Hurricane Season

[ashley0308]

We have decided to book a cruise leaving in September from New Jersey and going to Florida, Nassau and Coco Cay.  What happens if a hurricane gets in the way?  We are debating if we need travel insurance (we will be getting medical for sure) but wondering about trip cancellation/interruption.  

 

We are driving in two days before, so no need to worry about the flights being delayed.  If RC has to cancel the cruise due to the hurricane do they refund or give credit? 

[mets123]

They will not cancel. They will sail around it or simply go someplace else, like New England/Canada.

[AshleyDillo]

2 minutes ago, ashley0308 said:

  We are debating if we need travel insurance (we will be getting medical for sure) but wondering about trip cancellation/interruption. 

 

If you're getting medical, then you're getting the coverage for the part that could financially destroy you.  Think about the cost of what you would lose if your trip was canceled or interrupted relative to the costs for insuring those risks.  You also need to understand what the insurance policy considers a cancellation or an interruption.

 

4 minutes ago, ashley0308 said:

We are driving in two days before, so no need to worry about the flights being delayed.  If RC has to cancel the cruise due to the hurricane do they refund or give credit? 

 

Driving in gives you flexibility here.  If RC completely cancels the cruise they will refund you for the cruise.  If they modify the cruise but still sail you will usually get an option to take the modified sailing and get some credit or get a credit to use towards a different sailing. 

 

The issue is that sometimes you will be in limbo and not know for sure if your cruise is going to be altered or canceled.  They will do whatever it takes to avoid canceling the cruise -- they will reroute and change itineraries.  The biggest threat of a change is when the embarkation port is going to be affected by the hurricane which is what we saw this past year with Dorian.  It's less likely that the New Jersey port is going to be in the eye of a storm, but if it is the forecasts aren't very reliable until at least 72 hours out..and even then a slight shift in a storm's path can make a huge difference as to whether they would close a port or not.

 

That being said, I wouldn't really be too worried about it.  I actually went through this with Hurricane Dorian and my cruise was delayed for a few days while the sailing before mine was extended to avoid the storm.  We didn't need make a travel insurance claim since the airlines waived change fees, hotels were refundable, and the cruise line offered a credit for the days we missed.  

[rucruisn2]

One issue you should be aware of, if a Hurricane is projected to hit Florida, there could be a mandatory evacuation in place and you might not be able to drive down here.  Last year this happened with bad storms that were sitting off our coast, but thankfully didn't hit us.  All south bound roads on the Fl.  Turnpike and I 95 were open and only going north bound. South bound lane were used for north bound as well.  This is why cruises during the peak hurricane months, August thru October, can be at a great price.  If your flexible, it should work out for you.

 

[FLACRUISER99]

9 minutes ago, rucruisn2 said:

One issue you should be aware of, if a Hurricane is projected to hit Florida, there could be a mandatory evacuation in place and you might not be able to drive down here.  Last year this happened with bad storms that were sitting off our coast, but thankfully didn't hit us.  All south bound roads on the Fl.  Turnpike and I 95 were open and only going north bound. South bound lane were used for north bound as well.  This is why cruises during the peak hurricane months, August thru October, can be at a great price.  If your flexible, it should work out for you.

 

They are not driving to Florida.

50 minutes ago, ashley0308 said:

We have decided to book a cruise leaving in September from New Jersey

 

[ashley0308]

Thanks everyone.  We are a pretty (knock on wood) healthy family, and really if anything major happens (when it comes to illness where we can't go) the cruise would probably be the least of our worries.  I was just more making sure that if a hurricane does happen and the cruise decided to cancel then we would be ok.  The kids are excited to spend a couple of days in NYC so if we had to extend that I don't think they would mind

[marci22]

59 minutes ago, ashley0308 said:

Thanks everyone.  We are a pretty (knock on wood) healthy family, and really if anything major happens (when it comes to illness where we can't go) the cruise would probably be the least of our worries.  I was just more making sure that if a hurricane does happen and the cruise decided to cancel then we would be ok.  The kids are excited to spend a couple of days in NYC so if we had to extend that I don't think they would mind

I would get cancellation insurance anyway. My very healthy son in his teens had an urgent medical problem that almost made us miss our 9 night cruise. I had not purchased insurance. I would not do that again.

 

Some cc have trip cancellation insurance for immediate family members (spouse and dependents under 18) . Maybe you already have this.

