What happens if Bahamas TS/Hurricane?

[cdamion]

I have only cruised at the very beginning of hurricane season when they are pretty unlikely.

 

I am booked on a Majesty 3-day and was wondering what they do to change their itinerary in the event of a TS or Hurricane near/in the Bahamas. Anyone been rerouted on the 3 day cruises? I just can't see the ship making it anywhere else in 3 days besides Key West and they can't do that.

 

I did ask RCI if they had any hurricanes scheduled for that cruise (I really did, but she just laughed).

[Eng23]

I have only cruised at the very beginning of hurricane season when they are pretty unlikely.

 

I am booked on a Majesty 3-day and was wondering what they do to change their itinerary in the event of a TS or Hurricane near/in the Bahamas. Anyone been rerouted on the 3 day cruises? I just can't see the ship making it anywhere else in 3 days besides Key West and they can't do that.

 

I did ask RCI if they had any hurricanes scheduled for that cruise (I really did, but she just laughed).

Good question. I would think it would be difficult to find an alternative itinerary for a 3 day Bahamas cruise. Key West would be logical and of course everything would be dependant on the path of the storm.

[Scotty G]

We were on the Sovereign out of Port Canaveral (PC) on a 3 night when a hurricane was heading for the Bahamas. We crawled down the Florida coast to Key West (not a port of call for us) where we spent a day. We went to Nassau to satisfy the foreign port requirement but only stayed 3-4 hours. No Coco Cay stop because of high seas. I have had friends depart PC on Carnival and had to return to Miami or Port Everglades because of a hurricane at PC. They were either bused to PC or Orlando Airport by Carnival.

[cdamion]

We were on the Sovereign out of Port Canaveral (PC) on a 3 night when a hurricane was heading for the Bahamas. We crawled down the Florida coast to Key West (not a port of call for us) where we spent a day. We went to Nassau to satisfy the foreign port requirement but only stayed 3-4 hours. No Coco Cay stop because of high seas. I have had friends depart PC on Carnival and had to return to Miami or Port Everglades because of a hurricane at PC. They were either bused to PC or Orlando Airport by Carnival.

 

Was it long enough in Nassau to do anything such as eat at Fish Fry?

[negc]

Obviously, they have limited options if a tropical storm or hurricane makes it unsafe for the ship to sail on its regular three or four day itinerary. They will either sail to alternate ports, if possible, or perhaps spend those days at sea, or cancel the cruise. The one thing that they won't do is knowingly place their ship, crew and passengers at risk by sailing into the storm or its vicinity. If you are sailing during the height of hurricane season, travel insurance is more important than ever.

[Eng23]

Other than previously mentioned Key West I think it is hard to find other ports close enough for a 3 day cruise. Spending 3-4 hours in Nassau is okay if all you are going to do is bar hop or shop right near the port. This would be even harder on the Monarch out of Port Canaveral due to the further distance from Key West and the Bahamas. 3 day cruises are great and I would do another one whenever I can but I also know weather can be a factor during hurricane season.

[CruiseAdict218]

Or if they really needed to extend the cruise and shorted the next

[cdamion]

Or if they really needed to extend the cruise and shorted the next

 

That would be so terrible to have an extra cruise day.;)

 

I know I booked in hurricane season - and will be adequately insured (actually, always insured regardless of the season). I also know the vast majority of cruises during hurricane season go off just fine.

 

I am just looking forward to the beaches and swimming this time around and would be a bit disappointed with just sea days on Majesty. As a matter of fact, if I knew it was going to be 3 days at sea (and the storm was not headed to Fl) I would probably try to cancel and just go down to the keys and try the cruise on another date.

 

If it was a 7 day and it just came down to switching from Eastern to Western or something, I would definitely just stay with the cruise and visit whatever islands we could.

 

Whatever happens I make the best of it. One year I was traveling on a land-based trip in the DRY season through the southern Caribbean, including Carnival in Trinidad. My trip was a month long and I had ONE day of sun. The rest of the month was cloudy and rainy most of the day on EVERY island. It was the first Carnival anybody could remember with rain. Still one of the best trips ever though.

[beachnative]

We just booked the Allure for the western route for September fully knowing that it is the heart of hurricane season. We miss being on he Allure and don't really care about the ports on the western itinerary. As we booked we told each other that if a hurricane were in the area and all ports were canceled we wouldn't mind because the Allure has so much to offer. Heck, there are so many good places to dine, I could eat my way through 7 sea days (and spend a lot time in the gym to work it off) and be very happy. :D

[orville99]

Ships have been known to just sail away from the storm and do a cruise to nowhere - all sea days.:)

[LuckiStac13*Majesty*]

That would be so terrible to have an extra cruise day.;)

 

I know I booked in hurricane season - and will be adequately insured (actually, always insured regardless of the season). I also know the vast majority of cruises during hurricane season go off just fine.

 

I am just looking forward to the beaches and swimming this time around and would be a bit disappointed with just sea days on Majesty. As a matter of fact, if I knew it was going to be 3 days at sea (and the storm was not headed to Fl) I would probably try to cancel and just go down to the keys and try the cruise on another date.

 

If it was a 7 day and it just came down to switching from Eastern to Western or something, I would definitely just stay with the cruise and visit whatever islands we could.

 

Whatever happens I make the best of it. One year I was traveling on a land-based trip in the DRY season through the southern Caribbean, including Carnival in Trinidad. My trip was a month long and I had ONE day of sun. The rest of the month was cloudy and rainy most of the day on EVERY island. It was the first Carnival anybody could remember with rain. Still one of the best trips ever though.

 

It really depends on the circumstances, as each storm is so different (obviously) but usually they'll just keep you at sea or go to Nassau early and stay there longer, if possible. I think the last thing they'd do is take you to Key West, they rarely, rarely do that and there's really nowhere else that's close enough to do on a 3-day, unfortunately.

 

When are you going? Been on the Majesty a ton of times, great ship. That's so funny that you asked RCI if they had any hurricanes scheduled for that cruise :)

[cdamion]

It really depends on the circumstances, as each storm is so different (obviously) but usually they'll just keep you at sea or go to Nassau early and stay there longer, if possible. I think the last thing they'd do is take you to Key West, they rarely, rarely do that and there's really nowhere else that's close enough to do on a 3-day, unfortunately.

 

When are you going? Been on the Majesty a ton of times, great ship. That's so funny that you asked RCI if they had any hurricanes scheduled for that cruise :)

 

It is very difficult for me to be gone from my business for a full week, so I did a quick 3-day cruise on Majesty on June 3 to say 'hello' to summer. I liked it so much that I booked it again on September 16 for a 'farewell' to summer.

 

I enjoyed Majesty far more than I thought I would, and while very short, the 3-days away really did provide for a nice getaway.

[Ander026]

I was on the Freedom during Hurricain Tomas last year and we changed the day at sea for a day at Coco Cay. After Coco Cay we spent the day at sea instead of Laberdee.

[Scotty G]

Was it long enough in Nassau to do anything such as eat at Fish Fry?

There was damage from the storm but the stores that opened were glad we came. Did not get over to Fish Fry area.