MonaCD. The ocean is particularly warm this year, just what hurricanes like. We are watching the forecast carefully. It is still projected to hit Nova Scotia with a 40 to 50% chance of still being a hurricane when it hits.

 

It is getting cold enough in October that we don't get full blown hurricanes.

 

The first two weeks of October are a great time to cruise here. Be sure to take a cruise with an overnight in Quebec and a full day in the other ports.

[SailBadtheSinner]

nctraveler54 wrote: ....Aug - Sept - Oct - Nov are hurricane months......

 

The Atlantic hurricane season is from June 1 to Nov 30.

 

The chart below shows the distribution of hurricanes by month since 1851. Last 2 weeks in August and first 2 weeks in September have the highest frequency.

 

 

 

SBtS

[MonaCD]

nctraveler54 wrote: ....Aug - Sept - Oct - Nov are hurricane months......

 

The Atlantic hurricane season is from June 1 to Nov 30.

 

The chart below shows the distribution of hurricanes by month since 1851. Last 2 weeks in August and first 2 weeks in September have the highest frequency.

 

 

 

SBtS

 

Gee, look at that, no meterlogical degree and I made a pretty good guestimate LOL :p

[Langley Cruisers]

We had an itinerary change on a Canada/NE route two years ago, late September. What was left of Hurricane Kyle prevented us from one port (Charlottetown, PEI), and made us overnight in another (Quebec City - FABULOUS!!!). Every passenger got a credit on their account for the missed port.

 

Oh well. That's the risk you take when cruising in hurricane season.

[Jade13]

We were on Maasdam this week, Montreal to Boston and most ports were missed and ship headed from PEI directly to Boston. We missed Sydney, Halifax and Bar Harbor. We could have stayed on-board until this morning but guests were free to leave after the ship cleared customs Thursday night.

[cs4225]

We had an itinerary change on a Canada/NE route two years ago, late September. What was left of Hurricane Kyle prevented us from one port (Charlottetown, PEI), and made us overnight in another (Quebec City - FABULOUS!!!). Every passenger got a credit on their account for the missed port.

 

Oh well. That's the risk you take when cruising in hurricane season.

 

We were on the Caribbean Princess following Hurricane Kyle up the coast. It rained in New York, Newport and St. John but we got to visit all the ports on the itinerary.

[maryann ns]

The Glory made it to Halifax this morning, but the museums are all closed as is the road into Peggy's Cove for safety reasons.

 

The worst hurricane we ever had was Juan in 2003, and it came at the end of September., so you never know.

 

Earl is here now giving lots of wind and rain in some areas, but nothing serious so far. It is just barely a category one. It changed course overnight and will be brushing our southeast coast. It is not quite here yet.

 

If I were to cruise here I would aim for the end of the first week of October. You want to be in Sydney before Oct. 15 to see Louisbourg. October is also better for fall colours.

[LiftLockCouple]

The Glory made it to Halifax this morning, quote]

 

maryann, just a good natured poke :) but the Glory is tied up in Saint John with two tugs alongside for good measure, the weather is currently barely wet though, should see the sun this afternoon. Now if she were in Halifax it would be a very large difference in weather. I have been looking at the webcams this morning and it is VERY wet in Halifax. The Eurodam bypassed Sydney and Halifax on its transatlantic to hangout last night at sea near Portland before continuing and the Explorer is still in Portland under sunny skies. Enjoy Earl in Nova Scotia:eek: Cheers

[maryann ns]

Yes I seem to have heard incorrectly and am well reprimanded. CBC is broadcasting live for all the Maritimes. The storm is just getting going here (between Amherst and Truro, NS). We are getting lots of wind and rain. Halifax has power outages and some trees down.

[LiftLockCouple]

"reprimanded" is far to harsh a word, just a good natured dig. :) We trust all will be well with you folks.

[NancyIL]

We were on Maasdam this week, Montreal to Boston and most ports were missed and ship headed from PEI directly to Boston. We missed Sydney, Halifax and Bar Harbor. We could have stayed on-board until this morning but guests were free to leave after the ship cleared customs Thursday night.

 

That would be a very disappointing cruise!

 

We were on Explorer of the Seas in Oct. 2008. Ours was the sailing after the one Langley Cruisers was on that missed PEI but overnighted in Quebec City. Not a bad trade-off, as reroutings go!

 

I am considering a late-April 2012 repo cruise on the Maasdam from Ft. Lauderdale to Montreal. I know there won't be hurricanes then, but I'm wondering what the weather is like in Canada the first 2 weeks of May.