Edited January 29, 2020 by marci22

[Drock20J]

I was on last year's Harmony cruise that was shortened. IF royal were to cancel the cruise, they would refund you the cruise in form of Future Cruise Credit. Don't get me wrong, you should get the insurance anyways, but as I have seen/noticed, Royal will take care of you.

[Icesk8rReedy]

35 minutes ago, marci22 said:

I would get cancellation insurance anyway. My very healthy son in his teens had an urgent medical problem that almost made us miss our 9 night cruise. I had not purchased insurance. I would not do that again.

 

Some cc have trip cancellation insurance for immediate family members (spouse and dependents under 18) . Maybe you already have this.

This.  I broke my arm the week before my cruise and had to get surgery the Monday before.  I did not have insurance but was going regardless.  I've seen several stories of kids breaking something or needing urgent surgery a couple of days before a cruise.

[cruisinfanatic]

12 minutes ago, Drock20J said:

I was on last year's Harmony cruise that was shortened. IF royal were to cancel the cruise, they would refund you the cruise in form of Future Cruise Credit. Don't get me wrong, you should get the insurance anyways, but as I have seen/noticed, Royal will take care of you.

Not true. They would refund

[ticketsunlimited]

2 hours ago, mets123 said:

They will not cancel. They will sail around it or simply go someplace else, like New England/Canada.

 

I wonder where they would go to divert as she is on Oasis.  We have the 9/13 sailing.  Probably float around the Statue of Liberty for a week. 

[Drock20J]

1 minute ago, cruisinfanatic said:

Not true. They would refund

Depends on the severity. They gave the OPTION for a refund, that was a lot of trouble. They gave everyone who did sail on the shortened cruise a FCC and the equivalent OBC.

 

So they MIGHT refund, but RCI would rather give you FCC so you can come back and spend money.

[frito58]

I would never say they WONT cancel a cruise . If the Hurricane would happen to hit the port u are sailing from .. WHICH is very very rare and they cant get the ship back in they may cancel or delay your cruise . I never sail without insurance . Not saying u have to buy it from the cruise lines , there are other options to CYA . 

[bala1130]

Depending on the credit card you use to pay for your cruise you may have insurance included already.  Chase Sapphire 

Benefit Overview

Trip Cancellation provides reimbursement if a covered loss prevents you from traveling on or before the departure date and results in cancellation of the travel arrangements.

Trip Interruption provides reimbursement if a covered loss on the way to the point of departure or after departure causes interruption of your covered trip. It can also provide reimbursement if a trip is postponed due to a covered loss and certain fees are incurred if a new departure date is set.

The information below applies to both benefits. Reimbursement can be provided for pre-paid, non-refundable travel expenses including passenger fares, tours and hotels.

• Covers trips when travel arrangements for a pre-paid tour, trip or vacation have been purchased with an eligible Chase card or with rewards earned on an eligible Chase card
• Reimbursement is in excess of any travel insurance purchased, or reimbursement from the occupancy provider or common carrier such as airline, bus, cruise ship, or train

[LeeW]

If they cancel a cruise they will refund all your money.  They can't just issue a credit in this case.

 

If the cruise is shortened due to the port being closed they will give you two options: 1) cancel for full refund. 2) sail with onboard credit and a Future Cruise Credit.  In our case the latter was 50% OBC and 50% as a future credit - so entire cruise was free plus you got the equivalent of your entire cruise back.

 

If the cruise can't leave the port they typically just give OBC for the days not sailed.  In a couple of Galveston cases where they couldn't leave for a couple of days they did allow people to cancel.

 

So for a hurricane you really don't need insurance.  The reasons to buy insurance are medical evacuation and medical issues.  Your personal insurance may or may not cover you outside the country, but if you have a medical issue you will generally have to pay immediately and get reimbursed later.  Cruise line insurance covers onboard medical expenses without you paying in advance.  Cruise line insurance also allows you to cancel for any reason not covered (typically gives a future credit) and with other insurers you can buy this as well.

 

 

[ljmandelbaum]

47 minutes ago, ticketsunlimited said:

 

I wonder where they would go to divert as she is on Oasis.  We have the 9/13 sailing.  Probably float around the Statue of Liberty for a week. 

 A number of years ago, my parents were on a royal cruise from bayonne that was supposed to be a southern caribbean but due to hurricanes would up being a New England/Canada cruise.  The changed happened pretty close to the cruise so a lot of people who had flown in were already in the area with clothing for the Caribbean not cool weather clothing. 

