Why Cruising is Safe During Hurricane Season

Table Of Content

• Cruise Ships and Sudden Storms
• The worst first-round NFL draft picks — Mitch Trubisky! Ryan Leaf! — for every NFL franchise all time, so far
• Melinda Gates’ relationship status with former Fox News reporter Jon Du Pre revealed after engagement rumors
• Footage shows moment Royal Caribbean cruise ship was flooded during storm in the Gulf of Mexico
• Celebrity Cruises Move Up Some Final Payment Dates
• Safe at sea: what it’s like on a cruise ship when there’s a hurricane

The January 26, 2024 update cites not only crime levels, specifically in New Providence (Nassau) and Grand Bahama (Freeport), but also certain water activities. The Level 2 alert advises visitors to “Exercise Increased Caution” in the destination. Carnival Cruise Line revealed details about the guest experience areas it will offer at Celebration Key, its new private destination on Grand Bahama Island set to open in July 2025. For the latest information on itinerary changes and weather impacts on ports, please visit our Travel Updates page. We will also contact you or your Travel Advisors as soon as possible, should your itinerary be impacted. While he may not know more than anyone else as to what the storm will do, his many years of experience as a meteorologist in Florida gives him insight into the nuances of tropical storms that can put many minds at ease.

Cruise Ships and Sudden Storms

Once forecasters saw a hurricane was going to form, they produced an early track that seemed to put the storm in the way of our cruise. The vessel was on its way back to Galveston, Texas, as part of a five-night trip to Cozumel, Mexico, according to USA Today. The footage also shows sunbeds piled up on the deck after being tossed around in the powerful storm. Water flowed into rooms and sunbeds were strewn across the deck as the vessel was battered by the fierce weather conditions. “This could have ruined somebody’s cruise experience where they’ll never take another cruise again,” the travel agent added.

The worst first-round NFL draft picks — Mitch Trubisky! Ryan Leaf! — for every NFL franchise all time, so far

In addition, ships can sail closer to land to find protected waterways that can lessen the effect of the seas. Social media videos posted after the fact pictured high waves and large white caps rocking the ship to and fro as it made its way into the port in Charleston, South Carolina. Others shared photos and videos of broken glass, doors knocked out of their frames, and water damage in certain corridors of the ship. Passenger Lucas Sparrow told Fox 35 he was onboard with his family when the storm hit, claiming there was no storm warning by the cruise line beforehand. Jenn Stancil captured video of the storm moving in and the passengers scrambling for safety as rain drenched the deck.

Melinda Gates’ relationship status with former Fox News reporter Jon Du Pre revealed after engagement rumors

Because the ships were heading back to their homeport, they were not able to adjust their route as significantly as if the incidents happened mid-cruise, when a port of call could be rescheduled or cancelled. Royal Caribbean International’s Voyager of the Seas recently encountered a severe squall in the Gulf of Mexico while finishing her most recent sailing. The footage emerged after another Royal Caribbean ship, Serenade of the Seas, reportedly flooded last month. He added there were "high winds on the deck… platters of food crashing to the floor in the buffet, liquor and other glass breaking, water coming in through the balconies and flooding." The ship reportedly arrived safely at Coco Cay, an island used by Royal Caribbean about 55 miles north of Nassau. The Independence of the Seas was about to embark on a voyage from Port Canaveral to the Bahamas about 4 p.m.

It is unknown whether guests onboard Voyager of the Seas were similarly asked to return to their staterooms during the roughest weather. The storm was likely the same squall line that Carnival Dream also passed through when guests and crew members were advised to stay in their cabins. “There were just things flying all over the place,” said Escobedo, who lives in Port Arthur, Texas. She had been on eight cruises before and felt ships rock “but nothing to this extent.” Escobedo also posted a video on TikTok that her sister filmed, showing a chair being blown across an outer deck. The payment change affects all Galapagos cruises onboard Celebrity Flora, Celebrity Xpedition, and Celebrity Xploration, with departures in July 2024 and later.

9-month cruise floods after heavy wind, rain off South American coast - USA TODAY

9-month cruise floods after heavy wind, rain off South American coast.