[maryann ns]

Montreal will be have a glorious spring in May. The Maritimes (Halifax, Saint John, Charlottetown) have a slower spring, but it is still a fine time of year to travel. This year May was abnormally warm in Nova Scotia.

[NancyIL]

Montreal will be have a glorious spring in May. The Maritimes (Halifax, Saint John, Charlottetown) have a slower spring, but it is still a fine time of year to travel. This year May was abnormally warm in Nova Scotia.

 

Thank you - that's great to hear!

[jd10367]

That would be a very disappointing cruise!

 

We were on Explorer of the Seas in Oct. 2008. Ours was the sailing after the one Langley Cruisers was on that missed PEI but overnighted in Quebec City. Not a bad trade-off, as reroutings go!

 

I am considering a late-April 2012 repo cruise on the Maasdam from Ft. Lauderdale to Montreal. I know there won't be hurricanes then, but I'm wondering what the weather is like in Canada the first 2 weeks of May.

 

Although I love my ports of call. 3 sea days would be nice also. ;) Especially since sea days mean non work days.

[Jade13]

Although I love my ports of call. 3 sea days would be nice also. ;) Especially since sea days mean non work days.

 

Right but the pools were closed (actually because we were going through a protected whale area - but they never opened up again), and HAL used the opportunity to do maintenance. The tone changed and the cruise was essentially over after 3 days. Maasdam than parked in South Boston for two nights and everything of course was shut down.

[maryann ns]

Very frustrating. I suppose they can do this with no compensation offered. Weather is out of their control.

[wg6530]

The worst hurricane we ever had was Juan in 2003, and it came at the end of September., so you never know....

If I were to cruise here I would aim for the end of the first week of October. You want to be in Sydney before Oct. 15 to see Louisbourg. October is also better for fall colours.

 

I was on the NCL Crown during Juan in September 2003. Our itinerary was changed significantly due to Juan and some tropical storms and a propeller problem. we docked in Halifax the day after Juan stuck the city. there was so much damage. so many huge old trees down. Many locals without power. and yet, with all their troubles, everybody was so nice and polite even to tourists. the stop and the people made quite an impression on me.

[6rugrats]

Very frustrating. I suppose they can do this with no compensation offered. Weather is out of their control.

When we missed ports due to a tropical storm, we did get a refund of the port taxes and a glass of champagne. It's true, they have no control over the weather, and it's just a risk you take.

[nybumpkin]

We were aboard Carnival Glory during Earl. We sailed faster than normal out of NYC (roughly 20 knots instead of 17-18 knots) and tied up in Saint John around 11 Friday night, and we stayed until 8 the following evening. (I have a great photo of one of the tugs keeping us in place, directly below our cabin.) The sailing was surprisingly smooth - some pitching due to our speed, but that was it. Most of our port excursions were canceled due to wind and rain and a lot of folks stayed on the ship. However, by about 3 in the afternoon the rain stopped, the sun came out, and people started venturing out a bit.

[CruiseCat53]

At least cruise ships can go somewhere else when a hurricane threatens. Might not be the port of call you expect, but it's still not bad being on board!

 

We just got back on Saturday from a 9-night Canada-New England cruise on RCI from Bayonne. Earl caused some early anxiety with possible itinerary changes, but in the end Earl was a blessing for our cruise. We left Thursday afternoon, and instead of Friday (9/3) at sea, our captain decided to head full speed to Portland ME so we could dock and ride out the storm. We made it by 3:30 pm Friday; it was horribly hot and humid in Portland -- like the rest of the eastern seaboard, Maine and eastern Canada were suffering from the terrible heat wave -- 90s in Maine and Canada, and no A/C for the most part! We had heavy rain and some wind Friday night, and by 9:00 am Saturday, we had beautiful, mostly sunny and cool weather in Portland for the rest of the day.

 

Earl was a little over a day ahead of us so Sunday in Bar Harbor after Earl passed was mostly sunny and cool. Ditto for Saint John on Monday and Halifax on Tuesday! Earl cleared the way for absolutely gorgeous, sunny but cool weather. Not only were we cruise passengers happy, the residents of all ports of call were happy their heat wave was finally gone.

 

Be it weather or illness (no one sick on our cruise either -- 0% norovirus or anything else), it's more a matter of luck than planning. But I figure being stuck on a cruise ship, anywhere, is better than being at work! :D