Have you cruised in September?

[7777777]

I'm considering an eastern cruise in September. Am I nuts?

What should I expect on the weather?

What's the chances of a storm?

Thanks for your opinion...........

[pvangordon]

Eastern what?

[Bequia]

What should I expect on the weather?

What's the chances of a storm?

 

Its safe to say there's a 50/50 chance of a storm. I wouldn't think twice about sailing in September. Usually your afforded the lowest rates and the ships are rarely anywhere near capacity. ;)

[7777777]

Eastern Caribbean cruise

[critterchick]

I think the primary risk in cruising in September is that you will miss your cruise if a hurricane shuts down the airports. So, plan to fly in a day or two early and purchase travel insurance in case you just can't get there.

 

As for what will happen at sea, the Captain will do everything in his power to keep the ship & passengers out of harm's way. This may (MAY) result in missed ports, so don't have your heart set on doing every port listed on the itinerary - those changes are usually made at the last moment.

 

The prices seems to be much better than peak months, so I'd say go for it! We may be cruising in October 2006 on the Eastern Caribbean itinerary, too - just have to wait for them to come out <taps foot impatiently> so we can see what appeals.

[trish1c]

Do a search & read the reviews of everyone who sailed last Sept w/ hurricanne after hurricane. I took my first cruise in Sept. 2003 & got lucky -- hurricane went the opposite way from me. Maybe because last season was soooo bad, this one will be mild but I doubt I'd risk it again, even for the great fares.

[sunkey1]

Don't know about September, but we went twice in October and had horrible weather both times. Lots of people probably go in October and probably have no problem but even great rates are too much when it rains or is cloudy and cool the whole time. We just don't think it's worth taking a chance. We usually go in March or April (not around Sprink break week) and then again in late November and we've always had great weather. Late Nov -Jan. usually has good rates too and the weather is usually beautiful.

[Cotton]

Four of my last five cruises have been in September. It's my favorite month to cruise. One reason is that schools have just started, and there will be less children on board. I love kiddies, but not while I'm on a cruise. I go for the relaxation. Sea air. Water everywhere. Good book on sunny deck. Adult beverage in hand. No little ones running around my deck chair. Ahhhhhhh. September is perfect!:)

[wallie5446]

1 time in Dec, 1 time in Nov, 2 in Oct, and 3 in Sept. As others have said it is a 50/50 shot, but have only come close to a storm 1 time.

[savvyria]

My parents sailed on Disney last Sept. and with the hurricane they had:

 

upgrade from inside to balcony

3 day cruise turned into a 6 day cruise

above and beyond service because the ship was half full

they still stopped at a port just not the one they scheduled

[Cotton]

Oh, about the weather...:rolleyes:

 

Out of all four September cruises, I've had nearly perfect weather. One day only, it rained for a couple of hours on a sea day. Two days only, it sprinkled rain a little for about 10 minutes while on Cozumel. Couldn't ask for better weather than I've had. Lucky me, I guess.

[Sueseb]

We have also cruised in Sept. and had great weather -- rained one day in Martinique. I'd say "go for it."

[momofmeg]

We have cruised in late Sept. early Oct. a couple of times. This past September we cruised and it turned out ours was the only Disney Wonder cruise that was not affected badly. We still did our 2 ports although our "sea" day was switched because of Jeanne. I was all prepared for the worse though.

 

Now I did have friends that were affected more. Frends on The Aug. 29 Explorer of the Seas cruise got an extra day. friends on the Sept. 26 Mariner of the Seas cruise-their cruise did not start until Sept. 28 and they only got 2 ports but they were given a $300 per person refund for the miss of 2 days and also got a 50% certificate off a future cruise. They were more then happy with the way things turned out.

 

As far as cool weather and rain storms we had that on our Dec. 03 cruise and again on our Apr. 04 cruise so that can happen even when it is not in hurricane season.

[jewopaho]

It boils down to this: are you hell-bent on the ports of call, or do you care whether they're changed or eliminated altogether? Personally, I'd be highly upset if, say, Nassau were substituted for St. Maarten (I abhor that place). Also remember that the Atlantic/Caribbean seas are rougher than the Gulf of Mexico during that time - and while the ship's course may be altered, you'll likely feel some pretty significant movement.

 

Last year, two hurricanes hit homeports (Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Port Canaveral and Jacksonville). The cruises were either canceled or converted to shorter trips (with commensurate savings). The cruise lines handled matters beautifully, and passengers were well-compensated for their inconvenience. Of course, those on ships still at sea had their vacations extended by a couple of days (try explaining that one to the boss), but it was simply a bi-product of the lousy weather.

 

Prices in September are about as good as they get (although we got some really great deals in November and December), but saving a couple of dollars must be weighed against the possibility of enduring some major inconveniences. Waiting a few weeks would be my choice. I did sail once in September - no hurricane, but 15 ft. swells (enough to cure me of cruising at that time of year). Food for thought ....

 

Al

[rebeljohn]

We've cruised in Sept. & Oct. and had bad weather each time. We limit our cruises now to late fall/early winter and spring.

[kc320]

Most of our cruises have been in Sept-middle of Oct. & the weather has been great. Except for the 1st cruise which sailed Oct. 30th, Tropical depression in the Gulf made for a rough night.

I'm sailing again this year the end of Sept. for me as long as the ship can make it out of port I'm a happy sailor!

[momofmeg]

Of course, those on ships still at sea had their vacations extended by a couple of days (try explaining that one to the boss), but it was simply a bi-product of the lousy weather.

 

 

 

Al

 

 

My friend is a supervisor in retail and normally she would catch "heck" coming back to work late but as it was a HURRICANE that prevented her getting back (she was on Explorer August 29 sailing and it could not dock in Miami) her boss was very understanding. He realized it was out of her control.

 

As far as I'm concerned if a boss acted any other way about such a situation my guess he or she would be unreasonable about other things too-I would be looking for another position.

 

That happened to my husband once. My father died in January and like most companies he got 3 days condolance leave-which he needed every bit because of when the funneral home was able to schedule the funneral (we used their chapel) and the fact that it was out of state for us.

 

We drove home from the funneral that day as soon as it was over.It started snowing. (The funneral was in Mississippi and we lived in south Carolina) we got stuck in Birmingham as it snowed like 8 inches. So he got back to work a day late. His boss was none too happy about it and acted as though we were just on a lark or something instread that my father died and we got stuck in a snow storm coming home. (My husband too like misses 3 days work a year MAX for illness or any other reason except for scheduled vacation time ofcourse. ) Needless to say within 6 months hubby went to another company. He did not want to stay working under someone so unreasonable.