Posted: Thu, 04 Jan 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]

Celebrity Cruises Move Up Some Final Payment Dates

Emerald Princess will sail one 14-day “Canada & Colonial America” from Fort Lauderdale to Quebec City on July 19, 2024, with calls at Charleston, Norfolk, New York, Newport, Boston, and Sydney and Saguenay, Canada. But after the final payment is made, cancellation fees come into play, and they increase as departure day nears. The change has the potential to make prospective cruisers leery of the policy. Typically, if a guest cancels a cruise before the final payment is made, there is little or no financial penalty. The Bahamas, a major destination for cruising, was in the news this week, and not in a good way. A recent increase in crime in the popular cruise ports of Nassau and Freeport prompted the US Department of State to update its Level 2 Travel Advisory.

“This is my view of Independence of the Seas as she started to get battered by the heavy winds whilst mid-spin attempting to turn around to leave the port,” Pike said in a tweet. No announcement from the captain before or after, also no mention of what happened. Just pretend like it didn’t happen I guess,” TikTok user Lucassparrow1110 posted.

Royal Caribbean responds after video shows cruise ship passengers hit by flying deck chairs during storm - FOX 35 Orlando

Royal Caribbean responds after video shows cruise ship passengers hit by flying deck chairs during storm.

Posted: Wed, 21 Jun 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Safe at sea: what it’s like on a cruise ship when there’s a hurricane

Carnival Jubilee alerted local officials, and Mexican authorities arrived in a patrol boat and picked up the two kayakers. The 5,400-guest ship then resumed her itinerary, which included calls at Roatan, Honduras, and Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico, before returning to Galveston on February 3, 2024. A Welcome Portal will provide an information area about the destination, and wow guests with a huge sand castle and live music. A Family-Friendly Portal will feature a freshwater lagoon, waterslides, sports courts, and dining venues. Cruise ships can sail faster than hurricanes can move, which gives them the ability to out run the changing path of any storm. During my cruise, our ship went around Cuba, and by the time we made our way westward again, the ship stayed far enough away from Hurricane Ian to keep everything quite calm.

June 16 when heavy rain and violent winds slammed the 15-deck, 1,112-foot-long vessel. The line’s Voyager of the Seas was on its way back to Galveston, Texas, as part of a round-trip, five-night sailing that visited Cozumel, Mexico. Van Fleet and the crew make it a point to keep everyone in the loop as much as possible so that guests know what to expect when it comes to updates and possible rerouting.

Princess Cruises withdrew a proposal to have two ships make port calls at Yorktown, Virginia, a historic port that played a big role in the Revolutionary War. In early 2023, the cruise line had put forward a pilot program to include the port on a handful of summer 2024 itineraries operated by Island Princess and Emerald Princess. The Level 2 travel advisory also cautions visitors about certain water activities, including tours, watercraft, swimming, and shark encounters. It warns that boats might be poorly maintained and that some tour operators might lack safety certifications, for example.

The vessel was listed noticeably, and furniture on the open decks was tossed about, while indoor lounges had broken glassware and other damage. Displays tipped over in retail stores, and in the ship’s casino, slot machines tipped and fell. Ms Escobedo added that her grandmother was safe on the sofa, but her wheelchair had rolled across the room and cups of lemonade had been knocked over. Fellow passenger Elaina Escobedo, 21, went to her grandparent's cabin to check on them during the storm.

"They offered phones for people who needed to make calls and they provided free internet for people to make changes to flights/arrangements." Sailings can be extended or shortened, but Royal Caribbean very rarely cancels an entire sailing. First time cruisers will often post on Facebook to ask if their cruise will be cancelled, and it's clear that it's very unlikely a cruise will be totally cancelled. At first, they were flip-flopping her schedule to bypass Mexico and go to Grand Cayman. Allure ended up safely behind Hurricane Ian, slowly moving west as the storm cleared out of the Caribbean and into the Gulf of Mexico. In our case, Allure of the Seas dropped a visit to Roatan so we could instead sail the long way around Cuba and circumnavigate the island as a way of avoiding Hurricane Ian, while still making out way south.