 

[ticketsunlimited]

4 minutes ago, ljmandelbaum said:

 A number of years ago, my parents were on a royal cruise from bayonne that was supposed to be a southern caribbean but due to hurricanes would up being a New England/Canada cruise.  The changed happened pretty close to the cruise so a lot of people who had flown in were already in the area with clothing for the Caribbean not cool weather clothing. 

 

It happens no doubt.  My question is where do they go with an Oasis class ship.  Most  of the New England ports cannot handle that size of ship.

[ONECRUISER]

3 hours ago, ashley0308 said:

Thanks everyone.  We are a pretty (knock on wood) healthy family, and really if anything major happens (when it comes to illness where we can't go) the cruise would probably be the least of our worries.  I was just more making sure that if a hurricane does happen and the cruise decided to cancel then we would be ok.  The kids are excited to spend a couple of days in NYC so if we had to extend that I don't think they would mind

Use to Cruise over Labor Day every yr, every yr was named storms most never even got within 500miles. At most we had rocky Cruise for day or 2, was mostly sunny, and several times went to different Ports. My kids didnt care. 7 out of 8 yrs done the October Boston-Florida Repo, no issues... I wouldnt stress it. Enjoy! 

[ashley0308]

39 minutes ago, ONECRUISER said:

Use to Cruise over Labor Day every yr, every yr was named storms most never even got within 500miles. At most we had rocky Cruise for day or 2, was mostly sunny, and several times went to different Ports. My kids didnt care. 7 out of 8 yrs done the October Boston-Florida Repo, no issues... I wouldnt stress it. Enjoy! 

Thank you, not stressed just more wondering - we picked this sailing for the ship not the itinerary so a change in plans I am ok with.  

[ryano]

2 hours ago, LeeW said:

  Cruise line insurance covers onboard medical expenses without you paying in advance.  

 

 

 

Im pretty sure the insurance Royal offers requires you to pay for onboard medical expenses in advance which would be billed to your onboard account and wait on reimbursement the company that underwrites their policies.  Im really hoping someone will see this and confirm

Edited January 29, 2020 by ryano

[Tatka]

2 hours ago, ticketsunlimited said:

It happens no doubt.  My question is where do they go with an Oasis class ship.  Most  of the New England ports cannot handle that size of ship.

 

   I think Halifax, Nova Scotia; St John, New Brunswick and may be Portland, Maine should be able too. Boston, Massachusetts ? Not sure, but if it can handle Anthem, Queen Mary2 and other large ships maybe it will work for Oasis class. Not sure how much it is different.

 

   However September is a busy time and there will be many other ships going that way so not sure about scheduling.

Edited January 29, 2020 by Tatka

[GTO-Girl]

Or you might get lucky like we did on the Hurricane Dorian cruise last August.  We were on a 7 day on the Harmony that turned into an 11 day cruise because the all ports were closed in Florida.

 

We had perfectly smooth seas, beautiful sunshine and warm weather.  Only drawback was we did have to go to Cozumel three times because of limited docking space for all the ships waiting out the storm.

 

One of our best cruises ever!!!  

[Croozin Soozin]

2 hours ago, ryano said:

 

Im pretty sure the insurance Royal offers requires you to pay for onboard medical expenses in advance which would be billed to your onboard account and wait on reimbursement the company that underwrites their policies.  Im really hoping someone will see this and confirm

I can confirm that!

[brank813]

2 hours ago, GTO-Girl said:

Or you might get lucky like we did on the Hurricane Dorian cruise last August.  We were on a 7 day on the Harmony that turned into an 11 day cruise because the all ports were closed in Florida.

 

We had perfectly smooth seas, beautiful sunshine and warm weather.  Only drawback was we did have to go to Cozumel three times because of limited docking space for all the ships waiting out the storm.

 

One of our best cruises ever!!!  

We were similar, had an extended 11 day cruise on Empress and they added two extra ports, Grand Cayman and Roatan.  PLus to top things off, because they had to cancel our day at Coco Cay, we got FCC for that one day.   

It was an awesome trip!

[GTO-Girl]

54 minutes ago, brank813 said:

We were similar, had an extended 11 day cruise on Empress and they added two extra ports, Grand Cayman and Roatan.  PLus to top things off, because they had to cancel our day at Coco Cay, we got FCC for that one day.   

It was an awesome trip!

Capt. Johnny said because we were sailing on the “big girl” we would have to dock where they could accommodate her size.  It was weird seeing all the many, many ships in Cozumel just hanging around.  
 

Didn’t bother us at all!!!  😁😁😁😎😎😎